Table 2.

Novel drug delivery carrier

Type of drug delivery vehicle	Drug delivery vehicle characteristics	References
Nanoparticles	Advantages of small size, a large specific surface area, controllable morphology and easy modification Can effectively embed, adsorb or covalently crosslink hydrophilic/hydrophobic drug molecules Enhance the local concentration of drugs in the body	[66, 67]
Liposomes	Are able to bind to a wide range of biologically active compounds when used as a drug delivery vehicle due to their inherent amphiphilic nature	[68, 69]
Polymer	Encapsulate the drug in a specific part of the polymer Carry drugs by means of polymer-drug conjugation Employ targeting factors to load drugs for targeting to specific disease sites	[70, 71]
Prodrugs	Produce synergistic effect Expand the scope of clinical applications Improve drug absorption Improved blood drug concentration drug efficacy is a function of drug concentration at the site of action Slow release at the administration site to achieve a prolonged action time	[73, 74]
Targeting drug delivery system	Gives the drug a specific pharmacological activity Increases drug targeting ability and retention in target tissues Reduces drug toxicity to normal cells Improves the bioavailability of pharmaceutical formulations	[76, 77]
Virus	High safety Low toxicity Contains marker genes	[78, 79]