Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Sep 16.
Published in final edited form as: Adv Cancer Res. 2013;118:1–59. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-407173-5.00002-9

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Passive targeting. (A) Nanoparticles accumulate in tumor tissue due to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Enhanced permeability is due to large endothelial gaps that result in leaky vasculature. Enhanced retention is due to poor lymphatic drainage. (B) Smaller particles are able to quickly enter and exit tumor tissue through large endothelial gaps, while larger particles diffuse more slowly, resulting in the accumulation of a greater number of particles and drug. Figure modified and used with permission from (Danhier et al., 2010).