Fig. 5.

Combination chemotherapy with ligand-targeted delivery of doxorubicin and vinorelbine. Conventional cancer chemotherapy results in the non-specific distribution of toxic therapeutic agents in the human body, which induces adverse side effects. To minimize such side effects, attempts have been made to encapsulate the drug in nanoparticles (e.g., liposomes with encapsulated doxorubicin). Although liposomal doxorubicin has fewer adverse effects than those of free drugs, its therapeutic efficacy is insufficient. The specificity of nanoparticles can be further enhanced through modification with targeting ligand. Some cancer cell types develop drug resistance over the course of drug treatment. The use of targeted nanoparticles to deliver multiple chemotherapeutics (with different mechanisms of action) specifically to cancer cells may simultaneously enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce undesirable side effects