Figure 1. Conventional low-molecular-weight chemotherapy versus EPR-based nanomedicine therapy.

A: Conventional small molecule chemotherapeutic drugs show high levels of off-target accumulation in healthy tissues during the distribution and elimination phase (upper parts of the panels on the left) and low levels of tumor accumulation (lower parts of the panels on the left). Conversely, nanodrugs prevent chemotherapy accumulation in healthy tissues (upper parts of the panels on the right), and promote accumulate at pathological sites (lower parts of the panels on the right). B: Typical pharmacokinetic profiles of small molecule drugs (left) and nanodrugs (right) in blood and tumors, exemplifying prolonged circulation properties and enhanced tumor accumulation over time.