Table 1.

Examples of nanocarriers with their advantages and limitations.

Type of Nanocarrier	Advantage	Disadvantage
Liposomes [156,167]	Biocompatibility; can be loaded with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds; low toxicity; can easily fuse with cell membrane	Lack of long-term stability and ability to evade the host immune system
Polymeric nanoparticles [156,167,168]	Biocompatibility and biodegradability; higher stability; targeted drug delivery; nonimmunogenicity; low toxicity	Toxic degradation, toxic monomers aggregation; difficult to scale-up
Polymeric micelles [168]	Controlled drug release; increased solubility of lipophilic compounds	Low loading capacity; usable just for lipophilic drugs
Carbon nanotubes [169]	Ease of cellular uptake; high drug loading capacity; biocompatibility; specificity to cells,	High toxicity, difficult to degrade
Gold nanoparticles [170]	Can be prepared in broad range of sizes, are easy to modify	Biocompatibility and toxicity issues
Solid lipid nanoparticles [167]	Low cost; easy to scale-up; good physical stability; good tolerability	Low drug loading; low controlability of drug release
Dendrimers [168]	Increased solubility of lipophilic compounds	Toxicity; high cost of synthesis
Extracellular vesicles	Natural origin, biocompatibility, high stability, low toxicity, capacity to evade immune degradation, possible targeted delivery	Presence of own cargo with possible diverse effects, lack of standardized isolation and loading methods