. 2021 Jan 26;16:623–649. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S296383

Table 2.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nanomedicine on Therapeutic Strategies for COVID-19

NPs	Advantages	Disadvantages
Liposomes	Reduced toxicity¹⁸⁴ Selective target specificity¹⁸⁵ Enhancement of drug activity against pathogens¹⁸⁶^,¹⁸⁷ Improved pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics¹⁸⁸	Low drug entrapment¹⁸⁹ Difficulty of sterilization¹⁹⁰ Short shelf life due to instability¹⁹¹ Rate of removal from the bloodstream¹⁹²
Polymer Nanoparticles (PNs)	High stability²⁰³^,²⁰⁴ Various preparation methods²⁰⁵^,²⁰⁶ Control and persistence of drug release²⁰⁴^,²⁰⁷ Adjustability of chemical and physical properties²⁰⁸ Suitability for hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs²⁰³	Difficult scalability²¹³ Inadequate toxicological assessment²¹⁴
Dendrimer Nanoparticles (DNs)	High cell penetration²⁰⁹^,²¹⁰ High structural homogeneity²⁰⁹ High miscibility and solubility²¹¹ Controllable synthesis and degradation²⁰⁹^,²¹⁰^,²¹²	High production cost²⁰⁹ Difficulty of clinical application in basic research²¹⁵ The need for quality management improvement²¹⁰
Gold Nanoparticles (GNs)	High biocompatibility²¹⁰ Controllable particle size²¹⁰ Convenience of synthesis and conjugation of various bioactive agents²¹⁰	Nanoparticle aggregation²¹¹ Impossible biodegradation²²⁰^,²²¹ High cost of large-scale production²²²
Virus Like Particles (VLPs)	Stabilization by disulfide bonds²²⁷^,²²⁸ Produced by cell-free protein synthesis²²⁷^,²²⁹ Small molecule, nucleic acid and protein loading capacity²³⁰^,²³¹ Functionalization of antibody fragment display for specific cell targeting²³²^,²³³	Low stability²²⁷ Phagocytic avoidance²³⁴ Extravasate from blood vessel²³⁵
Cell-Derived Vesicles	Low inherent toxicity²⁴⁶ Low apparent risk of aneuploidy²⁴⁷ Low immune rejection²⁴⁸	Promoting metastasis formation in tumor cells^249–252 contribution to tumor cell survival²⁵³^,²⁵⁴