Table 1.
Advantages and disadvantages of aptamer-based therapeutics developed with different strategies.
| Aptamer-Based Therapeutics | Functionalized Nanomaterials | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aptamer-enabled biological material system | Protein drugs [212] | 1. Inherent drug efficacy 2. High payload capacity |
1. Immune response 2. High production cost 3. Low blood-brain barrier permeability 4. Short shelf-life |
| Nucleic acid drugs [213] | 1. Low synthetic cost 2. Inherent drug efficacy 3. High payload capacity |
1. Susceptibility to nuclease degradation 2. Rapid renal filtration 3. Risks of genetic mutations |
|
| DNA nanostructures [214] | 1. Programmed drug capture and release 2. High uptake 3. Ease of fabrication and modification |
1. Susceptibility to nuclease degradation 2. Rapid renal filtration 3. Risks of genetic mutations |
|
| Aptamer-enabled non-biological material system | Micelles [215] | 1. Ease of assembly 2. Prolonged circulation and retention time 3. Drugs to be protected from environmental stimuli, e.g., pH, enzymes, etc. |
1. Limited payload capacity 2. Dependency of critical micelle concentration 3. Use only for lipophilic drugs |
| Hydrogels [216] | 1. Highly hydrophilic and biocompatible 2. Inherent tissue regenerative properties 3. Low cellular toxicity4. Relatively deformable to conform to the shape of implanted sites |
1. Low tensile strength 2. Limited payload capacity 3. Limited drug homogeneity 4. Risks of drug burst-release |
|
| Polymeric nanoparticles [217] | 1. Controllable and sustained drug release 2. Flexible drug loading patterns 3. Multiple fabrication approaches 4. Tunable physiochemical properties |
1. Difficulty to scale-up the Manufacturing 2. Insufficient research ontoxicological evaluations |
|
| Branched polymeric Nanostructures [218] | 1. Increased solubility of lipophilic drugs 2. High density of functional moieties 3. Fast cellular entry |
1. High production cost 2. Cellular toxicity 3. Unsustainable drug release 4. Challenges for hydrophilic drugs |
|
| Gold nanoparticles [219] | 1. Ease of synthesis 2. Allow light-trigged drug release 3. Inherent photothermal anti-cancer effects 4. Low cellular toxicity 5. High payload capacity 6. Allow imaging-guided drug delivery |
1. Difficulty for degradation and plasma clearance 2. Prone to aggregations 3. Undesirable accumulations at liver or spleen |
|
| Magnetic nanoparticles [220] | 1. High payload capacity 2. Allow MRI-guided drug delivery 3. Hyperthermia-mediated therapy 4. Controllable drug release |
1. Highly magnet-dependent 2. Risks of causing vascular embolization 3. Undesirable accumulations at liver or spleen |
|
| Quantum dots [221] | 1. Fluorescence-guided drug delivery 2. Instinct anti-cancer effects |
1. Rapid renal filtration 2. High cellular toxicity |
|
| Silica nanoparticles [222] | 1. High payload capacity 2. Tunable and uniform pore sizes |
1. Only allow intravenous injection for administration 2. Low biodegradability |
|
| Carbon materials [223] | 1. High payload capacity 2. High cell membrane penetration capability 3. pH-mediated drug release |
1. High hydrophobicity 2. High cytotoxicity |
|
| Liposomes [224] | 1. Low cytotoxicity 2. High cellular uptake 3. High biocompatibility 4. Drugs to be protected from environmental stimuli |
1. Accelerated blood or reticuloendothelial system clearance 2. Low colloidal stability 3. High production cost |