Aptamer-conjugated polymeric nanoparticles for targeted cancer therapy

Recent advances in cancer nanotechnology have led to the emergence of aptamer-enabled technologies to diagnose and treat cancer. Aptamers with their high binding sensitivity and specificity are highly attractive for a wide variety of applications in molecular targeting. Aptamer-escorted drug-loaded polymeric nanoparticles represent a promising technology, which facilitates controlled release and targeted approach to deliver drugs to the desired site with marginal or any collateral damage. By properly integrating these nanobased approaches with the established cancer research findings could help to resolve some of the existing problems in the current conventional cancer therapy. In this review, we discuss the progresses achieved in the aptamer mediated nanoparticle drug delivery and properties of nanoparticles, which play a significant role in developing the aptamer–nanoparticle bioconjugates. In addition, we highlight the recent preclinical works involving these bioconjugates as cancer therapeutics.