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Review
. 2024 Aug 2;14(15):1305.
doi: 10.3390/nano14151305.

Cancer Treatment Using Nanofibers: A Review

Muhammad Qamar Khan  1 , Muhammad Abbas Alvi  1 , Hafiza Hifza Nawaz  2 , Muhammad Umar  2
Affiliations
Review

Cancer Treatment Using Nanofibers: A Review

Muhammad Qamar Khan et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Currently, the number of patients with cancer is expanding consistently because of a low quality of life. For this reason, the therapies used to treat cancer have received a lot of consideration from specialists. Numerous anticancer medications have been utilized to treat patients with cancer. However, the immediate utilization of anticancer medicines leads to unpleasant side effects for patients and there are many restrictions to applying these treatments. A number of polymers like cellulose, chitosan, Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA), Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), peptides and Poly (hydroxy alkanoate) have good properties for the treatment of cancer, but the nanofibers-based target and controlled drug delivery system produced by the co-axial electrospinning technique have extraordinary properties like favorable mechanical characteristics, an excellent release profile, a high surface area, and a high sponginess and are harmless, bio-renewable, biofriendly, highly degradable, and can be produced very conveniently on an industrial scale. Thus, nanofibers produced through coaxial electrospinning can be designed to target specific cancer cells or tissues. By modifying the composition and properties of the nanofibers, researchers can control the release kinetics of the therapeutic agent and enhance its accumulation at the tumor site while minimizing systemic toxicity. The core-shell structure of coaxial electrospun nanofibers allows for a controlled and sustained release of therapeutic agents over time. This controlled release profile can improve the efficacy of cancer treatment by maintaining therapeutic drug concentrations within the tumor microenvironment for an extended period.

Keywords: Biocompatible polymer; cancer treatment; coaxial electrospinning; controlled drug delivery; nanofiber.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. All authors agreed to submit the article in this journal.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Types of cancer.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Types of cancer treatments.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Drug delivery in human beings.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Applications of nanofibers in the medical field.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Commonly used polymers for nanofibers for cancer treatment.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Production of nanofibers through electrospinning.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Control of drugs by polymers.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Controlled and uncontrolled drug delivery mechanism.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Electrospinning method to prepare nanofibers web for cancer treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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