In Silico Design of Optimal Dissolution Kinetics of Fe-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Results in Cancer-Specific Toxicity in a Preclinical Rodent Model

Lipidic Formulations Inspired by COVID Vaccines as Smart Coatings to Enhance Nanoparticle-Based Cancer Therapy

Recent advances in nanomedicine have led to the introduction and subsequent establishment of nanoparticles in cancer treatment and diagnosis. Nonetheless, their application is still hindered by a series of challenges related to their biocompatibility and biodistribution. In this paper, we take inspiration from the recently produced and widely spread COVID vaccines, based on the combinational use of ionizable solid lipid nanoparticles, cholesterol, PEGylated lipids, and neutral lipids able to incorporate mRNA fragments. Here, we focus on the implementation of a lipidic formulation meant to be used as a smart coating of solid-state nanoparticles. The composition of this formulation is finely tuned to ensure efficient and stable shielding of the cargo. The resulting shell is a highly customized tool that enables the possibility of further functionalizations with targeting agents, peptides, antibodies, and fluorescent moieties for future in vitro and in vivo tests and validations. Finally, as a proof of concept, zinc oxide nanoparticles doped with iron and successively coated with this lipidic formulation are tested in a pancreatic cancer cell line, BxPC-3. The results show an astonishing increase in cell viability with respect to the same uncoated nanoparticles. The preliminary results presented here pave the way towards many different therapeutic approaches based on the massive presence of highly biostable and well-tolerated nanoparticles in tumor tissues, such as sonodynamic therapy, photodynamic therapy, hyperthermia, and diagnosis by means of magnetic resonance imaging.

Converting Nanotoxicity Data to Information Using Artificial Intelligence and Simulation

Decades of nanotoxicology research have generated extensive and diverse data sets. However, data is not equal to information. The question is how to extract critical information buried in vast data streams. Here we show that artificial intelligence (AI) and molecular simulation play key roles in transforming nanotoxicity data into critical information, i.e., constructing the quantitative nanostructure (physicochemical properties)-toxicity relationships, and elucidating the toxicity-related molecular mechanisms. For AI and molecular simulation to realize their full impacts in this mission, several obstacles must be overcome. These include the paucity of high-quality nanomaterials (NMs) and standardized nanotoxicity data, the lack of model-friendly databases, the scarcity of specific and universal nanodescriptors, and the inability to simulate NMs at realistic spatial and temporal scales. This review provides a comprehensive and representative, but not exhaustive, summary of the current capability gaps and tools required to fill these formidable gaps. Specifically, we discuss the applications of AI and molecular simulation, which can address the large-scale data challenge for nanotoxicology research. The need for model-friendly nanotoxicity databases, powerful nanodescriptors, new modeling approaches, molecular mechanism analysis, and design of the next-generation NMs are also critically discussed. Finally, we provide a perspective on future trends and challenges.

Cu-doped TiO2 nanoparticles improve local antitumor immune activation and optimize dendritic cell vaccine strategies

Nanoparticle-mediated cancer immunotherapy holds great promise, but more efforts are needed to obtain nanoformulations that result in a full scale activation of innate and adaptive immune components that specifically target the tumors. We generated a series of copper-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles in order to tune the kinetics and full extent of Cu²⁺ ion release from the remnant TiO₂ nanocrystals. Fine-tuning nanoparticle properties resulted in a formulation of 33% Cu-doped TiO₂ which enabled short-lived hyperactivation of dendritic cells and hereby promoted immunotherapy. The nanoparticles result in highly efficient activation of dendritic cells ex vivo, which upon transplantation in tumor bearing mice, exceeded the therapeutic outcomes obtained with classically stimulated dendritic cells. Efficacious but simple nanomaterials that can promote dendritic cancer cell vaccination strategies open up new avenues for improved immunotherapy and human health.

L-cysteine embedded core-shell ZnO microspheres composed of nanoclusters enhances anticancer activity against liver and breast cancer cells

Nano-based products have become an apparent and effective option to treat liver cancer, which is a deadly disease, and minimize or eradicate these problems. The Core-shell ZnO microspheres composed of nanoclusters (ZnOMS-NCs) have shown that it is very worthwhile to administer the proliferation rate in HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cells even at a very low concentration (5 μg/mL). ZnOMS-NCs were prepared through hydrothermal solution process and well characterized. The MTT assay revealed that the cytotoxic effects were dose-dependent (2.5 μg/mL-100 μg/mL) on ZnOMS-NCs. The diminished activity in cell viability induces the cytotoxicity response to the ZnOMS-NCs treatment of human cultured cells. The qPCR data showed that the cells (HepG2 and MCF-7) were exposed to ZnOMS-NCs and exhibited up-and downregulated mRNA expression of apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes, respectively. In conclusion, flow cytometric data exhibited significant apoptosis induction in both cancer cell lines at low concentrations. The possible mechanism also describes the role of ZnOMS-NCs against cancer cells and their responses.

Gold nanostructures: synthesis, properties, and neurological applications

Recent advances in technology are expected to increase our current understanding of neuroscience. Nanotechnology and nanomaterials can alter and control neural functionality in both in vitro and in vivo experimental setups. The intersection between neuroscience and nanoscience may generate long-term neural interfaces adapted at the molecular level. Owing to their intrinsic physicochemical characteristics, gold nanostructures (GNSs) have received much attention in neuroscience, especially for combined diagnostic and therapeutic (theragnostic) purposes. GNSs have been successfully employed to stimulate and monitor neurophysiological signals. Hence, GNSs could provide a promising solution for the regeneration and recovery of neural tissue, novel neuroprotective strategies, and integrated implantable materials. This review covers the broad range of neurological applications of GNS-based materials to improve clinical diagnosis and therapy. Sub-topics include neurotoxicity, targeted delivery of therapeutics to the central nervous system (CNS), neurochemical sensing, neuromodulation, neuroimaging, neurotherapy, tissue engineering, and neural regeneration. It focuses on core concepts of GNSs in neurology, to circumvent the limitations and significant obstacles of innovative approaches in neurobiology and neurochemistry, including theragnostics. We will discuss recent advances in the use of GNSs to overcome current bottlenecks and tackle technical and conceptual challenges.

Label-free cell based impedance measurements of ZnO nanoparticles-human lung cell interaction: a comparison with MTT, NR, Trypan blue and cloning efficiency assays

Background

There is a huge body of literature data on ZnOnanoparticles (ZnO NPs) toxicity. However, the reported results are seen to be increasingly discrepant, and deep comprehension of the ZnO NPs behaviour in relation to the different experimental conditions is still lacking. A recent literature overview emphasizes the screening of the ZnO NPs toxicity with more than one assay, checking the experimental reproducibility also versus time, which is a key factor for the robustness of the results. In this paper we compared high-throughput real-time measurements through Electric Cell-substrate Impedance-Sensing (ECIS®) with endpoint measurements of multiple independent assays.

Results

ECIS-measurements were compared with traditional cytotoxicity tests such as MTT, Neutral red, Trypan blue, and cloning efficiency assays. ECIS could follow the cell behavior continuously and noninvasively for days, so that certain long-term characteristics of cell proliferation under treatment with ZnO NPs were accessible. This was particularly important in the case of pro-mitogenic activity exerted by low-dose ZnO NPs, an effect not revealed by endpoint independent assays. This result opens new worrisome questions about the potential mitogenic activity exerted by ZnO NPs, or more generally by NPs, on transformed cells. Of importance, impedance curve trends (morphology) allowed to discriminate between different cell death mechanisms (apoptosis vs autophagy) in the absence of specific reagents, as confirmed by cell structural and functional studies by high-resolution microscopy. This could be advantageous in terms of costs and time spent. ZnO NPs-exposed A549 cells showed an unusual pattern of actin and tubulin distribution which might trigger mitotic aberrations leading to genomic instability.

Conclusions

ZnO NPs toxicity can be determined not only by the intrinsic NPs characteristics, but also by the external conditions like the experimental setting, and this could account for discrepant data from different assays. ECIS has the potential to recapitulate the needs required in the evaluation of nanomaterials by contributing to the reliability of cytotoxicity tests. Moreover, it can overcome some false results and discrepancies in the results obtained by endpoint measurements. Finally, we strongly recommend the comparison of cytotoxicity tests (ECIS, MTT, Trypan Blue, Cloning efficiency) with the ultrastructural cell pathology studies.

Graphic Abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-021-01033-w.

Iron-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Nanoplatforms for Theranostics

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are currently among the most promising nanomaterials for theranostics. However, they suffer from some drawbacks that could prevent their application in nanomedicine as theranostic agents. The doping of ZnO NPs can be effectively exploited to enhance the already-existing ZnO properties and introduce completely new functionalities in the doped material. Herein, we propose a novel synthetic approach for iron-doped ZnO (Fe:ZnO) NPs as a multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform aimed at cancer cell treatment. Pure ZnO and Fe:ZnO NPs, with two different levels of iron doping, were synthesized by a rapid wet-chemical method and analyzed in terms of morphology, crystal structure and chemical composition. Interestingly, Fe:ZnO NPs featured bioimaging potentialities thanks to superior optical properties and novel magnetic responsiveness. Moreover, iron doping provides a way to enhance the electromechanical behavior of the NPs, which are then expected to show enhanced therapeutic functionalities. Finally, the intrinsic therapeutic potentialities of the NPs were tested in terms of cytotoxicity and cellular uptake with both healthy B lymphocytes and cancerous Burkitt's lymphoma cells. Furthermore, their biocompatibility was tested with a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cell line (BxPC-3), where the novel properties of the proposed iron-doped ZnO NPs can be potentially exploited for theranostics.

The Use of Alternative Strategies for Enhanced Nanoparticle Delivery to Solid Tumors

Nanomaterial (NM) delivery to solid tumors has been the focus of intense research for over a decade. Classically, scientists have tried to improve NM delivery by employing passive or active targeting strategies, making use of the so-called enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. This phenomenon is made possible due to the leaky tumor vasculature through which NMs can leave the bloodstream, traverse through the gaps in the endothelial lining of the vessels, and enter the tumor. Recent studies have shown that despite many efforts to employ the EPR effect, this process remains very poor. Furthermore, the role of the EPR effect has been called into question, where it has been suggested that NMs enter the tumor via active mechanisms and not through the endothelial gaps. In this review, we provide a short overview of the EPR and mechanisms to enhance it, after which we focus on alternative delivery strategies that do not solely rely on EPR in itself but can offer interesting pharmacological, physical, and biological solutions for enhanced delivery. We discuss the strengths and shortcomings of these different strategies and suggest combinatorial approaches as the ideal path forward.

Interaction of Ras Binding Domain (RBD) by chemotherapeutic zinc oxide nanoparticles: Progress towards RAS pathway protein interference

Zinc oxide (ZnO) NP is considered as a nanoscale chemotherapeutic. Thus, the drug delivery of this inorganic NP is of considerable importance. Ras mutations are common in cancer and the activation of this signaling pathway is a hallmark in carcinoma, melanoma and many other aggressive malignancies. Thus, here we examined the binding and delivery of Ras binding domain (RBD), a model cancer-relevant protein and effector of Ras by ZnO NP. Shifts in zeta potential in water, PBS, DMEM and DMEM supplemented with FBS supported NP interaction to RBD. Fluorescence quenching of the NP was concentration-dependent for RBD, Stern-Volmer analysis of this data was used to estimate binding strength which was significant for ZnO-RBD (Kd < 10-5). ZnO NP interaction to RBD was further confirmed by pull-down assay demonstrated by SDS-PAGE analysis. The ability of ZnO NP to inhibit 3-D tumor spheroid was demonstrated in HeLa cell spheroids-the ZnO NP breaking apart these structures revealing a significant (>50%) zone of killing as shown by light and fluorescence microscopy after intra-vital staining. ZnO 100 nm was superior to ZnO 14 nm in terms of anticancer activity. When bound to ZnO NP, the anticancer activity of RBD was enhanced. These data indicate the potential diagnostic application or therapeutic activity of RBD-NP complexes in vivo which demands further investigation.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles: A comprehensive review on its synthesis, anticancer and drug delivery applications as well as health risks

In recent years, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) emerged as an excellent candidate in the field of optical, electrical, food packaging and particularly in biomedical research. ZnONPs show cancer cell specific toxicity via the pH-dependent (low pH) dissolution into Zn²⁺ ions, which generate reactive oxygen species and induce cytotoxicity in cancer cells. Further, ZnONPs have also been used as an effective carrier for the targeted delivery of several anticancer drugs into tumor cells. The increasing focus on ZnONPs resulted in the development of various synthesis approaches including chemical, pHysical, and green or biological for the manufacturing of ZnONPs. In this article, at first we have discussed the various synthesis methods of ZnONPs and secondly its biomedical applications. We have extensively reviewed the anticancer mechanism of ZnONPs on different types of cancers considering its size, shape and surface charge dependent cytotoxicity. Photoirradiation with UV light or NIR laser further increase its anticancer activity via synergistic chemo-photodynamic effect. The drug delivery applications of ZnONPs with special emphasis on drug loading mechanism, stimuli-responsive controlled release and therapeutic effects have also been discussed in this review. Finally, its side effects to vital body organs with mechanism via different exposure routes, the future direction of the ZnONPs research and application are also discussed.

Understanding Nanoparticle Toxicity to Direct a Safe-by-Design Approach in Cancer Nanomedicine

Nanomedicine is a rapidly growing field that uses nanomaterials for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of various diseases, including cancer. Various biocompatible nanoplatforms with diversified capabilities for tumor targeting, imaging, and therapy have materialized to yield individualized therapy. However, due to their unique properties brought about by their small size, safety concerns have emerged as their physicochemical properties can lead to altered pharmacokinetics, with the potential to cross biological barriers. In addition, the intrinsic toxicity of some of the inorganic materials (i.e., heavy metals) and their ability to accumulate and persist in the human body has been a challenge to their translation. Successful clinical translation of these nanoparticles is heavily dependent on their stability, circulation time, access and bioavailability to disease sites, and their safety profile. This review covers preclinical and clinical inorganic-nanoparticle based nanomaterial utilized for cancer imaging and therapeutics. A special emphasis is put on the rational design to develop non-toxic/safe inorganic nanoparticle constructs to increase their viability as translatable nanomedicine for cancer therapies.

Predicting Cytotoxicity of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles using Isalos Analytics Platform

A literature curated dataset containing 24 distinct metal oxide (MexOy) nanoparticles (NPs), including 15 physicochemical, structural and assay-related descriptors, was enriched with 62 atomistic computational descriptors and exploited to produce a robust and validated in silico model for prediction of NP cytotoxicity. The model can be used to predict the cytotoxicity (cell viability) of MexOy NPs based on the colorimetric lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay and the luminometric adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay, both of which quantify irreversible cell membrane damage. Out of the 77 total descriptors used, 7 were identified as being significant for induction of cytotoxicity by MexOy NPs. These were NP core size, hydrodynamic size, assay type, exposure dose, the energy of the MexOy conduction band (EC), the coordination number of the metal atoms on the NP surface (Avg. C.N. Me atoms surface) and the average force vector surface normal component of all metal atoms (v⟂ Me atoms surface). The significance and effect of these descriptors is discussed to demonstrate their direct correlation with cytotoxicity. The produced model has been made publicly available by the Horizon 2020 (H2020) NanoSolveIT project and will be added to the project's Integrated Approach to Testing and Assessment (IATA).

Role of inorganic nanoparticle degradation in cancer therapy

Nanomaterials are currently widely exploited for their potential in the development of novel cancer therapies, and so far, mainly nanoparticles (NPs) consisting of liposomes and polymers have made their way into the clinic. However, major bottlenecks for the clinical translation of other types of NPs (i.e. inorganic) are the lack of knowledge concerning their long-term distribution in vivo and their potential toxicity. To counter this, various research groups have worked on soluble NPs, such as zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO), and silver (Ag), which tend to dissolve spontaneously into their ionic form, releasing toxic metal ions and leading to reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation when exposed to cellular environments. By fine-tuning the dissolution kinetics of these NPs, it is possible to control the level of ROS production and thus cytotoxicity to selectively destroy tumor tissue. Specifically, cancer cells tend to exhibit a higher basal level of oxidative stress compared to normal cells due to their higher metabolic rates, and therefore, by engineering NPs that generate sufficient ROS that barely exceed toxic thresholds in cancer cells, normal cells will only experience reversible transient damage. This review focuses on the use of these soluble inorganic NPs for selective cancer therapy and on the various in vitro and in vivo studies that have aimed to control the dissolution kinetics of these NPs, either through particle doping or surface modifications.

Doped Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Potential Use in Nanomedicine

Smart nanoparticles for medical applications have gathered considerable attention due to an improved biocompatibility and multifunctional properties useful in several applications, including advanced drug delivery systems, nanotheranostics and in vivo imaging. Among nanomaterials, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were deeply investigated due to their peculiar physical and chemical properties. The large surface to volume ratio, coupled with a reduced size, antimicrobial activity, photocatalytic and semiconducting properties, allowed the use of ZnO NPs as anticancer drugs in new generation physical therapies, nanoantibiotics and osteoinductive agents for bone tissue regeneration. However, ZnO NPs also show a limited stability in biological environments and unpredictable cytotoxic effects thereof. To overcome the abovementioned limitations and further extend the use of ZnO NPs in nanomedicine, doping seems to represent a promising solution. This review covers the main achievements in the use of doped ZnO NPs for nanomedicine applications. Sol-gel, as well as hydrothermal and combustion methods are largely employed to prepare ZnO NPs doped with rare earth and transition metal elements. For both dopant typologies, biomedical applications were demonstrated, such as enhanced antimicrobial activities and contrast imaging properties, along with an improved biocompatibility and stability of the colloidal ZnO NPs in biological media. The obtained results confirm that the doping of ZnO NPs represents a valuable tool to improve the corresponding biomedical properties with respect to the undoped counterpart, and also suggest that a new application of ZnO NPs in nanomedicine can be envisioned.

NanoSolveIT Project: Driving nanoinformatics research to develop innovative and integrated tools for in silico nanosafety assessment

Nanotechnology has enabled the discovery of a multitude of novel materials exhibiting unique physicochemical (PChem) properties compared to their bulk analogues. These properties have led to a rapidly increasing range of commercial applications; this, however, may come at a cost, if an association to long-term health and environmental risks is discovered or even just perceived. Many nanomaterials (NMs) have not yet had their potential adverse biological effects fully assessed, due to costs and time constraints associated with the experimental assessment, frequently involving animals. Here, the available NM libraries are analyzed for their suitability for integration with novel nanoinformatics approaches and for the development of NM specific Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATA) for human and environmental risk assessment, all within the NanoSolveIT cloud-platform. These established and well-characterized NM libraries (e.g. NanoMILE, NanoSolutions, NANoREG, NanoFASE, caLIBRAte, NanoTEST and the Nanomaterial Registry (>2000 NMs)) contain physicochemical characterization data as well as data for several relevant biological endpoints, assessed in part using harmonized Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) methods and test guidelines. Integration of such extensive NM information sources with the latest nanoinformatics methods will allow NanoSolveIT to model the relationships between NM structure (morphology), properties and their adverse effects and to predict the effects of other NMs for which less data is available. The project specifically addresses the needs of regulatory agencies and industry to effectively and rapidly evaluate the exposure, NM hazard and risk from nanomaterials and nano-enabled products, enabling implementation of computational 'safe-by-design' approaches to facilitate NM commercialization.

Translating Nanomedicine to Comparative Oncology-the Case for Combining Zinc Oxide Nanomaterials with Nucleic Acid Therapeutic and Protein Delivery for Treating Metastatic Cancer

The unique anticancer, biochemical, and immunologic properties of nanomaterials are becoming a new tool in biomedical research. Their translation into the clinic promises a new wave of targeted therapies. One nanomaterial of particular interest are zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs), which has distinct mechanisms of anticancer activity including unique surface, induction of reactive oxygen species, lipid oxidation, pH, and also ionic gradients within cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment. It is recognized that ZnO NPs can serve as a direct enzyme inhibitor. Significantly, ZnO NPs inhibit extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and protein kinase B (AKT) associated with melanoma progression, drug resistance, and metastasis. Indeed, direct intratumoral injection of ZnO NPs or a complex of ZnO with RNA significantly suppresses ERK and AKT phosphorylation. These data suggest ZnO NPs and their complexes or conjugates with nucleic acid therapeutic or anticancer protein may represent a potential new strategy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, and potentially other cancers. This review focuses on the anticancer mechanisms of ZnO NPs and what is currently known about its biochemical effects on melanoma, biologic activity, and pharmacokinetics in rodents and its potential for translation into large animal, spontaneously developing models of melanoma and other cancers, which represent models of comparative oncology.

Dissolution of Complex Metal Oxides from First-Principles and Thermodynamics: Cation Removal from the (001) Surface of Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2

The rapid increase in use of Li-ion batteries in portable electronics has created a pressing need to understand the environmental impact and long-term fate of electonic waste (e-waste) products such as heavy and/or reactive metals. The type of e-waste that we focus on here are the complex metal oxide nanomaterials that compose Li-ion battery cathodes. While in operation the complex metal oxides are in a hermetically sealed container. However, at the end of life, improper disposal can cause structural transformations such as dissolution and metal leaching, resulting in a significant exposure risk to the surrounding environment. The transformations that occur between operational to environmental settings gives rise to a stark knowledge gap between macroscopic design and molecular-level behavior. In this study we use theory and modeling to describe and explain previously published experimental data for cation release from Li(Ni_1/3Mn_1/3Co_1/3)O₂ (NMC) nanoparticles in an aqueous environment ( Chem. Mater. 2016 (28) 1092-1100). To better understand the transformations that may occur when this material is exposed to the environment, we compute the free energy of surface dissolution, Δ G, from the complex metal oxide NMC for a range of surface terminations and pH.

A Magnetic Chameleon: Biocompatible Lanthanide Fluoride Nanoparticles with Magnetic Field Dependent Tunable Contrast Properties as a Versatile Contrast Agent for Low to Ultrahigh Field MRI and Optical Imaging in Biological Window

A novel type of multimodal, magnetic resonance imaging/optical imaging (MRI/OI) contrast agent was developed, based on core-shell lanthanide fluoride nanoparticles composed of a β-NaHoF4 core plus a β-NaGdF4:Yb³⁺ , Tm³⁺ shell with an average size of ∼24 nm. The biocompatibility of the particles was ensured by a surface modification with poly acrylic acid (PAA) and further functionalization with an affinity ligand, folic acid (FA). When excited using 980 nm near infrared (NIR) radiation, the contrast agent (CA) shows intense emission at 802 nm with lifetime of 791±3 μs, due to the transition ³ H₄ →³ H₆ of Tm³⁺ . Proton nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (¹ H-NMRD) studies and magnetic resonance (MR) phantom imaging showed that the newly synthesized nanoparticles, decorated with poly(acrylic acid) and folic acid on the surface (NP-PAA-FA), can act mainly as a T₁ -weighted contrast agent below 1.5 T, a T₁ /T₂ dual-weighted contrast agent at 3 T, and as highly efficient T₂ -weighted contrast agent at ultrahigh fields. In addition, NP-PAA-FA showed very low cytotoxicity and no detectable cellular damage up to a dose of 500 μg mL^-1 .

Tailoring of physicochemical properties of nanocarriers for effective anti-cancer applications

Nanotechnology has emerged strongly as a viable option to overcome the challenge of early diagnosis and effective drug delivery, for cancer treatment. Emerging research articles have expounded the advantages of using a specific type of nanomaterial-based system called as "nanocarriers," for anti-cancer therapy. The nanocarrier system is used as a transport unit for targeted drug delivery of the therapeutic drug moiety. In order for the nanocarriers to be effective for anticancer therapy, their physicochemical parameter needs to be tuned so that bio-functionalisation can be achieved to (1) allow drugs being attached to the substrate and for their controlled release, (2) ensure the stability of the nanocarrier up to the point of delivery, and (3) clearance of the nanocarrier after the delivery. It is therefore envisaged that tailoring of the physicochemical properties of nanocarriers can greatly influence their reactivity and interaction in the biological milieu, and this is becoming an important parameter for increasing the efficacy of cancer therapy. This review emphasizes the importance of physicochemical properties of nanocarriers, and how they influence its usage as chemotherapeutic drug carriers. The goal of this review is to present a correlation between the physicochemical properties of the nanocarriers and its intended action, and how their design based on these properties can enhance their cancer combating abilities while minimizing damage to the healthy tissues. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 2906-2928, 2017.