Self-assembling biomaterials as nanocarriers for the targeted delivery of drugs for cancer

Cancer is still a leading cause of death in the world. Nanotechnology has emerged as a powerful tool for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer that can overcome and complement other current therapies: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, etc. In this chapter, we seek to highlight the recent progress made in the area of targeted self-assembling nanomaterials to treat the disease. Because of the extensive literature available on this topic, only examples of organic self-assembling materials reported recently will be described, including polymers, DNA, RNA, and peptide-based materials. The chapter has subdivisions exemplifying the targets that have been most commonly explored by scientists and the targeting elements that have been shown to achieve preferential binding to them. The last section highlights some of the progress made until now and the challenges that need to be overcome to take targeting self-assembling materials from the benchtop to the bedside.