Common chemotherapeutic drugs exhibit no specificity for cancer cells and destroy simultaneously healthy cells exhibiting high toxicity and reduced efficacy. The use of nanotechnology, especially of drug delivery systems to the size of the nanoscale, provides rational drug design solutions. Such nanomaterials may have a range of desired characteristics (lack of toxicity, response to certain characteristics of the cancer cells, antimicrobial properties, specific activity, etc.) in order to achieve targeted cancer therapy. In this chapter, polymeric systems with core-shell structure are synthesized, characterized, and studied as potent drug delivery devices for targeted cancer therapy. These polymeric systems are based on natural polysaccharides like cellulose, chitosan, and their derivatives, in combination with synthetic polymer. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) nanospheres are used as a core in order to coat the surface with multiple layers of polysaccharides via layer-by-layer deposition. This design is advantageous due to the use of water as the appropriate solvent. Fabricated polymeric carriers are characterized structurally by AT-IR spectroscopy and morphologically by transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, daunorubicin, an anticancer agent, was encapsulated as a drug model into the carriers.
Keywords: Cellulose; Chitosan; Drug delivery systems; Drug vehicles; Polysaccharides.