Drug repurpose or reposition is recently recognized as a high-performance strategy for developing therapeutic agents for cancer treatment. This approach can significantly reduce the risk of failure, shorten R&D time, and minimize cost and regulatory obstacles. On the other hand, nanotechnology-based delivery systems are extensively investigated in cancer therapy due to their remarkable ability to overcome drug delivery challenges, enhance tumor specific targeting, and reduce toxic side effects. With increasing knowledge accumulated over the past decades, nanoparticle formulation and delivery have opened up a new avenue for repurposing drugs and demonstrated promising results in advanced cancer therapy. In this review, recent developments in nano-delivery and formulation systems based on soft (i.e., DNA nanocages, nanogels, and dendrimers) and condensed (i.e., noble metal nanoparticles and metal-organic frameworks) nanomaterials, as well as their theranostic applications in drug repurpose against cancer are summarized.
Keywords: drug delivery; metal–organic framework; nanomedicine; repurpose; tumor targeting.