Cancer Nanopharmaceuticals: Physicochemical Characterization and In Vitro/In Vivo Applications

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The use of nanopharmaceuticals in chemotherapeutic regimens has become a promising approach for the treatment of most of the demanding types of cancers. Their in-depth physicochemical characterization plays an instrumental role in the quality control of a promising new medicine. The combined function of diagnosis and therapy in the same nanopharmaceuticals created the so-called nanotheragnostics, which have found a broad range of applications in this field. This review addresses the state of the art on the use of nanopharmaceuticals in cancer therapy and the latest challenges encountered in regulating these new medicines. ABSTRACT: Physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and biopharmaceutical characterization tools play a key role in the assessment of nanopharmaceuticals’ potential imaging analysis and for site-specific delivery of anti-cancers to neoplastic cells/tissues. If diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches are combined in one single nanoparticle, a new platform called nanotheragnostics is generated. Several analytical technologies allow us to characterize nanopharmaceuticals and nanoparticles and their properties so that they can be properly used in cancer therapy. This paper describes the role of multifunctional nanoparticles in cancer diagnosis and treatment, describing how nanotheragnostics can be useful in modern chemotherapy, and finally, the challenges associated with the commercialization of nanoparticles for cancer therapy.