Strategies for engineering biomimetic lipoproteins to improve drug delivery efficiency and tumor therapy

Cancer treatment remains limited by key challenges, including poor drug biodistribution, restricted tumor penetration, and severe systemic toxicity. Lipoprotein nanoparticles (LPNs) have emerged as promising platforms for drug delivery, addressing these obstacles. Their inherent biocompatibility, small size, and natural ability to interact with specific cellular receptors make them ideal candidates for targeted cancer therapy. This review presents recent advances in the design of LPNs to improve the precision and efficiency of anti-tumor drug delivery. We investigate how these smart nanoparticles enhance the therapeutic performance of three primary treatment modalities: chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and emerging nucleic acid-based therapies. This comprehensive review summarizes current strategies in the field and offers forward-looking insights into future innovations in LPN drug delivery systems (DDSs) for cancer therapy.