Nanocarrier Based Drug Delivery: Advances from Oncology and Infectious Diseases to Herbal Therapeutics

Nanomedicine is a field that involves the engineering of materials in the 1-100 nm range to enhance diagnostics, therapeutics, and prevention in clinical applications. This review summarizes the current state of nanocarrier platforms, such as liposomes, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), dendrimers, polymeric and inorganic nanoparticles, exosomes, and the traditional Ayurveda bhasmas, and reviews their uses in oncology, infectious disease, central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics, cardiovascular theranostics, genetic therapies, and phytochemical drug formulations. In oncology, liposome and LNP-based formulations reduce the systemic toxicity and enhance the targeting of the tumor by increased permeability and retention; dendrimer-based platforms are more multivalent but largely investigational. In infectious diseases, nanocarriers have the advantage of overcoming antimicrobial resistance by targeting antibiotics to infection foci and delivering vaccines. CNS nanoparticle delivery exploits receptor-mediated and adsorptive-mediated transcytosis, along with focused ultrasound and osmotic disruption, to cross the blood-brain barrier, enabling treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, glioblastoma, and Parkinson’s disease. Cardiovascular theranostics combine a sensor and site-responsive drug delivery to both identify and treat plaque, but most are still only in preclinical or early clinical development. LNP-based genetic therapies with siRNA and the next generation of CRISPRCas9 dendrimer-based vehicles demonstrate strong in vivo gene modification. Phytosome, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsions-mediated phytochemical delivery enhance bioavailability 18-fold, and green-synthesized metallic nanoparticles and ayurvedic bhasmas reassert ancient solutions with conventional nanoscale description. In the future, it will be essential to consider biocompatibility, large-scale manufacturing, and transparent regulation pathways when looking to bring these nanosystems into standard clinical practice.