Surface functionalized niosomal nanocarriers as targeted drug/gene delivery systems for cancer treatment

Among various treatment modalities for cancer, chemotherapy remains one of the most widely used and clinically validated approaches to inhibit the rapid proliferation of cancer cells. However, its application is often limited by systemic toxicity, non-specific targeting, and drug resistance. Similarly, gene therapy holds significant promise for cancer management, yet challenges such as rapid degradation, immune clearance, and poor site-specific delivery have hindered its widespread clinical adoption. The integration of nanocarrier-based delivery systems, particularly niosomes, offers a promising strategy to overcome these limitations by enhancing drug/gene stability, targeting efficiency, and controlled release profiles. Utilizing nanoparticles to overcome the problems associated with drugs and gene delivery is a promising strategy. In the last decade, the application of niosome in drug and gene delivery for treating many kinds of cancers has obtained remarkable attention. Niosomes, as non-ionic surfactant-based vesicle with less toxicity, non-immunogenic activity, low cost, ease of surface modifications, and high capacity for loading hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, have been widely used for therapeutic agents. Besides, niosomal surface modifications can provide promising targeted delivery vehicles as therapeutic molecules can be delivered to the target site with a lower dose than is administered in conventional chemotherapy, with desired efficacy on tumor cells. Controlled drug release, via encapsulated therapeutic molecules into noisome, provides a sustainable release and ultimately leads to better therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, niosome as a carrier for chemotherapeutic drugs and genes seems to be a suitable nano-carrier candidate in cancer treatment. The current review commences with an introduction about the limitations of using gene delivery and chemotherapy, and then introduces the use of different nanoparticles, such as noisome, to overcome the obstacles. It further elaborates on the structure of noisome and the advantages of surface functionalization for improving its efficacy in drug and gene delivery. Finally, the most recent advancements in applying functionalized niosome for the delivery of anticancer agents to tumor cells have been elaborated. Expert opinion and prospects toward the design and development of better nano-niosomal-based platforms for cancer management are also provided.