Nanocarriers for platinum drug delivery

Platinum drugs have been coined as one of the great success representatives in cancer chemotherapy. With the accidental discovery of cisplatin, thousands of platinum-based complexes have been synthesized, including clinically approved classical platinum(II) (Pt(II)) drugs, non-classical Pt(II) drugs, and platinum(IV) (Pt(IV)) drugs. Currently, these drugs are widely utilized in the treatment of various solid tumors in the clinic. Unfortunately, systemic toxicity and innate or acquired drug resistance greatly restrict their applications. The nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems (NDDSs) offer the possibility of targeted delivery of platinum drugs to the tumor tissue with reduced toxicity and enhanced drug efficacy. Thus, in this review, inorganic and organic nanocarriers for platinum drug delivery are introduced. The significant improvements, future challenges, and prospects of the nanocarriers toward potential clinical application are briefly discussed.