Effects of Nanomaterials on Drug Co-encapsulation and Targeted Drug Delivery

Abstract

Porous nanocarriers have emerged as versatile platforms for overcoming key limitations of traditional drug delivery systems by enabling precise co-encapsulation of multiple therapeutics and highly selective tumor targeting. This review surveys three major categories of nanocarriers, such as lipid-based, polymeric, and inorganic architectures, and highlights representative strategies such as liposome-in-liposome concentrisomes, mesoporous lipid nanoparticles (MLNPs), polymer-gatekeeper hollow silica nanoparticles (PHMSNs), and pH-sensitive gold nanoclusters. The article discuss how co-loading hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents at fixed ratios enhances therapeutic synergy and bypasses multidrug resistance and how surface functionalization or environmental triggers drive tumor-specific accumulation. Key challenges including complex syntheses, high manufacturing costs, immune clearance, premature payload leakage, and regulatory hurdles are examined. Finally, the article outlines current limitations of multi-stage delivery architectures, insufficient deeper tumor penetration, and the absence of robust and scalable production frameworks. By integrating these advances, nanocarriers hold promise for more effective, patient-friendly therapies across oncology and beyond.