Polysaccharides carrier as oral colon-specific drug delivery for colon cancer treatment
Nafisah Musa, Nagla A. Layas, Nur Zahirah Mohamad Zin
Abstract
• Colon Cancer Challenges: Effective and targeted treatment strategies are essential, particularly for oral colon-specific drug delivery systems to improve therapeutic outcomes. • Advantages of Polysaccharide Carriers: The ability of polysaccharides such as chitosan, pectin, and alginate to protect drugs from enzymatic degradation and their biocompatibility make them suitable for addressing the challenges of traditional chemotherapy. • Mechanisms of Drug Delivery: Various strategies for oral colon-specific drug delivery are discussed, including pH-dependent, time-dependent, pressure-dependent, and microflora-activated systems to optimize drug release specifically in the colon and minimizing systemic side effects. • Nanoparticle-Based Advancements: The role of nanoparticles in enhancing drug stability, bioavailability, and targeted delivery to colon tumors. The incorporation of ligands like folic acid further improves the specificity and therapeutic efficacy of these drug delivery systems. • Future Directions: The advancements in polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems, coupled with a deeper understanding of colon-specific mechanisms, have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of colon cancer by enabling more precise and effective therapies. Colon cancer is the third highest incidence in cancer mortality in both sexes combined and a total of 639,000 deaths are reported worldwide each year. Typical chemotherapy is provided by injection route to reduce tumor growth and metastasis. In comparison to injection, oral administration of drugs in the form of a colon-specific delivery system is expected to increase drug bioavailability at target site, reduce drug dose and systemic adverse effects. Polysaccharides are suitable for use as matrix and/or coat material can protect drugs from chemical and enzymatic degradation concerning oral delivery. This present review gives an overview on application of chitosan, pectin, and alginate with respect to their use as drug carrier for oral colon cancer treatment.