Nanoparticles can target cancer cells through two primary mechanisms: passive and active targeting.
- Passive targeting takes advantage of the Enhanced Permeability and Retention (EPR) effect, which is a characteristic of tumor vasculature that allows nanoparticles to accumulate in tumor tissue more than in normal tissues. - Active targeting involves functionalizing nanoparticles with ligands or antibodies that specifically bind to receptors overexpressed on cancer cells, thus enhancing the specificity and uptake of the therapeutic agents.
