In this article, advances in designing polymeric nanoparticles for targeted cancer gene therapy are reviewed. Characterization and evaluation of biomaterials, targeting ligands, and transcriptional elements are each discussed. Advances in biomaterials have driven improvements to nanoparticle stability and tissue targeting, conjugation of ligands to the surface of polymeric nanoparticles enable binding to specific cancer cells, and the design of transcriptional elements has enabled selective DNA expression specific to the cancer cells. Together, these features have improved the performance of polymeric nanoparticles as targeted non-viral gene delivery vectors to treat cancer. As polymeric nanoparticles can be designed to be biodegradable, non-toxic, and to have reduced immunogenicity and tumorigenicity compared to viral platforms, they have significant potential for clinical use. Results of polymeric gene therapy in clinical trials and future directions for the engineering of nanoparticle systems for targeted cancer gene therapy are also presented.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
14
14%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
11
11%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
10
10%
Materials Science
7
7%
Engineering
6
6%
Other
21
21%
Unknown
31
31%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 7. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 02 June 2026.
All research outputs
#5,917,936
of 30,720,210 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Drug Targeting
#134
of 1,048 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#59,899
of 291,388 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Drug Targeting
#2
of 11 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 30,720,210 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 79th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,048 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 4.1. This one has done well, scoring higher than 85% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 291,388 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 78% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 11 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 72% of its contemporaries.
