Biotin-Targeted Drug Delivery Systems in Cancer Therapy
Summary
Biotin-targeted drug delivery harnesses the high affinity between biotin and its cellular transport machinery to enhance the precision of anticancer therapies. Many solid tumours overexpress the sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter, which recognises biotin as a ligand and mediates its uptake via receptor-mediated endocytosis. By conjugating biotin to a variety of nanoscale carriers—including polymeric micelles, dendrimers, liposomes and stimulus-responsive nanoparticles—researchers have achieved improved tumour accumulation, reduced off-target toxicity and controlled release profiles. Dual-targeting approaches further combine biotin with other ligands or pH-sensitive linkers to respond to the acidic microenvironment of tumours. Globally, these strategies promise to increase therapeutic indices, overcome multidrug resistance and pave the way for personalised oncological interventions.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Biotin-Targeted Drug Delivery Systems in Cancer Therapy publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in biotin-targeted drug delivery systems in cancer therapy across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT): A membrane protein that imports biotin and other vitamins into cells via an energy-dependent process.
Receptor-mediated endocytosis: A cellular internalisation mechanism in which ligands bound to cell-surface receptors are engulfed into vesicles.
Nanoparticle: A discrete, nanoscale carrier (typically 1–100 nm) engineered to transport therapeutic agents to specific tissues.
Micelle: A self-assembled, amphiphilic structure with a hydrophobic core for drug loading and hydrophilic shell for aqueous stability.
Dendrimer: A highly branched, tree-like polymer with multiple surface functional groups for drug conjugation and targeting ligand attachment.
References
- Single- versus Dual-Targeted Nanoparticles with Folic Acid and Biotin for Anticancer Drug Delivery. Pharmaceutics (2021).
- Biotin-Decorated PAMAM G4.5 Dendrimer Nanoparticles to Enhance the Delivery, Anti-Proliferative, and Apoptotic Effects of Chemotherapeutic Drug in Cancer Cells. Pharmaceutics (2020).
- Targeted delivery of quercetin by biotinylated mixed micelles for non-small cell lung cancer treatment. Drug Delivery (2022).
- Biotin conjugates in targeted drug delivery: is it mediated by a biotin transporter, a yet to be identified receptor, or (an)other unknown mechanism(s)?. Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry (2023).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.