Advances in glycosylation-mediated cancer-targeted drug delivery

Targeted drug delivery for cancer therapy is expected to enhance therapeutic efficacy with minimized side effects, where the ligand-receptor recognition serves as a common targeting approach. Various ligands have been reported and carbohydrates, one of the crucial structures of tumor cell membranes, have been demonstrated effective for cell-selective binding. Hence, glycosylation-mediated cancer targeted drug nanocarriers have received increasing attention in recent years. This review surveys a variety of glycosylated drug delivery systems as well as their applications for cancer therapy. Their challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives are also discussed in the end.