A review on the structural modification of polysaccharide biopolymers based on ligands conjugation toward improved anti-cancer activity and drug delivery

The consistent increment in cancer diseased condition among patients across the globe, necessitated vibrant, and dynamic research works targeted toward anti-cancer drugs investigation, formulation, and applications. Bio-based polymers or polysaccharide biopolymers (PBs) hold great promise in this regard, owing to their availability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. However, PBs numerous intermolecular hydrogen bonding, prevent flexibility and by extension limit their innate applications. This challenge is circumvented through their structural modifications. In this review we collated recent works on PBs modifications, based on ligands conjugations/attachments, to realize improved anti-cancer activity/enhancement of anti-cancer drugs delivery. Here we discussed PBs (quaternization, biotinylation, folic acid, aminobenzoic acid, boronic acid, amino acids, phenolic compounds, lipids, and dopamine) conjugation, aimed at imparting special functionality on the biopolymer chains. The attached moieties assist in the interaction of the modified PBs with cancer cells or with anti-cancer drugs and thus facilitate targeted anti-cancer drugs delivery. The mechanisms of the modification processes are discussed in detail, while the advantages, challenges, and the future-prospects on the subject matter were equally showcased. The review is deeply rich in critical insights on the subject matter and can thus serve as a reference material for ligands based PBs modification strategies and its applications in cancer therapeutics.