Inulin for Cancer Therapy: Present and Perspectives

Abstract

Inulin is an extremely adaptable polysaccharides consisting of glucopyranose end-capped (β-1,2) fructose repeating units and, as it is, can be classified as an inherently multifunctional polymeric scaffold. It may be further functionalized employing mild conditions to give rise desired biological and physicochemical properties exploitable for targeted anticancer applications (e.g., active targeting toward specific cytotypes, self-assembling behavior, selective cytoxicity and hyperthermia features). In this review, the main chemical features and the inulin derivatives applications in the field of targeted anticancer therapy is reported and discussed