Green Nanocarriers for Targeted Drug Delivery: Sustainable Chemistry, Design, and Translation

ABSTRACT

Green nanocarriers are increasingly being developed to reconcile targeted drug delivery with safer materials and more sustainable manufacturing. This review evaluates green nanocarrier design, fabrication, stability, biodegradation, toxicity, scalability, regulatory considerations, and translational potential across solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, liposomes, phytoliposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, and bioinspired vesicles. Emphasis is placed on biodegradable and renewable excipients, plant‐ and enzyme‐mediated synthesis, aqueous nanoprecipitation, supercritical carbon dioxide processing, and solvent‐minimized or solvent‐free methods. The review also examines passive and active targeting, stimuli‐responsive release, natural biomolecule functionalization, and applications in cancer, cardiovascular, infectious, inflammatory, neurological, and metabolic disorders. Green approaches can reduce hazardous solvent use and environmental burden while retaining the drug‐loading, protection, and targeting functions required for effective nanomedicine. Remaining barriers include batch reproducibility, long‐term stability, standardized nanotoxicology, scale‐up, and regulatory harmonization. Integrating quality by design and data‐driven formulation tools may help bridge laboratory development with clinically and industrially viable sustainable nanomedicines.