LAUSR

ABSTRACT Modern requirements for designing efficient nanocarriers against diseases such as cancer are very complex. A suitable nanocarrier should indeed remain colloidally stable in the body, be biodegradable, target specific tumor cells, and release efficiently drugs. These challenging tasks can be overcome by using the chemistry of saccharides and polysaccharides. We discuss here recent applications of carbohydrates‐based materials for providing biodegradability, enhancing contrast in bioimaging, a stealth effect for controlling the composition of protein corona, and targeting ability. Graphical abstract Figure. No caption available. HighlightsSugar‐based molecules can be used advantageously for designing nanocarriers for biomedicinePolysaccharide nanoparticles are biodegradable and display other specific advantages such as mucoadhesivityGlycopolymers and polysaccharides provide a stealth effect when they are present at the surface of nanoparticlesFunctionalization of nanocarriers is used for targeting glycan binding receptors that are overexpressed in tumor cells