Updated Advances on Drugs and Bone-Targeting Nanoparticles for Osteoporosis Therapy: Carrier Materials, Modification, Function Mechanism, and Applications—A Systematic Review

Background: Osteoporosis is one of the most common bone metabolic diseases that affects mainly the health of elderly people. It is a kind of prevalent chronic disease, and the conventional treatment methods have some limitations or side effects. Targeting nanoparticles represent a novel technology that has garnered extensive attention in recent years. They can selectively enhance the drug concentration at the targeted site, offering a novel treatment method. Methods: The review is carried out according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA 2020) guidelines. Results: This article comprehensively summarizes recent research progress on the status of existing anti-osteoporosis drugs and bone-targeting nanoparticles for the treatment of osteoporosis, including their carrier materials, modification techniques, preparation methods, and function mechanisms. It also discusses their applications in RNA interference (RNAi) therapy and other related areas. Furthermore, given the limitations of bone-targeting nanoparticles, solutions and viewpoints have been proposed. This review summarizes that bone-targeting nanoparticles are useful for osteoporosis therapy and provide a novel perspective for new drug discovery. Conclusions: Bone-targeting nanoparticles overcome the limitations of traditional treatment methods and enhance therapeutic efficacy. However, the clinical translation of bone-targeted nanoparticles remains challenging and requires further investigation.