scholarly journals Smart Nanocarriers as an Emerging Platform for Cancer Therapy: A Review

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Madhuchandra Kenchegowda ◽  
Mohamed Rahamathulla ◽  
Umme Hani ◽  
Mohammed Y. Begum ◽  
Sagar Guruswamy ◽  
...  

Cancer is a group of disorders characterized by uncontrolled cell growth that affects around 11 million people each year globally. Nanocarrier-based systems are extensively used in cancer imaging, diagnostics as well as therapeutics; owing to their promising features and potential to augment therapeutic efficacy. The focal point of research remains to develop new-fangled smart nanocarriers that can selectively respond to cancer-specific conditions and deliver medications to target cells efficiently. Nanocarriers deliver loaded therapeutic cargos to the tumour site either in a passive or active mode, with the least drug elimination from the drug delivery systems. This review chiefly focuses on current advances allied to smart nanocarriers such as dendrimers, liposomes, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, quantum dots, micelles, superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, to list a few. Exhaustive discussion on crucial topics like drug targeting, surface decorated smart-nanocarriers and stimuli-responsive cancer nanotherapeutics responding to temperature, enzyme, pH and redox stimuli have been covered.

MRS Bulletin ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 665-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Jérôme

Extensive research activity is currently devoted to controlled drug delivery systems, mainly as nano-sized particles. Although biocompatible and (bio)degradable polymers play a key role in this field, their shaping into colloidal particles (e.g., polymeric micelles and nanoparticles) usually requires the proper design of amphiphilic copolymers as effective stabilizers. Strategies for synthesizing these copolymers that preserve the intrinsic properties of the constitutive polymers are discussed in this article. Synthesis of amphiphilic copolymers with a more complex structure and endowed with functionality is also considered, with the purpose of enhancing the performance of the nanocarriers. The focus is increasingly on nanocarriers of the third generation, which resist coalescence and elimination by the immune system, and which are readily incorporated into chosen target cells. The more recent quest is for smart nanocarriers that exhibit the additional capacity of being stimuli-responsive.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 1001-1016
Author(s):  
Sandra Ramírez-Rave ◽  
María Josefa Bernad-Bernad ◽  
Jesús Gracia-Mora ◽  
Anatoly K. Yatsimirsky

Hybrid materials based on Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (MSN) have attracted plentiful attention due to the versatility of their chemistry, and the field of Drug Delivery Systems (DDS) is not an exception. MSN present desirable biocompatibility, high surface area values, and a well-studied surface reactivity for tailoring a vast diversity of chemical moieties. Particularly important for DDS applications is the use of external stimuli for drug release. In this context, light is an exceptional alternative due to its high degree of spatiotemporal precision and non-invasive character, and a large number of promising DDS based on photoswitchable properties of azobenzenes have been recently reported. This review covers the recent advances in design of DDS using light as an external stimulus mostly based on literature published within last years with an emphasis on usually overlooked underlying chemistry, photophysical properties, and supramolecular complexation of azobenzenes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srividya Gorantla ◽  
Tejashree Waghule ◽  
Vamshi Krishna Rapalli ◽  
Prem Prakash Singh ◽  
Sunil Kumar Dubey ◽  
...  

Hydrogels are aqueous gels composed of cross-linked networks of hydrophilic polymers. Stimuli-responsive based hydrogels have gained focus over the past 20 years for treating ophthalmic diseases. Different stimuli-responsive mechanisms are involved in forming polymer hydrogel networks, including change in temperature, pH, ions, and others including light, thrombin, pressure, antigen, and glucose-responsive. Incorporation of nanocarriers with these smart stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems that can extend the duration of action by increasing ocular bioavailability and reducing the dosing frequency. This review will focus on the hydrogel drug delivery systems highlighting the gelling mechanisms and emerging stimuli-responsive hydrogels from preformed gels, nanogels, and the role of advanced 3D printed hydrogels in vision-threatening diseases like age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. It also provides insight into the limitations of hydrogels along with the safety and biocompatibility of the hydrogel drug delivery systems.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Thashini Moodley ◽  
Moganavelli Singh

With increasing incidence and mortality rates, cancer remains one of the most devastating global non-communicable diseases. Restricted dosages and decreased bioavailability, often results in lower therapeutic outcomes, triggering the development of resistance to conventionally used drug/gene therapeutics. The development of novel therapeutic strategies using multimodal nanotechnology to enhance specificity, increase bioavailability and biostability of therapeutics with favorable outcomes is critical. Gated vectors that respond to endogenous or exogenous stimuli, and promote targeted tumor delivery without prematurely cargo loss are ideal. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are effective delivery systems for a variety of therapeutic agents in cancer therapy. MSNs possess a rigid framework and large surface area that can incorporate supramolecular constructs and varying metal species that allow for stimuli-responsive controlled release functions. Its high interior loading capacity can incorporate combination drug/gene therapeutic agents, conferring increased bioavailability and biostability of the therapeutic cargo. Significant advances in the engineering of MSNs structural and physiochemical characteristics have since seen the development of nanodevices with promising in vivo potential. In this review, current trends of multimodal MSNs being developed and their use in stimuli-responsive passive and active targeting in cancer therapy will be discussed, focusing on light, redox, pH, and temperature stimuli.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-50
Author(s):  
Hien Phan ◽  
Vincenzo Taresco ◽  
Jacques Penelle ◽  
Benoit Couturaud

Stimuli-responsive amphiphilic block copolymers obtained by PISA have emerged as promising nanocarriers for enhancing site-specific and on-demand drug release in response to a range of stimuli such as pH, redox agents, light or temperature.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Vallet-Regí

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are receiving growing attention by the scientific biomedical community. Among the different types of inorganic nanomaterials, mesoporous silica nanoparticles have emerged as promising multifunctional platforms for nanomedicine. Since their introduction in the drug delivery landscape in 2001, mesoporous materials for drug delivery are receiving growing scientific interest for their potential applications in the biotechnology and nanomedicine fields. The ceramic matrix efficiently protects entrapped guest molecules against enzymatic degradation or denaturation induced by pH and temperature as no swelling or porosity changes take place as a response to variations in the surrounding medium. It is possible to load huge amounts of cargo into the mesopore voids and capping the pore entrances with different nanogates. The application of a stimulus provokes the nanocap removal and triggers the departure of the cargo. This strategy permits the design of stimuli-responsive drug delivery nanodevices.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1285
Author(s):  
Louise Van Gheluwe ◽  
Igor Chourpa ◽  
Coline Gaigne ◽  
Emilie Munnier

Progress in recent years in the field of stimuli-responsive polymers, whose properties change depending on the intensity of a signal, permitted an increase in smart drug delivery systems (SDDS). SDDS have attracted the attention of the scientific community because they can help meet two current challenges of the pharmaceutical industry: targeted drug delivery and personalized medicine. Controlled release of the active ingredient can be achieved through various stimuli, among which are temperature, pH, redox potential or even enzymes. SDDS, hitherto explored mainly in oncology, are now developed in the fields of dermatology and cosmetics. They are mostly hydrogels or nanosystems, and the most-used stimuli are pH and temperature. This review offers an overview of polymer-based SDDS developed to trigger the release of active ingredients intended to treat skin conditions or pathologies. The methods used to attest to stimuli-responsiveness in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo are discussed.


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