Stimuli-responsive cross-linked micelles for on-demand drug delivery against cancers.
Stimuli-responsive cross-linked micelles (SCMs) represent an ideal nanocarrier system for drug delivery against cancers. SCMs exhibit superior structural stability compared to their non-cross-linked counterpart. Therefore, these nanocarriers are able to minimize the premature drug release during blood circulation. The introduction of environmentally sensitive cross-linkers or assembly units makes SCMs responsive to single or multiple stimuli present in tumor local microenvironment or exogenously applied stimuli. In these instances, the payload drug is released almost exclusively in cancerous tissue or cancer cells upon accumulation via enhanced permeability and retention effect or receptor mediated endocytosis. In this review, we highlight recent advances in the development of SCMs for cancer therapy. We also introduce the latest biophysical techniques, such as electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), for the characterization of the interactions between SCMs and blood proteins.
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, UC Davis Cancer Center, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: liyuanpei@gmail.com.
Yuanpei
Y
Li
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, UC Davis Cancer Center, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
Kai
K
Xiao
Department of Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China.
Wei
W
Zhu
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, UC Davis Cancer Center, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
Wenbin
W
Deng
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, UC Davis Cancer Center, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: kit.lam@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
Kit S
KS
Lam
D000818:Animals; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D008823:Micelles; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
D008823:Micelles
Cross-link; Drug delivery; EPR spectroscopy; FRET; Micellar nanoparticles; Stimuli-response