title: Smart linkers in polymer-drug conjugates for tumor-targeted delivery.
abstract: To achieve effective chemotherapy, many types of drug delivery systems have been developed for the specific environments in tumor tissues. Polymer-drug conjugates are increasingly used in tumor therapy due to several significant advantages over traditional delivery systems. In the fabrication of polymer-drug conjugates, a smart linker is an important component that joins two fragments or molecules together and can be cleared by a specific stimulus, which results in targeted drug delivery and controlled release. By regulating the conjugation between the drug and the nanocarriers, stimulus-sensitive systems based on smart linkers can offer high payloads, certified stability, controlled release and targeted delivery. In this review, we summarize the current state of smart linkers (e.g. disulfide, hydrazone, peptide, azo) used recently in various polymer-drug conjugate-based delivery systems with a primary focus on their sophisticated design principles and drug delivery mechanisms as well as in vivo processes.
authors.affiliation: a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University , Jinan , China.
authors.forename: Minglu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University , Jinan , China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University , Jinan , China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University , Jinan , China.
authors.forename: Tiantian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University , Jinan , China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University , Jinan , China.
authors.forename: Guimei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University , Jinan , China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D011108:Polymers
keywords: Chemotherapy; controlled release; delivery system; nanomedicine; stimulus-sensitive