title: pH-Sensitive stimulus-responsive nanocarriers for targeted delivery of therapeutic agents.
abstract: In recent years miscellaneous smart micro/nanosystems that respond to various exogenous/endogenous stimuli including temperature, magnetic/electric field, mechanical force, ultrasound/light irradiation, redox potentials, and biomolecule concentration have been developed for targeted delivery and release of encapsulated therapeutic agents such as drugs, genes, proteins, and metal ions specifically at their required site of action. Owing to physiological differences between malignant and normal cells, or between tumors and normal tissues, pH-sensitive nanosystems represent promising smart delivery vehicles for transport and delivery of anticancer agents. Furthermore, pH-sensitive systems possess applications in delivery of metal ions and biomolecules such as proteins, insulin, etc., as well as co-delivery of cargos, dual pH-sensitive nanocarriers, dual/multi stimuli-responsive nanosystems, and even in the search for new solutions for therapy of diseases such as Alzheimer's. In order to design an optimized system, it is necessary to understand the various pH-responsive micro/nanoparticles and the different mechanisms of pH-sensitive drug release. This should be accompanied by an assessment of the theoretical and practical challenges in the design and use of these carriers. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2016, 8:696-716. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1389 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.affiliation: Polymeric Materials Research Group, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eslami
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Parham
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sahandi-Zangabad
authors.affiliation: Polymeric Materials Research Group, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fereshteh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mirab
authors.affiliation: Polymeric Materials Research Group, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Negar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Farajisafiloo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell & Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shafaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran university of Medical science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Deepanjan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Central Branch of Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahnaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozorgomid
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran university of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fariba
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dashkhaneh
authors.affiliation: Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hamblin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers