title: Nanomedicines for advanced cancer treatments: Transitioning towards responsive systems.
abstract: The development of nanomedicines for the treatment of cancer focuses on the local targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to enhance drug efficacy and reduce adverse effects. The nanomedicines which are currently approved for clinical use are mainly successful in terms of improved bioavailability and tolerability but do not necessarily increase drug performance. Therefore, there is a need for improved drug carrier systems which are able to deliver high doses of anti-cancer drugs to the tumor. Stimuli responsive carriers are promising candidates since drug release can be triggered locally in the tumor via internal (i.e. pH, redox potential, metabolite or enzyme concentration) or external (i.e. heat, ultrasound, light, magnetic field) stimuli. This review summarizes the recent progress in the transition towards stimuli responsive nanomedicines (i.e. liposomes, polymeric micelles, nanogels and mesoporous silica nanoparticles) and other therapy modalities that are currently developed in the fight against cancer like the application of ultrasound, tumor normalization and phototherapy. Furthermore, the potential role of image guided drug delivery in the development of new nanomedicines and its clinical application is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Research Group, Dept. of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin 2, Ireland; Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin 2, Ireland; Advanced Materials Bio-engineering Research (AMBER) centre, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Merel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Elk
authors.affiliation: Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, TCD, Dublin 2, Ireland; AMBER centre, TCD, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Bruce P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Research Group, Dept. of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin 2, Ireland; Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin 2, Ireland; Advanced Materials Bio-engineering Research (AMBER) centre, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Tatiane
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eufrásio-da-Silva
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Research Group, Dept. of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin 2, Ireland; Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin 2, Ireland; Advanced Materials Bio-engineering Research (AMBER) centre, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht University, 3584 CG, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vermonden
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht University, 3584 CG, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wim E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Hennink
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Research Group, Dept. of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin 2, Ireland; Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin 2, Ireland; Advanced Materials Bio-engineering Research (AMBER) centre, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Garry P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Research Group, Dept. of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin 2, Ireland; Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin 2, Ireland; Advanced Materials Bio-engineering Research (AMBER) centre, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Pharmacy, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland. Electronic address: eduardorhernandez@rcsi.ie.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Hernández
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001682:Biological Availability; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers
keywords: Cancer; Drug delivery; Image guided therapies; Nanomedicine; Stimuli-responsive