Smart Nanoparticles for Chemo-Based Combinational Therapy

Abstract

Cancer is a heterogeneous and complex disease. Traditional cancer therapy is associated with low therapeutic index, acquired resistance, and various adverse effects. With the increasing understanding of cancer biology and technology advancements, more strategies have been exploited to optimize the therapeutic outcomes. The rapid development and application of nanomedicine have motivated this progress. Combinational regimen, for instance, has become an indispensable approach for effective cancer treatment, including the combination of chemotherapeutic agents, chemo-energy, chemo-gene, chemo-small molecules, and chemo-immunology. Additionally, smart nanoplatforms that respond to external stimuli (such as light, temperature, ultrasound, and magnetic field), and/or to internal stimuli (such as changes in pH, enzymes, hypoxia, and redox) have been extensively investigated to improve precision therapy. Smart nanoplatforms for combinational therapy have demonstrated the potential to be the next generation cancer treatment regimen. This review aims to highlight the recent advances in smart combinational therapy.

Recent advances in drug delivery systems for targeting brain tumors

“…The chemotherapy drugs have a limit in specificity targeting the tissue, which may lead to the obvious toxic and side effects, and MDR. Therefore, the combination of two or more chemotherapeutic drugs with different mechanisms is the most commonly used strategy (Shrestha et al., 2021 ).…”

Application of Nanoparticles in Tumour Targeted Drug Delivery and Vaccine

“…It contains a large number of interstitial cells and immune cells and is an environment in which tumour cells depend on for survival (Schulz et al, 2019). Smart nanodrug delivery platforms utilize the internal phenomena of the TEM [e.g., low pH (Bener et al, 2020), overexpressed enzymes (Liu et al, 2017), and hyperthermia] or external stimuli (e.g., light, heat, and magnetic fields) to control the release of drugs (Shrestha et al, 2021). pHresponsive nano-formulations use pH changes to cause conformational or solubility changes, charge reversal, and chemical bond cleavage.…”

Theranostic inorganic–organic hybrid nanoparticles with a cocktail of chemotherapeutic and cytostatic drugs

“…Examples of the most common chemotherapeutic agents that are used alone or in combination are doxorubicin (DOX), paclitaxel (PTX), camptothecin (CPT), methotrexate (MTX), and curcumin. 9…”