Smart Nanostructures for Cargo Delivery: Uncaging and Activating by Light

Abstract

Nanotechnology has begun to play a remarkable role in various fields of science and technology. In biomedical applications, nanoparticles have opened new horizons, especially for biosensing, targeted delivery of therapeutics, and so forth. Among drug delivery systems (DDSs), smart nanocarriers that respond to specific stimuli in their environment represent a growing field. Nanoplatforms that can be activated by an external application of light can be used for a wide variety of photoactivated therapies, especially light-triggered DDSs, relying on photoisomerization, photo-cross-linking/un-cross-linking, photoreduction, and so forth. In addition, light activation has potential in photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, radiotherapy, protected delivery of bioactive moieties, anticancer drug delivery systems, and theranostics (i.e., real-time monitoring and tracking combined with a therapeutic action to different diseases sites and organs). Combinations of these approaches can lead to enhanced and synergistic therapies, employing light as a trigger or for activation. Nonlinear light absorption mechanisms such as two-photon absorption and photon upconversion have been employed in the design of light-responsive DDSs. The integration of a light stimulus into dual/multiresponsive nanocarriers can provide spatiotemporal controlled delivery and release of therapeutic agents, targeted and controlled nanosystems, combined delivery of two or more agents, their on-demand release under specific conditions, and so forth. Overall, light-activated nanomedicines and DDSs are expected to provide more effective therapies against serious diseases such as cancers, inflammation, infections, and cardiovascular disease with reduced side effects and will open new doors toward the treatment of patients worldwide.

NIR‐Triggered Crystal Phase Transformation of NiTi‐Layered Double Hydroxides Films for Localized Chemothermal Tumor Therapy

“…A lot of drug delivery systems have been developed to realize combination chemotherapy and photothermal ablation. For instance, chemical drugs were directly loaded in photothermal nanoparticles, such as gold,19, 20, 21, 22 sulfide,23, 24, 25, 26 graphene and graphene‐like materials,27, 28, 29, 30 Prussian blue;31, 32 or loaded in mesoporous silica, smart polymer, aptamer, and cleavable linkages etc. modified on the photothermal particles 33, 34.…”

Remote Light‐Responsive Nanocarriers for Controlled Drug Delivery: Advances and Perspectives

“…In addition to the shallow light penetration depth, drug release using these incident light causes severe side effects, particularly the phototoxicity. Therefore, the development of more reliable alternatives that enable a high depth tissue penetration and more precise control of photoactivation reaction as well as minimum cellular damage is of clinical importance …”

Polymeric microneedles for transdermal protein delivery

“…In addition, it has been suggested that the hydrolytic attacks by proteases in the skin and blood/lymphatic network may also limit the bioavailability of MN-administered proteins [60]. Therefore, appropriate materials and formulations to preserve the protein integrity and improve the delivery efficiency are highly desirable for this form of therapy [61,62]. In this section, typical protein therapeutics and their properties associated with MN-mediated delivery approaches are briefly surveyed.…”