Open Access<p>Smart nanomedicine agents for cancer, triggered by pH, glutathione, H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, or H<sub>2</sub>S</p>
Author(s) -
Yaping Li,
Lin An,
Jiaomin Lin,
Qiwei Tian,
Shiping Yang
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of nanomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.245
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1178-2013
pISSN - 1176-9114
DOI - 10.2147/ijn.s210116
Subject(s) - nanomedicine , cancer , cancer research , medicine , pharmacology , nanotechnology , materials science , nanoparticle
Effective tumor diagnosis and therapy have always been a significant but challenging issue. Although nanomedicine has shown great potential for improving the outcomes of tumor diagnosis and therapy, the nonspecial targeted distribution of nanomedicine agents in the whole body causes a low diagnosis signal-to-noise ratio and a potential risk of systemic toxicity. Recently, the development of smart nanomedicine agents with diagnosis and therapy functions that can only be activated by the tumor microenvironment (TME) is regarded as an effective strategy to improve the theranostic sensitivity and selectivity, as well as reduce the potential side effects during treatment. This article will introduce and summarize the latest achievements in the design and fabrication of TME-responsive smart nanomedicine agents, and highlight their prospects for enhancing tumor diagnosis and therapy.