Open AccessSmart Stimuli-Responsive and Mitochondria Targeting Delivery in Cancer Therapy
Author(s) -
Yongjia Huang,
Tingting Wang,
Qunyou Tan,
Dongyi He,
MeiHwan Wu,
Jie Fan,
Jie Yang,
Cailing Zhong,
Kailing Li,
Jingqing Zhang
Publication year - 2021
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.s315368
Subject(s) - drug delivery , cancer , cancer therapy , cancer treatment , medicine , mitochondrion , targeted drug delivery , aptamer , pharmacology , tumor microenvironment , cancer research , controlled release , drug , nanotechnology , chemistry , materials science , biology , biochemistry , genetics
Dysfunction in the mitochondria (Mc) contributes to tumor progression. It is a major challenge to deliver therapeutic agents specifically to the Mc for precise treatment. Smart drug delivery systems are based on stimuli-responsiveness and active targeting. Here, we give a whole list of documented pathways to achieve smart stimuli-responsive (St-) and Mc-targeted DDSs (St-Mc-DDSs) by combining St and Mc targeting strategies. We present the formulations, targeting characteristics of St-Mc-DDSs and clarify their anti-cancer mechanisms as well as improvement in efficacy and safety. St-Mc-DDSs usually not only have Mc-targeting groups, molecules (lipophilic cations, peptides, and aptamers) or materials but also sense the surrounding environment and correspondingly respond to internal biostimulators such as pH, redox changes, enzyme and glucose, and/or externally applied triggers such as light, magnet, temperature and ultrasound. St-Mc-DDSs exquisitely control the action site, increase therapeutic efficacy and decrease side effects of the drug. We summarize the clinical research progress and propose suggestions for follow-up research. St-Mc-DDSs may be an innovative and sensitive precision medicine for cancer treatment.