The combination of nanotechnology and chemotherapy has resulted in more effective drug design via the development of nanomaterial-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) for tumor targeting. Stimulus-responsive DDSs in response to internal or external signals can offer precisely controlled delivery of preloaded therapeutics. Among the various DDSs, the photo-triggered system improves the efficacy and safety of treatment through spatiotemporal manipulation of light. Additionally, pH-induced delivery is one of the most widely studied strategies for targeting the acidic micro-environment of solid tumors. Accordingly, in this review, we discuss representative strategies for designing DDSs using light as an exogenous signal or pH as an endogenous trigger.

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Introduction Ligand-conjugated liposomes are promising for the treatment of specific receptor-overexpressing cancers. However, previous studies have shown inconsistent results because of the varying properties of the ligand, presence of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating on the liposome, length of the linker, and density of the ligand. Methods Here, we prepared PEGylated liposomes using PEG-linkers of various lengths conjugated with folate and evaluated the effect of the PEG-linker length on the nanoparticle distribution and pharmacological efficacy of the encapsulated drug both in vitro and in vivo. Results When folate was conjugated to the liposome surface, the cellular uptake efficiency in folate receptor overexpressed KB cells dramatically increased compared to that of the normal liposome. However, when comparing the effect of the PEG-linker length in vitro, no significant difference between the formulations was observed. In contrast, the level of tumor accumulation of particles in vivo significantly increased when the length of the PEG-linker was increased. The tumor size was reduced by >40% in the Dox/FL-10K-treated group compared to that in the Dox/FL-2K- or 5K-treated groups. Discussion Our study suggests that as the length of PEG-linker increases, the tumor-targeting ability can be enhanced under in vivo conditions, which can lead to an increase in the antitumor activity of the encapsulated drug.

This study is based on the group sandplay therapy that we provided to Burmese Chin children living in Malaysia as ethnic and religious refugees and our analysis of the themes in the children’s sandboxes using an art-based research method. All the participants were Burmese Chin refugee children aged 10 to 13 years old, attending an international refugee school in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Participation was voluntary, with written consent from legal guardians. The sample chosen for the study comprised 12 children, with six males in one group and six females in the other group. Altogether, the children took part in five sandplay sessions, which lasted 120 minutes each. During these sessions, all the participants expressed individual the sandtray and then gathered to share and talk about the scenes they had made in the sand. After each session, it construed the children’s sand scenes, imaginative stories and symbolic image from an analytical psychology perspective and categorized the contents by common themes. As a result, six themes emerged: the loss of a place of life, abandoned children, bystanders, safety bases, and liberation/resettlement. Through the sandplay therapy, the refugee children could express their trauma in a safe, supportive environment. Sandplay provided these children with an opportunity to identify their trauma, independently overcome that trauma, and grow.

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