Anticancer nanomedicines harnessing tumor microenvironmental components

Colorectal cancer therapy mediated by nanomedicines

“…The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex system that contains not only tumor cells but also multiple types of cells, including tumor vascular endothelial cells, immune cells, mesenchymal cells, microvessels, adipocytes and fibroblasts, which are the internal environment for tumor occurrence, growth and metastasis. 17 The TME is characterized by hypoxia, acidity, and high redox potential compared to normal tissues. TME-responsive DDSs can deliver drugs to tumor cells and then release them under the trigger of chemical or biological factors in the TME, enhancing the treatment effect but alleviating the side effects to normal tissues.…”

Lignin-Based Nanoparticles for Combination of Tumor Oxidative Stress Amplification and Reactive Oxygen Species Responsive Drug Release

“…1,2 To further achieve a controlled and sustained drug release, intelligent stimulusresponsive nano carriers have been designed according to the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment. 3,4 Notably, tumor tissues exhibit significantly elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to normal tissues, with the levels in tumor tissues being thousands of times higher than that in normal tissues (∼2 × 10 −5 mM). 5−7 And this characteristic of tumor tissue has been widely exploited for the development of ROS-responsive anticancer drug delivery nanoparticles.…”

“…Nano anticancer drug delivery carriers have been developed to mitigate nonspecific cytotoxicity of most drugs used in clinical chemotherapy by accumulating at tumor sites effectively because of their nanoscale sizes. , To further achieve a controlled and sustained drug release, intelligent stimulus-responsive nano carriers have been designed according to the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment. , Notably, tumor tissues exhibit significantly elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to normal tissues, with the levels in tumor tissues being thousands of times higher than that in normal tissues (∼2 × 10 –5 mM). − And this characteristic of tumor tissue has been widely exploited for the development of ROS-responsive anticancer drug delivery nanoparticles. − However, most commonly used ROS-responsive material, such as sulfur-based responsive polymers (e.g., thioketal, poly(propylene sulfide)), can only respond to ROS levels as high as millimole, which are much higher than those in tumor tissues …”

“…To address this challenge, some innovative strategies have been proposed to enhance ROS levels and effectively release ROS-responsive drugs in tumors. ,− For instance, Sun et al utilized a photosensitizer to catalyze the rapid generation of highly reactive singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) upon exposure to laser irradiation . Despite its efficacy, the transient nature of 1 O 2 poses limitations, as prolonged laser exposure may have adverse effects on healthy cells and tissues .…”

CuZn Complex Used in Electrical Biosensors for Drug Delivery Systems

“…However, several problems, such as glucose oxidation [ 38 , 39 , 40 ], low binding affinity [ 41 ], and Cu toxicity [ 42 ], need to be solved first. The first generation of electrical biosensors is the enzyme-based amperometric biosensor [ 43 , 44 ], resulting in glucose-oxidised problems with a reduction–oxidation (redox) microenvironment for tumour growth [ 45 ]. This could be solved by using non-enzymatic glucose sensors (NEGS) [ 40 , 44 ].…”