Design of Soft Nanocarriers Combining Hyaluronic Acid with Another Functional Polymer for Cancer Therapy and Other Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The rapid advancement in medicine requires the search for new drugs, but also for new carrier systems for more efficient and targeted delivery of the bioactive molecules. Among the latter, polymeric nanocarriers have an increasingly growing potential for clinical applications due to their unique physical and chemical characteristics. In this regard, nanosystems based on hyaluronic acid (HA), a polysaccharide which is ubiquitous in the body, have attracted particular interest because of the biocompatibility, biodegradability and nonimmunogenic property provided by HA. Furthermore, the fact that hyaluronic acid can be recognized by cell surface receptors in tumor cells, makes it an ideal candidate for the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs. In this review, we compile a comprehensive overview of the different types of soft nanocarriers based on HA conjugated or complexed with another polymer: micelles, nanoparticles, nanogels and polymersomes. Emphasis is made on the properties of the polymers used as well as the synthetic approaches for obtaining the different HA-polymer systems. Fabrication, characterization and potential biomedical applications of the nanocarriers will also be described.

Hyaluronic Acid-Modified and Doxorubicin-Loaded Gold Nanoparticles and Evaluation of Their Bioactivity

“…Recent studies have demonstrated that the surface of cancer cells over-express the CD44 receptors on their surface, to which HA strongly binds [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Therefore, HA can be utilized as a target ligand for tumor-targeted drug delivery [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. The structure of HA can be modified to produce a variety of derivatives, which not only maintains its stability, but also enhances its bio-compatibility.…”

Influence of Elasticity of Hydrogel Nanoparticles on Their Tumor Delivery

“…Polymeric nanocarriers have been adopted as a preferred method for drug delivery, as they offer solutions to overcome many problems of the actual therapies. [ 1 ] Many polymeric nanocarrier‐based drugs have been applied in clinical practice and have made significant contributions to the treatment of diseases such as hepatitis, chronic kidney disease, and oncology. [ 2 ] However, the inefficient delivery of polymeric nanocarriers to target pathological tissues limits their widespread application, especially in the field of tumor therapy.…”

Poly‐L‐lysine/hyaluronan nanocarriers as a novel nanosystem for gene delivery

“…Researchers have tended to study gene transfection systems that protect DNA from nuclease damages in intra/extracellular environments 12 . Many researchers have addressed polymeric gene nanocarriers (NCs) 13–15 . Cationic polymers such as poly‐L‐lysine (PLL), poly ethyleneimine (PEI), and carbohydrates‐derived polymers such as chitosan, electrostatically interact with negatively charged DNA to form polyplexes with 100–200 nanometre diameters 16–18 .…”

“…12 Many researchers have addressed polymeric gene nanocarriers (NCs). [13][14][15] Cationic polymers such as poly-L-lysine (PLL), poly ethyleneimine (PEI), and carbohydrates-derived polymers such as chitosan, electrostatically interact with negatively charged DNA to form polyplexes with 100-200 nanometre diameters. [16][17][18] Positively charged PLL con-denses DNA by polyplex formation through the electrostatic interaction between the primary amine of lysine in PLL and the phosphate groups in DNA.…”