MMP-responsive in situ forming hydrogel loaded with doxorubicin-encapsulated biodegradable micelles for local chemotherapy of oral squamous cell carcinoma

MMPs-responsive silk spheres for controlled drug release within tumor microenvironment

Silk is a biocompatible and biodegradable material that enables the formation of various morphological forms, including nanospheres. The functionalization of bioengineered silk makes it possible to produce particles with specific properties. In addition to tumor cells, the tumor microenvironment (TME) includes stromal, immune, endothelial cells, signaling molecules, and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are overexpressed in TME. We investigated bioengineered spider silks functionalized with MMP-responsive peptides to obtain targeted drug release from spheres within TME. Soluble silks MS12.2MS1, MS12.9MS1, and MS22.9MS2 and the corresponding silk spheres carrying MMP-2 or MMP-2/9 responsive peptides were produced, loaded with doxorubicin (Dox), and analyzed for their susceptibility to MMP-2/9 digestion. Although all variants of functionalized silks and spheres were specifically degraded by MMP-2/9, the MS22.9MS2 nanospheres showed the highest levels of degradation and release of Dox after enzyme treatment. Moreover, functionalized spheres were degraded in the presence of cancer cells releasing MMP-2/9. In the 2D and 3D spheroid cancer models, the MMP-2/9-responsive substrate was degraded and released from spheres when loaded into MS22.9MS2 particles but not into the control MS2 spheres. The present study demonstrated that a silk-based MMP-responsive delivery system could be used for controlled drug release within the tumor microenvironment.

A review of matrix metalloproteinase-2-sensitive nanoparticles as a novel drug delivery for tumor therapy

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2)-responsive nanodrug vehicles have garnered significant attention as antitumor drug delivery systems due to the extensive research on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) within the tumor extracellular matrix (ECM). These nanodrug vehicles exhibit stable circulation in the bloodstream and accumulate specifically in tumors through various mechanisms. Upon reaching tumor tissues, their structures are degraded in response to MMP-2 within the ECM, resulting in drug release. This controlled drug release significantly increases drug concentration within tumors, thereby enhancing its antitumor efficacy while minimizing side effects on normal organs. This review provides an overview of MMP-2 characteristics, enzyme-sensitive materials, and current research progress regarding their application as MMP-2-responsive nanodrug delivery system for anti-tumor drugs, as well as considering their future research prospects. In conclusion, MMP-2-sensitive drug delivery carriers have a broad application in all kinds of nanodrug delivery systems and are expected to become one of the main means for the clinical development and application of nanodrug delivery systems in the future.

Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Drug Delivery Based on Polymeric Micelles for Precision Cancer Therapy: Strategies and Prospects

In clinical practice, drug therapy for cancer is still limited by its inefficiency and high toxicity. For precision therapy, various drug delivery systems, including polymeric micelles self-assembled from amphiphilic polymeric materials, have been developed to achieve tumor-targeting drug delivery. Considering the characteristics of the pathophysiological environment at the drug target site, the design, synthesis, or modification of environmentally responsive polymeric materials has become a crucial strategy for drug-targeted delivery. In comparison to the normal physiological environment, tumors possess a unique microenvironment, characterized by a low pH, high reactive oxygen species concentration, hypoxia, and distinct enzyme systems, providing various stimuli for the environmentally responsive design of polymeric micelles. Polymeric micelles with tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive characteristics have shown significant improvement in precision therapy for cancer treatment. This review mainly outlines the most promising strategies available for exploiting the tumor microenvironment to construct internal stimulus-responsive drug delivery micelles that target tumors and achieve enhanced antitumor efficacy. In addition, the prospects of TME-responsive polymeric micelles for gene therapy and immunotherapy, the most popular current cancer treatments, are also discussed. TME-responsive drug delivery via polymeric micelles will be an efficient and robust approach for developing clinical cancer therapies in the future.

Implantation of In Situ Gelling Systems for the Delivery of Chemotherapeutic Agents

Implantation is a modern method of administering chemotherapeutic agents, with a highly targeted effect and better patient tolerance due to the low frequency of administration. Implants are capable of controlled release, which makes them a viable alternative to infusional chemotherapy, allowing patients to enjoy a better quality of life without the need for prolonged hospitalization. Compared to subcutaneous implantation, intratumoral implantation has a number of significant advantages in terms of targeting and side effects, but this area of chemotherapy is still poorly understood in terms of clinical trials. At the same time, there are more known developments of drugs in the form of implants and injections for intratumoral administration. The disadvantages of classical intratumoral implants are the need for surgical intervention to install the system and the increased risk of tumor rupture noted by some specialists. The new generation of implants are in situ implants-systems formed in the tumor due to a phase transition (sol-gel transition) under the influence of various stimuli. Among this systems some are highly selective for a certain type of malignant neoplasm. Such systems are injected and have all the advantages of intratumoral injections, but due to the phase transition occurring in situ, they form depot forms that allow the long-term release of chemotherapeutic agents.

Injectable smart stimuli-responsive hydrogels: pioneering advancements in biomedical applications

Hydrogels have established their significance as prominent biomaterials within the realm of biomedical research. However, injectable hydrogels have garnered greater attention compared with their conventional counterparts due to their excellent minimally invasive nature and adaptive behavior post-injection. With the rapid advancement of emerging chemistry and deepened understanding of biological processes, contemporary injectable hydrogels have been endowed with an "intelligent" capacity to respond to various endogenous/exogenous stimuli (such as temperature, pH, light and magnetic field). This innovation has spearheaded revolutionary transformations across fields such as tissue engineering repair, controlled drug delivery, disease-responsive therapies, and beyond. In this review, we comprehensively expound upon the raw materials (including natural and synthetic materials) and injectable principles of these advanced hydrogels, concurrently providing a detailed discussion of the prevalent strategies for conferring stimulus responsiveness. Finally, we elucidate the latest applications of these injectable "smart" stimuli-responsive hydrogels in the biomedical domain, offering insights into their prospects.

Current Advances in Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels as Smart Drug Delivery Carriers

In recent years, significant advancements in the field of advanced materials and hydrogel engineering have enabled the design and fabrication of smart hydrogels and nanogels that exhibit sensitivity to specific signals or pathological conditions, leading to a wide range of applications in drug delivery and disease treatment. This comprehensive review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the stimuli-responsive principles exhibited by smart hydrogels in response to various triggers, such as pH levels, temperature fluctuations, light exposure, redox conditions, or the presence of specific biomolecules. The functionality and performance characteristics of these hydrogels are highly influenced by both their constituent components and fabrication processes. Key design principles, their applications in disease treatments, challenges, and future prospects were also discussed. Overall, this review aims to contribute to the current understanding of gel-based drug delivery systems and stimulate further research in this rapidly evolving field.

Injectable hydrogels for the delivery of nanomaterials for cancer combinatorial photothermal therapy

Progress in the nanotechnology field has led to the development of a new class of materials capable of producing a temperature increase triggered by near infrared light. These photothermal nanostructures have been extensively explored in the ablation of cancer cells. Nevertheless, the available data in the literature have exposed that systemically administered nanomaterials have a poor tumor-homing capacity, hindering their full therapeutic potential. This paradigm shift has propelled the development of new injectable hydrogels for the local delivery of nanomaterials aimed at cancer photothermal therapy. These hydrogels can be assembled at the tumor site after injection (in situ forming) or can undergo a gel-sol-gel transition during injection (shear-thinning/self-healing). Besides incorporating photothermal nanostructures, these injectable hydrogels can also incorporate or be combined with other agents, paving the way for an improved therapeutic outcome. This review analyses the application of injectable hydrogels for the local delivery of nanomaterials aimed at cancer photothermal therapy as well as their combination with photodynamic-, chemo-, immuno- and radio-therapies.

Emerging frontiers in drug delivery with special focus on novel techniques for targeted therapies

The management and treatment of disease are achieved via the use of pharmacologically active substances or drugs. Drugs do not, however, have an intrinsic ability to be effective; rather, how well they work depends on how they are administered or supplied. Treatment of a variety of biological illnesses, such as autoimmune disorders, cancer, and bacterial infections, requires effective drug delivery. Drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, duration of therapeutic impact, pharmacokinetics, excretion, and toxicity can all be impacted by drug administration. Improved chemistry and materials are required for the delivery of therapeutic concentration of novel treatments to the specified targets within the body, as well as for the necessary duration of time. This requirement is accompanied by the development of new therapeutics. Formulating a medication as a DDS is a promising strategy for directly addressing numerous typical barriers to adherence, such as frequent dosage, such as frequent dosage, side effects, and a delayed beginning of the action. In the current review, we give a compendium of drug delivery and controlled release and subsequently highlight some of the newest developments in the realm, with a particular emphasis on cutting-edge methods for targeted therapy. In each instance, we outline the obstacles to efficient drug administration as well as the chemical and material developments that are allowing the sector to overcome these obstacles and have a positive clinical impact.

Chitosan Thermosensitive Hydrogel Based on DNA Damage Repair Inhibition and Mild Photothermal Therapy for Enhanced Antitumor Treatment

The DNA damage repair of tumor cells limits the effect of photothermal therapy (PTT), and high temperatures induced by PTT can damage adjacent normal tissues. To overcome these limitations, we developed a novel composite hydrogel (OLA-Au-Gel) based on chitosan (CS) and β-glycerophosphate (β-GP), which encapsulated olaparib-liposomes (OLA-lips) and CS-capped gold nanoparticles (CS-AuNPs). OLA-Au-Gel achieved the combination of mild PTT (mPTT) by CS-AuNPs and tumor DNA damage repair inhibition by OLA. The hydrogel showed good biocompatibility, injectability, and photothermal response. Under near-infrared laser irradiation, OLA-Au-Gel inhibited the proliferation of tumor cells, induced the generation of reactive oxygen species in vitro, and effectively inhibited the growth of breast tumors in vivo. OLA-Au-Gel shows a promising application prospect for inhibiting tumor development and improving the antitumor effect. Collectively, we propose a novel strategy for enhanced antitumor therapy based on the combination of mPTT and DNA damage repair inhibition.

Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG)-Based Hydrogels for Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy: A Comprehensive Review

Hydrogel-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) can leverage therapeutically beneficial outcomes in cancer therapy. In this domain, polyethylene glycol (PEG) has become increasingly popular as a biomedical polymer and has found clinical use. Owing to their excellent biocompatibility, facile modifiability, and high drug encapsulation rate, PEG hydrogels have shown great promise as drug delivery platforms. Here, the progress in emerging novel designs of PEG-hydrogels as DDSs for anti-cancer therapy is reviewed and discussed, focusing on underpinning multiscale release mechanisms categorized under stimuli-responsive and non-responsive drug release. The responsive drug delivery approaches are discussed, and the underpinning release mechanisms are elucidated, covering the systems functioning based on either exogenous stimuli-response, such as photo- and magnetic-sensitive PEG hydrogels, or endogenous stimuli-response, such as enzyme-, pH-, reduction-, and temperature-sensitive PEG hydrogels. Special attention is paid to the commercial potential of PEG-based hydrogels in cancer therapy, highlighting the limitations that need to be addressed in future research for their clinical translation.

Localized Drug Delivery Systems: An Update on Treatment Options for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, with surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy being the primary treatment modalities. The treatment for HNSCC has evolved over time, due to which the prognosis has improved drastically. Despite the varied treatment options, major challenges persist. HNSCC chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic drugs are usually administered systemically, which could affect the patient's quality of life due to the associated side effects. Moreover, the systemic administration of salivary stimulating agents for the treatment of radiation-induced xerostomia is associated with toxicities. Localized drug delivery systems (LDDS) are gaining importance, as they have the potential to provide non-invasive, patient-friendly alternatives to cancer therapy with reduced dose-limiting toxicities. LDDSs involve directly delivering a drug to the tissue or organ affected by the disease. Some of the common localized routes of administration include the transdermal and transmucosal drug delivery system (DDSs). This review will attempt to explore the different treatment options using LDDSs for the treatment of HNSCC and radiotherapy-induced damage and their potential to provide a better experience for patients, as well as the obstacles that need to be addressed to render them successful.

Design and characterization of matrix metalloproteinase-responsive hydrogels for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases

Enzyme-responsive hydrogels, formed by step growth photopolymerization of biscysteine peptide linkers with alkene functionalized polyethylene glycol, provide interesting opportunities as biomaterials and drug delivery systems. In this study, we developed stimuli-responsive, specific, and cytocompatible hydrogels for delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. We designed peptide linkers with optimized sensitivity towards matrix metalloproteinases, a family of proteolytic enzymes overexpressed in the extracellular matrix of the skin during inflammation. The peptide linkers were crosslinked with branched 4-arm and 8-arm polyethylene glycols by thiol-norbornene photopolymerization, leading to the formation of a hydrogel network, in which the anti-inflammatory Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib citrate was incorporated. The hydrogels were extensively characterized by physical properties, in vitro release studies, cytocompatibility with fibroblasts, and anti-inflammatory efficacy testing in both an atopic dermatitis-like keratinocyte assay and an activated T-cell assay. The drug release was studied after single and multiple-time exposure to matrix metalloproteinase 9 to mimic inflammatory flare-ups. Drug release was found to be triggered by matrix metalloproteinase 9 and to depend on type of crosslinker and of the polyethylene glycol polymer, due to differences in architecture and swelling behavior. Moreover, swollen hydrogels showed elastic properties similar to those of extracellular matrix proteins in the dermis. Cell studies revealed limited cytotoxicity when fibroblasts and keratinocytes were exposed to the hydrogels or their enzymatic cleavage products. Taken together, our results suggest multi-arm polyethylene glycol hydrogels as promising matrix metalloproteinase-responsive drug delivery systems, with potential in the treatment of inflammatory skin disease. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Smart responsive drug delivery systems such as matrix metalloproteinase-responsive hydrogels are excellent candidates for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases including psoriasis. Their release profile can be optimized to correspond to the patient's individual disease state by tuning formulation parameters and disease-related stimuli, providing personalized treatment solutions. However, insufficient cross-linking efficiency, low matrix metalloproteinase sensitivity, and undesirable drug release kinetics remain major challenges in the development of such drug delivery systems. In this study, we address shortcomings of previous work by designing peptide linkers with optimized sensitivity towards matrix metalloproteinases and high cross-linking efficiencies. We further provide a proof-of-concept for the usability of the hydrogels in inflammatory skin conditions by employing a drug release set-up simulating inflammatory flare-ups.

Chemopreventive and Anticancer Role of Resveratrol against Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most prevailing and aggressive head and neck cancers, featuring high morbidity and mortality. The available conventional treatments suffer from several adverse effects and are often inefficient in terms of their survival rates. Thus, seeking novel therapeutic agents and adjuvants is of the utmost importance for modern society. Natural polyphenolic compounds have recently emerged as promising chemopreventive and anticancer agents. Specifically, the natural compound resveratrol (RSV) has recently gained momentum for this purpose. RSV is useful for treating OSCC due to its antiproliferative, antimetastatic, and proapoptotic effects. Additionally, RSV acts against tumor cells while synergically cooperating with chemotherapeutics, overcoming drug resistance phenomena. Despite these wide-spectrum effects, there are few specific investigations regarding RSV's effects against OSCC animal models that consider different routes and vehicles for the administration of RSV. Interestingly, an injectable RSV-loaded liposome-based formulation was proven to be effective against both in vitro and in vivo OSCC models, demonstrating that the development of RSV-loaded drug delivery systems for systemic and/or loco-regional applications may be the turning point in oral cancer treatment, leading to benefits from both RSV's properties as well as from targeted delivery. Given these premises, this review offers a comprehensive overview of the in vitro and in vivo effects of RSV and its main derivative, polydatin (PD), against OSCC-related cell lines and animal models, aiming to guide the scientific community in regard to RSV and PD use in the treatment of oral precancerous and cancerous lesions.

Developments on the Smart Hydrogel-Based Drug Delivery System for Oral Tumor Therapy

At present, an oral tumor is usually treated by surgery combined with preoperative or postoperative radiotherapies and chemotherapies. However, traditional chemotherapies frequently result in substantial toxic side effects, including bone marrow suppression, malfunction of the liver and kidneys, and neurotoxicity. As a new local drug delivery system, the smart drug delivery system based on hydrogel can control drug release in time and space, and effectively alleviate or avoid these problems. Environmentally responsive hydrogels for smart drug delivery could be triggered by temperature, photoelectricity, enzyme, and pH. An overview of the most recent research on smart hydrogels and their controlled-release drug delivery systems for the treatment of oral cancer is given in this review. It is anticipated that the local drug release method and environment-responsive benefits of smart hydrogels will offer a novel technique for the low-toxicity and highly effective treatment of oral malignancy.

Local delivery of gambogic acid to improve anti-tumor immunity against oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for nearly 90% of oral cavity malignancies. However, despite significant advances in the last four decades, little improvement has been achieved in the overall survival rates for OSCC patients. While gambogic acid (GA) is a potential candidate compound for treating a variety of malignancies, its anti-cancer impact on OSCC has not to be completely investigated. The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has been proven to play a crucial role in the prognosis of cancer patients. Although there are few reports on the T cell activation effect of GA, the regulation of GA on the TIME of OSCC has barely been studied yet. In this study, GA was applied to treat OSCC-bearing mice through in situ controlled release. First, GA-loaded mPEG₂₀₀₀-PCL micelles (GA-MIC) were prepared by the thin-film hydration method to improve the aqueous dispersibility of GA. Second, poly(D, l-lactide)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(D, l-lactide) (PLEL) was synthesized for thermosensitive hydrogel preparation. Third, GA-MIC was mixed with PLEL to form an injectable therapeutic hydrogel (GA-MIC-GEL). The anti-tumor and TIME regulation effects of GA-MIC-GEL on tumor-bearing mice were further examined. The results showed that the thermosensitive GA-MIC-GEL with sensitive sol-gel transition characteristics could form hydrogel at 37 °C within 24 s, facilitating the local delivery and sustained GA release. Biochemical, hematological, and pathological analysis proved that GA-MIC-GEL has good biological safety. Moreover, GA-MIC-GEL promoted an obvious regression of both primary and distant tumors on the OSCC mouse models. Mechanically, GA-MIC-GEL down-regulated the expression of PD-1, increased the frequency of cytotoxic T cells and reduced the immunosuppressive cellular components, which boosted the anti-tumor immunity of OSCC-bearing mice. The constructed thermosensitive hydrogel for local delivery of GA has provided a safe and effective strategy with great potential for OSCC therapy.

Progress of Research in In Situ Smart Hydrogels for Local Antitumor Therapy: A Review

Cancer seriously threatens human health. Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the three pillars of traditional cancer treatment, with targeted therapy and immunotherapy emerging over recent decades. Standard drug regimens are mostly executed via intravenous injection (IV), especially for chemotherapy agents. However, these treatments pose severe risks, including off-target toxic side effects, low drug accumulation and penetration at the tumor site, repeated administration, etc., leading to inadequate treatment and failure to meet patients’ needs. Arising from these challenges, a local regional anticancer strategy has been proposed to enhance therapeutic efficacy and concomitantly reduce systemic toxicity. With the advances in biomaterials and our understanding of the tumor microenvironment, in situ stimulus-responsive hydrogels, also called smart hydrogels, have been extensively investigated for local anticancer therapy due to their injectability, compatibility and responsiveness to various stimuli (pH, enzyme, heat, light, magnetic fields, electric fields etc.). Herein, we focus on the latest progress regarding various stimuli that cause phase transition and drug release from smart hydrogels in local regional anticancer therapy. Additionally, the challenges and future trends of the reviewed in situ smart hydrogels for local drug delivery are summarized and proposed.

Current trends of targeted therapy for oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a malignant disease in the world which has a profound effect on human health and life quality. According to tumor stage and pathological diagnosis, OSCC is mainly treated by combinations of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, traditional treatment methods suffer from some limitations, such as systemic toxicity, limited therapeutic effect and drug resistance. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, nanodrug delivery systems (DDSs) and intelligent DDSs have been widely used in targeted therapy for OSCC. Meanwhile, the newly developed therapeutic techniques such as immunotherapy, gene therapy and bionic technology provide the possibility to realize the active targeted therapy. Here, the latest advances of target therapy for OSCC are reviewed, and their therapeutic remarks, current limits and future prospects are also systematically interpreted. It is believed that active and passive targeted therapies have great potentials for clinical transformation and application of OSCC, which will greatly improve human quality of life.

Approaches for Head and Neck Cancer Research - Current Status and the Way Forward

Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are seeing an increasing trend in their prevalence among both genders and are the seventh most common cancer type occurring at the global level. Studies addressing both the cancer cell physiology and individual differences in response to a specific treatment modality should be understood for arriving at effective treatment and management of the HNCs. In this article, we discuss the trends in HNC research and their various approaches starting from 2D in vitro models, which are the traditional experimental materials to recently established Cancer-Tissue Originated Spheroids (CTOS) distinctly contributing towards personalized or precision medicine.

Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems for head and neck cancer therapy

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is among the most common malignancy that has a profound impact on human health and life quality. The treatment for HNC, especially for the advanced cancer is stage-dependent and in need of combined therapies. Various forms of adjuvant treatments such as chemotherapy, phototherapy, hyperthermia, gene therapy have been included in the HNC therapy. However, there are still restrictions with traditional administration such as limited in situ therapeutic effect, systemic toxicity, drug resistance, etc. In recent years, stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems (DDSs) have attracted the great attention in HNC therapy. These intelligent DDSs could respond to unique tumor microenvironment, external triggers or dual/multi stimulus with more specific drug delivery and release, leading to enhanced treatment efficiency and less reduced side effects. In this article, recent studies on stimuli-responsive DDSs for HNC therapy were summarized, which could respond to endogenous and exogenous triggers including pH, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), reactive oxygen species (ROS), redox condition, light, magnetic field and multi stimuli. Their therapeutic remarks, current limits and future prospect for these intelligent DDSs were discussed. Furthermore, multifunctional stimuli-responsive DDSs have also been reviewed. With the modification of drug carriers or co-loading with therapeutic agents. Those intelligent DDSs showed more biofunctions such as combined therapeutic effects or integration of diagnosis and treatment for HNC. It is believed that stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems showed great potential for future clinic translation and application for the treatment of HNC.

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels for intratumoral drug delivery

The ability of some hydrogels to exhibit a phase transition or change their structure in response to stimuli has been extensively explored for drug depot formation and controlled drug release. Taking advantage of the unique features of the tumor microenvironment (TME) or externally applied triggers, several injectable stimuli-responsive hydrogels have been described as promising candidates for intratumoral drug delivery. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the TME and highlight the advantages of intratumoral administration, followed by a summary of the reported strategies to endow hydrogels with responsiveness to physical (temperature and light), chemical (pH and redox potential), or biological (enzyme) stimuli.

Recent Advancements in Nanotechnology for Oral Cancer: a Review

Background:

Oral cancer is the life threatening disease causing mortality. The majority of chemotherapeutic anticancer agents are toxic to healthy tissues, have poor bioavailability and affect the quality of life of the patients.

Objective:

The main challenge in the treatment of oral cancer is the effective and safe delivery of chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs. This present review deals with the recent advancement in the nanotechnologies and its probable applications in the oral cancer treatment.

Methods:

This review includes a gist of suitable literature.

Results:

Nanotechnology brings novel methodologies or modifications in current anticancer therapies to improve individual wellbeing and survival.

Conclusion:

Nanotechnology put forward the potential of increasing the efficacy of the therapy and targeted drug delivery, which in turn increase drug absorption and bioavailability at the site of tumour. Different nanocarriers include liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, combinational (polymeric- inorganic) nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, nanolipids, hydrogels, dendrimers and polymeric micelles. This review confers development of new drug delivery approaches for effective therapeutic outcomes and abating the toxicity to healthy tissues.

Repurposing nano-enabled polymeric scaffolds for tumor-wound management and 3D tumor engineering

The main challenges of cancer drugs are toxicity, effect on wound healing/patient outcome and in vivo instability. Polymeric scaffolds have been used separately for tissue regeneration in wound healing and as anticancer drug releasing devices. Bringing these two together in bifunctional scaffolds can provide a tool for postoperative local tumor management by promoting healthy tissue regrowth and to deliver anticancer drugs. Another addition to the versatility of polymeric scaffold is its recently discovered ability to act as 3D cell culture models for in vitro isolation and amplification of cancer cells for personalized drug screening and to recapitulate the tumor microenvironment. This review focuses on the repurposing of 3D polymeric scaffolds for local tumor-wound management and development of in vitro cell culture models.