Specific delivery of therapeutic agents to solid tumors and their bioavailability at the target site are the most clinically important and challenging goals in cancer therapy. Liposomes are promising nanocarriers and have been well investigated for cancer therapy. In spite of preferred accumulation in tumors via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, inefficient drug release at t...

First-generation nanoparticles (NPs) have been clinically translated as pharmaceutical drug delivery carriers for their ability to improve on drug tolerability, circulation half-life, and efficacy. Toward the development of the next-generation NPs, researchers have designed novel multifunctional platforms for sustained release, molecular targeting, and environmental responsiveness. This review ...

A series of semi-interpenetrating, polymer network (semi-IPN), hydrogel beads, composed of calcium alginate (Ca-alginate) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM), were prepared for a pH/temperature-sensitive drug delivery study. The equilibrium swelling showed the independent pH- and thermo- responsive nature of the developed materials. At pH=2.1, the release amount of indomethacin incorporat...

Based on the opportunities of ibuprofen administration innovation and challenges associated with construction transdermal drug delivery systems using medicated nanoparticles electrospun nanofiber membranes, we developed a system comprising ibuprofen-loaded ZnO nanoparticles/polyacrylonitrile membranes (ZnO-ibuprofen/PAN), which was dual-stimulus responsive, wherein both pH temperature triggered...

Injectable Hydrogels In article number 2101284 by Chien-Chi Lin and co-workers, a biocompatible pH/thermo dual responsive injectable hydrogel is synthesized reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization acylhdrazone click chemistry. Upon injection, sol-gel transition occurs rapidly at body temperature the porous hydrogels degrade slowly under mild acidic condition due t...

Stimuli−responsive polymers respond with large property changes to small physical or chemical stimuli. These functional polymers are known as “smart”, “intelligent”, “stimuli−responsive”, or “environmentally sensitive” polymers. They can take many forms: they may be dissolved in aqueous solution, adsorbed or grafted on aqueous−solid interfaces, or cross−linked in the form of hydrogels. Many dif...

Alkynyl-terminated double hydrophilic ABC triblock copolymer, poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether methacrylate)-b-poly(2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(2(diethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (alkynyl-POEGMA-b-PDMA-b-PDEA), was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) by sequential monomer addition using propargyl 2-bromoisobutyrate (PgBiB) as the initiator. ...