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Review
. 2022 Feb 26;14(5):936.
doi: 10.3390/polym14050936.

pH-Responsive Nanocarriers in Cancer Therapy

Nour M AlSawaftah  1   2 , Nahid S Awad  1 , William G Pitt  3 , Ghaleb A Husseini  1   2
Affiliations
Review

pH-Responsive Nanocarriers in Cancer Therapy

Nour M AlSawaftah et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

A number of promising nano-sized particles (nanoparticles) have been developed to conquer the limitations of conventional chemotherapy. One of the most promising methods is stimuli-responsive nanoparticles because they enable the safe delivery of the drugs while controlling their release at the tumor sites. Different intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli can be used to trigger drug release such as temperature, redox, ultrasound, magnetic field, and pH. The intracellular pH of solid tumors is maintained below the extracellular pH. Thus, pH-sensitive nanoparticles are highly efficient in delivering drugs to tumors compared to conventional nanoparticles. This review provides a survey of the different strategies used to develop pH-sensitive nanoparticles used in cancer therapy.

Keywords: cancer; drug delivery; nanoparticles; pH.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A diagram showing the different advantages of delivering drugs using NPs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Strategies to design pH-responsive NPs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Methods for MOF preparation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic representation of micelles formation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Structure and functionalization of liposomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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