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Review
. 2022 Sep 14;12(18):3183.
doi: 10.3390/nano12183183.

Redox-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems: A Chemical Perspective

Heba F Abed  1 , Waad H Abuwatfa  2   3 , Ghaleb A Husseini  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Redox-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems: A Chemical Perspective

Heba F Abed et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

With the widespread global impact of cancer on humans and the extensive side effects associated with current cancer treatments, a novel, effective, and safe treatment is needed. Redox-responsive drug delivery systems (DDSs) have emerged as a potential cancer treatment with minimal side effects and enhanced site-specific targeted delivery. This paper explores the physiological and biochemical nature of tumors that allow for redox-responsive drug delivery systems and reviews recent advances in the chemical composition and design of such systems. The five main redox-responsive chemical entities that are the focus of this paper are disulfide bonds, diselenide bonds, succinimide-thioether linkages, tetrasulfide bonds, and platin conjugates. Moreover, as disulfide bonds are the most commonly used entities, the review explored disulfide-containing liposomes, polymeric micelles, and nanogels. While various systems have been devised, further research is needed to advance redox-responsive drug delivery systems for cancer treatment clinical applications.

Keywords: bonds; drug delivery systems; linkers; redox-responsive; reducing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Advantages of using nanoparticles as nanocarriers in SDDSs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
GSH/GSSG redox couple chemical structure.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Disulfide bond locations in SDDSs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Succinimide-thioether linkage synthesis, reduction, and hydrolysis in tumor microenvironments.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Synthetic routes for S–S crosslinking in redox-responsive nanogels.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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