Targeted, triggered drug delivery to tumor and biofilm microenvironments

Furthermore, altered immune responses are often found within tumor and biofilm microenvironments. [...]there are remarkable challenges for current and prospective anticancer and antibiofilm agents to target and maintain activity in the microenviroments where cancer cells and microbial pathogens survive and cause the onset of disease. The ECM becomes more highly crosslinked due to upregulated activity of lysyl oxidase resulting in necrotic zones absent of vascularization. [...]active transport processes - e.g., vascular flow and lymphatic clearance - are muted, reducing drug distribution and concentration within tumors. [...]local acidity ensures continuous biofilm accumulation and causes acid-dissolution of the adjacent teeth, leading to the onset and progression of tooth decay process (dental caries) (11). Despite the > 20 years of investigation, the only clinically translated nanomedicines are those that exploit EPR. [...]new cancer nanomedicines that exploit targeted and responsive drug delivery approaches discussed here to provide more specific treatments with fewer off-target effects are under development, with several in clinical trials.