Hypoxia-Responsive Delivery Nanoplatforms in Cancer Theranostics

Abstract

Hypoxia, a key feature of the majority of widely disseminated solid tumours, is critical for angiogenesis, metastasis, and resistance to conventional cancer therapeutic methods, promoting the development of cancer. However, hypoxic cells’ typical characteristics, such as a highly bio-reductive environment and low oxygen concentration, can provide stimuli-responsive drug release to aid in tumour-specific radio, chemo, sonodynamic, and photodynamic therapies. This strategy, which focuses on the habitats of inadequately oxygenated tumours, offers the potential to get around problems caused by the heterogeneous nature of tumours and may be applied to the construction of diagnostic and therapeutic nanocarriers for many solid cancer types. As a result, research into effective methods to address drug resistance in solid tumours is proceeding quickly in hypoxia-triggered nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. The development of hypoxia-responsive nanovehicles for drug delivery to heterogeneous cancers has made considerable strides, which are presented in this chapter. The chapter’s opening sections give readers an understanding of how hypoxia develops in cancer cells as they grow and how it affects the course of the disease. Also mentioned are the existing drawbacks and potential future applications of hypoxia-stimulated nanomachines for the treatment of cancer. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Yashwant V. Pathak, Jayvadan K. Patel, Namdev L. Dhas and Vipul P. Patel; individual chapters, the contributors.