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Construction of nanomaterials based on pH-responsive polymers for effective tumor delivery

Polymer Journal volume 53, pages 1353–1360 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Polymer-based nanomaterials can deliver antitumor reagents to tumor tissues effectively due to the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect. To further improve the tumor delivery efficacy, a targeting moiety should be installed in the polymer building blocks. In this regard, an acidic pH is one of the characteristics of tumor sites, whereby polymers that respond to acidic conditions would realize the construction of tumor-targeted nanomaterials. In this review, we explain the rationale strategies for the design of functional polymers with responsiveness to a low tumor pH and describe examples of smart nanomaterials designed for selective tumor delivery.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Project for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Evolution (P-CREATE) (JP20 cm0106202) from the Japanese Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), Technology Platform Program for Advanced Biological Medicine (JP20am0401018) from AMED, Center of Innovation (COI) program from Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Five-star Alliance from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A) (17H04743) to HT from JSPS, and by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 18H04163 to NN from JSPS.

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  1. Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

    Hiroyasu Takemoto & Nobuhiro Nishiyama

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  1. Hiroyasu Takemoto
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  2. Nobuhiro Nishiyama
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HT and NN wrote this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hiroyasu Takemoto.

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Takemoto, H., Nishiyama, N. Construction of nanomaterials based on pH-responsive polymers for effective tumor delivery. Polym J 53, 1353–1360 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-021-00542-7

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