Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Peptide-Based Supramolecular Drug Delivery System.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Tumor tissues exhibit distinct physical and biochemical properties compared to normal tissues.
• These differences present opportunities for developing targeted cancer therapies.
• Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems aim to exploit these tumor-specific characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in designing internal trigger-responsive drug delivery platforms using peptide-based materials.
• To highlight peptide assemblies that respond to the tumor microenvironment for controlled drug release.
• To discuss the challenges associated with current peptide-based supramolecular delivery systems for cancer treatment.

Main Methods:

• Summarizing recent literature on peptide-based supramolecular architectures.
• Focusing on internal triggers such as acidic pH, elevated temperature, and high oxidative potential.
• Examining peptide assemblies that respond to overexpressed proteins in tumor tissues.

Main Results:

• Peptide-based supramolecular architectures can undergo structural conversion in response to specific tumor microenvironment stimuli.
• This structural conversion enables the controlled release of anticancer drugs.
• Various internal triggers (pH, temperature, oxidative potential, proteins) have been utilized to engineer these responsive systems.

Conclusions:

• Peptide-based supramolecular systems offer a promising strategy for stimuli-responsive drug delivery in cancer therapy.
• Tailoring peptide assemblies to specific tumor microenvironment triggers can enhance drug targeting and efficacy.
• Further research is needed to address the challenges and optimize these platforms for clinical application.