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The Effective Combination between 3D Cancer Models and Stimuli-Responsive Nanoscale Drug Delivery Systems
Federica Foglietta1, Loredana Serpe1, Roberto Canaparo1
1Department of Drug Science and Technology, University of Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 13, 10125 Torino, Italy.
Abstract:
Stimuli-responsive drug-delivery systems (DDSs) have emerged as a potential tool for applications in healthcare, mainly in the treatment of cancer where versatile nanocarriers are co-triggered by endogenous and exogenous stimuli. Two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures are the most important in vitro model used to evaluate the anticancer activity of these stimuli-responsive DDSs due to their easy manipulation and versatility. However, some limitations suggest that these in vitro models poorly predict the outcome of in vivo studies. One of the main drawbacks of 2D cell cultures is their inadequate representation of the 3D environment's physiological complexity, which sees cells interact with each other and the extracellular matrix (ECM) according to their specific cellular organization. In this regard, 3D cancer models are a promising approach that can overcome the main shortcomings of 2D cancer cell cultures, as these in vitro models possess many peculiarities by which they mimic in vivo tumors, including physiologically relevant cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions. This is, in our opinion, even more relevant when a stimuli-responsive DDS is being investigated. In this review, we therefore report and discuss endogenous and exogenous stimuli-responsive DDSs whose effectiveness has been tested using 3D cancer cell cultures.
Insights
Stimuli-responsive drug-delivery systems (DDSs) show promise for cancer treatment. This review highlights their evaluation in 3D cancer models, which better mimic in vivo conditions than traditional 2D cultures.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Stimuli-responsive drug-delivery systems (DDSs) are crucial for targeted cancer therapy.
- Current in vitro models, like 2D cell cultures, have limitations in predicting in vivo drug efficacy.
- Three-dimensional (3D) cancer models offer a more physiologically relevant platform for evaluating DDS performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review stimuli-responsive DDSs tested in 3D cancer models.
- To emphasize the importance of 3D models for evaluating DDS effectiveness in cancer treatment.
- To discuss the advantages of 3D models over 2D cultures for DDS research.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies evaluating stimuli-responsive DDSs.
- Focus on research utilizing 3D cancer cell cultures.
- Analysis of endogenous and exogenous stimuli-responsive DDSs.
Main Results:
- Stimuli-responsive DDSs are increasingly evaluated using advanced 3D cancer models.
- 3D models provide a better representation of tumor microenvironments and cell-matrix interactions.
- These models enhance the predictive accuracy of DDS efficacy compared to 2D cultures.
Conclusions:
- 3D cancer models are superior to 2D cultures for assessing stimuli-responsive DDSs.
- The use of 3D models is critical for advancing DDS development in oncology.
- Future research should prioritize 3D in vitro systems for drug-delivery evaluations.
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