Organ-restricted delivery through stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for lung cancer therapy

Lung Cancer (LC) is the malignant tumor of the lungs which is defined by the unrestricted cell development in the lung tissues which if left untreated may migrate to different regions of the body. LC accounts for 12% of the total cancer diagnosis and is among the most occurring malignancies in both genders. Radiotherapy, surgery, and chemotherapy are the treatment options for LC. The obstacles faced by chemotherapy include faster elimination, affecting healthy cells and poor targeting. The application of nanotechnology in drug delivery has gained profound value with the development of various nanoparticulate systems such as nanoparticles (NPs), liposomes etc. Some limitations exhibited by the conventional nanocarriers include leakage of the drug and stability issues. In order to overcome these problems, approaches such as coating of the NPs and use of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers have been utilized. These approaches also aid in boosting pre-existing properties and achieving organ restricted drug delivery. Stimuli-responsive DDS (drug delivery systems) are those systems in which the drug is released or delivered via a stimulus. Due to the reason that cancer tissues exhibit characteristic pH, elevated enzyme levels, these sort of smart nanocarriers have found their application in targeting cancer. Various nanocarriers incorporating various molecules have also been formulated and tested against lung cancer. In this review, we have discussed various classes of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers such as endogenous stimuli-responsive nanocarriers which include pH-responsive nanocarriers, enzyme-responsive nanocarriers and exogenous stimuli-responsive nanocarriers such as thermoresponsive, magnetic-responsive, ultrasound-responsive, photoresponsive nanocarriers along with their application in targeting LC.