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Updated: Feb 4, 2026
10:13
A Brain Tumor/Organotypic Slice Co-culture System for Studying Tumor Microenvironment and Targeted Drug Therapies
Published on: November 7, 2015
11.6K
Dextran-engineered smart nanosystems for intelligent tumor drug targeting
Muskan Jain1, Afsana Sheikh2, Taha Alqahtani3
1Next-Generation Translational Nanomedicine Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Sagar, Madhya Pradesh 470003, India.
Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology
|February 2, 2026
Summary
Dextran nanoparticles (DNPs) offer tunable properties for enhanced cancer drug delivery. These smart nanocarriers improve drug targeting and reduce toxicity, paving the way for precision oncology applications.
Area of Science:
- Colloid and interface science
- Materials science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Nanoscale delivery systems are crucial for improving cancer drug bioavailability, stability, and selectivity.
- Dextran-based nanocarriers are attractive due to their hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and modifiability.
- Dextran nanoparticles (DNPs) possess tunable properties influencing stability, biodistribution, and tumor accumulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the colloidal behavior and interfacial modification of dextran-based smart nanocarriers for tumor-specific drug delivery.
- To examine structure-function relationships in DNPs for precise pharmacological outcomes.
- To highlight challenges and future directions for clinical translation of DNPs in precision oncology.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of recent advances in engineering stimuli-responsive and ligand-functionalized DNPs.
- Investigation of interfacial chemistry and supramolecular assembly in DNP design.
- Evaluation of DNP performance in targeted tumor accumulation and controlled drug release.
Main Results:
- Engineered DNPs demonstrate stimuli-responsive and targeted delivery mechanisms for enhanced tumor accumulation.
- Optimized DNPs improve therapeutic indices and minimize off-target toxicity.
- DNPs serve as a modular platform for co-delivery of therapeutics and imaging agents.
Conclusions:
- Dextran-based smart nanocarriers offer a promising platform for precision cancer therapy.
- Interfacial chemistry and responsive polymer architectures are key to mediating pharmacological outcomes.
- Further development is needed to translate DNP platforms into clinically relevant applications.
Keywords:
Colloidal stabilityDextran nanocarriersInterfacial engineeringPrecision cancer therapyStimuli-responsive nanoparticlesTargeted drug deliveryTumor microenvironmentMore Related Videos
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