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Updated: Feb 27, 2026
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Injectable Supramolecular Polymer-Nanoparticle Hydrogels for Cell and Drug Delivery Applications
Published on: February 7, 2021
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Recent Advances in Smart Stimulus-Responsive Hydrogels for Precision Drug Delivery in Tumours.
Huiling Zuo1, Yuhang Jiao1, Jiaxin Chen1
1Yunnan Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Chronic Disease in Prevention and Treatment, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming 650500, China.
Gels (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 26, 2026
Summary
Stimuli-responsive hydrogels offer advanced cancer treatment by responding to internal and external triggers for targeted drug delivery. These smart hydrogels show great promise in overcoming limitations of conventional cancer therapies.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Oncology
Background:
- Cancer poses a significant global health challenge with many incurable types.
- Conventional treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy have limitations and severe side effects.
- There is a critical need for innovative cancer therapeutic strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in stimuli-responsive hydrogels for cancer therapy.
- To highlight the application of these hydrogels in drug delivery and treatment.
- To summarize current limitations and future prospects of smart hydrogels in oncology.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent scientific literature on stimuli-responsive hydrogels.
- Analysis of hydrogel responses to endogenous (pH, ROS, temperature) and exogenous (light, ultrasound, magnetic fields) stimuli.
- Evaluation of hydrogel applications in cancer drug delivery and treatment.
Main Results:
- Stimuli-responsive hydrogels demonstrate remarkable efficacy as novel drug delivery systems for cancer.
- These hydrogels can alter properties like swelling and permeability in response to various stimuli.
- Recent advances show significant progress in their application for cancer treatment.
Conclusions:
- Stimuli-responsive hydrogels represent a promising approach for targeted cancer drug delivery.
- Further research is needed to overcome current limitations and fully realize their therapeutic potential.
- Smart hydrogels offer a future direction for more effective and less toxic cancer treatments.
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