Nanocarrier-based delivery of Pt(IV) compounds for chemoimmunotherapy and theranostics: Advances, challenges, and...

Nanocarrier-based delivery of platinum compounds represents the next generation of platinum-based chemotherapy, which is a first-line treatment for many types of tumors. Despite the significant success of Pt(IV) prodrugs as effective antitumor agents, the therapeutic efficacy of most of the reported prodrugs is limited due to rapid biodegradation in the bloodstream and limited accumulation in the tumor. To overcome these limitations, various types of nanomedicines have been developed as drug delivery systems for Pt(IV) prodrugs, with those demonstrating significantly enhanced antitumor effects due to passive and active tumor targeting, stimulus-responsive drug release, effective synergistic therapy, the ability to induce immunogenic cell death, stimulate native and adaptive immunity, and preventing tumor recurrence. Also, the design of Pt(IV)-based theranostic nanoagents opens up photothermal, fluorescent, and photoacoustic imaging modalities for real-time monitoring of drug delivery and therapeutic response. The ability to harness photocontrolled chemotherapy along with immunotherapy, PDT, and PTT holds immense promise for synergistic anticancer effects. In the present review, we highlighted recent advances in the design of Pt(IV)-based NPs reported in 2022-2025 with the focus on the further development of this fast-growing research area.