Recent Advances in Paclitaxel-based Self-Delivery Nanomedicine for Cancer Therapy

Title:Recent Advances in Paclitaxel-based Self-Delivery Nanomedicine for Cancer Therapy

Volume: 28 Issue: 31

Author(s): Mengjiao Zhou, Shupeng Han, Omer Aras*Feifei An*

Affiliation:

• Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer, New York, NY, 10065,United States

• Institute of Medical Engineering, Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Science, Health Science Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi,China

Keywords: Paclitaxel, self-delivery, nanomedicine, self-assembly, carrier-free, cancer therapy, SDNs.

Abstract: Paclitaxel (PTX) is the first natural plant-derived chemotherapeutic drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration. However, the clinical applications of PTX are limited by some drawbacks, such as poor water solubility, rapid blood clearance, nonspecific distribution, and adverse side effects. Nanocarriers have made important contributions to drug delivery and cancer therapy in recent years. However, low drug loading capacity, nanocarrier excipients-induced toxicity or immunogenicity, and complicated synthesis technologies pose a challenge for the clinical application of nanocarriers. To address these issues, the self-delivery nanomedicine (SDNs), in which pure drug molecules directly self-assemble into nanomedicine, have been developed for drug delivery and enhancing antitumor efficacy. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the recent advances in PTX-based SDNs for cancer therapy. First, the self-assembly strategies to develop pure PTX nanodrugs are discussed. Then, the emerging strategies of co-assembly PTX and other therapeutic agents for effective combination therapy are presented, composing of combination chemotherapy, chemo-photothermal therapy, chemo-photodynamic therapy, chemo-immunotherapy, and chemo-gene therapy. Finally, the limitations and future outlook of SDNs are discussed. The rational design of these unique nanoplatforms may make a new direction to develop highly efficient drug delivery systems for cancer therapy.

Cite this article as:

Zhou Mengjiao , Han Shupeng , Aras Omer*, An Feifei *, Recent Advances in Paclitaxel-based Self-Delivery Nanomedicine for Cancer Therapy, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2021; 28 (31) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929867327666201111143725