ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

Tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive nanoparticles have emerged as a promising strategy that leverages the pathological abnormalities of tumor tissues to trigger drug release and enhance therapeutic efficacy. These platforms utilize the diverse chemical and physical alterations observed in the TME as activation signals, enabling selective action, improved penetration, and precision in targeted delivery. Recent studies demonstrate that beyond the fundamental design principles of stimulus-responsive architectures, dual- and multi-responsive systems capable of responding to combined stimuli can help overcome major limitations of conventional cancer therapies, including drug resistance, tumor heterogeneity, and off-target toxicity. Preclinical and emerging clinical evidence further suggest that these platforms hold strong potential for integrating diagnostic and therapeutic functions, as well as for synergizing with immunotherapy and combination treatment strategies. However, these studies also highlight persistent challenges related to long-term safety, large-scale manufacturing standardization, regulatory evaluation, and interpatient TME heterogeneity. Collectively, TME-responsive nanomedicine offers an attractive avenue toward precision oncology by enabling customized activation mechanisms, controlled release, and integrated theranostic capabilities.

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