Rita Muzzalupo and Lorena Tavano Pages 3353 - 3363 ( 11 )
The use of nanodevices to transport active compounds like small-molecular drugs, peptides, or genes found an increased attention throughout the different fields of natural sciences. Moreover, recent research trends are focused on the employment of smart nanocarriers able to react on certain internal or external applied stimuli, in order to achieve temporal and site-specific drugs/gene release. In contrast to traditional biodegradable nanocarriers that slowly release drugs inside the cells, these smart nanosystems are able to quickly release or even dump drugs in response to a specific biological signal in the target cancer cells such lower pH, high redox potential or over expression of enzymes or to external stimuli such as temperature, light, ultrasounds and magnetic field. This review gives a brief overview about some types of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, with the main focus on magnetic fieldresponsive devices obtained from natural polymers. The concept of magnetic field-sensitive nanocarriers, their advantages and disadvantages, the methods of preparation and applications in various fields of drug delivery will be explored, giving an exhaustive collection of the findings of recent investigations.
Nanocarriers, stimuli-responsivity, natural polymers, magnetic nanoparticles.
Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutrition Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS)-Italy.