Emerging nanocarriers designed for the enhanced delivery of doxorubicin.

Abstract

Doxorubicin(DOX), which is a first-line broad-spectrum chemotherapeutic agent remains constrained clinical efficacy by dose-dependent cardiotoxicity, multidrug resistance, and systemic toxicity. Recent advancements in nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems have demonstrated remarkable potential to enhance tumor-specific accumulation, modulate drug release kinetics, and mitigate off-target effects through innovative engineering strategies. Contemporary nanocarrier researchers have expanded beyond conventional efforts to enhance tumor targeting and optimize drug release kinetics, which emphasizes the pathophysiological roles of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in mediating oncogenesis, neoplastic progression, and therapeutic resistance. This review emphasizes two pivotal strategies: (1) Structural innovation in tumor-targeting nanocarrier design through stimuli-responsive release mechanisms and molecular recognition targeting; (2) Therapeutic reprogramming of the TME via combinatorial extracellular matrix modulation. Through systematic analysis of 2019-2022 literatures from major scientific databases, this review synthesizes the advances in DOX-loaded nanocarriers targeting TME reprogramming and immunomodulation, and evaluates novel delivery platforms that overcome DOX's dose-limiting toxicity while potentiating antitumor efficacy.