Toxicological Aspects of Tumour Microenvironment-Responsive Nanoplatforms

This chapter analyses the toxicological aspects of tumour microenvironment-responsive nanoplatforms, focusing on their development, evaluation, and application in cancer therapy. The chapter is divided into six sections, each of which focuses on an important aspect of these innovative therapeutic platforms. The first section introduces tumour microenvironment-responsive nanoplatforms and the need to comprehend their toxicological aspects. The tumour microenvironment is described in Section II, along with its constituents and role in drug resistance. The third section explores the development of tumour microenvironment-responsive nanoplatforms, highlighting their design strategies and key characteristics. In Section IV, an overview of toxicological evaluation is provided, outlining the factors influencing the toxicity of nanoplatforms and the methods used to assess their potential risks. This section emphasises the significance of comprehensive toxicological evaluation to ensure the safe and effective application of these therapeutic platforms in cancer treatment. Section V presents case studies of numerous tumour microenvironment-responsive nanoplatforms, discussing their clinical trials and comparing their effectiveness and toxicity. This section describes the potential benefits and challenges of using nanoplatforms in cancer therapy. In the chapter’s conclusion, we summarised the key findings and future directions for the development of tumour microenvironment-responsive nanoplatforms. Finally, we emphasised the need for a multidisciplinary approach to ensure the successful translation of these promising therapeutics into clinical practice.