Cell microenvironment stimuli-responsive controlled-release delivery systems based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles

To develop novel tumor cell microenvironment stimuli-responsive smart controlled-release delivery systems is one of the current common interests of materials science and clinical medicine. Meanwhile, mesoporous silica nanoparticles as a promising drug carrier have become the new area of interest in the field of biomedical application in recent years because of their unique characteristics and abilities to efficiently and specifically entrap cargo molecules. This review describes the more recent developments and achievements of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in drug delivery. In particular, we focus on the stimuli-responsive controlled-release systems that are able to respond to tumor cell environmental changes, such as pH, glucose, adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP), glutathione (GSH), and H2O2.