The role of nanoparticle mechanical properties in drug delivery and cancer therapy
Junxia Wang, Mingda Yang, Xianzhu Yang
Abstract
The mechanical properties of nanoparticles play a critical role in regulating their biological fate for drug delivery. This review analyzes the impact of nanoparticle elasticity on typical drug transport processes that have been explored in the past few decades, including blood circulation, tissue and tumor targeting, tumor penetration, cellular internalization, and drug release. Moreover, the relative mechanism is analyzed and discussed. This review provides useful clues for the design of new nanoparticles and better strategies for enhancing drug delivery and antitumor efficacy. • The mechanical properties of nanoparticles significantly affect the delivery efficiency of encapsulated drugs. • This review analyzes the impact of nanoparticle elasticity on systemic transport processes of encapsulated antitumor drugs. • The design and application of nanoparticle mechanical properties are a promising research direction.