Reduction sensitive nanosystems for tumor targeted imaging and therapy

Nanomedicines based on biodegradable polymers for tumor imaging and therapy receive more and more attention due to their improved water solibility, bioavailability, and extended blood circulation times. Advanced polymer chemistry combined with a thorough understanding of the tumor microenvironment, allows the design and evaluation of improved multifunctional polymer-based nanomedicines for more effective cancer imaging and therapy.
This thesis focuses on the design and evaluation of novel reduction-sensitive polymer-based nanomedicines for improved tumor-targeted imaging and therapy. The use of ligands (mono or dual) for targeting the nanosystems to the tumors and uptake by cells in the tumor have been described as well as the release of drugs from a nanosystem designed to release the drug in the tumor area by an external trigger.
The in vivo performance of the nanomedicines described in this thesis including the stability, tumor targeting efficiency and antitumor efficacy have been evaluated using various tumor models.