Dendrimer-Based Nanogels for Cancer Nanomedicine Applications

Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology bring an alternative approach to personalized medicine in cancer treatment. Nanogels (NGs) are among the nanosized superconstructs composed of amphiphilic or hydrophilic polymer networks. The design of different types of biodegradable polymer-based NGs in various biomedical applications has received extensive attention, due to their unique physicochemical properties such as highly porous structure, stimuli-responsiveness, and mimicking of some biological properties. In this review, we concisely surveyed the synthesis of dendrimer-based NGs synthesized via different methods including covalent conjugation, inverse nanoprecipitation, physical cross-linking, or self-assembly for various cancer nanomedicine applications, particularly for drug delivery, gene delivery, photothermal therapy, and combination therapy, as well as for biological imaging-guided chemotherapy. Additionally, we provide herein future perspective toward the new design of dendrimer-based NGs for different cancer nanomedicine uses.

Automated summary

Nanogels are nanosized superconstructs composed of amphiphilic or hydrophilic polymer networks, with unique physicochemical properties that make them suitable for various biomedical applications, particularly in cancer nanomedicine. Dendrimer-based NGs can be synthesized via different methods and used for drug delivery, gene delivery, photothermal therapy, combination therapy, and biological imaging-guided chemotherapy in cancer treatment. Future perspectives include designing new dendrimer-based NGs for different cancer nanomedicine applications.