Targeting drug delivery with light: A highly focused approach

Light is a uniquely powerful tool for controlling molecular events in biology. No other external input (e.g., heat, ultrasound, magnetic field) can be so tightly focused or so highly regulated as a clinical laser. Drug delivery vehicles that can be photonically activated have been developed across many platforms, from the simplest caging of therapeutics in a prodrug form, to more complex micelles and circulating liposomes that improve drug uptake and efficacy, to large-scale hydrogel platforms that can be used to protect and deliver macromolecular agents including full-length proteins. In this Review, we discuss recent innovations in photosensitive drug delivery and highlight future opportunities to engineer and exploit such light-responsive technologies in the clinical setting. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This article discusses the unique power of light as a tool for controlling molecular events in biology and highlights recent innovations in photosensitive drug delivery. It also points out future opportunities to engineer and exploit light-responsive technologies in the clinical setting.