Functionalized Polymers for Anticancer Applications

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 1604

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
IIXM-SECIHTI-Centro de Graduados e Investigación en Química, Tecnológico Nacional de México/Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana, Tijuana 22414, Mexico
Interests: polymer synthesis; smart polymers; metallodrugs; advanced materials; drug delivery systems

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Guest Editor
Centro de Graduados e Investigación en Química, Tecnológico Nacional de México/Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana, Tijuana 22414, Mexico
Interests: polymer chemistry; polymer biomaterials; responsive polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Carretera Ensenada-Tijuana 3918, Ensenada 22860, B.C., Mexico
Interests: new drugs development; nanobodies to target cancer cells; bio-drugs; use of conotoxins for cancer therapy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that anticancer drugs used today present several unwanted secondary effects, and to avoid or at least reduce these, different strategies have been developed and continue to be researched.  Due to their versatility, adjustable properties, low cost, ease of functionalization, and other advantages, polymers have played an important role in the development of new anticancer systems. Polymers have been used, for example, as nanocarriers; polymers can be functionalized for more specific drug delivery or diagnostic, also, they can be loaded with nanoparticles or different molecules for photodynamic or photothermal therapy.

In this Special Issue, entitled “Functionalized Polymers for Anticancer Applications”, Pharmaceutics invites you to contribute with novel systems based on functionalized polymers for loading and specific delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs or new molecules with potential antitumor effect, fluorescent polymeric systems for cancer diagnosis, or systems for cancer theragnostic applications. Systems based on polymers for photodynamic, photothermal, sonodynamic, and immunotherapies are also welcome.

Dr. Alejandro Ramirez-Jimenez
Prof. Dr. Angel Licea-Claverie
Dr. Alexei Fedorovish Licea-Navarro
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • photodynamic therapy
  • photothermal therapy
  • sonodynamic therapy
  • immunotherapy
  • smart polymeric nanocarriers
  • specific drug delivery
  • functionalized polymers
  • anticancer drug delivery
  • metallodrugs
  • theragnostic

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

32 pages, 3378 KB  
Review
Thermoresponsive and Fluorescent Polymers: From Nanothermometers to Smart Drug Delivery Systems for Theranostics Against Cancer
by Mirian A. González-Ayón, Jesús E. Márquez-Castro, Diana V. Félix-Alcalá and Angel Licea-Claverie
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(8), 1062; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17081062 - 15 Aug 2025
Viewed by 932
Abstract
This mini-review article is focused on polymeric materials that comprise thermoresponsive and fluorescent organic units. The combination of fluorescent clusters/dots embedded in or grafted with polymers is not considered in this article. Here we review the preparation, characterization, and application of thermoresponsive polymers [...] Read more.
This mini-review article is focused on polymeric materials that comprise thermoresponsive and fluorescent organic units. The combination of fluorescent clusters/dots embedded in or grafted with polymers is not considered in this article. Here we review the preparation, characterization, and application of thermoresponsive polymers functionalized covalently with organic fluorescent compounds either compartmentalized or randomly distributed: block-copolymers, self-assembled micelles or vesicles, core–shell nanogels, and their temperature driven self-assembly/shrinkage/expansion and resulting effect in fluorescence: quenching, enhancing, shifting. The applications suggested for these smart-materials are reviewed in the last ten years and range from nanothermometers, drug delivery systems, agents for bioimaging, sensors, and advanced materials for theranostics focused on cancer treatment. This article is organized reviewing the preparation methods, the main characterization techniques, and the application, depending on polymer architecture and the emission wavelength of the fluorophores. Finally, comments, suggestions, and problems to be solved for the advancement of these materials in the future prior to real-life applications are given. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Polymers for Anticancer Applications)
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