Application of Polymer Materials in Targeting Glioma

Abstract

Glioma is a serious life-threatening disease, and traditional treatments have little effect. In recent decades, polymer materials have been developed for the treatment of glioma as a new research area. The ability to target reactive polymeric carriers is important for treating glioma. Polymer materials have good designability and expansibility. They respond to different stimuli, leading to a change in the macroscopic properties of materials. Sensitive polymer carriers respond to biological stimuli (pH, oxidative stress, enzyme, temperature, ions and nucleic acids) and the tumour microenvironment. They can be used as intelligent polymer carriers to transport chemotherapy and imaging drugs for glioma treatment. The ability of these polymer carriers to control the release of molecules at tumour-specific sites has aroused great interest. This review summarizes current research on sensitive polymer-carriers for glioma treatment over the past decade, focusing on their clinical application prospects. Finally, future applications of polymer carriers in nanomedicine are reviewed.

Keywords: Glioma; glioma treatment; polymer carrier; sensitivity factors; targeted therapy; tumour microenvironment.