Introduction: Recent technological progress in pain management includes patient´s stratification depending on their disease subtype, prognosis, risk, or treatment response using data analysis and genetic testing in order to select the most appropriate drug for each group. A spatiotemporal control on the release of the selected anesthetic drug is also desirable in order to minimize side effects and to provide the patient with the appropriate dose above the therapeutic threshold and below the maximum desirable concentration. Light can be used non-invasively as an exogenous trigger to allow multiple drug administrations with precise spatiotemporal control. By controlling light fluence/irradiance, pulse structure, and duration of the irradiation drug release kinetics can be controlled in a pulsatile manner to release totally or partially the drug loaded into particulate carriers.Areas covered: Recent advances in the field of light-triggered nanoparticles used in pain management specially those studies which include preclinical models are reviewed.Expert opinion: Two decades later after the first light-sensitive drug delivery systems reported still several limitations hinder their clinical translation. Additional efforts should be undertaken to understand the nanoparticles biological fate, to satisfy their large-scale production, and to facilitate the technology to apply this therapeutic approach at a low cost.
Keywords: Analgesia; NSAIDs; anesthetics; drug delivery; light; nanomedicine; nanoparticles; opioids; pain; toxins.