Cyclodextrin‐Based Nanoplatforms for Tumor Phototherapy: An Update

Abstract

Tumor phototherapies are light‐mediated tumor treatment modalities, which usually refer to tumor photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Due to the outstanding spatial‐temporal control over treatment through light irradiation, tumor phototherapies display extremely low side effects during treatment and are believed to be a tumor treatment method with a clinical translation potential. However, current tumor phototherapy nanoplatforms face obstacles, including light irradiation‐induced skin burning, tumor hypoxia microenvironments, limited light penetration depth, et al. Therefore, one important research direction is developing a tumor phototherapy nanoplatform with multifunctionality and enhanced pharmacological effects to overcome the complexity of tumor treatment. On the other hand, cyclodextrins (CDs) are starch‐originated circular oligosaccharides with negligible toxicity and have been used to form supermolecular nanostructures through a host–guest interaction between the inner cavity of CDs and functional biomolecules. In the past few years, numerous studies have focused on CD‐based multifunctional tumor phototherapy nanoplatforms with an enhanced photoeffect, responsive morphological transformation, and elevated drug bioavailability. This review focuses on the preparation methods of CD‐based tumor phototherapy nanoplatforms and their unique physiochemical properties for improving anti‐tumor pharmacological efficacy.