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Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems for inflammatory skin conditions

Gade, Luna ; Boyd, Ben J. ; Malmsten, Martin LU and Heinz, Andrea (2024) In Acta Biomaterialia 187. p.1-19
Abstract

Inflammatory skin conditions highly influence the quality of life of the patients suffering from these disorders. Symptoms include red, itchy and painful skin lesions, which are visible to the rest of the world, causing stigmatization and a significantly lower mental health of the patients. Treatment options are often unsatisfactory, as they suffer from either low patient adherence or the risk of severe side effects. Considering this, there is a need for new treatments, and notably of new ways of delivering the drugs. Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems are able to deliver their drug cargo in response to a given stimulus and are, thus, promising for the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions. For example, the use of external... (More)

Inflammatory skin conditions highly influence the quality of life of the patients suffering from these disorders. Symptoms include red, itchy and painful skin lesions, which are visible to the rest of the world, causing stigmatization and a significantly lower mental health of the patients. Treatment options are often unsatisfactory, as they suffer from either low patient adherence or the risk of severe side effects. Considering this, there is a need for new treatments, and notably of new ways of delivering the drugs. Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems are able to deliver their drug cargo in response to a given stimulus and are, thus, promising for the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions. For example, the use of external stimuli such as ultraviolet light, near infrared radiation, or alteration of magnetic field enables drug release to be precisely controlled in space and time. On the other hand, internal stimuli induced by the pathological condition, including pH alteration in the skin or upregulation of reactive oxygen species or enzymes, can be utilized to create drug delivery systems that specifically target the diseased skin to achieve a better efficacy and safety. In the latter context, however, it is of key importance to match the trigger mechanism of the drug delivery system to the actual pathological features of the specific skin condition. Hence, the focus of this article is placed not only on reviewing stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems developed to treat specific inflammatory skin conditions, but also on critically evaluating their efficacy in the context of specific skin diseases. Statement of significance: Skin diseases affect one-third of the world's population, significantly lowering the quality of life of the patients, who deal with symptoms such as painful and itchy skin lesions, as well as stigmatization due to the visibility of their symptoms. Current treatments for inflammatory skin conditions are often hampered by low patient adherence or serious drug side effects. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on developing innovative formulations that provide better efficacy and safety for patients. Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems hold considerable promise in this regard, as they can deliver their cargo precisely where and when it is needed, reducing adverse effects and potentially offering better treatment outcomes.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Hydrogel, Polymers, Reactive oxygen species, Thermoresponsive, Wound healing
in
Acta Biomaterialia
volume
187
pages
19 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85203139152
  • pmid:39209132
ISSN
1742-7061
DOI
10.1016/j.actbio.2024.08.037
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)
id
e5187984-7759-4834-af45-d2bd0e9d8ede
date added to LUP
2024-12-04 15:03:40
date last changed
2025-07-17 09:47:18
@article{e5187984-7759-4834-af45-d2bd0e9d8ede,
  abstract     = {{<p>Inflammatory skin conditions highly influence the quality of life of the patients suffering from these disorders. Symptoms include red, itchy and painful skin lesions, which are visible to the rest of the world, causing stigmatization and a significantly lower mental health of the patients. Treatment options are often unsatisfactory, as they suffer from either low patient adherence or the risk of severe side effects. Considering this, there is a need for new treatments, and notably of new ways of delivering the drugs. Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems are able to deliver their drug cargo in response to a given stimulus and are, thus, promising for the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions. For example, the use of external stimuli such as ultraviolet light, near infrared radiation, or alteration of magnetic field enables drug release to be precisely controlled in space and time. On the other hand, internal stimuli induced by the pathological condition, including pH alteration in the skin or upregulation of reactive oxygen species or enzymes, can be utilized to create drug delivery systems that specifically target the diseased skin to achieve a better efficacy and safety. In the latter context, however, it is of key importance to match the trigger mechanism of the drug delivery system to the actual pathological features of the specific skin condition. Hence, the focus of this article is placed not only on reviewing stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems developed to treat specific inflammatory skin conditions, but also on critically evaluating their efficacy in the context of specific skin diseases. Statement of significance: Skin diseases affect one-third of the world's population, significantly lowering the quality of life of the patients, who deal with symptoms such as painful and itchy skin lesions, as well as stigmatization due to the visibility of their symptoms. Current treatments for inflammatory skin conditions are often hampered by low patient adherence or serious drug side effects. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on developing innovative formulations that provide better efficacy and safety for patients. Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems hold considerable promise in this regard, as they can deliver their cargo precisely where and when it is needed, reducing adverse effects and potentially offering better treatment outcomes.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gade, Luna and Boyd, Ben J. and Malmsten, Martin and Heinz, Andrea}},
  issn         = {{1742-7061}},
  keywords     = {{Hydrogel; Polymers; Reactive oxygen species; Thermoresponsive; Wound healing}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  pages        = {{1--19}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Acta Biomaterialia}},
  title        = {{Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems for inflammatory skin conditions}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2024.08.037}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.actbio.2024.08.037}},
  volume       = {{187}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}