Abstract
Multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumors is one of the clinical direct reasons for chemotherapy failure. MDR directly leads to tumor recurrence and metastasis, with extremely grievous mortality. Engineering a novel nano-delivery system for the treatment of MDR tumors has become an important part of nanotechnology. Herein, this review will take those different mechanisms of MDR as the classification standards and systematically summarize the advances in nanotechnology targeting different mechanisms of MDR in recent years. However, it still needs to be seriously considered that there are still some thorny problems in the application of the nano-delivery system against MDR tumors, including the excessive utilization of carrier materials, low drug-loading capacity, relatively narrow targeting mechanism, and so on. It is hoped that through the continuous development of nanotechnology, nano-delivery systems with more universal uses and a simpler preparation process can be obtained, for achieving the goal of defeating cancer MDR and accelerating clinical transformation.
Introduction
Cancer is still a worldwide malignant disease. According to the latest statistics of CA 2021 (CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians), by 2020, the number of cancer deaths in the world had reached 9.96 million (Sung et al., 2021). With the developments in cancer pathology, the research on chemotherapeutic drugs developed for cancer has obtained tremendous advances. However, due to its inherent characteristics, chemotherapy still faces some challenges, such as lack of sufficient targeting ability and limited bioavailability (Subramanian et al., 2016; Rodriguez-Nogales et al., 2018; Mu et al., 2020). More importantly, repeated treatments of chemotherapeutics lead to multiple drug resistance of tumor cells (Kibria et al., 2014) so that patients with malignant tumors (such as non–small cell lung cancer and triple-negative breast cancer) may initially respond to the first-line chemotherapy strategy; their tumor growth is obviously inhibited, but they often have cancer metastasis or recurrence; then, second-and third-line chemotherapy or other treatments are needed (Wu et al., 2010; Shapira et al., 2011; ). Consequently, the response of tumor cells to the subsequent chemotherapy using various cytotoxic drugs becomes ineffective. Therefore, finding a broad and effective treatment strategy to reverse multidrug resistance is a very important topic in tumor treatment research.
It has been proven that the mechanisms of tumor multidrug resistance mainly include ATP-dependent drug efflux, DNA repair, inhibition of the apoptosis pathway, and tumor tissue heterogeneity in recent years (Figure 1) (Shapira et al., 2011; Housman et al., 2014; ; Wei et al., 2021). In addition to that, the hypoxic tumor microenvironment (Zeng et al., 2015; Jing et al., 2019), cancer stem cell regulation (; Mihanfar et al., 2019), endoplasmic reticulum stress (), and the immune suppression microenvironment of tumors (Vasan et al., 2019) were also proven to be closely related to the progress of MDR. At present, although the severity of multidrug resistance can be alleviated by various therapeutics, which can mainly increase the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs by reducing the drug efflux of tumor cells, these small molecular drugs still have the same disadvantages as mentioned above, such as lack of targeting and bioavailability (Milane et al., 2011; ). More importantly, it is difficult for these drugs to approach the tumor site along with chemotherapy drugs simultaneously, for achieving an ideal synergistic effect and eventually a better clinical treatment effect (; Meng et al., 2013; Zhang M. et al., 2017; Wang and Huang, 2020).
FIGURE 1
With the continuous development of nanotechnology, rationally designed nanoscale drug delivery systems (NDDSs) with their distinct advantages can be employed to deliver various bioactive payloads to tumor sites for resolving the aforementioned problems (
NDDSs Targeting Drug Efflux Pumps for Inhibiting MDR
As illustrated by Figure 1, among these mechanisms involved in MDR, the drug efflux mechanism is the most important one which obtains the most common and intensive research. After continuous stimulation by chemotherapeutic drugs, tumor cells will upregulate drug efflux–related transporters, especially including multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1), multidrug resistance–associated protein 1 (MRP1), and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) (Shapira et al., 2011; Housman et al., 2014). The physiological processes of these transporters are ATP energy-dependent, so they belonged to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family. After recognizing chemotherapeutic drugs with a molecular weight less than 2,000 Da, ABC proteins will pump these drugs out immediately (
NDDSs Reducing the Content of MDR-Related Proteins
MDR1 (also known as P-glycoprotein, P-gp) is highly expressed in a variety of drug-resistant tumor cells, which are mainly distributed on the surface of the cell membrane. It is a typical ATP-dependent protein and plays a direct important role in the efflux of small molecule drugs (Ghetie et al., 2004; Housman et al., 2014;
FIGURE 2

(A) Schematic illustration of construction and effective endo-lysosomal escape of the pH/redox dual-responsive mPPP-ssOEI/DOX/siRNA co-delivery polyplex. After being internalized, the acidic and reduction potential environment of the endo-lysosome triggers the payload release and the subsequent endo-lysosomal escape (
The traditional gene delivery system needs to use several positive charge carriers, which bring a huge risk of toxicity in vivo (Lv et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2014). Therefore, researchers recently began to employ the regulatory gene itself as a part of the carriers to construct NDDSs, for delivering synergistic chemotherapeutics and achieving ideal safety and therapeutic effect simultaneously (Zheng et al., 2019; Ji W. et al., 2021). Zheng, M. et al. utilized a hydrophilic siRNA shell, a thermal- and intracellular-reduction-sensitive hydrophobic median layer, and an empty aqueous interior to construct a siRNA-based vesicle (siRNAsome). When siRNAsomes were loaded with the hydrophilic drug doxorubicin hydrochloride and anti-P-gp siRNA, synergistic therapeutic activity was achieved in MCF-7/ADR tumor cells and a tumor model (Zheng et al., 2019) (Figure 2B). In addition, due to the high biosafety and targeting ability of exosome and biomimetic vesicles, these studies on constructing new NDDSs have developed vigorously in recent years (Wang T. et al., 2019; Liang et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2020). Wang, T. et al. utilized versatile mimic vesicles derived from aptamer erythrocytes to investigate a novel kind of delivery system for siRNA and DOX to treat MDR tumors. This system could be readily obtained through extruding erythrocyte membranes and had the advantages of biological homogeneity, high output, controllable size, low cost, and excellent biocompatibility. The drug-loaded vesicles could successfully conquer drug resistance through P-gp silencing and synergistically eliminating MDR tumor cells via DOX-induced growth inhibition (Wang T. et al., 2019).
At the same time, the influence of physiological properties of the tumor cell internal and external environment on MDR cannot be ignored. By enhancing the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or reducing the level of ATP by targeting mitochondria, NDDSs can effectively inhibit the expression of P-gp, reverse multidrug resistance, and significantly increase the concentration of intracellular chemotherapeutic drugs (Liu Y. et al., 2019;
As an important substance for constructing NDDSs, nitric oxide (NO) is capable of not only directly eliminating tumor cells but also effectively inhibiting the expression of P-gp, to reduce the drug efflux phenomena of MDR tumor cells. It has been widely used in the synergistic treatment of MDR tumors along with chemotherapeutic drugs (
NDDSs Reducing the Drug Efflux Ability of MDR-Related Proteins
Due to the inherent advantages of NDDSs, it can transport a variety of active substances to the tumor site simultaneously, to induce a synergistic therapeutic effect, such as the nano co-delivery of oxaliplatin and folinic acid, achieving synergistic chemo-immunotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, and the co-delivery of siRNAs of two key inflammation-related proteins (p38α MAPK and p65) by novel liposomal delivery (Wang Y. et al., 2020; Guo et al., 2020). Therefore, through rational design, the inhibitors of MDR-related proteins and chemotherapeutic drugs can reach the tumor lesion at the same time via NDDSs (
In addition, with the deepening and expansion of NDDS engineering research, some carrier molecules with biological regulatory functions have been found, such as D-alpha-tocopheryl poly (ethylene glycol)-1000 succinate (TPGS), which can reduce the ATP content in tumor cells (Lei et al., 2019; Xing et al., 2019; Jiang et al., 2020). Xing, Y. et al. reported a photo-responsive nanocluster system prepared by installing polydopamine nanoparticle clusters on the surface of TPGS micelles solubilized with IR780 (a photosensitizer) to achieve combined chemotherapy/photothermal therapy/photodynamic therapy for drug-resistant breast cancer (Figure 3A). The nanocluster shows prominently quenched fluorescence emission and inhibited singlet oxygen generation upon exposure to near-infrared light, favoring a highly efficient photothermal therapy module. More importantly, TPGS could enhance the intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin hydrochloride whose release is boosted by the photothermal heat. Demonstrated by the results of in vitro and in vivo experiments, the developed nanocluster exhibited a great potential to treat MDR cancer (Xing et al., 2019). Another example of this special carrier molecule, TPGS, is a multifunctional liposome consisting of TPGS and a polylysine-deoxycholic acid copolymer, paclitaxel, and a chemosensitizing agent, sorafenib. Contributed to the MDR reversal effect of TPGS, this particular kind of liposome significantly increased the cellular concentration of paclitaxel and induced antitumor therapeutic effects (Figure 3B) (Lei et al., 2019).
FIGURE 3

(A) Schematic representation of the construction and application of photoresponsive NC with trimodal synergistic therapy properties (Xing et al., 2019). Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society (B) Schematic illustration of the HA-TPD-CL-PTX/SOR liposome for co-delivery of PTX and SOR to overcome MDR in cancer cells. Drug delivery includes steps of the intravenous injection, active targeting of liposome, and degradation of HA by HAase together with the exposure of PLL-DA at HAase-rich lysosome, the release of drugs, action on mitochondria function, and inhibition of the P-gp efflux by TPGS to further enhance drug accumulation in cancer cells (Lei et al., 2019). Copyright 2019 Taylor & Francis Group. This figure was generated by Microsoft PowerPoint and OneKeyTools Lite.
NDDSs Designed for Evading Drug Efflux Pumps
MDR relying on the drug efflux mainly realizes the protection of tumor cells by directly reducing the intracellular drug concentration (Housman et al., 2014). Therefore, in addition to directly inhibiting the function and expression of MDR-related proteins, we can also take advantage of the characteristics of the drug efflux process to evade the exclusion process and improve the intracellular concentration of drugs. As mentioned above, P-gp can recognize drugs with a molecular weight below 2,000 Da and pump them out of cells (
However, since the release process of drugs from ordinary NDDSs is often free diffusion, the intracellular drug consent is difficult to rapidly accumulate to the ideal level for efficient treatment. To solve this problem, great efforts have been continuously put into developing novel kinds of NDDSs from the following three aspects: 1) building a stimuli-responsible NDDS based on the physiological parameters of the tumor microenvironment; 2) constructing an active targeting NDDS to improve the overall drug concentration into tumor cells; 3) according to the specific action mechanism of the drug, targeting its action position and improving the regional drug concentration for achieving the maximum effect.
Construction of Stimuli-Responsive NDDSs Based on the Physiological Parameters of Tumor Cells
For approaching the accurate and rapid drug release, reduced toxic side effects, and increased intercellular drug concentration, some tumor microenvironment physiological properties which are different from those of normal tissues, such as pH and enzyme concentration (Llopis-Lorente et al., 2019;
Among those tumor environmental stimuli, it is the most common strategy to construct responsive nanosystems by using the difference of pH value between the tumor microenvironment and normal tissue. Due to the abnormal metabolism of tumor cells, the pH value of the tumor microenvironment is 6.5–7.0, while the pH values of endosomes and lysosomes are 5–6 and 4.5–5.5, respectively, (Yin et al., 2013; Ghadiri et al., 2017). This special pH gradient can be applied to trigger drug release or dissociation of NDDSs (Wu et al., 2018; Yang et al., 2018; Li et al., 2019c; Wang Q. et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2020). A pH-sensitive graft copolymer, poly[(3-amino ester)-g-B-cyclodextrin (PBAE-g-(3-CD)], was synthesized by Wang, Q. et al. It was employed to co-deliver DOX and adjudin (ADD, a mitochondrial inhibitor). Triggered by low pH in endo/lysosome after endocytosis, both ADD and hydrolyzed DOX were released rapidly into tumor cells. Owing to that, the NDDSs exhibited an effective growth inhibition against MDR cells via the synergistic effect of ADD and DOX (Wang Q. et al., 2019). On the other hand, Li, Y. et al. reported a sequential release drug delivery system that imparts avoiding the drug efflux and nuclear transport in synchrony via a simple nanostructured drug strategy. The liposome-based nanostructured drugs (LNSDs) loaded two modules: DOX loaded into tetrahedral DNA (TD) to form small nanostructured DOX and the nanostructured DOX was encapsulated into the pH-sensitive liposomes. In the in vivo experiments, under the weak acidity of lysosomes, liposomes rapidly dissociated and released nanostructured DOX, rapidly increased the intracellular drug concentration, and finally, successfully reduced the drug efflux of MDR and then obtained an ideal therapeutic effect (Li et al., 2019c) (Figure 4A). At the same time, this stimulus can also be used in combination with other stimuli to realize multi-level dissociation of drugs (Li et al., 2019b; Zhang S. et al., 2019;
FIGURE 4

(A) Preparation, anti-efflux, and cell nuclear-transport effects of the LNSD (Li et al., 2019c). Copyright 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. (B) Schematic illustrations for preparation of HPPDC nanoparticles and their functional mechanisms for overcoming drug resistance in breast cancer treatment (Zhang S. et al., 2019). Copyright 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. (C) Schematic representation of the redox-responsive PEI/TDNs/DOX nanocomplexes with membrane-breaking and size-changeable properties for combating MDR tumor (Yan et al., 2021). Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V. (D) Scheme of the formulation process for anti-EGFR-PEG-SPIO NPs and their applications in MRgFUS (Wang et al., 2017). Copyright 2017 Elsevier Ltd. This figure was generated by Microsoft PowerPoint and OneKeyTools Lite.
The gradient change of redox inside and outside tumor cells can be used as another specific stimulus for drug release. Among them, glutathione (GSH) is the most used redox stimulant. This is because the concentration of GSH in the tumor cytoplasm (∼10 mm) is about 7 times higher than that in normal cells (He et al., 2014). Studies have shown that GSH can specifically hydrolyze the disulfide bond and quickly release the drugs covalently connected or dissociate NDDSs. Therefore, the disulfide bond is widely used in the construction of new environmentally responsive NDDSs (
Construction of NDDSs Actively Targeting the Tumor Lesion
Contributing to the EPR effect, NDDSs are entitled to the ability of passive targeting to tumor tissues, and it is very important to promote the effective and rapid entry of drugs into specific cells (Subramanian et al., 2016). Active targeting provides us with another feasible scheme to enhance the probability of drugs entering specific cells. Active targeting refers to a drug delivery system that covalently connects ligands (with targeting function) to carriers or drug molecules and realizes the connection with target receptors by taking advantage of the special affinity between them. It can enhance the endocytosis of tumor cells and realize the rapid entry of NDDSs into cells. Due to that, it can effectively increase the effective drug concentration in cancer cells and then enhance the curative effect of drugs (Hirsjarvi et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2017; Liu S. et al., 2019; Ma et al., 2019; Soe et al., 2019; Wang Y. et al., 2019; Xiao et al., 2020). For example, based on the high overexpression of Y-1 receptor (Y1R) protein and P-gp in the multidrug-resistant breast cancer cell line, a selective Y1R ligand, [Asn(6), Pro(34)]-NPY (AP) was employed to stabilize the chemotherapeutic drug DOX and P-gp inhibitor tariquidar (Tar) co-loaded nanomicelles at the physiological level. This also improved the targeted delivery of DOX and Tar into MCF-7/ADR cells. Co-delivered Tar further inhibited the efflux of DOX and increased its accumulation in the drug-resistant cancer cells, thereby inducing significant inhibition of cell growth (Wang Y. et al., 2019). Another example is an active targeting nano-sized theragnostic superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) platform for significantly increasing the imaging sensitivity and energy deposition efficiency in the MDR tumor model using a clinical MRgFUS system which was developed by Wang, Z. et al. The surfaces of these PEGylated SPIO nanoparticles (NPs) were conjugated with anti-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) monoclonal antibodies (mAb) for targeted delivery to lung cancer with the EGFR overexpression (Wang et al., 2017) (Figure 4D).
Construction of NDDSs Targeting the Site of Drug Action
The therapeutic effect of tumors largely depends on the drug delivery efficiency of NDDSs to its final target, especially for MDR tumors, ensuring the drug concentration near the final target is an important strategy to overcome multidrug resistance. The nucleus has been proved to be the main interaction site of most therapeutics. Therefore, it is highly expected that nuclear targeted NDDSs can provide a more effective strategy than ordinary cell membrane-targeted therapy (Wang et al., 2011; Ling et al., 2012; Li et al., 2018; Li H. et al., 2019; Tu et al., 2020). Tu, Z. et al. conjugated a cyclic R10 peptide [cR(10)] to polyglycerol-covered nanographene oxide for developing a novel nanomedicine to overcome multidrug resistance. The nuclear translocation of this nanomedicine was facilitated by the cR(10) peptide. Subsequently, a laser-triggered release of the loaded DOX results in efficient anticancer activity confirmed by both in vitro and in vivo experiments (Tu et al., 2020). The biodistribution and photothermal effects of this nanomedicine were studied in HeLa-R tumor-bearing nude mice. These results showed that this nanomedicine could target the tumor lesion most efficiently. At the same time, it has the most photothermal effect under the NIR laser (808 nm), compared to other therapeutic forms. Furthermore, another example is a mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN)-based nucleus-targeted system engineered by Li, H. et al., which could directly target the cancer stem cells and further enter the nucleus by the surface modification of anti-CD133 and thermal-triggered exposure of TAT peptides under an alternating magnetic field (AMF). In the in vivo treatment of Balb/C mice bearing MCF-7 breast tumor, the nucleus-targeted NDDS efficiently inhibited cancer stem cells by blocking the hypoxia signaling pathway (Li H. et al., 2019).
NDDSs for Inhibiting DNA Repair
In addition to the drug efflux mechanism discussed above, tumor cells can also effectively repair the damaged DNA by excision repair or homologous recombination under the stimulation of chemotherapeutic drugs and eventually weaken or even eliminate the efficacy of chemotherapy (
FIGURE 5

(A) Schematic illustration of the preparation of F–Pt-NPs and possible mechanism involved in inhibition of cisplatin resistance under NIR laser irradiation (Wang L. et al., 2021). Copyright 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH. (B) Schematic illustration of the regulation process against MDR tumor of Apt-DOA (Pan et al., 2020). Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society. (C) Schematic illustration of components and cocktail therapy of metastatic MDR breast cancer by PM@THL with the dual sensitive double-layered structure (Lang et al., 2019). Copyright 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. This figure was generated by Microsoft PowerPoint and OneKeyTools Lite.
NDDSs for Reactivating the Apoptosis Pathway of Tumor Cells
The reactivation of the anti-apoptotic process of tumor cells plays another important role in resisting the attack in chemotherapeutics, which involves promoting survival, anti-apoptotic regulator Bcl-2, and its downstream nuclear factors-κB (NF-κB), and so on. More than 50% of cancers have defects in the mechanism of apoptosis. The most characteristic of these abnormalities is the increased expression of Bcl-2 family proteins (Housman et al., 2014; Hu et al., 2016). Targeting these anti-apoptotic factors to improve the killing efficiency of chemotherapeutics against tumor cells is a promising tumor therapy strategy (Pan et al., 2020; Wang H. et al., 2020; Xie et al., 2020; Sivak et al., 2021). For instance, Sivak, L. et al. described a polymer biomaterial composed of the antiretroviral drug ritonavir derivative (5-methyl-4-oxohexanoic acid ritonavir ester; RD), covalently bound to the HPMA copolymer carrier via a pH-sensitive hydrazone bond (P-RD). Importantly, RD inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation in CT26 cells (murine colon adenocarcinoma) in vitro and the expression of the NF-κB p65 subunit, Bcl-2, and Mcl-1 in vitro. P-RD nanomedicine showed significant antitumor activity in CT26 and B16F10 tumor-bearing mice (Sivak et al., 2021). Additionally, Pan. Q. et al. constructed a multifunctional DNA origami-based nanocarrier for co-delivery of a chemotherapeutic drug (doxorubicin, DOX) and two different antisense oligonucleotides [ASOs; B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) and P-gp] into drug-resistant cancer cells for enhanced therapy. Experiments revealed that the origami could protect ASOs against nuclease degradation in 10% FBS. Moreover, with the synergetic effect of co-delivery of multi-ASOs and DOX, the anticancer assay showed that Apt-DOA (Apt-DOX-origami-ASO) could circumvent multidrug resistance and significantly enhance cancer therapy in Hela/ADR and MCF-7/ADR cells (Pan et al., 2020) (Figure 5B).
Accurately Targeting Cancer Stem Cells and Improving Reversal Efficiency
Recent studies have shown that a small number of tumor cells have the characteristics of stem cells and usually have drug resistance ability, due to the heterogeneity of tumor tissues (Housman et al., 2014). In addition, another small number of adult tumor cells also have the same ability (Housman et al., 2014). In conventional tumor treatment, these drug-resistant tumor cells can survive and continue to proliferate as seeds over time, leading to recurrence (Housman et al., 2014). Some of these drug-resistant cancer cells may enter the blood circulation and may form metastases in distant organs (Mansoori et al., 2017;
Discussion
With the continuous development of nanotechnology, the application of NDDSs in cancer treatment has received extensive attention all over the world. In fact, according to the NIH, there are 110 clinical trials involving the application of nanotechnology for cancer treatment nowadays (Gonzalez-Valdivieso et al., 2021). Among them, Doxil® is a representative example, which is the first FDA-approved NDDS for clinic application since 1995, consisting of PEG-liposome and doxorubicin. Compared to free doxorubicin, Doxil® has some important advantages, such as a 100-times longer half-life inside the body circulation and a reduction in cardiotoxicity. Due to that, Doxil® has been applied in several clinical therapies of malignant tumors, such as myeloma and ovarian cancer (
In addition to these, other novel NDDSs, which are constructed based on different strategies, have entered the clinical research from preclinical research in the laboratory, including passive-targeting tumor lesions via the EPR effect or active-targeting tumor sites relying on the antibody technology, such as PK2, an HPMA polymer doxorubicin conjugate, was the first targeting nanotherapeutic agent reaching the clinic (Julyan et al., 1999; Hopewell et al., 2001; Kopeček and Kopečková, 2010; Gonzalez-Valdivieso et al., 2021). Notably, in addition to the primary tumor-targeting NDDSs, some NDDSs aiming at reducing tumor metastasis have also been gradually translated into clinical studies, such as DaunoXome® which was employed for the treatment against metastatic ovarian cancer and metastatic breast cancer (
Thus, novel strategies for overcoming these following obstacles that limit the clinical translation process of NDDSs are needed. First, although nanoscale carriers can enhance drug penetration and accumulation within tumor lesions, the actual number of drugs that can eventually enter tumor tissues is still limited due to the generally low drug content in NDDSs, and the vehicles themselves have clinical risks (Stiegler et al., 2010; Yang et al., 2019;
In addition, because the mechanism of MDR is very complex and changeable, simply targeting one mechanism is far from meeting the clinical needs. Therefore, exploring a reasonable drug combination to achieve multi-channel reversal of multidrug resistance and tumor treatment is a further research direction in this field. At present, researchers have made some corresponding exploration. For instance, Liu, X. et al. developed a novel kind of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) modified by multifunctional molecular beacons (MBs), which was utilized as a vehicle for loading three different drug resistance–related mRNAs (MDR1 mRNA, MRP1 mRNA, and BCRP mRNA). After uptake by cells, MBS AuNP would inhibit the translation of drug resistance–related mRNAs and reduce the flux protein expression. This NDDS was provided to have the ability of synergistic inhibiting MDR and in situ imaging of drug resistance–related mRNAs in living cells (Liu X. et al., 2019). Delivering drugs by passing the drug efflux mechanisms of MDR is also a solution to those problems discussed above. For example, telomerase, as a biomarker of tumor cells, is expressed in more than 90% of tumor cells. The inhibition of telomerase can effectively increase the chemosensitivity of tumor cells. Therefore, the construction of new NDDS-targeting telomerase has also achieved an obvious therapeutic effect on multidrug-resistant tumors (Wu Y. et al., 2020).
In conclusion, even though key steps are still needed to improve their possibility of clinical translation, NDDSs are becoming more and more promising to eventually solve MDR of tumors in clinical application. Based on this fact, we have reason to believe that in the foreseeable future, there will be an NDDS that can effectively solve the MDR of tumors and be translated into clinical application.
Statements
Author contributions
CZ wrote the manuscript. XZ, HZ, and XH collected references of the manuscript. CZ and XZ supported this work. BL and RY made important contribution during the revision of this manuscript. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.
Funding
This review is supported by the Youth Project of Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Education Commission of China (KJQN201901138) and Scientific Research Foundation of Chongqing University of Technology (2019ZD87, 2019ZD88).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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Summary
Keywords
nanotechnology, multidrug resistance, cancer, mechanism, review
Citation
Zhang C, Zhou X, Zhang H, Han X, Li B, Yang R and Zhou X (2022) Recent Progress of Novel Nanotechnology Challenging the Multidrug Resistance of Cancer. Front. Pharmacol. 13:776895. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.776895
Received
14 September 2021
Accepted
11 January 2022
Published
14 February 2022
Volume
13 - 2022
Edited by
Joanna Kopecka, University of Turin, Italy
Reviewed by
Noor Ayad Hussein, Stanford University, United States
Wenji Zhang, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Science, China
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Copyright
© 2022 Zhang, Zhou, Zhang, Han, Li, Yang and Zhou.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Chengyuan Zhang, yjxzcy@cqut.edu.cn; Xing Zhou, diszhou@cqut.edu.cn
This article was submitted to Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology
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