{
  "abstract": ". Conventional antibiotics exhibit non-specific systemic distribution, frequently fail to achieve sustained therapeutic concentrations at infection sites, and expose both pathogenic and commensal microbiota to sub-inhibitory levels that accelerate resistance selection. In contrast, infected tissues exhibit distinct and dynamic microenvironmental features-including acidic pH, elevated reactive oxygen species, pathogen-associated enzymatic activity, hypoxia, and localized inflammatory signaling-that are largely absent in healthy tissues and provide exploitable triggers for targeted therapy. Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers are engineered to sense and respond to these pathological cues, enabling spatiotemporally controlled and infection-specific drug release while minimizing systemic exposure. In this review, we systematically analyze the mechanistic foundations of pH-, enzyme-, redox-, and multi-stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, with particular emphasis on how trigger-induced physicochemical transformations govern drug retention, activation, penetration, and release within drug-resistant infection niches. We further examine how these platforms address key resistance-associated barriers, including impaired tissue penetration, biofilm-associated tolerance, intracellular pathogen persistence, efflux-mediated drug extrusion, and enzymatic antibiotic degradation. Importantly, we provide a critical comparison between passive nanocarriers, stimuli-responsive systems, and free antibiotics, highlighting the conditions under which infection-synchronized delivery enhances antimicrobial efficacy, reduces off-target toxicity, and mitigates resistance-selective pressure. We also evaluate current translational challenges, including microenvironmental heterogeneity, trigger variability, long-term safety, scalable manufacturing, and regulatory complexity. Collectively, stimuli-responsive nanocarriers represent a paradigm shift from passive systemic exposure toward context-aware, site-selective antimicrobial intervention, offering a promising strategy to overcome persistent limitations in anti-infective therapy and address AMR beyond the pace of conventional antibiotic discovery.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Clinical Laboratory, Danyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine"
  ],
  "article_type": "review",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Li Dai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiaoyan Sun",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5144-7126"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e9mcbbpnvwt3c.bib",
  "cited_by": 12,
  "doi": "10.3389/fmicb.2026.1803769",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "e9mcbbpnvwt3c",
  "issns": [
    "1664-302X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1803769",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2502|Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7164519548",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1803769/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13303935",
  "pmid": "42369537",
  "published": "2026-06-12",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e9mcbbpnvwt3c.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:27:00Z",
      "native_id": "W7164519548",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1803769"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2502|Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for precision targeted and controlled antimicrobial drug delivery in drug-resistant infections",
  "title_text": "Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for precision targeted and controlled antimicrobial drug delivery in drug-resistant infections",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T13:21:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e9mcbbpnvwt3c",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Microbiology",
  "versions": []
}