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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDPolymer science & technology (Washington, D.C.)

Acid-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems: Advances and Perspectives

  • Haiping Zhong1,2
  • Yan Zong3,4
  • Haoyu Du5
  • Jingzhi Wang5
  • Shuang Qu6
  • Ningqiang Gong5
  • Bingran Yu6
  • Qiang Cheng3,4
  • Shutao Guo2
6 affiliations
  1. 1School of Biomedical Engineering, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510260, China.
  2. 2Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
  3. 3Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
  4. 4Beijing Advanced Center of RNA Biology (BEACON), Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
  5. 5Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
  6. 6College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
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Abstract

Acid-responsive drug delivery systems have evolved into versatile platforms for achieving spatially and temporally controlled drug activation by exploiting pathological and intracellular acidity. Despite significant advances in prodrug- and carrier-based systems, key challenges remain, including pH heterogeneity, limited understanding of structure-property-function relationships, and translational barriers. Future efforts will focus on developing ultra-sensitive and programmable systems with precisely tunable response thresholds. The integration of multi-stimuli responsiveness, logic-gated release mechanisms, and immunomodulatory functions is expected to enhance targeting specificity and therapeutic efficacy. In addition, improving biological barrier penetration and intracellular delivery remains critical, particularly for macromolecular therapeutics. Simplified, scalable designs with well-defined structures will be essential for clinical translation. Overall, acid-responsive drug delivery systems are transitioning toward intelligent, microenvironment-adaptive systems, offering significant potential for next-generation precision medicine.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{zhong2026acidresponsive,
  title = {{Acid-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems: Advances and Perspectives}},
  author = {Haiping Zhong and Yan Zong and Haoyu Du and Jingzhi Wang and Shuang Qu and Ningqiang Gong and Bingran Yu and Qiang Cheng and Shutao Guo},
  journal = {Polymer science \& technology (Washington, D.C.)},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1021/polymscitech.6c00051},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13718360},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Acid-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems: Advances and Perspectives
AU  - Haiping Zhong
AU  - Yan Zong
AU  - Haoyu Du
AU  - Jingzhi Wang
AU  - Shuang Qu
AU  - Ningqiang Gong
AU  - Bingran Yu
AU  - Qiang Cheng
AU  - Shutao Guo
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/16
JO  - Polymer science & technology (Washington, D.C.)
DO  - 10.1021/polymscitech.6c00051
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13718360
AB  - Acid-responsive drug delivery systems have evolved into versatile platforms for achieving spatially and temporally controlled drug activation by exploiting pathological and intracellular acidity. Despite significant advances in prodrug- and carrier-based systems, key challenges remain, including pH heterogeneity, limited understanding of structure-property-function relationships, and translational barriers. Future efforts will focus on developing ultra-sensitive and programmable systems with precisely tunable response thresholds. The integration of multi-stimuli responsiveness, logic-gated release mechanisms, and immunomodulatory functions is expected to enhance targeting specificity and therapeutic efficacy. In addition, improving biological barrier penetration and intracellular delivery remains critical, particularly for macromolecular therapeutics. Simplified, scalable designs with well-defined structures will be essential for clinical translation. Overall, acid-responsive drug delivery systems are transitioning toward intelligent, microenvironment-adaptive systems, offering significant potential for next-generation precision medicine.
SN  - 2997-3279
ER  -