Gel Microspheres as Multifunctional Carriers for Photodynamic Therapy: Advancing Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment

TL;DR

This review explores gel microspheres as a promising new approach for treating liver cancer with photodynamic therapy, offering better targeting and fewer side effects.

Contribution

The paper introduces gel microspheres as a multifunctional platform for photodynamic therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Findings

Gel microspheres enable targeted delivery and controlled release of photosensitizers in the tumor microenvironment.

They show synergistic effects when combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy.

Challenges include material parameter control and clinical translation barriers.

Abstract

Conventional hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatments suffer from insufficient efficacy and severe toxic side effects. This review addresses these issues by focusing on gel microsphere-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a novel strategy. It outlines the core properties, classifications, and stimulus-responsive mechanisms of gel microspheres, as well as their structure-function compatibility with photosensitizers. The work highlights how gel microspheres enable targeted delivery, tumor microenvironment-responsive release, and synergistic effects with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy to enhance therapeutic efficacy while reducing off-target damage. Additionally, it discusses current challenges including material parameter controllability and clinical translation hurdles, providing insights for the development of precise and personalized HCC treatments.

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