Possibility of active targeting to tumor by local hyperthermia with temperature-sensitive nanoparticles.

Recently, the concept of drug delivery requires that the release of encapsulated drug be produced only at the diseased site with controllable rates. Given that thermosensitive hydrogels have been widely investigated for controlled delivery based on their phase transition, we speculate that nanoparticles with the novel polymers play a key role in tumor therapy respond to thermal activity. Therefore, we here hypothesize that enhanced delivery of therapeutics might be achieved by conjugation to thermosensitive polymers, in concert with targeted hyperthermia by precisely specifying the phase transition temperature of the thermosensitive polymer. By local hyperthermia at tumor site, a targeted drug delivery system could be obtained, exploiting both the temperature-sensitive and the site-specific behaviors. The proposition may provide a new strategy into the development of a novel drug delivery system for tumor therapy.