The field of
cancer nanomedicine is considered a promising area for improved delivery of bioactive molecules including drugs,
pharmaceutical agents and
nucleic acids. Among these,
drug delivery technology has made discernible progress in recent years and the areas that warrant further focus and consideration towards technological developments have also been recognized. Development of viable methods for on-demand spatial and temporal release of entrapped drugs from the nanocarriers is an arena that is likely to enhance the clinical suitability of
drug-loaded nanocarriers. One such approach, which utilizes light as the external stimulus to disrupt and/or destabilize
drug-loaded nanoparticles, will be the discussion platform of this article. Although several phototriggerable nanocarriers are currently under development, I will limit this review to the phototriggerable
liposomes that have demonstrated promise in the cell culture systems at least (but not the last). The topics covered in this review include (i) a brief summary of various phototriggerable nanocarriers; (ii) an overview of the application of
liposomes to deliver payload of
photosensitizers and associated technologies; (iii) the design considerations of photoactivable
lipid molecules and the chemical considerations and mechanisms of phototriggering of liposomal
lipids; (iv) limitations and future directions for in vivo, clinically viable triggered
drug delivery approaches and potential novel photoactivation strategies will be discussed.