Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a natural
ligand of
tumor-targeted drug delivery systems (DDS) due to the relevant CD44 receptor overexpressed on
tumor cell membranes. However, other HA receptors (HARE and LYVE-1) are also overexpressing in the reticuloendothelial system (RES). Therefore,
polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification of HA-based DDS is necessary to reduce RES capture. Unfortunately, pegylation remarkably inhibits
tumor cellular uptake and endosomal escapement, significantly compromising the in vivo antitumor efficacy. Herein, we developed a Dox-loaded HA-based transformable supramolecular nanoplatform (Dox/HCVBP) to overcome this dilemma. Dox/HCVBP contains a
tumor extracellular acidity-sensitive detachable PEG shell achieved by a benzoic
imine linkage. The in vitro and in vivo investigations further demonstrated that Dox/HCVBP could be in a "stealth" state at blood stream for a long circulation time due to the buried HA
ligands and the minimized nonspecific interaction by PEG shell. However, it could transform into a "recognition" state under the
tumor acidic microenvironment for efficient
tumor cellular uptake due to the direct exposure of active targeting
ligand HA following PEG shell detachment. Such a transformative concept provides a promising strategy to resolve the dilemma of natural
ligand-based DDS with conflicting two processes of
tumor cellular uptake and in vivo nonspecific biodistribution.