Springer Nature
Investigational New Drugs
,  volume 43 ,  issue 2 ,  pages 365-376

Challenging and new opportunities for prodrug technology

Helin Li 1, 2
, 
Xuelian Shen 1, 2
, 
Chu Yu 1, 2
, 
Panhong Yuan 3
, 
Qi Shuai 1, 2
1
 
2
 
Zhejiang Governor Triangle Biomedical Industrial Technology Research Park, Huzhou, China | 
3
 
Publication type: Journal Article
Publication date: 2025-02-18
Springer Nature
scimago Q1
wos Q2
SJR: 1.074
CiteScore: 6.9
Impact factor: 2.7
ISSN: 01676997, 15730646
Abstract
Research on prodrug technology has opened new avenues for site-directed chemotherapy rather than systemic chemotherapy. This distinctive strategy allows drug delivery to be activated by light-, irradiation-, or ultrasound (US)-tunable chemistries, which have been termed photopharmacology, radiopharmacology, and sonopharmacology, respectively. Prodrugs have emerged as a main strategy for improving pharmacokinetics, reducing side effects, and thus enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of drugs. This review summarizes stimuli-responsive drug release systems and the latest progress in exogenous stimuli-responsive prodrug activation, e.g., light, irradiation, and US, with a focus on the activation of small molecule prodrugs, antibody‒drug conjugates, and prodrug nanosystems. In addition, challenges encountered by Pt drugs and Pt(IV) prodrug nanotherapeutics are summarized and discussed. Moreover, this review presents the current state of precise treatment and discusses the opportunities and challenges for the clinical translation of these strategies.
Found 
Found 

Top-30

Journals

1
Carbohydrate Polymers
Carbohydrate Polymers, 1, 100%
Carbohydrate Polymers
1 publication, 100%
1

Publishers

1
Elsevier
Elsevier, 1, 100%
Elsevier
1 publication, 100%
1
  • We do not take into account publications without a DOI.
  • Statistics recalculated weekly.

Are you a researcher?

Create a profile to get free access to personal recommendations for colleagues and new articles.
Metrics
1
Share
Cite this
GOST |
Cite this
GOST Copy
Li H. et al. Challenging and new opportunities for prodrug technology // Investigational New Drugs. 2025. Vol. 43. No. 2. pp. 365-376.
GOST all authors (up to 50) Copy
Li H., Shen X., Chu Yu, Yuan P., Shuai Q. Challenging and new opportunities for prodrug technology // Investigational New Drugs. 2025. Vol. 43. No. 2. pp. 365-376.
RIS |
Cite this
RIS Copy
TY - JOUR
DO - 10.1007/s10637-025-01515-w
UR - https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10637-025-01515-w
TI - Challenging and new opportunities for prodrug technology
T2 - Investigational New Drugs
AU - Li, Helin
AU - Shen, Xuelian
AU - Chu Yu
AU - Yuan, Panhong
AU - Shuai, Qi
PY - 2025
DA - 2025/02/18
PB - Springer Nature
SP - 365-376
IS - 2
VL - 43
SN - 0167-6997
SN - 1573-0646
ER -
BibTex |
Cite this
BibTex (up to 50 authors) Copy
@article{2025_Li,
author = {Helin Li and Xuelian Shen and Chu Yu and Panhong Yuan and Qi Shuai},
title = {Challenging and new opportunities for prodrug technology},
journal = {Investigational New Drugs},
year = {2025},
volume = {43},
publisher = {Springer Nature},
month = {feb},
url = {https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10637-025-01515-w},
number = {2},
pages = {365--376},
doi = {10.1007/s10637-025-01515-w}
}
MLA
Cite this
MLA Copy
Li, Helin, et al. “Challenging and new opportunities for prodrug technology.” Investigational New Drugs, vol. 43, no. 2, Feb. 2025, pp. 365-376. https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10637-025-01515-w.