Recent advances in boron containing anticancer drug delivery nanocarrier platforms

Boron-containing compounds have emerged as versatile building blocks in the design of advanced anticancer drug delivery systems due to their unique chemical features, including electron deficiency, reversible covalent interactions, and structural diversity. In recent years, significant progress has been made in engineering boron-functionalized nanocarriers to enhance tumor targeting, improve drug loading efficiency, and achieve controlled release while minimizing systemic toxicity. This review highlights recent advances in boron-containing anticancer drug delivery nanoplatforms, including boron-nitride nanoparticles, boronic acid-functionalized polymers, BODIPY-based nanocarriers and boron incorporated supramolecular nanoplatforms. Particular attention is given to stimulus-responsive systems exploiting the dynamic covalent interactions between boronic acids and cis-diols for pH-, ligand-, or reactive oxygen species-triggered drug release in the tumor microenvironment. Strategies to improve cellular uptake, enhance intracellular stability, and achieve selective cytotoxicity are also discussed. Furthermore, multifunctional nanocarriers incorporating imaging capabilities or combinatorial therapeutic modalities are examined. Despite promising preclinical results, challenges remain in large-scale production, long-term biosafety evaluation, pharmacokinetic optimization, and clinical translation. Overall, boron- containing nanocarriers represent a rapidly evolving platform with strong potential to advance targeted and responsive anticancer drug delivery.