Advances in Cisplatin-Driven Drug Delivery Systems: Enhancing Anticancer Efficacy and Safety

Cisplatin (CDDP), a broad-spectrum chemotherapy drug commonly used in clinical settings, possesses ligand-binding active sites that enable it to function as both a therapeutic agent and a building block for drug delivery systems (DDSs). In recent decades, great achievements have been made in CDDP-driven DDSs, which can streamline carrier design and efficiently deliver therapeutics to tumor sites and into cells. In this review, we summarize the CDDP-driven DDSs used for cancer treatment and illustrate their fundamental fabrication mechanisms and design principles, including the coordination of electron-donating ligands to cis-Pt(II) and the axial covalent modification of cis-Pt(IV) prodrugs. We then highlight the existing strategies involving CDDP-driven nanocarriers and hydrogel scaffolds and discuss stimulus-responsive drug release mechanisms and the development of combination therapies and synergistic treatment modalities. By conceptualizing CDDP as both a therapeutic agent and a structural unit, we emphasize its crucial role in advancing next-generation platinum-based therapeutics and delineate potential challenges and future research directions.