Mussel‐Inspired Polydopamine: The Bridge for Targeting Drug Delivery System and Synergistic Cancer Treatment

Abstract Polydopamine (PDA), a mussel‐inspired molecule, has been recognized as attractive in cancer therapy due to a number of inherent advantages, such as good biocompatibility, outstanding drug‐loading capacity, degradability, superior photothermal conversion efficiency, and low tissue toxicity. Furthermore, due to its strong adhesive property, PDA is able to functionalize various nanomaterials, facilitating the construction of a PDA‐based multifunctional platform for targeted or synergistic therapy. Herein, recent PDA research, including targeted drug delivery, single‐mode therapy, and diverse synergistic therapies against cancer, are summarized and discussed. For synergistic therapy, advanced developments are highlighted, such as photothermal/radiotherapy, chemo−/photothermal/gene therapy, photothermal/immune therapy, and photothermal/photodynamic/immune therapy. Finally, the challenges and promise of PDA for biomedical applications in the future are discussed.