Si-Hui Wang,1,2 Xiao-Ling Xu,2 Wei Chen1 

1Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China; 2Shulan International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Wei Chen, Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 725 South WanPing Road, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-021-64385700-3522, Email cwdoctor@shutcm.edu.cn Xiao-Ling Xu, Shulan International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, 8 Shuren Street, Hangzhou, 310015, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-571-88208435, Email ziyao1988@zju.edu.cn

Abstract: Inflammation is a protective response of the body, but when excessive or prolonged, it can contribute to disease progression and tissue damage. Identifying more effective and less toxic drugs for treating both acute and chronic inflammatory diseases is a major challenge. Organelle-targeting strategies, which deliver drugs directly to specific organelles, offer a promising solution by improving treatment efficiency and minimizing toxic effects on healthy cells. However, despite the potential of organelles as therapeutic targets, precise targeting remains challenging. This review systematically summarizes organelle-targeting nanodelivery strategies for major organelles—mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes, and the Golgi apparatus—and the research progress in evaluating the potential of these strategies for treating inflammation-related diseases. This study focuses on the applications of these strategies for the treatment of sepsis, inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, and osteoarthritis. Additionally, this review outlines future directions and key challenges in this field, aiming to provide a scientific reference for the application of organelle-targeting nanotherapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: nanomedicine, drug delivery system, organelle targeting, inflammatory diseases