聚合纳米囊（NC）是多用途的混合囊状纳米载体，通常含有聚合壁的脂质核。四十多年前它们首次被开发，具有在化妆品和制药领域中的优秀适用性。生物可降解的聚酯经常用于制备纳米囊，其中包括聚乳酸（PLA）衍生物和共聚物，如PLGA和两性嵌段共聚物，被广泛使用以及被认为对不同的给药途径是安全的。PLA功能化策略已经开发出来，以获得更多用途的高分子，并允许与生物活性配基结合以用于细胞靶向NC。本文回顾了NC自其首次报道以来的演变步骤以及关于基于PLA的NC应用的最新文献。包括基于PLA的高分子合成和表面修饰，以及使用NC作为一种组合治疗、诊断和成像工具的方法。此外，我们还介绍和审查了NC用于不同疾病，主要是癌症、炎症和感染的治疗和/或成像代理的使用。我们讨论了影响转化到临床的限制，以提供安全可靠的基于PLA的纳米囊在市场上。我们回顾了“纳米囊”这个术语首次出现直到现在的整个历史期间，选择了原始科学出版物和与基于PLA的NC相关的最相关专利文献。我们向读者呈现了这些特殊纳米结构的历史概述。版权所有©2023 Elsevier B.V.。保留所有权利。

Polymeric nanocapsules (NC) are versatile mixed vesicular nanocarriers, generally containing a lipid core with a polymeric wall. They have been first developed over four decades ago with outstanding applicability in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields. Biodegradable polyesters are frequently used in nanocapsule preparation and among them, polylactic acid (PLA) derivatives and copolymers, such as PLGA and amphiphilic block copolymers, are widely used and considered safe for different administration routes. PLA functionalization strategies have been developed to obtain more versatile polymers and to allow the conjugation with bioactive ligands for cell-targeted NC. This review intends to provide steps in the evolution of NC since its first report and the recent literature on PLA-based NC applications. PLA-based polymer synthesis and surface modifications are included, as well as the use of NC as a novel tool for combined treatment, diagnostics, and imaging in one delivery system. Furthermore, the use of NC to carry therapeutic and/or imaging agents for different diseases, mainly cancer, inflammation, and infections is presented and reviewed. Constraints that impair translation to the clinic are discussed to provide safe and reproducible PLA-based nanocapsules on the market. We reviewed the entire period in the literature where the term "nanocapsules" appears for the first time until the present day, selecting original scientific publications and the most relevant patent literature related to PLA-based NC. We presented to readers a historical overview of these Sui generis nanostructures.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.