Biology

Metallurgy

Materials science

Surgery

Fishery

Bridge (graph theory)

Targeted drug delivery

Mussel

Drug

Radiation therapy

Drug delivery

Nanotechnology

Photothermal therapy

Internal medicine

Pharmacology

Biocompatibility

Cancer therapy

Medicine

Chemistry

Cancer drugs

Cancer

Cancer treatment

Macromolecular Bioscience

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.

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