Monolayer Nanosheets with an Extremely High Drug Loading toward Controlled Delivery and Cancer Theranostics

Ti3C2 (MXene), an advanced carrier system: role in photothermal, photoacoustic, enhanced drugs delivery and biological activity in cancer therapy

In the realm of healthcare and the advancing field of medical sciences, the development of efficient drug delivery systems become an immense promise to cure several diseases. Despite considerable advancements in drug delivery systems, numerous challenges persist, necessitating further enhancements to optimize patient outcomes. Smart nano-carriers, for instance, 2D sheets nano-carriers are the recently emerging nanosheets that may garner attention for targeted delivery of bioactive compounds, drugs, and genes to kill cancer cells. Within these advancements, Ti3C2TX-MXene, characterized as a two-dimensional transition metal carbide, has surfaced as a prominent intelligent nanocarrier within nanomedicine. Its noteworthy characteristics facilitated it as an ideal nanocarrier for cancer therapy. In recent advancements in drug delivery research, Ti3C2TX-MXene 2D nanocarriers have been designed to release drugs in response to specific stimuli, guided by distinct physicochemical  parameters. This review emphasized the multifaceted role of Ti3C2TX-MXene as a potential carrier for delivering poorly hydrophilic drugs to cancer cells, facilitated by various polymer coatings. Furthermore, beyond drug delivery, this smart nanocarrier demonstrates utility in photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy, further highlighting its significant role in cellular mechanisms.

PAD4 Inhibitor-Loaded Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets as a Multifunctional Nanoplatform for Photodynamic Therapy-Mediated Tumor Metastasis Treatment

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is demonstrated to be effective in inducing antitumor immune responses for tumor metastasis treatment. However, tumor hypoxia, inferior tissue penetration of light, and low singlet oxygen (1O2) quantum yield significantly hamper the efficacy of PDT, thus weakening its immune function. Moreover, PDT-mediated neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation can further reduce the therapeutic effectiveness. Herein, the use of defect-rich CoMo-layered double hydroxide (DR-CoMo-LDH) nanosheets as a carrier to load a typical peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 inhibitor, i.e., YW4-03, to construct a multifunctional nanoagent (403@DR-LDH) for PDT/immunotherapy, is reported. Specifically, 403@DR-LDH inherits excellent 1O2 generation activity under 1550 nm laser irradiation and improves the half-life of YW4-03. Meanwhile, 403@DR-LDH plus 1550 nm laser irradiation can stimulate immunogenic cell death to promote the maturation of dendric cells and activation/infiltration of T cells and significantly downregulate H3cit protein expression to inhibit NETs formation, synergistically promoting the antitumor metastasis effect. Taken together, 403@DR-LDH can kill cancer cells and inhibit tumor growth/metastasis under 1550 nm laser irradiation. Single-cell analysis indicates that 403@DR-LDH can regulate the ratio of immune cells and immune-related proteins to improve the tumor immune microenvironment, showing strong efficacy to inhibit the tumor growth, metastasis, and recurrence.

2D nanomaterials-based delivery systems and their potentials in anticancer synergistic photo-immunotherapy

As the field of cancer therapeutics evolves, integrating two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials with photo-immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach with significant potential to augment cancer treatment efficacy. These 2D nanomaterials include graphene-based 2D nanomaterials, 2D MXenes, 2D layered double hydroxides, black phosphorus nanosheets, 2D metal-organic frameworks, and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. They exhibit high load capacities, multiple functionalization pathways, optimal biocompatibility, and physiological stability. Predominantly, they function as anti-tumor delivery systems, amalgamating diverse therapeutic modalities, most notably phototherapy and immunotherapy, and the former is a recognized non-invasive treatment modality, and the latter represents the most promising anti-cancer strategy presently accessible. Thus, integrating phototherapy and immunotherapy founded on 2D nanomaterials unveils a novel paradigm in the war against cancer. This review delineates the latest developments in 2D nanomaterials as delivery systems for synergistic photo-immunotherapy in cancer treatment. We elaborate on the burgeoning realm of photo-immunotherapy, exploring the interplay between phototherapy and enhanced immune cells, immune response modulation, or immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments. Notably, the strategies to augment photo-immunotherapy have also been discussed. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future perspectives of these 2D nanomaterials in photo-immunotherapy.

Two-dimensional nanomaterials based on rare earth elements for biomedical applications

As a kind of star materials, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have attracted tremendous attention for their unique structures, excellent performance and wide applications. In recent years, layered rare earth-based or doped nanomaterials have become a new important member of the 2D nanomaterial family and have attracted significant interest, especially layered rare earth hydroxides (LREHs) and layered rare earth-doped perovskites with anion-exchangeability and exfoliative properties. In this review, we systematically summarize the synthesis, exfoliation, fabrication and biomedical applications of 2D rare earth nanomaterials. Upon exfoliation, the LREHs and layered rare earth-doped perovskites can be dimensionally reduced to ultrathin nanosheets which feature high anisotropy and flexibility. Subsequent fabrication, especially superlattice assembly, enables rare earth nanomaterials with diverse compositions and structures, which further optimizes or even creates new properties and thus expands the application fields. The latest progress in biomedical applications of the 2D rare earth-based or doped nanomaterials and composites is also reviewed in detail, especially drug delivery and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Moreover, at the end of this review, we provide an outlook on the opportunities and challenges of the 2D rare earth-based or doped nanomaterials. We believe this review will promote increasing interest in 2D rare earth materials and provide more insight into the artificial design of other nanomaterials based on rare earth elements for functional applications.

A Se Nanoparticle/MgFe-LDH Composite Nanosheet as a Multifunctional Platform for Osteosarcoma Eradication, Antibacterial and Bone Reconstruction

Despite advances in treating osteosarcoma, postoperative tumor recurrence, periprosthetic infection, and critical bone defects remain critical concerns. Herein, the growth of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) onto MgFe-LDH nanosheets (LDH) is reported to develop a multifunctional nanocomposite (LDH/Se) and further modification of the nanocomposite on a bioactive glass scaffold (BGS) to obtain a versatile platform (BGS@LDH/Se) for comprehensive postoperative osteosarcoma management. The uniform dispersion of negatively charged SeNPs on the LDH surface restrains toxicity-inducing aggregation and inactivation, thus enhancing superoxide dismutase (SOD) activation and superoxide anion radical (·O2 -)-H2O2 conversion. Meanwhile, Fe3+ within the LDH nanosheets can be reduced to Fe2+ by depleting glutathione (GSH) in the tumor microenvironments (TME), which can catalyze H2O2 into highly toxic reactive oxygen species. More importantly, incorporating SeNPs significantly promotes the anti-bacterial and osteogenic properties of BGS@LDH/Se. Thus, the developed BGS@LDH/Se platform can simultaneously inhibit tumor recurrence and periprosthetic infection as well as promote bone regeneration, thus holding great potential for postoperative "one-stop-shop" management of patients who need osteosarcoma resection and scaffold implantation.

Bifunctional Bismuth-Based Layered Double Hydroxide Sonosensitizer for Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Sonodynamic Cancer Therapy

Novel inorganic sonosensitizers with excellent reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation activity and multifunctionality are appealing in sonodynamic therapy (SDT). Herein, amorphous bismuth (Bi)-doped CoFe-layered double hydroxide (a-CoBiFe-LDH) nanosheets are proposed via crystalline-to-amorphous phase transformation strategy as a new type of bifunctional sonosensitizer, which allows ultrasound (US) to trigger ROS generation for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided SDT. Importantly, a-CoBiFe-LDH nanosheets exhibit much higher ROS generation activity (≈6.9 times) than that of traditional TiO2 sonosensitizer under US irradiation, which can be attributed to the acid etching-induced narrow band gap, high electron (e-)/hole (h+) separation efficiency and inhibited e-/h+ recombination. In addition, the paramagnetic properties of Fe ion endow a-CoBiFe-LDH with excellent MRI contrast ability, making it a promising contrast agent for T2-weighted MRI. After modification with polyethylene glycol, a-CoBiFe-LDH nanosheets can function as a high-efficiency sonosensitizer to activate p53, MAPK, oxidative phosphorylation, and apoptosis-related signaling pathways, ultimately inducing cell apoptosis in vitro and tumor ablation in vivo under US irradiation, which shows great potential for clinical cancer treatment.

MgSiO3 Fiber Membrane Scaffold with Triggered Drug Delivery for Osteosarcoma Synergetic Therapy and Bone Regeneration

In this research, a novel MgSiO3 fiber membrane (MSFM) loaded with indocyanine green (ICG) and doxorubicin (DOX) was prepared. Because of MgSiO3's unique lamellar structure composed of a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, magnesium ion (Mg2+) moves easily and can be further replaced with other cations. Therefore, because of the positively charged functional group of ICG, MSFM has a rather high drug loading for ICG. In addition, there is electrostatic attraction between DOX (a cationic drug) and ICG (an anionic drug). Hence, after loading ICG, more DOX can be adsorbed into MSFM because of electrostatic interaction. The ICG endows the MSFM outstanding photothermal therapy (PTT) performance, and DOX as a chemotherapeutic drug can restrain tumor growth. On the one hand, H+ exchanged with the positively charged DOX based on the MgSiO3 special lamellar structure. On the other hand, the thermal effect could break the electrostatic interaction between ICG and DOX. Based on the above two points, both tumor acidic microenvironment and photothermal effect can trigger DOX release. What's more, in vitro and in vivo antiosteosarcoma therapy evaluations displayed a superior synergetic PTT-chemotherapy anticancer treatment and excellent biocompatibility of DOX&ICG-MSFM. Finally, the MSFM was proven to greatly promote cell proliferation, differentiation, and bone regeneration performance in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, MSFM provides a creative perspective in the design of multifunctional scaffolds and shows promising applications in controlled drug delivery, antitumor performance, and osteogenesis.

Ternary NiCoTi-layered double hydroxide nanosheets as a pH-responsive nanoagent for photodynamic/chemodynamic synergistic therapy

Combining photodynamic therapy (PDT) with chemodynamic therapy (CDT) has been proven to be a promising strategy to improve the treatment efficiency of cancer, because of the synergistic therapeutic effect arising between the two modalities. Herein, we report an inorganic nanoagent based on ternary NiCoTi-layered double hydroxide (NiCoTi-LDH) nanosheets to realize highly efficient photodynamic/chemodynamic synergistic therapy. The NiCoTi-LDH nanosheets exhibit oxygen vacancy-promoted electron-hole separation and photogenerated hole-induced O2-independent reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation under acidic circumstances, realizing in situ pH-responsive PDT. Moreover, due to the effective conversion between Co3+ and Co2+ caused by photogenerated electrons, the NiCoTi-LDH nanosheets catalyze the release of hydroxyl radicals (·OH) from H2O2 through Fenton reactions, resulting in CDT. Laser irradiation enhances the catalyzed ability of the NiCoTi-LDH nanosheets to promote the ROS generation, resulting in a better performance than TiO2 nanoparticles at pH 6.5. In vitro and in vivo experimental results show conclusively that NiCoTi-LDH nanosheets plus irradiation lead to efficient cell apoptosis and significant inhibition of tumor growth. This study reports a new pH-responsive inorganic nanoagent with oxygen vacancy-promoted photodynamic/chemodynamic synergistic performance, offering a potentially appealing clinical strategy for selective tumor elimination.

PAD4 Inhibitor-Functionalized Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets for Synergistic Sonodynamic Therapy/Immunotherapy Of Tumor Metastasis

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is demonstrated to trigger the systemic immune response of the organism and facilitate the treatment of metastatic tumors. However, SDT-mediated neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation can promote tumor cell spread, thus weakening the therapeutic effectiveness of metastatic tumors. Herein, the amorphous CoW-layered double hydroxide (a-CoW-LDH) nanosheets are functionalized with a peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) inhibitor, i.e., YW3-56, to construct a multifunctional nanoagent (a-LDH@356) for synergistic SDT/immunotherapy. Specifically, a-CoW-LDH nanosheets can act as a sonosensitizer to generate abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS) under US irradiation. After loading with YW3-56, a-LDH@356 plus US irradiation not only effectively induces ROS generation and immunogenic cell death, but also inhibits the elevation of citrullinated histone H3 (H3cit) and the release of NETs, enabling a synergistic enhancement of anti-tumor metastasis effect. Using 4T1 tumor model, it is demonstrated that combining a-CoW-LDH with YW3-56 stimulates an anti-tumor response by upregulating the proportion of immune-activated cells and inducing polarization of M1 macrophages, and inhibits immune escape by downregulating the expression of PD-1 on immune cells under US irradiation, which not only arrests primary tumor progression with a tumor inhibition rate of 69.5% but also prevents tumor metastasis with the least number of lung metastatic nodules.

Repurposing indocyanine green: exploring the potential of an old drug in modern medicine

The repurposing of existing drugs, referred to as theranostics, has made profound impacts on precision medicine. Indocyanine green (ICG), a well-established and clinical dye, has continued to be a star agent, described as a multifunctional molecule with concurrent photo- or sono-sensitiveness capabilities and co-delivery accessibility, showing remarkable potential in the area of unimodal or multimodal imaging-guided therapy of various diseases, leading to the extensive consideration of immediate clinical translations. In this review, we strive to bring the understanding of repurposing performance assessment for ICG into practice by clarifying the relationships between its features and applicability. Specifically, we address the obstacles encountered in the process of developing an ICG repurposing strategy, as well as the noteworthy advancements made in the field of ICG repurposing. We also go into detail about the structure-function correlations of drugs containing ICG and how different structural groups significantly affect the physicochemical properties.

Injectable Thermogelling Nanostructured Ink as Simultaneous Optical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agent for Image-Guided Surgery

The development of efficient and biocompatible contrast agents is particularly urgent for modern clinical surgery. Nanostructured materials raised great interest as contrast agents for different imaging techniques, for which essential features are high contrasts, and in the case of precise clinical surgery, minimization of the signal spatial dispersion when embedded in biological tissues. This study deals with the development of a multimodal contrast agent based on an injectable hydrogel nanocomposite containing a lanthanide-activated layered double hydroxide coupled to a biocompatible dye (indocyanine green), emitting in the first biological window. This novel nanostructured thermogelling hydrogel behaves as an efficient tissue marker for optical and magnetic resonance imaging because the particular formulation strongly limits its spatial diffusion in biological tissue by exploiting a simple injection. The synergistic combination of these properties permits to employ the hydrogel ink simultaneously for both optical and magnetic resonance imaging, easy monitoring of the biological target, and, at the same time, increasing the spatial resolution during a clinical surgery. The biocompatibility and excellent performance as contrast agents are very promising for possible use in image-guided surgery, which is currently one of the most challenging topics in clinical research.

Recent progress in lactate oxidase-based drug delivery systems for enhanced cancer therapy

Lactate oxidase (LOX) is a natural enzyme that efficiently consumes lactate. In the presence of oxygen, LOX can catalyse the formation of pyruvate and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from lactate. This process led to acidity alleviation, hypoxia, and a further increase in oxidative stress, alleviating the immunosuppressive state of the tumour microenvironment (TME). However, the high cost of LOX preparation and purification, poor stability, and systemic toxicity limited its application in tumour therapy. Therefore, the rational application of drug delivery systems can protect LOX from the organism's environment and maintain its catalytic activity. This paper reviews various LOX-based drug-carrying systems, including inorganic nanocarriers, organic nanocarriers, and inorganic-organic hybrid nanocarriers, as well as other non-nanocarriers, which have been used for tumour therapy in recent years. In addition, this area's challenges and potential for the future are highlighted.

Layered Double Hydroxides: Recent Progress and Promising Perspectives Toward Biomedical Applications

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have been widely studied for biomedical applications due to their excellent properties, such as good biocompatibility, degradability, interlayer ion exchangeability, high loading capacity, pH-responsive release, and large specific surface area. Furthermore, the flexibility in the structural composition and ease of surface modification of LDHs makes it possible to develop specifically functionalized LDHs to meet the needs of different applications. In this review, the recent advances of LDHs for biomedical applications, which include LDH-based drug delivery systems, LDHs for cancer diagnosis and therapy, tissue engineering, coatings, functional membranes, and biosensors, are comprehensively discussed. From these various biomedical research fields, it can be seen that there is great potential and possibility for the use of LDHs in biomedical applications. However, at the same time, it must be recognized that the actual clinical translation of LDHs is still very limited. Therefore, the current limitations of related research on LDHs are discussed by combining limited examples of actual clinical translation with requirements for clinical translation of biomaterials. Finally, an outlook on future research related to LDHs is provided.

First-principles calculations on monolayer WX2 (X = S, Se) as an effective drug delivery carrier for anti-tuberculosis drugs

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health concern, necessitating the exploration of novel drug delivery systems to combat the challenges posed by conventional approaches. We investigated the potential of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as an innovative platform for efficient and targeted delivery of antituberculosis drugs. Specifically, the electronic and optical properties of prominent TB drugs, isoniazid (INH) and pyrazinamide (PZA), adsorbed on tungsten diselenide (WSe2) and tungsten disulfide (WS2) monolayers were studied using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). The investigation revealed that the band gaps of WSe2 and WS2 monolayers remain unaltered upon adsorption of PZA or INH, with negative adsorption energy indicating stable physisorption. We explored different vertical and horizontal configurations, and the horizontal ones were more stable. When INH and PZA drugs were horizontally adsorbed together on WSe2, the most stable configuration was found with an adsorption energy of -2.35 eV. Moreover, the adsorbed drugs could be readily released by light within the visible or near-infrared (NIR) wavelength range. This opened up possibilities for their potential application in photothermal therapy, harnessing the unique properties of these 2D materials. The comprehensive analysis of the band structures and density of states provides valuable insights into how the drug molecules contributed to the conduction and valence bands. The optical responses of anti-TB drugs adsorbed in 2D WSe2 and WS2 were similar to those of pristine 2D WSe2 and WS2. We demonstrated the temperature-dependent release mechanism of our 2D WSe2 and WS2 drug complexes, confirming the feasibility of releasing the discussed anti-tuberculosis drugs by generating heat through photothermal therapy. These findings hold significant promise for developing innovative drug delivery systems that have enhanced efficacy for targeted and low-toxic TB treatment.

Tough, self-healing and injectable dynamic nanocomposite hydrogel based on gelatin and sodium alginate

Biomacromolecules based injectable and self-healing hydrogels possessing high mechanical properties have widespread potential in biomedical field. However, dynamic features are usually inversely proportional to toughness. It is challenging to simultaneously endow these properties to the dynamic hydrogels. Here, we fabricated an injectable nanocomposite hydrogel (CS-NPs@OSA-l-Gtn) stimultaneously possessing excellent autonomous self-healing performance and high mechanical strength by doping chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) into dynamic polymer networks of oxidized sodium alginate (OSA) and gelatin (Gtn) in the presence of borax. The synergistic effect of the multiple reversible interactions combining dynamic covalent bonds (i.e., imine bond and borate ester bond) and noncovalent interactions (i.e., electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bond) provide effective energy dissipation to endure high fatigue resistance and cyclic loading. The dynamic hydrogel exhibited excellent mechanical properties like maximum 2.43 MPa compressive strength, 493.91 % fracture strain, and 89.54 kJ/m3 toughness. Moreover, the integrated hydrogel after injection and self-healing could withstand 150 successive compressive cycles. Besides, the bovine serum albumin embedded in CS-NPs could be sustainably released from the nanocomposite hydrogel for 12 days. This study proposes a novel strategy to synthesize an injectable and self-healing hydrogel combined with excellent mechanical properties for designing high-strength natural carriers with sustained protein delivery.

Advances of Layered Double Hydroxide-Based Materials for Tumor Imaging and Therapy

Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are a class of functional anionic clays that typically consist of orthorhombic arrays of metal hydroxides with anions sandwiched between the layers. Due to their unique properties, including high chemical stability, good biocompatibility, controlled drug loading, and enhanced drug bioavailability, LDHs have many potential applications in the medical field. Especially in the fields of bioimaging and tumor therapy. This paper reviews the research progress of LDHs and their nanocomposites in the field of tumor imaging and therapy. First, the structure and advantages of LDH are discussed. Then, several commonly used methods for the preparation of LDH are presented, including co-precipitation, hydrothermal and ion exchange methods. Subsequently, recent advances in layered hydroxides and their nanocomposites for cancer imaging and therapy are highlighted. Finally, based on current research, we summaries the prospects and challenges of layered hydroxides and nanocomposites for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

A MgAl-LDH-CuS nanosheet-based thermo-responsive composite hydrogel with nir-responsive angiogenesis inhibitor releasing capability for multimode starvation therapy

The rapid proliferation of tumors is highly dependent on the nutrition supply of blood vessels. Cutting off the nutrient supply to tumors is an effective strategy for cancer treatment, known as starvation therapy. Although various hydrogel-based biomaterials have been developed for starvation therapy through glucose consumption or intravascular embolization, the limitations of single-mode starvation therapy hinder their therapeutic effects. Herein, we propose a dual-function nutrition deprivation strategy that can block the nutrients delivery through extravascular gelation shrinkage and inhibit neovascularization through angiogenesis inhibitors based on a novel NIR-responsive nanocomposite hydrogel. CuS nanodots-modified MgAl-LDH nanosheets loaded with angiogenesis inhibitor (sorafenib, SOR) are incorporated into the poly(n-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) hydrogel by radical polymerization to obtain the composite hydrogel (SOR@LDH-CuS/P). The SOR@LDH-CuS/P hydrogel can deliver hydrophobic SOR with a NIR-responsive release behavior, which could decrease the tumor vascular density and accelerate cancer cells apoptosis. Moreover, the SOR@LDH-CuS/P hydrogel exhibits higher (3.5 times) compressive strength than that of the PNIPAAm, which could squeeze blood vessels through extravascular gelation shrinkage. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrate that the interruption of nutrient supply by gelation shrinkage and the prevention of angiogenesis by SOR is a promising strategy to inhibit tumor growth for multimode starvation therapy.

Ultrathin Clay Nanoparticles-Mediated Mutual Reinforcement of Ferroptosis and Cancer Immunotherapy

Ferroptosis-triggered immunogenic cell death (ICD) is widely adopted to potentiate the body's antitumor immunity by catalyzing the production of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the efficacy of ferroptosis and immunotherapy is greatly restricted by intracellular abundant glutathione (GSH) and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Herein, a facile bottom-up method for solvent-free synthesis of ultrathin manganese (Mn)-based layered double hydroxide nanosheets with high loading efficiency for pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon (IFNγ) (IFNγ/uMn-LDHs) is proposed to mutually reinforce the ferroptosis and systemic immunity. The introduction of manganese ions significantly contributes to GSH depletion and hydroxyl radical generation, which can be further enhanced by IFNγ delivery-induced SLC7A11 downregulation. The ICD effect after cell ferroptosis cooperates with the intrinsic immunomodulatory property of IFNγ/uMn-LDHs to facilitate the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) and the priming of T cells. IFNγ secretion from activated CD8+ T cells in turn involves cascade immunogenic ferroptosis, thus constructing a closed-loop therapy. Remarkably, a potent abscopal effect is observed in the growth inhibition of both primary and distant tumors. Overall, the ultrathin Mn-based clay nanoplatform provides a simple approach for mutual regulation between ferroptosis and antitumor immune response, overcoming the obstacles of current cancer immunotherapy.

Multifunctional ZnO@DOX/ICG-LMHP Nanoparticles for Synergistic Multimodal Antitumor Activity

Multifunctional nanoparticles are of significant importance for synergistic multimodal antitumor activity. Herein, zinc oxide (ZnO) was used as pH-sensitive nanoparticles for loading the chemotherapy agent doxorubicin (DOX) and the photosensitizer agent indocyanine green (ICG), and biocompatible low-molecular-weight heparin (LMHP) was used as the gatekeepers for synergistic photothermal therapy/photodynamic therapy/chemotherapy/immunotherapy. ZnO was decomposed into cytotoxic Zn2+ ions, leading to a tumor-specific release of ICG and DOX. ZnO simultaneously produced oxygen (O2) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) for photodynamic therapy (PDT). The released ICG under laser irradiation produced ROS for PDT and raised the tumor temperature for photothermal therapy (PTT). The released DOX directly caused tumor cell death for chemotherapy. Both DOX and ICG also induced immunogenic cell death (ICD) for immunotherapy. The in vivo and in vitro results presented a superior inhibition of tumor progression, metastasis and recurrence. Therefore, this study could provide an efficient approach for designing multifunctional nanoparticles for synergistic multimodal antitumor therapy.

Doxorubicin-Based Ionic Nanomedicines for Combined Chemo-Phototherapy of Cancer

Synergistic combination therapy approach offers lots of options for delivery of materials with anticancer properties, which is a very promising strategy to treat a variety of malignant lesions with enhanced therapeutic efficacy. The current study involves a detailed investigation of combination ionic nanomedicines where a chemotherapeutic drug is coupled with a photothermal agent to attain dual mechanisms (chemotherapy (chemo) and photothermal therapy (PTT)) to improve the drug's efficacy. An FDA-approved Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX·HCl) is electrostatically attached with a near-infrared cyanine dye (ICG, IR783, and IR820), which serves as a PTT drug using ionic liquid chemistry to develop three ionic material (IM)-based chemo-PTT drugs. Carrier-free ionic nanomedicines (INMs) are derived from ionic materials (IMs). The photophysical properties of the developed combination IMs and their INMs were studied in depth. The phototherapeutic efficiency of the combination drugs was evaluated by measuring the photothermal conversion efficiency and singlet-oxygen quantum yield. The improved photophysical properties of the combination nanomedicines in comparison to their parent compounds significantly enhanced INMs' photothermal efficiency. Cellular uptake, dark and light toxicity studies, and cell death mechanisms of the chemo-PTT nanoparticles were also studied in vitro. The combination INMs exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity compared to their respective parent compounds. Moreover, the apoptosis cell death mechanism was almost doubled for combination nanomedicine than the free DOX, which is attributed to enhanced cellular uptake. Examination of the combination index and improved in vitro cytotoxicity results revealed a great synergy between chemo and PTT drugs in the developed combination nanomedicines.

Strategies to engineer various nanocarrier-based hybrid catalysts for enhanced chemodynamic cancer therapy

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is a newly developed cancer-therapeutic modality that kills cancer cells by the highly toxic hydroxyl radical (˙OH) generated from the in situ triggered Fenton/Fenton-like reactions in an acidic and H2O2-overproduced tumor microenvironment (TME). By taking the advantage of the TME-activated catalytic reaction, CDT enables a highly specific and minimally-invasive cancer treatment without external energy input, whose efficiency mainly depends on the reactant concentrations of both the catalytic ions and H2O2, and the reaction conditions (including pH, temperature, and amount of glutathione). Unfortunately, it suffers from unsatisfactory therapy efficiency for clinical application because of the limited activators (i.e., mild acid pH and insufficient H2O2 content) and overexpressed reducing substance in TME. Currently, various synergistic strategies have been elaborately developed to increase the CDT efficiency by regulating the TME, enhancing the catalytic efficiency of catalysts, or combining with other therapeutic modalities. To realize these strategies, the construction of diverse nanocarriers to deliver Fenton catalysts and cooperatively therapeutic agents to tumors is the key prerequisite, which is now being studied but has not been thoroughly summarized. In particular, nanocarriers that can not only serve as carriers but are also active themselves for therapy are recently attracting increasing attention because of their less risk of toxicity and metabolic burden compared to nanocarriers without therapeutic capabilities. These therapy-active nanocarriers well meet the requirements of an ideal therapy system with maximum multifunctionality but minimal components. From this new perspective, in this review, we comprehensively summarize the very recent research progress on nanocarrier-based systems for enhanced CDT and the strategies of how to integrate various Fenton agents into the nanocarriers, with particular focus on the studies of therapy-active nanocarriers for the construction of CDT catalysts, aiming to guide the design of nanosystems with less components and more functionalities for enhanced CDT. Finally, the challenges and prospects of such a burgeoning cancer-theranostic modality are outlooked to provide inspirations for the further development and clinical translation of CDT.

Construction of CpG Delivery Nanoplatforms by Functionalized MoS2 Nanosheets for Boosting Antitumor Immunity in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Despite the promising achievements of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy for tumor treatment, its therapeutic effect against solid tumors is limited due to the suppressed tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Herein, a series of polyethyleneimine (Mw = 0.8k, PEI0.8k )-covered MoS2 nanosheets with different sizes and charge densities are synthesized, and the CpG, a toll-like receptor-9 agonist, is enveloped to construct nanoplatforms for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). It is proved that functionalized nanosheets with medium size display similar CpG loading capacity regardless of low or high PEI0.8k coverage owing to the flexibility and crimpability of 2D backbone. CpG-loaded nanosheets with medium size and low charge density (CpG@MM -PL ) could promote the maturation, antigen-presenting capacity, and proinflammatory cytokines generation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs). Further analysis reveals that CpG@MM -PL effectively boosts the TIME of HNSCC in vivo including DC maturation and cytotoxic T lymphocyte infiltration. Most importantly, the combination of CpG@MM -PL and ICB agents anti-programmed death 1 hugely improves the tumor therapeutic effect, inspiring more attempts for cancer immunotherapy. In addition, this work uncovers a pivotal feature of the 2D sheet-like materials in nanomedicine development, which should be considered for the design of future nanosheet-based therapeutic nanoplatforms.

Layered Double Hydroxides: A Novel Promising 2D Nanomaterial for Bone Diseases Treatment

Bone diseases including bone defects, bone infections, osteoarthritis, and bone tumors seriously affect life quality of the patient and bring serious economic burdens to social health management, for which the current clinical treatments bear dissatisfactory therapeutic effects. Biomaterial-based strategies have been widely applied in the treatment of orthopedic diseases but are still plagued by deficient bioreactivity. With the development of nanotechnology, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with adjustable metal ion composition and alterable interlayer structure possessing charming physicochemical characteristics, versatile bioactive properties, and excellent drug loading and delivery capabilities arise widespread attention and have achieved considerable achievements for bone disease treatment in the last decade. However, to the authors' best knowledge, no review has comprehensively summarized the advances of LDHs in treating bone disease so far. Herein, the advantages of LDHs for orthopedic disorders treatment are outlined and the corresponding state-of-the-art achievements are summarized for the first time. The potential of LDHs-based nanocomposites for extended therapeutics for bone diseases is highlighted and perspectives for LDHs-based scaffold design are proposed for facilitated clinical translation.

NIR/pH-triggered aptamer-functionalized DNA origami nanovehicle for imaging-guided chemo-phototherapy

Targeted chemo-phototherapy has received widespread attention in cancer treatment for its advantages in reducing the side effects of chemotherapeutics and improving therapeutic effects. However, safe and efficient targeted-delivery of therapeutic agents remains a major obstacle. Herein, we successfully constructed an AS1411-functionalized triangle DNA origami (TOA) to codeliver chemotherapeutic drug (doxorubicin, DOX) and a photosensitizer (indocyanine green, ICG), denoted as TOADI (DOX/ICG-loaded TOA), for targeted synergistic chemo-phototherapy. In vitro studies show that AS1411 as an aptamer of nucleolin efficiently enhances the nanocarrier's endocytosis more than 3 times by tumor cells highly expressing nucleolin. Subsequently, TOADI controllably releases the DOX into the nucleus through the photothermal effect of ICG triggered by near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, and the acidic environment of lysosomes/endosomes facilitates the release. The downregulated Bcl-2 and upregulated Bax, Cyt c, and cleaved caspase-3 indicate that the synergistic chemo-phototherapeutic effect of TOADI induces the apoptosis of 4T1 cells, causing ~ 80% cell death. In 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, TOADI exhibits 2.5-fold targeted accumulation in tumor region than TODI without AS1411, and 4-fold higher than free ICG, demonstrating its excellent tumor targeting ability in vivo. With the synergetic treatment of DOX and ICG, TOADI shows a significant therapeutic effect of ~ 90% inhibition of tumor growth with negligible systemic toxicity. In addition, TOADI presents outstanding superiority in fluorescence and photothermal imaging. Taken together, this multifunctional DNA origami-based nanosystem with the advantages of specific tumor targeting and controllable drug release provides a new strategy for enhanced cancer therapy.

Coupling Probiotics with 2D CoCuMo-LDH Nanosheets as a Tumor-Microenvironment-Responsive Platform for Precise NIR-II Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a promising cancer treatment approach with superior advantages. However, it remains a grand challenge to develop tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive photosensitizers (PSs) for tumor-targeting precise PDT. Herein, the coupling Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA) probiotics with 2D CoCuMo layered-double-hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets (LA&LDH) is reported as a TME-responsive platform for precise NIR-II PDT. The CoCuMo-LDH nanosheets loaded on LA can be transformed from crystalline into amorphous through etching by the LA-metabolite-enabled low pH and overexpressed glutathione. The TME-induced in situ amorphization of CoCuMo-LDH nanosheets can boost its photodynamic activity for singlet oxygen (¹ O₂ ) generation under 1270 nm laser irradiation with relative ¹ O₂ quantum yield of 1.06, which is the highest among previously reported NIR-excited PSs. In vitro and in vivo assays prove that the LA&LDH can effectively achieve complete cell apoptosis and tumor eradication under 1270 nm laser irradiation. This study proves that the probiotics can be used as a tumor-targeting platform for highly efficient precise NIR-II PDT.

Fabricating a PDA-Liposome Dual-Film Coated Hollow Mesoporous Silica Nanoplatform for Chemo-Photothermal Synergistic Antitumor Therapy

In this study, we synthesized hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSNs) coated with polydopamine (PDA) and a D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS)-modified hybrid lipid membrane (denoted as HMSNs-PDA@liposome-TPGS) to load doxorubicin (DOX), which achieved the integration of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy (PTT). Dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N₂ adsorption/desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) were used to show the successful fabrication of the nanocarrier. Simultaneously, in vitro drug release experiments showed the pH/NIR-laser-triggered DOX release profiles, which could enhance the synergistic therapeutic anticancer effect. Hemolysis tests, non-specific protein adsorption tests, and in vivo pharmacokinetics studies exhibited that the HMSNs-PDA@liposome-TPGS had a prolonged blood circulation time and greater hemocompatibility compared with HMSNs-PDA. Cellular uptake experiments demonstrated that HMSNs-PDA@liposome-TPGS had a high cellular uptake efficiency. In vitro and in vivo antitumor efficiency evaluations showed that the HMSNs-PDA@liposome-TPGS + NIR group had a desirable inhibitory activity on tumor growth. In conclusion, HMSNs-PDA@liposome-TPGS successfully achieved the synergistic combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy, and is expected to become one of the candidates for the combination of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy antitumor strategies.

Bone tissue engineering for treating osteonecrosis of the femoral head

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a devastating and complicated disease with an unclear etiology. Femoral head-preserving surgeries have been devoted to delaying and hindering the collapse of the femoral head since their introduction in the last century. However, the isolated femoral head-preserving surgeries cannot prevent the natural progression of ONFH, and the combination of autogenous or allogeneic bone grafting often leads to many undesired complications. To tackle this dilemma, bone tissue engineering has been widely developed to compensate for the deficiencies of these surgeries. During the last decades, great progress has been made in ingenious bone tissue engineering for ONFH treatment. Herein, we comprehensively summarize the state-of-the-art progress made in bone tissue engineering for ONFH treatment. The definition, classification, etiology, diagnosis, and current treatments of ONFH are first described. Then, the recent progress in the development of various bone-repairing biomaterials, including bioceramics, natural polymers, synthetic polymers, and metals, for treating ONFH is presented. Thereafter, regenerative therapies for ONFH treatment are also discussed. Finally, we give some personal insights on the current challenges of these therapeutic strategies in the clinic and the future development of bone tissue engineering for ONFH treatment.

Synthesis, Antifungal Activity, 3D-QSAR and Controlled Release on Hydrotalcite Study of Longifolene-Derived Diphenyl Ether Carboxylic Acid Compounds

Twenty-two novel longifolene-derived diphenyl ether-carboxylic acid compounds 7a-7v were synthesized from renewable biomass resources longifolene, and their structures were confirmed by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HRMS. The preliminary evaluation of in vitro antifungal activity displayed that compound 7b presented inhibition rates of 85.9%, 82.7%, 82.7%, and 81.4% against Alternaria solani, Cercospora arachidicola, Rhizoctonia solani, and Physalospora piricola, respectively, and compound 7l possessed inhibition rates of 80.7%, 80.4%, and 80.3% against R. solani, C. arachidicola, P. piricola, respectively, exhibiting excellent and broad-spectrum antifungal activities. Besides, compounds 7f and 7a showed significant antifungal activities with inhibition rates of 81.2% and 80.7% against A.solani, respectively. Meanwhile, a reasonable and effective 3D-QSAR mode (r² = 0.996, q² = 0.572) has been established by the CoMFA method. Furthermore, the drug-loading complexes 7b/MgAl-LDH were prepared and characterized. Their pH-responsive controlled-release behavior was investigated as well. As a result, complex 7b/MgAl-LDH-2 exhibited excellent controlled-releasing performance in the water/ethanol (10:1, v:v) and under a pH of 5.7.

A MgFe-LDH Nanosheet-Incorporated Smart Thermo-Responsive Hydrogel with Controllable Growth Factor Releasing Capability for Bone Regeneration

Although growth factor (GF)-loaded hydrogels have been explored as promising materials in repairing bone defects, it still remains challenging to construct smart hydrogels with excellent gelation/mechanical properties as well as controllable GF releasing capability. Herein, the incorporation of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2)-functionalized MgFe-layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets into chitosan/silk fibroin (CS) hydrogels loaded with platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) to construct a smart injectable thermo-responsive hydrogel (denoted as CSP-LB), which can achieve a burst release of PDGF-BB and a sustained release of BMP-2, for highly efficient bone regeneration is reported. The incorporation of MgFe-LDH in CS hydrogel not only shortens the gelation time and decreases sol-gel transition temperature, but also enhances the mechanical property of the hydrogel. Because of the sequential release of dual-GFs and sustained release of bioactive Mg²⁺ /Fe³⁺ ions, the in vitro experiments prove that the CSP-LB hydrogel exhibits excellent angiogenic and osteogenic properties compared with the CS hydrogel. In vivo experiments further prove that the CSP-LB hydrogel can significantly enhance bone regeneration with higher bone volume and mineral density than that of the CS hydrogel. This smart thermo-sensitive CSP-LB hydrogel possesses excellent gelation capability and angiogenic and osteogenic properties, thus providing a promising minimally invasive solution for bone defect treatment.

The adjacent effect between Gd(III) and Cu(II) in layered double hydroxide nanoparticles synergistically enhances T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging contrast

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one key technology in modern diagnostic medicine. However, the development of high-relaxivity contrast agents with favorable properties for imaging applications remains a challenging task. In this work, dual Gd(III) and Cu(II) doped-layered double hydroxide (GdCu-LDH) nanoparticles show significantly higher longitudinal relaxivity compared with sole-metal-based LDH (Gd-LDH and Cu-LDH) nanoparticles. This relaxation enhancement in GdCu-LDH is also much greater than the simple addition of the relaxivity rate of the two paramagnetic ions in Gd-LDH and Cu-LDH, presumably attributed to synergistic T₁ shortening between adjacent Gd(III) and Cu(II) in the LDH host layers (adjacent effect). Moreover, our GdCu-LDH nanoparticles exhibit a pH-ultrasensitive property in MRI performance and show much clearer MR imaging for tumor tissues in mice than Gd-LDH and Cu-LDH at the equivalent doses. Thus, these novel Gd/Cu-co-doped LDH nanoparticles provide higher potential for accurate cancer diagnosis in clinic application. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that two paramagnetic metal ions in one nanoparticle synergistically improve the T₁-MRI contrast.

Biomaterials Based on Organic Polymers and Layered Double Hydroxides Nanocomposites: Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering

The development of biomaterials has a substantial role in pharmaceutical and medical strategies for the enhancement of life quality. This review work focused on versatile biomaterials based on nanocomposites comprising organic polymers and a class of layered inorganic nanoparticles, aiming for drug delivery (oral, transdermal, and ocular delivery) and tissue engineering (skin and bone therapies). Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are 2D nanomaterials that can intercalate anionic bioactive species between the layers. The layers can hold metal cations that confer intrinsic biological activity to LDHs as well as biocompatibility. The intercalation of bioactive species between the layers allows the formation of drug delivery systems with elevated loading capacity and modified release profiles promoted by ion exchange and/or solubilization. The capacity of tissue integration, antigenicity, and stimulation of collagen formation, among other beneficial characteristics of LDH, have been observed by in vivo assays. The association between the properties of biocompatible polymers and LDH-drug nanohybrids produces multifunctional nanocomposites compatible with living matter. Such nanocomposites are stimuli-responsive, show appropriate mechanical properties, and can be prepared by creative methods that allow a fine-tuning of drug release. They are processed in the end form of films, beads, gels, monoliths etc., to reach orientated therapeutic applications. Several studies attest to the higher performance of polymer/LDH-drug nanocomposite compared to the LDH-drug hybrid or the free drug.

Functionally modified halloysite nanotubes for personalized bioapplications

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are naturally aluminosilicate clay minerals that have the benefits of large surface areas, high mechanical properties, easy functionalization, and high biocompatibility, HNTs have been developed as multifunctional nanoplatforms for various bioapplications. Although some reviews have summarized the properties and bioapplications of HNTs, it remains unclear how to functionalize the modifications of HNTs for their personalized bioapplications. In this review, based on the physicochemical properties of HNTs, we summarized the methods of functionalized modifications (surface modification and structure modification) on HNTs. Also, we highlighted their personalized bioapplications (anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, cancer theranostics, bone regenerative, and biosensing) by stressing on the main roles of HNTs. Finally, we provide perspectives on the future of functionalized modifications of HNTs for docking specific biological applications.

ROS Generative Black Phosphorus-Tamoxifen Nanosheets for Targeted Endocrine-Sonodynamic Synergistic Breast Cancer Therapy

Introduction

Tamoxifen (TAM) has proven to be a therapeutic breakthrough to reduce mortality and recurrence in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer patients. However, the application of TAM exhibits low bioavailability, off-target toxicity, instinct and acquired TAM resistance.

Methods

We utilized black phosphorus (BP) as a drug carrier and sonosensitizer, integrated with TAM and tumor-targeting ligand folic acid (FA) to construct TAM@BP-FA for synergistic endocrine and sonodynamic therapy (SDT) of breast cancer. The exfoliated BP nanosheets were modified through in situ polymerization of dopamine, followed by electrostatic adsorption of TAM and FA. The anticancer effect of TAM@BP-FA was evaluated through in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo antitumor model. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot analysis, flow cytometry analysis and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) analysis were performed for mechanism investigation.

Results

TAM@BP-FA had satisfactory drug loading capacity, the TAM release behavior can be controlled through pH microenvironment and ultrasonic stimulation. An amount of hydroxyl radical (∙OH) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) were as expected generated under ultrasound stimulation. TAM@BP-FA nanoplatform showed excellent internalization in both TAM-sensitive MCF7 and TAM-resistant (TMR) cells. Using TMR cells, TAM@BP-FA displayed significantly enhanced antitumor ability in comparison with TAM (7.7% vs 69.6% viability at 5μg/mL), the additional SDT further caused 15% more cell death. RNA-seq unraveled the TAM@BP-FA antitumor mechanisms including effects on cell cycle, apoptosis and cell proliferation. Further analysis showed additional SDT successfully triggering reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) reduction. Moreover, PBMCs exposed to TAM@BP-FA induced an antitumor immune response by natural killer (NK) cell upregulation and immunosuppression macrophage reduction.

Conclusion

The novel BP-based strategy not only delivers TAM specifically to tumor cells but also exhibits satisfactory antitumor effects through targeted therapy, SDT, and immune cell modulation. The nanoplatform may provide a superior synergistic strategy for breast cancer therapy.

Hypoxia Alleviated and One Photo-Triggered Thermal/Dynamic Nanoplatform for Immunogenic Cell Death-Initiated Cancer Immunotherapy

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) induced by treatment modalities like chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and photothermal and photodynamic therapy has shown great potential to improve the low response rate of various solid tumors in cancer immunotherapy. However, extensive studies have revealed that the efficacy of cancer treatment is limited by the hypoxia and immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment (TME). To address these challenges, a hypoxia alleviated and one phototriggered thermal/dynamic nanoplatform based on MnO₂@PDA/ICG-BSA (MPIB) is developed for oxygen (O₂) self-supply enhanced cancer phototherapy (PT). First, MnO₂ transfers intracellular overexpression H₂O₂ into O₂ in the acidic TME through its catalase-like activity to improve the hypoxia and also provide O₂ for the following photodynamic therapy. Then, under single NIR-808 nm light irradiation (called the "phototherapeutic window"), excellent photothermal and photodynamic performance of the MPIB is activated for combined PT. Finally, assisted with immune adjuvant cytosine-phospho-guanine, obvious ICD and systemic antitumor immunity was elicited in PT-treated mice and demonstrated significant growth inhibition on distant tumors. This MPIB-based nanoplatform highlights the promise to overcome the limitations of hypoxia and also challenges of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments for improved cancer immunotherapy.

Design Strategies of Tumor-Targeted Delivery Systems Based on 2D Nanomaterials

Conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy are nonselective and nonspecific for cell killing, causing serious side effects and threatening the lives of patients. It is of great significance to develop more accurate tumor-targeting therapeutic strategies. Nanotechnology is in a leading position to provide new treatment options for cancer, and it has great potential for selective targeted therapy and controlled drug release. 2D nanomaterials (2D NMs) have broad application prospects in the field of tumor-targeted delivery systems due to their special structure-based functions and excellent optical, electrical, and thermal properties. This review emphasizes the design strategies of tumor-targeted delivery systems based on 2D NMs from three aspects: passive targeting, active targeting, and tumor-microenvironment targeting, in order to promote the rational application of 2D NMs in clinical practice.

Covalent Organic Framework (C6N6) as a Drug Delivery Platform for Fluorouracil to Treat Cancerous Cells: A DFT Study

Continuous studies are being carried out to explore new methods and carrier surfaces for target drug delivery. Herein, we report the covalent triazine framework C₆N₆ as a drug delivery carrier for fluorouracil (FU) and nitrosourea (NU) anti-cancer drugs. FU and NU are physiosorbed on C₆N₆ with adsorption energies of -28.14 kcal/mol and -27.54 kcal/mol, respectively. The outcomes of the non-covalent index (NCI) and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analyses reveal that the FU@C₆N₆ and NU@C₆N₆ complexes were stabilized through van der Waals interactions. Natural bond order (NBO) and electron density difference (EDD) analyses show an appreciable charge transfer from the drug and carrier. The FU@C₆N₆ complex had a higher charge transfer (-0.16 e^-) compared to the NU@C₆N₆ complex (-0.02 e^-). Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis reveals that the adsorption of FU on C₆N₆ caused a more pronounced decrease in the HOMO-LUMO gap (E_H-L) compared to that of NU. The results of the FMO analysis are consistent with the NBO and EDD analyses. The drug release mechanism was studied through dipole moments and pH effects. The highest decrease in adsorption energy was observed for the FU@C₆N₆ complex in an acidic medium, which indicates that FU can easily be off-loaded from the carrier (C₆N₆) to a target site because the cancerous cells have a low pH compared to a normal cell. Thus, it may be concluded that C₆N₆ possesses the therapeutic potential to act as a nanocarrier for FU to treat cancer. Furthermore, the current study will also provide motivation to the scientific community to explore new surfaces for drug delivery applications.

The Promising Nanovectors for Gene Delivery in Plant Genome Engineering

Highly efficient gene delivery systems are essential for genetic engineering in plants. Traditional delivery methods have been widely used, such as Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated delivery, biolistic particle bombardment, and viral transfection. However, genotype dependence and other drawbacks of these techniques limit the application of genetic engineering, particularly genome editing in many crop plants. There is a great need to develop newer gene delivery vectors or methods. Recently, nanomaterials such as mesoporous silica particles (MSNs), AuNPs, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and layer double hydroxides (LDHs), have emerged as promising vectors for the delivery of genome engineering tools (DNA, RNA, proteins, and RNPs) to plants in a species-independent manner with high efficiency. Some exciting results have been reported, such as the successful delivery of cargo genes into plants and the generation of genome stable transgenic cotton and maize plants, which have provided some new routines for genome engineering in plants. Thus, in this review, we summarized recent progress in the utilization of nanomaterials for plant genetic transformation and discussed the advantages and limitations of different methods. Furthermore, we emphasized the advantages and potential broad applications of nanomaterials in plant genome editing, which provides guidance for future applications of nanomaterials in plant genetic engineering and crop breeding.

Ultra-thin layered double hydroxide-mediated photothermal therapy combine with asynchronous blockade of PD-L1 and NR2F6 inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

The efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is limited due to low levels of tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes and deficient checkpoint blockade in this immunologically "cool" tumor. Thus, combination approaches are needed to increase the response rates of ICB and induce synergistic antitumor immunity.

Methods

Herein, we designed a pH-sensitive multifunctional nanoplatform based on layered double hydroxides (LDHs) loaded with siRNA to block the intracellular immune checkpoint NR2F6, together with the asynchronous blockade surface receptor PD-L1 to induce strong synergistic antitumor immunity. Moreover, photothermal therapy (PTT) generated by LDHs after laser irradiation modified an immunologically “cold” microenvironment to potentiate Nr2f6-siRNA and anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy. Flow cytometry was performed to assess the immune responses initiated by the multifunctional nanoplatform.

Results

Under the slightly acidic tumor extracellular environment, PEG detached and the re-exposed positively charged LDHs enhanced tumor accumulation and cell uptake. The accumulated siRNA suppressed the signal of dual protumor activity in both immune and H22 tumor cells by silencing the NR2F6 gene, which further reduced the tumor burden and enhanced systemic antitumor immunity. The responses include enhanced tumor infiltration by CD4⁺ helper T cells, CD8⁺ cytotoxic T cells, and mature dendritic cells; the significantly decreased level of immune suppressed regulator T cells. The therapeutic responses were also attributed to the production of IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-α. The prepared nanoparticles also exhibited potential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ability, which could serve to guide synergistic immunotherapy treatment.

Conclusions

In summary, the three combinations of PTT, NR2F6 gene ablation and anti-PD-L1 can promote a synergistic immune response to inhibit the progression of primary HCC tumors and prevent metastasis. This study can be considered a proof-of-concept for the targeting of surface and intracellular immune checkpoints to supplement the existing HCC immunotherapy treatments.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-022-01565-9.

Layered double hydroxide-based nanomaterials for biomedical applications

Against the backdrop of increased public health awareness, inorganic nanomaterials have been widely explored as promising nanoagents for various kinds of biomedical applications. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs), with versatile physicochemical advantages including excellent biocompatibility, pH-sensitive biodegradability, highly tunable chemical composition and structure, and ease of composite formation with other materials, have shown great promise in biomedical applications. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the recent advances in LDH-based nanomaterials for biomedical applications. Firstly, the material categories and advantages of LDH-based nanomaterials are discussed. The preparation and surface modification of LDH-based nanomaterials, including pristine LDHs, LDH-based nanocomposites and LDH-derived nanomaterials, are then described. Thereafter, we systematically describe the great potential of LDHs in biomedical applications including drug/gene delivery, bioimaging diagnosis, cancer therapy, biosensing, tissue engineering, and anti-bacteria. Finally, on the basis of the current state of the art, we conclude with insights on the remaining challenges and future prospects in this rapidly emerging field.

Nanoarchitectured two-dimensional layered double hydroxides-based nanocomposites for biomedical applications

Despite the exceptional physicochemical and morphological characteristics, the pristine layered double hydroxides (LDHs), or two-dimensional (2D) hydrotalcite clays, often suffer from various shortcomings in biomedicine, such as deprived thermal and chemical stabilities, acid-prone degradation, as well as lack of targeting ability, hampering their scale-up and subsequent clinical translation. Accordingly, diverse nanocomposites of LDHs have been fabricated by surface coating of organic species, impregnation of inorganic species, and generation of core-shell architectures, resulting in the complex state-of-the-art architectures. In this article, we initially emphasize various bothering limitations and the chemistry of these pristine LDHs, followed by discussions on the engineering strategies of different LDHs-based nanocomposites. Further, we give a detailed note on diverse LDH nanocomposites and their performance efficacy in various biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, bioimaging, biosensing, tissue engineering and cell patterning, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction, as well as photoluminescence, highlighting the influence of various properties of installed supramolecular assemblies on their performance efficacy. In summary, we conclude with interesting perspectives concerning the lessons learned to date and the strategies to be followed to further advance their scale-up processing and applicability in medicine.

Defect engineering of layered double hydroxide nanosheets as inorganic photosensitizers for NIR-III photodynamic cancer therapy

Although two-dimensional (2D) layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have been widely used as efficient nanoagents for biological diagnosis and treatment, they have been found to be inert as photosensitizers (PSs) for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, we report the defect engineering of ultrathin 2D CoMo-LDH and NiMo-LDH nanosheets as highly active inorganic PSs for PDT in the third near-infrared (NIR-III) window. Hydrothermal-synthesized 2D CoMo-LDH and NiMo-LDH nanosheets are etched via a simple acid treatment to obtain defect-rich CoMo-LDH and NiMo-LDH nanosheets. Importantly, the defect-rich CoMo-LDH nanosheets exhibit much higher activity (~97 times) for generation of reactive oxygen species than that of the pristine CoMo-LDH nanosheets under a NIR-III 1567 nm laser irradiation. Therefore, after modification with polyethylene glycol, the defect-rich CoMo-LDH nanosheets can be used as an efficient inorganic PS for PDT to efficiently induce cancer cells apoptosis in vitro and eradicate tumors in vivo under 1567 nm laser irradiation.

Defect engineering of 2 dimensional layered double hydroxide sheets improves their photocatalytic activity. Here, the authors etch sheets in acid and show that the etched sheets generate substantially more reactive oxygen species that untreated sheets and the treated sheets can be used to kill cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Two-Dimensional Ultra-Thin Nanosheets with Extraordinarily High Drug Loading and Long Blood Circulation for Cancer Therapy

Nanoparticle drug delivery is largely restricted by the low drug loading capacity of nanoparticle carriers. To address this critical challenge and maximize the potential of nanoparticle drug delivery, a 2D ultra-thin layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheet with exceptionally high drug loading, excellent colloidal stability, and prolonged blood circulation for cancer treatment is constructed. The nanosheet is synthesized via a biocompatible polymer-assisted bottom-up method and exhibits an ultra-thin 2D sheet-like structure that enables a considerable amount of cargo anchoring sites available for drug loading, leading to an extraordinary 734% (doxorubicin/nanoparticle mass ratio) drug loading capacity. Doxorubicin delivered by the nanosheet remains stable on the nanosheet carrier under the physiological pH condition, while showing sustained release in the tumor microenvironment and the intracellular environment, thus demonstrating on-demand drug release as a result of pH-responsive biodegradation of nanosheets. Using in vitro and in vivo 4T1 breast cancer models, the nanosheet-based ultra-high drug-loading system demonstrates even enhanced therapeutic performance compared to the multilayered LDH-based high drug-loading system, in terms of increased cellular uptake efficiency, prolonged blood circulation, superior therapeutic effect, and reduced systemic toxicity.

Nanocarrier cancer therapeutics with functional stimuli-responsive mechanisms

Presently, nanocarriers (NCs) have gained huge attention for their structural ability, good biocompatibility, and biodegradability. The development of effective NCs with stimuli-responsive properties has acquired a huge interest among scientists. When developing drug delivery NCs, the fundamental goal is to tackle the delivery-related problems associated with standard chemotherapy and to carry medicines to the intended sites of action while avoiding undesirable side effects. These nanocarriers were able of delivering drugs to tumors through regulating their pH, temperature, enzyme responsiveness. With the use of nanocarriers, chemotherapeutic drugs could be supplied to tumors more accurately that can equally encapsulate and deliver them. Material carriers for chemotherapeutic medicines are discussed in this review keeping in viewpoint of the structural properties and targeting methods that make these carriers more therapeutically effective, in addition to metabolic pathways triggered by drug-loaded NCs. Largely, the development of NCs countering to endogenous and exogenous stimuli in tumor regions and understanding of mechanisms would encourage the progress for tumor therapy and precision diagnosis in future.

Multivalent Aptamer Approach: Designs, Strategies, and Applications

Aptamers are short and single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules with highly programmable structures that give them the ability to interact specifically with a large variety of targets, including proteins, cells, and small molecules. Multivalent aptamers refer to molecular constructs that combine two or more identical or different types of aptamers. Multivalency increases the avidity of aptamers, a particularly advantageous feature that allows for significantly increased binding affinities in comparison with aptamer monomers. Another advantage of multivalency is increased aptamer stabilities that confer improved performances under physiological conditions for various applications in clinical settings. The current study aims to review the most recent developments in multivalent aptamer research. The review will first discuss structures of multivalent aptamers. This is followed by detailed discussions on design strategies of multivalent aptamer approaches. Finally, recent developments of the multivalent aptamer approach in biosensing and biomedical applications are highlighted.

High drug-loaded microspheres enabled by controlled in-droplet precipitation promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury

Drug delivery systems with high content of drug can minimize excipients administration, reduce side effects, improve therapeutic efficacy and/or promote patient compliance. However, engineering such systems is extremely challenging, as their loading capacity is inherently limited by the compatibility between drug molecules and carrier materials. To mitigate the drug-carrier compatibility limitation towards therapeutics encapsulation, we developed a sequential solidification strategy. In this strategy, the precisely controlled diffusion of solvents from droplets ensures the fast in-droplet precipitation of drug molecules prior to the solidification of polymer materials. After polymer solidification, a mass of drug nanoparticles is embedded in the polymer matrix, forming a nano-in-micro structured microsphere. All the obtained microspheres exhibit long-term storage stability, controlled release of drug molecules, and most importantly, high mass fraction of therapeutics (21.8–63.1 wt%). Benefiting from their high drug loading degree, the nano-in-micro structured acetalated dextran microspheres deliver a high dose of methylprednisolone (400 μg) within the limited administration volume (10 μL) by one single intrathecal injection. The amount of acetalated dextran used was 1/433 of that of low drug-loaded microspheres. Moreover, the controlled release of methylprednisolone from high drug-loaded microspheres contributes to improved therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects than low drug-loaded microspheres and free drug in spinal cord injury therapy.

High drug loading improves therapeutic efficacy and reduces side effects in drug delivery. Here, the authors use controlled diffusion of solvents to precipitate drug nanoparticles in polymer particles while the polymer is solidifying and demonstrate the particles for drug delivery in a spinal cord injury model.

Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials beyond Graphene for Biomedical Applications

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials (e.g., graphene) have shown to have a high potential in future biomedical applications due to their unique physicochemical properties such as unusual electrical conductivity, high biocompatibility, large surface area, and extraordinary thermal and mechanical properties. Although the potential of graphene as the most common 2D nanomaterials in biomedical applications has been extensively investigated, the practical use of other nanoengineered 2D materials beyond graphene such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), topological insulators (TIs), phosphorene, antimonene, bismuthene, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and MXenes for biomedical applications have not been appreciated so far. This review highlights not only the unique opportunities of 2D nanomaterials beyond graphene in various biomedical research areas such as bioelectronics, imaging, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine but also addresses the risk factors and challenges ahead from the medical perspective and clinical translation of nanoengineered 2D materials. In conclusion, the perspectives and future roadmap of nanoengineered 2D materials beyond graphene are outlined for biomedical applications.

Oxygen Vacancies Regulated Selective Hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated Aldehydes over LDH Surface Group Coordinated Transition Metal Photocatalysts

Selective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes under mild conditions is a great challenge in achieving synthesis of corresponding alcohols. Herein, we report that a series of oxygen vacancies enriched MgAl-LDH coordinated...