Coordination Nanosheets of Phthalocyanine as Multifunctional Platform for Imaging-Guided Synergistic Therapy of Cancer

Optimized silicate nanozymes with atomically incorporated iron and manganese for intratumoral coordination-enhanced once-for-all catalytic therapy

Although plant-derived cancer therapeutic products possess great promise in clinical translations, they still suffer from quick degradation and low targeting rates. Herein, based on the oxygen vacancy (OV)-immobilization strategy, an OV-enriched biodegradable silicate nanoplatform with atomically dispersed Fe/Mn active species and polyethylene glycol modification was innovated for loading gallic acid (GA) (noted as FMMPG) for intratumoral coordination-enhanced multicatalytic cancer therapy. The OV-enriched FMMPG nanozymes with a narrow band gap (1.74 eV) can be excited by a 650 nm laser to generate reactive oxygen species. Benefiting from the Mn-O bond in response to the tumor microenvironment (TME), the silicate skeleton in FMMPG collapses and completely degrades after 24 h. The degraded metal M (M = Fe, Mn) ions and released GA can in situ produce a stable M-GA nanocomplex at tumor sites. Importantly, the formed M-GA with strong reductive ability can transform H2O2 into the fatal hydroxyl radical, causing serious oxidative damage to the tumor. The released Fe3+ and Mn2+ can serve as enhanced contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, which can track the chemodynamic and photodynamic therapy processes. The work offers a reasonable strategy for a TME-responsive degradation and intratumoral coordination-enhanced multicatalytic therapy founded on bimetallic silicate nanozymes to achieve desirable tumor theranostic outcomes.

Two-dimensional nanomaterials induced nano-bio interfacial effects and biomedical applications in cancer treatment

Two-dimensional nanomaterials (2D NMs), characterized by a large number of atoms or molecules arranged in one dimension (typically thickness) while having tiny dimensions in the other two dimensions, have emerged as a pivotal class of materials with unique properties. Their flat and sheet-like structure imparts distinctive physical, chemical, and electronic attributes, which offers several advantages in biomedical applications, including enhanced surface area for efficient drug loading, surface-exposed atoms allowing precise chemical modifications, and the ability to form hierarchical multilayer structures for synergistic functionality. Exploring their nano-bio interfacial interactions with biological components holds significant importance in comprehensively and systematically guiding safe applications. However, the current lack of in-depth analysis and comprehensive understanding of interfacial effects on cancer treatment motivates our ongoing efforts in this field. This study provides a comprehensive survey of recent advances in utilizing 2D NMs for cancer treatment. It offers insights into the structural characteristics, synthesis methods, and surface modifications of diverse 2D NMs. The investigation further delves into the formation of nano-bio interfaces during their in vivo utilization. Notably, the study discusses a wide array of biomedical applications in cancer treatment. With their potential to revolutionize therapeutic strategies and outcomes, 2D NMs are poised at the forefront of cancer treatment, holding the promise of transformative advancements.

Post-Graphene 2D Materials: Structures, Properties, and Cancer Therapy Applications

Cancer is one of the most serious diseases challenging human health and life span. Cancer has claimed millions of lives worldwide. Early diagnosis and effective treatment of cancer are very important for the survival of patients. In recent years, 2D nanomaterials have shown great potential in the development of anticancer treatment by combining their inherent physicochemical properties after surface modification. 2D nanomaterials have attracted great interest due to their unique nanosheet structure, large surface area, and extraordinary physicochemical properties. This article reviews the advantages and application status of emerging 2D nanomaterials for targeted tumor synergistic therapy compared with traditional therapeutic strategies. In order to investigate novel potential anticancer strategies, this paper focuses on the surface modification, cargo delivery capability, and unique optical properties of emerging 2D nanomaterials. Finally, the current problems and challenges in cancer treatment are summarized and prospected.

pH-Responsive Wound Dressing Based on Biodegradable CuP Nanozymes for Treating Infected and Diabetic Wounds

Nanozymes, emerging nanomaterials for wound healing, exhibit enzyme-like activity to modulate the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at wound sites. Yet, the solo regulation of endogenous ROS by nanozymes often falls short, particularly in chronic refractory wounds with complex and variable pathological microenvironments. In this study, we report the development of a multifunctional wound dressing integrating a conventional alginate (Alg) hydrogel with a newly developed biodegradable copper hydrogen phosphate (CuP) nanozyme, which possesses good near-infrared (NIR) photothermal conversion capabilities, sustained Cu ion release ability, and pH-responsive peroxidase/catalase-mimetic catalytic activity. When examining acute infected wounds characterized by a low pH environment, the engineered Alg/CuP composite hydrogels demonstrated high bacterial eradication efficacy against both planktonic bacteria and biofilms, attributed to the combined action of catalytically generated hydroxyl radicals and the sustained release of Cu ions. In contrast, when applied to chronic diabetic wounds, which typically have a high pH environment, these composite hydrogels exhibit significant angiogenic performance. This is driven by the provision of catalytically generated dissolved oxygen and a beneficial supplement of Cu ions released from the degradable CuP nanozyme. Further, a mild thermal effect induced by NIR irradiation amplifies the catalytic activities and bioactivity of Cu ions, thereby enhancing the healing process of both infected and diabetic wounds. Our study validates that the synergistic integration of photothermal effects, catalytic activity, and released Cu ions can concurrently yield high antibacterial efficiency and tissue regenerative activity, rendering it highly promising for various clinical applications in wound healing.

Meta-Analysis of Nanoparticle Distribution in Tumors and Major Organs in Tumor-Bearing Mice

Low tumor delivery efficiency is a critical barrier in cancer nanomedicine. This study reports an updated version of "Nano-Tumor Database", which increases the number of time-dependent concentration data sets for different nanoparticles (NPs) in tumors from the previous version of 376 data sets with 1732 data points from 200 studies to the current version of 534 data sets with 2345 data points from 297 studies published from 2005 to 2021. Additionally, the current database includes 1972 data sets for five major organs (i.e., liver, spleen, lung, heart, and kidney) with a total of 8461 concentration data points. Tumor delivery and organ distribution are calculated using three pharmacokinetic parameters, including delivery efficiency, maximum concentration, and distribution coefficient. The median tumor delivery efficiency is 0.67% injected dose (ID), which is low but is consistent with previous studies. Employing the best regression model for tumor delivery efficiency, we generate hypothetical scenarios with different combinations of NP factors that may lead to a higher delivery efficiency of >3%ID, which requires further experimentation to confirm. In healthy organs, the highest NP accumulation is in the liver (10.69%ID/g), followed by the spleen 6.93%ID/g and the kidney 3.22%ID/g. Our perspective on how to facilitate NP design and clinical translation is presented. This study reports a substantially expanded "Nano-Tumor Database" and several statistical models that may help nanomedicine design in the future.

Au/Mn nanodot platform for in vivo CT/MRI/FI multimodal bioimaging and photothermal therapy against tongue cancer

Surgical resection is the main method for oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) treatment. However, the oral physiological function and aesthetics may be seriously damaged during the operation with a high risk of recurrence. Therefore, it is important to develop an alternative strategy with precise guidance for OTSCC treatment. Herein, multifunctional Au/Mn nanodots (NDs) are designed and synthesized. They can perform multimodal bioimaging, including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) simultaneously, and exhibit bright near-infrared fluorescence imaging (FI) for navigation, and even integrate photothermal therapy (PTT) property. The localization of OTSCC relies on visual and tactile cues of surgeons while lacking noninvasive pretreament labeling and guidance. Au/Mn NDs provide CT/MRI imaging, giving two means of accurate positioning pretherapy. Meanwhile, the fluorescence of the Au/Mn NDs in the near-infrared region (NIR) is beneficial for noninvasive labeling and intuitive observation with the naked eye to determine the tumor boundary during PTT. Further, Au/Mn NDs showed excellent results in ablating tumors in vivo. Above all, the Au/Mn NDs provide a key platform for multimodal bioimaging and PTT in a single nanoagent, which demonstrated attractive performance for OTSCC treatment.

Multifunctional nanoparticle for cancer therapy

Cancer is a complex disease associated with a combination of abnormal physiological process and exhibiting dysfunctions in multiple systems. To provide effective treatment and diagnosis for cancer, current treatment strategies simultaneously focus on various tumor targets. Based on the rapid development of nanotechnology, nanocarriers have been shown to exhibit excellent potential for cancer therapy. Compared with nanoparticles with single functions, multifunctional nanoparticles are believed to be more aggressive and potent in the context of tumor targeting. However, the development of multifunctional nanoparticles is not simply an upgraded version of the original function, but involves a sophisticated system with a proper backbone, optimized modification sites, simple preparation method, and efficient function integration. Despite this, many well-designed multifunctional nanoparticles with promising therapeutic potential have emerged recently. Here, to give a detailed understanding and analyzation of the currently developed multifunctional nanoparticles, their platform structures with organic or inorganic backbones were systemically generalized. We emphasized on the functionalization and modification strategies, which provide additional functions to the nanoparticle. We also discussed the application combination strategies that were involved in the development of nanoformulations with functional crosstalk. This review thus provides an overview of the construction strategies and application advances of multifunctional nanoparticles.

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.

SERS monitoring of photoinduced-enhanced oxidative stress amplifier on Au@carbon dots for tumor catalytic therapy

Currently, artificial enzymes-based photodynamic therapy (PDT) is attractive due to its efficient capacity to change the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). It is of great significance to study the therapeutic mechanism of novel artificial enzymes in TME through a monitoring strategy and improve the therapeutic effect. In this study, Au@carbon dots (Au@CDs) nanohybrids with a core-shell structure are synthesized, which not only exhibit tunable enzyme-mimicking activity under near-infrared (NIR) light, but also excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) properties. Therefore, Au@CDs show a good capability for monitoring NIR-photoinduced peroxidase-like catalytic processes via a SERS strategy in tumor. Moreover, the Au@CDs deplete glutathione with the cascade catalyzed reactions, thus elevating intratumor oxidative stress amplifying the reactive oxygen species damage based on the NIR-photoinduced enhanced peroxidase and glutathione oxidase-like activities, showing excellent and fast PDT therapeutic effect promoted by photothermal property in 3 min, finally leading to apoptosis in cancer cells. Through SERS monitoring, it is further found that after removing the NIR light source for 33 min, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity of the TME is counteracted and eliminated due to the presence of glutathione. This work presents a guidance to rationally design of artificial enzyme for ROS-involved therapeutic strategies and a new spectroscopic tool to evaluate the tumor catalytic therapy.

Biocomputation with MnTiO3 Piezoelectric Enzymes for Programed Catalysis of Tumor Death

Catalytic nanomedicine, especially artificial enzymes, exhibit obvious merits over traditional nanomedicine. However, the lack of controllability over an enzymatic process seriously challenges the therapeutic performance. Herein, we present a concept of using piezoelectric enzymes in combination with biocomputation ability. As a paradigm, MnTiO3 nanodisks were prepared with multiple enzyme-mimicking activity, including glutathione oxidase, peroxidase, and catalase. Different from the conventional artificial enzymes, the enzymatic activity of MnTiO3 nanodisks was activated by ultrasound and switched by a tumor microenvironment, which allows precise control over enzymatic catalysis in tumors. By virtue of the multiple artificial enzyme activity of MnTiO3 nanodisks, a biocomputing platform was constructed based on a Boolean logic-based algorithm. With ultrasound and tumor microenvironment as input signals, cytotoxicity was output via logic-based biocomputation for programed tumor killing. The concept of piezoelectric enzymes together with a biocomputation strategy provides an intelligent and effective approach for catalytic tumor eradication.

Manganese-Based Prussian Blue Nanocatalysts Suppress Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Growth and Metastasis via Photothermal and Chemodynamic Therapy

Based on the safety of prussian blue (PB) in biomedical application, we prepared manganese-based prussian blue (MnPB) nanocatalysts to achieve enhanced photothermal therapy and chemodynamic therapy. And we conducted a series of experiments to explore the therapeutic effects of MnPB nanoparticles (NPs) on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in vivo and in vitro. For in vitro experiments, the MnPB NPs suppressed growth of A549 cells by reactive oxygen species upregulation and near-infrared irradiation. Moreover, the MnPB NPs could inhibit lung cancer metastasis through downregulating the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 expression in A549 cells. And for in vivo experiments, the MnPB NPs inhibited the growth of xenografted tumor effectively and were biologically safe. Meanwhile, Mn²⁺ as a T1-weighted agent could realize magnetic resonance imaging-guided diagnosis and treatment. To sum up, the results in this study clearly demonstrated that the MnPB NPs had remarkable effects for inhibiting the growth and metastasis of NSCLC and might serve as a promising multifunctional nanoplatform for NSCLC treatment.

Cold-catalytic antitumor immunity with pyroelectric black phosphorus nanosheets

Catalytic nanomedicine with the innate features of catalysts brings incomparable properties to biomedicine over traditional drugs. The temperature-dependent activity of catalysts provides catalytic nanomedicines with a facile strategy to control their therapeutic performance. Tuning catalytic nanomedicine by cold treatment (4-37 °C) is safe and desired for practical applications, but there is a lack of cold-catalytic platforms. Herein, with black phosphorus (BP) as a model pyroelectric nanocatalyst, we explored the potential of cold-catalysts for antitumor therapy. BP nanosheets with pyro-catalytic activity catalyze the generation of oxidative stress to activate antitumor immunity under cold treatment. Due to the cold-catalytic immunomodulation, immune memory was successfully achieved to prevent tumor metastasis and recurrence. Considering the safety and conductive depth (>10 mm) of cold in the body, pyroelectric nanocatalysts open up exciting opportunities for the development of cold-catalytic nanomedicine.

Cooperative coordination-mediated multi-component self-assembly of “all-in-one” nanospike theranostic nano-platform for MRI-guided synergistic therapy against breast cancer

Carrier-free multi-component self-assembled nano-systems have attracted widespread attention owing to their easy preparation, high drug-loading efficiency, and excellent therapeutic efficacy. Herein, MnAs-ICG nanospike was generated by self-assembly of indocyanine green (ICG), manganese ions (Mn²⁺), and arsenate (AsO₄³⁻) based on electrostatic and coordination interactions, effectively integrating the bimodal imaging ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorescence (FL) imaging-guided synergistic therapy of photothermal/chemo/chemodynamic therapy within an “all-in-one” theranostic nano-platform. The as-prepared MnAs-ICG nanospike had a uniform size, well-defined nanospike morphology, and impressive loading capacities. The MnAs-ICG nanospike exhibited sensitive responsiveness to the acidic tumor microenvironment with morphological transformation and dimensional variability, enabling deep penetration into tumor tissue and on-demand release of functional therapeutic components. In vitro and in vivo results revealed that MnAs-ICG nanospike showed synergistic tumor-killing effect, prolonged blood circulation and increased tumor accumulation compared to their individual components, effectively resulting in synergistic therapy of photothermal/chemo/chemodynamic therapy with excellent anti-tumor effect. Taken together, this new strategy might hold great promise for rationally engineering multifunctional theranostic nano-platforms for breast cancer treatment.

Emerging nanoformulation strategies for phytocompounds and applications from drug delivery to phototherapy to imaging

Over thousands of years, natural bioactive compounds derived from plants (bioactive phytocompounds, BPCs) have been used worldwide to address human health issues. Today, they are a significant resource for drug discovery in the development of modern medicines. Although many BPCs have promising biological activities, most of them cannot be effectively utilized in drugs for therapeutic applications because of their inherent limitations of low solubility, structural instability, short half-life, poor bioavailability, and non-specific distribution to organs. Researchers have utilized emerging nanoformulation (NF) technologies to overcome these limitations as they have demonstrated great potential to improve the solubility, stability, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of BPCs. This review exemplifies NF strategies for resolving the issues associated with BPCs and summarizes recent advances in their preclinical and clinical applications for imaging and therapy. This review also highlights how innovative NF technologies play a leading role in next-generation BPC-based drug development for extended therapeutic applications. Finally, this review discusses the opportunities to take BPCs with meaningful clinical impact from bench to bedside and extend the patent life of BPC-based medicines with new formulations or application to new adjacent diseases beyond the primary drug indications.

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Natural bioactive phytocompounds derived from plants have been used worldwide to address human health issues. However, most of them cannot be effectively utilized in drugs for therapeutic applications because of their inherent limitations.

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Nanoformulation approach has recently been underlined as an emerging pharmaceutical strategy to overcome the intrinsic drawbacks of bioactive phytocompounds.

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Various types of nanoformulation and their up-to-date applications for targeted delivery, phototherapy, and imaging are reviewed. Finally, their clinical implications for the repurposing of bioactive phytocompounds are deliberated.

Metal-organic framework combined with CaO2 nanoparticles for enhanced and targeted photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been rapidly developed as an effective therapeutic approach in clinical settings. However, hypoxia seriously limits the effectiveness of PDT. Here, we report a porphyrin-based metal-organic framework combined with hyaluronate-modified CaO₂ nanoparticles (PCN-224-CaO₂-HA) to target and enhance PDT efficacy. CaO₂ reacts with H₂O or weak acid to produce O₂, overcoming the hypoxia problem. Hyaluronate protects CaO₂ and specifically targets the CD44 receptor, which is highly expressed on tumor cell membranes, performing targeted therapy. After PDT treatment in vitro, the survival rates of 4T1 and MCF-7 tumor cells were 14.58% and 22.45%, respectively. The fluorescence imaging showed that PCN-224-CaO₂-HA effectively aggregated in the tumor after 12 h of its intravenous injection into tumor-bearing mice. PCN-224-CaO₂-HA exhibited efficacious tumor growth inhibition via enhanced PDT. Overall, this nanosystem providing in situ oxygen production was successfully used for targeted PDT with a significantly enhanced therapeutic efficacy in vitro and in vivo.

Self-targeting nanotherapy based on functionalized graphene oxide for synergistic thermochemotherapy

Nanotherapy based on thermochemotherapy has boomed as a promising alternative for oncotherapy due to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. However, a lack of self-targeting capacity prevents nanotherapy from efficiently accumulating in tumor tissue and internalizing into tumor cells, resulting in a suboptimal therapeutic effect. To overcome these bottlenecks, a kind of methotrexate (MTX)-soybean phospholipid (SPC) inclusion complex (MTX-SPC)-modified graphene oxide (CGO) nanotherapy (CGO-MTX-SPC) is constructed by CGO nanosheets as a supporter for MTX-SPC, thereby realizing active-targeting and synergistic thermochemotherapy. As an FDA-approved chemotherapeutic drug, MTX can be regarded as a tumor-targeting enhancer against the folate receptor on account of its similar structure to folic acid (FA). The fabricated CGO-MTX-SPC has a sheet shape with a size of ca. 109 nm and tumor microenvironment-responsive on-demand drug release. It is worth noting that the physiological stability of CGO-MTX-SPC is better than that of CGO while displaying an improved photothermal effect. In addition, CGO-MTX-SPC can specifically recognize tumor cells and then achieve on-demand drug burst release by dual stimuli of internal lysosomal acidity and an external laser. Moreover, in vivo experimental results further demonstrate that CGO-MTX-SPC displays significant enrichment at the tumor location by active targeting mechanisms due to the introduction of MTX-SPC, endowing the synergistic thermochemotherapy effect upon 808 nm laser irradiation and almost thorough tumor elimination while significantly erasing undesirable side effects. Taken together, the design idea of our nanotherapy not only provides a potential tumor-targeting therapeutic strategy but also broadens the drug payload method of two-dimensional nanomaterials.

Two-dimensional layered double hydroxide nanoadjuvant: recent progress and future direction

Layered double hydroxide (LDH) is a 'sandwich'-like two-dimensional clay material that has been systematically investigated for biomedical application in the past two decades. LDH is an alum-similar adjuvant, which has a well-defined layered crystal structure and exhibits high adjuvanticity. The unique structure of LDH includes positively charged layers composed of divalent and trivalent cations and anion-exchangeable interlayer galleries. Among the many variants of LDH, MgAl-LDH (the cationic ions are Mg2+ and Al3+) has the highest affinity to antigens, bioadjuvants and drug molecules, and exhibits superior biosafety. Past research studies indicate that MgAl-LDH can simultaneously load antigens, bioadjuvants and molecular drugs to amplify the strength of immune responses, and induce broad-spectrum immune responses. Moreover, the size and dispersity of MgAl-LDH in biological environments can be well controlled to actively deliver antigens to the immune system, realizing the rapid induction and maintenance of durable immune responses. Furthermore, the functionalization of MgAl-LDH nanoadjuvants enables it to capture antigens in situ and induce personalized immune responses, thereby more effectively overcoming complex diseases. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the development and application of MgAl-LDH nanoparticles as a vaccine adjuvant, demonstrating that MgAl-LDH is the most potential adjuvant for clinical application.

Photodynamic Therapy of Cancers With Internal Light Sources: Chemiluminescence, Bioluminescence, and Cerenkov Radiation

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising and minimally invasive modality for the treatment of cancers. The use of a self-illuminating system as a light source provides an intriguing solution to the light penetration issues of conventional PDT, which have gained considerable research interest in the past few years. This mini review aimed to present an overview of self-illuminating PDT systems by using internal light sources (chemiluminescence, bioluminescence, and Cerenkov radiation) and to give a brief discussion on the current challenges and future perspectives.

"All-in-One" Silver Nanoprism Platform for Targeted Tumor Theranostics

Designing a multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform with optional therapeutic strategies is highly desirable to select the most suitable therapeutic manners for the patient's cancer treatment. Among all shapes of silver materials, a silver nanoprism was reported to have great potential in photothermal therapy (PTT) owing to its strong surface plasmon resonance band in the near-infrared region. However, its instability in physicochemical environments and its severe toxicity confined its further application. To overcome this, herein, we demonstrated a silver prism-polydopamine (PDA) hybrid nanoplatform for tumor treatment with three therapeutic strategies. Specifically, the PDA coating endows the silver prism with excellent stability, high photothermal conversion, long-term in vivo biocompatibility, ease of decorating targeting ligands, and drug delivery. Upon near-infrared laser irradiation (808 nm, 1 W/cm²), tumors can be eradicated by the as-prepared nanoparticle through monomodal PTT. Besides, when combined with a chemical drug, this nanoparticle is able to inhibit tumor growth via combined photochemotherapy under a lower laser treatment (0.7 W/cm²). Furthermore, by supplementing with an immune checkpoint blockade, the realized synergistic photochemoimmunotherapy exhibits high efficacy to inhibit tumor relapse and metastasis. Moreover, owing to the high photothermal conversion efficiency and great X-ray attenuation ability of the silver nanoprism, our designed nanoplatform can be used in photoacoustic, computed tomography, and infrared thermal multimodal imaging. Our study provides a multifunctional nanoparticle for tumor theranostics, and this therapeutic strategy-optional nanoplatform shows promise in future biomedicine.

Engineering H2O2 Self-Supplying Nanotheranostic Platform for Targeted and Imaging-Guided Chemodynamic Therapy

Developing highly efficient chemodynamic therapy (CDT)-based theranostic technology for cancer treatment is highly desired but still challenging. A novel nanotheranostic platform is constructed for enhanced CDT by engineering hybrid CaO₂ and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with a hyaluronate acid (HA) stabilizer and NIR fluorophore label. This design not only enables the nanotheranostic agent to afford highly efficient CDT against tumor cells but also confers NIR fluorescence (NIRF) and magnetic resonance (MR) bimodal imaging for in vivo visualization of CDT. Moreover, the use of the HA stabilizer allows for the facile synthesis of the nanotheranostic agent with excellent biocompatibility and active targetability. The nanotheranaostic agent possesses a high capacity of self-supplying H₂O₂ and producing ^•OH in acidic conditions, while retaining the desired stability under physiological conditions. It also demonstrates high selectivity to tumor cells via CDT with minimized toxicity to normal cells. In vivo studies reveal that our nanotheranaostic agent exhibits efficacious tumor growth inhibition via a CDT mechanism with favorable biosafety. Moreover, in vivo visualization of the CDT progress via NIRF and MR bimodal imaging demonstrates specific targeting and treatment of tumors. The developed H₂O₂ self-supplying, active targeting, and bimodal imaging nanotheranostic platform holds the potential as a highly efficient strategy for CDT of cancer.

2D nanostructures beyond graphene: preparation, biocompatibility and biodegradation behaviors

The research advances of the preparation, biocompatibility and biodegradation of 2D nanomaterials are introduced. The prospects and challenges of the biomedical applications of 2D nanomaterials are summarized.

Single-molecular phosphorus phthalocyanine-based near-infrared-II nanoagent for photothermal antitumor therapy

As one of the noninvasive cancer treatments, photothermal therapy (PTT) has drawn intense attention recently. In this context, an important task is to explore novel and versatile nanoscale photothermal agents (PTAs), especially those with strong NIR-II light absorption, high photothermal conversion efficiency, good photostability and biocompatibility. Phthalocyanines (Pcs), as the second-generation photosensitizers, are a promising class of candidates for PTT due to their strong NIR absorption and high photothermal conversion efficiency. However, the poor water solubility severely limited their application as PTAs in tumor treatment. Herein, we report a molecular phosphorus phthalocyanine (P-Pc)-based nanoagent via incorporation of human serum albumin (HSA) under mild conditions. The obtained nanoscale P-Pc-HSA possesses excellent photothermal conversion efficiency (64.7%) upon 1064 nm light irradiation, furthermore, it can be a highly efficient NIR-II antitumor nanoagent via photothermal treatment (PTT), which is fully evidenced by the in vitro and in vivo experiments.

A molecular phosphorus phthalocyanine (P-Pc)-based nanoagent P-Pc-HSA, which can be a highly efficient NIR-II antitumor agent, is reported.

"All-in-One" Theranostic Agent with Seven Functions Based on Bi-Doped Metal Chalcogenide Nanoflowers

Most of the existing single-component nanostructures cannot provide comprehensive diagnostic information, and their treatment strategies always have to combine other therapeutics as a complementary for effective biomedical application. Here, we adopted a facile approach to design a theranostic nanoflower (NF) with robust efficacy for comprehensive tumor diagnosis and quadruple synergistic cancer therapy. The NF is equipped with a metallic hybrid of several functional elements and flower-like superstructures and thus shows excellent in vitro and in vivo theranostic performance. It shows high X-ray attenuation coefficiency for the Bi element, strong near-infrared (NIR) plasmon absorbance and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) generation ability for the Mo element, and great photothermal conversion efficiency (54.7%) because of enhanced photoabsorption of the petal structure. Moreover, the NF realizes a very high doxorubicin-loading efficiency (90.0%) and bimodal pH/NIR-responsive drug release, posing a promise as a controlled drug carrier. The NF also shows excellent performance at trimodal magnetic resonance/X-ray computed tomography/photoacoustic imaging for comprehensive tumor diagnosis. To our best knowledge, it is the first time that integrating at least seven functions into one biomedical nanomaterial for well-rounded tumor theranostics has been reported. This "all-in-one" NF opens a new perspective in developing novel and efficient multifunctional nanotheranostics.

Nanoscale Covalent Organic Framework for Combinatorial Antitumor Photodynamic and Photothermal Therapy

Despite the excellent photodynamic and photothermal properties of organic molecular photosensitizers (PSs) and photothermal agents (PTAs), such as porphyrin and naphthalocyanine, their poor water solubility severely impedes their biological applications. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), as an emerging class of organic crystalline porous materials, possess free active end groups (bonding defects) and large inner pores, which make them an ideal type of nanocarriers for loading hydrophobic organic molecular PSs and PTAs by both bonding defect functionalization (BDF) and guest encapsulation approaches to obtain multifunctional nanomedicines for PDT/PTT combination therapy. In this work, we report a nanoscale COF (NCOF) prepared via a facile synthetic approach under ambient conditions. Furthermore, a dual-modal PDT/PTT therapeutic nanoagent, VONc@COF-Por (3), is successfully fabricated by stepwise BDF and guest encapsulation processes. The covalently grafted porphyrinic PS (Por) and the noncovalently loaded naphthalocyanine PTA (VONc) are independently responsible for the PDT and PTT functionalities of the nanoagent. Upon visible (red LED) and NIR (808 nm laser) irradiation, VONc@COF-Por (3) displayed high ¹O₂ generation and photothermal conversion ability (55.9%), consequently providing an excellent combined PDT/PTT therapeutic effect on inhibiting MCF-7 tumor cell proliferation and metastasis, which was well evidenced by in vitro and in vivo experiments. We believe that the results obtained herein can significantly promote the development of NCOF-based multifunctional nanomedicines for biomedical applications.

Development of Multifunctional Clay-Based Nanomedicine for Elimination of Primary Invasive Breast Cancer and Prevention of Its Lung Metastasis and Distant Inoculation

Cancer recurrence and metastasis are worldwide challenges but current bimodular strategies such as combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy (CTX), and photothermal therapy (PTT) and immunotherapy have succeeded only in some limited cases. Thus in the present study, a multifunctional nanomedicine has been rationally designed via elegantly integrating three FDA-approved therapeutics, that is, indocyanine green (for PTT), doxorubicin (for CTX), and CpG (for immunotherapy) into the structure of layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles, aiming to completely prevent the recurrence and metastasis of invasive breast cancer. This multifunctional hybrid nanomedicine has been demonstrated to eliminate the primary tumor and efficiently prevent tumor recurrence and lung metastasis through combined PTT/CTX and induction of specific and strong immune responses mediated by the hybrid nanomedicine in a 4T1 breast cancer mouse model. Furthermore, the promoted in situ immunity has significantly inhibited the growth of reinoculated distant tumors. Altogether, our multifunctional LDH-based nanomedicine has showed an excellent efficacy in invasive cancer treatment using much lower doses of three FDA-approved therapeutics, providing a preclinical/clinical alternative to cost-effectively treat invasive breast cancer.

Single NIR Laser-Activated Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Cascaded Photothermal and Oxygen-Independent Photodynamic Therapy

Inconvenient dual-laser irradiation and tumor hypoxic environment as well as limited judgment of treating region have impeded the development of combined photothermal and photodynamic therapies (PTT and PDT). Herein, Bi₂Se₃@AIPH nanoparticles (NPs) are facilely developed to overcome these problems. Through a one-step method, free radical generator (AIPH) and phase transition material (lauric acid, LA, 44-46 °C) are encapsulated in hollow bismuth selenide nanoparticles (Bi₂Se₃ NPs). Under a single 808-nm laser irradiation at the tumor area, hyperthermia produced by Bi₂Se₃ not only directly leads to cell death, but also promotes AIPH release by melting LA and triggers free radical generation, which could further eradicate tumor cells in hypoxic environments. Moreover, Bi₂Se₃ with high X-ray attenuation coefficient endows the NPs with high computed tomography (CT) imaging capability, which is important for treating area determination. The results exhibit that Bi₂Se₃@AIPH NPs possesses 31.2% photothermal conversion efficiency for enhanced PTT, ideal free radical generation for oxygen-independent PDT, and 37.77 HU mL mg^-1 X-ray attenuation coefficient for CT imaging with high quality. Most importantly, the tumor growth inhibition rate by synergistic PTT, PDT, and following immunotherapy is 99.6%, and even one tumor disappears completely, which demonstrates excellent cascaded synergistic effect of Bi₂Se₃@AIPH NPs for the tumor therapy.

Combinational phototherapy and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy favoring antitumor immune responses

Background: Tumor metastasis is responsible for most cancer death worldwide, which lacks curative treatment.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to eliminate tumor and control the development of tumor metastasis.

Methods: Herein, we demonstrated a smart nano-enabled platform, in which 2-[2-[2-chloro-3-[(1,3-dihydro-3,3-dimethyl-1-propyl-2h-indol-2-ylidene)ethylidene]-1-cyclohexen-1-yl]ethenyl]-3,3-dimethyl-1-propylindolium iodide (IR780) and tirapazamine (TPZ) were co-loaded in poly(ε-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PCL) to form versatile nanoparticles (PEG-PCL-IR780-TPZ NPs).

Results: The intelligence of the system was reflected in the triggered and controlled engineering. Specially, PEG-PCL not only prolonged the circulation time of IR780 and TPZ but also promoted tumor accumulation of nanodrugs through enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Moreover, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by IR780 armed by an 808 nm laser irradiation evoked a cargo release. Meanwhile, IR780, as a mitochondria-targeting phototherapy agent exacerbated tumor hypoxic microenvironment and activated TPZ for accomplishing hypoxia-activated chemotherapy. Most significantly, IR780 was capable of triggering immunogenic cell death (ICD) during the synergic treatment. ICD biomarkers as a “danger signal” accelerated dendritic cells (DCs) maturation, and subsequently activated toxic T lymphocytes.

Conclusion: Eventually, antitumor immune responses stimulated by combinational phototherapy and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy revolutionized the current landscape of cancer treatment, strikingly inhibiting tumor metastasis and providing a promising prospect in the clinical application.

Integration of a highly monodisperse covalent organic framework photosensitizer with cation exchange synthesized Ag2Se nanoparticles for enhanced phototherapy

COF–Ag₂Se nanoparticles were synthesized via a cation exchange approach and utilized for combined photodynamic and photothermal therapy.