Stimuli-Responsive Polymer-Based Nanosystems for Cancer Theranostics

Cyanobacteria-probiotics symbionts for modulation of intestinal inflammation and microbiome dysregulation in colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is often associated with excessive inflammatory response and highly dysregulated gut microbiota. Traditional treatments utilize drugs to manage inflammation, potentially with probiotic therapy as an adjuvant. However, current standard practices often suffer from detrimental side effects, low bioavailability, and unsatisfactory therapeutic outcomes. Microbial complexes characterized by mutually beneficial symbiosis hold great promise for IBD therapy. Here, we aggregated Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 (Sp) with Bacillus subtilis (BS) by biomimetic mineralization to form cyanobacteria-probiotics symbionts (ASp@BS), which reshaped a healthy immune system and gut microbiota in a murine model of acute colitis. The symbionts exhibited excellent tolerance to the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract. Importantly, probiotics within the symbionts created a local anaerobic environment to activate the [NiFe]-hydrogenase enzyme of cyanobacteria, facilitating the production of hydrogen gas (H2) to persistently scavenge elevated reactive oxygen species and alleviate inflammatory factors. The resulting reduced inflammation improves the viability of the probiotics to efficiently regulate the gut microbiota and reshape the intestinal barrier functions. Our research elucidates that ASp@BS leverages the synergistic interaction between Sp and BS to create a therapeutic platform that addresses multiple aspects of IBD, offering a promising and comprehensive solution for IBD treatment.

Cascade-Activatable Nanoprodrug System Augments Sonochemotherapy of Bladder Cancer

Sonochemotherapy (SCT) has emerged as a powerful modality for cancer treatment by triggering excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and controlled release of chemotherapeutic agents under ultrasound. However, achieving spatiotemporally controlled release of chemotherapeutic agents during ROS generation is still an enormous challenge. In this work, we developed a cascade-activated nanoprodrug (CAN) system that utilizes a reversible covalent Schiff base mixed with a hypoxia-activatable camptothecin (CPT) prodrug. Briefly, the designed fluorinated CAN system is self-assembled into nanoparticles under aqueous conditions, which could penetrate deep tumors to offer sufficient oxygen for ultrasound-triggered ROS production. Consequently, the nanoparticles substantially exacerbated the hypoxia of the tumor microenvironment (TME) by elevating oxygen consumption. The aggravated hypoxia in turn served as a positive amplifier to boost the tumor-specific CPT release of Azo-CPT prodrug, which made up for the insufficient treatment efficacy of sonodynamic therapy (SDT). On this basis, we observed a substantial reduction, approximately 3.5-fold, in the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the CAN system compared to that of free CPT in bladder cancer cell lines (T24). Furthermore, the CAN system demonstrated potent antitumor efficacy with reduced side effects, resulting in regression and eradication of T24 tumors in various mouse models. In summary, the CAN system can be easily extended by incorporating different chemotherapeutic agents, showing great potential to revolutionize the clinical management paradigm of bladder cancer.

Tumor-Targeted Catalytic Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy holds significant promise for improving cancer treatment efficacy; however, the low response rate remains a considerable challenge. To overcome this limitation, advanced catalytic materials offer potential in augmenting catalytic immunotherapy by modulating the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) through precise biochemical reactions. Achieving optimal targeting precision and therapeutic efficacy necessitates a thorough understanding of the properties and underlying mechanisms of tumor-targeted catalytic materials. This review provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of recent advancements in tumor-targeted catalytic materials and their critical role in enhancing catalytic immunotherapy. It highlights the types of catalytic reactions, the construction strategies of catalytic materials, and their fundamental mechanisms for tumor targeting, including passive, bioactive, stimuli-responsive, and biomimetic targeting approaches. Furthermore, this review outlines various tumor-specific targeting strategies, encompassing tumor tissue, tumor cell, exogenous stimuli-responsive, TME-responsive, and cellular TME targeting strategies. Finally, the discussion addresses the challenges and future perspectives for transitioning catalytic materials into clinical applications, offering insights that pave the way for next-generation cancer therapies and provide substantial benefits to patients in clinical settings.

A novel cyanine photosensitizer for sequential dual-site GSH depletion and ROS-potentiated cancer photodynamic therapy

The efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) is often limited by the reductive microenvironment in tumor cells due to the high level of glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), which maintain redox homeostasis. Therefore, designing a GSH-responsive photosensitizer that depletes intracellular GSH is a promising strategy to enhance PDT selectivity and efficacy. Herein, we present a GSH-selective sequentially responsive theranostic photosensitizer, Cy-Res. This cyanine agent targeting mitochondria effectively depletes two GSH molecules, leading to the generation of abundant ROS and exacerbating oxidative stress. Additionally, it achieves an 80-fold fluorescence enhancement upon response to GSH, enabling selective imaging of tumor cells. By mitigating GSH's impact on PDT, Cy-ResNPs achieves synergistic and efficient PDT treatment of invasive melanoma under low-power irradiation (808 nm, 80 mW/cm2). The inhibitory processes downregulate GPX4, increase apoptotic proteins like Bax, and promote mixed cell death involving both ferroptosis and apoptosis. Overall, this study offers new insights and strategies for the development of GSH-responsive theranostic agents, highlighting their potential for application in tumor diagnosis and therapy.

Bioresponsive Polymeric Nanoparticles: From Design, Targeted Therapy to Cancer Immunotherapy

Bioresponsive polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) that are capable of delivering and releasing therapeutics and biotherapeutics to target sites have attracted vivid interest in cancer therapy and immunotherapy. In contrast to enthusiastic evolution in the academic world, the clinical translation of these smart systems is scarce, partly due to concerns about safety, stability, complexity, and scalability. The moderate targetability, responsivity, and benefits are other concerns. In the past 17 years, we have devoted ourselves to exploring elegant strategies to address the above basic and translational problems by introducing diverse functional groups and/or targeting ligands to safe biomedical materials, such as biodegradable polymers and water-soluble polymers. This minimal modification is critical for further clinical translation. We have tailor-made various bioresponsive NPs including shell-sheddable and/or acid-sensitive biodegradable NPs, disulfide-cross-linked biodegradable micelles and polymersomes, and blood-brain barrier (BBB)-permeable NPs, to target different tumors. This perspective provides an overview of our work path toward targeted nanomedicines and personalized vaccines, which might inspire clinical translation and future research on cancer therapy.

Functionalities of pH-responsive DNA nanostructures in tumor-targeted strategies

Nanostructures integrating pH-sensitive DNA motifs have emerged as versatile platforms for active tumor targeting, owing to their ability to undergo conformation changes in response to the common acidic environment of the tumor extracellular matrix and endocytosis pathway. This review summarizes the latest advances in the design and application of various pH-responsive DNA nanostructures for tumor-targeted strategies, including tumor recognition, cell imaging, dynamic nanocarrier construction, and controlled drug release. A comprehensive framework for pH-controlled multi-stage tumor targeting is introduced, addressing the divergences in targeting strategies for extracellular and intracellular environments. The unique attributes, practical performance and application challenges of pH-responsive DNA nanostructures are also critically discussed to provide guidance for future development in this field.

A Thin Polymer Layer Enables Peptide-Polycation Complexes with Ultrahigh Efficient Encapsulation

A monolayer encapsulation is a new opportunity for engineering a system with high drug loading, but immobilizing polymer molecules on the surface of individual peptide nanoparticles is still an ongoing challenge. Herein, an individual peptide nanoparticle encapsulation strategy is proposed via surface adsorption, in which peptide molecules undergo granulation and subsequently aggregate with polymer molecules, forming a network via electrostatic interactions. Under the water phase, surplus polymer molecules dissolve, leading to a single nanoparticle encapsulation with a core-shell structure. As expected, the dense interfacial layer on the peptide nanoparticle surface achieves a superior loading degree of up to 95.4%. What's more, once the core-shell structure is established, the peptide mass fraction in individual encapsulation always exceeds 90% even under fierce external force. Following the individual nanoparticle encapsulation, the insulin-polycation complex (InsNp@PEI) reduces the inflammation from polymer and displays an effective glycemic control in type 1 diabetes. Overall, the newly developed single surface decoration encapsulates peptides with ultrahigh efficiency and opens up the possibility for further encapsulation.

NIR-II Fluorescent Nanotheranostics with a Switchable Irradiation Mode for Immunogenic Sonodynamic Therapy

Nanotheranostics, which integrate diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities, offer significant potential for tumor treatment. However, current nanotheranostic systems typically involve multiple molecules, each providing a singular diagnostic or therapeutic function, leading to challenges such as complex structural composition, poor targeting efficiency, lack of spatiotemporal control, and dependence on a single therapeutic modality. This study introduces NPRBOXA, a nanoparticle functionalized with surface-bound cRGD for targeted delivery to αvβ3/αvβ5 receptors on tumor cells, achieving theranostic integration by sequentially switching its irradiation modes. Under 808 nm laser irradiation, NPRBOXA emits NIR-II fluorescence, which aids in identifying the nanoparticle's location and fluorescence intensity, thereby determining the optimal treatment window. Following this, the irradiation mode switches to ultrasound irradiation at the optimal treatment window. Ultrasound irradiation induces NPRBOXA to generate reactive oxygen species, promoting the reduction of OXA-IV to OXA-II, which in turn triggers immunogenic cell death. This mechanism enables a combination of sonodynamic therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy for tumor treatment. The versatile design of NPRBOXA holds promise for advancing precision oncology through enhanced therapeutic efficacy and real-time imaging guidance.

Preparation of Disulfide/Trisulfide Core-Cross-Linked Polycarbonate Nanocarriers for Intracellular Reduction-Triggered Drug Release

Polymeric nanocarriers have attracted significant attention in the field of anticancer drug delivery due to their unique advantages. However, designing nanocarriers that can maintain stability in the bloodstream while achieving specific drug release within tumor cells remains a major challenge. To address this issue, constructing reversible cross-linked polymeric nanocarriers that are sensitive to the intracellular reducible glutathione (GSH) characteristic of the tumor microenvironment is a promising strategy. Based on this, we designed and synthesized two novel six-membered bicyclic carbonate monomers containing disulfide (DSBC) and trisulfide (TSBC) bonds. Through a one-step ring-opening polymerization, a series of reduction-sensitive polycarbonate copolymers (i.e., PEG-PDSBC and PEG-PTSBC) were prepared, and doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded nanoparticles were fabricated using a nanoprecipitation method. The in vitro drug release behaviors of these nanoparticles were systematically investigated. The results showed that these polymers, due to the cross-linked structure formed by the ring-opening polymerization of their bicyclic monomers, could self-assemble into stable nanoparticles. Under different concentrations of glutathione, DOX-loaded PEG-PTSBC nanoparticles demonstrated faster drug release, indicating more optimized intracellular drug release properties. Further cytotoxicity experiments revealed that both types of blank nanoparticles exhibited good biocompatibility with the 4T1 and NIH-3T3 cells. Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry results further indicated that DOX-loaded PEG-PTSBC nanoparticles released more drugs in 4T1 cells, significantly inhibiting tumor cell growth compared with DOX-loaded PEG-PDSBC nanoparticles, with no noticeable difference in NIH-3T3 normal cells. In conclusion, this study suggests that trisulfide cross-linked polycarbonate-based nanocarriers hold promise as an anticancer drug delivery system that combines stability in the bloodstream with specific intracellular drug release, offering new insights for the development of novel, efficient, and safe anticancer nanomedicines.

Enhanced Synergistic Efficacy Against Breast Cancer Cells Promoted by Co-Encapsulation of Piplartine and Paclitaxel in Acetalated Dextran Nanoparticles

Malignant breast tumors constitute the most frequent cancer diagnosis among women. Notwithstanding the progress in treatments, this condition persists as a major public health issue. Paclitaxel (PTX) is a first-line classical chemotherapeutic drug used as a single active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or in combination therapy for breast cancer (BC) treatment. Adverse effects, poor water solubility, and inevitable susceptibility to drug resistance seriously limit its therapeutic efficacy in the clinic. Piplartine (PPT), an alkaloid extracted from Piper longum L., has been shown to inhibit cancer cell proliferation in several cell lines due to its pro-oxidant activity. However, PPT has low water solubility and bioavailability in vivo, and new strategies should be developed to optimize its use as a chemotherapeutic agent. In this context, the present study aimed to synthesize a series of acetalated dextran nanoparticles (Ac-Dex NPs) encapsulating PPT and PTX to overcome the limitations of PPT and PTX, maximizing their therapeutic efficacy and achieving prolonged and targeted codelivery of these anticancer compounds into BC cells. Biodegradable, pH-responsive, and biocompatible Ac-Dex NPs with diameters of 100-200 nm and spherical morphologies were formulated using a single emulsion method. Selected Ac-Dex NPs containing only PPT or PTX as well as those coloaded with PPT and PTX achieved excellent drug-loading capabilities (PPT, ca. 11-33%; PTX, ca. 2-14%) and high encapsulation efficiencies (PPT, ∼57-98%; PTX, ∼80-97%). Under physiological conditions (pH 7.4), these NPs exhibited excellent colloidal stability and were capable of protecting drug release, while under acidic conditions (pH 5.5) they showed structural collapse, releasing the therapeutics in an extended manner. Cytotoxicity results demonstrated that the encapsulation in Ac-Dex NPs had a positive effect on the activities of both PPT and PTX against the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line after 48 h of treatment, as well as toward MDA-MB-231 triple-negative BC cells. PPT/PTX@Ac-Dex NPs were significantly more cytotoxic (IC50/PPT = 0.25-1.77 μM and IC50/PTX = 0.07-0.75 μM) and selective (SI = 2.9-6.7) against MCF-7 cells than all the control therapeutic agents: free PPT (IC50 = 4.57 μM; SI = 1.2), free PTX (IC50 = 0.97 μM; SI = 1.0), the single-drug-loaded Ac-Dex NPs, and the physical mixture of both free drugs. All combinations of PPT and PTX resulted in pronounced synergistic antiproliferative effects in MCF-7 cells, with an optimal molar ratio of PPT to PTX of 2.3:1. PPT/PTX-2@Ac-Dex NPs notably promoted apoptosis, cell cycle arrest at the G2/M, accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and combined effects from both PPT and PTX on the microtubule network of MCF-7 cells. Overall, the combination of PTX and PPT in pH-responsive Ac-Dex NPs may offer great potential to improve the therapeutic efficacy, overcome the limitations, and provide effective simultaneous delivery of these therapeutics for BC treatment.

The advance of ultrasound-enabled diagnostics and therapeutics

Point-of-care ultrasound demonstrates significant potential in biomedical research due to its noninvasive, real-time visualization, cost-effectiveness, and other biological benefits. Ultrasound irradiation can precisely control the mechanical and physicochemical effects on pathogenic lesions, enabling real-time visualization, tunable tissue penetration depth, and therapeutic applications. This review summarizes recent advancements in ultrasound-enabled diagnostics and therapeutics, focusing on mechanochemical effects that can be directly integrated into biomedical applications. Additionally, the structure-functionality relationships of sonotheranostic nanoplatforms are systematically discussed, providing insights into the underlying biological effects. Finally, the limitations of current ultrasonic medicine are discussed, along with potential expansions to facilitate patient-centered translations.

Biomaterial-Mediated Metabolic Regulation of Ferroptosis for Cancer Immunotherapy

Ferroptosis is a lipid peroxidation-driven cell death route and has attracted enormous interest for cancer therapy. Distinct from other forms of regulated cell death, its process is involved with multiple metabolic pathways including lipids, bioenergetics, iron, and so on, which influence cancer cell ferroptosis sensitivity and communication with the immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Development of novel technologies for harnessing the ferroptosis-associated metabolic regulatory network would profoundly improve our understanding of the immune responses and enhance the efficacy of ferroptosis-dependent immunotherapy. Interestingly, the recent advances in bio-derived material-based therapeutic platforms offer novel opportunities to therapeutically modulate tumor metabolism through the in situ delivery of molecular or material cues, which not only allows the tumor-specific elicitation of ferroptosis but also holds promise to maximize their immunostimulatory impact. In this review, we will first dissect the crosstalk between tumor metabolism and ferroptosis and its impact on the immune regulation in the tumor microenvironment, followed by the comprehensive analysis on the recent progress in biomaterial-based metabolic regulatory strategies for evoking ferroptosis-mediated antitumor immunity. A perspective section is also provided to discuss the challenges in metabolism-regulating biomaterials for ferroptosis-immunotherapy. We envision that this review may provide new insights for improving tumor immunotherapeutic efficacy in the clinic.

TADF-Guiding Modification of Endoplasmic Reticulum-Targeted Photosensitizers for Efficient Photodynamic Immunotherapy

Pharmacological activation of the immunogenic cell death (ICD) pathway by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) targeted photosensitizer (PS) has become a promising strategy for tumor immunotherapy. Despite a clear demand for ER-targeted PS, the sluggish intersystem crossing (ISC) process, unstable excited state, insufficient ROS production, and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (ITME) combined to cause the high-efficiency agents are still limited. Herein, three groups commonly used in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecular design are used to modify the excited state characteristics of xanthene-based cyanine PS (obtained the XCy-based PS). The electronic and geometric modulation effectively optimize the excited state characteristics, facilitating the ISC process and prolonging the excited state life for boosting ROS generation. Among them, car-XCy showed 100 times longer excited state life and 225% higher ROS yield than that of original XCy. The satisfactory ROS production and ER-targeted ability of car-XCy arouse intense ER stress to activate the ICD. Adequate antigen presentation promotes the dendritic cell maturation and infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), ultimately reversing the ITME to realize efficient immunotherapy. As a result, significant inhibition is observed in both primary and distant tumors, underscoring the efficacy of this TADF-guiding excited state characteristics modulation strategy for developing photodynamic immunotherapy drugs.

Immunogenic cell death-based oncolytic virus therapy: A sharp sword of tumor immunotherapy

Tumor immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has been applied in clinical practice, but low response to immune therapies remains a thorny issue. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are considered promising for cancer treatment because they can selectively target and destroy tumor cells followed by spreading to nearby tumor tissues for a new round of infection. Immunogenic cell death (ICD), which is the major mechanism of OVs' anticancer effects, is induced by endoplasmic reticulum stress and reactive oxygen species overload after virus infection. Subsequent release of specific damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) from different types of tumor cells can transform the tumor microenvironment from "cold" to "hot". In this paper, we broadly define ICD as those types of cell death that is immunogenic, and describe their signaling pathways respectively. Focusing on ICD, we also elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of recent combination therapies and their future prospects.

Stimulus-responsive drug delivery nanoplatforms for inflammatory bowel disease therapy

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) manifests as inflammation in the colon, rectum, and ileum, presenting a global health concern with increasing prevalence. Therefore, effective anti-inflammatory therapy stands as a promising strategy for the prevention and management of IBD. However, conventional nano drug delivery systems (NDDSs) for IBD face many challenges in targeting the intestine, such as physiological and pathological barriers, genetic variants, disease severity, and nutritional status, which often result in nonspecific tissue distribution and uncontrolled drug release. To address these limitations, stimulus-responsive NDDSs have received considerable attention in recent years due to their advantages in providing controlled release and enhanced targeting. This review provides an overview of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying IBD and summarizes recent advancements in microenvironmental stimulus-responsive nanocarriers for IBD therapy. These carriers utilize physicochemical stimuli such as pH, reactive oxygen species, enzymes, and redox substances to deliver drugs for IBD treatment. Additionally, pivotal challenges in the future development and clinical translation of stimulus-responsive NDDSs are emphasized. By offering insights into the development and optimization of stimulus-responsive drug delivery nanoplatforms, this review aims to facilitate their application in treating IBD. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This review highlights recent advancements in stimulus-responsive nano drug delivery systems (NDDSs) for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These innovative nanoplatforms respond to specific environmental triggers, such as pH reactive oxygen species, enzymes, and redox substances, to release drugs directly at the inflammation site. By summarizing the latest research, our work underscores the potential of these technologies to improve drug targeting and efficacy, offering new directions for IBD therapy. This review is significant as it provides a comprehensive overview for researchers and clinicians, facilitating the development of more effective treatments for IBD and other chronic inflammatory diseases.

Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Nanocarriers Accelerate On-Demand Drug Release to Combat Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly malignant brain tumor with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Drug delivery by stimuli-responsive nanocarriers holds great promise for improving the treatment modalities of GBM. At the beginning of the review, we highlighted the stimuli-active polymeric nanocarriers carrying therapies that potentially boost anti-GBM responses by employing endogenous (pH, redox, hypoxia, enzyme) or exogenous stimuli (light, ultrasonic, magnetic, temperature, radiation) as triggers for controlled drug release mainly via hydrophobic/hydrophilic transition, degradability, ionizability, etc. Modifying these nanocarriers with target ligands further enhanced their capacity to traverse the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and preferentially accumulate in glioma cells. These unique features potentially lead to more effective brain cancer treatment with minimal adverse reactions and superior therapeutic outcomes. Finally, the review summarizes the existing difficulties and future prospects in stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for treating GBM. Overall, this review offers theoretical guidelines for developing intelligent and versatile stimuli-responsive nanocarriers to facilitate precise drug delivery and treatment of GBM in clinical settings.

pH-responsive membranes: Mechanisms, fabrications, and applications

Understanding the mechanisms of pH-responsiveness allows researchers to design and fabricate membranes with specific functionalities for various applications. The pH-responsive membranes (PRMs) are particular categories of membranes that have an amazing aptitude to change their properties such as permeability, selectivity and surface charge in response to changes in pH levels. This review provides a brief introduction to mechanisms of pH-responsiveness in polymers and categorizes the applied polymers and functional groups. After that, different techniques for fabricating pH-responsive membranes such as grafting, the blending of pH-responsive polymers/microgels/nanomaterials, novel polymers and graphene-layered PRMs are discussed. The application of PRMs in different processes such as filtration membranes, reverse osmosis, drug delivery, gas separation, pervaporation and self-cleaning/antifouling properties with perspective to the challenges and future progress are reviewed. Lastly, the development and limitations of PRM fabrications and applications are compared to provide inclusive information for the advancement of next-generation PRMs with improved separation and filtration performance.

Oral Heterojunction Coupling Interventional Optical Fiber Mediates Synergistic Therapy for Orthotopic Rectal Cancer

Catalytic therapy has shown great potential for clinical application. However, conventional catalytic therapies rely on reactive oxygen species (ROS) as "therapeutic drugs," which have limitations in effectively inhibiting tumor recurrence and metastasis. Here, a biomimetic heterojunction catalyst is developed that can actively target orthotopic rectal cancer after oral administration. The heterojunction catalyst is composed of quatrefoil star-shaped BiVO4 (BVO) and ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) nanosheets through an in situ direct growth technique. Poly-norepinephrine and macrophage membrane coatings afford the biomimetic heterojunction catalyst (BVO/ZIS@M), which has high rectal cancer targeting and retention abilities. The coupled optical fiber intervention technology activates the multicenter coordination of five catalytic reactions of heterojunction catalysts, including two reduction reactions (O2→·O2 - and CO2→CO) and three oxidation reactions (H2O→·OH, GSH→GSSG, and LA→PA). These catalytic reactions not only induce immunogenic death in tumor cells through the efficient generation of ROS/CO and the consumption of GSH but also specifically lead to the use of lactic acid (LA) as an electron donor to improve catalytic activity and disrupt the LA-mediated immunosuppressive microenvironment, mediating synergistic catalysis and immunotherapy for orthotopic rectal cancer. Therefore, this optical fiber intervention triggered the combination of heterojunction catalytic therapy and immunotherapy, which exhibits prominent antitumor effects.

Microneedle transdermal drug delivery as a candidate for the treatment of gouty arthritis: Material structure, design strategies and prospects

Gouty arthritis (GA) is caused by monosodium urate (MSU) crystals deposition. GA is difficult to cure because of its complex disease mechanism and the tendency to reoccur. GA patients require long-term uric acid-lowering and anti-inflammatory treatments. In the past ten years, as a painless, convenient and well-tolerated new drug transdermal delivery method, microneedles (MNs) administration has been continuously developed, which can realize various drug release modes to deal with various complex diseases. Compared with the traditional administration methods (oral and injection), MNs are more conducive to the long-term independent treatment of GA patients because of their safe, efficient and controllable drug delivery ability. In this review, the pathological mechanism of GA and common therapeutic drugs for GA are summarized. After that, MNs drug delivery mechanisms were summarized: dissolution release mechanism, swelling release mechanism and channel-assisted release mechanism. According to drug delivery patterns of MNs, the mechanisms and applications of rapid-release MNs, long-acting MNs, intelligent-release MNs and multiple-release MNs were reviewed. Additionally, existing problems and future trends of MNs in the treatment of GA were also discussed. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Gout is an arthritis caused by metabolic disease "hyperuricemia". Epidemiological studies show that the number of gouty patients is increasing rapidly worldwide. Due to the complex disease mechanism and recurrent nature of gout, gouty patients require long-term therapy. However, traditional drug delivery modes (oral and injectable) have poor adherence, low drug utilization, and lack of local localized targeting. They may lead to adverse effects such as rashes and gastrointestinal reactions. As a painless, convenient and well-tolerated new drug transdermal delivery method, microneedles have been continuously developed, which can realize various drug release modes to deal with gouty arthritis. In this review, the material structure, design strategy and future outlook of microneedles for treating gouty arthritis will be reviewed.

Programmed Cascade Polydopamine Nanoclusters for Pyroptosis-Based Tumor Immunotherapy

Pyroptosis, an inflammatory cell death, plays a pivotal role in activating inflammatory response, reversing immunosuppression and enhancing anti-tumor immunity. However, challenges remain regarding how to induce pyroptosis efficiently and precisely in tumor cells to amplify anti-tumor immunotherapy. Herein, a pH-responsive polydopamine (PDA) nanocluster, perfluorocarbon (PFC)@octo-arginine (R8)-1-Hexadecylamine (He)-porphyrin (Por)@PDA-gambogic acid (GA)-cRGD (R-P@PDA-GC), is rationally design to augment phototherapy-induced pyroptosis and boost anti-tumor immunity through a two-input programmed cascade therapy. Briefly, oxygen doner PFC is encapsulated within R8 linked photosensitizer Por and He micelles as the core, followed by incorporation of GA and cRGD peptides modified PDA shell, yielding the ultimate R-P@PDA-GC nanoplatforms (NPs). The pH-responsive NPs effectively alleviate hypoxia by delivering oxygen via PFC and mitigate heat resistance in tumor cells through GA. Upon two-input programmed irradiation, R-P@PDA-GC NPs significantly enhance reactive oxygen species production within tumor cells, triggering pyroptosis via the Caspase-1/GSDMD pathway and releasing numerous inflammatory factors into the TME. This leads to the maturation of dendritic cells, robust infiltration of cytotoxic CD8+ T and NK cells, and diminution of immune suppressor Treg cells, thereby amplifying anti-tumor immunity.

Peptide-Amphiphilic Nanoassemblies as a Responsive Senolytic Navigator for Targeted Removal of Senescent Cardiomyocytes to Ameliorate Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) represents the terminal stage of numerous cardiovascular disorders and lacks effective therapeutic strategies. The accumulation of senescent cardiomyocytes is a cardinal characteristic of HF, contributing to myocardial dysfunction and deteriorating the myocardial microenvironment through the development of senescence-associated secretory phenotypes (SASPs), ultimately culminating in pathological remodeling. Senolytics, a promising therapeutic strategy that selectively induces apoptosis in senescent cells, faces challenges due to nonspecific effects, raising concerns for clinical implementation. In this study, we developed peptide-amphiphilic nanoassemblies as responsive drug navigators for targeted delivery. The modular nanoassemblies comprise a hydrophilic domain containing a CD9-binding peptide, a hydrophobic domain incorporating a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive motif, and an alkyl tail for encapsulation of the senolytic ABT263. The CD9-targeted and ROS-responsive nanoassemblies (AP@ABT263) specifically recognized senescent cardiomyocytes and modulated the release of ABT263 in the presence of elevated intracellular ROS levels. AP@ABT263 treatment significantly enhanced the targeted delivery of ABT263 to senescent cells in both in vitro and in vivo while showing minimal toxicity to normal cardiomyocytes and other tissues. Our findings provide compelling evidence that AP@ABT263 efficiently eradicated senescent cardiomyocytes, enhanced cardiac function, and attenuated the deleterious effects of SASP, thereby preventing adverse cardiac remodeling. In summary, AP@ABT263 represents a highly promising approach for responsive and controlled drug release in senescent cardiomyocytes, providing valuable insights into the development of intelligent pharmaceutical interventions for the management of HF.

Recent Applications of PLGA in Drug Delivery Systems

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a widely used biodegradable and biocompatible copolymer in drug delivery systems (DDSs). In this article, we highlight the critical physicochemical properties of PLGA, including its molecular weight, intrinsic viscosity, monomer ratio, blockiness, and end caps, that significantly influence drug release profiles and degradation times. This review also covers the extensive literature on the application of PLGA in delivering small-molecule drugs, proteins, peptides, antibiotics, and antiviral drugs. Furthermore, we discuss the role of PLGA-based DDSs in the treating various diseases, including cancer, neurological disorders, pain, and inflammation. The incorporation of drugs into PLGA nanoparticles and microspheres has been shown to enhance their therapeutic efficacy, reduce toxicity, and improve patient compliance. Overall, PLGA-based DDSs holds great promise for the advancement of the treatment and management of multiple chronic conditions.

(Nano)biotechnological approaches in the treatment of cervical cancer: integration of engineering and biology

Cervical cancer is one of the most malignant gynaecological tumors characterised with the aggressive behaviour of the tumor cells. In spite of the development of different strategies for the treatment of cervical cancer, the tumor cells have developed resistance to conventional therapeutics. On the other hand, nanoparticles have been recently applied for the treatment of human cancers through delivery of drugs and facilitate tumor suppression. The stimuli-sensitive nanostructures can improve the release of therapeutics at the tumor site. In the present review, the nanostructures for the treatment of cervical cancer are discussed. Nanostructures can deliver both chemotherapy drugs and natural compounds to increase anti-cancer activity and prevent drug resistance in cervical tumor. Moreover, the genetic tools such as siRNA can be delivered by nanoparticles to enhance their accumulation at tumor site. In order to enhance selectivity, the stimuli-responsive nanoparticles such as pH- and redox-responsive nanocarriers have been developed to suppress cervical tumor. Moreover, nanoparticles can induce photo-thermal and photodynamic therapy to accelerate cell death in cervical tumor. In addition, nanobiotechnology demonstrates tremendous potential in the treatment of cervical cancer, especially in the context of tumor immunotherapy. Overall, metal-, carbon-, lipid- and polymer-based nanostructures have been utilized in cervical cancer therapy. Finally, hydrogels have been developed as novel kinds of carriers to encapsulate therapeutics and improve anti-cancer activity.

Polymeric Microneedle Drug Delivery Systems: Mechanisms of Treatment, Material Properties, and Clinical Applications-A Comprehensive Review

Our comprehensive review plunges into the cutting-edge advancements of polymeric microneedle drug delivery systems, underscoring their transformative potential in the realm of transdermal drug administration. Our scrutiny centers on the substrate materials pivotal for microneedle construction and the core properties that dictate their efficacy. We delve into the distinctive interplay between microneedles and dermal layers, underscoring the mechanisms by which this synergy enhances drug absorption and precision targeting. Moreover, we examine the acupoint-target organ-ganglion nexus, an innovative strategy that steers drug concentration to specific targets, offering a paradigm for precision medicine. A thorough analysis of the clinical applications of polymeric microneedle systems is presented, highlighting their adaptability and impact across a spectrum of therapeutic domains. This review also accentuates the systems' promise to bolster patient compliance, attributed to their minimally invasive and painless mode of drug delivery. We present forward-looking strategies aimed at optimizing stimulation sites to amplify therapeutic benefits. The anticipation is set for the introduction of superior biocompatible materials with advanced mechanical properties, customizing microneedles to cater to specialized clinical demands. In parallel, we deliberate on safety strategies aimed at boosting drug loading capacities and solidifying the efficacy of microneedle-based therapeutics. In summation, this review accentuates the pivotal role of polymeric microneedle technology in contemporary healthcare, charting a course for future investigative endeavors and developmental strides within this burgeoning field.

Dual-stimuli responsive theranostic agents based on small molecules

Stimuli-responsive theranostic agents represent a class of molecules that integrate therapeutic and diagnostic functions, offering the capability to respond to disease-associated biomarkers. Dual-stimuli responsive agents, particularly those based on small molecules, have shown considerable promise for precise imaging-guided therapeutic applications. In this Highlight, we summarize the progress of dual-stimuli responsive theranostic agents based on small molecules, for diagnostic and therapeutic studies in biological systems. The Highlight focuses on comparing different responsive groups and chemical structures of these dual-stimuli responsive theranostic agents towards different biomarkers. The potential future directions of the agents for further applications in biological systems are also discussed.

Stimuli-Responsive Polymers at the Interface with Biology

There has been growing interest in polymeric systems that break down or undergo property changes in response to stimuli. Such polymers can play important roles in biological systems, where they can be used to control the release of therapeutics, modulate imaging signals, actuate movement, or direct the growth of cells. In this Perspective, after discussing the most important stimuli relevant to biological applications, we will present a selection of recent exciting developments. The growing importance of stimuli-responsive polysaccharides will be discussed, followed by a variety of stimuli-responsive polymeric systems for the delivery of small molecule drugs and nucleic acids. Switchable polymers for the emerging area of therapeutic response measurement in theranostics will be described. Then, the diverse functions that can be achieved using hydrogels cross-linked covalently, as well as by various dynamic approaches will be presented. Finally, we will discuss some of the challenges and future perspectives for the field.

Stimuli-Responsive Nanomaterials for Tumor Immunotherapy

Cancer remains a significant challenge in extending human life expectancy in the 21st century, with staggering numbers projected by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for upcoming years. While conventional cancer therapies exist, their limitations, in terms of efficacy and side effects, demand the development of novel treatments that selectively target cancer cells. Tumor immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach, but low response rates and immune-related side effects present significant clinical challenges. Researchers have begun combining immunotherapy with nanomaterials to optimize tumor-killing effects. Stimuli-responsive nanomaterials have become a focus of cancer immunotherapy research due to their unique properties. These nanomaterials target specific signals in the tumor microenvironment, such as pH or temperature changes, to precisely deliver therapeutic agents and minimize damage to healthy tissue. This article reviews the recent developments and clinical applications of endogenous and exogenous stimuli-responsive nanomaterials for tumor immunotherapy, analyzing the advantages and limitations of these materials and highlighting their potential for enhancing the immune response to cancer and improving patient outcomes.

Notch-Targeted Therapeutic in Colorectal Cancer by Notch1 Attenuation Via Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Cascade DNA Delivery

The Notch signaling is a key molecular pathway that regulates cell fate and development. Aberrant Notch signaling can lead to carcinogenesis and progression of malignant tumors. However, current therapies targeting Notch pathway lack specificity and induce high toxicity. In this report, a tumor microenvironment-responsive and injectable hydrogel is designed to load plasmid DNA complexes as a cascade gene delivery system to achieve precise Notch-targeted gene therapy of colorectal cancer (CRC). The hydrogels are prepared through cross-linking between phenylboric acid groups containing poly(oligo(ethylene glycol)methacrylate) (POEGMA) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), used to load the complexes between plasmid DNA encoding short hairpin RNAs of Notch1 (shNotch1) and fluorinated polyamidoamine (PAMAM-F) (PAMAM-F/shNotch1). In response to low pH and H2O2 in tumor microenvironment, the hydrogel can be dissociated and release the complexes for precise delivery of shNotch1 into tumor cells and inhibit Notch1 activity to suppress malignant biological behaviors of CRC. In the subcutaneous tumor model of CRC, PAMAM-F/shNotch1-loaded hydrogels can accurately attenuate Notch1 activity and significantly inhibit tumor growth without affecting Notch signal in adjacent normal tissues. Therefore, this therapeutic system can precisely inhibit Notch1 signal in CRC with high responsiveness and low toxicity, providing a promising Notch-targeted gene therapeutic for human malignancy.

Nucleus-targeting Oxaplatin(IV) prodrug Amphiphile for enhanced chemotherapy and immunotherapy

Platinum(II)-based drugs (PtII), which hinder DNA replication, are the most widely used chemotherapeutics. However, current PtII drugs often miss their DNA targets, leading to severe side effects and drug resistance. To overcome this challenge, we developed a oxaliplatin-based platinum(IV) (PtIV) prodrug amphiphile (C16-OPtIV-R8K), integrating a long-chain hydrophobic lipid and a nucleus-targeting hydrophilic peptide (R8K). This design allows the prodrug to self-assemble into highly uniform lipid nanoparticles (NTPtIV) for enhanced targeting chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Subsequently, NTPtIV's bioactivity and effects were examined at diverse levels, encompassing cancer cells, 3D tumor spheres, and in vivo. Our in vitro studies show a 74% cancer cell nucleus localization of platinum drugs-3.6 times higher than that of oxaliplatin, achieving more than a ten-fold increase in eliminating drug-resistant cancer cells. In vivo, NTPtIV shows efficient tumor accumulation, leading to suppressed tumor growth of murine breast cancer. Moreover, NTPtIV recruited more CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and reduced CD4+ Foxp3+ Tregs to synergistically enhance targeted chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Overall, this strategy presents a promising advancement in nucleus-targeted cancer therapy, synergistically boosting the efficacy of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Engineering Versatile Bacteria-Derived Outer Membrane Vesicles: An Adaptable Platform for Advancing Cancer Immunotherapy

In recent years, cancer immunotherapy has undergone a transformative shift toward personalized and targeted therapeutic strategies. Bacteria-derived outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) have emerged as a promising and adaptable platform for cancer immunotherapy due to their unique properties, including natural immunogenicity and the ability to be engineered for specific therapeutic purposes. In this review, a comprehensive overview is provided of state-of-the-art techniques and methodologies employed in the engineering of versatile OMVs for cancer immunotherapy. Beginning by exploring the biogenesis and composition of OMVs, unveiling their intrinsic immunogenic properties for therapeutic appeal. Subsequently, innovative approaches employed to engineer OMVs are delved into, ranging from the genetic engineering of parent bacteria to the incorporation of functional molecules. The importance of rational design strategies is highlighted to enhance the immunogenicity and specificity of OMVs, allowing tailoring for diverse cancer types. Furthermore, insights into clinical studies and potential challenges utilizing OMVs as cancer vaccines or adjuvants are also provided, offering a comprehensive assessment of the current landscape and future prospects. Overall, this review provides valuable insights for researchers involved in the rapidly evolving field of cancer immunotherapy, offering a roadmap for harnessing the full potential of OMVs as a versatile and adaptable platform for cancer treatment.

Bortezomib-encapsulated metal-phenolic nanoparticles for intracellular drug delivery

Bortezomib (BTZ) is an important boronate proteasome inhibitor that is widely used in cancer therapy. However, the clinical application of BTZ suffers from poor stability and serious adverse effects. Herein, we fabricated metal-polyphenol nanoparticles for the covalent encapsulation of BTZ. BTZ-encapsulated tannic acid (TA)-Fe3+ nanoparticles can be prepared by mixing BTZ, TA, and ferric chloride owing to the formation of metal-polyphenol coordination interaction and dynamic boronate ester bonds. The BTZ-encapsulated TA-Fe3+ nanoparticles (BTZ NPs) are stable in physiological environment (pH 7.4) with minimal drug leakage. However, BTZ NPs can be disassembled in an acidic environment. Therefore, BTZ can be rapidly released from BTZ NPs in an acidic environment (pH 5.0). More than 50% BTZ can be released from BTZ NPs after 8 h incubation at pH 5.0. BTZ NPs exhibited high cytotoxicity against human osteosarcoma Saos-2 cells and human multiple myeloma OPM-2 cells. The metal-polyphenol nanoparticles can be a promising nanoplatform for the delivery of BTZ with simultaneously enhanced therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects.

Modified montmorillonite armed probiotics with enhanced on-site mucus-depleted intestinal colonization and H2S scavenging for colitis treatment

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are often associated with dysregulated gut microbiota and excessive inflammatory microenvironment. Probiotic therapy combined with inflammation management is a promising approach to alleviate IBD, but the efficacy is hindered by the inferior colonization of probiotics in mucus-depleted inflammatory bowel segments. Here, we present modified montmorillonite armed probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (MMT-Fe@EcN) with enhanced intestinal colonization and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) scavenging for synergistic alleviation of IBD. The montmorillonite layer that can protect EcN against environmental assaults in oral delivery and improve on-site colonization of EcN in the mucus-depleted intestinal segment due to its strong adhesive capability and electronegativity, with a 22.6-fold increase in colonization efficiency compared to EcN. Meanwhile, MMT-Fe@EcN can manage inflammation by scavenging H2S, which allows for enhancing probiotic viability and colonization for restoring the gut microbiota. As a result, MMT-Fe@EcN exhibits extraordinary therapeutic effects in the dextran sulfate sodium-induced mouse colitis models, including alleviating intestinal inflammation and restoring disrupted intestinal barrier function, and gut microbiota. These findings provide a promising strategy for clinical IBD treatment and potentially other mucus-depletion-related diseases.

Biomedical applications of stimuli-responsive nanomaterials

Nanomaterials have aroused great interests in drug delivery due to their nanoscale structure, facile modifiability, and multifunctional physicochemical properties. Currently, stimuli-responsive nanomaterials that can respond to endogenous or exogenous stimulus display strong potentials in biomedical applications. In comparison with conventional nanomaterials, stimuli-responsive nanomaterials can improve therapeutic efficiency and reduce the toxicity of drugs toward normal tissues through specific targeting and on-demand drug release at pathological sites. In this review, we summarize the responsive mechanism of a variety of stimulus, including pH, redox, and enzymes within pathological microenvironment, as well as exogenous stimulus such as thermal effect, magnetic field, light, and ultrasound. After that, biomedical applications (e.g., drug delivery, imaging, and theranostics) of stimuli-responsive nanomaterials in a diverse array of common diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurological disorders, inflammation, and bacterial infection, are presented and discussed. Finally, the remaining challenges and outlooks of future research directions for the biomedical applications of stimuli-responsive nanomaterials are also discussed. We hope that this review can provide valuable guidance for developing stimuli-responsive nanomaterials and accelerate their biomedical applications in diseases diagnosis and treatment.

Glutathione-Scavenging Celastrol-Cu Nanoparticles Induce Self-Amplified Cuproptosis for Augmented Cancer Immunotherapy

Cuproptosis is a novel copper-dependent programmed cell death. The efficacy of cuproptosis is highly dependent on intracellular copper accumulation and counteracted by a high level of glutathione (GSH) in tumor cells. Here, this work develops a self-amplified cuproptosis nanoparticles (Cel-Cu NP) using celastrol (Cel), a natural product isolated from medical plant. In Cel-Cu NP, Cel serves as a versatile copper ionophore, exhibiting an ideal coordination capacity toward copper ions without compromising the cuproptosis induction. Notably, Cel can simultaneously scavenge GSH content to amplify cuproptosis. Moreover, this self-amplified cuproptosis further activates immunogenic cell death (ICD) to elicit robust immune response. Combining with immune checkpoint blockade, Cel-Cu NP effectively eradicates metastatic tumors in a mouse lung metastasis model. This study provides an efficient nanomedicine by inducing self-amplified cuproptosis for robust immunotherapy.

Cationic conjugated polymer coupled non-conjugated segments for dually enhanced NIR-II fluorescence and lower-temperature photothermal-gas therapy

The lack of a simple design strategy to obtain ideal conjugated polymers (CPs) with high absorbance and fluorescence (FL) in the near-infrared-II (NIR-II; 1000-1700 nm) region still hampers the success of NIR-II light-triggered phototheranostics. Herein, novel phototheranostic nanoparticles (PPN-NO NPs) were successfully prepared by coloading a cationic NIR-II CPs (PBC-co-PBF-NMe3) and a NO donor (S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, SNAP) onto a 1:1 mixture of DSPE-PEG5000 and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) for NIR-II FL and NIR-II photoacoustic (PA) imaging-guided low-temperature NIR-II photothermal therapy (PTT) and gas combination therapy for cancer treatment. A precise NIR-II FL dually enhanced design tactic was proposed herein by integrating flexible nonconjugated segments (C6) into the CPs backbone and incorporating quaternary ammonium salt cationic units into the CPs side chain, which considerably increased the radiative decay pathway, resulting in desirable NIR-II FL intensity and balanced NIR-II absorption and NIR PTT properties. The phototheranostic PPN-NO NPs exhibited distinguished NIR-II FL and PA imaging performance in tumor-bearing mice models. Furthermore, the low-temperature photothermal effect of PPN-NO NPs could initiate NO release upon 980 nm laser irradiation, efficiently suppressing tumor growth owing to the combination of low-temperature NIR-II PTT and NO gas therapy in vitro and in vivo.

Advances in antitumor application of ROS enzyme-mimetic catalysts

The rapid growth of research on enzyme-mimetic catalysts (Enz-Cats) is expected to promote further advances in nanomedicine for biological detection, diagnosis and treatment of disease, especially tumors. ROS-based nanomedicines present fascinating potential in antitumor therapy owing to the rapid development of nanotechnology. In this review, we focus on the applications of Enz-Cats based on ROS in antitumor therapy. Firstly, the definition and category of ROS are introduced, and the key factors enhancing ROS levels are carefully elucidated. Then, the rationally engineered Enz-Cats via different synthetic approaches with high ROS-producing efficiencies are comprehensively discussed. Subsequently, oncotherapy application of Enz-Cats is comprehensively discussed, which integrates diverse synergistic treatment modalities and exhibits high efficiency in ROS generation. Finally, the challenges and future research direction of this field are presented. This review is dedicated to unraveling the enigmas surrounding the interplay of nanomedicine and organisms.

Cuproptosis: Advances in Stimulus-Responsive Nanomaterials for Cancer Therapy

Cuproptosis, a recently identified non-apoptotic programmed cell death modality, attracts considerable attention in the realm of cancer therapeutics owing to its unique cellular demise mechanisms. Since its initial report in 2022, strategies inducing or amplifying cuproptosis for cancer treatment emerge. The engineering of nano-systems to elicit cuproptosis effectively circumvents constraints associated with conventional small-molecule pharmaceutical interventions, presenting novel prospects for oncological therapy. Stimulus-responsive nanomaterials, leveraging their distinctive spatiotemporal control attributes, are investigated for their role in modulating the induction or augmentation of cuproptosis. In this comprehensive review, the physiological characteristics of cuproptosis, encompassing facets such as copper overload and depletion, coupled with regulatory factors intrinsic to cuproptosis, are expounded upon. Subsequently, design methodologies for stimulus-responsive induction or enhancement of cuproptosis, employing stimuli such as light, ultrasound, X-ray, and the tumor microenvironment, are systematically delineated. This review encompasses intricacies in nanomaterial design, insights into the therapeutic processes, and the associated advantages. Finally, challenges inherent in stimulus-responsive induction/enhancement of cuproptosis are deliberated upon and prospective insights into the future trajectory of copper-mediated cancer therapy are provided.

Multifunctional and stimuli-responsive liposomes in hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and therapy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent type of liver cancer, mainly occurring in Asian countries with an increased incidence rate globally. Currently, several kinds of therapies have been deployed for HCC therapy including surgical resection, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. However, this tumor is still incurable, requiring novel strategies for its treatment. The nanomedicine has provided the new insights regarding the treatment of cancer that liposomes as lipid-based nanoparticles, have been widely applied in cancer therapy due to their biocompaitiblity, high drug loading and ease of synthesis and modification. The current review evaluates the application of liposomes for the HCC therapy. The drugs and genes lack targeting ability into tumor tissues and cells. Therefore, loading drugs or genes on liposomes can increase their accumulation in tumor site for HCC suppression. Moreover, the stimuli-responsive liposomes including pH-, redox- and light-sensitive liposomes are able to deliver drug into tumor microenvironment to improve therapeutic index. Since a number of receptors upregulate on HCC cells, the functionalization of liposomes with lactoferrin and peptides can promote the targeting ability towards HCC cells. Moreover, phototherapy can be induced by liposomes through loading phtoosensitizers to stimulate photothermal- and photodynamic-driven ablation of HCC cells. Overall, the findings are in line with the fact that liposomes are promising nanocarriers for the treatment of HCC.

Smart Nanoplatforms Responding to the Tumor Microenvironment for Precise Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex and dynamic entity, comprising stromal cells, immune cells, blood vessels and extracellular matrix, which is intimately associated with the occurrence and development of cancers, as well as their therapy. Utilizing the shared characteristics of tumors, such as an acidic environment, enzymes and hypoxia, researchers have developed a promising cancer therapy strategy known as responsive release of nano-loaded drugs, specifically targeted at tumor tissues or cells. In this comprehensive review, we provide an in-depth overview of the current fundamentals and state-of-the-art intelligent strategies of TME-responsive nanoplatforms, which include acidic pH, high GSH levels, high-level adenosine triphosphate, overexpressed enzymes, hypoxia and reductive environment. Additionally, we showcase the latest advancements in TME-responsive nanoparticles. In conclusion, we thoroughly examine the immediate challenges and prospects of TME-responsive nanopharmaceuticals, with the expectation that the progress of these targeted nanoformulations will enable the exploitation, overcoming or modulation of the TME, ultimately leading to significantly more effective cancer therapy.

Spatiotemporal-Controlled NIR-II Immune Agonist Sensitizes Cancer Immunotherapy

The integration of nanomedicine and immunotherapy has presented a promising opportunity for the treatment of cancer and diverse diseases. However, achieving spatiotemporal controllable immunotherapy with excellent efficacy and safety performances remains a significant challenge. This study develops a biodegradable near-infrared II (NIR-II) photothermal response polymer nanoparticle (PTEQ) system. This platform exhibits intrinsic immunostimulatory properties while concurrently delivering siRNA for Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (siPD-L1), leveraging enhanced immune responses and immune checkpoint blockade for safe and effective cancer therapy. In the CT26 tumor-bearing mouse model, PTEQ, as an immune stimulant, significantly boosts the infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME). The PTEQ/siPD-L1+laser group not only initiates NIR-II photothermal therapy but also promotes the activation and infiltration of T cells, M1 macrophage polarization, and maturation of dendritic cells in the TME, resulting in the complete elimination of tumors in 7/10 cases, achieving a 100% survival rate. In another in vivo vaccine experiment, all tumors on the right side are completely eliminated in the PTEQ/siPD-L1+laser group, reaching a 100% tumor eradication rate. These findings underscore the potential of this strategy to overcome the current immunotherapeutic limitations and achieve immune therapy normalization.

Biochemical hallmarks-targeting antineoplastic nanotherapeutics

Tumor microenvironments (TMEs) have received increasing attention in recent years as they play pivotal roles in tumorigenesis, progression, metastases, and resistance to the traditional modalities of cancer therapy like chemotherapy. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, effective antineoplastic nanotherapeutics targeting the aberrant hallmarks of TMEs have been proposed. The appropriate design and fabrication endow nanomedicines with the abilities for active targeting, TMEs-responsiveness, and optimization of physicochemical properties of tumors, thereby overcoming transport barriers and significantly improving antineoplastic therapeutic benefits. This review begins with the origins and characteristics of TMEs and discusses the latest strategies for modulating the TMEs by focusing on the regulation of biochemical microenvironments, such as tumor acidosis, hypoxia, and dysregulated metabolism. Finally, this review summarizes the challenges in the development of smart anti-cancer nanotherapeutics for TME modulation and examines the promising strategies for combination therapies with traditional treatments for further clinical translation.

Two-Photon Absorption Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogen/Paclitaxel Nanoparticles for Cancer Theranostics

Multifaceted nanoplatforms integrating fluorescence imaging and chemotherapy have garnered acknowledgment for their potential potency in cancer diagnosis and simultaneous in situ therapy. However, some drawbacks remain for traditional organic photosensitizers, such as poor photostability, short excitation wavelength, and shallow penetration depth, which will greatly lower the chemotherapy treatment efficiency. Herein, we present lipid-encapsulated two-photon active aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen and paclitaxel (PTX) nanoparticles (AIE@PTX NPs) with bright red fluorescence emission, excellent photostability, and good biocompatibility. The AIE@PTX NPs exhibit dual functionality as two-photon probes for visualizing blood vessels and tumor structures, achieving penetration depth up to 186 and 120 μm, respectively. Furthermore, the tumor growth of the HeLa-xenograft model can be effectively prohibited after the fluorescence imaging-guided and PTX-induced chemotherapy, which shows great potential in the clinical application of two-photon cell and tumor fluorescence imaging and cancer treatment.

Endowing Pt(IV) with Perfluorocarbon Chains and Human Serum Albumin Encapsulation for Highly Effective Antitumor Chemoimmunotherapy

Tumor metastases and reoccurrence are considered the leading causes of cancer-associated deaths. As an emerging therapeutic method, increasing research efforts have been devoted to immunogenic cell death (ICD)-inducing compounds to solve the challenge. The clinically approved chemotherapeutic Pt complexes are not or are only poorly able to trigger ICD. Herein, the axial functionalization of the Pt(II) complex cisplatin with perfluorocarbon chains into ICD-inducing Pt(IV) prodrugs is reported. Strikingly, while the Pt(II) complex as well as the perfluorocarbon ligands did not induce ICD, the Pt(IV) prodrug demonstrated unexpectantly the induction of ICD through accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum and generation of reactive oxygen species in this organelle. To enhance the pharmacological properties, the compound was encapsulated with human serum albumin into nanoparticles. While selectively accumulating in the tumorous tissue, the nanoparticles demonstrated a strong tumor growth inhibitory effect against osteosarcoma inside a mouse model. In vivo tumor vaccine analysis also demonstrated the ability of Pt(IV) to be an ideal ICD inducer. Overall, this study reports on axially perfluorocarbon chain-modified Pt(IV) complexes for ICD induction and chemoimmunotherapy in osteosarcoma.

Activating CD8+ T Cells by Pt(IV) Prodrug-Based Nanomedicine and aPD-L1 Antibody for Enhanced Cancer Immunotherapy

Recent years have witnessed substantial progress in cancer immunotherapy, specifically T cell-based therapies. However, the application of T cell therapies has been primarily limited to hematologic malignancies, with limited success in the treatment of solid tumors. The main challenge in treating solid tumor is immune escape, which is characterized by reduced antigenicity, diminished immunogenicity, and the development of suppressive tumor immune microenvironments. To address these obstacles and restore T cell-mediated anti-tumor responses, a novel nanoparticle formulation known as PRA@Oxa-c16 is developed. This innovative approach combines retinoic acid and Pt(IV) to specifically target and overcome immune escape. Notably, the therapeutic efficacy of PRA@Oxa-c16 primarily relies on its ability to induce anti-tumor T cell responses, in contrast to the cytotoxicity associated with conventional chemotherapeutic agents. When combined with an immune checkpoint blockade, anti-programmed death-ligand 1 antibody, PRA@Oxa-c16 effectively eliminates solid tumors and induces immune memory responses, which prevent tumor metastasis and recurrence. This promising approach holds great potential for enhancing the treatment of solid tumors with T cell-based immunotherapy.

Nanomedomics

Nanomaterials have attractive physicochemical properties. A variety of nanomaterials such as inorganic, lipid, polymers, and protein nanoparticles have been widely developed for nanomedicine via chemical conjugation or physical encapsulation of bioactive molecules. Superior to traditional drugs, nanomedicines offer high biocompatibility, good water solubility, long blood circulation times, and tumor-targeting properties. Capitalizing on this, several nanoformulations have already been clinically approved and many others are currently being studied in clinical trials. Despite their undoubtful success, the molecular mechanism of action of the vast majority of nanomedicines remains poorly understood. To tackle this limitation, herein, this review critically discusses the strategy of applying multiomics analysis to study the mechanism of action of nanomedicines, named nanomedomics, including advantages, applications, and future directions. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanism could provide valuable insight and therefore foster the development and clinical translation of nanomedicines.

Biomimetic Bacterium-like Particles Loaded with Aggregation-Induced Emission Photosensitizers as Plasma Coatings for Implant-Associated Infections

Developing novel antibacterial strategies has become an urgent requisite to overcome the increasing pervasiveness of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and the advent of biofilms. Aggregation-induced emission-based photosensitizers (AIE PSs) are promising candidates due to their unique photodynamic and photothermal properties. Bioengineering structure-inherent AIE PSs for developing thin film coatings is still an unexplored area in the field of nanoscience. We have adopted a synergistic approach combining plasma technology and AIE PS-based photodynamic therapy to develop coatings that can eradicate bacterial infections. Here, we loaded AIE PSs within biomimetic bacterium-like particles derived from a probiotic strain, Lactobacillus fermentum. These hybrid conjugates are then immobilized on polyoxazoline-coated substrates to develop a bioinspired coating to fight against implant-associated infections. These coatings could selectively kill Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but not damage mammalian cells. The mechanistic studies revealed that the coatings can generate reactive oxygen species that can rupture the bacterial cell membranes. The mRNA gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines confirmed that they can modulate infection-related immune responses. Thus, this nature-inspired design has opened a new avenue for the fabrication of a next-generation antibacterial coating to reduce infections and associated burdens.

A pH-responsive nanoplatform with dual-modality imaging for enhanced cancer phototherapy and diagnosis of lung metastasis

To address the limitations of traditional photothermal therapy (PTT)/ photodynamic therapy (PDT) and real-time cancer metastasis detection, a pH-responsive nanoplatform (NP) with dual-modality imaging capability was rationally designed. Herein, 1 H,1 H-undecafluorohexylamine (PFC), served as both an oxygen carrier and a 19F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probe, and photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG) were grafted onto the pH-responsive peptide hexahistidine (H6) to form H6-PFC-ICG (HPI). Subsequently, the heat shock protein 90 inhibitor, gambogic acid (GA), was incorporated into hyaluronic acid (HA) modified HPI (HHPI), yielding the ultimate HHPI@GA NPs. Upon self-assembly, HHPI@GA NPs passively accumulated in tumor tissues, facilitating oxygen release and HA-mediated cell uptake. Once phagocytosed by lysosomes, protonation of H6 was triggered due to the low pH, resulting in the release of GA. With near-infrared laser irradiation, GA-mediated decreased HSP90 expression and PFC-mediated increased ROS generation amplified the PTT/PDT effect of HHPI@GA, leading to excellent in vitro and in vivo anticancer efficacies. Additionally, the fluorescence and 19F MRI dual-imaging capabilities of HHPI@GA NPs enabled effective real-time primary cancer and lung metastasis monitoring. This work offers a novel approach for enhanced cancer phototherapy, as well as precise cancer diagnosis.

Localization of Cancer Cells for Subsequent Robust Photodynamic Therapy by ROS Responsive Polymeric Nanoparticles With Anti-Metastasis Complexes NAMI-A

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), as a new type of light-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) cancer therapy, has the advantages of high therapeutic efficiency, non-resistance, and less trauma than traditional cancer therapy such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, oxygen-dependent PDT further exacerbates tumor metastasis. To this end, a strategy that circumvents tumor metastasis to improve the therapeutic efficacy of PDT is proposed. Herein, a near-infrared light-activated photosensitive polymer is synthesized and branched the anti-metastatic ruthenium complex NAMI-A on the side, which is further assembled to form nanoparticles (NP2) for breast cancer therapy. NP2 can kill tumor cells by generating ROS under 808 nm radiation (NP2 + L), reduce the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP2/9) in cancer cells, decrease the invasive and migration capacity of cancer cells, and eliminate cancer cells. Further animal experiments show that NP2 + L can inhibit tumor growth and reduce liver and lung metastases. In addition, NP2 + L can activate the immune system in mice to avoid tumor recurrence. In conclusion, a PDT capable of both preventing tumor metastasis and precisely hitting the primary tumor to achieve effective treatment of highly metastatic cancers is developed.

Stimulus-Responsive Copper Complex Nanoparticles Induce Cuproptosis for Augmented Cancer Immunotherapy

Cuproptosis, an emerging form of programmed cell death, has received tremendous attention in cancer therapy. However, the efficacy of cuproptosis remains limited by the poor delivery efficiency of copper ion carriers. Herein, copper complex nanoparticles (denoted as Cu(I) NP) are developed that can efficiently deliver copper complex into cancer cells to induce cuproptosis. Cu(I) NP demonstrate stimulus-responsive release of copper complexes, which results in mitochondrial dysfunction and promotes the aggregation of lipoylated dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase (DLAT), leading to cuproptosis. Notably, Cu(I) NP not only induce cuproptosis, but also elicit robust immune responses to suppress tumor growth. Overall, this study provides a promising strategy for cuproptosis-based cancer therapy.

A Trisulfide Bond Containing Biodegradable Polymer Delivering Pt(IV) Prodrugs to Deplete Glutathione and Donate H2S to Boost Chemotherapy and Antitumor Immunity

The clinical application of cisplatin (CisPt) is limited by its dose-dependent toxicity. To overcome this, we developed reduction-responsive nanoparticles (NP(3S)s) for the targeted delivery of a platinum(IV) (Pt(IV)) prodrug to improve efficacy and reduce the toxicity. NP(3S)s could release Pt(II) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) upon encountering intracellular glutathione, leading to potent anticancer effects. Notably, NP(3S)s induced DNA damage and activated the STING pathway, which is a known promoter for T cell activation. Comparative RNA profiling revealed that NP(3S)s outperformed CisPt in enhancing T cell immunity, antitumor immunity, and oxidative stress pathways. In vivo experiments showed that NP(3S)s accumulated in tumors, promoting CD8+ T cell infiltration and boosting antitumor immunity. Furthermore, NP(3S)s exhibited robust in vivo anticancer efficacy while minimizing the CisPt-induced liver toxicity. Overall, the results indicate NP(3S)s hold great promise for clinical translation due to their low toxicity profile and potent anticancer activity.