Protein-guided biomimetic nanomaterials: a versatile theranostic nanoplatform for biomedical applications.

Over the years, bioinspired mineralization-based approaches have been applied to synthesize multifunctional organic-inorganic nanocomposites. These nanocomposites can address the growing demands of modern biomedical applications. Proteins, serving as vital biological templates, play a pivotal role in the nucleation and growth processes of various organic-inorganic nanocomposites. Protein-mineralized nanomaterials (PMNMs) have attracted significant interest from researchers due to their facile and convenient preparation, strong physiological activity, stability, impressive biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Nevertheless, few comprehensive reviews have expounded on the progress of these nanomaterials in biomedicine. This article systematically reviews the principles and strategies for constructing nanomaterials using protein-directed biomineralization and biomimetic mineralization techniques. Subsequently, we focus on their recent applications in the biomedical field, encompassing areas such as bioimaging, as well as anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory therapies. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges encountered in practical applications of these materials and explore their potential in future applications. This review aspired to catalyze the continued development of these bioinspired nanomaterials in drug development and clinical diagnosis, ultimately contributing to the fields of precision medicine and translational medicine.

NIR-II light triggered burst-release cascade nanoreactor for precise cancer chemotherapy.

The current strategy of co-delivering copper ions and disulfiram (DSF) to generate cytotoxic CuET faces limitations in achieving rapid and substantial CuET production, specifically in tumor lesions. To overcome this challenge, we introduce a novel burst-release cascade reactor composed of phase change materials (PCMs) encapsulating ultrasmall Cu2-xSe nanoparticles (NPs) and DSF (DSF/Cu2-xSe@PCM). Once triggered by second near-infrared (NIR-II) light irradiation, the reactor swiftly releases Cu2-xSe NPs and DSF, enabling catalytic reactions that lead to the rapid and massive production of Cu2-xSe-ET complexes, thereby achieving in situ chemotherapy. The mechanism of the burst reaction is due to the unique properties of ultrasmall Cu2-xSe NPs, including their small size, multiple defects, and high surface activity. These characteristics allow DSF to be directly reduced and chelated on the surface defect sites of Cu2-xSe, forming Cu2-xSe-ET complexes without the need for copper ion release. Additionally, Cu2-xSe-ET has demonstrated a similar (to CuET) anti-tumor activity through increased autophagy, but with even greater potency due to its unique two-dimensional-like structure. The light-triggered cascade of interlocking reactions, coupled with in situ explosive generation of tumor-suppressive substances mediated by the size and valence of Cu2-xSe, presents a promising approach for the development of innovative nanoplatforms in the field of precise tumor chemotherapy.

Immune-regulating camouflaged nanoplatforms: A promising strategy to improve cancer nano-immunotherapy.

Although nano-immunotherapy has advanced dramatically in recent times, there remain two significant hurdles related to immune systems in cancer treatment, such as (namely) inevitable immune elimination of nanoplatforms and severely immunosuppressive microenvironment with low immunogenicity, hampering the performance of nanomedicines. To address these issues, several immune-regulating camouflaged nanocomposites have emerged as prevailing strategies due to their unique characteristics and specific functionalities. In this review, we emphasize the composition, performances, and mechanisms of various immune-regulating camouflaged nanoplatforms, including polymer-coated, cell membrane-camouflaged, and exosome-based nanoplatforms to evade the immune clearance of nanoplatforms or upregulate the immune function against the tumor. Further, we discuss the applications of these immune-regulating camouflaged nanoplatforms in directly boosting cancer immunotherapy and some immunogenic cell death-inducing immunotherapeutic modalities, such as chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, and reactive oxygen species-mediated immunotherapies, highlighting the current progress and recent advancements. Finally, we conclude the article with interesting perspectives, suggesting future tendencies of these innovative camouflaged constructs towards their translation pipeline.

Recent Advances in Combination of Copper Chalcogenide-Based Photothermal and Reactive Oxygen Species-Related Therapies.

In recent times, the copper chalcogenide (Cu2-xE, E = S, Se, Te, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1)-based nanomaterials have emerged as potent photothermal agents for photothermal therapy (PTT) because of their advantageous features, such as the low cost, reduced toxicity, biodegradability, and strong absorption of near-infrared (NIR) light in a relatively wide range of wavelength. Nevertheless, the applicability of Cu2-xE-based PTT is limited because of its inadequate photothermal conversion efficiency, as well as insufficient destruction of the tumor area unexposed to the NIR laser. Fortunately, Cu2-xE nanomaterials also act as photosensitizers or Fenton-reaction catalysts to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), referring to ROS-related therapy (RRT), which could further eradicate cancer cells to address the aforementioned limitations of PTT. Moreover, PTT improves RRT based on photodynamic therapy (PDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), and radiotherapy (RT) in different ways. Inspired by these facts, integrating Cu2-xE-based PTT with RRT into a single nanoplatform seems an ideal strategy to achieve synergistically therapeutic effects for cancer treatment. Herein, we discuss the synergetic mechanisms, composition, and performances of recent nanoplatforms for the combination of Cu2-xE-based PTT and RRT. In addition, we give a brief overview on some specific strategies for the further improvement of Cu2-xE-based PTT and RRT combined cancer treatment to enable the complete eradication of cancer cells, such as realizing the imaging-guided synergistic therapy, promoting deep tumor penetration of the nanosystems, and boosting O2 or H2O2 in the tumor microenvironment. Finally, we summarize with intriguing perspectives, focusing on the future tendencies for their clinical application.

Supercritical Fluid-Assisted Fabrication of Indocyanine Green-Encapsulated Silk Fibroin Nanoparticles for Dual-Triggered Cancer Therapy.

Despite the success and advantages over traditional chemotherapeutic strategies, photothermal therapy (PTT) suffers from certain limitations, such as poor stability, low therapeutic efficacy of PTT agents in vivo, and their affinity loss during the multistep synthesis process of delivery carriers, among others. To address these limitations, we designed a stable, biocompatible, and dual-triggered formulation of indocyanine green (ICG)-encapsulated silk fibroin (SF) (ICG-SF) nanoparticles using supercritical fluid (SCF) technology. We demonstrated that ICG encapsulation in SF through this environmental-friendly approach has offered excellent photothermal stability, the pH-responsive release of ICG from SF specifically in the tumor acidic environment, and its substantial activation with near-infrared (NIR) light at 808 nm significantly enhanced the PTT efficiency. In vitro and in vivo photothermal experiments have shown that these ICG-SF nanoparticles were capable of devastating tumor cells merely under light-induced hyperthermia. Together, these results have suggested that the biocompatible ICG-SF nanoparticles prepared by the SCF process resulted in high PTT efficiency and may have a great potential as a delivery system for sustained cancer therapy.