The application of bacteria-nanomaterial hybrids in antitumor therapy.

Adverse effects and multidrug resistance remain significant obstacles in conventional cancer therapy. Nanomedicines, with their intrinsic properties such as nano-sized dimensions and tunable surface characteristics, have the potential to mitigate the side effects of traditional cancer treatments. While nanomaterials have been widely applied in cancer treatment, challenges such as low targeting efficiency and poor tumor penetration persist. Recent research has shown that anaerobic bacteria exhibit high selectivity for primary tumors and metastatic cancers, offering good safety and superior tumor penetration capabilities. This suggests that combining nanomaterials with bacteria could complement their respective limitations, opening vast potential applications in cancer therapy. The use of bacteria in combination with nanomaterials for anticancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and photothermal/photodynamic therapy, has contributed to the rapid development of the field of bacterial oncology treatments. This review explores the mechanisms of bacterial tumor targeting and summarizes strategies for synthesizing bacterial-nanomaterial and their application in cancer therapy. The combination of bacterial-nanomaterial hybrids with modern therapeutic approaches represents a promising avenue for future cancer treatment research, with the potential to improve treatment outcomes for cancer patients.

MXene-based polysaccharide aerogel with multifunctional enduring antimicrobial effects for infected wound healing.

Wound infection is a predominant etiological factor contributing to delayed wound healing in open wounds. Hence, it holds paramount clinical significance to devise wound dressings endowed with superior antibacterial properties. In this study, a Schiff base-crosslinked aerogel comprising sodium alginate oxide (OSA), carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), and Nb2C@Ag/PDA (NAP) was developed. The resultant OSA/CMCS-Nb2C@Ag/PDA (OC/NAP) composite aerogel exhibited commendable attributes including exceptional swelling characteristics, porosity, biocompatibility, and sustained antimicrobial efficacy. In vitro antimicrobial assays unequivocally demonstrated that the OC/NAP composite aerogel maintained nearly 100 % inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli under an 808 nm laser even after 25 h. Crucially, the outcomes of in vivo infected wound healing experiments demonstrated that the wound healing rate of the OC/NAP composite aerogel group reached approximately 100 % within a span of 14 days, which was significantly greater than that of the blank control group. In vitro and in vivo hemostatic experiments also revealed that the composite aerogel had excellent hemostatic properties. The results of this study demonstrate the remarkable potential of OC/NAP aerogel as a multifunctional clinical wound dressing, especially for infected wounds.

Polyphenol-Based Nanosystems for Next-Generation Cancer Therapy: Multifunctionality, Design, and Challenges.

With the continuous updating of cancer treatment methods and the rapid development of precision medicine in recent years, there are higher demands for advanced and versatile drug delivery systems. Scientists are committed to create greener and more effective nanomedicines where the carrier is no longer limited to a single function of drug delivery. Polyphenols, which can act as both active ingredients and fundamental building blocks, are being explored as potential multifunctional carriers that are efficient and safe for design purposes. Due to their intrinsic anticancer activity, phenolic compounds have shown surprising expressiveness in ablation of tumor cells, overcoming cancer multidrug resistance (MDR), and enhancing immunotherapeutic efficacy. This review provides an overview of recent advances in the design, synthesis, and application of versatile polyphenol-based nanosystems for cancer therapy in various modes. Moreover, the merits of polyphenols and the challenges for their clinical translation are also discussed, and it is pointed out that the novel polyphenol delivery system requires further optimization and validation.