Critical learning from industrial catalysis for nanocatalytic medicine.

Systematical and critical learning from industrial catalysis will bring inspiration for emerging nanocatalytic medicine, but the relevant knowledge is quite limited so far. In this review, we briefly summarize representative catalytic reactions and corresponding catalysts in industry, and then distinguish the similarities and differences in catalytic reactions between industrial and medical applications in support of critical learning, deep understanding, and rational designing of appropriate catalysts and catalytic reactions for various medical applications. Finally, we summarize/outlook the present and potential translation from industrial catalysis to nanocatalytic medicine. This review is expected to display a clear picture of nanocatalytic medicine evolution.

Chasing Graphene-Based Anticancer Drugs: Where are We Now on the Biomedical Graphene Roadmap?

Graphene and graphene-based materials have attracted growing interest for potential applications in medicine because of their good biocompatibility, cargo capability and possible surface functionalizations. In parallel, prototypic graphene-based devices have been developed to diagnose, imaging and track tumor growth in cancer patients. There is a growing number of reports on the use of graphene and its functionalized derivatives in the design of innovative drugs delivery systems, photothermal and photodynamic cancer therapy, and as a platform to combine multiple therapies. The aim of this review is to introduce the latest scientific achievements in the field of innovative composite graphene materials as potentially applied in cancer therapy. The "Technology and Innovation Roadmap" published in the Graphene Flagship indicates, that the first anti-cancer drugs using graphene and graphene-derived materials will have appeared on the market by 2030. However, it is necessary to broaden understanding of graphene-based material interactions with cellular metabolism and signaling at the functional level, as well as toxicity. The main aspects of further research should elucidate how treatment methods (e.g., photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, combination therapy) and the physicochemical properties of graphene materials influence their ability to modulate autophagy and kill cancer cells. Interestingly, recent scientific reports also prove that graphene nanocomposites modulate cancer cell death by inducing precise autophagy dysfunctions caused by lysosome damage. It turns out as well that developing photothermal oncological treatments, it should be taken into account that near-infrared-II radiation (1000-1500 nm) is a better option than NIR-I (750-1000 nm) because it can penetrate deeper into tissues due to less scattering at longer wavelengths radiation.

Magnetically modified-mitoxantrone mesoporous organosilica drugs: an emergent multimodal nanochemotherapy for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy, the mainstay treatment for metastatic cancer, presents serious side effects due to off-target exposure. In addition to the negative impact on patients' quality of life, side effects limit the dose that can be administered and thus the efficacy of the drug. Encapsulation of chemotherapeutic drugs in nanocarriers is a promising strategy to mitigate these issues. However, avoiding premature drug release from the nanocarriers and selectively targeting the tumour remains a challenge. RESULTS: In this study, we present a pioneering method for drug integration into nanoparticles known as mesoporous organosilica drugs (MODs), a distinctive variant of periodic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (PMOs) in which the drug is an inherent component of the silica nanoparticle structure. This groundbreaking approach involves the chemical modification of drugs to produce bis-organosilane prodrugs, which act as silica precursors for MOD synthesis. Mitoxantrone (MTO), a drug used to treat metastatic breast cancer, was selected for the development of MTO@MOD nanomedicines, which demonstrated a significant reduction in breast cancer cell viability. Several MODs with different amounts of MTO were synthesised and found to be efficient nanoplatforms for the sustained delivery of MTO after biodegradation. In addition, Fe3O4 NPs were incorporated into the MODs to generate magnetic MODs to actively target the tumour and further enhance drug efficacy. Importantly, magnetic MTO@MODs underwent a Fenton reaction, which increased cancer cell death twofold compared to non-magnetic MODs. CONCLUSIONS: A new PMO-based material, MOD nanomedicines, was synthesised using the chemotherapeutic drug MTO as a silica precursor. MTO@MOD nanomedicines demonstrated their efficacy in significantly reducing the viability of breast cancer cells. In addition, we incorporated Fe3O4 into MODs to generate magnetic MODs for active tumour targeting and enhanced drug efficacy by ROS generation. These findings pave the way for the designing of silica-based multitherapeutic nanomedicines for cancer treatment with improved drug delivery, reduced side effects and enhanced efficacy.

Breaking Barriers: Nanomedicine-Based Drug Delivery for Cataract Treatment.

Cataract is a leading cause of blindness globally, and its surgical treatment poses a significant burden on global healthcare. Pharmacologic therapies, including antioxidants and protein aggregation reversal agents, have attracted great attention in the treatment of cataracts in recent years. Due to the anatomical and physiological barriers of the eye, the effectiveness of traditional eye drops for delivering drugs topically to the lens is hindered. The advancements in nanomedicine present novel and promising strategies for addressing challenges in drug delivery to the lens, including the development of nanoparticle formulations that can improve drug penetration into the anterior segment and enable sustained release of medications. This review introduces various cutting-edge drug delivery systems for cataract treatment, highlighting their physicochemical properties and surface engineering for optimal design, thus providing impetus for further innovative research and potential clinical applications of anti-cataract drugs.

Evolving Tumor Characteristics and Smart Nanodrugs for Tumor Immunotherapy.

Typical physiological characteristics of tumors, such as weak acidity, low oxygen content, and upregulation of certain enzymes in the tumor microenvironment (TME), provide survival advantages when exposed to targeted attacks by drugs and responsive nanomedicines. Consequently, cancer treatment has significantly progressed in recent years. However, the evolution and adaptation of tumor characteristics still pose many challenges for current treatment methods. Therefore, efficient and precise cancer treatments require an understanding of the heterogeneity degree of various factors in cancer cells during tumor evolution to exploit the typical TME characteristics and manage the mutation process. The highly heterogeneous tumor and infiltrating stromal cells, immune cells, and extracellular components collectively form a unique TME, which plays a crucial role in tumor malignancy, including proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and immune escape. Therefore, the development of new treatment methods that can adapt to the evolutionary characteristics of tumors has become an intense focus in current cancer treatment research. This paper explores the latest understanding of cancer evolution, focusing on how tumors use new antigens to shape their "new faces"; how immune system cells, such as cytotoxic T cells, regulatory T cells, macrophages, and natural killer cells, help tumors become "invisible", that is, immune escape; whether the diverse cancer-associated fibroblasts provide support and coordination for tumors; and whether it is possible to attack tumors in reverse. This paper discusses the limitations of targeted therapy driven by tumor evolution factors and explores future strategies and the potential of intelligent nanomedicines, including the systematic coordination of tumor evolution factors and adaptive methods, to meet this therapeutic challenge.

A review of recent advances in the use of complex metal nanostructures for biomedical applications from diagnosis to treatment.

Complex metal nanostructures represent an exceptional category of materials characterized by distinct morphologies and physicochemical properties. Nanostructures with shape anisotropies, such as nanorods, nanostars, nanocages, and nanoprisms, are particularly appealing due to their tunable surface plasmon resonances, controllable surface chemistries, and effective targeting capabilities. These complex nanostructures can absorb light in the near-infrared, enabling noteworthy applications in nanomedicine, molecular imaging, and biology. The engineering of targeting abilities through surface modifications involving ligands, antibodies, peptides, and other agents potentiates their effects. Recent years have witnessed the development of innovative structures with diverse compositions, expanding their applications in biomedicine. These applications encompass targeted imaging, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, near-infrared II imaging, catalytic therapy, photothermal therapy, and cancer treatment. This review seeks to provide the nanomedicine community with a thorough and informative overview of the evolving landscape of complex metal nanoparticle research, with a specific emphasis on their roles in imaging, cancer therapy, infectious diseases, and biofilm treatment. This article is categorized under: Diagnostic Tools > In Vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Infectious Disease Diagnostic Tools > Diagnostic Nanodevices.

Novel Therapeutic Strategies of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Nanomedicine in Pediatric Cerebral Palsy Patients.

Infantile central palsy (CP) is caused due to damage to the immature developing brain usually before birth, leading to altered topography and biochemical milieu. CP is a life-limiting disorder, which causes changes in sensory, motor, cognitive, and behavioral functioning. Understanding its pathophysiology is complex, and current therapeutic modalities, oral medication, surgical treatment, physical therapy, and rehabilitation provide minimal relief. As the brain is plastic, it has an inherent capacity to adapt to altered activity; thus, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) strategies, like repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, which can modulate the neuronal activity and its function, may lead to recovery in CP patients. Further, in recent years, nanomedicine has shown a promising approach in pre-clinical studies for the treatment of central nervous system disorder because it can cross the blood-brain barrier, improve penetration, and provide sustained release of the drug. The review focuses on the principles and mechanisms of various NIBS techniques used in CP. We have also contemplated the effect of rehabilitation and nanomedicine in CP children, which will definitely lead to advancing our diagnostic as well as therapeutic abilities, in a vulnerable group of little ones.

Extracellular vesicles-powered immunotherapy: Unleashing the potential for safer and more effective cancer treatment.

Cancer treatment has seen significant advancements with the introduction of Onco-immunotherapies (OIMTs). Although some of these therapies have received approval for use, others are either undergoing testing or are still in the early stages of development. Challenges persist in making immunotherapy widely applicable to cancer treatment. To maximize the benefits of immunotherapy and minimize potential side effects, it's essential to improve response rates across different immunotherapy methods. A promising development in this area is the use of extracellular vesicles (EVs) as novel delivery systems. These small vesicles can effectively deliver immunotherapies, enhancing their effectiveness and reducing harmful side effects. This article discusses the importance of integrating nanomedicines into OIMTs, highlighting the challenges with current anti-OIMT methods. It also explores key considerations for designing nanomedicines tailored for OIMTs, aiming to improve upon existing immunotherapy techniques. Additionally, the article looks into innovative approaches like biomimicry and the use of natural biomaterial-based nanocarriers (NCs). These advancements have the potential to transform the delivery of immunotherapy. Lastly, the article addresses the challenges of moving OIMTs from theory to clinical practice, providing insights into the future of using advanced nanotechnology in cancer treatment.

Therapeutic Applications of Nanomedicine: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives.

The concept of nanomedicine has evolved significantly in recent decades, leveraging the unique phenomenon known as the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. This has facilitated major advancements in targeted drug delivery, imaging, and individualized therapy through the integration of nanotechnology principles into medicine. Numerous nanomedicines have been developed and applied for disease treatment, with a particular focus on cancer therapy. Recently, nanomedicine has been utilized in various advanced fields, including diagnosis, vaccines, immunotherapy, gene delivery, and tissue engineering. Multifunctional nanomedicines facilitate concurrent medication delivery, therapeutic monitoring, and imaging, allowing for immediate responses and personalized treatment plans. This review concerns the major advancement of nanomaterials and their potential applications in the biological and medical fields. Along with this, we also mention the various clinical translations of nanomedicine and the major challenges that nanomedicine is currently facing to overcome the clinical translation barrier.

The Role of Nanomedicine in Benign Gynecologic Disorders.

Nanomedicine has revolutionized drug delivery in the last two decades. Nanoparticles appear to be a promising drug delivery platform in the treatment of various gynecological disorders including uterine leiomyoma, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and menopause. Nanoparticles are tiny (mean size < 1000 nm), biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, safe, and relatively inexpensive materials commonly used in imaging and the drug delivery of various therapeutics, such as chemotherapeutics, small molecule inhibitors, immune mediators, protein peptides and non-coding RNA. We performed a literature review of published studies to examine the role of nanoparticles in treating uterine leiomyoma, endometriosis, PCOS, and menopause. In uterine leiomyoma, nanoparticles containing 2-methoxyestradiole and simvastatin, promising uterine fibroid treatments, have been effective in significantly inhibiting tumor growth compared to controls in in vivo mouse models with patient-derived leiomyoma xenografts. Nanoparticles have also shown efficacy in delivering magnetic hyperthermia to ablate endometriotic tissue. Moreover, nanoparticles can be used to deliver hormones and have shown efficacy as a mechanism for transdermal hormone replacement therapy in individuals with menopause. In this review, we aim to summarize research findings and report the efficacy of nanoparticles and nanotherapeutics in the treatment of various benign gynecologic conditions.

Tabletized Nanomedicine: From the Current Scenario to Developing Future Medicine.

The limitations of conventional therapeutic treatments prevailed in the development of nanotechnology-based medical formulations, termed nanomedicine. Nanomedicine is an advanced medicine that often consists of therapeutic agent(s) embedded in biodegradable or biocompatible nanomaterial-based formulations. Among nanomedicine approaches, tablet (oral) nanomedicine is still under development. In tabletized nanomedicine, the dynamic interplay between nanoformulations and the intricate milieu of the gastrointestinal tract simulates a pivotal role, particularly accentuating the influence exerted upon the luminal, mucosal, and epithelial cells. In this work, we document the perspectives and opportunities of nanoformulations toward the development of tabletized nanomedicine. This review also unveils the notion of integrating nanomedicine within a tablet formulation, which facilitates the controlled release of drugs, biomolecules, and agent(s) from the formulation to achieve a better therapeutic response. Finally, an attempt was made to explore current trends in nanomedicine technology such as bacteriophage, probiotic, and oligonucleotide tabletized nanomedicine and the combination of nanomedicine with imaging agents, i.e., nanotheranostics.

Nanotechnology in inflammation: cutting-edge advances in diagnostics, therapeutics and theranostics.

Inflammatory dysregulation is intimately associated with the occurrence and progression of many life-threatening diseases. Accurate detection and timely therapeutic intervention on inflammatory dysregulation are crucial for the effective therapy of inflammation-associated diseases. However, the clinical outcomes of inflammation-involved disorders are still unsatisfactory. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop innovative anti-inflammatory strategies by integrating emerging technological innovations with traditional therapeutics. Biomedical nanotechnology is one of the promising fields that can potentially transform the diagnosis and treatment of inflammation. In this review, we outline recent advances in biomedical nanotechnology for the diagnosis and treatment of inflammation, with special attention paid to nanosensors and nanoprobes for precise diagnosis of inflammation-related diseases, emerging anti-inflammatory nanotherapeutics, as well as nanotheranostics and combined anti-inflammatory applications. Moreover, the prospects and challenges for clinical translation of nanoprobes and anti-inflammatory nanomedicines are highlighted.

Liposome Nanomedicine Based on Tumor Cell Lysate Mitigates the Progression of Lynch Syndrome-Associated Colon Cancer.

Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has shown efficacy in some patients with Lynch syndrome-associated colon cancer, but some patients still do not benefit from it. In this study, we adopted a combination strategy of tumor vaccines and ICIs to maximize the benefits of immunotherapy. Here, we obtained tumor-antigen-containing cell lysate (TCL) by lysing MC38Mlh1 KD cells and prepared liposome nanoparticles (Lipo-PEG) with a typical spherical morphology by thin-film hydration. Anti-PD-L1 was coupled to the liposome surface by the amidation reaction. As observed, anti-PD-L1/TCL@Lipo-PEG was not significantly toxic to mouse intestinal epithelial cells (MODE-K) in the safe concentration range and did not cause hemolysis of mouse red blood cells. In addition, anti-PD-L1/TCL@Lipo-PEG reduced immune escape from colon cancer cells (MC38Mlh1 KD) by the anti-PD-L1 antibody, restored the killing function of CD8+ T cells, and targeted more tumor antigens to bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), which also expressed PD-L1, to stimulate BMDC antigen presentation. In syngeneic transplanted Lynch syndrome-associated colon cancer mice, the combination of anti-PD-L1 and TCL provided better cancer suppression than monoimmunotherapy, and the cancer suppression effect of anti-PD-L1/TCL@Lipo-PEG treatment was even better than that of the free drug. Meanwhile anti-PD-L1/TCL@Lipo-PEG enhanced the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In vivo fluorescence imaging and H&E staining showed that the nanomedicine was mainly retained in the tumor site and had no significant toxic side effects on other major organs. The anti-PD-L1/TCL@Lipo-PEG prepared in this study has high efficacy and good biosafety in alleviating the progression of Lynch syndrome-associated colon cancer, and it is expected to be a therapeutic candidate for Lynch syndrome-associated colon cancer.

Inflammation and Acinar Cell Dual-Targeting Nanomedicines for Synergistic Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis via Ca2+ Homeostasis Regulation and Pancreas Autodigestion Inhibition.

Severe acute pancreatitis (AP) is a life-threatening pancreatic inflammatory disease with a high mortality rate (∼40%). Existing pharmaceutical therapies in development or in clinical trials showed insufficient treatment efficacy due to their single molecular therapeutic target, poor water solubility, short half-life, limited pancreas-targeting specificity, etc. Herein, acid-responsive hollow mesoporous Prussian blue nanoparticles wrapped with neutrophil membranes and surface modified with the N,N-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine moiety were developed for codelivering membrane-permeable calcium chelator BAPTA-AM (BA) and trypsin activity inhibitor gabexate mesylate (Ga). In the AP mouse model, the formulation exhibited efficient recruitment at the inflammatory endothelium, trans-endothelial migration, and precise acinar cell targeting, resulting in rapid pancreatic localization and higher accumulation. A single low dose of the formulation (BA: 200 µg kg-1, Ga: 0.75 mg kg-1) significantly reduced pancreas function indicators to close to normal levels at 24 h, effectively restored the cell redox status, reduced apoptotic cell proportion, and blocked the systemic inflammatory amplified cascade, resulting in a dramatic increase in the survival rate from 58.3 to even 100%. Mechanistically, the formulation inhibited endoplasmic reticulum stress (IRE1/XBP1 and ATF4/CHOP axis) and restored impaired autophagy (Beclin-1/p62/LC3 axis), thereby preserving dying acinar cells and restoring the cellular "health status". This formulation provides an upstream therapeutic strategy with clinical translation prospects for AP management through synergistic ion homeostasis regulation and pancreatic autodigestion inhibition.

Anti-lymphangiogenesis for boosting drug accumulation in tumors.

The inadequate tumor accumulation of anti-cancer agents is a major shortcoming of current therapeutic drugs and remains an even more significant concern in the clinical prospects for nanomedicines. Various strategies aiming at regulating the intratumoral permeability of therapeutic drugs have been explored in preclinical studies, with a primary focus on vascular regulation and stromal reduction. However, these methods may trigger or facilitate tumor metastasis as a tradeoff. Therefore, there is an urgent need for innovative strategies that boost intratumoral drug accumulation without compromising treatment outcomes. As another important factor affecting drug tumor accumulation besides vasculature and stroma, the impact of tumor-associated lymphatic vessels (LVs) has not been widely considered. In the current research, we verified that anlotinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with anti-lymphangiogenesis activity, and SAR131675, a selective VEGFR-3 inhibitor, effectively decreased the density of tumor lymphatic vessels in mouse cancer models, further enhancing drug accumulation in tumor tissue. By combining anlotinib with therapeutic drugs, including doxorubicin (Dox), liposomal doxorubicin (Lip-Dox), and anti-PD-L1 antibody, we observed improved anti-tumor efficacy in comparison with monotherapy regimens. Meanwhile, this strategy significantly reduced tumor metastasis and elicited stronger anti-tumor immune responses. Our work describes a new, clinically transferrable approach to augmenting intratumoral drug accumulation, which shows great potential to address the current, unsatisfactory efficacies of therapeutic drugs without introducing metastatic risk.

Novel application of nanomedicine for the treatment of acute lung injury: a literature review.

Nanoparticles have attracted extensive attention due to their high degree of cell targeting, biocompatibility, controllable biological activity, and outstanding pharmacokinetics. Changing the size, morphology, and surface chemical groups of nanoparticles can increase the biological distribution of agents to achieve precise tissue targeting and optimize therapeutic effects. Examples of their use include nanoparticles designed for increasing antigen-specific immune responses, developing vaccines, and treating inflammatory diseases. Nanoparticles show the potential to become a new generation of therapeutic agents for regulating inflammation. Recently, many nanomaterials with targeted properties have been developed to treat acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS). In this review, we provide a brief explanation of the pathological mechanism underlying ALI/ARDS and a systematic overview of the latest technology and research progress in nanomedicine treatments of ALI, including improved nanocarriers, nanozymes, and nanovaccines for the targeted treatment of lung injury. Ultimately, these nanomedicines will be used for the clinical treatment of ALI/ARDS.

Herbal Theranostics: Controlled, Targeted Delivery and Imaging of Herbal Molecules.

Modern medicine relies on a small number of key biologics, which can be found in nature but require further characterization and purification before they can be used. Since the herbal remedy is given through a dated and ineffective method of drug administration, its effectiveness is diminished. The novel form of medicine delivery has the potential to increase the effectiveness of herbal substances while decreasing their side effects. This is the main idea behind utilising different ways of drug delivery in herbal treatments. Several benefits arise from novel formulations of herbal compounds as compared to their conventional counterparts. These include enhanced penetrating ability into tissues, constant delivery of effective doses, and resistance to physical and chemical degradation. Controlled and targeted delivery that include herbal components allow for more traditional dosing while simultaneously increasing their efficacy. Enhancing the biodistribution and target site accumulation of systemically administered herbal medicines is the goal of nanomedicine formulations. The field of nanotheranostics has made significant advancements in the development of herbal compounds by combining diagnostic and therapeutic functions on a single nanoscale platform. It is critically important to create a theranostic nanoplatform that is derived from plants and is intrinsically "all-in-one" for single molecules. In addition to examining the mechanistic approach to nanoparticle synthesis, this review highlights the therapeutic effects of nanoscale phytochemical delivery systems. Furthermore, we have evaluated the scope for future advancements in this field, discussed several nanoparticles that have been developed recently for herbal imaging, and provided experimental evidence that supports their usage.

The Translation of Nanomedicines in the Contexts of Spinal Cord Injury and Repair.

PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW: Manipulating or re-engineering the damaged human spinal cord to achieve neuro-recovery is one of the foremost challenges of modern science. Addressing the restricted permission of neural cells and topographically organised neural tissue for self-renewal and spontaneous regeneration, respectively, is not straightforward, as exemplified by rare instances of translational success. This review assembles an understanding of advances in nanomedicine for spinal cord injury (SCI) and related clinical indications of relevance to attempts to design, engineer, and target nanotechnologies to multiple molecular networks. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent research provides a new understanding of the health benefits and regulatory landscape of nanomedicines based on a background of advances in mRNA-based nanocarrier vaccines and quantum dot-based optical imaging. In relation to spinal cord pathology, the extant literature details promising advances in nanoneuropharmacology and regenerative medicine that inform the present understanding of the nanoparticle (NP) biocompatibility-neurotoxicity relationship. In this review, the conceptual bases of nanotechnology and nanomaterial chemistry covering organic and inorganic particles of sizes generally less than 100 nm in diameter will be addressed. Regarding the centrally active nanotechnologies selected for this review, attention is paid to NP physico-chemistry, functionalisation, delivery, biocompatibility, biodistribution, toxicology, and key molecular targets and biological effects intrinsic to and beyond the spinal cord parenchyma. SUMMARY: The advance of nanotechnologies for the treatment of refractory spinal cord pathologies requires an in-depth understanding of neurobiological and topographical principles and a consideration of additional complexities involving the research's translational and regulatory landscapes.

Enhancing cancer immunotherapy with photodynamic therapy and nanoparticle: making tumor microenvironment hotter to make immunotherapeutic work better.

Cancer immunotherapy has made tremendous advancements in treating various malignancies. The biggest hurdle to successful immunotherapy would be the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and low immunogenicity of cancer cells. To make immunotherapy successful, the 'cold' TME must be converted to 'hot' immunostimulatory status to activate residual host immune responses. To this end, the immunosuppressive equilibrium in TME should be broken, and immunogenic cancer cell death ought to be induced to stimulate tumor-killing immune cells appropriately. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an efficient way of inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) of cancer cells and disrupting immune-restrictive tumor tissues. PDT would trigger a chain reaction that would make the TME 'hot' and have ICD-induced tumor antigens presented to immune cells. In principle, the strategic combination of PDT and immunotherapy would synergize to enhance therapeutic outcomes in many intractable tumors. Novel technologies employing nanocarriers were developed to deliver photosensitizers and immunotherapeutic to TME efficiently. New-generation nanomedicines have been developed for PDT immunotherapy in recent years, which will accelerate clinical applications.

Theranostics - a sure cure for cancer after 100 years?

Cancer has remained a formidable challenge in medicine and has claimed an enormous number of lives worldwide. Theranostics, combining diagnostic methods with personalized therapeutic approaches, shows huge potential to advance the battle against cancer. This review aims to provide an overview of theranostics in oncology: exploring its history, current advances, challenges, and prospects. We present the fundamental evolution of theranostics from radiotherapeutics, cellular therapeutics, and nanotherapeutics, showcasing critical milestones in the last decade. From the early concept of targeted drug delivery to the emergence of personalized medicine, theranostics has benefited from advances in imaging technologies, molecular biology, and nanomedicine. Furthermore, we emphasize pertinent illustrations showcasing that revolutionary strategies in cancer management enhance diagnostic accuracy and provide targeted therapies customized for individual patients, thereby facilitating the implementation of personalized medicine. Finally, we describe future perspectives on current challenges, emerging topics, and advances in the field.