International Journal of Nanomedicine最新文献

Background: In recent years, bladder defect repair has emerged as a critical issue in urological tissue engineering. Traditional treatment methods, such as autologous tissue transplantation and synthetic material repair, are limited by factors such as scarce donor sources, immune rejection, and postoperative fibrosis. Consequently, the development of nanofiber materials with bionic structures, biocompatibility, and anti-fibrotic capabilities has become a research hotspot. This research addressed the clinical needs associated with tuberculous bladder contracture, chronic cystitis, traumatic bladder rupture, and malignant tumors requiring partial cystectomy (such as localized non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer and urachal cancer), among other conditions. Excessive fibrotic scar formation following bladder surgery or injury is a primary contributor to reduced bladder compliance, diminished capacity, and impaired contractile function.

Methods: Using electrospinning technology, we designed and prepared composite nanofibers with varying proportions (9:1, 7:3, 5:5) of polycaprolactone (PCL) and gelatin (GEL). By conducting various experiments such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water contact angle (WCA) analysis, mechanical performance evaluation, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the PCL/GEL (7:3) composite material was ultimately selected as the one with the best overall performance.

Results: Its fiber diameter was 612.14 ± 105.46 nm, water contact angle was 107.23°, and mechanical properties (tensile strength: 3.84 ± 0.5 MPa, elongation at break: 118.42 ± 4%, Young's modulus: 19.50 ± 4.6 MPa). To enhance its anti-fibrotic properties, we incorporated mitomycin C (MMC) into the nanofiber matrix and prepared PCL/GEL/MMC nanofiber materials through blending and spinning. We then established a partial cystectomy model in rats, implanted the PCL/GEL/MMC nanofiber materials, and performed bladder imaging four weeks post-surgery to assess bladder capacity and morphological recovery. The CCK-8 assay was performed on days 1, 3, and 7, demonstrating that smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) can effectively adhere, survive, and proliferate on these fibrous membranes, thereby confirming their biocompatibility. The anti-fibrotic properties of the materials were evaluated using immunofluorescence staining (IF)and immunohistochemical analysis (IHC).

Conclusion: The experimental results demonstrated that PCL/GEL nanofiber materials loaded with 0.02% MMC exhibited excellent biocompatibility and anti-fibrotic effects in bladder defect repair, providing a theoretical basis for their potential clinical application.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a clinically established treatment with high selectivity and minimal invasiveness. However, its efficacy against solid tumors is severely compromised by hypoxia, a hallmark of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Although conventional approaches, such as oxygen delivery and in situ oxygen generation, offer certain benefits, their passive and uncontrolled nature poses substantial challenges. This review explores alternative strategies to actively overcome tumor hypoxia, highlighting recent advances in nanotechnology that go beyond traditional oxygen replenishment methods. We focus on three main avenues for enhanced PDT: remodeling the hypoxic TME, circumventing intratumoral hypoxia, and harnessing hypoxia. Furthermore, we offer a forward-looking perspective on nanotechnology-mediated hypoxia modulation and discuss potential pathways for oxygen-optimized PDT in next-generation cancer therapy. This review provides valuable and clinically significant insights into the development of PDT.

Cancer continues to pose a global health challenge, with conventional therapies often limited by non-specific toxicity, drug resistance, and an inadequate therapeutic index. Nanotechnology offers transformative opportunities by enabling targeted drug delivery, improved pharmacokinetics, and integrated diagnostic-therapeutic platforms (termed nanotheranostics). This review highlights key nanocarrier systems including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, inorganic nanostructures, carbon-based materials, extracellular vesicles, and hybrid platforms with a focus on human studies and clinical translation. Design strategies (such as passive and active tumor targeting, biomimicry, and stimuli-responsive release mechanisms) are discussed in the context of improving tumor selectivity and minimizing systemic toxicity. Recent innovations, including AI-supported nanomedicine design, smart nanorobots, and cell-mediated delivery systems, are also examined. Although multiple nano-formulations such as Doxil®, Abraxane®, and Vyxeos® have reached clinical use, challenges remain including large-scale manufacturing, regulatory pathways, long-term safety evaluation, and cost-effective global accessibility. This review provides a critical appraisal of current evidence, translational bottlenecks, and emerging opportunities to guide future nanomedicine development. Nanotechnology is poised to become a cornerstone of precision oncology, enabling personalized, safe, and effective cancer treatment paradigms.

Introduction: Cuproptosis, a novel form of cell death tied to copper homeostasis and protein lipoylation, holds significant promise for breast cancer treatment. However, its efficacy is severely hindered by the tumor microenvironment (TME) heterogeneity, such as hypoxia and elevated glutathione (GSH) levels.

Methods: Herein, we synthesized CuNI nanoparticles via a facile hydrothermal method, which could serve as both a copper carrier and a photothermal agent, to enhance the accumulation of copper in tumor site. Following intravenous injection, CuNI accumulated and persisted in tumors via the enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR) effect. Subsequent gradient 808 nm laser irradiation and radiotherapy (RT) were administered, CuNI could convert light energy to heat energy, which could alleviate hypoxia TME, while RT further depleted GSH and synergistically generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) with CuNI, synergistically amplifying CuNi-mediated cuproptosis.

Results: This co-treatment triggered immunogenic cell death (ICD), activating dendritic cells and T-cell responses to reverse the "cold" immune microenvironment. In vivo studies demonstrated complete tumor suppression with no overt toxicity.

Conclusion: The CuNI + NIR + RT strategy, leveraging "cuproptosis/ICD synergy", offers a novel paradigm for the clinical translation of cuproptosis in breast cancer.

Purpose: Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease with high transmissibility and significant pandemic potential worldwide. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-based carbon dots (CDs) have emerged as promising therapeutic agents owing to their favorable biosafety profile and potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of TCM-derived CDs on influenza A virus (IAV)-induced pneumonia, and elucidate their underlying molecular mechanisms of action.

Mouse model and methods: A murine model of IAV-induced pneumonia was established via intranasal instillation and subsequently treated with CDs co-derived from Artemisia annua and Scutellaria baicalensis (QH-CDs).

Results: The results demonstrated that, compared to the observations in the model group, treatment with QH-CDs significantly alleviated the pathological damages to lung tissue, reduced the lung index, and promoted body weight recovery. QH-CDs treatment reduced the expression of key inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6) in lung tissue by over 60% compared to the model group (p < 0.0001). In addition, QH-CDs reduce lung viral titers by more than 70%, indicating that they have combined antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that treatment with QH-CDs reversed the alterations in the expression patterns of several genes associated with immunity and inflammation. The differentially expressed genes were predominantly involved in immune regulation, cytokine activity, and inflammatory signaling pathways. The results of Quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) show that the mRNA expression levels of NLRP3, Caspase-1, and IL-1β all significantly decreased. Protein expression analyses by Western blotting further confirmed the critical role of the NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway in mediating the therapeutic effects of QH-CDs.

Conclusion: QH-CDs therapeutic effects may be closely related to the regulation of immune responses, inhibition of inflammatory responses, and modulation of the NLRP3 signaling pathway. This study provides novel insights into the therapeutic application of TCM-derived nanomaterials for the treatment of viral pneumonia.

Hepatic fibrosis represents a pivotal transitional stage between hepatitis and cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma, predominantly mediated by hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation, dysregulated extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and oxidative stress. Metal-based nanomaterials (MNMs) exhibit dualistic effects in liver fibrosis progression, owing to their high specific surface area, tunable morphology, surface functionalization potential, and quantum properties. On the one hand, MNMs hold substantial therapeutic and diagnostic potential: they enable precise targeted drug delivery (passive/active targeting to HSCs or hepatocytes), synergize with natural products to enhance bioavailability and multifaceted antifibrotic efficacy, remodel the fibrotic microenvironment via nanozyme-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and hypoxia alleviation, and serve as core components of integrated theranostic platforms for noninvasive imaging and real-time treatment monitoring. Specifically, pure metals (Au, Pt), metal oxides (CeO₂, Fe₃O₄, MnO₂), metal sulfide/ selenide/ telluride (MoS₂), and metal composites (ZIF-8) have demonstrated promising preclinical outcomes in inhibiting HSCs activation, reducing ECM deposition, and improving fibrosis staging accuracy. While demonstrating therapeutic potential, MNMs present significant fibrogenic risks. Inappropriate physicochemical characteristics (eg, non-biodegradable cores, excessive particle size, cationic surface charges) or improper administration routes may induce hepatic injury through multiple mechanisms, including oxidative stress-mediated damage, inflammatory responses, dysregulated apoptosis/autophagy, and impaired lipid metabolism. These effects ultimately exacerbate fibrosis via multiple signaling pathways, notably the TGF-β1/Smad and MAPK/Akt-FoxO3 cascades. In conclusion, MNMs present a dualistic role in hepatic fibrosis management. While their therapeutic potential is well-established when properly engineered to optimize targeting specificity, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, their fibrogenic risks require systematic mitigation through rational design and comprehensive safety assessments. Future progress will depend on achieving optimal balance between these opposing effects to facilitate clinical translation, thereby enabling novel precision medicine approaches for fibrosis diagnosis and treatment.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) utilizes near-infrared (NIR)-responsive nanoparticles to induce controlled hyperthermia for tumor ablation and modulation of cellular and microenvironmental processes. Advances in nanomaterial engineering have enabled the integration of PTT with gene therapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy, wherein photothermal heating enhances membrane perturbation, accelerates endosomal escape, and initiates thermally triggered release of therapeutic payloads. This review summarizes the photothermal mechanisms of metallic, polymeric, hybrid, and semiconducting nanomaterials and examines how these platforms improve nucleic acid transport, immune activation, and chemotherapeutic performance. In addition, key translational challenges, including NIR penetration limits and thermotolerance, are briefly highlighted. By consolidating mechanistic insights and material-specific strategies, this review outlines current progress and future requirements for advancing clinically translatable PTT-based combination therapies.

Radiation skin injury (RSI) is a common complication during tumor radiotherapy, significantly impacting patients' quality of life and treatment outcomes. In recent years, with the rapid development of biomedical material technologies, the application of novel dressings in the prevention and treatment of RSI has made remarkable progress. This review summarizes the mechanisms underlying RSI and its prevention and treatment strategies, with a particular focus on the applications of traditional pharmacological interventions and advanced medical dressings in RSI management. In pharmacological interventions, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and growth factors have shown potential value, but their stability, bioavailability, and side effects require further clarification and optimization. In the realm of novel dressings, bioactive dressings and smart responsive dressings are current research hotspots. The former promotes tissue repair by delivering bioactive substances, while the latter intelligently adjusts their properties and drug release based on wound conditions (eg, pH, temperature, and enzyme responsiveness). Although these advanced dressings still face challenges in clinical applications, such as cost control, large-scale production, and long-term safety evaluation, their prospects in RSI prevention and treatment are promising with the continuous optimization of fabrication technologies and stabilization strategies. This review aims to provide new insights into the prevention and treatment of RSI and to promote the clinical translation and application of related biomedical materials.