Graphene-based nanomaterial system: a boon in the era of smart nanocarriers

The shift toward nanovaccination: A comprehensive review of advancing nanovaccination for combinatory immune regulation therapies to treat infectious diseases and cancer

Vaccination is an essential tool in combating infectious disease and holds significant potential in cancer immunotherapy. Recent advances in nanotechnology have paved the way for nanovaccines development, which leverage nanoparticles to enhance vaccines delivery, stability, and immunogenicity. This review article examines the composition of nanovaccines, detailing the characteristics properties of antigens and adjuvant along with the various nanomaterial commonly employed, including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, biomimetic structures, as well as organic and inorganic nanocarriers. The mechanism of action of nanovaccines are discussed which contribute to robust immune activation via initiating cellular and humoral mediated responses. Special attention is given to the innovative application of nanovaccines in combinatory immunotherapy, including photo, sonodynamic, magnetic hyperthermia and chemodynamic therapies. These multifunctional platforms enable localized treatment, promote antigen release, and boost immune responses, offering promising strategies for effective infectious disease and cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, by highlighting the "nano advantages," this review underscores the transformative potential of nanovaccines to elevate immune responses beyond the capabilities of traditional vaccines. Lastly, the challenges of nanovaccine formulation are discussed with significant implication for future immunization and therapeutic strategies.

Exploring the role of graphene-metal hybrid nanomaterials as Raman signal enhancers in early stage cancer detection

Molecular diagnosis plays a significant role in detection of biomolecules linked to early stage cancer since it offers greater sensitivity and reliability for identification of biomarker level changes as the disease progresses. The application of vibrational spectroscopy in biomarker detection is defined by the fingerprint spectrum of a molecule originating from single-molecule vibrations. This characteristic makes surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) a promising tool for identification of biomarkers. The performance of the SERS technique largely depends on the material being used as the SERS substrate. Graphene, with its large surface area and abundance of aromatic regions, is considered advantageous as SERS substrate. Combining graphene with metal nanomaterials considerably increases SERS signal intensity, thereby enhancing detection sensitivity. Therefore, this review emphasizes the significance of selecting graphene-metal nanohybrids as suitable SERS substrates for signal amplification. The detail understanding of the mechanism of graphene-metal hybrid in SERS based detection of early stage cancer is also presented. Furthermore, several examples demonstrated the application of graphene-metal hybrid nanomaterials in detecting biomarkers and cancer cell differentiation using SERS imaging.

Cytoskeleton-modulating nanomaterials and their therapeutic potentials

The cytoskeleton, an intricate network of protein fibers within cells, plays a pivotal role in maintaining cell shape, enabling movement, and facilitating intracellular transport. Its involvement in various pathological states, ranging from cancer proliferation and metastasis to the progression of neurodegenerative disorders, underscores its potential as a target for therapeutic intervention. The exploration of nanotechnology in this realm, particularly the use of nanomaterials for cytoskeletal modulation, represents a cutting-edge approach with the promise of novel treatments. Inorganic nanomaterials, including those derived from gold, metal oxides, carbon, and black phosphorus, alongside organic variants such as peptides and proteins, are at the forefront of this research. These materials offer diverse mechanisms of action, either by directly interacting with cytoskeletal components or by influencing cellular signaling pathways that, in turn, modulate the cytoskeleton. Recent advancements have introduced magnetic field-responsive and light-responsive nanomaterials, which allow for targeted and controlled manipulation of the cytoskeleton. Such precision is crucial in minimizing off-target effects and enhancing therapeutic efficacy. This review explores the importance of research into cytoskeleton-targeting nanomaterials for developing therapeutic interventions for a range of diseases. It also addresses the progress made in this field, the challenges encountered, and future directions for using nanomaterials to modulate the cytoskeleton. The continued exploration of nanomaterials for cytoskeleton modulation holds great promise for advancing therapeutic strategies against a broad spectrum of diseases, marking a significant step forward in the intersection of nanotechnology and medicine.

Chromophoric cerium oxide nanoparticle-loaded sucking disk-type strip sensor for optical measurement of glucose in tear fluid

BACKGROUND

Noninvasive monitoring of tear glucose levels can be convenient for patients to manage their diabetes mellitus. However, there are issues with monitoring tear glucose levels, such as the invasiveness of some methods, the miniaturization, inaccuracy, or the high cost of wearable devices. To overcome the issues, we newly designed a sucking disk-type (SD) strip biosensor that can quickly suck tear fluid and contains cerium oxide nanoparticle (CNP) that causes a unique color change according to the glucose level of the tear without complicated electronic components.

METHODS

The SD strip biosensor composed of three distinct parts (tip, channel, and reaction chamber) was designed to contain the sensing paper, onto which tear fluid can be collected and delivered. The sensing paper treated with CNP/APTS (aminopropyltriethoxysilane) /GOx (glucose oxidase) was characterized. Then we carried out the reliability of the SD strip biosensor in the diabetic rabbit animals. We quantitatively analyzed the color values of the SD strip biosensor through the colorimetric analysis algorithm.

RESULTS

We contacted the inferior palpebral conjunctiva (IPC) of a diabetic rabbit eye using an SD strip biosensor to collect tears without eye irritation and successfully verified the performance and quantitative efficacy of the sensor. An image processing algorithm that can optimize measurement accuracy is developed for accurate color change measurement of SD strip biosensors. The validation tests show a good correlation between glucose concentrations measured in the tear and blood.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate that the CNP-embedded SD strip biosensor and the associated image processing can simply monitor tear glucose to manage diabetes mellitus.

Bacteria-Adhesive Nitric Oxide-Releasing Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles for MRPA-Infected Wound Healing Therapy

A bacteria-infected wound can lead to being life-threatening and raises a great economic burden on the patient. Here, we developed polyethylenimine 1.8k (PEI_1.8k) surface modified NO-releasing polyethylenimine 25k (PEI_25k)-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles (GO-PEI_25k/NO-PEI_1.8k NPs) for enhanced antibacterial activity and infected wound healing via binding to the bacterial surface. In vitro antibacterial activity and in vivo wound healing efficacy in an infected wound model were evaluated compared with NO-releasing NPs (GO-PEI_25k/NO NPs). Surface modification with PEI_1.8k can enhance the ability of nanoparticles to adhere to bacteria. GO-PEI_25k/NO-PEI_1.8k NPs released NO in a sustained manner for 48 h and exhibited the highest bactericidal activity (99.99% killing) against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MRPA) without cytotoxicity to L929 mouse fibroblast cells at 0.1 mg/mL. In the MRPA-infected wound model, GO-PEI_25k/NO-PEI_1.8k NPs showed 87% wound size reduction while GO-PEI_25k/NO NPs showed 23% wound size reduction at 9 days postinjury. Masson trichrome and hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that GO-PEI_25k/NO-PEI_1.8k NPs enhanced re-epithelialization and collagen deposition, which are comparable to healthy mouse skin tissue. GO-PEI_25k/NO-PEI_1.8k NPs hold promise as effective antibacterial and wound healing agents.

Pharmaceutical Applications of Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Emulsions for Micro-/Nanoparticle Formation

Micro-/nanoparticle formulations containing drugs with or without various biocompatible excipients are widely used in the pharmaceutical field to improve the physicochemical and clinical properties of the final drug product. Among the various micro-/nanoparticle production technologies, emulsion-based particle formation is the most widely used because of its unique advantages such as uniform generation of spherical small particles and higher encapsulation efficiency (EE). For this emulsion-based micro-/nanoparticle technology, one of the most important factors is the extraction efficiency associated with the fast removal of the organic solvent. In consideration of this, a technology called supercritical fluid extraction of emulsions (SFEE) that uses the unique mass transfer mechanism and solvent power of a supercritical fluid (SCF) has been proposed to overcome the shortcomings of several conventional technologies such as solvent evaporation, extraction, and spray drying. This review article presents the main aspects of SFEE technology for the preparation of micro-/nanoparticles by focusing on its pharmaceutical applications, which have been organized and classified according to several types of drug delivery systems and active pharmaceutical ingredients. It was definitely confirmed that SFEE can be applied in a variety of drugs from water-soluble to poorly water-soluble. In addition, it has advantages such as low organic solvent residual, high EE, desirable release control, better particle size control, and agglomeration prevention through efficient and fast solvent removal compared to conventional micro-/nanoparticle technologies. Therefore, this review will be a good resource for determining the applicability of SFEE to obtain better pharmaceutical quality when researchers in related fields want to select a suitable manufacturing process for preparing desired micro-/nanoparticle drug delivery systems containing their active material.

Recent Advances in pH- or/and Photo-Responsive Nanovehicles

The combination of nanotechnology and chemotherapy has resulted in more effective drug design via the development of nanomaterial-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) for tumor targeting. Stimulus-responsive DDSs in response to internal or external signals can offer precisely controlled delivery of preloaded therapeutics. Among the various DDSs, the photo-triggered system improves the efficacy and safety of treatment through spatiotemporal manipulation of light. Additionally, pH-induced delivery is one of the most widely studied strategies for targeting the acidic micro-environment of solid tumors. Accordingly, in this review, we discuss representative strategies for designing DDSs using light as an exogenous signal or pH as an endogenous trigger.