Mn-doped Ti-based MOFs for magnetic resonance imaging-guided synergistic microwave thermal and microwave dynamic therapy of liver cancer

Current status and recent progress of nanomaterials in transcatheter arterial chemoembolization therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most common cancers worldwide. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization has become a common treatment modality for some patients with unresectable advanced HCC. Since the introduction of nanomaterials in 1974, their use in various fields has evolved rapidly. In medical applications, nanomaterials can serve as carriers for the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to tumour tissues. Additionally, nanomaterials have potential for in vivo tumour imaging. This article covers the properties and uses of several kinds of nanomaterials, focusing on their use in transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for HCC treatment. This paper also discusses the limitations currently associated with the use of nanomaterials.

Chitosan and gelatin based sprayable hydrogels incorporating photothermal and long-acting antibiotic sterilization for infected wound management with shape adaptability

Severe skin damage resulting from acute trauma is often accompanied by uncontrolled bleeding, microbial infections, and delayed wound healing. Herein, multifunctional sprayable hydrogels (CT-CS-ZIF@CIP Gel) were developed for wound management by incorporating antibacterial nanoplatforms (CT-CS-ZIF@CIP) into photocurable gels consisting of chitosan methacrylate and gallic acid grafted gelatin. The nanoplatform was initially constructed by sequentially loading Cu2Se (CS) and ciprofloxacin-decorated zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF@CIP) onto Cu-doped Ti MOF (CT), in which CS served as a photothermal agent, ZIF enabled pH-responsive release of CIP, and CT acted as carriers for CS and ZIF@CIP. The hydrogel precursor can be sprayed onto wound surface and photocured quickly, allowing hydrogel to fit the wound shape and form a protective barrier onsite. The resultant hydrogel exhibited excellent hemostatic ability, adhesion properties, cytocompatibility and toxin adsorption capacity. By integrating CS for short-term photothermal therapy with CIP for long-acting chemotherapy, the CT-CS-ZIF@CIP Gel demonstrated 100 % sterilization of three bacterial strains. Furthermore, moderate release of zinc and copper ions promoted wound healing. The therapeutic efficacy of hydrogel was validated in an infected cutaneous mouse model. Overall, this work presents a versatile sprayable hydrogel that can be flexibly applied to irregular dynamic wounds for safe and effective wound management.

Precision Cancer Therapy Enabled Anti-Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Conjugated Manganese Core Phthalocyanine Bismuth Nanocomposite for Dual Imaging-Guided Breast Cancer Treatment

Cancer remains a formidable global health challenge, demanding the exploration of innovative treatment modalities with minimized side effects. One promising avenue involves the synergistic integration of targeted photothermal/photodynamic therapy (PTT/PDT), utilizing specially designed functional nanomaterials for precise cancer diagnosis and treatment. This study introduces a composite biomaterial, anti-epidermal growth factor receptor-conjugated manganese core phthalocyanine bismuth (anti-EGFR-MPB), synthesized for precise cancer imaging and treatment. The biomaterial, synthesized via a solvothermal process, effectively treats and images breast cancer in mouse models. Its biomimetic design targets cancer cells precisely, with dual imaging for real-time monitoring. The biomimetic design of the composite enables precise targeting of cancer cells, whereas the dual imaging allows for real-time visualization and monitoring of the treatment. In vivo examinations confirm substantial damage to tumor tissues with no recurrence following 808-nm laser irradiation. The composite shows strong fluorescence/photoacoustic imaging (PAI) contrast, aiding malignancy detection. Biological assays and histological analyses confirmed the efficacy of the nanocomposite in inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. The integrated targeted dual image-guided phototherapy offered by this composite substantially enhances the precision and efficacy of cancer therapy, achieving an impressive photothermal efficiency of ~33.8%. Our findings demonstrate the utility of the anti-EGFR-MPB nanocomposite for both in vitro and in vivo photoacoustic image-guided PTT and PDT. The optimal treatment strategy for triple-negative breast cancer is found to be the use of 250 μg/ml of nanocomposite irradiated with 1.0 W/cm2 808-nm laser for 7 min.

Fe-doped Cu-based bimetallic metal-organic frameworks as nanoscale microwave sensitizers for enhancing microwave thermal and dynamic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma

Microwave ablation (MWA) is recognized as a novel treatment modality that can kill tumor cells by heating the ions and polar molecules in these cells through high-speed rotation and friction. However, the size and location of the tumor affect the effective ablation range of microwave hyperthermia, resulting in residual tumor tissue and a high recurrence rate. Due to their tunable porous structure and high specific surface area, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can serve as microwave sensitizers, promoting microwave energy conversion owing to ion collisions in the porous structure of the MOFs. Moreover, iron-based compounds are known to possess peroxidase-like catalytic activity. Therefore, Fe-doped Cu bimetallic MOFs (FCMs) were prepared through a hydrothermal process. These FCM nanoparticles not only increased the efficiency of microwave-thermal energy conversion as microwave sensitizers but also promoted the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by consuming glutathione (GSH) and promoted the Fenton reaction to enhance microwave dynamic therapy (MDT). The in vitro and in vivo results showed that the combination of MWA and MDT treatment effectively destroyed tumor tissues via microwave irradiation without inducing significant side effects on normal tissues. This study provides a new approach for the combined application of MOFs and microwave ablation, demonstrating excellent potential for future applications.

Magnetic Bimetallic Heterointerface Nanomissiles with Enhanced Microwave Absorption for Microwave Thermal/Dynamics Therapy of Breast Cancer

Microwave thermotherapy (MWT) has shown great potential in cancer treatment due to its deep tissue penetration and minimally invasive nature. However, the poor microwave absorption (MA) properties of the microwave thermal sensitizer in the medical frequency band significantly limit the thermal effect of MWT and then weaken the therapeutic efficacy. In this paper, a Ni-based multilayer heterointerface nanomissile of MOFs-Ni-Ru@COFs (MNRC) with improved MA performance in the desired frequency band via introducing magnetic loss and dielectric loss is developed for MWT-based treatment. The loading of the Ni nanoparticle in MNRC mediates the magnetic loss, introducing the MA in the medical frequency band. The heterointerface formed in the MNRC by nanoengineering induces significant interfacial polarization, increasing the dielectric loss and then enhancing the generated MA performance. Moreover, MNRC with the strong MA performance in the desired frequency range not only enhances the MW thermal effect of MWT but also facilitates the electron and energy transfer, generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) at tumor sites to mediate microwave dynamic therapy (MDT). The strategy of strengthening the MA performance of the sensitizer in the medical frequency band to improve MWT-MDT provides a direction for expanding the clinical application of MWT in tumor treatment.

Recent progress in functional metal-organic frameworks for bio-medical application

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have a high specific surface area, adjustable pores and can be used to obtain functional porous materials with diverse and well-ordered structures through coordination and self-assembly, which has intrigued wide interest in a broad range of disciplines. In the arena of biomedical engineering, the functionalized modification of MOFs has produced drug carriers with excellent dispersion and functionalities such as target delivery and response release, with promising applications in bio-detection, disease therapy, tissue healing, and other areas. This review summarizes the present state of research on the functionalization of MOFs by physical binding or chemical cross-linking of small molecules, polymers, biomacromolecules, and hydrogels and evaluates the role and approach of MOFs functionalization in boosting the reactivity of materials. On this basis, research on the application of functionalized MOFs composites in biomedical engineering fields such as drug delivery, tissue repair, disease treatment, bio-detection and imaging is surveyed, and the development trend and application prospects of functionalized MOFs as an important new class of biomedical materials in the biomedical field are anticipated, which may provide some inspiration and reference for further development of MOF for bio-medical applications.

H2S-Reactivating Antitumor Immune Response after Microwave Thermal Therapy for Long-Term Tumor Suppression

Microwave thermal therapy (MWTT) is one of the most potent ablative treatments known, with advantages like deep penetration, minimal invasion, repeatable operation, and low interference from bone and gas. However, microwave (MW) is not selective against tumors, and residual tumors after incomplete ablation will generate immunosuppression, ultimately making tumors prone to recurrence and metastasis. Herein, a nano-immunomodulator (Bi-MOF-l-Cys@PEG@HA, BMCPH) is proposed to reverse the immunosuppression and reactivate the antitumor immune effect through responsively releasing H2S in tumor cells for improving MWTT. Under MW irradiation, BMCPH will mediate MWTT to ablate tumors and release l-cysteine (l-Cys) to react with the highly expressed cystathionine β-synthase in tumor to generate H2S. The generated H2S can inhibit the accumulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and promote the expression of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Moreover, Bi-MOF can also scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), a major means of MDSCs-mediated immunosuppression, to further weaken the immunosuppressive effect. Simultaneously, the surface-covered HA will gather CTLs around the tumor to enhance the immune response. This nano gas immunomodulator provides an idea for the sensitive and tunable release of unstable gas molecules at tumor sites. The strategy of H2S gas to reverse immunosuppression and reactivate antitumor immune response introduces a direction to reduce the risk of tumor recurrence and metastasis after thermal ablation.