Multifunctional nano MOF drug delivery platform in combination therapy

Nano/Micro-Enabled Modification and Innovation of Conventional Adjuvants for Next-Generation Vaccines

The global spread of infectious diseases has raised public awareness of vaccines, highlighting their essential role in protecting public health. Among the components of modern vaccines, adjuvants have received increasing attention for boosting immune responses and enhancing efficacy. Recent advancements in adjuvant research, particularly nanodelivery systems, have paved the way for developing more effective and safer adjuvants. This review outlines the properties, progress, and mechanisms of FDA-approved conventional adjuvants, focusing on their contributions to and challenges in vaccine success. Despite these advancements, conventional adjuvants still face suboptimal immunomodulatory effects, potential side effects, and limitations in targeting specific immune pathways. Nanodelivery systems have emerged as a transformative approach in adjuvant design, offering unique advantages such as enhancing vaccine stability, enabling controlled antigen release, and inducing specific immune responses. By addressing these limitations, nanocarriers improve the safety and efficacy of conventional adjuvants and drive the development of next-generation adjuvants for complex diseases. This review also explores strategies for incorporating nanodelivery systems into adjuvant development, emphasizing its role in optimizing vaccine formulations. By summarizing current challenges and recent advances, this review aims to provide valuable insights guiding future efforts in designing innovative adjuvants that meet the evolving needs of global immunization programs.

Construction of CuS/HKUST-1@PDA drug carrier for enhanced chemo-photothermal synergistic therapy triggered by near-infrared light in tumor treatment

Chemo-photothermal synergistic therapy is an effective method for tumor treatment. Herein, the CuS/HKUST-1@PDA drug carrier was successfully prepared by a simple combination of in-situ partial vulcanization and in-situ polymerization technologies. The micro-structure, morphology, and functional groups of the prepared samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, and FTIR technologies. The drug loading experiment verified that the CuS/HKUST-1@PDA possesses an excellent doxorubicin (DOX) drug loading capacity, whose drug loading capacity is as high as 88.7 %. The drug release indicated that CuS/HKUST-1@PDA drug carrier inherited pH-responsive drug release behavior, which it can release DOX in acidic conditions resembling the tumor microenvironment, while effectively containing the drug within the PDA coating under neutral conditions. The CuS/HKUST-1@PDA drug carrier demonstrated outstanding biocompatibility, sustaining cell viability above 80 % across a concentration range of 1.5-15 μg/mL. Moreover, the drug carrier realized chemo-Photothermal synergistic therapy triggered by near-infrared light in tumor treatment, reducing tumor cell viability to 28 % during in vitro cellular experiments. The innovative design and effective tumor treatment ability of the CuS/HKUST-1@PDA drug carrier highlight its significant potential in anticancer therapy.

Sodium-lignosulfonate-conjugated metal-organic frameworks as dual-stimulus-responsive carriers for improved pesticide targeting

The use of intelligent pesticides that respond to environmental stimuli is a promising strategy for achieving sustainable pest control while mitigating pesticide-related environmental pollution. This study reports the design of a pH and laccase dual-stimulus-responsive pesticide-slow-release composite (IMI@UiO-66@SL). The composite utilises an imidacloprid (IMI)-encapsulated metal-organic framework (MOF; UiO-66) as a nano-carrier and sodium lignosulfonate (SL) as a capping agent. Results show that IMI@UiO-66@SL exhibits excellent IMI release properties in acidic and laccase-rich environments, which closely mimic the physiological and behavioural conditions of termites. Furthermore, compared to the original IMI formulation, IMI@UiO-66@SL exhibits enhanced and prolonged insecticidal activity. Briefly, this study reports a promising approach for the sustainable management of termite colonies.

Engineered Metal-Organic Frameworks for Targeted CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing

The development of precise and efficient delivery systems is pivotal for advancing CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technologies, particularly for therapeutic applications. Engineered metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a promising class of inorganic nonviral vectors, offering unique advantages such as tunable porosity, high cargo-loading capacity, and biocompatibility. This review explores the design and application of MOF-based nanoplatforms tailored for the targeted delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 components, aiming to enhance gene-editing precision and efficiency. By incorporating stimuli-responsive linkers and bioactive ligands, these MOFs enable controlled release of CRISPR/Cas9 payloads at the target site. Comparative discussions demonstrate superior performance of MOFs over conventional nonviral systems in terms of stability, transfection efficiency, and reduced off-target effects. Additionally, the intracellular trafficking mechanisms and the therapeutic potential of these platforms in preclinical models are discussed. These findings highlight the transformative potential of MOF-based delivery systems in overcoming the challenges associated with gene-editing technologies, such as immunogenicity and cytotoxicity, paving the way for their application in precision medicine. This review provides a blueprint for the integration of nanotechnology and genome editing, advancing the frontier of nonviral therapeutic delivery systems.

Recent advances in polydopamine-coated metal-organic frameworks for cancer therapy

The creation and development of classical multifunctional nanomaterials are crucial for the advancement of nanotherapeutic treatments for tumors. Currently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) modified with polydopamine (PDA) are at the forefront of nanomedicine research, particularly in tumor diagnostics and therapy, owing to their exceptional biocompatibility, expansive specific surface area, multifaceted functionalities, and superior photothermal properties, which led to significant advancements in anti-tumor research. Consequently, a range of anti-cancer strategies has been devised by leveraging the exceptional capabilities of MOFs, including intelligent drug delivery systems, photodynamic therapy, and photothermal therapy, which are particularly tailored for the tumor microenvironment. In order to gain deeper insight into the role of MOFs@PDA in cancer diagnosis and treatment, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive review of existing research outcomes and promptly analyze the challenges associated with their biological applications. This will provide valuable perspectives on the potential of MOFs@PDA in clinical settings.

Unleashing the Potential of Metal Ions in cGAS-STING Activation: Advancing Nanomaterial-Based Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a critical modality in cancer treatment with diverse activation pathways. In recent years, the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway has exhibited significant potential in tumor immunotherapy. This pathway exerts notable antitumor effects by activating innate and adaptive immunity and regulating the tumor immune microenvironment. Various metal ions have been identified as effective activators of the STING pathway and, through the design and synthesis of nanodelivery platforms, have been applied in immunotherapy as well as in combination therapies, such as chemotherapy, chemodynamic therapy, photodynamic therapy, and cancer vaccines. Metal nanomaterials showcase unique advantages in immunotherapy; however, there are still aspects that require optimization. This review systematically examines existing metal-based nanomaterials, elaborates on the mechanisms by which different metal ions activate the STING pathway, and discusses their application models in tumor combination therapies. We also provide a comparative analysis of the advantages of metal nanomaterials over other treatment methods. Our exploration highlights the broad application prospects of metal nanomaterials in cancer treatment, offering new insights and directions for the advancement of tumor immunotherapy.

High-Performance ZIF-7@PANI Electrochemical Sensor for Simultaneous Trace Cadmium and Lead Detection in Water Samples: A Box-Behnken Design Optimization Approach

This study presents the development of an innovative electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous detection of cadmium (Cd2+) and lead (Pb2+) ions in environmental samples. The sensor is developed based on a composite material of zeolite imidazolate framework ZIF-7 and polyaniline (PANI), referred to as ZIF-7@PANI, where ZIF-7 is rapidly synthesized at room temperature and polyaniline used to enhance the conductivity of the composite. Characterization via X-ray diffraction (DRX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed successful synthesis. The composite was applied to a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using drop-casting for heavy metal ion detection. Experimental parameters-including pH, incubation time, deposited quantity, and drying time-were optimized using the Box-Behnken design. Under optimal conditions, the ZIF-7@PANI/GCE sensor demonstrated a broad dynamic concentration range (0.002-1 µM for Pb2+ and 0.02-30 µM for Cd2+), with low detection limits (2.96 nM for Pb2+ and 10.6 nM for Cd2+). It also exhibited strong anti-interference properties and high recovery rates (85-110%), highlighting its potential for real practical applications.

Insights into HKUST-1 Metal-Organic Framework's Morphology and Physicochemical Properties Induced by Changing the Copper(II) Salt Precursors

The HKUST-1 metal-organic framework was synthesized using four different copper(II) salt precursors, namely copper nitrate, copper sulphate, copper acetate, and copper chloride, via the solvothermal method with no mixing. Syntheses were conducted without using the N,N-dimethylformamide to allow for a greener synthesis of MOFs. The selected physicochemical properties of the obtained metal-organic frameworks were determined. The yield of the obtained products changed in the order acetate>nitrate>sulfate, while no product was obtained in the synthesis with copper(II) chloride. The obtained materials were characterized by means of XRD, nitrogen adsorption-desorption at -196 °C, FTIR, XPS, TGA, SEM, and DLS. The morphology of crystallites and their physicochemical properties were significantly affected when different copper(II) salt precursors were used. The comparison of the obtained results with already published works allows for the correlation of the synthesis parameters like synthesis temperature, time, mixing, and copper(II) salt precursor used on selected properties of the final product.

Fe-doped biodegradable dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles for starvation therapy and photothermal-enhanced cascade catalysis in tumor therapy

Combination therapies have attracted significant attention because they address the limitations of monotherapy while improving overall efficacy. In this study, we designed a novel nanoplatform, named GOx@Fe-DMSN@PDA (GFDP), by integrating Fe2+ into dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSN) and selecting glucose oxidase (GOx) as the model drug loaded into the DMSN pores. Additionally, we coated the surface of the DMSN with polydopamine (PDA) to confer pH/near infrared (NIR) light-responsive controlled-release behavior and photothermal therapy (PTT). The introduction of Fe2+ into the DMSN framework greatly improved biodegradability and enhanced the peroxidase (POD)-like activity of GFDP. In addition, GOx could consume glucose and generate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) within tumor cells to facilitate starvation therapy and enhance cascade catalysis. The PDA coating provided the DMSN with an intelligent response release ability, promoting efficient photothermal conversion and achieving the PTT effect. Cellular tests showed that under NIR light irradiation, GFDP exhibited a synergistic effect of PTT-enhanced starvation therapy and cascade catalysis, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2.89 μg/mL, which was significantly lower than that of GFDP without NIR light irradiation (18.29 μg/mL). The in vivo anti-tumor effect indicated that GFDP could effectively accumulate at the tumor site for thermal imaging and showed remarkable synergistic therapeutic effects. In summary, GFDP is a promising nanoplatform for multi-modal combination therapy that integrates starvation therapy, PTT, and cascade catalysis.

Encapsulating Azolates Within Cationic Metal-Organic Frameworks for High-Energy-Density Materials

Despite the synthesis of numerous cationic metal-organic frameworks (CMOFs), their counter anions have been primarily limited to inorganic Cl-, NO3 -, ClO4 -, BF4 -, and Cr2O7 2-, which have weak coordination abilities. In this study, a series of new CMOFs is synthesized using azolates with strong coordination abilities as counter anions, which are exclusively employed as ligands for coordinating with metals. Owing to the unique nitrogen-rich composition of azolates, the CMOFs demonstrate significant potential as high-energy-density materials. Notably, CMOF(CuTNPO) has an exceptionally high heat of detonation of 7375 kJ kg-1, surpassing even that of the state-of-art CL-20 (6536 kJ kg-1). To further validate the advantages of employing azolates as counter anions, analogues with azolates serving as ligands are also synthesized. The comparison study indicates that encapsulating azolates within the cationic frameworks confers both high energy and safety properties. X-ray data and quantum calculations indicate that their enhanced performance stems from stronger H─bonds and π-π interactions. This study introduces new roles for azolates in MOFs and expands possibilities for structural diversity and potential applications of framework materials.

Interfacial Engineering of Biocompatible Nanocapsules for Near-Infrared-Triggered Drug Release and Photothermal Therapy

Chemotherapy is an effective option for cancer treatment. However, its clinical application is often limited by the severe side effects of chemical drugs. To overcome these limitations, a novel drug-loaded phase-change nanocapsule system is developed. These nanocapsules are assembled via one-step electrostatic self-assembly through guided interfacial engineering. The phase change material core nanocapsules demonstrate great photothermal-controlled drug release performance and exhibit excellent tumor-targeting drug delivery performance both in vitro and in vivo via the binding of hyaluronic acid shell on the nanocapsule surface with corresponding receptors on the tumor cell membrane. The phototherapy function of the nanocapsules enhances immune activation within the tumor microenvironment, as demonstrated by flow cytometry and multiplex immunohistochemistry. The developed nanocapsules are biocompatible, versatile, and scalable and offer a promising smart delivery platform for controllable near-infrared triggered drug release and photothermal therapy.

Metal-organic frameworks in drug delivery: engineering versatile platforms for therapeutic applications

Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much attention as versatile materials for drug delivery and personalized medicine. MOFs are porous structures made up of metal ions coupled with organic ligands. This review highlights the synthesis techniques used to design MOFs with specific features such as surface area and pore size, and the drug encapsulation within MOFs not only improves their stability and solubility but also allows for controlled release kinetics, which improves therapeutic efficacy and minimizes adverse effects. Furthermore, it discusses the challenges and potential advantages of MOF-based drug delivery, such as MOF stability, biocompatibility, and scale-up production. With further advancements in MOF synthesis, functionalization techniques, and understanding of their interactions using biological systems, MOFs can have significant promise for expanding the area of personalized medicine and improving patient outcomes.

Effective strategies to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of RCC: The application of biocompatible materials

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is recognized as one of the three primary malignant tumors affecting the urinary system, posing a significant risk to human health and life. Despite advancements in understanding RCC, challenges persist in its diagnosis and treatment, particularly in early detection and diagnosis due to issues of low specificity and sensitivity. Consequently, there is an urgent need for the development of effective strategies to enhance diagnostic accuracy and treatment outcomes for RCC. In recent years, with the extensive research on materials for applications in the biomedical field, some materials have been identified as promising for clinical applications, e.g., in the diagnosis and treatment of many tumors, including RCC. Herein, we summarize the latest materials that are being studied and have been applied in the early diagnosis and treatment of RCC. While focusing on their adjuvant effects, we also discuss their technical principles and safety, thus highlighting the value and potential of their application. In addition, we also discuss the limitations of the application of these materials and possible future directions, providing new insights for improving RCC diagnosis and treatment.

Nanotechnology-empowered combination therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: principles, strategies, and challenges

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease with multifactorial etiology and intricate pathogenesis. In RA, repeated monotherapy is frequently associated with inadequate efficacy, drug resistance, and severe side effects. Therefore, a shift has occurred in clinical practice toward combination therapy. However, conventional combination therapy encounters several hindrances, including low selectivity to arthritic joints, short half-lives, and varying pharmacokinetics among coupled drugs. Emerging nanotechnology offers an incomparable opportunity for developing advanced combination therapy against RA. First, it allows for co-delivering multiple drugs with augmented physicochemical properties, targeted delivery capabilities, and controlled release profiles. Second, it enables therapeutic nanomaterials development, thereby expanding combination regimens to include multifunctional nanomedicines. Lastly, it facilitates the construction of all-in-one nanoplatforms assembled with multiple modalities, such as phototherapy, sonodynamic therapy, and imaging. Thus, nanotechnology offers a promising solution to the current bottleneck in both RA treatment and diagnosis. This review summarizes the rationale, advantages, and recent advances in nano-empowered combination therapy for RA. It also discusses safety considerations, drug-drug interactions, and the potential for clinical translation. Additionally, it provides design tips and an outlook on future developments in nano-empowered combination therapy. The objective of this review is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying combination therapy for RA and unlock the maximum potential of nanotechnology, thereby facilitating the smooth transition of research findings from the laboratory to clinical practice.

Polymersomes for Therapeutic Protein and Peptide Delivery: Towards Better Loading Properties

Therapeutics based on proteins and peptides have profoundly transformed the landscape of treatment for diseases, from diabetes mellitus to cancers, yet the short half-life and low bioavailability of therapeutic proteins and peptides hinder their wide applications. To break through this bottleneck, biomolecules-loaded polymersomes with strong adjustability and versatility have attracted more and more attentions recently. Loading proteins or peptides into polymersomes is the first but extremely important step towards developing high-quality formulation products. However, increasing protein and peptide loading content is quite challenging due to the inherent nature of self-assembled vesicle formation mechanism and physiochemical characteristics of biomacromolecules. This review highlights the potential of polymersomes as the next-generation therapeutic proteins and peptides carrier and emphatically introduces novel approaches and recent progress to achieve satisfactory encapsulation capability of polymersomes for proteins and peptides. On the one hand, with the help of intermolecular interactions, such as electrostatic, lipid-protein, and hydrophobic interactions, the drug loading could be significantly improved. On the other hand, loading improvement could be attained through innovation of preparation methods, ranging from modified traditional film hydration techniques to the novel phase-guided assembly method.

Biomedical application of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in cancer therapy: Stimuli-responsive and biomimetic nanocomposites in targeted delivery, phototherapy and diagnosis

The nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary field that has become a hot topic in cancer therapy. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous materials and hybrid composites consisted of organic linkers and metal cations. Despite the wide application of MOFs in other fields, the potential of MOFs for purpose of cancer therapy has been revealed by the recent studies. High surface area and porosity, significant drug loading and encapsulation efficiency are among the benefits of using MOFs in drug delivery. MOFs can deliver genes/drugs with selective targeting of tumor cells that can be achieved through functionalization with ligands. The photosensitizers and photo-responsive nanostructures including carbon dots and gold nanoparticles can be loaded in/on MOFs to cause phototherapy-mediated tumor ablation. The immunogenic cell death induction and increased infiltration of cytotoxic CD8+ and CD4+ T cells can be accelerated by MOF platforms in providing immunotherapy of tumor cells. The stimuli-responsive MOF platforms responsive to pH, redox, enzyme and ion can accelerate release of therapeutics in tumor site. Moreover, MOF nanocomposites can be modified ligands and green polymers to improve their selectivity and biocompatibility for cancer therapy. The application of MOFs for the detection of cancer-related biomarkers can participate in the early diagnosis of patients.

Role of Functionalized Peptides in Nanomedicine for Effective Cancer Therapy

Peptide-functionalized nanomedicine, which addresses the challenges of specificity and efficacy in drug delivery, is emerging as a pivotal approach for cancer therapy. Globally, cancer remains a leading cause of mortality, and conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy, often lack precision and cause adverse effects. The integration of peptides into nanomedicine offers a promising solution for enhancing the targeting and delivery of therapeutic agents. This review focuses on the three primary applications of peptides: cancer cell-targeting ligands, building blocks for self-assembling nanostructures, and elements of stimuli-responsive systems. Nanoparticles modified with peptides improved targeting of cancer cells, minimized damage to healthy tissues, and optimized drug delivery. The versatility of self-assembled peptide structures makes them an innovative vehicle for drug delivery by leveraging their biocompatibility and diverse nanoarchitectures. In particular, the mechanism of cell death induced by self-assembled structures offers a novel approach to cancer therapy. In addition, peptides in stimuli-responsive systems enable precise drug release in response to specific conditions in the tumor microenvironment. The use of peptides in nanomedicine not only augments the efficacy and safety of cancer treatments but also suggests new research directions. In this review, we introduce systems and functionalization methods using peptides or peptide-modified nanoparticles to overcome challenges in the treatment of specific cancers, including breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, skin cancer, glioma, osteosarcoma, and cervical cancer.