Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(Her2)-targeted pH-responsive MR/NIRF bimodal imaging-mediated nano-delivery system for the diagnosis and treatment of undifferentiated thyroid cancer

Undifferentiated thyroid cancer (ATC) is highly malignant and does not respond well to sorafenib (SRF) treatment owing to the lack of specificity of SRF targeting. Drug delivery nanosystems can improve the efficiencies of drug in treating various cancer types. However, many conventional drug delivery nanosystems lack targeting and exhibit unresponsive drug release. Therefore, we developed a pH-responsive nano-targeted drug delivery systems using human serum albumin (HSA) as a carrier to generate manganese dioxide (MnO2)@HSA nanoparticles (NPs), then encapsulated SRF and the fluorescent dye indocyanine green (ICG) and finally modifyed the targeting antibody pertuzumab in the outer layer of the nano complexes, resulting in SRF/ICG/MnO2@HSA-pertuzumab (HISMP) NPs. This system targets human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 on the cell membrane surface of thyroid cancer cells and is designed to accumulate at tumor sites. Then, pH-responsive release of divalent manganese ions, ICG, and SRF enables magnetic resonance/fluorescence (MR/NIRF) dual-modality imaging and precise drug delivery for diagnostic and therapeutic integration. Various characterization analyses including transmission electron microscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, and particle size analysis confirm that we successfully synthesized HISMP NPs with a diameter of 150.709 nm. The results of CCK8 cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays show that HISMP NPs exhibited high cytotoxicity and induce apoptosis in thyroid cancer cells. In vivo MR/NIRF imaging experiments confirmed that the HISMP NPs specifically aggregated at tumor sites and have good in vivo MR/NIRF imaging ability and effective anti-tumor activity. The nano-delivery system is expected to provide a theoretical foundation for the efficient ATC diagnosis and therapy.

Enhanced Delivery of Photothermal Gelatin Nanoparticle for Redox Balanced Nanocatalytic Tumor Chemotherapy

Nanocatalytic platforms are promising in cancer therapeutics via combining multiple treatments, which can be leveraged through the metabolic dysfunction in cancer progression. However, the lack of effective tumor delivery platforms hampers this approach. Here, a gelatin-based platform is designed that is preloaded with gold nanoparticles and photothermal polypyrrole (GNPs@AuNPs-PPy) with an acid-induced doping enhancement. Benefiting from the tumor associated overexpression of H2O2, peroxidase-like Au nanoparticles induce a burst of oxidative reactive oxygen species in the local tumor microenvironment (TME). Subsequent orchestration of redox surroundings recruits immune cells, showcasing an effective antineoplastic pathway. Under near infrared light (NIR) irradiation, nanohybrids exhibit dual pH/NIR enhanced drug release within the TME, while allowing for multimodal imaging-guided theranostics. Leveraging this modality, GNPs@AuNPs-PPy delivers quercetin (a natural antitumor mediator) in TME, boosting anti-tumor therapy. The gelatin-mediated nanomedicine provides an alternative platform for combinatorial dynamic antitumor treatment.

Multifunctional nanocomposites utilizing ruthenium (II) complex/manganese (IV) dioxide nanoparticle for synergistic reinforcing radioimmunotherapy

Radiotherapy (RT) stands as a frontline treatment modality in clinical breast oncology, yet challenges like ROS reduction, high toxicity, non-selectivity, and hypoxia hinder efficacy. Additionally, RT administered at different doses can induce varying degrees of radioimmunotherapy. High doses of radiation (>10 Gy) may result in immune suppression, while moderate doses (4-10 Gy), although capable of mitigating the immune suppression caused by high-dose radiation, are often insufficient in effectively killing tumor cells. Therefore, enhancing the generation of ROS and ameliorating the tumor hypoxic immune-suppressive microenvironment at moderate radiation doses could potentially drive radiation-induced immune responses, offering a fundamental solution to the limitations of RT. In this study, a novel multifunctional nanoplatform, RMLF, integrating a Ru (II) complex into folate-functionalized liposomes with BSA-MnO2 nanoparticles was proposed. Orthogonal experimental optimization enhances radiosensitization via increasing accumulation in cancer cells, elevating ROS, and contributing to a dual enhancement of the cGAS-STING-dependent type I IFN signaling pathway, aimed to overcome the insufficient DAMPs typically seen in the conventional RT at 4 Gy. Such a strategy effectively activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes for infiltration into tumor tissues and promoted the polarization of tumor-associated macrophages from the M2 to M1 phenotype, substantially bolstering immune memory responses. This pioneering approach represents the first use of a ruthenium complex in radioimmunotherapy, activating the cGAS-STING pathway to amplify immune responses, overcome RT resistance, and extend immunotherapeutic potential.

Nature-inspired protein mineralization strategies for nanoparticle construction: advancing effective cancer therapy

Recently, nanotechnology has shown great potential in the field of cancer therapy due to its ability to improve the stability and solubility and reduce side effects of drugs. The biomimetic mineralization strategy based on natural proteins and metal ions provides an innovative approach for the synthesis of nanoparticles. This strategy utilizes the unique properties of natural proteins and the mineralization ability of metal ions to combine nanoparticles through biomimetic mineralization processes, achieving the effective treatment of tumors. The precise control of the mineralization process between proteins and metal ions makes it possible to obtain nanoparticles with the ideal size, shape, and surface characteristics, thereby enhancing their stability and targeting ability in vivo. Herein, initially, we analyze the role of protein molecules in biomineralization and comprehensively review the functions, properties, and applications of various common proteins and metal particles. Subsequently, we systematically review and summarize the application directions of nanoparticles synthesized based on protein biomineralization in tumor treatment. Specifically, we discuss their use as efficient drug delivery carriers and role in mediating monotherapy and synergistic therapy using multiple modes. Also, we specifically review the application of nanomedicine constructed through biomimetic mineralization strategies using natural proteins and metal ions in improving the efficiency of tumor immunotherapy.

Inorganic nanocarriers for siRNA delivery for cancer treatments

RNA interference is one of the emerging methodologies utilized in the treatment of a wide variety of diseases including cancer. This method specifically uses therapeutic RNAs (TpRNAs) like small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to regulate/silence the cancer-linked genes, thereby minimizing the distinct activities of the cancer cells while aiding in their apoptosis. But, many complications arise during the transport/delivery of these TpRNAs that include poor systemic circulation, instability/degradation inside the body environment, no targeting capacity and also low cellular internalization. These difficulties can be overcome by using nanocarriers to deliver the TpRNAs inside the cancer cells. The following are the various categories of nanocarriers-viral vectors (e.g. lentivirus and adenovirus) and non-viral nanocarriers (self-assembling nanocarriers and inorganic nanocarriers). Viral vectors suffer from disadvantages like high immunogenicity compared to the non-viral nanocarriers. Among non-viral nanocarriers, inorganic nanocarriers gained significant attention as their inherent properties (like magnetic properties) can aid in the effective cellular delivery of the TpRNAs. Most of the prior reports have discussed about the delivery of TpRNAs through self-assembling nanocarriers; however very few have reviewed about their delivery using the inorganic nanoparticles. Therefore, in this review, we have mainly focussed on the delivery of TpRNAs-i.e. siRNA, especially programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), survivin, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), vascular endothelial growth factor and other siRNAs using the inorganic nanoparticles-mainly magnetic, metal and silica nanoparticles. Moreover, we have also discussed about the combined delivery of these TpRNAs along with chemotherapeutic drugs (mainly doxorubicin) andin vitroandin vivotherapeutic effectiveness.

BSA-templated synthesis of Ir/Gd bimetallic oxide nanotheranostics for MR/CT imaging-guided photothermal and photodynamic synergistic therapy

Precision medicine urges the development of theranostics which can efficiently integrate precise diagnosis and effective therapy. In this study, a facile synthesis of Ir/Gd bimetallic oxide nanotheranostics (termed BSA@Gd₂O₃/IrO₂ NPs) with good biocompatibility was demonstrated using a biomineralization method where bovine serum albumin (BSA) served as a versatile template. BSA@Gd₂O₃/IrO₂ NPs exhibited high longitudinal relaxivity (5.2 mM^-1 s^-1) and X-ray absorption capability (14.5 Hu mM^-1), illustrating them to be a good contrast agent for magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) dual-modal imaging. Moreover, BSA@Gd₂O₃/IrO₂ NPs can act as not only a photothermal conversion agent with ultrahigh efficiency (66.7%) as well as a good photosensitizer, but also an effective catalase to decompose endogenous H₂O₂ to produce O₂, thus relieving hypoxia and enhancing the phototherapeutic effect. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated the high effectiveness of BSA@Gd₂O₃/IrO₂ NPs in MR/CT dual-modal imaging and photothermal and photodynamic synergistic tumor treatments. This work sheds new light on the development of versatile nanotheranostic systems using mild and robust biomineralization methods.

Multistage O2-producing liposome for MRI-guided synergistic chemodynamic/chemotherapy to reverse cancer multidrug resistance

Reduced drug uptake and elevated drug efflux are two major mechanisms in cancer multidrug resistance (MDR). In the present study, a new multistage O₂-producing liposome with NAG/R8-dual-ligand and stimuli-responsive dePEGylation was developed to address the abovementioned issues simultaneously. The designed C-NAG-R8-PTXL/MnO₂-lip could also achieve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided synergistic chemodynamic/chemotherapy (CDT/CT). In vitro and in vivo studies showed that C-NAG-R8-PTXL/MnO₂-lip enhanced circulation time by PEG and targeted the tumor site. After tumor accumulation, endogenous l-cysteine was administered, and the PEG-attached disulfide bond was broken, resulting in the dissociation of PEG shells. The previously hidden positively charged R8 by different lengths of PEG chains was exposed and mediated efficient internalization. In addition, the oxygen (O₂) generated by C-NAG-R8-PTXL/MnO₂-lip relieved the hypoxic environment within the tumor, thus reducing the efflux of chemotherapeutic drug. O₂ was able to burst liposomes and triggered the release of PTXL. The toxic hydroxyl radical (·OH), which was produced by H₂O₂ and Mn²⁺, strengthened CDT/CT. C-NAG-R8-PTXL/MnO₂-lip was also used as MRI contrast agent, which blazed the trail to rationally design theranostic agents for tumor imaging.

Targeting hypoxia-inducible factors for breast cancer therapy: A narrative review

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), central regulators for cells to adapt to low cellular oxygen levels, are often overexpressed and activated in breast cancer. HIFs modulate the primary transcriptional response of downstream pathways and target genes in response to hypoxia, including glycolysis, angiogenesis and metastasis. They can promote the development of breast cancer and are associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer patients by regulating cancer processes closely related to tumor invasion, metastasis and drug resistance. Thus, specific targeting of HIFs may improve the efficiency of cancer therapy. In this review, we summarize the advances in HIF-related molecular mechanisms and clinical and preclinical studies of drugs targeting HIFs in breast cancer. Given the rapid progression in this field and nanotechnology, drug delivery systems (DDSs) for HIF targeting are increasingly being developed. Therefore, we highlight the HIF related DDS, including liposomes, polymers, metal-based or carbon-based nanoparticles.

Tumor microenvironment responsive nanocarriers for gene therapy

Stimuli responsive nanocarriers are important non-viral gene carriers for gene therapy. We discuss the stimulus conditions and then highlight various stimuli responsive nanocarriers in the tumor microenvironment for cancer gene therapy. We hope that this review will inspire readers to develop more effective stimuli responsive nanocarriers for delivering genes.

Hollow Mesoporous Manganese Oxides: Application in Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

The precision, minimal invasiveness, and integration of diagnosis and treatment are critical factors for tumor treatment at the present. Although nanomedicine has shown the potential in tumor precision treatment, nanocarriers with high efficiency, excellent targeting, controlled release, and good biocompatibility still need to be further explored. Hollow mesoporous manganese oxides nanomaterials (HM-MONs), as an efficient drug delivery carrier, have attracted substantial attention in applications of tumor diagnosis and therapy due to their unique properties, such as tumor microenvironment stimuli-responsiveness, prominent catalytic activity, excellent biodegradation, and outstanding magnetic resonance imaging ability. The HM-MONs can not only enhance the therapeutic efficiency but also realize multimodal diagnosis of tumors. Consequently, it is necessary to introduce applications based on HM-MONs in cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this review, the representative progress of HM-MONs in synthesis is discussed. Then, several promising applications in drug delivery, bio-imaging, and bio-detection are highlighted. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of the anticancer applications are summarized, which is expected to provide meaningful guidance on further research.

Engineering nanomedicines to inhibit hypoxia-inducible Factor-1 for cancer therapy

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), an essential promoter of tumor progression, has attracted increasing attention as a therapeutic target. In addition to hypoxic cellular conditions, HIF-1 activation can be triggered by cancer treatment, which causes drug tolerance and therapeutic failure. To date, a series of effective strategies have been explored to suppress HIF-1 function, including silencing the HIF-1α gene, inhibiting HIF-1α protein translation, degrading HIF-1α protein, and inhibiting HIF-1 transcription. Furthermore, nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have been widely developed to improve the stability and pharmacokinetics of HIF-1 inhibitors or achieve HIF-1-targeted combination therapies as a nanoplatform. In this review, we summarize the current literature on nanomedicines targeting HIF-1 to combat cancer and discuss their potential for future development.

Modulating hypoxia inducible factor-1 by nanomaterials for effective cancer therapy

Hypoxia, which is induced by abnormal tumor growth when it outstrips its oxygen supply, is a major character of cancer. The reaction of cells against hypoxia is mainly concentrated on the hypoxia-induced transcription factors (HIFs), especially HIF-1, which remain stabilized during hypoxia. Additionally, the oxygen-independent mechanism of regulating HIF-1 acts a vital part in different stages of tumor progression as well as chemo-/radio-/PDT resistance, resulting in poor curative effects and prognosis. In this review, we will outline the up-to-date information about how HIF-1 interferes with tumor metastasis and therapy resistance, followed by a detailed introduction of motivating techniques based on various nanomaterials to interfere with HIF signaling for effective cancer therapy. This article is categorized under: Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease.

Delivery of small interfering RNAs by nanovesicles for cancer therapy

Small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) are originally recognized as an intermediate of the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. They can inhibit or silence various cellular pathways by knocking down specific messenger RNA molecules. In cancer cells, siRNAs can suppress the expression of several multidrug-resistant genes, leading to the increased deposition of chemotherapeutic drugs at the tumor site. siRNA therapy can be used to selectively increase apoptosis of cancer cells or activate an immune response to the cancer. However, delivering siRNAs to the targeted location is the main limitation in achieving safe and effective delivery of siRNAs. This review highlights some representative examples of nonviral delivery systems, especially nanovesicles such as exosomes, liposomes, and niosomes. Nanovesicles can improve the delivery of siRNAs by increasing their intracellular delivery, and they have demonstrated excellent potential for cancer therapy. This review focuses on recent discoveries of siRNA targets for cancer therapy and the use of siRNAs to successfully silence these targets. In addition, this review summarizes the recent progress in designing nanovesicles (liposomes or niosomes) for siRNA delivery to cancer cells and the effects of a combination of anticancer drugs and siRNA therapy in cancer therapy.

Trace-Water-Induced Competitive Coordination Synthesis and Functionalization of Porphyrinic Metal-Organic Framework Nanoparticles for Treatment of Hypoxic Tumors

Controlling the size and morphology of metal-organic frameworks (MOF) has received increasing research interest but remains a great challenge. In this work, we demonstrate a trace-water-induced competitive coordination procedure to controllably synthesize porphyrinic MOFs including needle-shaped nanomaterials, hollow nanotubes, and nanocubes, using 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin as organic linkers and Zr⁴⁺ as inorganic building blocks. These three MOFs exhibited shape-dependent singlet oxygen (¹O₂) production under 655 nm laser irradiation. The designed nanocubes were functionalized by coating a MnO₂ shell, which can effectively generate ¹O₂ in the tumor microenvironment (TME) to improve photodynamic therapy (PDT). Moreover, they reacted with GSH, and the resulted Mn²⁺ions generated hydroxyl radicals (·OH) for chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Therefore, the designed MOFs@MnO₂ nanoparticles were responsive to the hypoxic TME to improve the efficiency of PDT and incorporate CDT for tumor ablation.

Nano-delivery systems focused on tumor microenvironment regulation and biomimetic strategies for treatment of breast cancer metastasis

Breast cancer metastasis and recurrence accounts for vast majority of breast cancer-induced mortality. Tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an important role at each step of metastasis, evasion of immunosurveillance, and therapeutic resistance. Consequently, TME-targeting alternatives to traditional therapies focused on breast cancer cells are gaining increasing attention. These new therapies involve the use of tumor cells, and key TME components or secreted bioactive molecules as therapeutic targets, alone or in combination. Recently, TME-related nanoparticles have been developed to deliver various agents, such as bioactive ingredients extracted from natural sources or chemotherapeutic agents, genes, proteins, small interfering RNAs, and vaccines; they have shown great therapeutic potential against breast cancer metastasis. Among various types of nanoparticles, biomimetic nanovesicles are a promising means of addressing the limitations of conventional nanocarriers. This review highlights various nanoparticles related to or mediated by TME according to the key TME components responsible for metastasis. Furthermore, TME-related biomimetic nanoparticles against breast cancer metastasis have garnered attention owing to their promising efficiency, especially in payload delivery and therapeutic action. Here, we summarize recent representative studies on nanoparticles related to cancer-associated fibroblasts, extracellular matrix, endothelial cells, angiogenesis, and immune cells, as well as advanced biomimetic nanoparticles. Future challenges and opportunities in the field are also discussed.

A multi-effective and long-acting immunotherapy through one single hydrogel based injection

A dual-effective (photothermal and immune) therapy employing gold nanorods (AuNRs) with a drug (two macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) inhibitors) sustained release hydrogel was designed in this paper. The subsequent cellular and animal studies demonstrated that the proposed therapy can not only inhibit the proliferation, migration, and recurrence of cancer cells, but also improve the immune function (increase the infiltration of CD8⁺ killer T cells in tumors) without the traditional multiple injections of expensive immune drugs.

Recent Advancements in Liposome-Targeting Strategies for the Treatment of Gliomas: A Systematic Review

Malignant tumors represent some of the most intractable diseases that endanger human health. A glioma is a tumor of the central nervous system that is characterized by severe invasiveness, blurred boundaries between the tumor and surrounding normal tissue, difficult surgical removal, and high recurrence. Moreover, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and multidrug resistance (MDR) are important factors that contribute to the lack of efficacy of chemotherapy in treating gliomas. A liposome is a biofilm-like drug delivery system with a unique phospholipid bilayer that exhibits high affinities with human tissues/organs (e.g., BBB). After more than five decades of development, classical and engineered liposomes consist of four distinct generations, each with different characteristics: (i) traditional liposomes, (ii) stealth liposomes, (iii) targeting liposomes, and (iv) biomimetic liposomes, which offer a promising approach to promote drugs across the BBB and to reverse MDR. Here, we review the history, preparatory methods, and physicochemical properties of liposomes. Furthermore, we discuss the mechanisms by which liposomes have assisted in the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas, including drug transport across the BBB, inhibition of efflux transporters, reversal of MDR, and induction of immune responses. Finally, we highlight ongoing and future clinical trials and applications toward further developing and testing the efficacies of liposomes in treating gliomas.

Aqueous Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers to Form Manganese Oxide-Based Polymeric Vesicles for Tumor Microenvironment-Activated Drug Delivery

HIGHLIGHTS

The formation of manganese oxide induces self-assembly of block copolymers to form polymeric vesicles. The polymeric vesicles possessed strong stability and high drug loading capacity. The drug-loaded polymeric vesicles have been demonstrated, especially in in vivo studies, to exhibit a higher efficacy of tumor suppression without known cardiotoxicity.

ABSTRACT

Molecular self-assembly is crucially fundamental to nature. However, the aqueous self-assembly of polymers is still a challenge. To achieve self-assembly of block copolymers [(polyacrylic acid–block–polyethylene glycol–block–polyacrylic acid (PAA₆₈–b–PEG₈₆–b–PAA₆₈)] in an aqueous phase, manganese oxide (MnO₂) is first generated to drive phase separation of the PAA block to form the PAA₆₈–b–PEG₈₆–b–PAA₆₈/MnO₂ polymeric assembly that exhibits a stable structure in a physiological medium. The polymeric assembly exhibits vesicular morphology with a diameter of approximately 30 nm and high doxorubicin (DOX) loading capacity of approximately 94%. The transformation from MnO₂ to Mn²⁺ caused by endogenous glutathione (GSH) facilitates the disassembly of PAA₆₈–b–PEG₈₆–b–PAA₆₈/MnO₂ to enable its drug delivery at the tumor sites. The toxicity of DOX-loaded PAA₆₈–b–PEG₈₆–b–PAA₆₈/MnO₂ to tumor cells has been verified in vitro and in vivo. Notably, drug-loaded polymeric vesicles have been demonstrated, especially in in vivo studies, to overcome the cardiotoxicity of DOX. We expect this work to encourage the potential application of polymer self-assembly. [Image: see text]

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

The online version of this article (10.1007/s40820-020-00447-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Manganese Oxide Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties, and Theranostic Applications

Despite the comprehensive applications in bioimaging, biosensing, drug/gene delivery, and tumor therapy of manganese oxide nanomaterials (MONs including MnO₂ , MnO, Mn₂ O₃ , Mn₃ O₄ , and MnO_x ) and their derivatives, a review article focusing on MON-based nanoplatforms has not been reported yet. Herein, the representative progresses of MONs on synthesis, heterogene, properties, surface modification, toxicity, imaging, biodetection, and therapy are mainly introduced. First, five kinds of primary synthetic methods of MONs are presented, including thermal decomposition method, exfoliation strategy, permanganates reduction method, adsorption-oxidation method, and hydro/solvothermal. Second, the preparations of hollow MONs and MON-based composite materials are summarized specially. Then, the chemical properties, surface modification, and toxicity of MONs are discussed. Next, the diagnostic applications including imaging and sensing are outlined. Finally, some representative rational designs of MONs in photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, chemodynamic therapy, sonodynamic therapy, radiotherapy, magnetic hyperthermia, chemotherapy, gene therapy, starvation therapy, ferroptosis, immunotherapy, and various combination therapy are highlighted.

Albumin-stabilized manganese-based nanocomposites with sensitive tumor microenvironment responsivity and their application for efficient SiRNA delivery in brain tumors

Mn(iv)-Based nanoparticles (NPs) are effective in improving tumor oxygenation (hypoxia) and reducing endogenous hydrogen peroxide and acidity in the tumor region. However, the optimized reduction conditions of conventional Mn(iv)-based NPs are generally reported at pH ≤ 6.5, while the usual pH range of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is 6.5-7.0. The dissatisfactory imaging performance in the weakly acidic environment may limit their further application in tumor diagnosis. In this study, Mn(iii) was introduced in a nanoplatform, because it is reduced into Mn(ii) in weakly acidic environments. Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide-decorated bovine serum albumin (BSA) was employed as the stabilizer and scaffold to fabricate Mn(iii)- and Mn(iv)-integrated nanocomposites (RGD-BMnNPs) with suitable size, good stability, and excellent biocompatibility. The as-prepared NPs showed clear contrast enhancement at pH 6.5-6.9 in vitro as well as sensitive and rapid T₁-weighted imaging performance within the tumor region in a glioblastoma (U87MG) orthotopic model, owing to the intrinsic disproportionation reaction of Mn(iii) in the weakly acidic environment. In addition, these NPs could be used for efficient siRNA delivery. They showed superior advantages in this process, including increased tumour uptake, improved tumor accumulation and enhanced therapeutic effects with the modulation of the TME. These novel albumin-stabilized manganese-based NPs combined with efficient drug delivery capacity hold great potential to serve as intelligent theranostic agents for further clinical translation.

Protein-based nanoplatforms for tumor imaging and therapy

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death all over the world. The development of nanoplatform provides a promising strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. As the foundation of the nanoplatform, the composition of nanocarrier decides the basic properties. Protein exists in all kinds of life and participates in any life activities, having great potentials to serve as a nanocarrier because of its excellent biocompatibility, abundance of functional groups, and inherent biological activity. As a result, protein-based nanoplatforms have evoked extensive interests for tumor imaging and therapy. This review presents the latest progresses on the advancement of protein-based nanoplatforms, introducing the most common protein nanocarriers (such as human/bovine serum albumin, ferritin, human transferrin) thoroughly including their physiochemical properties and specific applications. Also, other kinds of protein are briefly involved. Finally, the prospects and challenges of the development of protein-based nanoplatforms are summarized. This article is categorized under: Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Protein and Virus-Based Structures Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease.