Two-Dimensional Theranostic Nanomaterials in Cancer Treatment: State of the Art and Perspectives

Nanostructured Biomaterials in 3D Tumor Tissue Engineering Scaffolds: Regenerative Medicine and Immunotherapies

The evaluation of nanostructured biomaterials and medicines is associated with 2D cultures that provide insight into biological mechanisms at the molecular level, while critical aspects of the tumor microenvironment (TME) are provided by the study of animal xenograft models. More realistic models that can histologically reproduce human tumors are provided by tissue engineering methods of co-culturing cells of varied phenotypes to provide 3D tumor spheroids that recapitulate the dynamic TME in 3D matrices. The novel approaches of creating 3D tumor models are combined with tumor tissue engineering (TTE) scaffolds including hydrogels, bioprinted materials, decellularized tissues, fibrous and nanostructured matrices. This review focuses on the use of nanostructured materials in cancer therapy and regeneration, and the development of realistic models for studying TME molecular and immune characteristics. Tissue regeneration is an important aspect of TTE scaffolds used for restoring the normal function of the tissues, while providing cancer treatment. Thus, this article reports recent advancements in the development of 3D TTE models for antitumor drug screening, studying tumor metastasis, and tissue regeneration. Also, this review identifies the significant opportunities of using 3D TTE scaffolds in the evaluation of the immunological mechanisms and processes involved in the application of immunotherapies.

The futuristic applications of transition metal dichalcogenides for cancer therapy

The second-most common cause of death resulting from genetic mutations in DNA sequences is cancer. The difficulty in the field of anticancer research is the application of the traditional methods, which also affects normal cells. Mutations, genetic replication alterations, and chromosomal abnormalities have a direct impact on the effectiveness of anticancer drugs at different stages. Presently, therapeutic techniques utilize nanotechnology, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), and robotics. TMDCs are being increasingly employed in tumor therapy and biosensing applications due to their biocompatibility, adjustable bandgap, versatile functionality, exceptional photoelectric properties, and wide range of applications. This study reports the advancement of nanoplatforms based on TMDCs that are specifically engineered for responsive and intelligent cancer therapy. This article offers a thorough examination of the current challenges, future possibilities for theranostic applications using TMDCs, and recent progress in employing TMDCs for cancer therapy. Currently, there is significant interest in two-dimensional (2D) TMDCs nanomaterials as ultrathin unique physicochemical properties. These materials have attracted attention in various fields, including biomedicine. Due to their inherent ability to absorb near-infrared light and their exceptionally large surface area, significant efforts are being made to prepare multifunctional nanoplatforms based on 2D TMDCs.

Development of nanozyme based sensors as diagnostic tools in clinic applications: a review

Since 1970, many artificial enzymes that imitate the activity and structure of natural enzymes have been discovered. Nanozymes are a group of nanomaterials with enzyme-mimetic properties capable of catalyzing natural enzyme processes. Nanozymes have attracted great interest in biomedicine due to their excellent stability, rapid reactivity, and affordable cost. The enzyme-mimetic activities of nanozymes may be modulated by numerous parameters, including the oxidative state of metal ions, pH, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) level, and glutathione (GSH) concentration, indicating the tremendous potential for biological applications. This article delivers a comprehensive overview of the advances in the knowledge of nanozymes and the creation of unique and multifunctional nanozymes, and their biological applications. In addition, a future perspective of employing the as-designed nanozymes in biomedical and diagnostic applications is provided, and we also discuss the barriers and constraints for their further therapeutic use.

Potential and Progress of 2D Materials in Photomedicine for Cancer Treatment

Over the last decades, photomedicine has made a significant impact and progress in treating superficial cancer. With tremendous efforts many of the technologies have entered clinical trials. Photothermal agents (PTAs) have been considered as emerging candidates for accelerating the outcome from photomedicine based cancer treatment. Besides various inorganic and organic candidates, 2D materials such as graphene, boron nitride, and molybdenum disulfide have shown significant potential for photothermal therapy (PTT). The properties such as high surface area to volume, biocompatibility, stability in physiological media, ease of synthesis and functionalization, and high photothermal conversion efficiency have made 2D nanomaterials wonderful candidates for PTT to treat cancer. The targeting or localized activation could be achieved when PTT is combined with chemotherapies, immunotherapies, or photodynamic therapy (PDT) to provide better outcomes with fewer side effects. Though significant development has been made in the field of phototherapeutic drugs, several challenges have restricted the use of PTT in clinical use and hence they have not yet been tested in large clinical trials. In this review, we attempted to discuss the progress, properties, applications, and challenges of 2D materials in the field of PTT and their application in photomedicine.

Graphene Oxide Nanosurface Reduces Apoptotic Death of HCT116 Colon Carcinoma Cells Induced by Zirconium Trisulfide Nanoribbons

Due to their chemical, mechanical, and optical properties, 2D ultrathin nanomaterials have significant potential in biomedicine. However, the cytotoxicity of such materials, including their mutual increase or decrease, is still not well understood. We studied the effects that graphene oxide (GO) nanolayers (with dimensions 0.1-3 μm and average individual flake thickness less than 1 nm) and ZrS₃ nanoribbons (length more than 10 μm, width 0.4-3 μm, and thickness 50-120 nm) have on the viability, cell cycle, and cell death of HCT116 colon carcinoma cells. We found that ZrS₃ exhibited strong cytotoxicity by causing apoptotic cell death, which was in contrast to GO. When adding GO to ZrS₃, ZrS₃ was significantly less toxic, which may be because GO inhibits the effects of cytotoxic hydrogen sulfide produced by ZrS₃. Thus, using zirconium trisulfide nanoribbons as an example, we have demonstrated the ability of graphene oxide to reduce the cytotoxicity of another nanomaterial, which may be of practical importance in biomedicine, including the development of biocompatible nanocoatings for scaffolds, theranostic nanostructures, and others.

State-of-the-art techniques for promoting tissue regeneration: Combination of three-dimensional bioprinting and carbon nanomaterials

181Biofabrication approaches, such as three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting of hydrogels, have recently garnered increasing attention, especially in the construction of 3D structures that mimic the complexity of tissues and organs with the capacity for cytocompatibility and post-printing cellular development. However, some printed gels show poor stability and maintain less shape fidelity if parameters such as polymer nature, viscosity, shear-thinning behavior, and crosslinking are affected. Therefore, researchers have incorporated various nanomaterials as bioactive fillers into polymeric hydrogels to address these limitations. Carbon-family nanomaterials (CFNs), hydroxyapatites, nanosilicates, and strontium carbonates have been incorporated into printed gels for application in various biomedical fields. In this review, following the compilation of research publications on CFNs-containing printable gels in various tissue engineering applications, we discuss the types of bioprinters, the prerequisites of bioink and biomaterial ink, as well as the progress and challenges of CFNs-containing printable gels in this field.

MXenes in Cancer Nanotheranostics

MXenes encompass attractive properties such as a large surface area, unique chemical structures, stability, elastic mechanical strength, excellent electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, and ease of surface functionalization/modifications, which make them one of the broadly explored two-dimensional materials in the world. MXene-based micro- and nanocomposites/systems with special optical, mechanical, electronic, and excellent targeting/selectivity features have been explored for cancer nanotheranostics. These materials exhibit great diagnostic and therapeutic potential and offer opportunities for cancer photoacoustic imaging along with photodynamic and photothermal therapy. They can be applied to targeted anticancer drug delivery while being deployed for the imaging/diagnosis of tumors/cancers and malignancies. MXene-based systems functionalized with suitable biocompatible or bioactive agents have suitable cellular uptake features with transferring potential from vascular endothelial cells and specific localization, high stability, and auto-fluorescence benefits at different emission-excitation wavelengths, permitting post-transport examination and tracking. The surface engineering of MXenes can improve their biocompatibility, targeting, bioavailability, and biodegradability along with their optical, mechanical, and electrochemical features to develop multifunctional systems with cancer theranostic applications. However, challenges still persist in terms of their environmentally benign fabrication, up-scalability, functionality improvement, optimization conditions, surface functionalization, biocompatibility, biodegradability, clinical translational studies, and pharmacokinetics. This manuscript delineates the recent advancements, opportunities, and important challenges pertaining to the cancer nanotheranostic potential of MXenes and their derivatives.

The influence of iodide on the solution-phase growth of Cu microplates: a multi-scale theoretical analysis from first principles

We use first-principles density functional theory (DFT) to quantify the role of iodide in the solution-phase growth of Cu microplates. Our calculations show that a Cu adatom binds more strongly to hcp hollow sites than fcc hollow sites on iodine-covered Cu(111) - the basal facet of two-dimensional (2D) Cu plates. This feature promotes the formation of stacking faults during seed and plate which, in turn, promotes 2D growth. We also found that iodine adsorption leads to strong Cu atom binding and prohibitively slow diffusion of Cu atoms on Cu(100) - a feature that promotes Cu atom accumulation on the {100} site facets of a growing 2D plate. Incorporating these insights into analog experiments, in which we initiated the growth of Cu plates from small seeds consisting of magnetic spheres, we confirmed that two or more stacking faults are required for lateral plate growth, consistent with prior studies. Moreover, plates can take on a variety of shapes during growth: from triangular and truncated triangular to round and hexagonal - consistent with experiment. Using absorbing Markov chain calculations, we assessed the propensity for 2D vs. 3D kinetic growth of the plates. At experimental temperatures, we predict plates can grow to achieve lateral dimensions in the 1-10 micron range, as observed in experiments.

Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDC)-Based Nanozymes for Biosensing and Therapeutic Applications

Nanozymes, a type of nanomaterial with enzyme-like properties, are a promising alternative to natural enzymes. In particular, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs, with the general formula MX2, where M represents a transition metal and X is a chalcogen element)-based nanozymes have demonstrated exceptional potential in the healthcare and diagnostic sectors. TMDCs have different enzymatic properties due to their unique nano-architecture, high surface area, and semiconducting properties with tunable band gaps. Furthermore, the compatibility of TMDCs with various chemical or physical modification strategies provide a simple and scalable way to engineer and control their enzymatic activity. Here, we discuss recent advances made with TMDC-based nanozymes for biosensing and therapeutic applications. We also discuss their synthesis strategies, various enzymatic properties, current challenges, and the outlook for future developments in this field.

Applications and Biological Activity of Nanoparticles of Manganese and Manganese Oxides in In Vitro and In Vivo Models

The expanding applications of nanotechnology seem to be a response to many technological, environmental, and medical challenges. The unique properties of nanoparticles allow for developing new technologies and therapies. Among many investigated compounds is manganese and its oxides, which in the form of nanoparticles, could be a promising alternative for gadolinium-based contrast agents used in diagnostic imaging. Manganese, which is essential for living organisms as an enzyme cofactor, under excessive exposure-for example, due to water contamination or as an occupational hazard for welders-can lead to neurological disorders, including manganism-a condition similar to Parkinson's disease. This review attempts to summarise the available literature data on the potential applications of manganese and manganese oxide nanoparticles and their biological activity. Some of the published studies, both in vitro and in vivo, show negative effects of exposure to manganese, mainly on the nervous system, whereas other data suggest that it is possible to develop functionalised nanoparticles with negligible toxicity and novel promising properties.

The biomedical significance of multifunctional nanobiomaterials: The key components for site-specific delivery of therapeutics

The emergence of nanotechnology has provided the possibilities to overcome the potential problems associated with the development of pharmaceuticals including the low solubility, non-specific cellular uptake or action, and rapid clearance. Regarding the biomaterials (BMs), huge efforts have been made for improving their multi-functionalities via incorporation of various nanomaterials (NMs). Nanocomposite hydrogels with suitable properties could exhibit a variety of beneficial effects in biomedicine particularly in the delivery of therapeutics or tissue engineering. NMs including the silica- or carbon-based ones are capable of integration into various BMs that might be due to their special compositions or properties such as the hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, magnetic or electrical characteristics, and responsiveness to various stimuli. This might provide multi-functional nanobiomaterials against a wide variety of disorders. Meanwhile, inappropriate distribution or penetration into the cells or tissues, bio-nano interface complexity, targeting ability loss, or any other unpredicted phenomena are the serious challenging issues. Computational simulations and models enable development of NMs with optimal characteristics and provide a deeper knowledge of NM interaction with biosystems. This review highlights the biomedical significance of the multifunctional NMs particularly those applied for the development of 2-D or 3-D BMs for a variety of applications including the site-specific delivery of therapeutics. The powerful impacts of the computational techniques on the design process of NMs, quantitation and prediction of protein corona formation, risk assessment, and individualized therapy for improved therapeutic outcomes have also been discussed.

Development of Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials Based Electrochemical Biosensors on Enhancing the Analysis of Food Toxicants

In recent times, food safety has become a topic of debate as the foodborne diseases triggered by chemical and biological contaminants affect human health and the food industry's profits. Though conventional analytical instrumentation-based food sensors are available, the consumers did not appreciate them because of the drawbacks of complexity, greater number of analysis steps, expensive enzymes, and lack of portability. Hence, designing easy-to-use tests for the rapid analysis of food contaminants has become essential in the food industry. Under this context, electrochemical biosensors have received attention among researchers as they bear the advantages of operational simplicity, portability, stability, easy miniaturization, and low cost. Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have a larger surface area to volume compared to other dimensional nanomaterials. Hence, researchers nowadays are inclined to develop 2D nanomaterials-based electrochemical biosensors to significantly improve the sensor's sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility while measuring the food toxicants. In the present review, we compile the contribution of 2D nanomaterials in electrochemical biosensors to test the food toxicants and discuss the future directions in the field. Further, we describe the types of food toxicity, methodologies quantifying food analytes, how the electrochemical food sensor works, and the general biomedical properties of 2D nanomaterials.