Carrier-free self-assembled nanomedicines from natural small molecules: advances and perspectives for disease treatment

Weiyu Gu, Dong Liu, Meiying Liu, Yanping Liao, Shaorong Huang, Weimin Wan and Xiaoyong Zhang

RSC Adv., 2026, 16, 16767
DOI: 10.1039/D6RA00161K

Biocompatible glycolipid derived from bhilawanol as an antibiofilm agent and a promising platform for drug delivery

Tohira Banoo, Abhijit Ghosh, Priyasha Mishra, Sanhita Roy and Subbiah Nagarajan

RSC Med. Chem., 2025, 16, 1715
DOI: 10.1039/D4MD00828F

Bioactive herbal supramolecular hydrogels with a hierarchical nanofibrillar structure via metal ion mediated co-assembly

Xinke Yu, Sili Liu, Zhili Wan and Xiaoquan Yang

Nanoscale, 2025, 17, 19169
DOI: 10.1039/D5NR02063H

Self-assembled nanodrug delivery systems for anti-cancer drugs from traditional Chinese medicine

Qiao Li, Yuan Lianghao, Gao Shijie, Wang Zhiyi, Tang Yuanting, Chen Cong, Zhao Chun-Qin and Fu Xianjun

Biomater. Sci., 2024, 12, 1662
DOI: 10.1039/D3BM01451G

Easy access to a self-assembled glycolipid derived from bhilawanol: a promising anti-cancer drug

Tohira Banoo, Kajal Sandhu, S. Chockalingam and Subbiah Nagarajan

Chem. Commun., 2025, 61, 6783
DOI: 10.1039/D5CC01621E

Recent Advances of Natural Pentacyclic Triterpenoids as Bioactive Delivery System for Synergetic Biological Applications

Wendi Teng, Zixiao Zhou, Jinxuan Cao and Qing Guo

Foods, 2024, 13, 2226
DOI: 10.3390/foods13142226

Berberine-inspired ionizable lipid for self-structure stabilization and brain targeting delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics

Xufei Bian, Qian Guo, Lee-Fong Yau, Ling Yang, Xiaoyou Wang, Shikang Zhao, Shiqiong Wu, Xurong Qin, Zhi-Hong Jiang and Chong Li

Nat Commun, 2025, 16
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57488-0

Promising Effects of Rhanterium epapposum L. and Its Main Compounds Alone and Combined with Pyrimethamine Against Toxoplasma gondii Infection

Areej Jameel Alghabban, Haifa A. Alqhatani and Abdullah D. Alanazi

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2025, 25, 679
DOI: 10.1177/15303667251371872

Prospective and challenges of locally applied repurposed pharmaceuticals for periodontal tissue regeneration

Mohammad El-Nablaway, Fatema Rashed, Ehab S. Taher, Ahmed Abdeen, Noha Taymour, Magdalen M. Soliman, Hany K. Shalaby, Liana Fericean, Bănățean-Dunea Ioan, Mohamed El-Sherbiny, Elturabi Ebrahim, Afaf Abdelkader, Mohamed Abdo, Cucui-Cozma Alexandru and Gamal A. Atia

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., 2024, 12
DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1400472

Challenges and opportunities for improving the druggability of natural product: Why need drug delivery system?

Peng Tang, Tianze Shen, Hairong Wang, Ruihan Zhang, Xingjie Zhang, Xiaoli Li and Weilie Xiao

Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 2023, 164, 114955
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114955

Co-assembly strategies of natural plant compounds for improving their bioavailability

Yu-Hang Miao, Xin Wang, Xiao-Min Zhao, Yan-Wei Hu, Xin Liu and Da-Wei Deng

Food & Medicine Homology, 2025, 2, 9420022
DOI: 10.26599/FMH.2025.9420022

Natural supramolecular photosensitizer with in situ switchable photothermal/photodynamic effects as an imaging platform for precise and controlled cancer synergistic therapy

Shiyao Fu, Jianjun Cheng, Hua Zhang, Haitian Zhao, Jiacheng Wang, Jing Wang and Xin Yang

Acta Materia Medica, 2025, 4
DOI: 10.15212/AMM-2024-0081

Unveiling the frontiers of self-assembled chinese herbal medicines nanodrugs in cancer therapy: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis and insights into emerging vesicle-based strategies

Yimao Wu, Jintao Liang, Yalun Liang, Gokhan Zengin, Huijie Miao and Meng-Yao Li

Nano TransMed, 2026, 5, 100115
DOI: 10.1016/j.ntm.2026.100115

Recent advances in supramolecular self-assembly of plant-derived active small molecules for active food packaging

Jishuai Sun, Bimal Chitrakar, Xuejiao Zhang, Kemin Mao, Chunhua Wu and Yaxin Sang

Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2026, 173, 105753
DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2026.105753

L-aspartic acid mediated transmembrane transport of irinotecan for hydrophobic anticancer drug delivery

Ziqian Zhao, Yingyan Ren and Siyun Zhang

Mater. Res. Express, 2026, 13, 035402
DOI: 10.1088/2053-1591/ae3ceb

Arteannuin B targets HSP90 to regulate the AKT/NRF2 axis and induce ferroptosis in cervical cancer cells, exerting antitumor effects

Xin Sun, Dan Peng, Naiyu Zhang, Xiaofei Feng, Liqiu Yu, Haiyan Lin, Yuejun Mu, Yangyang Xu and Sixue Bi

ABBS, 2026
DOI: 10.3724/abbs.2026056

Advance Progress in Assembly Mechanisms of Carrier-Free Nanodrugs for Cancer Treatment

Xiaoyu Zhang, Shuyang Hu, Lifei Huang, Xiyue Chen, Xin Wang, Ya-nan Fu, Hui Sun, Guofeng Li and Xing Wang

Molecules, 2023, 28, 7065
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28207065

Promising effects of 1,8 Cineole to control Giardia lamblia infection: Targeting the inflammation, oxidative stress, and infectivity

Leila Masoori, Amal Khudair Khalaf, Fatemeh Ezzatkhah, Rafael Balaña-Fouce and Hossein Mahmoudvand

Acta Tropica, 2024, 255, 107201
DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107201

Review for Micro‐Nano Processing Technology of Microstructures and Metadevices

Shuaikang He, Ying Tian, Haomiao Zhou, Mingmin Zhu, Chenxia Li, Bo Fang, Zhi Hong and Xufeng Jing

Adv Funct Materials, 2025, 35
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202420369

Photoswitchable AIE‐Active Supramolecular Self‐Assemblies for Biosensing and Bioimaging

Fengfan Zhu, Xiao‐Fang Hou, Juping Wang, Lei Bi, Jiancheng Zhou and Xu‐Man Chen

Asian J Org Chem, 2024, 13
DOI: 10.1002/ajoc.202400385

Rhanterium Epapposum Essential Oil and Its Primary Compounds Control Infection, Inflammation, and Serum Electrolyte Imbalance in Mice with Giardiasis

Zafer Saad Alshehri and Faez Falah Alshehri

Acta Parasit., 2025, 70
DOI: 10.1007/s11686-024-00974-0

Enhancing NK Cell Antitumor Activity With Natural Compounds: Research Advances and Molecular Mechanisms

Yu Wu, Mingxiao Yin, Wenjiao Xia, Baokai Dou, Xiaoyu Liu and Ru Sun

Phytotherapy Research, 2025, 39, 1905
DOI: 10.1002/ptr.8456

Antileishmanial and synergic effects of Rhanterium epapposum essential oil and its main compounds alone and combined with glucantime against Leishmania major infection

Abdullah D. Alanazi and Areej Jameel Alghabban

International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, 2024, 26, 100571
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2024.100571

Anti-inflammatory role of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles: a review of toxicity, green synthesis, and immunomodulatory mechanisms

Rimsha Ashraf, Shaukat Ali, Muhammad Summer, Saima Riaz, Amina Iqbal, Ramzana Bibi and Haiqa Shabbir

Inflammopharmacol, 2026
DOI: 10.1007/s10787-026-02246-x

Carrier-free antitumor nanomedicines based on plant-derived compounds: From conceptual innovation to therapeutic potential

Qing Han, Jie Wang, Lin Long, Ning Wang and Jun Xiao

Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 2026, 259, 115364
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2025.115364

Curcumin nanoparticles functionalized with chondroitin sulfate for ulcerative colitis treatment: Enhanced efficacy and mechanism exploration

Dan Zhang, Li-Hang Chen, Tao Chen, Di Wu, Yinan Du and Jiangning Hu

Food Research International, 2026, 227, 118222
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2025.118222

Advanced coacervation-driven nanoscale polymeric assemblies for biomedical applications

Lilei Shu, Yiyu Gong, Min Lin, Jing Sun and Xuesi Chen

Applied Physics Reviews, 2024, 11
DOI: 10.1063/5.0197742

Intelligent berberine-loaded erythrocytes attenuated inflammatory cytokine productions in macrophages

Zahra Sadat Aghili, Mauro Magnani, Mehdi Ghatrehsamani, Azar Nourian Dehkordi, Seyed Abbas Mirzaei and Mehdi Banitalebi Dehkordi

Sci Rep, 2024, 14
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60103-9

“One Rocket, Multiple Satellites”: Natural Small Molecule Nanocarriers With In‐Situ Nanosphere‐to‐Nanofiber Transition for Combined Chemo/PDT/Anti‐Angiogenic Antitumor Therapy

Zhili Wang, Shiyao Fu, Ying Han, Zhi Zhang, Jing Wang and Xin Yang

Adv Healthcare Materials, 2026, 15
DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202501960

Synergistic effect of self-assembled cinnamon essential oil-proanthocyanidin colloidal dispersion on in vitro starch and fat digestion

Zhihao Duan, Mianhong Chen, Yunxia He, Fanke Zeng, Hao Tu, Wei Zhou, Jihua Li and Ruyi Li

Food Chemistry, 2025, 495, 146357
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146357

Biomimetic Ginsenoside Rb1 and Probucol Co-Assembled Nanoparticles for Targeted Atherosclerosis Therapy via Inhibition of Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Lipid Deposition

Jieying Zeng, Yuxin Zhang, Yan Gao, Mengjie Jia, Yajie Guo, Xinting Li, Yufan Wang, Chuanrong Zhao, Juhui Qiu, Sean McGinty, Wenjun Miao, Guixue Wang and Yi Wang

ACS Nano, 2025, 19, 22968
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c02492

Recent advances in self-targeting natural product-based nanomedicines

Haifan Liu, Xingyue Jin, Suyi Liu, Xinyue Liu, Xiao Pei, Kunhui Sun, Meifang Li, Ping Wang, Yanxu Chang, Tiejie Wang, Bing Wang and Xie-an Yu

J Nanobiotechnol, 2025, 23
DOI: 10.1186/s12951-025-03092-9

Self‐Assembled Synergistic Nanoparticles from Carrier‐Free Berberine and Ferulic Acid for Improved Antibacterial Activity

Xiaodan Zheng, Ruolong Ma, Ziyan Song, Limeng Zhang, Chuanda Ruan, Wenzhi Yang, Yi Zhang, Xiaohui Yan and Fei Tian

ChemistrySelect, 2025, 10
DOI: 10.1002/slct.202503533

Two-Component Hydrogels Built from Chinese Herbal Medicine-Derived Glycyrrhizic Acid and Puerarin: Assembly Mechanism, Self-Healing Properties, and Selective Antibacterial Activity

Yutian Ji, Yue Yuan, Fuming Peng, Shiyu Fu, Bin Liu, Zhiyue Dong, Quan Li, Shuangcheng Ma and Zhimin Ao

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2025, 17, 5223
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c17612

Natural Products from Herbal Medicine Self‐Assemble into Advanced Bioactive Materials

Xiaohang Guo, Weikang Luo, Lingyu Wu, Lianglin Zhang, Yuxuan Chen, Teng Li, Haigang Li, Wei Zhang, Yawei Liu, Jun Zheng and Yang Wang

Advanced Science, 2024, 11
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202403388

Preparation of Biomimetic Selenium–Baicalein Nanoparticles and Their Targeted Therapeutic Application in Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer

Huan Shi, Biaobiao Wang, Huilin Ma, Yunmei Li, Jiaqun Du, Bo Zhang, Yu Gao, Ying Liu and Chao Wu

Mol. Pharmaceutics, 2024, 21, 4476
DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.4c00390

Carrier-free drugs as smart nanomaterials for cancer theranostics

Namratha Parthasarathy, Jeongah Shin, Ramar Thangam, Parameswaran Chidambara Rajan, Babu Rithisa, Selvaraj Shyamsivappan, Mary Fabiola, Heemin Kang and Raju Vivek

Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2026, 554, 217601
DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2026.217601

Exploring the interaction of curcumin with β-cyclodextrin and its binding with DNA: A combined spectroscopic and molecular docking study

Waad A. Alghamdi, Seham S. Alterary, Abdullah Alarifi, Ramith Ramu, Mohd Shahnawaz Khan and Mohd Afzal

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2024, 282, 137238
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137238

Development trends and translational opportunities in self-assembled herbal bioactive materials research

Siyang Cao, Deren Lan, Yihao Wei, Hui Zeng and Hua Zhang

Discover Nano, 2026, 21
DOI: 10.1186/s11671-026-04584-9

Advances in natural product-based nanoparticles for the treatment of acute lung injury

Yunfeng Zheng, Yuting Zhao, Shuo Zhang, Min Wang, Xianwen Wang and Xu-Lin Chen

Materials Today Bio, 2025, 35, 102486
DOI: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.102486