Themed collection Materials Developments in Cancer Therapeutics

Chinese herbal medicine-derived polysaccharides combat melanoma through dual roles: as multi-mechanism therapeutic agents and engineered drug delivery systems with enhanced efficacy.

While cancer immunotherapy has achieved groundbreaking clinical success, its efficacy is frequently compromised by insufficient T-cell activation, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), and off-target toxicity.

This review clarifies the PS classification based on TADF and discusses the enhancement of PDT using TADF by promoting triplet energy conversion, improving phototherapy penetration depth, and regulating triplet exciton dynamic equilibrium.

Comprehensive overview of lipid nanoparticles for targeted mRNA delivery, including AI-guided design, surface engineering, and SORT strategy, with a focused section on cancer therapy via mRNA vaccines, CAR-T, and immunomodulatory approaches.

Micro/nanomotors with diverse driving mechanisms stand out by actively penetrating tumor microenvironment barriers. They hold great promise by future optimization focusing on better overcoming these critical microenvironment barriers.

This review evaluates natural biomaterials for injectable hydrogels, summarizes antitumor application advances, and outlines strategic directions to accelerate clinical translation.

mRNA-based cancer vaccines have emerged as a transformative immunotherapy, with dendritic cells (DCs) serving as pivotal orchestrators of innate and adaptive antitumor immunity.

Schematic illustration of dual-ligand nanomedicines navigating the tumor microenvironment and selectively targeting tumor cells through enhanced binding affinity and cellular uptake.

In this work, a polydopamine-coated, camptothecin nanotube functionalized with a targeting anti-TAG-72 scFv exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity against TAG-72 positive, LS-174T colon cancer cells, compared with HT-29 cells negative for the antigen.

The effect of the flexible linker length in the dimeric prodrugs was explained by their aggregation structures and revealed through molecular dynamics simulation.

Structural tuning of thienoisoindigo copolymers enables aggregation-enhanced emission and record-high near-infrared brightness yielding scalable, biocompatible nanoparticle emitters optimized for in vivo imaging.

Breast cancer is a global health challenge necessitating more precise and effective treatment strategies.

Copper–manganese nanogel (CMNG) enables T₁ MRI-guided photothermal/chemodynamic therapy. It offers high r₁ relaxivity (11.18 mM⁻¹ s⁻¹) and photothermal efficiency (23.29%), synergistically generating •OH for tumor ablation.

A synergistic nanoplatform integrating cuproptosis induction with photodynamic therapy (PDT) was developed, providing a new strategy to overcome PDT resistance and to precisely regulate cuproptosis.

Two inorganic–organic γ-octamolybdate hybrid based POMos have been developed. In vitro anti-tumor potential of both the materials was evaluated against different mammalian cancer cell lines namely lung (A549), pancreatic (MiaPaca-2) cell.

A novel carrier-free nanofiber system self-assembles from icariside II and doxorubicin via hydrogen bonding, enabling controlled release, enhanced uptake, and superior anti-lung cancer efficacy compared to single-drug therapies.

Ultrasound-responsive IMDQ nano-prodrug (IMDQ-N₃ NPs) enables spatiotemporal activation, enhancing the selectivity and safety of IMDQ. Combined with US, IMDQ-N₃ NPs achieved 95.7% tumor suppression in mice.

Ru single atoms anchored on NiFe-LDH/MXene synergistically enhance photothermal and catalytic tumor therapy via ROS generation, Fenton-like reactions, and efficient NIR-triggered tumor ablation.

AldeCou-1 enables aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)-mediated PET turn-off fluorescence for live imaging of ALDH overexpressed cancer cells.

Nanocomposites (IGT@NPs) are developed for NIR light-mediated photothermal–chemodynamic combined therapy.

A quantitative MRI/NIR and bioluminescence framework confirms nanotheranostic targeting and efficacy. This validates the potent synergy of chemo-magnetic hyperthermia, resulting in superior tumor suppression.

Amphiphilic aza-BODIPY nanoparticles co-loaded with nitric oxide donors enable NIR-triggered synergistic photothermal gas therapy and enhanced photoacoustic imaging, achieving effective tumor inhibition with minimal systemic toxicity.

A MoS₂/PDDA layer-by-layer SERS biosensor enables simultaneous detection of ovarian cancer EVs and multiple membrane proteins, and facilitates diagnostic modeling via machine learning on serum samples.

A biomimetic lymph node-like poriferous microsphere (PM) was developed to establish a 3D culture platform optimized for both T cell and CAR-T cell proliferation.

A novel pH/ROS-responsive microgel gene delivery system (MS-TSNPs@miR-155) can repair intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) by targeting inflammation, inhibiting apoptosis, and promoting nucleus pulposus regeneration.

A biocompatible, physically crosslinked hydrogel composed of PF127, agarose, and PDA nanoparticles exhibits NIR-triggered gel–sol transitions and enhanced mechanical properties for controlled drug delivery and photo-chemotherapy.

Comparative study discusses saturation magnetization, cytotoxicity, hyperthermia of Fe₃O₄ mesocrystals and nanoparticles synthesized via hydrothermal route. Paclitaxel-loaded mesocrystals exhibits enhanced cytotoxicity against HCT-116 cancer cells.

Bis-allylic hydrogen atoms of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in biological membranes are major initiation sites of ferroptosis.

MCQ-1 is a dual-functional type I photosensitizer, capable of targeting both mitochondria and lysosomes in cancer cells, while also exhibiting selective antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA.

Dye-doped polystyrene microspheres significantly enhances the stability and brightness of difluoroboron curcuminoid derivatives, enabling sensitive and robust lateral flow immunoassay detection of serum amyloid A in human serum.

As cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) advances as a candidate for intratumoral immunotherapy, we have found that cleavage of a sequence from its small (S) coat protein does not impair the formulation potency and antitumor activity.

A MOF-based self-illuminating system, which can be a highly efficient photodynamic therapy nanoagent for tumor treatment without an external light source, is reported.

Nanocomposites co-delivering TRAIL plasmid and salinomycin potentiate TRAIL-induced apoptosis in carcinoma through coordinated modulation of the Wnt/β-catenin, STAT3, and c-Myc signaling axes coupled with ROS upregulation.

The designed ionophore, gramicidin-inspired protease-stabilized peptide-based proton transporter, exhibited strong anti-cancer efficacy against metastatic, radioresistant kidney cancer and potentiated immunotherapy.

Hypoxia/GSH-triggered fluorescence switching: the micelles disassemble under hypoxia to release DNS–DYE probes, which undergo GSH-mediated DNS cleavage to restore DYE fluorescence via ICT recovery, enabling tumor-specific “off-to-on” imaging.

A photothermal nanosystem with extended absorption, improved PCE (η = 57.2%) and remarkable photostability was constructed and applied for effective tumor ablation via photothermal therapy.

Development of colloidally stable, core-crosslinked nanogels exhibiting enhanced degradation and drug release in response to dual acidic pH and visible light, with a single extended conjugate aromatic imine bond.

A pH-responsive nanoplatform (Fe₃O₄/CaCO₃-CSL/ICG) enables tumor-targeted Ca²⁺ release, mitochondrial apoptosis, and synergistic photothermal, photodynamic, and chemotherapeutic effects.

A novel redox-responsive theranostic nanocomposite was developed to deliver a platinum prodrug to solid tumors.

PROTAC-based nanovehicles amplify anti-tumor effects with TMZ by degrading BRD4 and inhibiting DNA repair.

A novel preparation method for cell-derived functional fusogenic extracellular vesicles (FEVs) with high yield has been developed to facilitate cancer immunotherapy.

Development of green light responsive fluorescein-based photoremovabl protecting group and nanoparticle formulation for controlled release of bioactive molecules with real-time monitoring abilit.

Green-synthesized gold nanoparticles using PEO-PPO copolymers serve as stable, biocompatible nanoplatforms for doxycycline, enhancing melanoma radiosensitivity and supporting sustainable cancer therapy development.

A biomimetic nanovaccine based on dendrimer–drug conjugates coated with metal–phenolic networks is constructed for combination therapy, eliciting immune responses for maturation of dendritic cells and M1 polarization of tumor-associated macrophages.

A schematic illustration of ZnNP enhanced CDT for HGSOC. ZnNP promotes the tumor-specific generation of bioactive H₂O₂, which subsequently triggers ROS-dependent apoptotic cell death.

GEM-hydrogel was prepared for local treatment of postoperative breast cancer. Meanwhile, SBP was given to normalize the blood vessels for enhancing drug perfusion by promoting PDGFB expression, pericytes recruiting and alleviating hypoxia.

A Nd–Yb codoped luminescent nanothermometer is used for assessing thermal resistance discrepancies between lung cancer cells (A549) and normal lung cells (BEAS-2B). A549 with lower heat resistance could be selectively killed by optimal hyperthermia.