{"title":"Nanomaterials reshape the pulmonary mechanical microenvironment: novel therapeutic strategies for respiratory diseases.","authors":"Li-Zhen Chen, Peng-Fei Zheng, Qi Cai, Run-Nan Chen","doi":"10.3389/fbioe.2025.1597387","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and lung cancer, exhibit elevated death rates and pathological intricacy, requiring advancements that surpass the constraints of traditional therapies. This study comprehensively outlines the novel applications of nanomaterials in respiratory medicine by accurately modulating the pulmonary mechanical microenvironment, encompassing alveolar surface tension, extracellular matrix rigidity, and the immune-fibroblast interaction network. The precise delivery, stimuli-responsive characteristics, and biomimetic design of nanomaterials markedly improve drug concentration at the lesion site and mitigate fibrosis, inflammation, and malignant tumor advancement by disrupting mechanical signaling pathways. The study clarifies their multifaceted benefits in treating COPD, IPF, and lung cancer, including decreased systemic toxicity and improved spatiotemporal control. Nonetheless, clinical translation continues to encounter obstacles, including impediments in large-scale production, inadequate compatibility with breathing devices, and disputes concerning long-term biosafety. In the future, the amalgamation of precision medicine, adaptive smart materials, and multi-omics artificial intelligence technologies will facilitate the development of individualized diagnostic and therapeutic systems, establishing a novel paradigm for the proactive management of respiratory disorders. This review offers essential theoretical foundations and technical approaches for the practical application of nanomaterials and the enhancement of therapeutic techniques in respiratory medicine.</p>","PeriodicalId":12444,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology","volume":"13 ","pages":"1597387"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12081457/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1597387","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and lung cancer, exhibit elevated death rates and pathological intricacy, requiring advancements that surpass the constraints of traditional therapies. This study comprehensively outlines the novel applications of nanomaterials in respiratory medicine by accurately modulating the pulmonary mechanical microenvironment, encompassing alveolar surface tension, extracellular matrix rigidity, and the immune-fibroblast interaction network. The precise delivery, stimuli-responsive characteristics, and biomimetic design of nanomaterials markedly improve drug concentration at the lesion site and mitigate fibrosis, inflammation, and malignant tumor advancement by disrupting mechanical signaling pathways. The study clarifies their multifaceted benefits in treating COPD, IPF, and lung cancer, including decreased systemic toxicity and improved spatiotemporal control. Nonetheless, clinical translation continues to encounter obstacles, including impediments in large-scale production, inadequate compatibility with breathing devices, and disputes concerning long-term biosafety. In the future, the amalgamation of precision medicine, adaptive smart materials, and multi-omics artificial intelligence technologies will facilitate the development of individualized diagnostic and therapeutic systems, establishing a novel paradigm for the proactive management of respiratory disorders. This review offers essential theoretical foundations and technical approaches for the practical application of nanomaterials and the enhancement of therapeutic techniques in respiratory medicine.
期刊介绍:
The translation of new discoveries in medicine to clinical routine has never been easy. During the second half of the last century, thanks to the progress in chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology, we have seen the development and the application of a large number of drugs and devices aimed at the treatment of symptoms, blocking unwanted pathways and, in the case of infectious diseases, fighting the micro-organisms responsible. However, we are facing, today, a dramatic change in the therapeutic approach to pathologies and diseases. Indeed, the challenge of the present and the next decade is to fully restore the physiological status of the diseased organism and to completely regenerate tissue and organs when they are so seriously affected that treatments cannot be limited to the repression of symptoms or to the repair of damage. This is being made possible thanks to the major developments made in basic cell and molecular biology, including stem cell science, growth factor delivery, gene isolation and transfection, the advances in bioengineering and nanotechnology, including development of new biomaterials, biofabrication technologies and use of bioreactors, and the big improvements in diagnostic tools and imaging of cells, tissues and organs.
In today`s world, an enhancement of communication between multidisciplinary experts, together with the promotion of joint projects and close collaborations among scientists, engineers, industry people, regulatory agencies and physicians are absolute requirements for the success of any attempt to develop and clinically apply a new biological therapy or an innovative device involving the collective use of biomaterials, cells and/or bioactive molecules. “Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology” aspires to be a forum for all people involved in the process by bridging the gap too often existing between a discovery in the basic sciences and its clinical application.