Light-Driven Nanomaterials for Precision Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Light-driven nanomaterials have emerged as versatile platforms for precision medicine. Their noninvasive nature, high spatiotemporal precision, and remote controllability enable unprecedented control over biological processes. These materials transduce external light stimuli into physicochemical changes through mechanisms such as light-driven isomerization, light-driven cleavage, and light-driven heat or molecular generation. This review summarizes recent advances in light-driven nanomaterials from the perspectives of three fundamental response mechanisms and discusses how these mechanisms have been exploited to achieve precise control of drug release, disease diagnosis, enzyme activity, and cell fate. Finally, current challenges and future opportunities toward deeper tissue applications and clinical translation are discussed.