{"title":"Dual delivery of metformin and doxorubicin <i>via</i> the gum acacia-gelatin nanohydrogel disrupts tunnelling nanotube-mediated breast cancer progression.","authors":"Soumya Ranjan Jena, Anwesha Pradhan, Ganeswar Dalei, Subhraseema Das, Luna Samanta","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00697c","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00697c","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) are nano-scale intracellular conduits facilitating the transfer of cellular content. Intercellular communication between cancer cells <i>via</i> TNTs promotes invasion and metastasis. Given the important role of TNTs and macrophages in cancer, the role of macrophage-induced TNTs in the co-delivery of metformin (MET) and the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) in mediating drug resistance is not fully understood. In this study, the inhibition of TNT-mediated breast cancer progression was mechanistically explored through DOX/MET co-delivery. For cargo delivery, the co-drugs were loaded onto gelatin and gum acacia. The DOX/MET co-loaded nanohydrogel induced the most substantial reduction in cell viability in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The combination of DOX-MET resulted in the robust activation of caspase-3, indicating the enhanced execution of apoptosis. Upon internalization and lysosomal release, MET activates AMPK signaling, which in turn suppresses the PI3K/AKT/mTOR axis and inhibits TNT formation, thereby blocking intercellular communication. Concurrently, DOX localizes to the nucleus, where it disrupts DNA replication and directly induces cytotoxicity. This combined approach not only targets proliferative capacity but also dismantles cellular networking mechanisms. Overall, the results of this study endorse that this combined therapeutic strategy might offer enhanced efficacy in limiting breast cancer progression and metastasis through the inhibition of TNTs.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5170-5185"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148756944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Meik Neufurth, Hadrian Nassabi, Sanja Perovic-Ottstadt, Rita Dobmeyer, Rafael Muñoz-Espí, Hiroshi Ushijima, Heinz C Schröder, Changxin Wu, Xiaohong Wang, Werner E G Müller
{"title":"Sodium polyphosphate, a new drug for treatment of atopic dermatitis: basic considerations and clinical case studies.","authors":"Meik Neufurth, Hadrian Nassabi, Sanja Perovic-Ottstadt, Rita Dobmeyer, Rafael Muñoz-Espí, Hiroshi Ushijima, Heinz C Schröder, Changxin Wu, Xiaohong Wang, Werner E G Müller","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00783j","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00783j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Atopic dermatitis is a serious, chronic inflammatory skin disease that can currently only be treated symptomatically. The rise in extracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> ions by mast cells and platelets, which acts as a death signal for neuronal cells, plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Both cell types produce the neurotransmitters histamine and serotonin and express the <i>N</i>-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor on their surface. Here, we show that the physiological inorganic polymer polyphosphate (Na-polyP; when administered as the sodium salt), which is stored and released by platelets, can suppress the adverse effects in atopic dermatitis due to its unique ability to bind Ca<sup>2+</sup> by coacervate formation. This eliminates the Ca<sup>2+</sup> burst occurring in neural tissue damage by exchanging Na<sup>+</sup> for Ca<sup>2+</sup> ions. It is shown that the energy-rich Na-polyP, with a physiological chain length of approximately 50 phosphate residues, enhances the serotonin-induced neurite outgrowth in neuronal PC12 cells, even in the absence of the neurotransmitter and additional Ca<sup>2+</sup> ions. In rat primary neuronal cells, Na-polyP completely prevented the histamine-caused apoptotic cell death. Based on the results of experiments with the indicator Fura 2-AM, which demonstrated an abolition of the histamine- and glutamate-induced rise in intracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> levels in neurons after addition of Na-polyP, we conclude that the neuroprotective effect of Na-polyP is due to the formation of polyP coacervate through Na<sup>+</sup>/Ca<sup>2+</sup> exchange. Furthermore, it was found that Na-polyP enhances collagen fibrillogenesis, which is impaired in atopic dermatitis, as demonstrated by immunostaining and RT-qPCR experiments using human endothelial cells (HUVEC). The role of disease-relevant metalloproteinases induced by polyP was demonstrated in experiments with the inhibitor quercetin, using CD80 as a marker for pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages. Finally, studies in patients showed that Na-polyP embedded in a hydrogel can alleviate and heal atopic dermatitis lesions, indicating the potential of Na-polyP as a clinically applicable drug for treating the disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5186-5206"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13479870/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148756957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaohong Li, Kang Yang, Zebin Yang, Muhammad Wajid Ullah, Zideng Dai, Liefeng Hu, Yonggang Lv
{"title":"Hydrogels as advanced therapeutic delivery systems for improved cancer immunotherapy: current progress, challenges, and future prospects.","authors":"Xiaohong Li, Kang Yang, Zebin Yang, Muhammad Wajid Ullah, Zideng Dai, Liefeng Hu, Yonggang Lv","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00631k","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00631k","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Immunotherapy has emerged as a new clinical paradigm for cancer management, leveraging immunomodulation to enhance systemic antitumor responses. Despite its significant potency and distinct advantages, challenges such as limited patient response rates and immune-related toxicities persist. Although nanomaterial-based delivery systems have been explored to improve local drug retention within tumor tissues, the efficacy of systemic nanomaterial strategies is constrained by low bioavailability and poor tumor penetration. As innovative localized delivery systems, injectable hydrogels hold significant promise in overcoming these challenges. Capitalizing on their inherent biocompatibility, tailorable physicochemical characteristics, and biomimetic interactions with the extracellular matrix, these hydrogel systems can be engineered to achieve precise therapeutic delivery with enhanced stability and bioavailability. Additionally, they enable the combination of immunotherapy with complementary treatment modalities, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, phototherapy, sonodynamic therapy, and oncolytic virotherapy. This review begins by outlining the key steps of the cancer-immunity cycle, along with existing immunotherapeutic approaches and their inherent limitations. Then, we outline the design principles of hydrogel-based therapeutic delivery systems for cancer immunotherapy. Additionally, it summarizes recent advances in developing functional hydrogels for the localized delivery of small molecules, macromolecules, and immune cells to elicit robust antitumor immune responses. Moreover, we explore the potential benefits of hydrogel-based combination immunotherapy in enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Finally, we discuss the critical challenges and future perspectives for the clinical translation of hydrogel-based cancer immunotherapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5093-5130"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148785493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Le Kang, Kaizhe Chen, Yixin Li, Wenjie Xu, Jianbo Yin, Wenhui Zhu, Yuling Li, Kai Cao
{"title":"One-step encoding of quasi-continuous compositional and structural gradients in melt electrowritten scaffolds for osteochondral regeneration.","authors":"Le Kang, Kaizhe Chen, Yixin Li, Wenjie Xu, Jianbo Yin, Wenhui Zhu, Yuling Li, Kai Cao","doi":"10.1039/d6bm01003b","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm01003b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Engineering osteochondral scaffolds with continuous gradients remains a central challenge in regenerative medicine. Here, we present a one-step melt electrowriting (MEW) strategy to encode quasi-continuous compositional and structural gradients in poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds. By sequentially loading nanohydroxyapatite (nHA)-laden PCL melts, a predefined mineral gradient is preserved during printing, yielding a continuous decrease in nHA content across the scaffold thickness. This gradient intrinsically drives a concomitant reduction in fiber diameter, thereby recapitulating the native transition from subchondral bone to cartilage. A porous TGF-β1-loaded hydrogel coating is further introduced to provide spatially relevant chondrogenic cues without compromising pore interconnectivity. The resulting scaffolds exhibit graded composition, structure, and mechanical properties, enabling coordinated osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells <i>in vitro</i> and promoting integrated osteochondral repair <i>in vivo</i>. This work establishes a generalizable MEW-based platform for single-step gradient encoding and offers a biomimetic design strategy for complex tissue interfaces.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5309-5320"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148823590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaobing Lin, Le Tang, Huijuan Zheng, Ke Wang, Yongkang Du, Yiping Lin, Yingting Zhao, Tinghua Lu, Guixin Liu, Jiadong Zhou, Bingjia Xu, Chunxiong Zheng, Wei-Chih Chen
{"title":"Regulating the membrane-fusion effect of liposomes <i>via</i> the protonation of tertiary amines.","authors":"Xiaobing Lin, Le Tang, Huijuan Zheng, Ke Wang, Yongkang Du, Yiping Lin, Yingting Zhao, Tinghua Lu, Guixin Liu, Jiadong Zhou, Bingjia Xu, Chunxiong Zheng, Wei-Chih Chen","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00829a","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00829a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Membrane fusion, a fundamental biological process enabling precise exchange of biomolecules within and between cells, has inspired the development of various fusogenic model systems for applications in drug delivery and beyond. However, conventional systems typically operate in an \"always-on\" state, lacking spatiotemporal control. Although cleavable polyethylene glycol coatings can confer temporal regulation through stimuli-responsive activation, such strategies are often unidirectional and synthetically challenging. Here, we report a simple yet reversible strategy to regulate liposomal membrane fusion <i>via</i> protonation of tertiary amines. By replacing the permanently positively charged lipid DOTAP with an ionizable analogue, DODAP, we constructed a pH-switchable fusogenic liposome (PsFul) that remains inactive at neutral pH but activates fusion upon protonation in acidic environments. This transition is fully reversible, allowing adaptive toggling between \"on\" and \"off\" states. We demonstrate that PsFul enables direct cytosolic delivery of anticancer drugs <i>via</i> membrane fusion, bypassing lysosomal entrapment and significantly enhancing cytotoxicity under acidic conditions. This work establishes a facile platform for achieving spatially and temporally controlled membrane fusion, offering promising potential for targeted therapeutic delivery.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5279-5292"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148811403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mariangela Rosa, Fin Hallam Stewart, Carlo Diaferia, Tomás S Plivelic, Mariano Stornaiuolo, Dave J Adams, Antonella Accardo
{"title":"Hydrogels and nanogels based on 2Nap-capped cationic tripeptides: influence of lysine position and siRNA delivery properties.","authors":"Mariangela Rosa, Fin Hallam Stewart, Carlo Diaferia, Tomás S Plivelic, Mariano Stornaiuolo, Dave J Adams, Antonella Accardo","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00791k","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00791k","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The delivery of therapeutic short interfering RNA (siRNA) is hindered by biological barriers such as rapid degradation and poor cellular uptake. This study investigates peptide-based nanogels (NGs) as potential delivery platforms using three N-capped tripeptides, 2NapKFF, 2NapFKF, and 2NapFFK, designed to load siRNA <i>via</i> electrostatic interactions. The NGs were formulated through a \"top-down approach\" from pH-triggered hydrogels (HGs) and stabilized by surfactants. Biophysical characterization revealed that while all tripeptides achieved ∼99% siRNA encapsulation, the position of the lysine residue significantly influenced the stability and mechanical properties of the network. The 2NapFKF system emerged as the most suitable candidate, maintaining a size (∼200 nm) compatible with parenteral administration. Biological assays on Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK293) cells confirmed biocompatibility and cytoplasmic internalization through endocytic pathways. Furthermore, the treated cells maintained normal mitotic activity, indicating no impairment of cell proliferation. These findings demonstrate that lysine-modified tripeptide NGs are safe and effective tools for gene-silencing applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5235-5245"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148785518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Siyu Zhang, Da-Yuan Wang, Xiaohan Tian, Qinghao Huo, Shuoshuo Song, Peishi Jiang, Jiafei Liu, Feihe Ma, Yi Sun, Linqi Shi
{"title":"Bacterial metabolism-activated turn-on fluorescent liposomal probe for diagnosing bacteria-associated tumors.","authors":"Siyu Zhang, Da-Yuan Wang, Xiaohan Tian, Qinghao Huo, Shuoshuo Song, Peishi Jiang, Jiafei Liu, Feihe Ma, Yi Sun, Linqi Shi","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00968a","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00968a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tumor-resident bacteria have emerged as key regulators of tumor progression, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance, yet their detection remains challenging because of their low abundance and predominantly intracellular localization. Here, we report a bacterial metabolism-activated fluorescent liposomal probe for the selective detection of intratumoral bacteria. The probe was constructed by covalently conjugating hydrophilic D-alanine, a bacterial metabolizable substrate, to a hydrophobic fluorophore, yielding an amphiphilic cationic metabolic-labeling molecule, 3-HFD. In aqueous media, 3-HFD self-assembled into fluorescence-quenched nanoaggregates through aggregation-caused quenching, thereby minimizing background fluorescence. These nanoaggregates were encapsulated into charge-reversible, membrane-fusogenic DCPA-H<sub>2</sub>O liposomes to promote tumor accumulation and intracellular delivery. In the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment, DCPA-H<sub>2</sub>O underwent protonation, enhancing cellular internalization and membrane fusion. Following intracellular release, the cationic probe bound with negatively charged bacteria and was metabolically incorporated into the bacterial cell wall during peptidoglycan biosynthesis, resulting in aggregate disassembly and fluorescence recovery. This metabolism-triggered fluorescence turn-on strategy enabled selective visualization of intratumoral bacteria while minimizing false-positive signals from unactivated probes. In both bacteria-associated tumor-bearing mouse models and clinical tumor specimens, the liposomal probe detected all bacteria-positive samples identified by the gold standard, demonstrating its potential for the diagnosis of bacteria-associated tumors.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5218-5234"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148785452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Towards therapeutic applications of nanobody-Fc constructs: comparative analysis of Fc receptor binding and macrophage activation.","authors":"Miglė Stančiauskaitė, Mantvydas Usvaltas, Kristina Mašalaitė, Asta Lučiūnaitė, Ieva Plikusiene","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00509h","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00509h","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nanobodies (Nbs) are new and promising tools for a variety of applications, including their use in medicine, although their functional activity and encounter with immune cells are still not well characterized. Our goal was to study the properties of Nbs coupled with the human IgG1 antibody Fc fragment (Nb-Fc), including their interaction with antigens, Fc receptors (FcRs), and professional phagocytes: macrophages. In our research, we employed a combination of two surface-sensitive methods: spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). It enabled the quantitative investigation of interaction kinetics between human FcγRI (CD64) and immune complexes (IC) formed by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein Wuhan variant (SCoV2-S) and specific Nb-Fc, as well as the optical and mechanical properties of the formed layers. Human THP-1 macrophage cell culture was used to analyze antigen and IC induced inflammatory response, antigen presentation-related processes, as well as chemokine CCL2/CCR2 and CCL5/CCR5 axes. Our investigated Nb-Fcs had a high affinity for SCoV2-S that was comparable to that of the natural human antibody CR3022. ICs formed by Nb-Fcs also interacted with FcRs in a similar way to CR3022. One of the investigated Nb-Fcs distinguished itself by its very high affinity and formed relatively the largest ICs. Interestingly, only ICs formed by the other Nb-Fcs influenced cellular response. We found increased cell surface expression of CD83. This molecule plays a regulatory role in antigen presentation and is involved in the resolution of inflammation following infection. In addition, we did not find any increase in other investigated markers in THP-1 macrophages, including the inflammatory response. Overall, our data demonstrate that Nb-Fcs can be applied in a similar manner to conventional human antibodies, considering their properties.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5246-5264"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148785503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Polycation chain length determines the <i>in vivo</i> mRNA delivery efficiency of block copolymer micelles.","authors":"Yuki Nakashima, Pengwen Chen, Guanghao Hu, Keita Masuda, Sosuke Takasugi, Horacio Cabral","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00820h","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00820h","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutics hold great promise by enabling <i>in situ</i> expression of therapeutic proteins. The success of these therapies <i>in vivo</i> critically depends on the design of safe and efficient delivery systems. Polymeric micelles formed by block catiomers can encapsulate mRNA, protect it from degradation, and facilitate intracellular delivery. Polycation chain length has been proposed as a design parameter of micelles, yet how it governs stabilizing interactions to define mRNA delivery performance remains unestablished. Here, we systematically investigate this relationship using a series of poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(glycidyl-phenylalanate) (PEG-PG(Phe)) block copolymers with varying PG(Phe) chain lengths. These polymers interact with mRNA <i>via</i> polyion complexation and π-π stacking. Our findings revealed that the block catiomers having PG(Phe) segments with 90 units formed micelles with superior stability and enhanced endosomal escape, while micelles with shorter segments were rapidly dissociated and micelles with longer blocks showed impaired PEG shielding. Moreover, the polymer with a PG(Phe) block of 90 units achieved 2-fold higher protein expression <i>in vivo</i> compared to shorter or longer chain variants. These findings reveal that tuning polycation chain length with core π-π interactions is key to unlocking highly efficient mRNA delivery.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5265-5278"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148807892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electrospun PEO/gelatin nanofibers for pDNA and mRNA delivery.","authors":"Berk Akgün, Cagri Ayranci, Hasan Uludağ","doi":"10.1039/d6bm00687f","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6bm00687f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Electrospun nanofiber mats are a versatile delivery system that can be applied locally at a target site, making them attractive for localized gene delivery. Although some studies reported electrospinning of nucleic acids, polyethylene oxide (PEO) was primarily used as a co-spinnable additive rather than as a standalone carrier in previous studies. In this study, PEO and gelatin nanofiber mats were prepared <i>via</i> blend and coaxial electrospinning to encapsulate pDNA and mRNA polyplexes prepared with a commercial transfection reagent. Notably, mRNA complexes were directly encapsulated within electrospun nanofibers through blend electrospinning, an approach not previously reported for mRNA delivery from fiber matrices. The results showed that PEO fiber mats exhibit higher encapsulation efficiency (∼60% for pDNA), transfection performance (∼75% of the free-complex level), and maintenance of polyplex integrity than gelatin, blend, and coaxial fibers for both types of nucleic acids. Stability studies over time have shown that encapsulation within electrospun fibers significantly increased the functional lifetimes of both polyplexes compared with non-electrospun (free) polyplexes. Free pDNA polyplexes lost ∼95% of their activity within 24 h, whereas PEO fiber-encapsulated pDNA retained most of its activity, losing only ∼35% over the same period. Cytotoxicity analysis showed that all fiber mats maintained cell viability above 70% at low-to-moderate electrospinning polymer amounts. It was thus shown that PEO electrospun nanofibers can serve as efficient standalone carriers for nucleic acid delivery, with polymer selection influencing encapsulation, transfection, and stability.</p>","PeriodicalId":65,"journal":{"name":"Biomaterials Science","volume":" ","pages":"5157-5169"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148756916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}