{"title":"Recent strategies for enhanced delivery of mRNA to the lungs.","authors":"Brittany J Heiser, Arian Veyssi, Debadyuti Ghosh","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2485669","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2485669","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>mRNA-based therapies have emerged as a transformative tool in modern medicine, gaining significant attention following their successful use in COVID-19 vaccines. Delivery to the lungs offers several compelling advantages for mRNA delivery. The lungs are one of the most vascularized organs in the body, which provides an extensive surface area that can facilitate efficient drug transport. Local delivery to the lungs bypasses gastrointestinal degradation, potentially enhancing therapeutic efficacy. In addition, the extensive capillary network of the lungs provides an ideal target for systemic delivery. However, developing effective mRNA therapies for the lungs presents significant challenges. The complex anatomy of the lungs and the body's immune response to foreign particles create barriers to delivery. This review discusses key approaches for overcoming these challenges and improving mRNA delivery to the lungs. It examines both local and systemic delivery strategies aimed at improving lung delivery while mitigating off-target effects. Although substantial progress has been made in lung-targeted mRNA therapies, challenges remain in optimizing cellular uptake and achieving therapeutic efficacy within pulmonary tissues. The continued refinement of delivery strategies that enhance lung-specific targeting while minimizing degradation is critical for the clinical success of mRNA-based pulmonary therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1043-1069"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12051540/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143797356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Annah J Wilson, Paul B Cressey, Navid Ghavami, Sadie Carter-Searjeant, Mark Green, Panagiotis Kosmas, Maya Thanou
{"title":"Nanomaterials as electromagnetic sensors for tumour detection.","authors":"Annah J Wilson, Paul B Cressey, Navid Ghavami, Sadie Carter-Searjeant, Mark Green, Panagiotis Kosmas, Maya Thanou","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2496130","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2496130","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Microwave (MW) imaging/sensing is a potential clinical diagnostic technique which exploits differences in the dielectric properties of tissues at MW frequencies. Notably, breast cancer detection has been identified as a key application for this modality; however, inherent contrast in tissue dielectric properties may not always be sufficient to allow imaging/sensing. Nanoparticles could provide the necessary enhancement, due to their effect on the dielectric properties of the target tissue and their ability to accumulate in tumours. This study aims to prepare novel zinc ferrites ZnFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles and investigate their potential as contrast agents for MW imaging/sensing.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Zinc ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized by thermal decomopositon and phase transferred using a co-polymer to improve biocompatibility. Dielectric properties were evaluated using the co-axial probe technique, progressing to <i>ex vivo</i> and <i>in</i> <i>vivo</i> studies in a triple-negative breast cancer xenograft mouse model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Tumours regions injected subcutaneously with nanoparticles <i>in vivo</i> showed an increased dielectric constant of up to 49% compared with approximately 3% <i>ex vivo</i>. Significant increases in conductivity were also observed indicating potential application of the particles as MW hyperthermia sensitizers.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Crucially, this study presents the first <i>in</i> <i>vivo</i> evaluation of nanoparticles as contrast agents for MW imaging/sensing. Observed increases in the dielectric properties highlight their potential to improve tumour detection using MW technologies.</p>","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":"20 10","pages":"1139-1148"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12068346/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144055633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nanomaterial-based approaches to neurotoxin neutralization in neurodegenerative diseases.","authors":"Meng Cheng, Yan Dou","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2487409","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2487409","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are intricately linked to the accumulation of various neurotoxins, mainly including toxic proteins, inflammatory mediators, excess metal ions, and viral pathogens. Biological neutralization strategies that use agents to competitively bind harmful substances and thus inhibit their pathogenic activity hold promise for direct removal of neurotoxins but face many limitations and challenges in NDs. Nanomaterials provide a potential solution for neurotoxin neutralization in NDs due to their unique physicochemical and biological properties. This review summarizes recent advancements in nanomaterial-based approaches to neurotoxin neutralization in NDs, highlighting the diverse design principles and mechanisms of action. We also discuss the critical role of targeted delivery to optimize neutralization efficiency and the advantages of combining different neutralization mechanisms or introducing other therapeutic components to exert the synergistic effects. Furthermore, we reveal current limitations and future research directions aimed at paving the way for nanomedicine development based on neurotoxin neutralization for the treatment of NDs.</p>","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1015-1027"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12051574/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143782076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nanotherapeutics induced redox resetting of oxidative and nitrosative stress: targeting glutathione-depletion in cancer.","authors":"Kapil Dangi, Vijay Kumar, Disha Mittal, Pooja Yadav, Mansi Malik, Anita Kamra Verma","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2489918","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2489918","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer cells display a distinctive defense mechanism against any exogenous moieties that renders all treatments inefficient. Glutathione, a thiol tripeptide plays a paradoxical role in cancer as intracellular glutathione (GSH) are voracious scavengers of free radicals produced by chemotherapy, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Cancer cells show Warburg effect, wherein the intracellular GSH levels are exceptionally enhanced to overcome the oxidative stress created by ROS/RNS production or by the other free radicals generated as side products of intracellular redox reactions. Therefore, redox resetting is essential to maintain the redox homeostasis for cell survival and their proliferation and trigger escalation of GSH levels. Nanotherapeutics have facilitated the targeted delivery of GSH-depleting agents in combination with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and novel therapeutic interventions including chemodynamic therapy (CDT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), ferroptosis induction, sonodynamic therapy (SDT), and immunotherapy are being explored. This review aims to compile the strategic role of GSH in cancer cells, the importance of nanotherapeutics for GSH depletion in cancer to target numerous forms of programmed cell death (PCD), including apoptosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, and autophagy.</p>","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"955-965"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12051575/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143797344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Negar Pourzadi, Lorenzo Chiaverini, Magdalene Patricia Gieschen, Inga Ennen, Andreas Hütten, Jürgen Gailer
{"title":"Liquid chromatography-based metallomics and transmission electron microscopy reveal gold nanoparticle surface treatment with vicinal dithiols to abolish protein corona formation.","authors":"Negar Pourzadi, Lorenzo Chiaverini, Magdalene Patricia Gieschen, Inga Ennen, Andreas Hütten, Jürgen Gailer","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2495546","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2495546","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>While gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) should allow the delivery of surface immobilized drugs to intended target tissues via the bloodstream, their interactions with plasma proteins may induce their aggregation and thus impede an effective delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to target tissues. The deliberate surface treatment of AuNPs has the potential to overcome this inherent limitation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To probe interactions between surface treated AuNPs in blood plasma, we employed a size-exclusion chromatography (SEC)-based metallomics tool together with transmission electron microscopy (TEM).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After the addition of citrate capped AuNPs to plasma, its metallomics analysis revealed a >670 kDa Au species, which TEM analysis identified as AuNP-plasma protein aggregates. To ameliorate the formation of the latter, the surface of citrate capped AuNPs was modified with dithiothreitol (DTT), meso 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), or 2,3 dimercapto-1-propionesulfonic acid (DMPS) and the effect of this surface treatment was probed after the addition of these modified AuNPs to rabbit plasma. The results for DMSA/DMPS-treated AuNPs revealed that the tight binding of these dithiols more significantly reduced protein corona formation compared to DTT-AuNPs implying that the surface treatment of AuNPs with DMSA or DMPS is a feasible strategy to control protein corona formation and thus their aggregation in plasma.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The AuNP-based delivery of immobilized drugs using targeting sequences to cancer tissues can be enhanced by their surface treatment with DMSA or DMPS. Since dithiols left over after the AuNP surface treatment mobilized iron from plasma metalloproteins, excess dithiols must be removed before injecting patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":"20 10","pages":"1127-1138"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12068335/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144060066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tissue engineering with targeted delivery of nanotized S-nitrosyl mutant of NEMO ameliorates myocardial infarction.","authors":"Abhik Kar, Soumyadeep Gupta, Arkapravo Matilal, Sagartirtha Sarkar","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2491989","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2491989","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Myocardial infarction (MI) is characterized by an elevated nitrosative and hypoxic microenvironment due to reduced coronary blood flow. NEMO (IKKγ) regulates the formation of the IKK holo-complex to activate NFκB-p65 signaling. This study reports successful restoration of MI through cardiomyocyte-targeted nanotized S-nitrosyl mutant of NEMO under elevated nitrosative stress.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The MI model was generated in male Wistar rats. S-nitrosyl mutant of NEMO (R- NEMO) was selectively delivered to the cardiomyocytes via targeted chitosan nano-vehicle.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Nano-conjugated R- NEMO delivery to diseased cardiomyocytes resulted in downregulation of nitrosative stress and cellular apoptosis leading to regressed infarct area with improved cardiac pathophysiology. Mechanistically, NEMO-p300 binding in R- NEMO expressed cells destabilized p65-p300 complex leading to regressed nitrosative stress and cellular apoptosis. The NEMO mutant inhibits the PGC1α-p65 complex-mediated degradation of PGC1α, leading to upregulation of VEGF. A shift in the binding preference of p65 from PGC1α/p300 to HDAC1 results in the downregulation of the cell-cycle inhibitor and the induction of cell-cycle re-entry markers during MI.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Tissue-targeted R- NEMO nanoconjugates show potential to ameliorate MI insult by downregulating apoptosis and promoting the proliferative prowess of the resident cardiomyocytes with potential revascularization at infarct sites; thus, repairing the damaged myocardium.</p>","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":"20 10","pages":"1085-1099"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12068353/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144055073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bruna Barneda-Zahonero, Lidia Almenara-Fuentes, David Perna-Barrull, Marta Vives-Pi
{"title":"Toward a cure for type 1 diabetes: the innovative potential of Phosphatidylserine-rich liposomes.","authors":"Bruna Barneda-Zahonero, Lidia Almenara-Fuentes, David Perna-Barrull, Marta Vives-Pi","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2473872","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2473872","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"1077-1079"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12068347/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143525451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"MicroRNA-targeted nanoparticle delivery systems for cancer therapy: current status and future prospects.","authors":"Yang Lou, Yutian Wang, Juan Lu, Xi Chen","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2492542","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2492542","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recently, the regulatory effects of microRNAs (miRNAs) on gene expression have been exploited for applications in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, neurological diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. However, the susceptibility of miRNAs to degradation during somatic circulation and the challenges associated with their delivery to target tissues and cells have limited the clinical application of miRNAs. For application in tumor therapy, it is essential for miRNAs to specifically target cancer cells. Therefore, various novel miRNA delivery systems that protect miRNA against the activity of serum nuclease and deliver miRNA to target cells have been developed and optimized. This review introduces the passive and active targeting strategies of nanoparticles, summarizes the recent progress of miRNA nanocarriers with tumor-targeting ability, and discusses various nanoparticle delivery systems and their antitumor applications. Additionally, this review focuses on the translational challenges and potential strategies for advancing miRNA-based therapies into the clinic.</p>","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":"20 10","pages":"1181-1194"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12068351/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144025872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ge Song, Chenlu Zeng, Junru Li, Jiajia Liu, Juanxia Zhao, Bin Liu, Jialong Fan, Hailong Xie
{"title":"Exosome-based nanomedicines for digestive system tumors therapy.","authors":"Ge Song, Chenlu Zeng, Junru Li, Jiajia Liu, Juanxia Zhao, Bin Liu, Jialong Fan, Hailong Xie","doi":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2493037","DOIUrl":"10.1080/17435889.2025.2493037","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Digestive system tumors constitute a major subset of malignancies, consistently ranking among the leading causes of mortality globally. Despite limitations inherent in current therapeutic modalities, recent advancements in targeted therapy and drug delivery systems have led to significant improvements in the efficacy of pharmacotherapy for digestive system tumors. In this context, exosomes - naturally occurring nanoscale vesicles - have emerged as promising drug delivery candidates due to their intrinsic molecular transport capabilities, superior biocompatibility, and targeted recognition of tumor cells. The integration of exosomes into cancer therapeutics represents a novel and potentially transformative approach for treating digestive system tumors, which may drive further progress in this field. This review comprehensively examines the sources, loading mechanisms, and therapeutic efficacy of exosomes in the context of digestive system tumor treatment. Furthermore, it discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with exosomes, offering insights into their future role within the therapeutic armamentarium against digestive tumors.</p>","PeriodicalId":74240,"journal":{"name":"Nanomedicine (London, England)","volume":"20 10","pages":"1167-1180"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12068745/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144048224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}