Gold nanorods modified by endogenous protein with light-irradiation enhance bone repair via multiple osteogenic signal pathways.

Fracture is one of the most common clinical diseases that reduce the quality of patients' lives significantly. In this study, we prepared gold nanorods modified by endogenous proteins which collected from the autologous blood of individual mice for enhanced photothermal therapy (PTT) to treat fracture. Due to the outermost layer being endogenous proteins, we find that GNRs neither activate the immune cells in vitro nor cause any rejection immune responses after entering the body as compared with PEG modification.

Nanovaccines with cell-derived components for cancer immunotherapy.

Cancer nanovaccines as one of immunotherapeutic approaches are able to attack tumors by stimulating tumor-specific immunological responses. However, there still exist multiple challenges to be tackled for cancer nanovaccines to evoke potent antitumor immunity. Particularly, the administration of exogenous materials may cause the off-target immunotherapy responses.

Physiologically triggered injectable red blood cell-based gel for tumor photoablation and enhanced cancer immunotherapy.

Hydrogels are widely used for drug delivery and tissue engineering. Here we developed a simple injectable red blood cells (RBCs)-based gel for cancer photo-immunotherapy. We find that subcutaneous injected homologous RBCs could form hydrogel-like composition in mice, due to the infiltrated platelets and thrombin under physiological environment.

Ultrasound-Mediated Remotely Controlled Nanovaccine Delivery for Tumor Vaccination and Individualized Cancer Immunotherapy.

Vaccines are one of utmost important weapons in modern medicine to fight a wide range of diseases. To achieve optimal vaccination effects, repeated injections of vaccines are often required, which would largely decrease patient comfort. Herein, an ultrasound-responsive self-healing hydrogel system loaded with nanovaccines is designed for remotely controlled tumor vaccine release and individualized cancer immunotherapy.

Thermo-Triggered In Situ Chitosan-Based Gelation System for Repeated and Enhanced Sonodynamic Therapy Post a Single Injection.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) by utilizing ultrasonic waves triggers the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with the help of sonosensitizers to destruct deep-seated tumors has attracted great attention. However, the efficacy of SDT may not be robust enough due to the insufficient oxygen supply within solid tumors. Additionally, repeated injections and treatments, which are often required to achieve the optimal therapeutic responses, may cause additional side effects and patient incompliance.

Near-Infrared Light-Responsive Nitric Oxide Delivery Platform for Enhanced Radioimmunotherapy.

Radiotherapy (RT) is a widely used way for cancer treatment. However, the efficiency of RT may come with various challenges such as low specificity, limitation by resistance, high dose and so on. Nitric oxide (NO) is known a very effective radiosensitizer of hypoxic tumor.

Ultrasound-Responsive Conversion of Microbubbles to Nanoparticles to Enable Background-Free in Vivo Photoacoustic Imaging.

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging based on the photon-to-ultrasound conversion allows the imaging of optical absorbers in deep tissues with high spatial resolution. However, the inherent optical absorbance of biomolecules (e.g.

Light-Triggered In Situ Gelation to Enable Robust Photodynamic-Immunotherapy by Repeated Stimulations.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has shown the potential of triggering systemic antitumor immune responses. However, while the oxygen-deficient hypoxic tumor microenvironment is a factor that limits the PDT efficacy, the immune responses after conventional PDT usually are not strong enough to eliminate metastatic tumors. Herein, a light-triggered in situ gelation system containing photosensitizer-modified catalase together with poly(ethylene glycol) double acrylate (PEGDA) as the polymeric matrix is designed.

Near-Infrared-Triggered in Situ Gelation System for Repeatedly Enhanced Photothermal Brachytherapy with a Single Dose.

Brachytherapy by the placing of therapeutic radioactive materials into or near tumors has been widely used in a clinical setting for cancer treatment. The efficacy of brachytherapy, however, may often be limited by the radiation resistance for tumor cells located in the hypoxic region of a solid tumor as well as the non-optimal distribution of radioactivity inside the tumor. Herein, a hybrid hydrogel system is developed by using I-labeled copper sulfide (CuS/I) nanoparticles as the photothermal- and radiotherapeutic agent, poly(ethylene glycol) double acrylates (PEGDA) as the polymeric matrix, and 2,2'-azobis[2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl) propane] dihydrochloride (AIPH) as the thermal initiator to realize light-induced in situ gelation in the tumor for the combined photothermal brachytherapy.