Conjugated Polymer Nanomaterials for Phototherapy of Cancer

Due to the excellent properties including high specificity,low side-effect and good biocompatibility,conjugated polymer nanomaterials have been served as efficient anticancer reagents in die past decades.According to the developed anticancer systems based on conjugated polymer nanomaterials,it could be summarized into three main cancer therapy strategies:photodynamic therapy(PDT),photothermal therapy(PTT)and combination therapy.In this mini review,we provide a brief introduction to three different cancer therapy modes,their mechanisms and potential biological applications.Furthermore,some perspectives on the further development of conjugated polymer nanomaterials are proposed in the territory of anticancer precision medicine.     

Emerging Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials for Cancer Therapy

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have drawn tremendous attention due to their unique physicochemical properties and promising applications in the fields of electronics, energy storage, and catalysis. Recently, the biomedicine community has gradually started to recognize the great potential of these nanostructured materials for biomedical applications – in particular those related to cancer therapy. In this review, we provide a brief overview of a few representative 2D nanomaterials, discuss their preparation strategies and physicochemical properties, and highlight their applications in cancer nanomedicine. We expect that this review will shed some light on the new opportunities associated with 2D nanomaterials for biomedical research.     

Exfoliation of 2D Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications

The fascinating properties of single-layer graphene isolated by mechanical exfoliation have inspired extensive research efforts toward two-dimensional (2D) materials. Layered compounds serve as precursors for atomically thin 2D materials (briefly, 2D nanomaterials) owing to their strong intraplane chemical bonding but weak interplane van der Waals interactions. There are newly emerging 2D materials beyond graphene, and it is becoming increasingly important to develop cost-effective, scalable methods for producing 2D nanomaterials with controlled microstructures and properties. The variety of developed synthetic techniques can be categorized into two classes: bottom-up and top-down approaches. Of top-down approaches, the exfoliation of bulk 2D materials into single or few layers is the most common. This review highlights chemical and physical exfoliation methods that allow for the production of 2D nanomaterials in large quantities. In addition, remarkable examples of utilizing exfoliated 2D nanomaterials in energy and environmental applications are introduced.     

二维材料“遇见”生物大分子:机遇与挑战

二维材料的超薄原子层结构使其具有独特的力学性能、导热导电性以及巨大的比表面积,在能源存储、催化、传感和生物医学等领域引起了国内外学者的广泛关注。将二维材料与具有生物活性的生物大分子相结合可以为开发具有优异电学、力学和生物学功能的特种功能材料提供新的方法和途径。近年来,科研工作者针对这一方向展开了广泛的研究,取得了一系列重要的成果,使二维材料与生物大分子的结合与应用成为了新的研究热点。本文综述了近年来二维材料和生物大分子之间的相互作用及应用的研究进展,重点介绍了二维材料与生物大分子在分子水平上的相互作用机理,还总结了基于二维材料与生物大分子之间的相互作用在工程、疾病治疗和抗菌中的应用,并对其未来的研究趋势提出了展望。     

Self‐Assembling Proteins for Design of Anticancer Nanodrugs

Inspired by the diverse protein‐based structures and materials in organisms, proteins have been expected as promising biological components for constructing nanomaterials toward various applications. In numerous studies protein‐based nanomaterials have been constructed with the merits of abundant bioactivity and good biocompatibility. However, self‐assembly of proteins as a dominant approach in constructing anticancer nanodrugs has not been reviewed. Here, we provide a comprehensive account of the role of protein self‐assembly in fabrication, regulation, and application of anticancer nanodrugs. The supramolecular strategies, building blocks, and molecular interactions of protein self‐assembly as well as the properties, functions, and applications of the resulting nanodrugs are discussed. The applications in chemotherapy, radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, gene therapy, and combination therapy are included. Especially, manipulation of molecular interactions for realizing cancer‐specific response and cancer theranostics are emphasized. By expounding the impact of molecular interactions on therapeutic activity, rational design of highly efficient protein‐based nanodrugs for precision anticancer therapy can be envisioned. Also, the challenges and perspectives in constructing nanodrugs based on protein self‐assembly are presented to advance clinical translation of protein‐based nanodrugs and next‐generation nanomedicine.     

Two-dimensional transition metal chalcogenide nanomaterials for cancer diagnosis and treatment

For more than a decade, the exfoliation of graphene and other layered materials has led to a tremendous amount of research in two-dimensional (2D) materials, among which 2D transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) nanomaterials have attracted much attention in a wide range of applications including photoelectric devices, lithium-ion batteries, catalysis, and energy conversion and storage owing to their unique photoelectric physical properties. With such large specific surface area, strong near-infrared (NIR) absorption and abundant chemical element composition, 2D TMCs nanomaterials have become good candidates in biomedical imaging and cancer treatment. This review systematically summarizes recent progress on 2D TMCs nanomaterials, which includes their synthesis methods and applications in cancer treatment. At the end of this review, we also highlight the future prospects and challenges of 2D TMCs nanomaterials. It is expected that this work can provide the readers with a detailed overview of the synthesis of 2D TMCs and inspire more novel functional biomaterials based on 2D TMCs for cancer treatment in the future.     

Phase engineering two-dimensional nanostructures for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction

Hydrogen(H₂) is considered to be a promising substitute for fossil fuels. Two-dimensional(2D) nanomaterials have exhibited an efficient electrocatalytic capacity to catalyze hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).Particularly, phase engineering of 2D nanomaterials is opening a novel research direction to endow 2D nanostructures with fascinating properties for deep applications in catalyzing HER. In this review, we briefly summarize the research progress and present the current challenges on...     

金属卟啉二维纳米晶的制备及其光电性能

金属卟啉是一种重要的金属-有机复合物,在光电转换器件、催化、传感、医学等领域有着广阔的应用前景。对无机二维纳米材料（石墨烯或过渡金属硫属化合物等）的广泛研究促使金属-有机二维纳米材料成为当前的研究热点之一。本文针对金属-有机以及卟啉二维纳米材料的研究现状,在简要回顾金属-有机二维纳米材料发展历史的基础上,详细总结了金属卟啉单分散二维纳米晶和二维薄膜的制备方法,综述了其当前在太阳能电池、光电催化以及光学传感等方面的应用,最后讨论了金属卟啉二维纳米材料当前面临的研究问题及未来可能的发展方向。     

Recent Advance of Tellurium for Biomedical Applications

Tellurium(Te) nanomaterials have aroused a wide interest in semiconductor, thermoelectric, piezoelectric, as well as biomedical applications. The last decades of reports indicated a major nanostructure of one-dimensional (1D) Te on account of its inherent structural anisotropy. Two-dimenional(2D) Te has been newly developed and drawn a lot of interests recently. This review presents the intrinsic biological potential of Te-based nanomaterials and summarizes their up-to-date advance in phototherapy and reactive oxygen species(ROS)-related applications in the biomedical field.     

Chemistry of two-dimensional MXene nanosheets in theranostic nanomedicine

Transition metal carbide,carbonitride and nitride MXenes,as the emerging two-dimensional(2D)nanomaterials,have aroused burgeoning research interest in a broad range of applications ranging from energy conversion to biomedicines attributing to their distinctive planar nanostructure,physiochemical properties and biological effects.They are featured with fascinating electronic,optical,magnetic,mechanical and thermal properties,which exert significant roles in biomedical applications of 2D MXenes.In this review,we briefly summarize the recent research progress of 2D MXenes and highlight their intrinsic chemistry in theranostic nanomedicines,focusing on the synthetic chemistry for MXenes construction,surface chemistry for surface engineering,physiochemical property for theranostic application and biological chemistry for biosafety evaluation.Furthermore,based on the current achieve ments on MXenes,their potential research directio n,critical challenges and future development in biomedicine are also discussed.It is highly expected that 2D MXene-based nanosystems would have a broad application prospect in theranostic biomedicine provided the current facing critical issues and challenges are adequately solved.     

Assembly of one dimensional inorganic nanostructures into functional 2D and 3D architectures. Synthesis, arrangement and functionality

This review will focus on the synthesis, arrangement, structural assembly, for current and future applications, of 1D nanomaterials (tubes, wires, rods) in 2D and 3D ordered arrangements. The ability to synthesize and arrange one dimensional nanomaterials into ordered 2D or 3D micro or macro sized structures is of utmost importance in developing new devices and applications of these materials. Micro and macro sized architectures based on such 1D nanomaterials (e.g. tubes, wires, rods) provide a platform to integrate nanostructures at a larger and thus manageable scale into high performance electronic devices like field effect transistors, as chemo- and biosensors, catalysts, or in energy material applications. Carbon based, metal oxide and metal based 1D arranged materials as well as hybrid or composite 1D materials of the latter provide a broad materials platform, offering a perspective for new entries into fascinating structures and future applications of such assembled architectures. These architectures allow bridging the gap between 1D nanostructures and the micro and macro world and are the basis for an assembly of 1D materials into higher hierarchy domains. This critical review is intended to provide an interesting starting point to view the current state of the art and show perspectives for future developments in this field. The emphasis is on selected nanomaterials and the possibilities for building three dimensional arrays starting from one dimensional building blocks. Carbon nanotubes, metal oxide nanotubes and nanowires (e.g. ZnO, TiO(2), V(2)O(5), Cu(2)O, NiO, Fe(2)O(3)), silicon and germanium nanowires, and group III-V or II-VI based 1D semiconductor nanostructures like GaS and GaN, pure metals as well as 1D hybrid materials and their higher organized architectures (foremost in 3D) will be focussed. These materials have been the most intensively studied within the last 5-10 years with respect to nano-micro integration aspects and their functional and application oriented properties. The critical review should be interesting for a broader scientific community (chemists, physicists, material scientists) interested in synthetic and functional material aspects of 1D materials as well as their integration into next higher organized architectures.     

The art of two-dimensional soft nanomaterials

The discovery of graphene has triggered the explosive development of two-dimensional(2D) nanomaterials, including both inorganic and organic species. Benefiting from the simple elemental composition, inorganic 2D nanomaterials were the center research in the past decade, which has long shadowed the research of 2D organic(or soft) nanomaterials. Although many kinds of2D soft nanomaterials have been successfully prepared, a unified definition for them is still impossible due to the complicate and quite different chemical structures between each other and even relying on totally different techniques to distinguish them. Since our first review on 2D soft nanomaterials in 2015, this field has moved forward with big success. In this review, we will focus on the development of 2D soft nanomaterials after 2015. In order to deliver better overview of this field, new and comprehensive classification is used in this review: 2D aromatic molecules, graphene and graphene nanoribbons, graphyne and graphdiyne,BxCyNznanosheets, 2D polymers, 2D supramolecules, crystalline 2D assemblies, 2D covalent organic frameworks, 2D metalorganic frameworks, sandwich-like 2D porous polymers, 2D polymer nanosheets, etc. The focus of this review lies on synthetic strategies and the challenges of characterization, definition and fundamental understanding.     

《新型二维纳米材料》专辑序言——新型二维纳米材料:掀起未来技术革命

Two-dimensional(2D) nanomaterials possess sheet-like structures with the thickness of nanoscale, but the lateral size is infinite. In 2004, Andre Geim and co-workers at the University of Manchester successfully exfoliated a sheet of graphene from graphite by the micromechanical cleavage technique, which marked the beginning of 2D nanomaterials. Given the ultrahigh carrier mobility, excellent mechanical property, good thermal stability, superior thermal conductivities and huge specific surface area of graphene, it causes general exploration of other graphene-like 2D nanomaterials.===The 2D feature is unique to access unprecedented physical, chemical, electronic and optical properties. For example, the electron confinement in two dimensions makes them ideal candidates for the fundamental study in condensed matter physics and electronic/optoelectronic devices; the large lateral size endows them with huge surface area and high exposure of active sites. Due to their unique properties, 2D nanomaterials have promising applications in energy storage and conversion, electronic devices, catalytic reaction, sensing and biomedicine. By now, nearly 20 types of 2D nanomaterials have been studied, such as graphene, graphitic carbon nitride(g-C₃N₄), transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs), transition metal carbides/nitrides(MXenes), layered double hydroxides(LDHs), transition metal oxides(TMOs), Ⅲ to Ⅵ layered semiconductor(MX₄), and perovskite-type hybrids(AMX₃).===In this special issue of the novel 2D nanomaterials, we selected 12 related articles in reviews, research papers and brief communications involving supercapacitor, electrochemical catalysis, sensing, battery, fluorescence, water treatment and antiflaming performance of 2D nanomaterials. We hope that readers will have a deep understanding of the current development of 2D nanomaterials, and find it beneficial to their future researches.===Toward this end, I greatly appreciate the outstanding contribution of all authors, as well as the strenuous efforts from the editorial staff members.     

Electrochemical Sensors Using Two‐Dimensional Layered Nanomaterials

Two‐dimensional (2D) layered nanomaterials, e.g. graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), have rapidly emerged in material sciences due to their unique physical, chemical and mechanical properties. In the meanwhile, there is a growing interest in constructing electrochemical sensors for a wide range of chemical and biological molecules by using these 2D nanomaterials. In this review, we summarize recent advances on using graphene and MoS₂ for the development of electrochemical sensors for small molecules, proteins, nucleic acids and cells detection. We also provide our perspectives in this rapidly developing field.     

Synergistic cytotoxic effect of different sized ZnO nanoparticles and daunorubicin against leukemia cancer cells under UV irradiation

Failure of chemotherapy to the malignant tumor is usually induced by multidrug resistance (MDR). The development of anti-MDR agents for efficient drug delivery is of great importance in cancer therapy. Recent reports have demonstrated that some anticancer drugs could be readily self-assembled on some biocompatible nanomaterials covalently or non-covalently, which could effectively afford the sustained drug delivery for the target cancer cells and reduce the relevant toxicity towards normal cells and tissues. Thus these biocompatible nanomaterials may play an important role in the relevant biological and biomedical system. In this paper, we have explored the cytotoxic effect of anticancer drug daunorubicin on leukemia cancer cells in the absence and presence of different sized ZnO nanoparticles via fluorescence microscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, electrochemical analysis as well as MTT assay. Meanwhile, the cytotoxicity suppression of daunorubicin together with different sized ZnO nanoparticles in the absence and presence of UV irradiation on leukemia cancer cells were also investigated using MTT assay. The results indicate that the combination of the different sized ZnO nanoparticles and daunorubicin under UV irradiation could have synergistic cytotoxic effect on leukemia cancer cells, indicating the great potential of ZnO nanoparticles in relevant clinical and biomedical applications.     

Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials for Photothermal Therapy

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials are currently explored as novel photothermal agents because of their ultrathin structure, high specific surface area, and unique optoelectronic properties. In addition to single photothermal therapy (PTT), 2D nanomaterials have demonstrated significant potential in PTT-based synergistic therapies. In this Minireview, we summarize the recent progress in 2D nanomaterials for enhanced photothermal cancer therapy over the last five years. Their unique optical properties, typical synthesis methods, and surface modification are also covered. Emphasis is placed on their PTT and PTT-synergized chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, and immunotherapy. The major challenges of 2D photothermal agents are addressed and the promising prospects are also presented.     

核酸适体-纳米材料复合物用于癌症的诊断与靶向治疗研究进展

因具有独特的光、电、磁、热等优异性能,纳米材料已被广泛应用于生物分析与生物医学领域。核酸适体是一类能够高亲和力和高特异性地与靶标结合的寡核苷酸序列。将核酸适体作为识别单元与纳米材料相结合,可以构建核酸适体-纳米材料复合物。近年来,在肿瘤靶向治疗方面,核酸适体-纳米材料复合物受到了人们的广泛关注。通过纳米材料与具有特异性识别能力的核酸适体的结合,核酸适体-纳米材料复合物可以为癌症治疗提供一种更有效的、低毒副作用的新策略。本文综述了核酸适体-纳米材料复合物作为药物输送载体在癌症的特异性识别与诊断及靶向治疗方面的应用。除此之外,本文还总结了核酸适体-纳米材料复合物与其他新兴技术的有效结合从而提高选择性和癌症治疗效率的相关研究进展。     

The role of self-assembling polypeptides in building nanomaterials

Polypeptides are functional biomolecules that play a key role in life science, where they can act as hormones and signaling molecules. They can self-assemble into a variety of nanostructures, including two dimensional (2D) lamellae, one dimensional (1D) nanofibrils and nanotubes, and zero dimensional (0D) nanospheres. The driving force behind these advanced nanomaterials involves weak non-covalent interactions that include hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Here we discuss each of the interactions in relation to self-assembly and provide examples of some novel applications in engineering materials, tissue engineering and nanoelectronics. The overall aim is to provide a comprehensive, yet easily accessible review of the known nanomaterials produced by self-assembling polypeptides, which may lead to the construction of more advanced polypeptide nanostructures for future applications.     

Functionalization of bismuth sulfide nanomaterials for their application in cancer theranostics

Multifunctional bismuth sulfide (Bi₂S₃) nanomaterials exhibit significant potential as nanomedicines for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. These nanomaterials act as excellent photothermal agents and radiation sensitizers for the treatment of tumors, and they can also act as contrast agents for computed tomography (CT) imaging, photoacoustic imaging (PA), and other forms of imaging to provide real-time tumor monitoring and testing guidance. Compared with other nanomaterials, Bi₂S₃ nanomaterials can readily adapt to different applications by virtue of the fact that they can be easily functionalized. However, these nanomaterials have some limitations that cannot be ignored and need to be addressed, such as poor biocompatibility, toxicity, and low chemical stability. It is widely believed that appropriate functionalization of Bi₂S₃ nanomaterials could remedy such defects and significantly improve performance. This review summarizes the ways in which Bi₂S₃ nanomaterials can be functionalized and discusses their applications in cancer theranostics over the last few years, focusing particularly on imaging and therapy. We also discuss issues relating to how Bi₂S₃ nanomaterials can be analyzed, including how we might be able to use these systems to inhibit and treat tumors and how current limitations might be overcome to improve treatment efficacy. Finally, we hope to provide inspiration and guidance as to how we might create a more optimized multifunctional nano-system for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors.     

Two‐Dimensional Nanomaterials for Photothermal Therapy

Two‐dimensional (2D) nanomaterials are currently explored as novel photothermal agents because of their ultrathin structure, high specific surface area, and unique optoelectronic properties. In addition to single photothermal therapy (PTT), 2D nanomaterials have demonstrated significant potential in PTT‐based synergistic therapies. In this Minireview, we summarize the recent progress in 2D nanomaterials for enhanced photothermal cancer therapy over the last five years. Their unique optical properties, typical synthesis methods, and surface modification are also covered. Emphasis is placed on their PTT and PTT‐synergized chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, and immunotherapy. The major challenges of 2D photothermal agents are addressed and the promising prospects are also presented.