Despite the high potency of bilirubin as an endogenous anti-inflammatory compound, its clinical translation has been hampered because of its insolubility in water. Bilirubin-based nanoparticles that may overcome this critical issue are presented. A polyethylene glycol compound (PEG) was covalently attached to bilirubin, yielding PEGylated bilirubin (PEG-BR). The PEG-BR self-assembled into nanoscale particles with a size of approximately 110 nm, termed bilirubin nanoparticles (BRNPs). BRNPs are highly efficient hydrogen peroxide scavengers, thereby protecting cells from H2 O2 -induced cytotoxicity. In a murine model of ulcerative colitis, intravenous injection of BRNPs showed preferential accumulation of nanoparticles at the sites of inflammation and significantly inhibited the progression of acute inflammation in the colon. Taken together, BRNPs show potential for use as a therapeutic nanomedicine in various inflammatory diseases.

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Golden vaccine for cancers. Gold nanoparticles enable efficient antigen delivery to dendritic cells and then activate the cells to facilitate cross-presentation, inducing antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses for effective cancer therapy.

Combination of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with photothermal therapy (PTT) has achieved significantly improved therapeutic efficacy compared to a single phototherapy modality. However, most nanomaterials used for combined PDT/PTT are made of non-biodegradable materials (e.g., gold nanorods, carbon nanotubes, and graphenes) and may remain intact in the body for long time, raising concerns over their potential long-term toxicity. Here we report a new combined PDT/PTT nanomedicine, designated SP3NPs, that exhibit photo-decomposable, photodynamic and photothermal properties. SP3NPs were prepared by self-assembly of PEGylated cypate, comprising FDA-approved PEG and an ICG derivative. We confirmed the ability of SP3NPs to generate both singlet oxygen for a photodynamic effect and heat for photothermal therapy in response to NIR laser irradiation in vitro. Also, the unique ability of SP3NPs to undergo irreversible decomposition upon NIR laser irradiation was demonstrated. Further our experimental results demonstrated that SP3NPs strongly accumulated in tumor tissue owing to their highly PEGylated surface and relatively small size (~60 nm), offering subsequent imaging-guided combined PDT/PTT treatment that resulted in tumor eradication and prolonged survival of mice. Taken together, our SP3NPs described here may represent a novel and facile approach for next-generation theranostics with great promise for translation into clinical practice in the future.

We describe a small lipid nanoparticle (SLNP)‐based nanovaccine platform and a new combination treatment regimen. Tumor antigen‐displaying, CpG adjuvant‐embedded SLNPs (OVAPEP‐SLNP@CpG) were prepared from biocompatible phospholipids and a cationic cholesterol derivative. The resulting nanovaccine showed highly potent antitumor efficacy in both prophylactic and therapeutic E.G7 tumor models. However, this vaccine induced T cell exhaustion by elevating PD‐L1 expression, leading to tumor recurrence. Thus, the nanovaccine was combined with simultaneous anti‐PD‐1 antibody treatment, but the therapeutic efficacy of this regimen was comparable to that of the nanovaccine alone. Finally, mice that showed a good therapeutic response after the first cycle of immunization with the nanovaccine underwent a second cycle together with anti‐PD‐1 therapy, resulting in suppression of tumor relapse. This suggests that the antitumor efficacy of combinations of nanovaccines with immune checkpoint blockade therapy is dependent on treatment sequence and the timing of each modality.

Despite the appreciable success of synthetic nanomaterials for targeted cancer therapy in preclinical studies, technical challenges involving their large-scale, cost-effective production and intrinsic toxicity associated with the materials, as well as their inability to penetrate tumor tissues deeply, limit their clinical translation. Here, we describe biologically derived nanocarriers developed from a bioengineered yeast strain that may overcome such impediments. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was genetically engineered to produce nanosized vacuoles displaying human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-specific affibody for active targeting. These nanosized vacuoles efficiently loaded the anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) and were effectively endocytosed by cultured cancer cells. Their cancer-targeting ability, along with their unique endomembrane compositions, significantly enhanced drug penetration in multicellular cultures and improved drug distribution in a tumor xenograft. Furthermore, Dox-loaded vacuoles successfully prevented tumor growth without eliciting any prolonged immune responses. The current study provides a platform technology for generating cancer-specific, tissue-penetrating, safe, and scalable biological nanoparticles for targeted cancer therapy.

Despite the high potency of bilirubin as an endogenous anti-inflammatory compound, its clinical translation has been hampered because of its insolubility in water. Bilirubin-based nanoparticles that may overcome this critical issue are presented. Ap olyethylene glycol compound (PEG) was covalentlya ttached to bilirubin, yielding PEGylated bilirubin (PEG-BR). The PEG-BR self-assembled into nanoscale particles with as ize of approximately 110 nm, termed bilirubin nanoparticles (BRNPs). BRNPs are highly efficient hydrogen peroxide scavengers,t hereby protecting cells from H 2 O 2 -induced cytotoxicity.I namurine model of ulcerative colitis,i ntravenous injection of BRNPs showed preferential accumulation of nanoparticles at the sites of inflammation and significantly inhibited the progression of acute inflammation in the colon. Taken together,B RNPs show potential for use as at herapeutic nanomedicine in various inflammatory diseases.