Biomimetic phototherapy in cancer treatment: from synthesis to application

Abstract

Phototherapy, with minimally invasive and cosmetic effect, has received considerable attention and been widely studied in cancer treatment, especially in biomaterials field. However, most nanomaterials applied for the delivery of phototherapy agents are usually recognized by the immune system or cleared by liver and kidney, thus hindering their clinical applications. To overcome these limitations, bionic technology stands out by virtue of its low antigenicity and targeting properties, including membrane bionics and bionic enzymes. In this review, we will summarize the up-to-date progress in the development of biomimetic camouflage-based nanomaterials for phototherapy, from synthesis to application, and their future in cancer treatment.

Cell membrane biomimetic nanomedicines for cancer phototherapy

“…Cell membrane biomimetic nanomaterials can also be combined with PA, FI, magnetic resonance imaging, and other imaging methods in the process of phototherapy to precisely guide cancer treatment 23,122 . Although a large number of encouraging results have been reported in this field, the further clinical application of cell membrane biomimetic nanomaterials in phototherapy against tumors still faces many challenges. The long‐term in vivo safety of phototherapeutic agents, especially inorganic nanomaterials, still needs to be systematically evaluated 123 . Although the cell membrane biomimetic strategy has significantly improved the targeting and biocompatibility of phototherapeutic agents, the non‐degradability of nanomaterials and the effects of ablated cell membranes on the body are unknown, limiting the clinical translation of this therapy.…”

“…(1) The long-term in vivo safety of phototherapeutic agents, especially inorganic nanomaterials, still needs to be systematically evaluated. 123 Although the cell membrane biomimetic strategy has significantly improved the targeting and biocompatibility of phototherapeutic agents, the non-degradability of nanomaterials and the effects of ablated cell membranes on the body are unknown, limiting the clinical translation of this therapy. Therefore, the development of biodegradable phototherapeutic agents for biomimetic phototherapy may have a higher clinical value.…”

Iodinated cyanine dye-based nanosystem for synergistic phototherapy and hypoxia-activated bioreductive therapy

“…Photodynamic therapy (PDT), has been applied in the early diagnosis and treatment of various superficial tumors due to the unique advantages including long-range, controllable, selective, and systemic low toxicity (Cheng et al., 2014 ; Li et al., 2017a , b ; Lee et al., 2021 ). In addition, PDT is reported to trigger the local acute inflammatory response of irradiated tissues, resulting in the rapid local infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages as well as the release of systemic inflammatory mediators (Li et al., 2018a,b ; Zhao et al., 2021 ). It can also cause specific T lymphocyte activation, affecting the further development of inflammation to produce a large number of cytokines, adhesion molecules, co-stimulatory molecules, and immune-related important media, which ultimately control the growth of residual tumor cells (Wachowska et al., 2015 ; Donohoe et al., 2019 ; Udartseva et al., 2019 ; He et al., 2020 ).…”