To address postoperative melanoma issues of high recurrence and poor wound healing, we developed a nanocomposite hydrogel wound patch (M_xNd/yCe@M SAC) for cascade sequential therapy. Methotrexate (MTX) loaded Nd/Ce-doped mesoporous bioactive glass was encapsulated in a sulfobetaine-polyacrylamide-carboxymethyl chitosan hydrogel via thermal polymerization. Under the acidic microenvironment of the residual tumor, the amide bonds in M_xNd/yCe@M SAC are broken, releasing M_xNd/yCe@M. M_xNd/yCe@M targets tumor cells, and the combined therapy of mild photothermal treatment and chemotherapy ablates tumor cells. Subsequently, the continuously released MTX down-regulates the expression of pro-inflammatory factors and reshapes the immune microenvironment. Finally, M_xNd/yCe@M disintegrates, releasing Si⁴⁺, Ca²⁺, P⁵⁺ and Ce³⁺ ions, which can effectively promote angiogenesis and tissue repair. In the postoperative melanoma model, this method effectively cleared the residual tumors after surgery, shortened the inflammatory period, and promoted tissue regeneration. In conclusion, the nanocomposite hydrogel wound patch for cascade sequential treatment prepared in this study has excellent anti-tumor, immune regulation and tissue repair properties, providing prospective insights for the postoperative treatment of malignant melanoma.

Breast cancer (BC) is a common malignant tumor in women, which seriously affects the health of patients. In this paper, a plasma nano-composite injectable hydrogel CCT@CAD was developed to realize multi-therapy synergistic anti-cancer. In the acidic tumor microenvironment, CCT@CAD released Au-modified cerium dioxide loaded with cisplatin (CAD), and the surface charge of CAD changed from negative to positive based on the pH-responsive charge inversion characteristic, which significantly improved the internalization efficiency and permeability of tumor cells to CAD. The introduction of Au nanoparticles endowed CAD with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effects. This effect enhanced electron transfer to activate the Ce active site on the surface of cerium dioxide, thus enhancing the activity of nanozyme, which enabled CAD to rapidly produce O₂ and consume glutathione in tumor cells. Meanwhile, Au nanoparticles endowed CAD with excellent photothermal conversion ability, and local hyperthermia could be realized under near infrared laser irradiation. Animal experimental results showed that the tumor inhibition rate was nearly 100% after 14-day treatment of CCT@CAD. The combination of chemotherapy, photothermal therapy and nanozyme therapy proposed in this study provides a new idea for the treatment of BC.

Chiral inorganic nanostructures with pronounced chiroptical activity are increasingly utilized across various scientific fields, yet understanding their direct impact on biological systems remains a complex challenge. In this study, we explore the effects of structural chirality on tumor photothermal therapy (PTT) using intrinsically chiral-shaped gold nanoparticles, highlighting their nanoscale geometric effects in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate that the geometric chirality of these nanoparticles facilitates selective cellular uptake, with left-handed nanoparticles exhibiting a 1.5-fold higher uptake than their right-handed counterparts, indicating a preferential interaction with tumor cells. Furthermore, exposure to circularly polarized light (CPL) during PTT significantly amplifies the therapeutic effects. This enhancement is particularly pronounced when the helicity of CPL matches the handedness of nanoparticles, with left-handed nanoparticles under left-handed CPL achieving a cell kill rate three-fold higher than those under right-handed CPL. Such alignment also results in a significant reduction in axillary tumor volume in nude mice within two weeks. This work not only highlights the potential of stable, nanoscale chirality as highly efficient PTT agents but also provides crucial insights into chiral-dependent phenomenon in biosystems, paving the way for advanced biomedical applications.

The application of solar-driven photocatalytic processes shows considerable potential for renewable energy production and environmental remediation. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has emerged as a highly promising metal-free photocatalyst due to its outstanding electronic structure and physicochemical properties. However, the intrinsic constraints of pristine g-C₃N₄, such as limited visible light absorption range, high recombination rates of photogenerated charge carriers, and a scarcity of active sites, have significantly hindered its photocatalytic performance and practical implementations. Recent studies have demonstrated that defect engineering can substantially mitigate these issues by enhancing both light absorption and charge separation efficiency, thereby improving photocatalytic performance. This review provides a comprehensive overview of intrinsically defective g-C₃N₄-based materials, focusing on the types of intrinsic defects, their modification strategies, and the recent advancements in the field. It also highlights the diverse applications of defect-modified g-C₃N₄, including wastewater remediation, hydrogen evolution, CO₂ conversion, NO removal, nitrogen fixation, photocatalytic disinfection, and H₂O₂ production. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives are discussed of g-C₃N₄-based photocatalytic materials, offering insights and practical guidance for the development of advanced g-C₃N₄-based photocatalysts.

The continuous inflammatory response in diabetic skin wounds leads to excessive production of reactive oxygen species, which cause a vicious circle of long-term inflammation. In the therapeutic research of metal nanoenzymes for healing diabetic ulcers, it still faces the challenges in poor nanoenzymes activity and low-efficient therapeutic efficiency. Herein, ultrasmall oxygen-deficient MoO_3−X quantum dots were fabricated and employed as nanoenzymes for healing fiabetic ulcers. After PEGylation, PEGylated MoO_3−X quantum dots (MoO_3−X/PEG) with oxygen vacancies exhibits excellent photothermal, peroxidase/catalase-like activities. In addition, these MoO_3−X/PEG showed superior properties in scavenging H₂O₂ and effectively inhibiting the scavenging of reactive oxygen species. More importantly, such an oxygen-defected MoO_3−X/PEG had obvious antibacterial and skin repairing effects on alleviating hypoxia and excessive oxidative stress even in a mouse model of diabetic ulcers, inhibiting proinflammatory cytokines and significantly accelerating the healing of infected wounds, which shows great application potential for promoting wound healing. This work highlights that the developed oxygen defected molybdenum oxide compounds capable of peroxidase-like and catalase-like activities show great application potential for healing diabetes wound.

The repair and treatment of tumor bone defects is a difficult problem to solve urgently in clinical medicine. After tumor resection, patients are not only faced with a large area of bone defect, but also may have the risk of tumor recurrence, which can easily cause huge physical and mental harm to patients. In this study, we successfully designed and constructed an organic/inorganic composite microgel bone powder (S-H-M_3%Ce/3%Se) based on cerium (Ce) and selenium (Se) elements co-doped mesoporous bioactive glass (M_3%Ce/3%Se), sodium alginate (SA), and recombinant human-like collagen (HLC). The obtained S-H-M_3%Ce/3%Se could inhibit the growth of osteoma cells and promote the growth of normal cells, and effectively promote the repair of defect bone. The integration of the “treatment and repair” organic/inorganic composite microgel bone powder provided a new strategy for the treatment of cancerous bone defects.

Solar dermatitis is an acute or chronic high incidence of skin injury caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation based on strong sunlight, which seriously endangers people's health. In this study, we designed and demonstrated enzyme-catalyzed semi-inter penetrating polymer network (Semi-IPN) sprayable nanodrug-loaded hydrogels based on gelatin, 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid (HPA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), glycerol, and dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DEXP) for solar dermatitis. The hydrogels had high water content, excellent biocompatibility, effective encapsulation and sustained release of nanodrugs, anti-inflammatory, and strong anti-ultraviolet B (anti-UVB) radiation properties based on glycerol and phenol functional groups, but also controllable spray gelation mode to make them adhere well on the dynamic skin surfaces and achieve continuous transdermal drugs delivery for solar dermatitis. The sprayable nanodrug-loaded hydrogel systems could be used as a highly effective therapeutic method for solar dermatitis, and also provide a good strategy for designing novel nanodrug-loaded hydrogel delivery systems.