Exosomes, as a class of small extracellular vesicles closely related to the biological behavior of various types of tumors, are currently attracting research attention in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Regarding cancer diagnosis, the stability of their membrane structure and their wide distribution in body fluids render exosomes promising biomarkers. It is expected that exosome-based liquid biopsy will become an important tool for tumor diagnosis in the future. For cancer treatment, exosomes, as the \"golden communicators\" between cells, can be designed to deliver different drugs, aiming to achieve low-toxicity and low-immunogenicity targeted delivery. Signaling pathways related to exosome contents can also be used for safer and more effective immunotherapy against tumors. Exosomes are derived from a wide range of sources, and exhibit different biological characteristics as well as clinical application advantages in different cancer therapies. In this review, we analyzed the main sources of exosomes that have great potential and broad prospects in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Moreover, we compared their therapeutic advantages, providing new ideas for the clinical application of exosomes.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) has emerged as a promising therapeutic molecule with numerous clinical applications in treating central nervous system disorders, tumors, COVID-19, and other diseases. mRNA therapies must be encapsulated into safe, stable, and effective delivery vehicles to preserve the cargo from degradation and prevent immunogenicity. Exosomes have gained growing attention in mRNA delivery because of their good biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, small size, unique capacity to traverse physiological barriers, and cell-specific tropism. Moreover, these exosomes can be engineered to utilize the natural carriers to target specific cells or tissues. This targeted approach will enhance the efficacy and reduce the side effects of mRNAs. However, difficulties such as a lack of consistent and reliable methods for exosome purification and the efficient encapsulation of large mRNAs into exosomes must be addressed. This article outlines current breakthroughs in cell-derived vesicle-mediated mRNA delivery and its biomedical applications.

Tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) are severe and refractory diseases with poor prognosis, especially for patients with malignant glioblastoma and brain metastases. Currently, numerous studies have explored the potential role of bacteria and intestinal flora in tumor development and treatment. Bacteria can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), targeting the hypoxic microenvironment at the core of tumors, thereby eliminating tumors and activating both the innate and adaptive immune responses, rendering them promising therapeutic agents for CNS tumors. In addition, engineered bacteria and derivatives, such as bacterial membrane proteins and bacterial spores, can also be used as good candidate carriers for targeted drug delivery. Moreover, the intestinal flora can regulate CNS tumor metabolism and influence the immune microenvironment through the \"gut-brain axis\". Therefore, bacterial anti-tumor therapy, engineered bacterial targeted drug delivery, and intervention of the intestinal flora provide therapeutic modalities for the treatment of CNS tumors. In this paper, we performed a comprehensive review of the mechanisms and therapeutic practices of bacterial therapy for CNS tumors and discussed potential future research directions in this field.

Nanoengineering has emerged as a progressive method in cancer treatment, offering precise and targeted delivery of therapeutic agents while concurrently reducing overall toxicity. This scholarly article delves into the innovative strategies and advancements in nanoengineering that bridge the gap between clinical practice and research in the field of cancer treatment. Various nanoengineered platforms such as nanoparticles, liposomes, and dendrimers are scrutinized for their capacity to encapsulate drugs, augment drug efficacy, and enhance pharmacokinetics. Moreover, the article investigates research breakthroughs that drive the progression and enhancement of nanoengineered remedies, encompassing the identification of biomarkers, establishment of preclinical models, and advancement of biomaterials, all of which are imperative for translating laboratory findings into practical medical interventions. Furthermore, the integration of nanotechnology with imaging modalities, which amplify cancer detection, treatment monitoring, and response assessment, is thoroughly examined. Finally, the obstacles and prospective directions in nanoengineering, including regulatory challenges and issues related to scalability, are examined. This underscores the significance of fostering collaboration among various entities in order to efficiently translate nanoengineered interventions into enhanced cancer therapies and patient management.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is considered to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and new therapeutic approaches, especially improved novel cancer treatment regimens, are in high demand. Considering that many chemotherapeutic drugs tend to have poor pharmacokinetic profiles, including rapid clearance and limited on-site accumulation, a combined approach with tumor-homing peptide (THP)-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles could lead to remarkable improvements. This is confirmed by an increasing number of papers in this field, showing that the on-target peptide functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles improves their penetration properties and ensures tumor-specific binding, which results in an increased clinical response. This review aims to highlight the potential applications of THPs in combination with magnetic carriers across various fields, including a pharmacoeconomic perspective.

Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) has emerged as a promising molecular preventive and therapeutic approach that opens new avenues for healthcare. Although the use of delivery systems, especially lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), greatly improves the efficiency and stability of mRNA, mRNA tends to accumulate in the liver and hardly penetrates physiological barriers to reach the target site after intravenous injection. Hence, the rational design of targeting strategies aimed at directing mRNA to specific tissues and cells remains an enormous challenge in mRNA therapy. High-throughput screening (HTS) is a cutting-edge targeted technique capable of synthesizing chemical compound libraries for the large-scale experiments to validate the efficiency of mRNA delivery system. In this review, we firstly provide an overview of conventional low-throughput targeting strategies. Then the latest advancements in HTS techniques for mRNA targeted delivery, encompassing optimizing structures of large-scale delivery vehicles and developing large-scale surface ligands, as well as the applications of HTS techniques in extrahepatic systemic diseases are comprehensively summarized. Moreover, we illustrate the selection of administration routes for targeted mRNA delivery. Finally, challenges in the field and potential solutions to tackle them are proposed, offering insights for future development toward mRNA targeted therapy.

Nanoparticles have shown great potential for tumor targeting delivery via enhanced permeability and retention effect. However, the tumor mechanical microenvironment, characterized by dense extracellular matrix (ECM), high tumor stiffness and solid stress, leads to only 0.7% of administered dose accumulating in solid tumors and even fewer (∼0.0014%) reaching tumor cells, limiting the therapeutic efficacy of nanoparticles. Furthermore, the tumor mechanical microenvironment can regulate tumor cell stemness, promote tumor invasion, metastasis and reduce treatment efficacy. In this review, methods detecting the mechanical are introduced. Strategies for modulating the mechanical microenvironment including elimination of dense ECM by physical, chemical and biological methods, disruption of ECM formation, depletion or inhibition of cancer-associated fibroblasts, are then summarized. Finally, prospects and challenges for further clinical applications of mechano-modulating strategies to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of nanomedicines are discussed. This review may provide guidance for the rational design and application of nanoparticles in clinical settings.

UNASSIGNED: Current immunotherapies with unexpected severe side effects and treatment resistance have not resulted in the desired outcomes for patients with melanoma, and there is a need to discover more effective medications. Cytotoxin (CTX) from Cobra Venom has been established to have favorable cytolytic activity and antitumor efficacy and is regarded as a promising novel anticancer agent. However, amphiphilic CTX with excellent anionic phosphatidylserine lipid-binding ability may also damage normal cells.
UNASSIGNED: We developed pH-responsive liposomes with a high CTX load (CTX@PSL) for targeted acidic-stimuli release of drugs in the tumor microenvironment. The morphology, size, zeta potential, drug-release kinetics, and preservation stability were characterized. Cell uptake, apoptosis-promoting effects, and cytotoxicity were assessed using MTT assay and flow cytometry. Finally, the tissue distribution and antitumor effects of CTX@PSL were systematically assessed using an in vivo imaging system.
UNASSIGNED: CTX@PSL exhibited high drug entrapment efficiency, drug loading, stability, and a rapid release profile under acidic conditions. These nanoparticles, irregularly spherical in shape and small in size, can effectively accumulate at tumor sites (six times higher than free CTX) and are rapidly internalized into cancer cells (2.5-fold higher cell uptake efficiency). CTX@PSL displayed significantly stronger cytotoxicity (IC50 0.25 μg/mL) and increased apoptosis in than the other formulations (apoptosis rate 71.78±1.70%). CTX@PSL showed considerably better tumor inhibition efficacy than free CTX or conventional liposomes (tumor inhibition rate 79.78±5.93%).
UNASSIGNED: Our results suggest that CTX@PSL improves tumor-site accumulation and intracellular uptake for sustained and targeted CTX release. By combining the advantages of CTX and stimuli-responsive nanotechnology, the novel CTX@PSL nanoformulation is a promising therapeutic candidate for cancer treatment.

UNASSIGNED: Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder centered on hair follicles, making hair follicle-targeted delivery of anti-acne drugs a promising option for acne treatment. However, current researches have only focused on the delivering to healthy hair follicles, which are intrinsically different from pathologically clogged hair follicles in acne vulgaris.
UNASSIGNED: Azelaic acid (AZA) micro/nanocrystals with different particle sizes were prepared by wet media milling or high-pressure homogenization. An experiment on AZA micro/nanocrystals delivering to healthy hair follicles was carried out, with and without the use of physical enhancement techniques. More importantly, it innovatively designed an experiment, which could reveal the ability of AZA micro/nanocrystals to penetrate the constructed clogged hair follicles. The anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects of AZA micro/nanocrystals were evaluated in vitro using a RAW264.7 cell model stimulated by lipopolysaccharide and a Cutibacterium acnes model. Finally, both the anti-acne effects and skin safety of AZA micro/nanocrystals and commercial products were compared in vivo.
UNASSIGNED: In comparison to commercial products, 200 nm and 500 nm AZA micro/nanocrystals exhibited an increased capacity to target hair follicles. In the combination group of AZA micro/nanocrystals and ultrasound, the ability to penetrate hair follicles was further remarkably enhanced (ER value up to 9.6). However, toward the clogged hair follicles, AZA micro/nanocrystals cannot easily penetrate into by themselves. Only with the help of 1% salicylic acid, AZA micro/nanocrystals had a great potential to penetrate clogged hair follicle. It was also shown that AZA micro/nanocrystals had anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects by inhibiting pro-inflammatory factors and Cutibacterium acnes. Compared with commercial products, the combination of AZA micro/nanocrystals and ultrasound exhibited an obvious advantage in both skin safety and in vivo anti-acne therapeutic efficacy.
UNASSIGNED: Hair follicle-targeted delivery of AZA micro/nanocrystals provided a satisfactory alternative in promoting the treatment of acne vulgaris.

Cancer is the second most fatal disease among women. In recent years, utilizing strategies based on carbon quantum dots (CQDs) as targeted drug delivery systems has had a significant impact on advancing and improving cancer treatment. This study is focused on the development of a nanocarrier, based on CQDs, for improving the therapeutic efficiency of mitoxantrone (MTX). Hence, the N-doped CQDs were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Following its purification, MTX was loaded to the CQD, resulting in an increase in the size from 36.78 ± 0.9 nm to 157.8 ± 12.18 nm, with an ideal drug entrapment efficiency of 97 %. Drug release investigation showed a pH-dependent improvement, from 8 % at pH 7.4 to 11 % at pH 5.2 after 48 h. Based on the Methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) results after 5 h of treatment on MCF-7 breast cancer cells, the N-doped CQD showed no significant effect on the cancer cells, whereas a half maximal Inhibitory Concentration (IC50) was achieved with the N-doped CQD-MTX complex at a concentration between 0.5 to 0.8 μM. Therefore, the newly developed drug delivery complex was capable of providing a rather identical influence on MCF-7 cells, as the free MTX, however, improving the pharmacokinetic of the drug by its controlled and on-target drug release, due to an alteration in distribution and absorption parameters.