Although several anticancer drugs have been introduced as chemotherapeutic agents, the effective treatment of cancer remains a challenge. Major limitations in the application of anticancer drugs include their nonspecificity, wide biodistribution, short half-life, low concentration in tumor tissue and systemic toxicity. Drug delivery to the tumor site has become feasible in recent years, and recent advances in the development of new drug delivery systems for controlled drug release in tumor tissues with reduced side effects show great promise. In this field, the use of biodegradable polymers as drug carriers has attracted the most attention. However, drug release is still difficult to control even when a polymeric drug carrier is used. The design of pharmaceutical polymers that respond to external stimuli (known as stimuli-responsive polymers) such as temperature, pH, electric or magnetic field, enzymes, ultrasound waves, etc. appears to be a successful approach. In these systems, drug release is triggered by different stimuli. The purpose of this review is to summarize different types of polymeric drug carriers and stimuli, in addition to the combination use of stimuli in order to achieve a better controlled drug release, and it discusses their potential strengths and applications. A survey of the recent literature on various stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems is also provided and perspectives on possible future developments in controlled drug release at tumor site have been discussed.

Aerogels are a class of porous structures with promising physicochemical properties. Among aerogels with various origins, polysaccharide aerogels (e.g., cellulose, chitosan, alginate, starch, agar, and so on) have received more attention. This group of aerogels can be classified as bioaerogels, which are originated from natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetic sources with exceptional biomedical applications. This review focuses on bioaerogels from the viewpoints of synthesis approaches, cellular uptake, toxicity, biodegradability, and the biomedical application perspectives.

The advent of porous materials, in particular zeolitic nanoparticles, has opened up unprecedented putative research avenues in nanomedicine. Zeolites with intracrystal mesopores are low framework density aluminosilicates possessing a regular porous structure along with intricate channels. Their unique physiochemical as well as physiological parameters necessitate a comprehensive overview on their classifications, fabrication platforms, cellular/macromolecular interactions, and eventually their prospective biomedical applications through illustrating the challenges and opportunities in different integrative medical and pharmaceutical fields. More particularly, an update on recent advances in zeolite-accommodated drug delivery and the prevalent challenges regarding these molecular sieves is to be presented. In conclusion, strategies to accelerate the translation of these porous materials from bench to bedside along with common overlooked physiological and pharmacological factors of zeolite nanoparticles are discussed and debated. Furthermore, for zeolite nanoparticles, it is a matter of crucial importance, in terms of biosafety and nanotoxicology, to appreciate the zeolite-bio interface once the zeolite nanoparticles are exposed to the bio-macromolecules in biological media. We specifically shed light on interactions of zeolite nanoparticles with fibrinogen and amyloid beta which had been comprehensively investigated in our recent reports. Given the significance of zeolite nanoparticles’ interactions with serum or interstitial proteins conferring them new biological identity, the preliminary approaches for deeper understanding of administration, distribution, metabolism and excretion of zeolite nanoparticles are elucidated.

Application of wound-healing/dressing biomaterials is amongst the most promising approaches for wound repair through protection from pathogen invasion/contamination, maintaining moisture, absorbing exudates, modulating inflammation, and facilitating the healing process. A wide range of materials are used to fabricate wound-healing/dressing biomaterials. Active wound-healing/dressings are next-generation alternatives for passive biomaterials, which provide a physical barrier and induce different biological activities, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and proliferative effects. Cellulose-based biomaterials are particularly promising due to their tunable physical, chemical, mechanical, and biological properties, accessibility, low cost, and biocompatibility. A thorough description and analysis of wound-healing/dressing structures fabricated from cellulose-based biomaterials is discussed in this review. We emphasize and highlight the fabrication methods, applied bioactive molecules, and discuss the obtained results from in vitro and in vivo models of cellulose-based wound-healing biomaterials. This review paper revealed that cellulose-based biomaterials have promising potential as the wound-dressing/healing materials and can be integrated with various bioactive agents. Overall, cellulose-based biomaterials are shown to be effective and sophisticated structures for delivery applications, safe and multi-customizable dressings, or grafts for wound-healing applications.

This scenario was designed to investigate the protein corona pattern on the pillar-layer surface of a Cu-based metal–organic framework (MOF) in human plasma. The [Cu(L)(L^/)].1.3DMA (MOF-1) {L = 4, 4^/-bipyridine and L^/ = 5-aminoisophthalic acid}, was synthesized through the sonochemical irradiation approach as well as characterized by various techniques like scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The space group was determined to be an orthorhombic space group (Pbam) by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Single-crystal X-ray analyses on MOF-1 showed that Cu⁺² ion was 6-coordinated. Besides, to study and clarify interactions between MOFs and biological milieu, human whole blood plasma was selected as a model. Fluorescence spectroscopy and SDS-PAGE techniques were employed to explore quantitative and qualitative in situ characterization of protein corona as well. Furthermore, cell viability in a cancerous cell lines was evaluated by MTT assay in the presence and absence of the corona. The results from SDS-PAGE illustrated that the most adsorbed quantity among plasma proteins belongs to fibrinogen (α, β and γ chains), and this protein showed the maximum frequency on the MOF-1s surface, so the possible interactions of MOF-1s with fibrinogen also studied using fluorescence spectroscopy and corresponding data were plotted. According to the obtained data from MTT assay, these structures have concentration-dependent toxicity. In brief, based on the obtained data in the current study, the designed MOF can be introduced as a new desirable carrier for drug/gen delivery after further prerequisite assessments.