Inducing cancer cell death has always been a research hotspot in life sciences. With the continuous deepening and diversification of related research, the potential value of metal elements in inducing cell death has been explored. Taking iron as an example, ferroptosis, mainly characterized by increasing iron load and driving the production of large amounts of lipid peroxides and eventually leading to cell death, has recently attracted great interest in the cancer research community. After iron, copper, a trace element, has received extensive attention in cell death, especially in inducing tumor cell death. Copper and its complexes can induce autophagy or apoptosis in tumor cells through a variety of different mechanisms of action (activation of stress pathways, arrest of cell cycle, inhibition of angiogenesis, cuproptosis, and paraptosis), which are promising in cancer therapy and have become new hotspots in cancer treatment research. This article reviews the main mechanisms and potential applications of novel copper and copper compound-induced cell death, focusing on copper compounds and their anticancer applications.

A novel HA@MOF nanoparticle is developed to deliver Fe²⁺to cancer cells. On intravenous injection into tumor-bearing mice, HA@MOF unraveled in the acidic environment. The released Fe²⁺triggered the Fenton reaction, inducing ROS overproduction causing cancer cell death.

Electrospinning has emerged as a highly effective technique for fabricating micro- and nanofibers, which are characterized by high porosity, large surface area, and structural mimicry of the extracellular matrix (ECM). These properties render it particularly suitable for biomedical applications. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments in electrospinning-based strategies across various biomedical fields, including tissue engineering, drug delivery, wound healing, enzyme immobilization, biosensing, and protective materials. The distinctive advantages of electrospun fibers—such as excellent biocompatibility, tunable architecture, and facile surface functionalization—are discussed, alongside challenges such as the toxicity of organic solvents and limitations in scalability. Emerging approaches, including environmentally benign electrospinning techniques and integration with advanced technologies such as 3D printing and microfluidics, present promising solutions for intelligent and personalized biomedical applications.

Cancer is still one of the major factors threatening public health, with morbidity and mortality rates at the forefront of the world. Clinical drawbacks, such as high toxicity and side effects of drug therapy, and easy recurrence after surgery affect its therapeutic effect. Gas signaling molecules are essential in maintaining biological homeostasis and physiological functions as specific chemical substances for biological information transfer. In recent years, the physiological regulatory functions of gas molecules in the cancer process have been gradually revealed and have shown broad application prospects in tumor therapy. In this paper, standard gas therapies are classified and introduced. Taking H₂, CO₂, NO, CO, H₂S, and SO₂ gases as examples, the research progress and application of gas therapies in malignant tumors are mainly introduced in terms of biological characteristics, anticancer mechanisms, and treatment strategies. Finally, the problems and prospects for developing gases as anticancer drugs are outlined.

Breast cancer is among the most common fatal diseases among women. Low-toxicity apigenin (AGN) is of interest due to its good antitumor activity, but its clinical application is severely limited due to its poor water solubility and low bioavailability. An effective strategy to enhance the anti-breast-cancer activity of AGN is to develop it as a nanodelivery system. Silk fibroin (SF) is an ideal drug carrier with good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and a simple extraction process. This paper develops a novel and efficient apigenin-loaded silk fibroin nanodelivery system (SF-AGN) by nanoprecipitation with SF as a carrier. The system was characterized in terms of morphology, zeta potential, particle size, ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), and synchronous thermal analyses (TG-DSC), and the in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo pharmacokinetics were examined. Finally, the chronic toxicity of SF-AGN in mice was studied. The SF-AGN nanodelivery system has good dispersibility, a hydrated particle size of 163.35 nm, a zeta potential of −18.5 mV, an average drug loading of 6.20%, and good thermal stability. MTT studies showed that SF-AGN significantly enhanced the inhibitory effect of AGN on 4T1 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Pharmacokinetic studies have demonstrated that SF-AGN can dramatically improve the bioavailability of AGN. The results of toxicity experiments showed that SF-AGN is biocompatible and does not alter normal tissues or organs. In sum, the SF-AGN nanodelivery system is a promising drug-delivery system for the clinical treatment of breast cancer.