This review summarizes the recent advances in layered double hydroxide (LDH)-based nanomaterials for biomedical applications including drug/gene delivery, bioimaging diagnosis, cancer therapy, biosensing, tissue engineering, and anti-bacteria.

Significance: How to achieve effective treatment of diabetic ulcer (DU) is still a major challenge in the clinic. Herein, we propose an effective strategy to perfectly address all the problems faced in the treatment of DU. A near-infrared–responsive black phosphorus-based sprayed fibrin gel capable of alleviating pain, eliminating bacteria, reducing inflammation, and promoting angiogenesis is developed. The promoting wound healing and pain relief effects in the diabetic mouse ulcer model indicate this gel is a valuable wound dressing for effective treatment of DU and other advanced wounds. We anticipate that this therapeutic strategy may be generalized for treating other disorders such as chronic inflammation and infections.

Clay-based nanomaterials, especially 2:1 aluminosilicates such as vermiculite, biotite, and illite, have demonstrated great potential in various fields. However, their characteristic sandwiched structures and the lack of effective methods to exfoliate two-dimensional (2D) functional core layers (FCLs) greatly limit their future applications. Herein, we present a universal wet-chemical exfoliation method based on alkali etching that can intelligently “capture” the ultrathin and biocompatible FCLs (MgO and Fe₂O₃) sandwiched between two identical tetrahedral layers (SiO₂ and Al₂O₃) from vermiculite. Without the sandwich structures that shielded their active sites, the obtained FCL nanosheets (NSs) exhibit a tunable and appropriate electron band structure (with the bandgap decreased from 2.0 eV to 1.4 eV), a conductive band that increased from −0.4 eV to −0.6 eV, and excellent light response characteristics. The great properties of 2D FCL NSs endow them with exciting potential in diverse applications including energy, photocatalysis, and biomedical engineering. This study specifically highlights their application in cancer theranostics as an example, potentially serving as a prelude to future extensive studies of 2D FCL NSs.