Dental implants are widely used in the field of oral restoration, but there are still problems leading to implant failures in clinical application, such as failed osseointegration, marginal bone resorption, and peri-implantitis, which restrict the success rate of dental implants and patient satisfaction. Poor osseointegration and bacterial infection are the most essential reasons resulting in implant failure. To improve the clinical outcomes of implants, many scholars devoted to modifying the surface of implants, especially to preparing different physical and chemical modifications to improve the osseointegration between alveolar bone and implant surface. Besides, the bioactive-coatings to promote the adhesion and colonization of ossteointegration-related proteins and cells also aim to improve the osseointegration. Meanwhile, improving the anti-bacterial performance of the implant surface can obstruct the adhesion and activity of bacteria, avoiding the occurrence of inflammation related to implants. Therefore, this review comprehensively investigates and summarizes the modifying or coating methods of implant surfaces, and analyzes the ossteointegration ability and anti-bacterial characteristics of emerging functional coatings in published references.

Efficient treatment of chronic lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms is a great challenge because of drug tolerance and immune evasion issues. Here, we develop ultrasound-responsive catalytic microbubbles with biofilm elimination and immune activation properties to combat chronic lung infection induced by P. aeruginosa biofilms. In these microbubbles, piperacillin and Fe ₃ O ₄ nanoparticles form a drug-loaded shell surrounding the air core. Under ultrasound stimulation, the microbubbles can physically disrupt the structure of biofilms and enhance the penetration of both Fe ₃ O ₄ nanoparticles and piperacillin into the biofilm. Then, Fe ₃ O ₄ nanoparticles chemically degrade the biofilm matrix and kill the bacteria with the assistance of piperacillin. Fe ₃ O ₄ nanoparticles can activate the immune response for biofilm elimination by polarizing macrophages into a pro-inflammatory phenotype. These ultrasound-responsive catalytic microbubbles efficiently treat chronic lung infections in a mouse model by combining physical/chemical/antibiotic biofilm elimination and immune activation, thus providing a promising strategy for combating bacterial biofilm infections.

Dendritic cell (DC)‐based cancer immunotherapy has exhibited remarkable clinical prospects because DCs play a central role in initiating and regulating adaptive immune responses. However, the application of traditional DC‐mediated immunotherapy is limited due to insufficient antigen delivery, inadequate antigen presentation, and high levels of immunosuppression. To address these challenges, engineered biomaterials have been exploited to enhance DC‐mediated immunotherapeutic effects. In this review, vital principal components that can enhance DC‐mediated immunotherapeutic effects are first introduced. The parameters considered in the rational design of biomaterials, including targeting modifications, size, shape, surface, and mechanical properties, which can affect biomaterial optimization of DC functions, are further summarized. Moreover, recent applications of various engineered biomaterials in the field of DC‐mediated immunotherapy are reviewed, including those serve as immune component delivery platforms, remodel the tumor microenvironment, and synergistically enhance the effects of other antitumor therapies. Overall, the present review comprehensively and systematically summarizes biomaterials related to the promotion of DC functions; and specifically focuses on the recent advances in biomaterial designs for DC activation to eradicate tumors. The challenges and opportunities of treatment strategies designed to amplify DCs via the application of biomaterials are discussed with the aim of inspiring the clinical translation of future DC‐mediated cancer immunotherapies.

Therapeutic tumor vaccines have attracted considerable attention in the past decade; they can induce tumor regression, eradicate minimal residual disease, establish lasting immune memory and avoid non-specific and adverse side effects. However, the challenge in the field of therapeutic tumor vaccines is ensuring the delivery of immune components to the lymph nodes (LNs) to activate immune cells. The clinical response rate of traditional therapeutic tumor vaccines falls short of expectations due to inadequate lymph node delivery. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, a large number of nanoplatform-based LN-targeting nanovaccines have been exploited for optimizing tumor immunotherapies. In addition, some nanovaccines possess non-invasive visualization performance, which is benefit for understanding the kinetics of nanovaccine exposure in LNs. Herein, we present the parameters of nanoplatforms, such as size, surface modification, shape, and deformability, which affect the LN-targeting functions of nanovaccines. The recent advances in nanoplatforms with different components promoting LN-targeting are also summarized. Furthermore, emerging LNs-targeting nanoplatform-mediated imaging strategies to both improve targeting performance and enhance the quality of LN imaging are discussed. Finally, we summarize the prospects and challenges of nanoplatform-based LN-targeting and /or imaging strategies, which optimize the clinical efficacy of nanovaccines in tumor immunotherapies.

Microbial infection accounts for many dental diseases and treatment failure. Therefore, the antibacterial properties of dental biomaterials are of great importance to the long-term results of treatment. Silver-based biomaterials (AgBMs) have been widely researched as antimicrobial materials with high efficiency and relatively low toxicity. AgBMs have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial properties, including penetration of microbial cell membranes, damage to genetic material, contact killing, and dysfunction of bacterial proteins and enzymes. In particular, advances in nanotechnology have improved the application value of AgBMs. Hence, in many subspecialties of dentistry, AgBMs have been researched and employed, such as caries arresting or prevention, root canal sterilization, periodontal plaque inhibition, additives in dentures, coating of implants and anti-inflammatory material in oral and maxillofacial surgery. This paper aims to provide an overview of the application approaches of AgBMs in dentistry and present better guidance for oral antimicrobial therapy via the development of AgBMs.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is closely related to higher intracellular oxidative stress. Therefore, developing a novel method to scavenge the harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alleviate colon inflammation to treat IBD is a promising strategy. Methods: CeO₂@PDA-PEG (CeO₂@PP) were synthesized by modifying ceria (CeO₂) nanorods with polydopamine (PDA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The ROS scavenging ability of CeO₂@PP was detected by using flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). The anti-inflammatory ability of CeO₂@PP was determined in vitro by treating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The biocompatibility of CeO₂@PP was evaluated in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the therapeutic effects of CeO₂@PP in vivo were estimated in a dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model. Results: Physicochemical property results demonstrated that PDA and PEG modification endowed CeO₂ nanorods with excellent dispersibility and colloidal stability. CeO₂@PP maintained superior enzyme-like activity, including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), indicating antioxidant ability. Moreover, in vitro results showed that CeO₂@PP with PDA promotes LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages into M2-type polarization. In addition, in vitro and in vivo results showed that CeO₂@PP have great biocompatibility and biosafety. Animal experiments have shown that CeO₂@PP have excellent anti-inflammatory effects against DSS-induced colitis and effectively alleviated intestinal mucosal injury. Conclusion: The nanoplatform CeO₂@PP possessed excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties for scavenging ROS and modulating macrophage polarization, which is beneficial for efficient colitis therapy. Graphical Abstract: