In past decades, rapid progress in nanoparticle (NP) synthesis and engineering has provided a broad range of nanoscale agents affording both therapeutic and diagnostic functions. More recently, the emergence of biomimetic NPs as an efficient and promising technology has further expanded this field. The employment of biomemetic NPs offers many distinct advantages, including enhanced stability, the solubilization of hydrophobic payloads, extended blood residence times and the ability to better target a region of interest. In this review, we focus on two main categories of biomimetic NPs, protein/peptide-templated biomimetic NPs and cell membrane-derived biomimetic NPs. The properties, applications and challenges of these biomimetic NPs in tumor diagnosis and treatment are discussed. The pros and cons, and future development, of biomimetic NPs are also considered.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the USA as well as in the world. As a result of TBI, the visual system is also affected often causing complete or partial visual loss, which in turn affects the quality of life. It may also lead to ocular motor dysfunction, defective accommodation, and impaired visual perception. As a part of the therapeutic strategy, early rehabilitative optometric intervention is important. Orthoptic therapy, medication, stem cell therapy, motor and attention trainings are the available treatment options. Gene therapy is one of the most promising emerging strategies. Use of state-of-the-art nanomedicine approaches to deliver drug(s) and/or gene(s) might enhance the therapeutic efficacy of the present and future modalities. More research is needed in these fields to improve the outcome of this debilitating condition. This review focuses on different visual pathologies caused by TBI, advances in pre-clinical and clinical research, and available treatment options.

Society is increasingly exposed to nanoparticles as they are ubiquitous in nature and introduced as man-made air pollutants and as functional ingredients in cosmetic products as well as in nanomedicine. Nanoparticles differ in size, shape and material properties. In addition to their intended function, the side effects on biochemical processes in organisms remain unclear. Nanoparticles can significantly influence the nucleation and aggregation process of peptides. The development of several neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, is related to the aggregation of peptides into amyloid fibrils. However, there is no comprehensive or universal mechanism to predict or explain apparent acceleration or inhibition of these aggregation processes. In this work, selected studies and possible mechanisms for amyloid peptide nucleation and aggregation, in the presence of nanoparticles, are highlighted. These studies are discussed in the context of recent data from our group on the role of gold nanoparticles in amyloid peptide aggregation using experimental methods and large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. A complex interplay of the surface properties of the nanoparticles, the properties of the peptides, as well as the resulting forces between both the nanoparticles and the peptides, appear to determine whether amyloid peptide aggregation is influenced, catalysed or inhibited by the presence of nanoparticles.

Doxorubicin is a highly active antineoplastic agent, but its clinical use is limited because of its cardiotoxicity. Although nutraceuticals endowed with anti-inflammatory properties exert cardioprotective activity, their bioavailability and stability are inconsistent. In an attempt to address this issue, we evaluated whether bioavailable nanoemulsions loaded with nutraceuticals (curcumin and fresh and dry tomato extracts rich in lycopene) protect cardiomyoblasts (H9C2 cells) from doxorubicin-induced toxicity. Nanoemulsions were produced with a high-pressure homogenizer. H9C2 cells were incubated with nanoemulsions loaded with different nutraceuticals alone or in combination with doxorubicin. Cell viability was evaluated with a modified MTT method. The levels of the lipid peroxidation products malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxy-2-butanone (4-HNA), and of the cardiotoxic-related interleukins IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β and IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and nitric oxide were analyzed in cardiomyoblasts. The hydrodynamic size of nanoemulsions was around 100 nm. Cell viability enhancement was 35⁻40% higher in cardiomyoblasts treated with nanoemulsion + doxorubicin than in cardiomyoblasts treated with doxorubicin alone. Nanoemulsions also protected against oxidative stress as witnessed by a reduction of MDA and 4-HNA. Notably, nanoemulsions inhibited the release of IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, TNF-α and nitric oxide by around 35⁻40% and increased IL-10 production by 25⁻27% versus cells not treated with emulsions. Of the nutraceuticals evaluated, lycopene-rich nanoemulsions had the best cardioprotective profile. In conclusion, nanoemulsions loaded with the nutraceuticals described herein protect against cardiotoxicity, by reducing inflammation and lipid oxidative stress. These results set the stage for studies in preclinical models.

Antibody drug conjugates (ADC's) represent a promising and an efficient strategy for targeted cancer therapy. Comprised of a monoclonal antibody, a cytotoxic drug, and a linker, ADC's offer tumor selectively, reduced toxicity, and improved stability in systemic circulation. Recent approvals of two ADC's have led to a resurgence in ADC research, with more than 60 ADC's under various stages of clinical development. The therapeutic success of future ADCs is dependent on adherence to key requirements of their design and careful selection of the target antigen on cancer cells. Here we review the main components in the design of antibody drug conjugates, improvements made, and lessons learned over two decades of research, as well as the future of third generation ADCs.

While either pancreas or pancreatic islet transplantation can restore endogenous insulin secretion in patients with diabetes, no beta-cell replacement strategies are recommended in the literature. For this reason, the aim of this national expert panel statement is to provide information on the different kinds of beta-cell replacement, their benefit-risk ratios and indications for each type of transplantation, according to type of diabetes, its control and association with end-stage renal disease. Allotransplantation requires immunosuppression, a risk that should be weighed against the risks of poor glycaemic control, diabetic lability and severe hypoglycaemia, especially in cases of unawareness. Pancreas transplantation is associated with improvement in diabetic micro- and macroangiopathy, but has the associated morbidity of major surgery. Islet transplantation is a minimally invasive radiological or mini-surgical procedure involving infusion of purified islets via the hepatic portal vein, but needs to be repeated two or three times to achieve insulin independence and long-term functionality. Simultaneous pancreas-kidney and pancreas after kidney transplantations should be proposed for kidney recipients with type 1 diabetes with no surgical, especially cardiovascular, contraindications. In cases of high surgical risk, islet after or simultaneously with kidney transplantation may be proposed. Pancreas, or more often islet, transplantation alone is appropriate for non-uraemic patients with labile diabetes. Various factors influencing the therapeutic strategy are also detailed in this report.

Protein corona can alter the physiochemical properties of targeting nanoparticles (NPs), as well as their physiological responses and targeting functionality. Herein, we synthesized 20 types of NPs with diverse surface chemistry in order to study the impacts of protein corona on targeting functionality of cyclic RGD peptides, and their relationships to the polyethylene glycol (PEG) length and grafting density of targeting ligands. After protein adsorption, cyclic RGD on the surface of NP was still able to bind its receptors with increased targeted cell uptake, even at relatively low density. However, the cell uptake was reduced from 26% to 76% when compared with protein non-bound NPs, which was caused by the shielding effect of outer layer adsorbed proteins. NPs functionalized with short PEG molecules, and moderate cyclic RGD density performed better targeting efficiency. Due to PEG conjugation, the protein corona was demonstrated to be beneficial for passive targeting by decreasing macrophage cell uptake. These relationships between surface chemistry and targeting functionality will provide guidelines for the design of targeting nanoformulations in nanomedicine.

Three-dimensionally printed constructs are static and do not recapitulate the dynamic nature of tissues. Four-dimensional (4D) bioprinting has emerged to include conformational changes in printed structures in a predetermined fashion using stimuli-responsive biomaterials and/or cells. The ability to make such dynamic constructs would enable us to fabricate tissue structures that can undergo morphological changes. Furthermore, other fields (bioactuation, biorobotics, and biosensing) will benefit from developments in 4D bioprinting. Here, we discuss stimuli-responsive biomaterials as potential bioinks for 4D bioprinting. Natural cell forces can also be incorporated into 4D bioprinted structures. We introduce mathematical modelling to predict the transition and final state of 4D printed constructs. Different potential applications of 4D bioprinting are also described. Finally, we highlight future perspectives for this emerging technology in biomedicine.