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Published on: May 9, 2016
Micro-/nanomotors as platforms for gas therapy.
Shuangjiao Sun1, Ya Liu1, Shuhuai Wang1
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Medical Materials and Devices, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, 300192, China.
Micro-/nanomotors (MNMs) offer advanced solutions for therapeutic gas delivery. These intelligent nanomaterials enable precise control over gas release for effective disease treatment and microenvironment modulation.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Therapeutic Gas Delivery
Background:
- Active delivery of therapeutic gases is crucial for disease intervention but faces challenges in targeted delivery and controlled release.
- Nanomaterial-based systems, particularly micro-/nanomotors (MNMs), show promise for overcoming these limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively review recent advances in using MNMs for precise therapeutic gas delivery and therapy.
- To highlight the potential of MNMs in modulating biological microenvironments for disease treatment.
Main Methods:
- Discussion of various proof-of-concept designs for artificial MNMs.
- Analysis of MNM propulsion in biological environments and stimuli-responsive gas release mechanisms.
- Review of physiological functions of therapeutic gases like NO, H2S, CO, O2, and H2.
Main Results:
- MNMs can be engineered for efficient propulsion and targeted delivery of therapeutic gases.
- Intelligent MNMs demonstrate controlled gas release in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli.
- MNMs show significant potential for microenvironment modulation in disease treatment.
Conclusions:
- MNMs represent a promising mobile platform for precise gas delivery and therapy.
- Further development of MNMs is expected to lead to sophisticated delivery systems for gas therapy.
- Challenges and limitations in current MNM technology for gas therapy are identified.
