Smart Designer Nanozymes for Precision Cancer Therapy: Recent Advances and Prospects

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Nanozymes are enzyme-mimicking nanomaterials with significant potential in biomedical applications.
• They offer stable, tunable, and multifunctional cancer therapies by leveraging tumor microenvironment (TME) cues.
• Current research focuses on regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and catalytic activities locally for cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in nanozyme-based cancer therapy.
• To focus on catalytic mechanisms, material classifications, and multimodality integration.
• To examine specific nanozyme types (OXD, POD, CAT, SOD-like) and their application in various therapies (CDT, PTT, PDT, SDT, immune, ST).

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on nanozyme applications in cancer therapy.
• Analysis of single-atom, multimetallic, biomimetic, and AI-assisted design strategies.
• Examination of nanozyme integration with therapeutic modalities and TME responsiveness.

Main Results:

• Single-atom and multimetallic nanozymes demonstrate superior catalytic precision and efficiency.
• AI-assisted design accelerates the discovery of optimal nanozyme compositions and enhances therapeutic compatibility.
• The combination of advanced nanozyme designs and AI shows promise for precision cancer therapy with enhanced tumor selectivity and efficacy.

Conclusions:

• Nanozymes, particularly those with advanced designs like single-atom and AI-assisted strategies, represent a transformative approach to cancer therapy.
• Challenges in in vivo specificity, biosafety, synthesis scalability, and clinical translation need to be addressed.
• Interdisciplinary innovation is crucial for advancing intelligent nanozyme platforms toward clinical oncology.