Nanomedicine

Nanomedicine harnesses materials and devices with dimensions of 1–100 nm to diagnose, treat and prevent disease. At this size scale, substances such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, metallic nanocrystals and self-assembled peptides exhibit unique chemical, optical and mechanical properties. These can be engineered to improve drug solubility and bioavailability, to target tissues with precision and to control release kinetics in response to environmental cues. By minimising off-target toxicity and enhancing therapeutic index, nanomedicine holds promise across oncology, infectious disease, inflammation and regenerative medicine. Ongoing innovations include multifunctional carriers that co-deliver drugs and imaging agents, stimuli-responsive hydrogels for wound repair, and mobile nanodevices capable of sensing and actuating at the molecular level. The field is underpinned by advances in nanofabrication, surface chemistry and an expanding understanding of nano–bio interactions.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Innovative nanomachines have been devised to overcome tumour thermotolerance. One approach employs an autocatalytic DNAzyme assembly that releases heat-shock protein-cleaving enzymes and calcium ions in the acidic microenvironment of pancreatic tumours. Upon near-infrared irradiation, this system synergistically suppresses HSP expression and enhances photothermal ablation, yielding marked tumour inhibition. A complementary strategy utilises nanoparticles to block TRPV1 ion channels, thereby preventing heat-induced activation of heat-shock factor 1 and downregulating HSP70. This dual action both amplifies mild-temperature photothermal therapy and remodels the tumour stroma, permitting deeper immune-cell infiltration and improved responses to checkpoint inhibition in pancreatic models.

Nanomedicine publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in nanomedicine across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Photothermal therapy: Treatment in which light-absorbing agents convert near-infrared radiation into heat to ablate diseased tissue.

Heat-shock protein (HSP): A molecular chaperone upregulated under stress that confers thermotolerance by preventing protein misfolding.

DNAzyme: A catalytically active DNA molecule engineered to cleave specific RNA targets for gene-silencing applications.

TRPV1 channel: A calcium-permeable ion channel activated by heat and chemical stimuli; blockade can prevent stress-induced signalling.

Wormlike polymer micelle: A filamentous, self-assembled aggregate of block copolymers that can penetrate tissues and target immune cells selectively.

References

1. An autocatalytic multicomponent DNAzyme nanomachine for tumor-specific photothermal therapy sensitization in pancreatic cancer. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Nanoparticle-mediated TRPV1 channel blockade amplifies cancer thermo-immunotherapy via heat shock factor 1 modulation. Nature Communications (2023).
3. Selective Uptake Into Inflamed Human Intestinal Tissue and Immune Cell Targeting by Wormlike Polymer Micelles. Small (2023).
4. PEG–Lipid–PLGA Hybrid Particles for Targeted Delivery of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs. Pharmaceutics (2024).
5. Cross-Linked Alginate Dialdehyde/Chitosan Hydrogel Encompassing Curcumin-Loaded Bilosomes for Enhanced Wound Healing Activity. Pharmaceutics (2024).
6. Navigating the Nanoscale Frontier: An In-Depth Introduction to the World of Nanomedicine.