Nanodelivery and metals: Innovative technologies and promising applications in tumor therapy
image: Metal-based nanomaterials, including noble metal nanoparticles, metal-organic frameworks, magnetic nanoparticles. They can enhance radiotherapy sensitization, photothermal therapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy drug delivery in tumors, and play a significant role in multimodal synergistic therapy.
Credit: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press
Metal-based nanomaterials, encompassing noble metal nanoparticles, metal-organic frameworks, and magnetic nanoparticles, are emerging as crucial tools in the field of cancer treatment. They significantly enhance radiotherapy sensitization, photothermal therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs, and play a pivotal role in multimodal synergistic therapy.
A research team led by Quanxiang Han from Qilu Institute of Technology systematically reviewed the current research status of metal-based nanomaterials in multimodal synergistic tumor therapy, aiming to promote the development of this field. The review elaborates on the synthesis methods, performance, and diverse applications of metal-based nanomaterials in tumor therapy. It points out that their unique physicochemical properties, including high atomic number, tunable optics and magnetism, high drug-loading capacity, and biodegradability, are key to enabling new strategies for precise drug delivery, real-time imaging guidance, and combination therapies.
The team published their review in Nano Research on December 2, 2025.
"Metal-based nanomaterials can not only serve as efficient drug carriers, but also as radiotherapy sensitizers, photothermal converters, or immunomodulators, achieving the organic integration of diagnosis and treatment on a single platform, namely 'diagnosis and treatment integration'," said Professor Jibin Song, one of the corresponding authors of the article.
The article systematically reviews the mechanisms and effects of various materials, including gold nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, iron oxide nanoparticles, and metal-organic frameworks, in enhancing radiotherapy, photothermal therapy, immunotherapy, and multimodal combination therapy. For example, gold nanoparticles can achieve efficient photothermal conversion through surface plasmon resonance effect and enhance local energy deposition under X-ray irradiation, thereby improving the effectiveness of radiotherapy. Metal-organic frameworks, with their high specific surface area and tunable pore structure, enable efficient drug loading and stimuli-responsive release.
In addition, the article also focuses on exploring the potential of metal nanomaterials in regulating the tumor immune microenvironment. For example, manganese-based nanomaterials can activate the cGAS-STING signaling pathway, enhancing anti-tumor immune responses; metal ions such as zinc and calcium also participate in regulating immune cell functions, providing new ideas for immunotherapy.
Despite the immense potential demonstrated by metal nanomaterials in preclinical research, the author team also highlights the challenges they face in clinical translation, including long-term biosafety, standardization issues in large-scale production, and the complexity of the tumor microenvironment. Future research should focus on developing novel nanomaterials with enhanced biocompatibility, targeting capabilities, and degradability, while incorporating artificial intelligence to optimize design strategies, thereby facilitating their transition from the laboratory to clinical practice.
This review provides a systematic theoretical basis and technological outlook for the application of metal nanomaterials in precision cancer therapy, marking an important step forward for nanomedicine in the field of tumor treatment.
Other contributors include Litong Wang, Saibo Ma, Fanchao Meng, Zijian Jiang and Xing Gao from the Qilu Institute of Technology in Jinan China; and Jibin Song from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology in Beijing China.
This work was supported by Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. ZR2024QE449), and the Research Program of Qilu Institute of Technology (Nos. QIT23TP002, and QIT24NN013).
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.