Biomimetic nanoparticles in cancer photodynamic therapy: a review of targeted delivery systems and therapeutic outcomes

• Valentina I. Gorbacheva,
• Alexey S. Grabovoy,
• Polina S. Marukhina,
• Anastasiia O. Syrocheva and
• Ekaterina P. Kolesova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 396–422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.27

• generation, and boosting antitumor immunity by promoting immunogenic cell death and working synergistically with immune checkpoint inhibitors. This review details recent progress in BNP-based strategies for targeted PS delivery, ROS production enhancement, hypoxia modulation, and immune system activation

• treatments. Keywords: biomimetic nanoparticles; immunogenic cell death; nanocarriers; photodynamic therapy; targeted drug delivery; tumor hypoxia modulation; Review Introduction Cancer remains a formidable global health challenge, demanding innovative therapeutic strategies that balance efficacy with

• ). Furthermore, biomimetic platforms can synergize PDT with immunomodulation by promoting immunogenic cell death (ICD) and checkpoint inhibitor co-delivery [14][15][16]. By leveraging biomimicry, these systems seek to overcome biological barriers, increase treatment efficacy, and reduce side effects. This review

From shield to spear: Charge-reversible nanocarriers in overcoming cancer therapy barriers

• Madhuri Yeduvaka,
• Pooja Mittal,
• Ameer Boyalakuntla,
• Usman Bee Shaik,
• Himanshu Sharma,
• Thakur Gurjeet Singh,
• Siva Nageswara Rao Gajula and
• Lakshmi Vineela Nalla

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 159–175, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.10

• combined with photodynamic therapy (PDT), where light-triggered ROS generation induces immunogenic cell death, effectively transforming immunologically “cold” tumours into “hot” ones. Consequently, this combination synergistically potentiates the efficacy of dual checkpoint blockade by activating both T

Ferroptosis induction by engineered liposomes for enhanced tumor therapy

• Alireza Ghasempour,
• Mohammad Amin Tokallou,
• Mohammad Reza Naderi Allaf,
• Mohsen Moradi,
• Hamideh Dehghan,
• Mahsa Sedighi,
• Mohammad-Ali Shahbazi and
• Fahimeh Lavi Arab

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1325–1349, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.97

Better together: biomimetic nanomedicines for high performance tumor therapy

• Imran Shair Mohammad,
• Gizem Kursunluoglu,
• Anup Kumar Patel,
• Hafiz Muhammad Ishaq,
• Cansu Umran Tunc,
• Dilek Kanarya,
• Mubashar Rehman,
• Omer Aydin and
• Yin Lifang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1246–1276, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.92

• tumor cell membrane-coated biomimetic NPs by encapsulating epirubicin (EPI), Gox, and hemin in ZIF-8 nanoparticles (mEHGZ). EPI induced immunogenic cell death (ICD), Gox and hemin initiated ROS generation, and the CRT membrane gave an “eat me” signal to dendritic cells (DCs) to invoke the tumor immunity

Antibody-conjugated nanoparticles for target-specific drug delivery of chemotherapeutics

• Mamta Kumari,
• Amitabha Acharya and
• Praveen Thaggikuppe Krishnamurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 912–926, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.75

• the occurrence of systemic inflammatory reactions [92][93]. Multifunctionalization facilitates the specific and selective immunogenic cell death of the cancer cells and also reverses immune suppression [93]. ACNPs combine the advantages of the NPs with high affinity and improve cell penetration