Wei-Peng Li

Naturally secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs) have attracted considerable interest as next-generation theranostic platforms because of their intrinsic biocompatibility, membrane complexity, and intercellular communication capabilities. However, their broader biomedical and translational applications remain limited by low production yields, heterogeneous quality, high manufacturing costs, and limited controllability in functional engineering. This mini-review highlights how hybrid and synthetic EV platforms are being developed to overcome these intrinsic barriers through scalable manufacturing and rational membrane engineering. We summarize emerging strategies for EV surface functionalization, including chemical modification, bioorthogonal conjugation, and metabolic engineering, which enable the modular installation of targeting ligands, imaging probes, and therapeutic moieties. We further discuss membrane-camouflaged nanosystems, in which engineered single or hybrid membranes are combined with functional nanomaterials to create multifunctional biomimetic nanoparticles with enhanced performance. These advances have broadened the potential applications of EV-based systems in drug delivery, cancer theranostics, immunotherapy, and other biomedical fields.

The SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein facilitates viral entry into host cells by binding to the human angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. To exploit this mechanism for therapeutic intervention, a liposome fusion‐induced membrane exchange (LIME) strategy to generate biomimetic membrane‐integrated liposomes (MILs) from ACE2‐overexpressing mammalian cells was developed. Using engineered HeLa cells as a model, MILs have been successfully harvested that retained native surface proteins, including ACE2, as confirmed by immunogold TEM and Western blot analysis. These ACE2‐presenting MILs were then coated onto copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs), creating biomimetic Cu@MIL nanostructures with dual functions, including selective viral capture via ACE2‐mediated binding and neutralization, as well as potent antiviral activity from Cu NP disinfection. This synergistic platform effectively camouflages the nanomaterial with host‐mimetic membranes, conferring targeted viral neutralization and disinfection capabilities. Our findings highlight the potential of Cu@MIL nanoparticles as a decoy‐plus antiviral therapeutic for SARS‐CoV‐2, offering a promising strategy to combat COVID‐19 and future pandemics of receptor‐specific pathogens.

The aim of this review article is to provide a summary of the state-of-the-art technology for the integration of lipid-based natural biomaterials, emphasizing mainly broad applications, especially in therapeutics and diagnostics. Herein, we focused mainly on the utilization of bioengineered lipid-based nanomaterials as medicine and diagnostic agents, which constitute the primary focus of the field of bioengineered lipid-based nanomaterials. Each property of diverse classes of lipid-based nanomaterials is determined by their chemical structure, functionality, and synthesis methodology, and they are versatile for use as drug-delivery nanocarriers, for targeting certain types of cancer cells and for controlled immune therapies. In addition, lipid-based biomaterials have been applied in various research fields with subsequent surface engineering with modulation moieties for the integration of functional nanomaterials (signaling pathway mediators, nucleic acid drugs, and active targeting proteins). The overall manuscript is organized in sections describing materials, fabrication processes, and applications based on innovative lipid-based nanobiotechnology.

To date, the rising demand for precious gold in advanced electronics and energy technologies depends on the continuous mining of limited natural gold resources. Therefore, developing a sustainable method for selectively recovering gold from industrial waste is both necessary and challenging. Here, we present a practical strategy that utilizes a magnetic nanocomposite to enable the specific capture of gold and subsequent heterogeneous catalysis by the collected Au. Superparamagnetic ferrosoferric oxide nanoparticles (Fe ₃ O ₄ NPs) are prepared as the starting material via thermal decomposition. These Fe ₃ O ₄ NPs are then coated with a silica (SiO ₂ ) shell via a sol‐gel reaction to form the core–shell Fe ₃ O ₄ @SiO ₂ nanocomposite. The surface of Fe ₃ O ₄ @SiO ₂ is subsequently encapsulated with poly(3,3′‐diaminobenzidine) through H ₂ O ₂ ‐initiated polymerization of 3,3′‐diaminobenzidine monomer (DAB), creating the Fe ₃ O ₄ @SiO ₂ @pDAB magnetic nanobeads. The resulting nanobeads demonstrated an outstanding Au(III) ion adsorption capacity of 458.23 mg/g, as fitted by the Langmuir model. Its selective adsorption process follows pseudo‐second‐order kinetics, indicating pDAB‐Au chemisorption as the primary mechanism. Additionally, the nanobeads enabled >99% magnetic recovery of trace Au ³⁺ ions, and the Au‐loaded materials acted as effective catalysts for 4‐nitrophenol reduction with a rate constant of 0.0107 s ⁻¹ , demonstrating dual functionality in both gold recovery and environmentally friendly catalysis.

Medical gases, particularly oxygen and nitric oxide (NO), have attracted significant interest in clinical applications, notably wound healing, due to their role in enhancing cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and collagen deposition. However, the use of these gases has been limited by challenges such as inefficient gas delivery and potential toxicity to normal tissues. In this study, we elucidate a feasible approach using a porphyrin-based metal-organic framework (MOF), a unique material that shows immense potential for dual-gas-assisted wound healing. The MOF nanorods, meticulously designed, contain catalytically active manganese clusters, enabling spontaneous water decomposition and subsequent oxygen generation upon water exposure. The MOF incorporates Fe-chelated porphyrins, which not only serve as ligands connecting the manganese clusters but also exhibit a strong affinity with NO gas for the successful delivery of NO. The loaded NO, tethered to the MOF, can be released in a water environment. We employed a wound-healing assay to evaluate the efficacy of the NO-loaded MOF. After adding the MOF to fibroblast cell culture for O₂ and NO supply, significantly accelerated migration and proliferation were obtained, providing strong evidence for the potential of the MOF in water-driven dual-gas therapy for wound care.

As the global prevalence of diabetes continues to rise, the home health testing market has experienced rapid growth. Although blood glucose monitoring is widespread among diabetic patients, there remains a significant lack of testing methods for diabetic ketoacidosis. The present study developed a feasible electrochemical technique for ketoacid detection using serine-immobilized copper(I) oxide nanoparticles (Cu₂O NPs) as the primary electrode material. Given that the serine on the nanoparticle surface enables conjugation with β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HBA) through an esterification reaction between the hydroxyl group of serine and carboxylic acid of β-HBA and another intramolecular nucleophilic acyl substitution between amine and ester groups to form irreversible amide bonding, thus resulting in the β-HBA deposition on the surface of the Cu₂O NP-coated electrode. The quantification of β-HBA can be determined through current variations in amperometry measurement. The results showed a highly linear relationship between reductive current and β-HBA concentration at 0-20 mM, with a reasonable detection limit of 0.1 mM. Moreover, a reasonable mechanism involving the NP surface covering-mediated electrolysis enhancement was proposed. The present method reveals a promising direction in developing sensors for small molecule detection with high specificity and sensitivity.

Cancer remains a global health challenge necessitating innovative therapies. We introduce a strategy to disrupt cancer cell redox balance using gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as electron sinks combined with electroactive membranes. Utilizing Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 membrane proteins, we develop liposomes enriched with c-type cytochromes. These, coupled with Au NPs, facilitate autonomous electron transfer from cancer cells, disrupting redox processes and inducing cell death. Effective across various cancer types, larger Au NPs show enhanced efficacy, especially under hypoxic conditions. Oxidative stress from Au@MIL (MIL: membrane-integrated liposome) treatments, including mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum lipid oxidation and mitochondrial membrane potential changes, triggers apoptosis, bypassing iron-mediated pathways. Surface plasmon band and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analyses confirm electron transfer. A SiO₂ insulator coating on Au NPs blocks this transfer, suppressing cancer cell damage. This approach highlights the potential of modulated electron transfer pathways in targeted cancer therapy, offering refined and effective treatments.

Noninvasive liquid biopsies can be used for early tumor diagnosis by identifying the methylation level of the tumor suppressor genes (TSGs)—a reliable index for cancer evaluation. However, identifying trace circulating genes from specimens remains challenging. This work introduces a novel method that combines magnetic isolation and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to concentrate and detect the methylated TSG promotors. A superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle modified with streptavidin is prepared as a universal magnetic bead. Biotin‐terminated probe single‐strand DNA (ssDNA) is immobilized on the magnetic beads through biotin–streptavidin bioconjugation. Artificial target ssDNA fragments with various methylation levels are applied as a promoter gene model. Concentrated double‐strand DNA (dsDNA) is produced by a hybridizing probe and target ssDNA on magnetic nanobeads, as well as an additional magnetic isolation process. The well‐prepared DNA adduct, which consists of 3 nm cisplatin‐modified Ag nanoclusters, can specifically bind with guanine‐cytosine base pairs of dsDNA. Ag‐nanoparticle‐induced localized SERS amplified signals of 5‐methylcytosine (5‐mC) from the dsDNA in Raman spectra, enabling accurate methylation level measurement in mixtures of 0–1 µ m methylated DNA, with a detection limit of 0.05 µ m . This method shows promise for enabling the methylation level evaluation of various TSGs and promoters in early cancer liquid biopsies.