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Oral drug delivery is a commonly used strategy to deliver therapeutics. However, the harsh environment in the digestive tract prevents the oral administration of many drugs and can negatively affect drug efficacy. This Review discusses how biological materials and living microorganisms can be designed into bioinspired oral delivery devices that can overcome many of the challenges associated with oral delivery.
The clinical translation of biomedical research requires a culture of solutions as a second critical pillar next to discovery. Engineers use biomedical and other knowledge, with a solution-oriented mind-set, to generate tools and concepts that catalyse the transformation of knowledge into medical solutions. In this light, bioengineering becomes the driving force of accelerating clinical translation and introducing new concepts in validation, prevention, diagnostics and precision therapy.
Cancer nanotherapy suffers from low-yield delivery that is imposed by tumour pathophysiological barriers. Top-down drug delivery strategies, including exosomes and cell membrane-coated particles, can improve safety and efficacy owing to the innate biointerfacial properties of these platforms. Here, we discuss the technological challenges that need to be overcome for their clinical implementation.
Photothermal modulation is a non-genetic approach for remote neural modulation with high spatiotemporal resolution and specificity. This Review summarizes the fundamental material properties and experimental conditions necessary for efficient nanomaterial-assisted photothermal excitation, inhibition and regulation of cellular signalling pathways.
This Review discusses biomaterials that promote therapeutic targeting of immune cells by modulating the dosage, timing and location of stimulation, thereby improving the safety and efficacy of vaccines and immunotherapies.
Chiral inorganic nanomaterials can induce specific physical, chemical and biological phenomena. This Review discusses how chiral biomolecules and polarized light allow nanoscale chirality control in inorganic nanomaterials, which can be applied in optical devices, sensing, catalysis and biomedicine.
Three-dimensional nanotopography plays a key role in the interaction of nanoscale drug delivery systems and biological components. This Review discusses bioinspired nanotopographies that can improve muco-adhesion and cyto-adhesion, drug uptake and trafficking, barrier remodelling, cellular modulation and antimicrobial activities of various drug delivery platforms.
CRISPR-based assays can be adopted as ultrasensitive molecular diagnostics in resource-limited settings, but point-of-care applications must address additional requirements. Here, we discuss the major obstacles for developing these assays and offer insights into how to surmount them.
The tumour microenvironment of solid tumours can prevent immune cell infiltration and negatively affect the efficacy of immunotherapies. This Review discusses the design of biomaterials-based tools that can modulate the physicochemical features of the tumour microenvironment to assist immunotherapies.
Delivery of vaccines by nasal sprays may enable more robust, protective mucosal immune responses against infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, compared with intramuscular injection. In this Comment, we highlight how biomaterials can be designed to allow intranasal and inhaled vaccination.
Biomarkers in breath can be related to certain diseases, which makes breath-based analysis a powerful diagnostic tool. Here we highlight milestones and remaining challenges for the broad clinical implementation of wearables for breath analysis.
An article in Nature Biomedical Engineering reports an intravenously injectable extracellular matrix biomaterial that can target and seal injured tissue by binding to leaky microvasculature.
An article in Nature Biotechnology reports an expansion microscopy technique that does not require a separate anchoring step, achieving a resolution comparable to super-resolution imaging techniques.
Metabolomics is on the precipice of transforming from a research tool into a powerful clinical platform to improve precision medicine. However, metabolomics methods need to be validated in clinical research to enable rapid translation of research results into clinical tests.
A paper in Science Robotics reports living microrobots made of magnetically responsive bacteria for targeted drug delivery in cancer therapy. A magnetic torque-driven control scheme enhances the transport of the microrobots through the endothelial barrier to the tumour site.
A paper in Nature Materials reports an effective and safe polymeric nanoparticle for the functional delivery of RNA into the lungs of various animal species.
Welcome to the very first issue of Nature Reviews Bioengineering, a new Nature Reviews journal covering all areas of bioengineering, with a particular focus on translation, inclusivity and accessibility.
The Gx Sweat Patch is a wearable microfluidic sweat sensor that can be worn by athletes to monitor their sweating rate and sweat chloride concentration. Here, we highlight the commercialization of the Gx Sweat Patch, from developing and optimizing prototypes of a wearable sweat-sensing platform, to validation in competitive individual and team-sport athletes, and the challenges of commercial launch.
Engineers need to meaningfully engage in global health by developing solutions that work in the low-resource environments that are a reality for many health-care professionals and patients around the world. Engineering World Health, founded in 2001, aims to inspire, educate and empower the biomedical engineering community to improve health-care delivery around the world.
