The application of biocompatible nanomaterials to simultaneously detect and provide treatment of a disease is referred to as nanotheranostics [...

C. Martinelli

E. Jacchetti

English

Chiara Martinelli

Emanuela Jacchetti

Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

Development of Advanced Nanomaterials for Multifunctional Devices: Insights into a Novel Concept of Personalized Medicine

Archivio istituzionale della ricerca - Politecnico di Milano

Citation: Martinelli, C.; Jacchetti, E.Development of AdvancedNanomaterials for MultifunctionalDevices: Insights into a NovelConcept of Personalized Medicine. J.Nanotheranostics 2023, 4, 35–36.https://doi.org/10.3390/jnt4010002Received: 9 January 2023Revised: 12 January 2023Accepted: 13 January 2023Published: 18 January 2023Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This article is an open access articledistributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative CommonsAttribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Journal ofNanotheranosticsEditorialDevelopment of Advanced Nanomaterials for MultifunctionalDevices: Insights into a Novel Concept of Personalized MedicineChiara Martinelli *,† and Emanuela Jacchetti *,†Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano,20133 Milan, Italy* Correspondence: chiara.martinelli@polimi.it (C.M.); emanuela.jacchetti@polimi.it (E.J.)† These authors contributed equally to this work.The application of biocompatible nanomaterials to simultaneously detect and providetreatment of a disease is referred to as nanotheranostics.In the last decade, this broad discipline has significantly improved diagnosis and finelytuned therapeutic approaches, paving the way for effective personalized medicine. Thedevelopment of biocompatible multifunctional devices working as platforms for detectingspecific biomarkers of the target region, allowing real-time monitoring by imaging acqui-sitions, and delivering therapeutic agents to their target sites have significantly enrichedhealthcare methodologies, particularly regarding precision medicine applied to cancer.This research field has emerged based on the knowledge that every single therapeuticagent has a different effect on patients, even when diagnosed with the same disease.Moreover, it works by predominantly exploiting the properties of nanoparticles, suchas photothermal conversion, photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging to achieve biomarkeridentification, visualization of damaged tissues, and drug delivery treatments [1–3].Unfortunately, current nanotechnology-based theranostic systems are not yet sufficient;therefore, finding new strategies for diagnosing and monitoring diseases and administeringtherapies based on patients’ specific molecular fingerprints are necessary for reaching thedesired efficacy of personalized medicine.The present Special Issue exists in this context, specifically including two originalresearch papers that make new contributions to this field.Chavva et al. [4] designed a 3D printable platform that is able to simultaneouslymonitor surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and photothermal radiation output andtested it by using morphologically complex gold nanoparticles (such as gold nanostars andnanoplates). This device allows researchers to effectively screen nanoparticle candidatesfor their photothermic and SERS properties and make informed decisions when choosingthe best performing agents for the specific needs.On the other hand, Gal et al. [5] focalized their efforts in developing an effectivestrategy for delivering tumor-targeting antibodies to the brain and enhancing the standardof glioblastoma therapy. Conventional treatments include chemotherapy administrationand radiotherapy, and despite multiple strategies being implemented and evaluated inclinical trials, very few successfully brought benefits to the patients, with many challengesstill remaining [6,7]. Gold nanoparticles are good candidate for glioblastoma detectionbecause they present excellent properties as radiosensitizing agents [8] and great versatilityfor functionalization with targeting antibodies [9]. Moreover, gold nanoparticles coatedwith insulin are able to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB) [10]. In the present work, Galet al. showed that these nanoparticles can also actively deliver anti-epidermal growth factorreceptor (EGFR) antibodies to the brain in an orthotopic mouse model of glioblastoma.Interestingly, the nanovectors targeted and selectively accumulated within the tumorin vivo, demonstrating an effective improvement of the standard of care treatment outcome.J. Nanotheranostics 2023, 4, 35–36. https://doi.org/10.3390/jnt4010002 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jntJ. Nanotheranostics 2023, 4 36This study provides a proof of principle of employing these nanomaterials as potentialtools for delivering therapeutics for fighting glioblastoma.In conclusion, nanotheranostics arises with the idea that therapy and diagnosis canwork hand in hand to achieve the greatest efficacy in a hugely heterogeneous disease,such as cancer. In the future, therapy will be specifically chosen based on cancer andpatients features. How close this future actually is will depend on our ability to developdiagnostic systems and treatment approaches with increasingly improved sensitivity andmultiplexibility.Author Contributions: Conceptualization and Writing: C.M. and E.J.; Review and Editing: C.M. andE.J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.Funding: This research received no external funding.Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.References1. Ladju, R.B.; Ulhaq, Z.S.; Soraya, G.V. Nanotheranostics: A powerful next-generation solution to tackle hepatocellular carcinoma.World J. Gastroenterol. 2022, 28, 176–187. [CrossRef] [PubMed]2. Wong, X.Y.; Sena-Torralba, A.; Álvarez-Diduk, R.; Muthoosamy, K.; Merkoçi, A. Nanomaterials for Nanotheranostics TuningTheir Properties According to Disease Needs. ACS Nano 2020, 14, 2585–2627.3. Kim, T.H.; Lee, S.; Chen, X. Nanotheranostics for personalized medicine. Expert Rev. Mol. Diagn. 2013, 13, 257–269. [CrossRef][PubMed]4. Chavva, S.R.; Juan, A.M.S.; Mabbott a, S. Simultaneous Thermal and Spectroscopic Screening of Morphologically ComplexTheranostic Gold Nanoparticles. J. Nanotheranostics 2022, 3, 102–116. [CrossRef]5. Gal, O.; Betzer, O.; Rousso-Noori, L.; Sadan, T.; Motiei, M.; Nikitin, M.; Friedmann-Morvinski, D.; Popovtzer, R.; Popovtzer, A.Antibody Delivery into the Brain by Radiosensitizer Nanoparticles for Targeted Glioblastoma Therapy. J. Nanotheranostics 2022, 3,177–188. [CrossRef] [PubMed]6. Stupp, R.; Mason, W.P.; van den Bent, M.J.; Weller, M.; Fisher, B.; Taphoorn, M.J.B.; Belanger, K.; Brandes, A.A.; Marosi, C.;Bogdahn, U.; et al. Radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide for glioblastoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 2005, 352,987–996. [CrossRef] [PubMed]7. Shergalis, A.; Bankhead, A.; Luesakul, U.; Muangsin, N.; Neamati, N.; Barker, E.L. Current Challenges and Opportunities inTreating Glioblastoma. Pharmacol. Rev. 2018, 70, 412–445. [CrossRef] [PubMed]8. Hainfeld, J.F.; Slatkin, D.N.; Smilowitz, H.M. The use of gold nanoparticles to enhance radiotherapy in mice. Phys. Med. Biol.2004, 49, N309–N315. [CrossRef] [PubMed]9. Popovtzer, A.; Mizrachi, A.; Motiei, M.; Bragilovski, D.; Lubimov, L.; Levi, M.; Hilly, O.; Ben-Aharon, I.; Popovtzer, R. Activelytargeted gold nanoparticles as novel radiosensitizer agents: An in vivo head and neck cancer model. Nanoscale 2016, 8, 2678–2685.[CrossRef] [PubMed]10. Betzer, O.; Shilo, M.; Motiei, M.; Popovtzer, R. Insulin-coated gold nanoparticles as an effective approach for bypassing theblood-brain barrier. In Proceedings of the Nanoscale Imaging Sensing, and Actuation for Biomedical Applications XVI (SPIEBiOS 2019), San Francisco, CA, USA, 3–4 February 2019.Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individualauthor(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury topeople or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

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Development of Advanced Nanomaterials for Multifunctional Devices: Insights into a Novel Concept of Personalized Medicine

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