NIR-propelled biomimetic nanomotors for photothermal/chemodynamic/NO synergistic tumor therapy
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Jun-2026 12:16 ET (22-Jun-2026 16:16 GMT/UTC)
A research paper by scientists from Southern University of Science and Technology developed a near-infrared (NIR) light-activated biomimetic nanomotor for targeted nitric oxide (NO) delivery and synergistic cancer therapy.
The new research paper, published on Apr. 24 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, developed a new light‑activated nanomotor platform combines photothermal therapy, chemodynamic therapy, and nitric oxide (NO) gas therapy in one tiny, tumor‑hunting vehicle.
As AI is being widely tested in medicine, scientists at the University of Auckland, Auckland City Hospital, and Matai Medical Research Institute in New Zealand have analyzed the current landscape of AI models for meningioma (a cancer of the brain’s soft cover) segmentation from MRI scans, and its path ahead. Their key finding is that advanced model architecture has considerably contributed to tumor detection sensitivity, rather than data characteristics, imaging modalities, or preprocessing.
Dendritic mesoporous silica-lanthanide fluoride (DMS-CeF3:Tb) nanocomposites with a pomegranate-like architecture have been fabricated through a facile in situ enrichment strategy. The strong single-particle luminescence and long photoluminescence lifetime of DMS-CeF3:Tb nanoprobes enabled an ultrasensitive immunoassay for prostate specific antigen (PSA) with a detection limit of 41 fg mL-1, which represents a 976-fold improvement over a commercial PSA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Validation with PCa serum samples revealed a strong correlation with the hospital’s electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, confirming the clinical applicability of the nanoprobes. Additionally, targeted imaging and in vitro detection of cervical cancer cells were realized utilizing biotinylated DMS-CeF3:Tb nanoprobes, enabling rapid cancer screening. These findings reveal the great potential of DMS-CeF3:Tb as an efficient nano-bioprobe for early cancer diagnosis.
At the cellular level, one major calcium signaling pathway is known as store-operated calcium entry, or SOCE. In this pathway, the endoplasmic reticulum—a major intracellular calcium store—acts like a sensor-and-supply system. When calcium levels inside the endoplasmic reticulum fall, the protein stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) detects the change and activates ORAI channels in the plasma membrane. ORAI1 forms the pore of the calcium release-activated calcium channel, or CRAC channel, allowing calcium from outside the cell to enter the cytosol and trigger downstream signaling.
Understanding how this pathway works—and how it can be controlled when it doesn’t—is the focus of research led by Yubin Zhou, director of the Center for Translational Cancer Research at the Texas A&M Health Institute of Biosciences and Technology and professor in the Texas A&M Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine.
Davis Joseph was awarded the 2025 Ciechanover International Biology Award at the Sustainability through Science and Technology Summit 2025 (FLOGEN SIPS 2025) in Cebu, Philippines, for a breakthrough cancer discovery proposing organ-agnostic treatment strategies. His work identifies three universal cancer types based on dysfunctions in p14ARF/p53, DINO lncRNA, and MDM2 activity, and introduces a universal apoptosis network flowsheet built from the analysis of 174 scientific publications. The discovery supports a unified therapeutic framework for treating cancers regardless of the organ in which they originate and is presented as an example of Sustainable Medicine under the FLOGEN Sustainability Framework.