Designed Synthesis and Assembly of Inorganic Nanomaterials for Medical and Healthcare Applications

Over the last 20 years, our laboratory has focused on the designed chemical synthesis, assembly and medical applications of uniform-sized nanocrystals and related nanomaterials. We demonstrated that ceria–based nanoparticles can work as therapeutic antioxidants to treat various intractable diseases. Furthermore, we demonstrated that ceria nanoparticle and mesenchymal stem cell works not only individually but also cooperatively toward a comprehensive rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Ceria nanoparticles deposited with copper ions were synthesized for effective and synergistic antioxidant therapy to treat ischemic vascular diseases. Ce-DTPA complex combined with Fe-DTPA complex were utilized as non-accumulative adjuvants for treating sepsis. Orally deliverable iron-ceria nanotablets, where iron-ceria nanoparticles are clustered in calcium phosphate and coated with a pH-responsive polymer, can treat inflammatory bowel disease. We showed that CeO₂/Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles can work as effective radio-protectant not only against acute radiation syndrome, but also for protecting salivary gland during head and neck cancer radiation treatment. We synthesized a lysosomal alkalizer with an iron oxide core and ceria satellites to impair lysosomal enzyme activity and autophagy for treatment of primary tumor and metastasis. We proposed a co-delivery system of small-molecule drugs, proteins, and nanoparticles using large-pore mesoporous silica nanoparticles to inhibit lactate metabolism and induce intracellular acidification for synergistic cancer treatment. We reported a heterogeneous chemodynamic therapy system based on copper-iron peroxide nanoparticles for tumor microenvironment-mediated synergistic therapy.