Published in the KeAi journal Nano Biomedicine and Engineering, a new review (DOI: 10.1016/j.nbe.2025.100003) by researchers from Hainan Medical University details how atomically engineed nanozymes (AENs)are engineered to mimic natural enzymes while outperforming them in biomedical applications. These nanostructures can precisely regulate reactive oxygen species (ROS), activate immune pathways, and remodel the tumor microenvironment—killing tumors by immunotherapy.
“From radioimmunotherapy and cuproptosis to ferroptosis and pyroptosis, AENs are being harnessed to induce immunogenic cell death, activate STING pathways, and boost checkpoint blockade therapies,” shares senior author Pir Muhammad. “They also show promise in antibacterial applications, wound healing, and mitigating drug-induced organ toxicity.”
In particular, AENs’ atomic tunability allows the design of targeted, efficient, and personalized therapeutic platforms for more effective treatments of different disease, including rheumatoid arthritis, acute pancreatitis, sepsis, Parkinson's disease , ischemic strokes, pneumonia, and Alzheimer's disease.
Nonetheless, the authors note that while AENs show promise, challenges remain in scaling synthesis, long-term biocompatibility, and precise control of catalytic activity in dynamic biological environments. Future efforts are likely to focus on intelligent nanozyme design, real-time immune monitoring, and clinical translation.
###
References
DOI
10.1016/j.nbe.2025.100003
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbe.2025.100003
About Nano Biomedicine and Engineering
Nano Biomedicine and Engineering (Nano Biomed. Eng.) is an open access, peer-reviewed journal. The aim of Nano Biomed. Eng. is to serve the multidisciplinary community of nano biomedical engineering. The journal presents basic, clinical, and engineering research articles, reviews, highlights, conference proceedings, editorials and short communications in the interdisciplinary field of nanotechnology, biology, medicine and engineering, as well as strategies for disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and assessment.