REVIEW article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Nanobiotechnology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1631627
Nanomaterials Engineered for Photothermal Therapy in Neural Tumors and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Biomaterial Design, Clinical Mechanisms and Applications
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Neurology, Jiujiang University Affiliated Hospital, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China
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The rising incidence of neural tumors and neurodegenerative diseases cause significant health, emotional, and financial burdens. Conventional treatments like surgery and chemotherapy often lack effectiveness. However, advancements in nanotechnology, particularly photothermal therapy (PTT), offer new hope. PTT is widely studied for neural tumors and neurodegenerative diseases due to its simplicity, rapid recovery, combined therapeutic potential, and compatibility with imaging techniques. This innovative approach could revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of neural tumors and neurodegenerative diseases, addressing current limitations and improving outcomes. In this article, we offer a comprehensive overview of the rational design and engineering of various nanomaterials designed specifically for PTT applications in neural tumors and neurodegenerative diseases, including organic platforms such as liposomes, dopamine, etc. and inorganic platforms such as gold nanomaterials, carbon nanomaterials, etc. A comparative analysis of these platforms examines their biocompatibility and potential for biodegradation. It also assesses their manufacturing scalability, cost-effectiveness, regulatory challenges, and ultimate potential for clinical translation. We also update the therapeutic advances of PTT in neural tumors (Glioma, Peripheral nerve sheath tumors, Spinal metastases from in situ tumors and brain metastases) and neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease), and systematically summarize the mechanisms of PTT application in neural tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. In the end, we provide an in-depth discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of PTT and the perspectives for its application in the above neurological disorders.
Keywords: Photothermal therapy (PTT), Glioma, Neurodegenerative Diseases, combination therapy, Blood-Brain Barrier, Heat shock proteins (HSP)
Received: 20 May 2025; Accepted: 04 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, Yang, Suo, Liu, Zhan, Zhou, Chen, Wu, Yin and Bao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaoping Yin, Department of Neurology, Jiujiang University Affiliated Hospital, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China
Bing Bao, Department of Neurology, Jiujiang University Affiliated Hospital, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.