Bioresponsive multifunctional platform

Diseased tissues such as tumors and chronic wounds carry distinct chemical signatures: excess hydrogen peroxide, high glutathione, acidic pH, and altered glucose levels. We engineer nanoparticles, nanofibers, and injectable hydrogels that read these cues and convert them into therapeutic action, so that treatment is activated at the disease site and stays silent elsewhere. 

Key approaches

• Dual-layered nanofibrous matrix for post-surgical therapy: A nanofibrous matrix that releases chemodynamic agents rapidly and chemotherapeutics over two weeks, triggering ferroptosis and cuproptosis to prevent tumor recurrence while promoting wound healing. (Small, 2025)

• MXene-integrated hybrid hydrogel for infected wound repair: A pH-responsive, NIR-controllable hydrogel that combines photothermal antibacterial action, ROS scavenging, and antibiotic delivery to regenerate infected diabetic wounds. (Chem. Eng. J., 2025)

• Immunophototherapeutic hydrogel: An injectable, alum-tuned hyaluronic acid hydrogel that couples NIR-triggered photothermal/photodynamic therapy with CD8⁺ T cell activation and PD-1 blockade to suppress both primary and distant tumors. (J. Control. Release, 2023)

Selected publications 

• Small (2025): Multifunctional bioactive dual-layered nanofibrous matrix for breast cancer therapy and wound healing

• Chem. Eng. J. (2025): Spatiotemporally adjustable hybrid hydrogels interconnected by 2D MXene for combinatorial therapy of infected diabetic wounds

• J. Control. Release (2023): Alum-tuned hyaluronic acid hydrogel with immune checkpoint inhibition for immunophototherapy

• Bioeng. Transl. Med. (2022): Nanorod/nanodisk-integrated liquid crystalline systems for starvation, chemodynamic, and photothermal therapy