Synergistic Strategies of Engineered Microbes and Biomaterials for Infection and Cancer Therapy

Dear Colleagues,

Microorganisms with diverse biological functions exhibit considerable therapeutic potential across a wide range of diseases, particularly infectious diseases and cancer. However, the clinical translation of microbe-based therapies remains limited by modest therapeutic efficacy when used alone, as well as concerns regarding biosafety, off-target effects, and in vivo controllability. Genetic engineering provides powerful tools to reprogram microbes with enhanced or novel bioactivities while attenuating pathogenicity, thereby improving their therapeutic performance and safety profiles for in vivo applications. In addition, biomaterials offer a versatile platform for disease treatment, owing to their favorable biocompatibility, biodegradability, and stimuli-responsive properties. Biomaterials can function as carriers for targeted drug delivery, protective or adhesive coatings, and modulators of biological interactions, enabling precise spatial and temporal control of therapeutic payloads. The convergence of engineered microbes and advanced biomaterials to construct biohybrid systems enables deep integration between living cells and synthetic materials, as well as coordinated delivery of small molecules, proteins, and genetic therapeutics. Such synergistic strategies hold substantial promise for overcoming the limitations of single-modality approaches and represent a powerful paradigm for advancing infection and cancer therapy.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Bioengineering.

Prof. Dr. Jun Liu
Dr. Ruijuan Li
Guest Editors

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