Smart Biomaterials for Targeted Delivery and Regenerative Medicine: Biocompatibility, Immunological and Toxicological Perspectives

Nanotechnology is transforming precision medicine, particularly in targeted delivery. Advanced functional biomaterials—engineered extracellular vesicles, stimuli-responsive hydrogels, and smart implant materials—offer unprecedented opportunities to overcome the poor targeting, systemic toxicity, and low sensitivity that limit conventional interventions. Yet the translational path for these materials is repeatedly slowed not by lack of efficacy, but by insufficient characterization of how they interact with, and are tolerated by, biological systems. Toxicity, immunogenicity, and biocompatibility profiles are often assessed superficially, and rarely disaggregated by variables such as sex, age, or exposure route that are known to shape biological outcomes. Addressing this evaluation gap is essential for moving smart biomaterials from proof-of-concept into deployable biomedical solutions.This Research Topic aims to gather multidisciplinary research and reviews that keep smart biomaterials for targeted delivery and regenerative medicine at the centre, while requiring every contribution to close the loop between material design and rigorous biological safety evaluation. The goal is to showcase innovative material platforms alongside the structure–property–function and biocompatibility data needed to judge their translational readiness, from nanoscale delivery systems to functional biomedical materials. This Research Topic welcomes contributions addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).In alignment with the Biomaterials section guidelines, manuscripts detailing clinical trials, drug discovery, or virology fall outside our scope, as do bibliometrics analyses. We welcome original research, reviews, and perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:o Biocompatibility, immunological and toxicological evaluation: cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, and immune activation triggered by novel biomaterials and delivery systems; sex- and age-related differences in biological response; novel or standardized characterization methods.o Nanozymes: design, synthesis, and catalytic mechanisms of metal/metal oxide nanozymes for inflammatory microenvironment modulation and in vitro diagnostics; biocompatibility and safety profiling of nanozyme-based platforms.o Functional hydrogels: stimuli-responsive systems for localized delivery of therapeutic agents, wound healing, and tissue regeneration; degradation products and local immune response.o Exosomes and biomimetic nanocarriers: biocompatibility, immunogenicity, and clearance behaviour of exosome- and extracellular vesicle-based delivery vehicles, with emphasis on comparative safety profiling against synthetic nanocarrier systems. Topic editors: Raquel Alarcon Rodriguez, Yuanbo Jia, Xiaojun Cai Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85813/smart-biomaterials-for-targeted-delivery-and-regenerative-medicine-biocompatibility-immunological-and-toxicological-perspectives