Nanomaterials for the treatment of spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can have severe sequelae and cause significant stress to patients, families, and society. Moreover, SCI remains a huge clinical challenge, with traditional treatments failing to guarantee good prognosis. Moreover, the limitations of conventional drugs cannot be ignored. As an emerging concept, nanomaterials have achieved multidisciplinary cross-leap development. Owing to their special physicochemical properties, nanomaterials have had a huge impact on medical imaging, intracellular substance detection, and targeted drug delivery. Numerous studies have shown that nanomaterials have great potential in the treatment of SCI, and can overcome the shortcomings of traditional drug delivery modes (e.g., imprecise localization, low efficiency, and short duration). Their strong advantages (e.g., smart responsiveness, targeted delivery, and efficient loading) will contribute significantly to overcoming the problems of repairing cord injury. However, the selection of appropriate nanomaterials for SCI remains challenging. In this review, starting from concepts related to SCI, we describe the properties of nanomaterials suitable for SCI therapy and emphasize the advantages of cutting-edge nanomaterials in the treatment of SCI. Moreover, we describe the specific mechanisms through which nanomaterials repair SCI. Finally, we highlight the challenges of using nanomaterials for SCI applications. Future research should focus on exploring more advanced nanomaterials for the personalized treatment of SCI.