Metal–polyphenol network-based multifunctional materials for tumor therapy: Intrinsic properties, advances, and applications

Metal–polyphenol networks (MPNs), a novel class of nano-biomaterials, have recently emerged as promising candidates for tumor diagnosis and therapy due to their unique chemical tunability, excellent biocompatibility, and synergistic multifunctionality. Notably, MPNs can be synthesized via one-step or multi-step approaches, allowing precise control over their morphology, size, and drug-loading capacity. The versatility of MPNs is further demonstrated by their ability to integrate multiple therapeutic modalities, including chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, and chemical dynamic therapy. Furthermore, through surface modification with targeted molecules, MPNs enable tumor-specific targeting while facilitating real-time therapeutic monitoring via multimodal imaging. Additionally, MPNs exhibit excellent biocompatibility and superior biodegradability, making them highly suitable for biomedical applications. This review systematically explores MPN synthesis strategies and physicochemical properties. It then comprehensively analyzes MPN-based biomaterials and their tumor therapeutic mechanisms. Furthermore, we evaluate the challenges in MPN clinical translation and propose future perspectives for precise tumor treatment using MPN-based platforms. Ultimately, this review highlights the transformative potential of MPNs in advancing tumor theranostics and lays the foundation for their future clinical applications. This paper provides a systematic review of MPNs, aims to offer new insights for designing next-generation MPN-based nanoplatforms with optimized tumor targeting and enhanced therapeutic efficacy.