Welcome to the Chen Lab!

Selected Publications

1. He Z#, Chen W#*, Hu K#, Luo Y, Zeng W, He X, Li T, Ouyang J, Li Y, Xie L, Zhang Y, Xu Q, Yang S, Guo M, Zou W, Li Y, Huang L, Chen L, Zhang X, Saiding Q, Wang R, Zhang MR, Kong N, Xie T, Song X,* Tao W*. “Resolvin D1 delivery to lesional macrophages using antioxidative black phosphorus nanosheets for atherosclerosis treatment.” Nature Nanotechnology 2024, 19, 1386–1398.
   (Highlighted in the “Biomedical Engineering” Series of articles from across Nature Portfolio) (Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper)

2. He Z, Luo Y, Duan Z, Su B, Zeng W, Guo Y, Li Y, He X, Shi H, Zhou Z, Jiang C, Qin D, Zhang J, Kang Y, Chen W*, Song X*. “IRF5 siRNA Nano-Immunotherapy: Restoring Macrophage Efferocytosis in Atherosclerosis.” Circulation 2025, 152, 1564–1581.

3. Zhou Z, Chen W*, Cao Y, Abdi R, Tao W*. “Nanomedicine-based Strategies for the Treatment of Vein Graft Disease.” Nature Reviews Cardiology 2025, 22, 255–272.

4. Chen S, Li Y, Zhou Z, Saiding Q, Zhang Y, An S, Khan MM, Ji X, Qiao R, Tao W*, Kong N*, Chen W*, Xie T*. “Macrophage hitchhiking nanomedicine for enhanced β-elemene delivery and tumor therapy.” Science Advances 2025, 11, adw7191.

5. Zhang Y, Zhou Z, Hao T, Chen S, Lou W, Khan MM, Shi Y, You X, Saiding Q, Zhen X, Tao W*, Tian Xie*, Chen W*, Kong N*. “Cancer-Treating-Cancer” Strategy: Entrapping Chemically Engineered Dying Cancer Cells in Immunotherapeutic Hydrogel Against Tumor Recurrence.” Cell Biomaterials 2025, 100252.

6. Dong S, An S, Saiding Q, Chen Q, Liu B, Kong N, Chen W*, Tao W*. “Therapeutic Hydrogels: Properties and Biomedical Applications.” Chemical Reviews 2025, 125, 8835–8920. (Cover Featured)

7. Shi Y, Zhen X, Zhang Y, Li Y, Koo S, Saiding Q, Kong N, Liu G, Chen W*, Tao W*. “Chemically Modified Platforms for Better RNA Therapeutics.” Chemical Reviews 2024, 124, 929–1033. (Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper)

8. Ouyang J, Chen W*, Tao W* “Design of application-optimized hydrogels based on a swollen polymer network model.” Matter (Cell Press), 2022, 5, 2471–2473.

9. Li Y#, Chen W#, Kang Y, Zhen X, Zhou Z, Liu C, Chen S, Huang X, Liu H, Koo S, Kong N, Ji X, Xie T, Tao W. “Nanosensitizer-mediated augmentation of sonodynamic therapy efficacy and antitumor immunity.” Nature Communications 2023, 14, 6973.
   (Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper, Highlighted in the "Biomedical applications for nanotechnologies" Collection)

10. Chen W, Schilperoort M, Cao Y, Shi J, Tabas I, Tao W “Macrophage-Targeted Nanomedicine for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Atherosclerosis.” Nature Reviews Cardiology 2022, 19, 228–249.
    (Front Cover Featured; Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper;Highlighted in the "Mechanisms of atherosclerosis" Series of articles from Nature Reviews Cardiology)

11. Liu C, Huang X, Chen K, Xiong S, Yaremenko A, Zhen X, You X, Rossignoli F, Tang Y, Koo S, Chen W, Kong N, Xie T, Shah K, Tao W. “Systemic reprogramming of tumour immunity via IL-10-mRNA nanoparticles.” Nature Nanotechnology 2025, 20, 1526–1538.

12. Huang X, Liu C, Sharma S, Chen S, Li Y, Liu H, Liu B, Saiding Q, Chen W, Lee Y, Kong N, Abdi R, Tao W. “Oral delivery of liquid mRNA therapeutics by an engineered capsule for treatment of preclinical intestinal disease.” Science Translational Medicine 2025, 17, adu1493. (Front Cover Featured)

13. Chen W, Tao W* “Precise Control of the Structure of Synthetic Hydrogel Networks for Precision Medicine Applications.” Matter (Cell Press) 2022, 5, 18–19.

14. Chen W, Li Y, Liu C, Kang Y, Qin D, Chen S, Zhou J, Liu H, Ferdows BE, Patel DN, Huang X, Koo S, Kong N, Ji X, Cao Y, Tao W, Xie T “In situ Engineering of Tumor-Associated Macrophages via a Nanodrug-Delivering-Drug (β-Elemene@Stanene) Strategy for Enhanced Cancer Chemo-Immunotherapy.” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202308413.
    (Highlight as Top 5% Very Important Paper VIP, Front Cover Featured, Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper, Top 0.1% ESI Hot Paper)

15. Chen W, Liu C, Ji X, Joseph J, Tang Z, Ouyang J, Xiao Y, Kong N, Joshi N, Farokhzad OC, Tao W, Xie T “Stanene-Based Nanosheets for β-Elemene Delivery and Ultrasound-Mediated Combination Cancer Therapy.” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 7155–7164.
    (Highlight as Top 5% Very Important Paper VIP, Front Cover Featured, Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper)

16. Chen W, Cheng CA, Cosco ED, Ramakrishnan S, Lingg JGP, Bruns OT, Zink JI, Sletten EM. “Shortwave Infrared Imaging with J-aggregates Stabilized in Hollow Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 12475–12480. (Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper)

17. Chen W, Cheng CA, Zink JI. “Spatial, Temporal, and Dose Control of Drug Delivery Using Noninvasive Magnetic Stimulation.” ACS Nano 2019, 13, 1292–1308. (Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper)

18. Chen W, Glackin CA, Horwitz MA, Zink JI. “Nanomachines and Other Caps on Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery.” Acc. Chem. Res. 2019, 52, 1531–1542. (Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper)

19. Chen W, Tsai PH, Hung Y, Chiou SH, Mou CY “Nonviral Cell Labeling and Differentiation Agent for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Based on Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.” ACS Nano 2013, 7, 8423–8440.

20. Cheng CA#, Chen W#, Zhang L, Wu HH, Zink JI. “A Responsive Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle Platform for Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound-Stimulated Cargo Delivery with Controllable Location, Time, and Dose.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 17670–17684. (#: Co-first author, equal contribution)

21. Zhong D#, Zhang D#, Chen W#, He J, Ren C, Zhang X, Kong N, Tao W, Zhou M “Orally Deliverable Strategy Based on Microalgal Biomass for Intestinal Disease Treatment.” Science Advances 2021, 7, abi9265.
    (Front Cover Paper, Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper) (Highlighted: Nature Medicine 2022, 28(6): 1100-1102)

22. Yu L#, Yu M#, Chen W#, Sun S, Huang W, Wang T, Peng Z, Luo Z, Fang Y, Li Y, Deng Y, Wu M, Tao W. “In situ separable nanovaccines with stealthy bioadhesive capability for durable cancer immunotherapy.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 8375–8388. (Cover Paper, Top 1% ESI Highly Cited Paper)

23. Liu H#, Chen W#, Wu G#, Zhou J, Liu C, Tang Z, Huang X, Gao J, Xiao Y, Kong N, Joshi N, Cao Y, Abdi R, Tao W. “Glutathione-scavenging nanoparticle-mediated PROTACs delivery for targeted protein degradation and amplified antitumor effects.” Advanced Science 2023, 10, 2207439.

24. Li Y#, Chen W#, Koo S, Liu H, Saiding Q, Xie A, Kong N, Cao Y, Abdi R, Serhan CN, Tao W. “Innate immunity-modulating nanobiomaterials for controlling inflammation.” Matter (Cell Press) 2024, 7, 3811-3844.

25. Ma S#, Kim JH#, Chen W#, Li L, Lee J, Xue J, Liu Y, Chen G, Tang B, Tao W, Kim JS “Cancer Cell-Specific Fluorescent Prodrug Delivery Platforms.” Advanced Science 2023, 10, 2207768.

26. Zhen X, Chen W, Tao W, “mRNA-based technology for engineered regenerative medicine.” Cell Biomaterials 2025, 100185.

27. Zhang Y, Shi Y, Khan MM, Xiao F, Chen W, Tao W, Yao K, Kong N “Ocular RNA nanomedicine: engineered delivery nanoplatforms in treating eye diseases.” Trends in Biotechnology (Cell Press) 2024, 42, P1439-1452.

28. Chen S, Huang X, Xue Y, Álvarez-Benedi E, Shi Y, Chen W, Koo S, Siegwart D, Dong Y, Tao W “Nanotechnology-based mRNA vaccines.” Nature Reviews Methods Primers 2023, 3, 63. (Highlighted in the “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023” Collection)