Implantable cardiovascular devices have revolutionized the management of cardiovascular diseases, significantly enhancing patients’ quality of life. With the increasing demand of cardiac implantable electronic devices, the imperative for novel device development is evident. This review article first elaborates the mechanisms underlying foreign body response and infection, elucidating the complex interplay between implanted constructs and host tissues. The discussion then focuses on current advancements in materials science and engineering aimed at mitigating these challenges. Material innovations, such as drug-eluting materials, surface modifications, and biomimetic materials, are explored as strategies to modulate these responses and to prevent fibrotic or thrombotic complications and infection. Finally, future directions in materials development for implantable cardiovascular devices are introduced. By addressing safety and patency concerns through innovative material strategies, this article aims to guide the research and development of advanced materials for both current and future cardiovascular implantable devices, ultimately improving patient outcomes and advancing cardiovascular disease treatment.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) by near-infrared (NIR) irradiation is a promising technique for treating various cancers. Here, we reported the development of free-standing wafer-scale Au nanosheets (NSs) that exhibited an impressive PDT effect. The Au NSs were synthesized by ionic layer epitaxy at the air-water interface with a uniform thickness in the range from 2 to 8.5 nm. These Au NSs were found very effective in generating singlet oxygen under NIR irradiation. In vitro cellular study showed that the Au NSs had very low cytotoxicity and high PDT efficiency due to their uniform 2D morphology. Au NSs could kill cancer cells after 5 min NIR irradiation with little heat generation. This performance is comparable to using 10 times mass loading of Au nanoparticles (NPs). This work suggests that two-dimensional (2D) Au NSs could be a new type of biocompatible nanomaterial for PDT of cancer with an extraordinary photon conversion and cancer cell killing efficiency.