Combinatorial Nano-Bio Interfaces

Vaccine approaches to treat urothelial cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) accounts for about 4% of all malignancies. Non-muscle-invasive BC, 75% of cases, is treated with transurethral resection and adjuvant intravesical instillation, while muscle-invasive BC warrants cisplatin-based perioperative chemotherapy. Although immune-checkpoint inhibitors, antibody drug conjugates and targeted agents have provided dramatic advances, metastatic BC remains a generally incurable disease and clinical trials continue to vigorously evaluate novel molecules. Cancer vaccines aim at activating the patient's immune system against tumor cells. Several means of delivering neoantigens have been developed, including peptides, antigen-presenting cells, virus, or nucleic acids. Various improvements are constantly being explored, such as adjuvants use and combination strategies. Nucleic acids-based vaccines are increasingly gaining attention in recent years, with promising results in other malignancies. However, despite the recent advantages, numerous obstacles persist. This review is aimed at describing the different types of cancer vaccines, their evaluations in UC patients and the more recent innovations in this field.

Metal-phenolic network composites: from fundamentals to applications

Composites with tailored compositions and functions have attracted widespread scientific and industrial interest. Metal-phenolic networks (MPNs), which are composed of phenolic ligands and metal ions, are amorphous adhesive coordination polymers that have been combined with various functional components to create composites with potential in chemistry, biology, and materials science. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of both fundamental knowledge and advancements in the field of MPN composites. The advantages of amorphous MPNs, over crystalline metal-organic frameworks, for fabricating composites are highlighted, including their mild synthesis, diverse interactions, and numerous intrinsic functionalities. The formation mechanisms and state-of-the-art synthesis strategies of MPN composites are summarized to guide their rational design. Subsequently, a detailed overview of the chemical interactions and structure-property relationships of composites based on different functional components (e.g., small molecules, polymers, biomacromolecules) is provided. Finally, perspectives are offered on the current challenges and future directions of MPN composites. This tutorial review is expected to serve as a fundamental guide for researchers in the field of metal-organic materials and to provide insights and avenues to enhance the performance of existing functional materials in applications across diverse fields.

Machine learning-driven QSAR models for predicting the cytotoxicity of five common microplastics

In the field of microplastics (MPs) toxicity prediction, machine learning (ML) computer simulation techniques are showing great potential. In this study, six ML algorithms were utilized to predict the toxicity of MPs on BEAS-2B cells based on quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models. Comparing the models of different algorithms, the extreme gradient boosting model showed the best fit and prediction performance (R2tra = 0.9876, R2test = 0.9286). Additionally, Williams plot analysis showed that the six models developed were able to predict stably within their applicability domain, with few outliers. Finally, the three feature importance methods-Embedded Feature Importance (EFI), Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE), and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP)-consistently identified particle size as the most critical feature affecting toxicity prediction. The proposed QSAR model can be utilized for preliminary environmental exposure assessments of MPs and to better understand the associated health risks.

Preparation of nano-silver containing black phosphorus based on quaternized chitosan hydrogel and evaluating its effect on skin wound healing

Hydrogels with favorable biocompatibility and antibacterial properties are essential in postoperative wound hemorrhage care, facilitating rapid wound healing. The present investigation employed electrostatic adsorption of black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNPs) and nano‑silver (AgNPs) to cross-link the protonated amino group NH3+ of quaternized chitosan (QCS) with the hydroxyl group of hyaluronic acid (HA). The electrostatic interaction between the two groups resulted in the formation of a three-dimensional gel network structure. Additionally, the hydrogel containing AgNPs deposited onto BPNPs was assessed for its antibacterial properties and effects on wound healing. Hydrogel demonstrated an outstanding drug-loading capacity and could be employed for wound closure. AgNPs loaded on the BPNPs released silver ions and exhibited potent antibacterial properties when exposed to 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) radiation. The ability of the hydrogel to promote wound healing in an acute wound model was further evaluated. The BPNPs were combined with HA and QCS in the aforementioned hydrogel system to improve adhesion, combine the photothermal and antibacterial properties of the BPNPs, and promote wound healing. Therefore, the reported hydrogels displayed excellent biocompatibility and hold significant potential for application in the field of tissue engineering for skin wound treatment.

Unraveling the Nano-Bio Interface Interactions of a Lipase Adsorbed on Gold Nanoparticles under Laser Excitation

The complex nature and structure of biomolecules and nanoparticles and their interactions make it challenging to achieve a deeper understanding of the dynamics at the nano-bio interface of enzymes and plasmonic nanoparticles subjected to light excitation. In this study, circular dichroism (CD) and Raman spectroscopic experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to investigate the potential changes at the nano-bio interface upon plasmonic excitation. Our data showed that photothermal and thermal heating induced distinct changes in the secondary structure of a model nanobioconjugate composed of lipase fromCandida antarcticafraction B (CALB) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The use of a green laser led to a substantial decrease in the α-helix content of the lipase from 66% to 13% and an increase in the β-sheet content from 5% to 31% compared to the initial conformation of the nanobioconjugate. In contrast, the differences under similar thermal heating conditions were only 55% and 11%, respectively. This study revealed important differences related to the enzyme secondary structure, enzyme-nanoparticle interactions, and the stability of the enzyme catalytic triad (Ser105-Asp187-His224), influenced by the instantaneous local temperature increase generated from photothermal heating compared to the slower rate of thermal heating of the bulk. These results provide valuable insights into the interactions between biomolecules and plasmonic nanoparticles induced by photothermal heating, advancing plasmonic biocatalysis and related fields.

Liquid Metal-Polymer Conductor-Based Conformal Cyborg Devices

Gallium-based liquid metal (LM) exhibits exceptional properties such as high conductivity and biocompatibility, rendering it highly valuable for the development of conformal bioelectronics. When combined with polymers, liquid metal-polymer conductors (MPC) offer a versatile platform for fabricating conformal cyborg devices, enabling functions such as sensing, restoration, and augmentation within the human body. This review focuses on the synthesis, fabrication, and application of MPC-based cyborg devices. The synthesis of functional materials based on LM and the fabrication techniques for MPC-based devices are elucidated. The review provides a comprehensive overview of MPC-based cyborg devices, encompassing their applications in sensing diverse signals, therapeutic interventions, and augmentation. The objective of this review is to serve as a valuable resource that bridges the gap between the fabrication of MPC-based conformal devices and their potential biomedical applications.

Cholesterols Induced Distinctive Entry of the Graphene Nanosheet into the Cell Membrane

Graphene nanosheets are highly valued in the biomedical field due to their potential applications in drug delivery, biological imaging, and biosensors. Their biological effects on mammalian cells may be influenced by cholesterols, which are crucial components in cell membranes that take part in many vital processes. Therefore, it is particularly important to investigate the effect of cholesterols on the transport mechanism of graphene nanosheets in the cell membrane as well as the final stable configuration of graphene, which may have an impact on cytotoxicity. In this paper, the molecular details of a graphene nanosheet interacting with a 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (DPPC) membrane with cholesterols were studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Results showed that the structure of the graphene nanosheet transits from the cut-in state in a pure DPPC membrane to being sandwiched between two DPPC leaflets when cholesterols reach a certain concentration. The underlying mechanism showed that cholesterols are preferentially adsorbed on the graphene nanosheet, which causes a larger disturbance to the nearby DPPC tails and thus guides the graphene nanosheet into the core of lipid bilayers to form a sandwiched structure. Our results are helpful for understanding the fundamental interaction mechanism between the graphene nanosheet and cell membrane and to explore the potential applications of the graphene nanosheet in biomedical sciences.

Application of machine learning in atmospheric pollution research: A state-of-art review

Machine learning (ML) is an artificial intelligence technology that has been used in atmospheric pollution research due to their powerful fitting ability. In this review, 105 articles related to ML and the atmospheric pollution research are critically reviewed. Applications of ML in the prediction of atmospheric pollution (mainly particulate matters) are systematically described, including the principle of prediction, influencing factors and improvement measures. Researchers can improve the accuracy of the prediction model through three main aspects, namely considering the geographical features of the study area into the model, introducing the physical characteristics of pollutants, matching and optimizing ML models. And by using interpretable ML tools, researchers are able to understand the mechanism of the model and gain in-depth information. Then, the state-of-art applications of ML in the source apportionment of atmospheric particulate matter and the effect of atmospheric pollutants on human health are also described. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the current applications of ML in atmospheric pollution research are summarized, and the application perspective of ML in this field is elucidated. Given the scarcity of source apportionment applications and human health research, standardized research methods and specialized ML methods are required in atmospheric pollution research to connect these two disciplines.

Microarray needles comprised of arginine-modified chitosan/PVA hydrogel for enhanced antibacterial and wound healing potential of curcumin

Wound healing is a multifaceted and complex process that includes inflammation, hemostasis, remodeling, and granulation. Failures in any link may cause the healing process to be delayed. As a result, wound healing has always been a main research focus across the entire medical field, posing significant challenges and financial burdens. Hence, the current investigation focused on the design and development of arginine-modified chitosan/PVA hydrogel-based microneedles (MNs) as a curcumin (CUR) delivery system for improved wound healing and antibacterial activity. The substrate possesses exceptional swelling capabilities that allow tissue fluid from the wound to be absorbed, speeding up wound closure. The antibacterial activity of MNs was investigated against S. aureus and E. coli. The results revealed that the developed CUR-loaded MNs had increased antioxidant activity and sustained drug release behavior. Furthermore, after being loaded in the developed MNs, it revealed improved antibacterial activity of CUR. Wound healing potential was assessed by histopathological analysis and wound closure%. The observed results suggest that the CUR-loaded MNs greatly improved wound healing potential via tissue regeneration and collagen deposition, demonstrating the potential of developed MNs patches to be used as an effective carrier for wound healing in healthcare settings.

Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Selenium Nanoparticles-Bacillus sp. MKUST-01 Exopolysaccharide (SeNPs-EPS) Conjugate for Biomedical Applications

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are exogenous microbial metabolites generated predominantly during the development of bacteria. They have several biological potentials, including antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticancer actions. Polysaccharide-coated nanoparticles have high biological activity and are used in treatments and diagnostics. In this research, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are synthesized and conjugated with bacterial (Bacillus sp. MKUST-01) exopolysaccharide (EPS). Initially, the creation of SeNPs conjugates was verified through UV-Vis spectral examination, which exhibited a prominent peak at 264 nm. Additionally, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis further substantiated the existence of crystalline Se, as evidenced by a robust reflection at 29.78°. Another reflection observed at 23.76° indicated the presence of carbon originating from the EPS. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis of the EPS capped with SeNPs displayed characteristic peaks at 3425 cm-1, 2926 cm-1, 1639 cm-1, and 1411 cm-1, corresponding to the presence of O-H, C-H, C=O, and COO-groups. The SeNPs themselves were found to possess elongated rod-shaped structures with lengths ranging from 250 to 550 nm and a diameter of less than 70 nm, as confirmed using scanning electron microscopy and particle size analysis. In contrast to the SeNPs, the SeNPs-EPS conjugates showed no hemolytic activity. The overall antioxidant activity of SeNPs-EPS conjugates outperformed 20% higher than SeNPs and EPS. Additionally, experimental observations involving gnotobiotic Artemia nauplii experiments were also recorded, such as the supplementation of EPS and SeNPs-EPS conjugates corresponding to enhanced growth and increased survival rates compared to Artemia nauplii fed with SeNPs and a microalgal diet.

Composite Nanocoatings of Biomedical Magnesium Alloy Implants: Advantages, Mechanisms, and Design Strategies

The rapid degradation of magnesium (Mg) alloy implants erodes mechanical performance and interfacial bioactivity, thereby limiting their clinical utility. Surface modification is among the solutions to improve corrosion resistance and bioefficacy of Mg alloys. Novel composite coatings that incorporate nanostructures create new opportunities for their expanded use. Particle size dominance and impermeability may increase corrosion resistance and thereby prolong implant service time. Nanoparticles with specific biological effects may be released into the peri-implant microenvironment during the degradation of coatings to promote healing. Composite nanocoatings provide nanoscale surfaces to promote cell adhesion and proliferation. Nanoparticles may activate cellular signaling pathways, while those with porous or core-shell structures may carry antibacterial or immunomodulatory drugs. Composite nanocoatings may promote vascular reendothelialization and osteogenesis, attenuate inflammation, and inhibit bacterial growth, thus increasing their applicability in complex clinical microenvironments such as those of atherosclerosis and open fractures. This review combines the physicochemical properties and biological efficiency of Mg-based alloy biomedical implants to summarize the advantages of composite nanocoatings, analyzes their mechanisms of action, and proposes design and construction strategies, with the purpose of providing a reference for promoting the clinical application of Mg alloy implants and to further the design of nanocoatings.

Long-acting vaccine delivery systems

Bolus vaccines are often administered multiple times due to rapid clearance and reduced transportation to draining lymph nodes resulting in inadequate activation of T and B lymphocytes. In order to achieve adaptive immunity, prolonged exposure of antigens to these immune cells is crucial. Recent research has been focusing on developing long-acting biomaterial-based vaccine delivery systems, which can modulate the release of encapsulated antigens or epitopes to facilitate enhanced antigen presentation in lymph nodes and subsequently achieve robust T and B cell responses. Over the past few years, various polymers and lipids have been extensively explored to develop effective biomaterial-based vaccine strategies. The article reviews relevant polymer and lipid-based strategies used to prepare long-acting vaccine carriers and discusses their results concerning immune responses.

Using Machine Learning to make nanomaterials sustainable

Sustainable development is a key challenge for contemporary human societies; failure to achieve sustainability could threaten human survival. In this review article, we illustrate how Machine Learning (ML) could support more sustainable development, covering the basics of data gathering through each step of the Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA). The literature provides several examples showing how ML can be employed in most steps of a typical ERA.A key observation is that there are currently no clear guidance for using such autonomous technologies in ERAs or which standards/checks are required. Steering thus seems to be the most important task for supporting the use of ML in the ERA of nano- and smart-materials. Resources should be devoted to developing a strategy for implementing ML in ERA with a strong emphasis on data foundations, methodologies, and the related sensitivities/uncertainties. We should recognise historical errors and biases (e.g., in data) to avoid embedding them during ML programming.

Multidrug-Loaded Lipid Nanoemulsions for the Combinatorial Treatment of Cerebral Cavernous Malformation Disease

Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) or cavernoma is a major vascular disease of genetic origin, whose main phenotypes occur in the central nervous system, and is currently devoid of pharmacological therapeutic strategies. Cavernomas can remain asymptomatic during a lifetime or manifest with a wide range of symptoms, including recurrent headaches, seizures, strokes, and intracerebral hemorrhages. Loss-of-function mutations in KRIT1/CCM1 are responsible for more than 50% of all familial cases, and have been clearly shown to affect cellular junctions, redox homeostasis, inflammatory responses, and angiogenesis. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of multidrug-loaded lipid nanoemulsions in rescuing the pathological phenotype of CCM disease. The pro-autophagic rapamycin, antioxidant avenanthramide, and antiangiogenic bevacizumab were loaded into nanoemulsions, with the aim of reducing the major molecular dysfunctions associated with cavernomas. Through Western blot analysis of biomarkers in an in vitro CCM model, we demonstrated that drug-loaded lipid nanoemulsions rescue antioxidant responses, reactivate autophagy, and reduce the effect of pro-angiogenic factors better than the free drugs. Our results show the importance of developing a combinatorial preventive and therapeutic approach to reduce the risk of lesion formation and inhibit or completely revert the multiple hallmarks that characterize the pathogenesis and progression of cavernomas.

Cytoskeleton-inspired hydrogel ionotronics for tactile perception and electroluminescent display in complex mechanical environments

The emerging applications of hydrogel ionotronics (HIs) in devices and machines require them to maintain their robustness under complex mechanical environments. Nevertheless, existing HIs still suffer from various mechanical limitations, such as the lack of balance between softness, strength, toughness, and fatigue fracture under cyclic loads. Inspired by the structure of the cytoskeleton, this study develops a sustainable HI supported by a double filamentous network. This cytoskeleton-like structure can enhance the strength of the HI by 26 times and its toughness by 3 times. It also enables HI to tolerate extreme mechanical stimuli, such as severe deformation, long-term cyclic loading, and high-frequency shearing and shocking. The advantages of these structurally- and mechanically-optimized HI devices in tactile perception and electroluminescent display, i.e., two practical applications where complex mechanical stimuli need to be sustained, are demonstrated. The findings reported in this study can inspire the design of human skin-like robust and anti-fatigue-fracture HI devices for long-term stable use.

Nanobionics-Driven Synthesis of Molybdenum Oxide Nanosheets with Tunable Plasmonic Resonances in Visible Light Regions

Nanobionics-driven synthesis offers a process of designing and synthesizing functional materials on a nanoscale based on the structures and functions of biological systems. An approach such as this is environmentally friendly and sustainable, providing a viable option for synthesizing functional nanomaterials for catalysis and nanoelectronic components. In this work, we present a facile and green nanobionics approach to synthesize plasmonic H_xMoO₃ by interacting chloroplasts extracted from spinach with two-dimensional (2D) MoO₃ nanoflakes. The generated plasmon resonances can be modulated in the visible wavelength ranges, and the efficiency to form the plasmonic materials is enhanced by 90% within 45 min of light excitation compared to reactions without chloroplast involvement. Such a characteristic is ascribed to the interfacial carrier dynamics between the two entities in the reactions, in which highly doped metal oxides with quasi-metallic properties can be formed to generate optical absorptions in the visible light region. The green synthesized plasmonic materials show high photocatalytic activities without the coupling of semiconductors, providing a promising nanoelectronics unit, based on the nanobionics-driven synthesized plasmonic materials.

Artificial and Naturally Derived Phospholipidic Bilayers as Smart Coatings of Solid-State Nanoparticles: Current Works and Perspectives in Cancer Therapy

Recent advances in nanomedicine toward cancer treatment have considered exploiting liposomes and extracellular vesicles as effective cargos to deliver therapeutic agents to tumor cells. Meanwhile, solid-state nanoparticles are continuing to attract interest for their great medical potential thanks to their countless properties and possible applications. However, possible drawbacks arising from the use of nanoparticles in nanomedicine, such as the nonspecific uptake of these materials in healthy organs, their aggregation in biological environments and their possible immunogenicity, must be taken into account. Considering these limitations and the intrinsic capability of phospholipidic bilayers to act as a biocompatible shield, their exploitation for effectively encasing solid-state nanoparticles seems a promising strategy to broaden the frontiers of cancer nanomedicine, also providing the possibility to engineer the lipid bilayers to further enhance the therapeutic potential of such nanotools. This work aims to give a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the use of artificial liposomes and naturally derived extracellular vesicles for the coating of solid-state nanoparticles for cancer treatment, starting from in vitro works until the up-to-date advances and current limitations of these nanopharmaceutics in clinical applications, passing through in vivo and 3D cultures studies.

Orally fed EGCG coronate food released TiO2 and enhanced penetrability into body organs via gut

Owing to unique nano-scale properties, TiO₂-NPs (T-NPs) are employed as food-quality enhancers in >900 processed food products. Whereas, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a green tea polyphenol is consumed in traditional brewed tea, globally. Taken together, we aimed to investigate whether human gastric-acid digested T-NPs and complex tea catechins yield ionic species (Ti⁴⁺_, Ti³⁺ etc.) and active EGCG forms to meet favourable conditions for in vivo bio-genesis of EGCG-coronated TiO₂-NPs (ET-NPs) in human gut. Secondly, compared to bare-surface micro and nano-scale TiO₂, i.e., T-MPs and T-NPs, respectively, how EGCG coronation on ET-NPs in the gut facilitates the modulation of intrinsic propensity of internalization of TiO₂ species into bacteria, body-organs, and gut-microbiota (GM), and immune system. ET-NPs were synthesized in non-toxic aqueous solution at varied pH (3-10) and characterised by state-of-the-arts for crystallinity, surface-charge, EGCG-encapsulation, stability, size, composition and morphology. Besides, flow-cytometry (FCM), TEM, EDS, histopathology, RT-PCR, 16S-rRNA metagenomics and ELISA were also performed to assess the size and surface dependent activities of ET-NPs, T-NPs and T-MPs vis-a-vis planktonic bacteria, biofilm, GM bacterial communities and animal's organs. Electron-microscopic, NMR, FTIR, DLS, XRD and EDS confirmed the EGCG coronation, dispersity, size-stability of ET-NPs, crystallinity and elemental composition of ET-NPs-8 and T-NPs. Besides, FCM, RT-PCR, 16S-rRNA metagenomics, histopathology, SEM and EDS analyses exhibited that EGCG coronation in ET-NPs-8 enhanced the penetration into body organs (i.e., liver and kidney etc.) and metabolically active bacterial communities of GM.

Machine learning in the identification, prediction and exploration of environmental toxicology: Challenges and perspectives

Over the past few decades, data-driven machine learning (ML) has distinguished itself from hypothesis-driven studies and has recently received much attention in environmental toxicology. However, the use of ML in environmental toxicology remains in the early stages, with knowledge gaps, technical bottlenecks in data quality, high-dimensional/heterogeneous/small-sample data analysis and model interpretability, and a lack of an in-depth understanding of environmental toxicology. Given the above problems, we review the recent progress in the literature and highlight state-of-the-art toxicological studies using ML (such as learning and predicting toxicity in complicated biosystems and multiple-factor environmental scenarios of long-term and large-scale pollution). Beyond predicting simple biological endpoints by integrating untargeted omics and adverse outcome pathways, ML development should focus on revealing toxicological mechanisms. The integration of data-driven ML with other methods (e.g., omics analysis and adverse outcome pathway frameworks) endows ML with widely promising application in revealing toxicological mechanisms. High-quality databases and interpretable algorithms are urgently needed for toxicology and environmental science. Addressing the core issues and future challenges for ML in this review may narrow the knowledge gap between environmental toxicity and computational science and facilitate the control of environmental risk in the future.

Materiomically Designed Polymeric Vehicles for Nucleic Acids: Quo Vadis?

Despite rapid advances in molecular biology, particularly in site-specific genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR/Cas9 and base editing, financial and logistical challenges hinder a broad population from accessing and benefiting from gene therapy. To improve the affordability and scalability of gene therapy, we need to deploy chemically defined, economical, and scalable materials, such as synthetic polymers. For polymers to deliver nucleic acids efficaciously to targeted cells, they must optimally combine design attributes, such as architecture, length, composition, spatial distribution of monomers, basicity, hydrophilic-hydrophobic phase balance, or protonation degree. Designing polymeric vectors for specific nucleic acid payloads is a multivariate optimization problem wherein even minuscule deviations from the optimum are poorly tolerated. To explore the multivariate polymer design space rapidly, efficiently, and fruitfully, we must integrate parallelized polymer synthesis, high-throughput biological screening, and statistical modeling. Although materiomics approaches promise to streamline polymeric vector development, several methodological ambiguities must be resolved. For instance, establishing a flexible polymer ontology that accommodates recent synthetic advances, enforcing uniform polymer characterization and data reporting standards, and implementing multiplexed in vitro and in vivo screening studies require considerable planning, coordination, and effort. This contribution will acquaint readers with the challenges associated with materiomics approaches to polymeric gene delivery and offers guidelines for overcoming these challenges. Here, we summarize recent developments in combinatorial polymer synthesis, high-throughput screening of polymeric vectors, omics-based approaches to polymer design, barcoding schemes for pooled in vitro and in vivo screening, and identify materiomics-inspired research directions that will realize the long-unfulfilled clinical potential of polymeric carriers in gene therapy.

Recent Progress in Red Blood Cells-Derived Particles as Novel Bioinspired Drug Delivery Systems: Challenges and Strategies for Clinical Translation

Red Blood Cells (RBCs)-derived particles are an emerging group of novel drug delivery systems. The natural attributes of RBCs make them potential candidates for use as a drug carrier or nanoparticle camouflaging material as they are innately biocompatible. RBCs have been studied for multiple decades in drug delivery applications but their evolution in the clinical arena are considerably slower. They have been garnering attention for the unique capability of conserving their membrane proteins post fabrication that help them to stay non-immunogenic in the biological environment prolonging their circulation time and improving therapeutic efficiency. In this review, we discuss about the synthesis, significance, and various biomedical applications of the above-mentioned classes of engineered RBCs. This article is focused on the current state of clinical translation and the analysis of the hindrances associated with the transition from lab to clinic applications.

Molecular insights into the resistance of phospholipid heads to the membrane penetration of graphene nanosheets

The interaction between nanomaterials and phospholipid membranes underlies many emerging biological applications. To what extent hydrophilic phospholipid heads shield the bilayer from the integration of hydrophobic nanomaterials remains unclear, and this open question contains important insights for understanding biological membrane physics. Here, we present molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to clarify the resistance of phospholipid heads to the membrane penetration of graphene nanosheets. With 130 simulation trials, we observed that ∼22% graphene nanosheets penetrate the POPC bilayer. Sharp corners of the nanosheets should have a lower energy barrier than nanosheet edges, but interestingly, the membrane penetration mainly starts from the edge-approaching orientation. We thoroughly analyzed the pentration pathway and propulsion, indicating that the membrane penetration of graphene nanosheets is dominated by the joint effects of nanosheet edges and corners. Furthermore, the molecular origin of the resistance is clarified by evaluating the bilayers of different phospholipids, which successfully correlates the penetration resistance of phospholipid heads with the correlated motions of neighboring phospholipids for the first time. These results are expected to inspire future studies on the dynamic behavior of phospholipids, bio-nano interfaces, and design of biological nanomaterials.

A generic self-assembly approach towards phototheranostics for NIR-II fluorescence imaging and phototherapy

Controllable self-assembly of photonic molecules for precise biomedicine is highly desirable but challenging to prepare multifunctional nano-phototheranostics. Herein, we developed a generic self-assembly approach to design nano-phototheranostics that provides NIR-II fluorescence imaging and phototherapy. We first designed and synthesized two amphiphilic photonic molecules, PEG₂₀₀₀-IR806 and BODIPY. Then, we prepared the co-self-assembled phototheranostic agents, PEG₂₀₀₀-IR806/BODIPY nanoparticles (PIBY NPs). The morphology of the PIBY NPs is controllable by adjusting the ratio of PEG₂₀₀₀-IR806 and BODIPY during self-assembly. The NIR-II fluorescence properties and phototherapy capability of the PIBY NPs were demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. By tuning the ratio of PEG₂₀₀₀-IR806 and BODIPY, the PIBY NPs showed various morphologies (e.g. spherical nanoparticles, nanovesicles and rod-like nanoparticles). The PEG₂₀₀₀-IR806 plays two roles in the co-self-assemblies, one is second near-infrared (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) agent, the other is the surfactant for BODIPY encapsulation. The phototherapeutic PIBY NPs all show bright NIR-II fluorescence and effective phototherapeutic (photothermal and photodynamic) properties, which are attributed to IR806 and BODIPY, respectively. The driving force of the self-assembly can be attributed to the electrostatic interaction between NIR806 and BODIPY and their hydrophobicity. The rod-like PIBY NPs (rPIBY NPs) demonstrated a low half inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 3.96 µg/mL on U87MG cells. The NIR-II imaging showed the accumulation of rPIBY NPs in the tumor region. After systemic injection of rPIBY NPs at low dose (0.5 mg/kg), the tumor growth was greatly inhibited upon laser irradiation without noticeable side effects. This study provides a generic self-assembly approach to fabricate NIR-II imaging and phototherapeutic platform for cancer phototheranostics. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Nanophototheranostics providing NIR-II fluorescence imaging and phototherapy are expected to play a critical role in modern precision medicine. Controllable self-assembly of optical molecules for the fabrication of efficient nanophototheranostics is highly desirable but challenging. This work reports for the first time the co-assembly of a NIR-II imaging contrast agent and a phototherapeutic agent to yield nanophototheranostics with various morphologies. The design of molecular co-assembly with complementary optical functions can be a generic method for future the development of phototheranostics.

COVID-19 phase 4 vaccine candidates, effectiveness on SARS-CoV-2 variants, neutralizing antibody, rare side effects, traditional and nano-based vaccine platforms: a review

The COVID-19 pandemic has endangered world health and the economy. As the number of cases is increasing, different companies have started developing potential vaccines using both traditional and nano-based platforms to overcome the pandemic. Several countries have approved a few vaccine candidates for emergency use authorization (EUA), showing significant effectiveness and inducing a robust immune response. Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech's BNT162, Moderna's mRNA-1273, Sinovac's CoronaVac, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik-V, and Sinopharm's vaccine candidates are leading the race. However, the SARS-CoV-2 is constantly mutating, making the vaccines less effective, possibly by escaping immune response for some variants. Besides, some EUA vaccines have been reported to induce rare side effects such as blood clots, cardiac injury, anaphylaxis, and some neurological effects. Although the COVID-19 vaccine candidates promise to overcome the pandemic, a more significant and clear understanding is needed. In this review, we brief about the clinical trial of some leading candidates, their effectiveness, and their neutralizing effect on SARS-CoV-2 variants. Further, we have discussed the rare side effects, different traditional and nano-based platforms to understand the scope of future development.

Data Management Schema Design for Effective Nanoparticle Formulation for Neurotherapeutics

Translation of nanotherapeutics from preclinical research to clinical application is difficult due to the complex and dynamic interaction space between the nanotherapeutic and the brain environment. To improve translation, increased insight into nanoformulation-brain interactions in preclinical research is necessary. We developed a nanoformulation-brain database and wrote queries to connect the complex physical, chemical, and biological features of neurotherapeutics based on experimental data. We queried the database to select nanoformulations based on specific physical characteristics that enable effective penetration within the brain, including size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential. Additionally, we demonstrate the ability to query the database to return select nanoformulation characteristics, including nanoformulation methodology or methodological variables such as surfactant, polymer, drug loading, and sonication times. Finally, we show the capacity of our database to produce correlations relating nanoparticle formulation parameters to biological outcomes, including nanotherapeutic impact on cell viability in cultured brain slices.

Cell Membrane-Coated Mimics: A Methodological Approach for Fabrication, Characterization for Therapeutic Applications, and Challenges for Clinical Translation

Cell membrane-coated (CMC) mimics are micro/nanosystems that combine an isolated cell membrane and a template of choice to mimic the functions of a cell. The design exploits its physicochemical and biological properties for therapeutic applications. The mimics demonstrate excellent biological compatibility, enhanced biointerfacing capabilities, physical, chemical, and biological tunability, ability to retain cellular properties, immune escape, prolonged circulation time, and protect the encapsulated drug from degradation and active targeting. These properties and the ease of adapting them for personalized clinical medicine have generated a significant research interest over the past decade. This review presents a detailed overview of the recent advances in the development of cell membrane-coated (CMC) mimics. The primary focus is to collate and discuss components, fabrication methodologies, and the significance of physiochemical and biological characterization techniques for validating a CMC mimic. We present a critical analysis of the two main components of CMC mimics: the template and the cell membrane and mapped their use in therapeutic scenarios. In addition, we have emphasized on the challenges associated with CMC mimics in their clinical translation. Overall, this review is an up to date toolbox that researchers can benefit from while designing and characterizing CMC mimics.

Morphology-Dependent Peroxidase Mimicking Enzyme Activity of Copper Metal-Organic Polyhedra Assemblies

The morphology of nanomaterials (geometric shape and dimension) play a significant role in its various physical and chemical properties. Thus, it is essential to link morphology with performance in specific applications. For this purpose, the morphology of copper metal-organic polyhedra (Cu-MOP) can be modulated through distinct assembly process, which facilitates the exploration of the relationship between morphology and catalytic performance. In this work, the assemblies of Cu-MOP with three different morphologies (nanorods, nanofibers and nanosheets) were facilely prepared by the variation of solvent mixture of N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and methanol, revealed the important role of the interaction between the surface group and the solvent on the morphology of these assemblies. Cu-MOP nanofibers exhibited the highest mimetic peroxidase enzyme activity over the Cu-MOP nanosheets and nanorods, which have been utilized in the detection of glucose. Cu-MOPs assemblies with tunable morphology accompanied with adjustable mimic peroxidase activity, had great potential applications in the field of bioanalytical chemistry and biomedicals.

Mechanomaterials: A Rational Deployment of Forces and Geometries in Programming Functional Materials

The knowledge of mechanics of materials has been extensively implemented in developing functional materials, giving rise to recent advances in soft actuators, flexible electronics, mechanical metamaterials, tunable mechanochromics, regenerative mechanomedicine, etc. While conventional mechanics of materials offers passive access to mechanical properties of materials in existing forms, a paradigm shift is emerging toward proactive programming of materials' functionality by leveraging the force-geometry-property relationships. Here, such a rising field is coined as "mechanomaterials". To profile the concept, the design principles in this field at four scales is first outlined, namely the atomic scale, the molecular scale, the manipulation of nanoscale materials, and the microscale design of structural materials. A variety of techniques have been recruited to deliver the multiscale programming of functional mechanomaterials, such as strain engineering, capillary assembly, topological interlocking, kirigami, origami, to name a few. Engineering optical and biological functionalities have also been achieved by implementing the fundamentals of mechanochemistry and mechanobiology. Nonetheless, the field of mechanomaterials is still in its infancy, with many open challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed. The authors hope this review can serve as a modest spur to attract more researchers to further advance this field.

Lessons from a Challenging System: Accurate Adsorption Free Energies at the Amino Acid/ZnO Interface

We undertake steps to overcome four challenges that have hindered the understanding of ZnO/biomolecule interfaces at the atomic scale: parametrization of a classical force field, ZnO surface termination and amino acid protonation state in methanol, and convergence of enhanced sampling molecular dynamics simulations. We predict adsorption free energies for histidine, serine, cysteine, and tryptophan in remarkable agreement with experimental measurements obtained via a novel indicator-displacement assay. Adsorption is driven by direct surface/amino-acid interactions mediated by terminal hydroxyl groups and stabilized by strongly structured methanol solvation shells.

Catalogue of self-targeting nano-medical inventions to accelerate clinical trials

Repetitive outbreaks and prolonged epidemics represent mortal threats to global health, creating chaos in our globalized world. To date, scientists have been compelled to follow FDA guidelines for conventional clinical trials, which decelerates the release of effective therapies to battle outbreaks and safeguard global health security. Developing multi-purpose platform nanotechnologies to self-target specific organs in response to the disease microenvironment could greatly help to rapidly anticipate and efficiently manage outbreaks. Nano-interventions in the form of self-targeting nanoparticles (NPs) could accelerate the clinical translation of potential drugs to fight future outbreaks via innovating their clinical trials. This review sets the foundation of the self-targeting concept to govern the in vivo fate of NPs without the need to complicate the engineering designs with targeting ligands. The proposed catalogue of accelerated nano-innovations offers self-targeting, physiological trafficking, bio-compliance, and controllable drug release in response to associated smart linkers.

Responsive Degradable Theranostic Agents Enable Controlled Selenium Delivery to Enhance Photothermal Radiotherapy and Reduce Side Effects

Radiotherapy (RT) is a popular clinical therapy method for extending cancer patient survival, but is hampered by severe side effects and the weak therapy effect. Herein, responsive degradable selenium (Se) theranostic agents (Se@SiO₂ @Bi nanocomposites (NCs)) are fabricated, which combine computed tomography (CT) imaging and simultaneously enhance the therapeutic effects of photothermal therapy (PTT) and RT, while reducing the side effects of radiation. The Se@SiO₂ @Bi theranostic agents can accumulate at the tumor site, and responsively decompose to releease Se, avoiding systemic toxicity by the element. Se enhances the effect of PTT/RT, simultaneously reducing the side effects of RT. The Se@SiO₂ @Bi NCs as CT agents also exhibit significantly enhanced contrast imaging performance due to the high atomic number of Bi. More importantly, the Se@SiO₂ @Bi NCs can be rapidly excreted without long-term toxicity, owing to responsive degradation into ultrasmall particles (<5 nm) at the tumor site. In vitro and in vivo results show that the Se@SiO₂ @Bi NCs can remarkably inhibit tumor cells, without causing appreciable toxicity during the treatment. This study opens a new perspective in rationally designing responsive degradable theranostic agents for future tumor therapy with enhanced therapeutic efficacy and lesser side effects.

Spatiotemporal Oscillation in Confined Epithelial Motion upon Fluid-to-Solid Transition

Fluid-to-solid phase transition in multicellular assembly is crucial in many developmental biological processes, such as embryogenesis and morphogenesis. However, biomechanical studies in this area are limited, and little is known about factors governing the transition and how cell behaviors are regulated. Due to different stresses present, cells could behave distinctively depending on the nature of tissue. Here we report a fluid-to-solid transition in geometrically confined multicellular assemblies. Under circular confinement, Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) monolayers undergo spatiotemporally oscillatory motions that are strongly dependent on the confinement size and distance from the periphery of the monolayers. Nanomechanical mapping reveals that epithelial tensional stress and traction forces on the substrate are both dependent on confinement size. The oscillation pattern and cellular nanomechanics profile appear well correlated with stress fiber assembly and cell polarization. These experimental observations imply that the confinement size-dependent surface tension regulates actin fiber assembly, cellular force generation, and cell polarization. Our analyses further suggest a characteristic confinement size (approximates to MDCK's natural correlation length) below which surface tension is sufficiently high and triggers a fluid-to-solid transition of the monolayers. Our findings may shed light on the geometrical and nanomechanical control of tissue morphogenesis and growth.

Efficient Framework Analysis for Targeted Drug Delivery Based on Internet of Bio-NanoThings

The Internet of Bio-NanoThings (IoBNTs) is a novel paradigm that derives from synthetic biology and advances in nanotechnology for controlling the embedded nanodevices in various medical applications. However, numerous studies have focused on communication efficiency among the nanodevices in a given network, the challenges such as the design and the development of the nanodevices, and the coordination of molecular communication within the wireless body area network (BAN), and the interface connection between the BAN and the Internet are yet to be addressed. Therefore, in this study, we present a framework analysis comprising of the compartmental model, for studying the effects and variances in drug concentration that occur inside intra-body nanonetworks through IoBNT, while taking into account the properties of target cells as well as the ligand-receptor binding mechanism. A performance analysis of the proposed framework for the forward link (i.e., from the Internet to the intra-body nanonetwork) and reverse link (i.e., from the intra-body nanonetwork to the Internet) is presented. The simulation results of the developed framework reveal its ability to enhance the delivery of therapeutic drugs to the target cell while minimizing the side effects in healthy cells.

Nanostructure of Functional Larotaxel Liposomes Decorated with Guanine-Rich Quadruplex Nucleotide-Lipid Derivative for Treatment of Resistant Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease in women all over the world and its chemotherapy outcome is restricted by multidrug resistance. Here, a nanostructure by functional larotaxel liposomes decorated with guanine-rich quadruplex nucleotide-lipid derivative for treatment of resistant breast cancer is developed. The studies are performed on the resistant breast cancer cells and the cancer-bearing mice. The nucleotide-lipid derivative (DSPE-PEG₂₀₀₀ -C₆ -GT28nt) is synthesized by introducing a hydrophobic hexyl linkage between GT-28nt (containing 17 guanines and 11 thymidines) and DSPE-PEG₂₀₀₀ -NHS, and is incorporated on the functional larotaxel liposomes for specific binding with nucleolin receptor on the resistant cancer cells. The studies demonstrate that the liposomes had long circulatory effect, targeted capability, and significant anticancer efficacy in resistant cancer-bearing mice. The studies further reveal their action mechanism, consisting of blocking depolymerization of microtubules, arresting cell cycle, blocking JAK-STAT signaling pathway, and inhibiting activity of antiapoptotic proteins. In conclusion, the functional larotaxel liposomes can be used for effective treatment of drug-resistant breast cancer, and this study also offers a novel targeted nanomedicine based on nucleotide-lipid derivative.

Localized and Systemic Immune Responses against SARS-CoV-2 Following Mucosal Immunization

The rapid transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the USA and worldwide necessitates the development of multiple vaccines to combat the COVID-19 global pandemic. Previously, we showed that a particulate adjuvant system, quil-A-loaded chitosan (QAC) nanoparticles, can elicit robust immunity combined with plasmid vaccines when used against avian coronavirus. Here, we report on the immune responses elicited by mucosal homologous plasmid and a heterologous immunization strategy using a plasmid vaccine and a Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antigens. Only the heterologous intranasal immunization strategy elicited neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage of mice, suggesting a protective vaccine. The same prime/boost strategy led to the induction of type 1 and type 17 T-cell responses and polyfunctional T-cells expressing multiple type 1 cytokines (e.g., IFN-γ, TNFα, IL-2) in the lungs and spleens of vaccinated mice. In contrast, the plasmid homologous vaccine strategy led to the induction of local mono and polyfunctional T-cells secreting IFN-γ. Outcomes of this study support the potential of QAC-nano vaccines to elicit significant mucosal immune responses against respiratory coronaviruses.

Towards precision nanomedicine for cerebrovascular diseases with emphasis on Cerebral Cavernous Malformation (CCM)

Introduction: Cerebrovascular diseases encompass various disorders of the brain vasculature, such as ischemic/hemorrhagic strokes, aneurysms, and vascular malformations, also affecting the central nervous system leading to a large variety of transient or permanent neurological disorders. They represent major causes of mortality and long-term disability worldwide, and some of them can be inherited, including Cerebral Cavernous Malformation (CCM), an autosomal dominant cerebrovascular disease linked to mutations in CCM1/KRIT1, CCM2, or CCM3/PDCD10 genes.Areas covered: Besides marked clinical and etiological heterogeneity, some commonalities are emerging among distinct cerebrovascular diseases, including key pathogenetic roles of oxidative stress and inflammation, which are increasingly recognized as major disease hallmarks and therapeutic targets. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the different clinical features and common pathogenetic determinants of cerebrovascular diseases, highlighting major challenges, including the pressing need for new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, and focusing on emerging innovative features and promising benefits of nanomedicine strategies for early detection and targeted treatment of such diseases.Expert opinion: Specifically, we describe and discuss the multiple physico-chemical features and unique biological advantages of nanosystems, including nanodiagnostics, nanotherapeutics, and nanotheranostics, that may help improving diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases and neurological comorbidities, with an emphasis on CCM disease.

Safe Nanoparticles: Are We There Yet?

The field of nanotechnology has grown over the last two decades and made the transition from the benchtop to applied technologies. Nanoscale-sized particles, or nanoparticles, have emerged as promising tools with broad applications in drug delivery, diagnostics, cosmetics and several other biological and non-biological areas. These advances lead to questions about nanoparticle safety. Despite considerable efforts to understand the toxicity and safety of these nanoparticles, many of these questions are not yet fully answered. Nevertheless, these efforts have identified several approaches to minimize and prevent nanoparticle toxicity to promote safer nanotechnology. This review summarizes our current knowledge on nanoparticles, their toxic effects, their interactions with mammalian cells and finally current approaches to minimizing their toxicity.

Knowledge gaps in immune response and immunotherapy involving nanomaterials: Databases and artificial intelligence for material design

Exploring the interactions between the immune system and nanomaterials (NMs) is critical for designing effective and safe NMs, but large knowledge gaps remain to be filled prior to clinical applications (e.g., immunotherapy). The lack of databases on interactions between the immune system and NMs affects the discovery of new NMs for immunotherapy. Complement activation and inhibition by NMs have been widely studied, but the general rules remain unclear. Biomimetic nanocoating to promote the clearance of NMs by the immune system is an alternative strategy for the immune response mediation of the biological corona. Immune response predictions based on NM properties can facilitate the design of NMs for immunotherapy, and artificial intelligences deserve much attention in the field. This review addresses the knowledge gaps regarding immune response and immunotherapy in relation to NMs, effective immunotherapy and material design without adverse immune responses.

A biocompatible PAA-Cu-MOP hydrogel for wound healing

Wounds infected by bacteria are dangerous for human beings. However, along with the emergence of new strains and strong bacterial resistance, traditional antibiotics are unable to meet the medical needs for treating bacterial infections. Thus, new antibacterial substances with superior antimicrobial properties are urgently needed. Herein, a hydrogel containing poly acrylic acid (PAA), glycerol and Cu-MOP (named PAA-Cu-MOP hydrogel) is obtained by a facile mixing and ultrasonic procedure for wound healing treatment. This PAA-Cu-MOP hydrogel with high biocompatibility exhibits excellent wound healing behavior and is even better than the one of recombinant human epidermal growth factor. Tissue experiment results reveal that the PAA-Cu-MOP hydrogel accelerates the wound healing process by promoting angiogenesis, stimulating cell proliferation, and up-regulating cell factors.

Solid Lipid Nanoparticle Carrier Platform Containing Synthetic TLR4 Agonist Mediates Non-Viral DNA Vaccine Delivery

There is a growing demand for better delivery systems to improve the stability and efficacy of DNA vaccines. Here we report the synthesis of a non-viral DNA vaccine delivery system using a novel adjuvanted solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN-A) platform as a carrier for a DNA vaccine candidate encoding the Urease alpha (UreA) antigen from Helicobacter pylori. Cationic SLN-A particles containing monophosphoryl lipid A (adjuvant) were synthesised by a modified solvent-emulsification method and were investigated for their morphology, zeta potential and in vitro transfection capacity. Particles were found to bind plasmid DNA to form lipoplexes, which were characterised by electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and fluorescence microscopy. Cellular uptake studies confirmed particle uptake within 3 h, and intracellular localisation within endosomal compartments. In vitro studies further confirmed the ability of SLN-A particles to stimulate expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in human macrophage-like Tohoku Hospital Pediatrics-1 (THP-1) cells. Lipoplexes were found to be biocompatible and could be efficiently transfected in murine immune cells for expression of recombinant H. pylori antigen Urease A, demonstrating their potential as a DNA vaccine delivery system.

Nucleic Acid-Based Approaches for Tumor Therapy

Within the last decade, the introduction of checkpoint inhibitors proposed to boost the patients' anti-tumor immune response has proven the efficacy of immunotherapeutic approaches for tumor therapy. Furthermore, especially in the context of the development of biocompatible, cell type targeting nano-carriers, nucleic acid-based drugs aimed to initiate and to enhance anti-tumor responses have come of age. This review intends to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the therapeutic use of nucleic acids for cancer treatment on various levels, comprising (i) mRNA and DNA-based vaccines to be expressed by antigen presenting cells evoking sustained anti-tumor T cell responses, (ii) molecular adjuvants, (iii) strategies to inhibit/reprogram tumor-induced regulatory immune cells e.g., by RNA interference (RNAi), (iv) genetically tailored T cells and natural killer cells to directly recognize tumor antigens, and (v) killing of tumor cells, and reprograming of constituents of the tumor microenvironment by gene transfer and RNAi. Aside from further improvements of individual nucleic acid-based drugs, the major perspective for successful cancer therapy will be combination treatments employing conventional regimens as well as immunotherapeutics like checkpoint inhibitors and nucleic acid-based drugs, each acting on several levels to adequately counter-act tumor immune evasion.

Mechanical penetration of β-lactam-resistant Gram-negative bacteria by programmable nanowires

β-Lactam-resistant (BLR) Gram-negative bacteria that are difficult or impossible to treat are causing a global health threat. However, the development of effective nanoantibiotics is limited by the poor understanding of changes in the physical nature of BLR Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we systematically explored the nanomechanical properties of a range of Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae) with different degrees of β-lactam resistance. Our observations indicated that the BLR bacteria had cell stiffness values almost 10× lower than that of β-lactam-susceptible bacteria, caused by reduced peptidoglycan biosynthesis. With the aid of numerical modeling and experimental measurements, we demonstrated that these stiffness findings can be used to develop programmable, stiffness-mediated antimicrobial nanowires that mechanically penetrate the BLR bacterial cell envelope. We anticipate that these stiffness-related findings will aid in the discovery and development of novel treatment strategies for BLR Gram-negative bacterial infections.

Graphene Promotes Axon Elongation through Local Stall of Nerve Growth Factor Signaling Endosomes

Several works reported increased differentiation of neuronal cells grown on graphene; however, the molecular mechanism driving axon elongation on this material has remained elusive. Here, we study the axonal transport of nerve growth factor (NGF), the neurotrophin supporting development of peripheral neurons, as a key player in the time course of axonal elongation of dorsal root ganglion neurons on graphene. We find that graphene drastically reduces the number of retrogradely transported NGF vesicles in favor of a stalled population in the first 2 days of culture, in which the boost of axon elongation is observed. This correlates with a mutual charge redistribution, observed via Raman spectroscopy and electrophysiological recordings. Furthermore, ultrastructural analysis indicates a reduced microtubule distance and an elongated axonal topology. Thus, both electrophysiological and structural effects can account for graphene action on neuron development. Unraveling the molecular players underneath this interplay may open new avenues for axon regeneration applications.

High-throughput experimentation meets artificial intelligence: a new pathway to catalyst discovery

High throughput experimentation in heterogeneous catalysis provides an efficient solution to the generation of large datasets under reproducible conditions. Knowledge extraction from these datasets has mostly been performed using statistical methods, targeting the optimization of catalyst formulations. The combination of advanced machine learning methodologies with high-throughput experimentation has enormous potential to accelerate the predictive discovery of novel catalyst formulations that do not exist with current statistical design of experiments. This perspective describes selective examples ranging from statistical design of experiments for catalyst synthesis to genetic algorithms applied to catalyst optimization, and finally random forest machine learning using experimental data for the discovery of novel catalysts. Lastly, this perspective also provides an outlook on advanced machine learning methodologies as applied to experimental data for materials discovery.

Systemic Review of Biodegradable Nanomaterials in Nanomedicine

BACKGROUND

Nanomedicine is a field of science that uses nanoscale materials for the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. It has emerged as an important aspect of the therapeutics, but at the same time, also raises concerns regarding the safety of the nanomaterials involved. Recent applications of functionalized biodegradable nanomaterials have significantly improved the safety profile of nanomedicine.

OBJECTIVE

Our goal is to evaluate different types of biodegradable nanomaterials that have been functionalized for their biomedical applications.

METHOD

In this review, we used PubMed as our literature source and selected recently published studies on biodegradable nanomaterials and their applications in nanomedicine.

RESULTS

We found that biodegradable polymers are commonly functionalized for various purposes. Their property of being naturally degraded under biological conditions allows these biodegradable nanomaterials to be used for many biomedical purposes, including bio-imaging, targeted drug delivery, implantation and tissue engineering. The degradability of these nanoparticles can be utilized to control cargo release, by allowing efficient degradation of the nanomaterials at the target site while maintaining nanoparticle integrity at off-target sites.

CONCLUSION

While each biodegradable nanomaterial has its advantages and disadvantages, with careful design and functionalization, biodegradable nanoparticles hold great future in nanomedicine.

Renal-clearable hyaluronic acid functionalized NaGdF4 nanodots with enhanced tumor accumulation

Integration of high tumor-targeting capacity, controlling in vivo transport and low normal tissue retention into one engineered nanoparticle is a critical issue for future clinically translatable anti-cancer nanomedicines. Herein, hyaluronic acid functionalized 3.8 nm NaGdF4 nanodots (named NaGdF4 ND@HAs) have been prepared through conjugation of tryptone capped NaGdF4 nanodots (NaGdF4 ND@tryptone) with hyaluronic acid (HA, a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan), which can recognize the overexpressed CD44 on cancer cell membranes. The as-prepared NaGdF4 ND@HAs have good paramagnetic properties (longitudinal relaxivity (r 1) = 7.57 × 10-3 M S-1) and low cytotoxicity. The in vivo experimental results demonstrate that the NaGdF4 ND@HAs can not only efficiently accumulate in mouse-bearing MDA-MB-231 tumors (ca. 5.3% injection dosage (ID) g-1 at 2 h post-injection), but also have an excellent renal clearance efficiency (ca. 75% injection dosage (ID) at 24 h post-injection). The as-prepared NaGdF4 ND@HAs have good paramagnetic properties with enhanced tumor-targeting capacity, which provides a useful strategy for the preparation of renal clearable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents for tumors.

Analysis of model PM2.5-induced inflammation and cytotoxicity by the combination of a virtual carbon nanoparticle library and computational modeling

Health risks induced by PM2.5 have become one of the major concerns among living populations, especially in regions facing serious pollution such as China and India. Furthermore, the composition of PM2.5 is complex and it also varies with time and locations. To facilitate our understanding of PM2.5-induced toxicity, a predictive modeling framework was developed in the present study. The core of this study was 1) to construct a virtual carbon nanoparticle library based on the experimental data to simulate the PM2.5 structures; 2) to quantify the nanoparticle structures by novel nanodescriptors; and 3) to perform computational modeling for critical toxicity endpoints. The virtual carbon nanoparticle library was developed to represent the nanostructures of 20 carbon nanoparticles, which were synthesized to simulate PM2.5 structures and tested for potential health risks. Based on the calculated nanodescriptors from virtual carbon nanoparticles, quantitative nanostructure-activity relationship (QNAR) models were developed to predict cytotoxicity and four different inflammatory responses induced by model PM2.5. The high predictability (R² > 0.65 for leave-one-out validations) of the resulted consensus models indicated that this approach could be a universal tool to predict and analyze the potential toxicity of model PM2.5, ultimately understanding and evaluating the ambient PM2.5-induced toxicity.