Conjugated polyelectrolyte materials for promoting progenitor cell growth without serum

The applications of 3D printing in wound healing: the external delivery of stem cells and antibiosis

As the global number of chronic wound patients rises, the financial burden and social pressure on patients increase daily. Stem cells have emerged as promising tissue engineering seed cells due to their enriched sources, multidirectional differentiation ability, and high proliferation rate. However, delivering them in vitro for the treatment of skin injury is still challenging. In addition, bacteria from the wound site and the environment can significantly impact wound healing. In the last decade, 3D bioprinting has dramatically enriched cell delivery systems. The produced scaffolds by this technique can be precisely localized within cells and perform antibacterial actions. In this review, we summarized the 3D bioprinting-based external delivery of stem cells and their antibiosis to improve wound healing.

Bioactive Composite Nanoparticles for Effective Microenvironment Regulation, Neuroprotection, and Cell Differentiation

Brain injuries typically result in neural tissue damage and trigger a permanent neurologic deficit. Current methods exhibit limited effects due to the harsh microenvironment of injury regions rich in reactive oxygen species (ROS). Herein, a microenvironment regulation combined with cellular differentiation strategy is designed for repairing injured nerves. We prepare PMNT/F@D-NP nanoparticles comprising a bioactive polythiophene derivative (PMNT) and fullerenol as a multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform. PMNT/F@D-NPs can significantly reduce the accumulation of ROS in the simulated ischemic brain injury trial and inhibit cell apoptosis due to the effective free radical scavenging ability of fullerenol. Interestingly, the bioactive PMNT/F@D-NPs can promote the proliferation and differentiation of neurons, confirmed by immunofluorescence and western blotting studies. This newly developed strategy exhibits a combinatorial therapeutic effect by promoting nerve cell survival and differentiation while improving the microenvironment in the damaged area, which paves the way for the rational design of multifunctional agents for brain injury therapy.

3D Bioprinting of Polythiophene Materials for Promoting Stem Cell Proliferation in a Nutritionally Deficient Environment

3D printing of stem cells provides a tremendous opportunity to tissue engineering in regenerative medicine. However, developing new bioactive materials to rationally augment stem cell viability is still an enormous challenge owing to the nutritionally deficient environment caused by the limited-penetration distance of nutrition when cells are encapsulated within biomaterials. In this work, a cationic conjugated polythiophene derivative, poly[3-(3'-N,N,N-triethylamino-1'-propyloxy)-4-methyl-2,5-thiophene hydrochloride] (PMNT), is designed and integrated into an anionic gelatin/alginate matrix to develop a new 3D bioprintable conjugated polymer ink Gel/Alg/PMNT, while the electrostatic interaction can assist PMNT to anchor inside ink without severe diffusional loss. In principle, PMNT is confirmed to promote human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) proliferation in a serum-free medium by driving cell cycles and up-regulating gene expression in the pathways of biosynthesis and the metabolism. By employing the 3D bioprinting strategy together with hMSCs, the accelerated healing of full-thickness excisional wounds is further realized through the augmented-stem cell therapeutics utilizing Gel/Alg/PMNT ink, in which hMSC proliferation can be effectively promoted upon inductive stimulation of PMNT. The inherent highly bioactive and robust proliferation-promoted nature of the developed conjugated polymer ink Gel/Alg/PMNT significantly overcomes the nutritionally deficient environment, especially in 3D-printed large-scale architectures. The bioactive polythiophene material exhibits a unique capacity to promote stem cell proliferation without the need of serum, providing a new bioink for 3D bioprinting in tissue reconstructions.

Artificial regulation of state transition for augmenting plant photosynthesis using synthetic light-harvesting polymer materials

Artificial regulation of state transition between photosystem I (PSI) and PSII will be a smart and promising way to improve efficiency of natural photosynthesis. In this work, we found that a synthetic light-harvesting polymer [poly(boron-dipyrromethene-co-fluorene) (PBF)] with green light absorption and far-red emission could improve PSI activity of algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa, followed by further upgrading PSII activity to augment natural photosynthesis. For light-dependent reactions, PBF accelerated photosynthetic electron transfer, and the productions of oxygen, ATP and NADPH were increased by 120, 97, and 76%, respectively. For light-independent reactions, the RuBisCO activity was enhanced by 1.5-fold, while the expression levels of rbcL encoding RuBisCO and prk encoding phosphoribulokinase were up-regulated by 2.6 and 1.5-fold, respectively. Furthermore, PBF could be absorbed by the Arabidopsis thaliana to speed up cell mitosis and enhance photosynthesis. By improving the efficiency of natural photosynthesis, synthetic light-harvesting polymer materials show promising potential applications for biofuel production.

Cationic conjugated polymers for enhancing beneficial bacteria adhesion and biofilm formation in gut microbiota

It is important to develop efficient therapeutic methods to maintain a healthy balance among gut microbiota by increasing the beneficial bacteria and decreasing the harmful bacteria. In this work, a cationic polythiophene derivative poly(3-(3'-N,N,N-triethylamino-1'-propyloxy)-4-methyl-2,5-thiophene hydrochloride) (PMNT) with quaternary ammonium groups as side chains has been used for efficiently promoting the initial adhesion and biofilm formation of beneficial bacteria in gut microbiota. Upon addition of PMNT, three species of gut microbiota have an increased biofilm formation ability (216.5 % for Escherichia coli (E. coli), 130.7 % for Bifidobacterium infantis (B. infants) and 47.6 % for Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis)). As the initial adhesion of bacteria to a surface is an essential step during biofilm formation, PMNT can promote the attachment of bacteria by forming bacteria /PMNT aggregates which possess more cell-to-cell interactions. RNA sequencing results of bacteria within biofilm indicate that the utilization of carbohydrate and glycan is accelerated in the presence of PMNT, leading to enhanced quorum sensing and biofilm formation of E. coli. After forming biofilm, beneficial bacteria have an enhanced resistance to adverse environmental conditions which is significant for maintaining the balance of gut microbiota. Conjugated polymers exhibit a good potential application in modulating the balance of gut microbiota and development of new probiotics drugs.

Cationic Polythiophenes as Gene Delivery Enhancer

There is urgent demand of easily available and highly effective method to improve transgene performance of polymeric gene carriers at low consumption of delivery materials. We developed biocompatible multicomponent nanocomposites in which small quantities of cationic polythiophenes were engineered into the outer shell of polypeptide/DNA polyplexes without covalent linkages. We revealed the introduction of polythiophenes in small quantities led to multiple outcomes including modulation of polyplex size and zeta potential, increase in polyplex stability, promotion of endolysosome membrane disruption, light-induced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and significant enhancement of gene delivery to tumor cells. The factors such as structural architectures, molecular weights, photosensitizing capability, and percentage composition of polythiophenes were investigated.

Synthesis and physical properties of the conjugated dendrons bearing twisted acenes used in solution processing of organic light-emitting diodes

Five novel organic conjugated derivatives containing multifraction twisted acene units have been synthesized and characterized. These compounds and the model molecule 2-methyl-5,12-diphenyl-6:7,10:11-bisbenzotetracene emit strong blue light in diluted solution with quantum yields of 0.21-0.67, while in the solid state, except for the 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexa(2-(5,12-diphenyl-6:7,10:11-bis(4'-tert-butylbenzo)tetracene))benzene, green luminance is seen. The experimental results also indicate that the multifraction structure leads to a significant fluorescence enhancement (over two times) compared to the monomer, which might be attributed to the formation of delocalized excited state in multibranch structures. The quantum-chemical calculation implies that only two branches are involved in formation of the delocalized system for the multibranched derivatives. Furthermore, the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) devices using compounds 1,4-di(2-(5,12-diphenyl-6:7,10:11-bis(4'-tert-butylbenzo)tetracene))benzene, 1,3-di(2-(5,12-diphenyl-6:7,10:11-bis(4'-tert-butylbenzo)tetracene))benzene, and 1,3,5-tri(2-(5,12-diphenyl-6:7,10:11-bis(4'-tert-butylbenzo)tetracene))benzene as emitters exhibit good electroluminescent performance. Our systematic studies might provide more chances to challenge the rational design and synthesis of new- and high-generation branched dendrimers.

Effects of surface molecular chirality on adhesion and differentiation of stem cells

Chirality is one of the most fascinating and ubiquitous cues in nature, especially in life. The effects of chiral surfaces on stem cells have, however, not yet been revealed. Herein we examined the molecular chirality effect on stem cell behaviors. Self assembly monolayers of L- or D-cysteine (Cys) were formed on a glass surface coated with gold. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from bone marrow of rats exhibited more adhering preference and thus less cell spreading on the L surface than on the d one at the confluent condition. More protein adsorption was observed on the L surface after immersed in cell culture medium with fetal bovine serum. After osteogenic and adipogenic co-induction at the confluent condition, a larger proportion of cells became osteoblasts on the d surface, while the adipogenic fraction on the L surface was found to be higher than on the D surface. In order to interpret how this chirality effect worked, we fabricated Cys microislands of two sizes on the non-fouling poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel to pre-define the spreading areas of single cells. Then the differentiation extents did not exhibit a significant difference between L and D surfaces under a given area of microislands, yet very significant differences of osteogenesis and adipogenesis were found between different areas. So, the molecular chirality influenced stem cells, probably via favored adsorption of natural proteins on the L surface, which led to more cell adhesion; and the larger cell spreading area with higher cell tension in turn favored osteogenesis rather than adipogenesis. As a result, this study reveals the molecular chirality on material surfaces as an indirect regulator of stem cells.