Implantable Ultrasound-Powered MXene/PVA Hydrogel-Based Generator for Treatment of Glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a lethal disease with a poor prognosis due to its strong infiltration, which makes it difficult to remove completely. In this study, an implantable, modulus-tunable, and ultrasound-powered MXene/PVA hydrogel-based tumor treatment device (UP-MPH-TTD), which generates specific electromagnetic alternating fields that disrupt the mitosis of cancer cells without adversely affecting normal neurons is developed. The MXene/PVA hydrogel is used to form a tumor treatment field due to its high biocompatibility, excellent flexibility, and high conductivity, which improves ultrasonic electrical conversion efficiency and significantly reduces the size of the equipment.

Minimally-invasive implantable device enhances brain cancer suppression.

Current brain tumor treatments are limited by the skull and BBB, leading to poor prognosis and short survival for glioma patients. We introduce a novel minimally-invasive brain tumor suppression (MIBTS) device combining personalized intracranial electric field therapy with in-situ chemotherapeutic coating. The core of our MIBTS technique is a wireless-ultrasound-powered, chip-sized, lightweight device with all functional circuits encapsulated in a small but efficient "Swiss-roll" structure, guaranteeing enhanced energy conversion while requiring tiny implantation windows ( ~ 3 × 5 mm), which favors broad consumers acceptance and easy-to-use of the device.

Multi-Target Neural Differentiation (MTND) Therapeutic Cocktail to Suppress Brain Tumor.

Brain tumors have been proved challenging to treat. Here we established a Multi-Target Neural Differentiation (MTND) therapeutic cocktail to achieve effective and safe treatment of brain malignancies by targeting the important hallmarks in brain cancers: poor cell differentiation and compromised cell cycle. In-vitro and in-vivo experiments confirmed the significant therapeutic effect of our MTND therapy.

Ultrasensitive FET biosensor chip based on self-assembled organic nanoporous membrane for femtomolar detection of Amyloid-β.

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is critical for preventing disease progression, however, the diagnosis of AD remains challenging for most patients due to limitations of current sensing technologies. A common pathological feature found in AD-affected brains is the accumulation of Amyloid-β (Aβ) polypeptides, which lead to neurofibrillary tangles and neuroinflammatory plaques. Here, we developed a portable ultrasensitive FET biosensor chip based on a self-assembled nanoporous membrane for ultrasensitive detection of Aβ protein in complex environments.

Mitochondria dysfunction and bipolar disorder: From pathology to therapy.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is one of the major psychiatric diseases in which the impairment of mitochondrial functions has been closely connected or associated with the disease pathologies. Different lines of evidence of the close connection between mitochondria dysfunction and BD were discussed with a particular focus on (1) dysregulation of energy metabolism, (2) effect of genetic variants, (3) oxidative stress, cell death and apoptosis, (4) dysregulated calcium homeostasis and electrophysiology, and (5) current as well as potential treatments targeting at restoring mitochondrial functions. Currently, pharmacological interventions generally provide limited efficacy in preventing relapses or recovery from mania or depression episodes.

Worm Generator: A System for High-Throughput Screening.

Large-scale screening of molecules in organisms requires high-throughput and cost-effective evaluating tools during preclinical development. Here, a novel screening strategy combining hierarchically structured biohybrid triboelectric nanogenerators (HB-TENGs) arrays with computational bioinformatics analysis for high-throughput pharmacological evaluation using is described. Unlike the traditional methods for behavioral monitoring of the animals, which are laborious and costly, HB-TENGs with micropillars are designed to efficiently convert animals' behaviors into friction deformation and result in a contact-separation motion between two triboelectric layers to generate electrical outputs.

Novel Nano-Drug Delivery System for Brain Tumor Treatment.

As the most dangerous tumors, brain tumors are usually treated with surgical removal, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. However, due to the aggressive growth of gliomas and their resistance to conventional chemoradiotherapy, it is difficult to cure brain tumors by conventional means. In addition, the higher dose requirement of chemotherapeutic drugs caused by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the untargeted nature of the drug inevitably leads to low efficacy and systemic toxicity of chemotherapy.

Ferromagnetic Flexible Electronics for Brain-Wide Selective Neural Recording.

Flexible microelectronics capable of straightforward implantation, remotely controlled navigation, and stable long-term recording hold great promise in diverse medical applications, particularly in deciphering complex functions of neural circuits in the brain. Existing flexible electronics, however, are often limited in bending and buckling during implantation, and unable to access a large brain region. Here, an injectable class of electronics with stable recording, omnidirectional steering, and precise navigating capabilities based on magnetic actuation is presented.

An implantable ultrasound-powered device for the treatment of brain cancer using electromagnetic fields.

Brain tumors have been proved challenging to treat. Here, we present a promising alternative by developing an implantable ultrasound-powered tumor treating device (UP-TTD) that electromagnetically disrupts the rapid division of cancer cells without any adverse effects on normal neurons, thereby safely inhibiting brain cancer recurrence. In vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed the significant therapeutic effect of the UP-TTD, with ~58% inhibition on growth rate of clinical tumor cells and ~78% reduction of cancer area in tumor-bearing rats.

Biohybrid Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Label-Free Pharmacological Fingerprinting in Cardiomyocytes.

The development of new drugs requires high-throughput and cost-effective pharmacological assessment in relevant biological models. Here, we introduce a novel pharmacological screening platform that combines a biohybrid triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and informatic analysis for self-powered, noninvasive, and label-free biosensing in cardiac cells. The cyclic mechanical activity of functional cardiomyocytes is dynamically captured by a specially designed biohybrid TENG device and is analyzed by a custom-made machine learning algorithm to reveal distinctive fingerprints in response to different pharmacological treatment.

Vascularized neural constructs for ex-vivo reconstitution of blood-brain barrier function.

Ex-vivo blood-brain barrier (BBB) model is of great value for studying brain function and drug development, but it is still challenging to engineer macroscale three-dimensional (3D) tissue constructs to recapitulate physiological and functional aspects of BBB. Here, we describe a delicate 3D vascularized neural constructs for ex-vivo reconstitution of BBB function. The tissue-engineered tissue construct is based on a multicomponent 3D co-culture of four types of cells, which typically exist in the BBB and were spatially defined and organized to mimic the in vivo BBB structure and function.

A Remotely Controlled Transformable Soft Robot Based on Engineered Cardiac Tissue Construct.

Many living organisms undergo conspicuous or abrupt changes in body structure, which is often accompanied by a behavioral change. Inspired by the natural metamorphosis, robotic systems can be designed as reconfigurable to be multifunctional. Here, a tissue-engineered transformable robot is developed, which can be remotely controlled to assume different mechanical structures for switching locomotive function.

High-throughput three-dimensional chemotactic assays reveal steepness-dependent complexity in neuronal sensation to molecular gradients.

Many cellular programs of neural development are under combinatorial regulation by different chemoattractive or chemorepulsive factors. Here, we describe a microfluidic platform that utilizes well-controlled three-dimensional (3D) diffusion to generate molecular gradients of varied steepness in a large array of hydrogel cylinders, allowing high-throughput 3D chemotactic assays for mechanistic dissection of steepness-dependent neuronal chemotaxis. Using this platform, we examine neuronal sensitivity to the steepness of gradient composed of netrin-1, nerve growth factor, or semaphorin3A (Sema3A) proteins, and reveal dramatic diversity and complexity in the associated chemotactic regulation of neuronal development.

Injectable Nanoreinforced Shape-Memory Hydrogel System for Regenerating Spinal Cord Tissue from Traumatic Injury.

Traumatic injury in the central nervous system can lead to loss of functional neurons. Transplantation of neural progenitors is a promising therapeutic strategy. However, infusion of dissociated cells often suffers from low viability, uneven cell distribution, and poor in vivo engraftment that could be reinforced by a better cell delivery system.

Anti-counterfeiting patterns encrypted with multi-mode luminescent nanotaggants.

Anti-counterfeiting patterns are encrypted with nanotaggants that are selectively excited at distinct wavelengths. Decryption is realized by examining the temporal color or graphic responses of the pattern under various illumination wavelengths. The covert color and graphic codes that are designable through control of the nanotaggant composition are expected to provide high-level security.

Investigation of the Subcellular Neurotoxicity of Amyloid-β Using a Device Integrating Microfluidic Perfusion and Chemotactic Guidance.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with the histopathological hallmark of extracellular accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide in brain senile plaques. Though many studies have shown the neural toxicity from various forms of Aβ peptides, the subcellular mechanisms of Aβ peptide are still not well understood, partially due to the technical challenges of isolating axons or dendrites from the cell body for localized investigation. In this study, the subcellular toxicity and localization of Aβ peptides are investigated by utilizing a microfluidic compartmentalized device, which combines physical restriction and chemotactic guidance to enable the isolation of axons and dendrites for localized pharmacological studies.

Ultrathin MXene-Micropattern-Based Field-Effect Transistor for Probing Neural Activity.

A field-effect transistor (FET) based on ultrathin Ti3 C2 -MXene micropatterns is developed and utilized as a highly sensitive biosensor. The device is produced with the microcontact printing technique, making use of its unique advantages for easy fabrication. Using the MXene-FET device, label-free probing of small molecules in typical biological environments and fast detection of action potentials in primary neurons is demonstrated.

Effects of in vivo exposure to polyfluorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins on organo-somatic indices and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity in mice (Mus musculus).

In this study, five different congeners of polyfluorinated dibenzo-P-dioxins (PFDDs) (1,8-di-FDD, 1,3,8-tri-FDD, 1,3,6,8-tetra-FDD, 2,3,7,8-tetra-FDD and 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octa-FDD), representing different numbers and positions of fluorine substituents of all 75 PFDD congeners, were synthesized and purified to evaluate their potential environmental impact on living organisms. Their toxicity was evaluated by determining the impact on the organo-somatic indices (OSI) and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in mice (Mus musculus) after intragastric administration with different doses (0.5-100 μg/kg body weight) for 3 days.

Ozonation of indigo enhanced by carboxylated carbon nanotubes: performance optimization, degradation products, reaction mechanism and toxicity evaluation.

As a promising disinfection technique to replace chlorination, ozonation has been demonstrated to be efficient in water treatment. This paper describes an effective way to enhance the ozonation of indigo by using carbon nanotubes functionalized with carboxyl groups (CNTs-COOH) as catalysts. The result of kinetic studies showed that the presence of CNTs-COOH dramatically increased the decolorization rate of indigo.