Current status of silica-based nanoparticles as therapeutics and its potential as therapies against viruses.

In the past decade, interest in nanoparticles for clinical indications has been steadily gaining traction. Most recently, Lipid Nanoparticles (LNP) have been used successfully to construct the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines for rapid pandemic response. Similarly, silica is another nanomaterial which holds much potential to create nanomedicines against pathogens of interest.

Amplified parallel antigen rapid test for point-of-care salivary detection of SARS-CoV-2 with improved sensitivity.

In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, simple, rapid, point-of-care tests not requiring trained personnel for primary care testing are essential. Saliva-based antigen rapid tests (ARTs) can fulfil this need, but these tests require overnight-fasted samples; without which independent studies have demonstrated sensitivities of only 11.7 to 23.

Comparing Semiconductor Nanocrystal Toxicity in Pregnant Mice and Non-Human Primates.

Despite growing use of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) in applications from electronics to medicine, the potential risk to human health remains a critical concern within clinical use. ENM exposure during pregnancy can potentially cause reproductive toxicity even at levels that produce no measurable harm to animals in normal conditions. Phospholipid micelle-encapsulated CdSe/CdS/ZnS semiconductor nanocrystals with an average hydrodynamic diameter of 60 nm were intravenously injected during pregnancy in both rodent and nonhuman primate animal models.

A Self-Powered Implantable Drug-Delivery System Using Biokinetic Energy.

The first triboelectric-nanogenerator (TENG)-based self-powered implantable drug-delivery system is presented. Pumping flow rates from 5.3 to 40 µL min under different rotating speeds of the TENG are realized.

Standalone Lab-on-a-Chip Systems toward the Evaluation of Therapeutic Biomaterials in Individualized Disease Treatment.

As each tumor is unique, treatments should be individualized in terms of their drug formulation and time dependent dosing. In vitro lab-on-a-chip (LOC) drug testing is a viable avenue to individualize treatments. A drug testing platform in the form of a customizable standalone LOC system is proposed for treatment individualization in vitro.

Synthesis and characterization of multifunctional hybrid-polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery and multimodal imaging of cancer.

In this study, multifunctional hybrid-polymeric nanoparticles were prepared for the treatment of cultured multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) of the PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. To synthesize the hybrid-polymeric nanoparticles, the poly lactic-co-glycolic acid core of the particles was loaded with Rhodamine 6G dye and the chemotherapeutic agent, Paclitaxel, was incorporated into the outer phospholipid layer. The surface of the nanoparticles was coated with gadolinium chelates for magnetic resonance imaging applications.

An in-vivo evaluation of a MEMS drug delivery device using Kunming mice model.

The use of MEMS implantable drug delivery pump device enables one to program the desired drug delivery profile in the device for individualized medicine treatment to patients. In this study, a MEMS drug delivery device is prepared and employed for in vivo applications. 12 devices are implanted subcutaneously into Kunming mice for evaluating their long term biocompatibility and drug-delivery efficiency in vivo.

High reliability nanosandwiched Pt/Ti multilayer electrode actuators for on-chip biomedical applications.

Microactuators provide the main driving force for fluid pumping in microfluidic devices and thus play an important role in on-chip biomedical applications. Interdigitated electrode based electrochemical actuators have provided a viable choice for effective actuation with advantages of flexible controllability, biocompatibility and ease of fabrication. However, the current feature size of a typical electrode structure is around 100 μm, which is relatively large for device miniaturization and integration.

An electrochemically actuated MEMS device for individualized drug delivery: an in vitro study.

Individualized disease treatment is a promising branch for future medicine. In this work, we introduce an implantable microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based drug delivery device for programmable drug delivery. An in vitro study on cancer cell treatment has been conducted to demonstrate a proof-of-concept that the engineered device is suitable for individualized disease treatment.