Molecular Programming Design of Glyconucleic Acid Aptamer with High Stability.

Functional nucleic acids (FNAs), possessing specific biological functions beyond their informational roles, have gained widespread attention in disease therapeutics. However, their clinical application is severely limited by their low serum stability in complex physiological environments. In this work, a precise molecular programming strategy is explored to prepare glyconucleic acid aptamers (GNAAs) with high serum stability.

Recent Progress of Multifunctional Molecular Probes for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Theranostics.

Breast cancer (BC) poses a significant threat to women's health, with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) representing one of the most challenging and aggressive subtypes due to the lack of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression. Traditional TNBC treatments often encounter issues such as low drug efficiency, limited tumor enrichment, and substantial side effects. Therefore, it is crucial to explore novel diagnostic and treatment systems for TNBC.

Recent Progress on Second Near-Infrared Emitting Carbon Dots in Biomedicine.

Second near-infrared (NIR-II) carbon dots, with absorption or emission between 1000 and 1700 nm, are gaining increasing attention in the biomaterial field due to their distinctive properties, which include straightforward preparation processes, stable photophysical characteristics, excellent biocompatibility, and low cost. As a result, there is a growing focus on the controlled synthesis and modulation of the photochemical and photophysical properties of NIR-II carbon dots, with the aim to further expand their biomedical applications, a current research hotspot. This account aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in NIR-II carbon dots within the biomedical field.

In situ fabrication of sporoid-like flexible electrodes via Fe-regulated electron density for highly efficient and ultra-stable overall seawater splitting.

Construction of ultra-stable, flexible, efficient and economical catalytic electrodes is of great significance for the seawater electrolysis for hydrogen production. This work is grounded in a one-step mild electroless plating method to construct industrial-grade super-stable overall water splitting (OWS) catalytic electrodes (Fe-NiP@GF) by growing loose and porous spore-like Fe-NiP conductive catalysts in situ on flexible glass fibre (GF) insulating substrates with precise elemental regulation. Cost-effective Fe regulation boosts the electronic conductivity and charge transfer ability to achieve the construction of high intrinsic activity and strong electron density electrodes.

CDs Regulated Sulfur-Based Flexible Electrode with Range pH Values for Efficient and Durable Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

How to mildly structure a high intrinsic activity and stable catalytic electrode to realize long-term catalytic water splitting to produce hydrogen at a wide range of pH values at industrial high current is a challenge. Herein, this work creatively proposes to prepare industrial-grade catalytic electrodes with high efficiency and stability at high current density through carbon quantum dots (CDs) modification nickel sulfide on hydrophilic flexible filter paper via one-step mild chemical plating (denoted as CDs-Ni S @HFP). The intrinsic activity and surface area, electron transfer ability, and corrosion resistance of Ni S material are increased due to the regulation, homogenous, and high concentration doping of CDs.

Resolution of MoS Nanosheets-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation Driven by Nanoscale Intracellular Transformation and Extracellular-Vesicle Shuttles.

Pulmonary exposure to some engineered nanomaterials can cause chronic lesions as a result of unresolved inflammation. Among 2D nanomaterials and graphene, MoS has received tremendous attention in optoelectronics and nanomedicine. Here an integrated approach is proposed to follow up the transformation of MoS nanosheets at the nanoscale and assesss their impact on lung inflammation status over 1 month after a single inhalation in mice.

Combined Photothermal and Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer Treatment Using a Multifunctional Graphene Oxide.

Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most studied nanomaterials in many fields, including the biomedical field. Most of the nanomaterials developed for drug delivery and phototherapies are based on noncovalent approaches that lead to an unspecific release of physisorbed molecules in complex biological environments. Therefore, preparing covalently functionalized GO using straightforward and versatile methods is highly valuable.

Correction: Controlled functionalization of carbon nanodots for targeted intracellular production of reactive oxygen species.

Correction for 'Controlled functionalization of carbon nanodots for targeted intracellular production of reactive oxygen species' by Ding-Kun Ji et al., Nanoscale Horiz., 2020, 5, 1240-1249, DOI: .

Comparative Effects of Graphene and Molybdenum Disulfide on Human Macrophage Toxicity.

Graphene and other 2D materials, such as molybdenum disulfide, have been increasingly used in electronics, composites, and biomedicine. In particular, MoS and graphene hybrids have attracted a great interest for applications in the biomedical research, therefore stimulating a pertinent investigation on their safety in immune cells like macrophages, which commonly engulf these materials. In this study, M1 and M2 macrophage viability and activation are mainly found to be unaffected by few-layer graphene (FLG) and MoS at doses up to 50 µg mL .

Controlled functionalization of carbon nanodots for targeted intracellular production of reactive oxygen species.

Controlled intracellular release of exogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an innovative and efficient strategy for cancer treatment. Well-designed materials, which can produce ROS in targeted cells, minimizing side effects, still need to be explored as new generation nanomedicines. Here, red-emissive carbon nanodots (CNDs) with intrinsic theranostic properties are devised, and further modified with folic acid (FA) ligand through a controlled covalent functionalization for targeted cell imaging and intracellular production of ROS.

Physically-triggered nanosystems based on two-dimensional materials for cancer theranostics.

There is an increasing demand to develop effective methods for treating malignant diseases to improve healthcare in our society. Stimuli-responsive nanosystems, which can respond to internal or external stimuli are promising in cancer therapy and diagnosis due to their functionality and versatility. As a newly emerging class of nanomaterials, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have attracted huge interest in many different fields including biomedicine due to their unique physical and chemical properties.

Perylenediimide-based glycoclusters as high affinity ligands of bacterial lectins: synthesis, binding studies and anti-adhesive properties.

The synthesis of eight perylenediimide-based glycoclusters was readily performed from hexa- and tetra-propargylated cores through azide-alkyne "click" conjugation. Variations in the carbohydrate epitope (Glc, Gal, Man, Fuc) and the linker arm provided molecular diversity. Interactions with LecA and LecB, two proteins involved in the adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to host tissues, were evaluated by microcalorimetry (ITC).

Supramolecular assembly of fluorogenic glyco-dots from perylenediimide-based glycoclusters for targeted imaging of cancer cells.

Supramolecular self-assembly between perylenediimide-based glycoclusters and a red-emitting fluorophore produces structurally uniform and stable glyco-dots amenable to targeted fluorogenic imaging of liver and triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Receptor-targeting fluorescence imaging and theranostics using a graphene oxide based supramolecular glycocomposite.

Intercellular glycoligand-receptor interactions are implicated in a number of disease-related processes. Effective tools that target these receptors may facilitate disease theranostics. However, owing to their low binding affinity, multivalent presentation of glycoligands is needed to increase the avidity with transmembrane receptors.

An insight into graphene oxide associated fluorogenic sensing of glycodye-lectin interactions.

Recently, there has been increasing interest in the construction of graphene oxide (GO) based fluorogenic composite materials (FCMs) for the detection of ligand-protein recognitions, which modulate numerous physiological and pathological processes in nature. In the sensing systems developed, GO has been used as a platform to assemble, and thus quench the fluorescence of dye-labelled ligands for the fluorogenic (fluorescence off-on) detection of proteins through the competitive formation of ligand-protein complexes, disassembling the GO composite. Here we show that the size, structure and loading concentration of GO may largely impact the sensing performance of GO-based FCMs.

Selective fluorescence detection of monosaccharides using a material composite formed between graphene oxide and boronate-based receptors.

We have developed a novel class of simple materials for sensing monosaccharides by the functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) with boronate-based fluorescence probes (BA1 and BA2). The composite materials were characterized by atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and UV-vis/fluorescence spectroscopy. The strong fluorescence of the BA probes is quenched in the presence of GO through fluorescence resonance energy transfer.