Oxygen-Independent Photodynamic Therapy-Mediated Selective Consumption of M1 Macrophage Against Ventricular Arrhythmias via Sympathetic Neuromodulation.

The occurrence of myocardial infarction (MI)-induced malignant ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) is closely associated with the hyperactivation of left stellate ganglion (LSG). Proinflammatory M1 macrophage is reported to aggravate sympathetic overactivation and cause VAs. Therefore, the depletion of M1 macrophage is anticipated to inhibit LSG overactivation and alleviate MI-induced VAs.

Harnessing Natural Pollen as Sustained-Release, Mucoadhesive, and Biosafe Drug Microcapsules for Intravesical Instillation in Bladder Cancer Treatment.

Intravesical instillation is essential for bladder cancer treatment, but current therapy suffers from brief drug retention and insufficient contact bladder contact. Nano- and micro-sized capsules-based drug delivery systems are expected to solve these problems, which, however, face challenges such as weak mucoadhesion, low biosafety, and processing complexity, limiting their scalable application. In this study, the power of plant pollen-derived microcapsules, sporopollenin exine capsules (SECs) is harnessed that are produced by sequentially defatting and acidolysis sunflower pollen, to passive load with pirarubicin and achieve biosafe and high-efficiency intravesical chemotherapy.

Revivable self-assembled supramolecular biomass fibrous framework for efficient microplastic removal.

Microplastic remediation in aquatic bodies is essential for the entire ecosystem, but is challenging to achieve with a universal and efficient strategy. Here, we developed a sustainable and environmentally adaptable adsorbent through supramolecular self-assembly of chitin and cellulose. This biomass fibrous framework (Ct-Cel) showcases an excellent adsorption performance for polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate.

Hydrogel Films with Impact Resistance by Sacrificial Micelle-Assisted-Alignment.

Various strategies are developed to engineer aligned hierarchical architectures in polymer hydrogels for enhanced mechanical performance. However, chain alignment remains impeded by the presence of hydrogen bonds between adjacent chains. Herein, a facile sacrificial micelle-assisted-alignment strategy is proposed, leading to well-aligned, strong and tough pure chitosan hydrogels.

Chitin/Chitosan Nanofibers Toward a Sustainable Future: From Hierarchical Structural Regulation to Functionalization Applications.

Owing to its multiple fascinating properties of renewability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and antibacterial activity, chitin is expected to become a green cornerstone of next-generation functional materials. Chitin nanofibers, as building blocks, form multiscale hierarchical structures spanning nano- and macrolevels in living organisms, which pave the way for sophisticated functions. Therefore, from a biomimetic perspective, exploiting chitin nanofibers for use in multifunctional, high-performance materials is a promising approach.

High-sensitivity QCM humidity sensor based on chitosan/carboxymethylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite for non-contact respiratory monitoring.

Respiratory humidity is an important indicator that can reflect respiratory disorders and is easily accessible in daily life, thus attracting attention in non-contact home respiratory monitoring systems. In this work, a high-sensitivity quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) humidity sensor based on a chitosan/carboxymethylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite coating is developed with a response time of 36 s and a recovery time of 38 s. The humidity variations from 11 to 97 % can be detected while the wet hysteresis is 0.

Targeting Decidual CD16 Immune Cells with Exosome-Based Glucocorticoid Nanoparticles for Miscarriage.

Immune dysfunction in early pregnancy including overactivation of cytotoxic CD16 NK cells and proinflammatory M1 macrophages at the maternal-fetal interface interferes with trophoblast invasion, spiral artery remodeling, and decidualization, potentially leading to miscarriage. Immunosuppressants like glucocorticoids (GCs) are used to regulate the immune microenvironment in clinical treatment, but the lack of safe and efficient tissue-specific drug delivery systems, especially immune cell-specific vectors, limits their widespread clinical application. Here, a previously uncharacterized delivery system is reported, termed GC-Exo-CD16Ab, in which GCs are loaded into purified exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, and subsequently decorated with antibody CD16Ab.

Nanofibrous textured silk aerogel with 3D channel arrays and adjustable mechanical properties for bone tissue regeneration.

Bone tissue engineering scaffolds are an important means of repairing bone defects, but current solutions do not adequately simulate complex extracellular microenvironment fibrous structures and adjustable mechanical properties. We use template-assisted fiber freeze-shaping technology to construct silk fibroin nanofiber aerogels (SNFAs) with nanofibrous textures and adjustable mechanical properties. The parallel arranged channels, the pores, electrospun nanofibers, and silk protein conformation together constitute the hierarchical structure of SNFAs.

Glucosamine sulfate-loaded nanofiber reinforced carboxymethyl chitosan sponge for articular cartilage restoration.

Cartilage is severely limited in self-repair after damage, and tissue engineering scaffold transplantation is considered the most promising strategy for cartilage regeneration. However, scaffolds without cells and growth factors, which can effectively avoid long cell culture times, high risk of infection, and susceptibility to contamination, remain scarce. Hence, we developed a cell- and growth factor-dual free hierarchically structured nanofibrous sponge to mimic the extracellular matrix, in which the encapsulated core-shell nanofibers served both as mechanical supports and as long-lasting carriers for bioactive biomass molecules (glucosamine sulfate).

Organ-on-a-chip: future of female reproductive pathophysiological models.

The female reproductive system comprises the internal and external genitalia, which communicate through intricate endocrine pathways. Besides secreting hormones that maintain the female secondary sexual characteristics, it also produces follicles and offspring. However, the in vitro systems have been very limited in recapitulating the specific anatomy and pathophysiology of women.

Biomass waste-assisted micro(nano)plastics capture, utilization, and storage for sustainable water remediation.

Micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) have become a significant environmental concern due to their widespread presence in the biosphere and potential harm to ecosystems and human health. Here, we propose for the first time a MNPs capture, utilization, and storage (PCUS) concept to achieve MNPs remediation from water while meeting economically productive upcycling and environmentally sustainable plastic waste management. A highly efficient capturing material derived from surface-modified woody biomass waste (M-Basswood) is developed to remove a broad spectrum of multidimensional and compositional MNPs from water.

Coaxial nanofibrous aerogel featuring porous network-structured channels for ovarian cancer treatment by sustained release of chitosan oligosaccharide.

Ovarian cancer, the deadliest gynecological malignancy, primarily treated with chemotherapy. However, systemic chemotherapy often leads to severe toxic side effects and chemoresistance. Drug-loaded aerogels have emerged as a promising method for drug delivery, as they can improve drug solubility and bioavailability, control drug release, and reduce drug distribution in non-targeted tissues, thereby minimizing side effects.

Self-Adapting Biomass Hydrogel Embodied with miRNA Immunoregulation and Long-Term Bacterial Eradiation for Synergistic Chronic Wound Therapy.

Chronic wound rescue is critical for diabetic patients but is challenging to achieve with a specific and long-term strategy. The prolonged bacterial inflammation is particularly prevalent in hyperglycemia-induced wounds, usually leading to severe tissue damage. Such a trend could further suffer from an environmental suitability provided by macrophages for persisting () and even deteriorate by their mutual reinforcement.

Selective Cleavage of C-O-4 Bond for Lignin Depolymerization via Paired-Electrolysis in an Undivided Cell.

The cleavage of C-O bonds is one of the most promising strategies for lignin-to-chemicals conversion, which has attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, current catalytic system capable of selectively breaking C-O bonds in lignin often requires a precious metal catalyst and/or harsh conditions such as high-pressure H and elevated temperatures. Herein, we report a novel protocol of paired electrolysis to effectively cleave the C-O-4 bond of lignin model compounds and real lignin at room temperature and ambient pressure.

Activating Adsorption Sites of Waste Crayfish Shells via Chemical Decalcification for Efficient Capturing of Nanoplastics.

The property of being stubborn and degradation resistant makes nanoplastic (NP) pollution a long-standing remaining challenge. Here, we apply a designed top-down strategy to leverage the natural hierarchical structure of waste crayfish shells with exposed functional groups for efficient NP capture. The crayfish shell-based organic skeleton with improved flexibility, strength (14.

Nanofiber-induced hierarchically-porous magnesium phosphate bone cements accelerate bone regeneration by inhibiting Notch signaling.

Magnesium phosphate bone cements (MPC) have been recognized as a viable alternative for bone defect repair due to their high mechanical strength and biodegradability. However, their poor porosity and permeability limit osteogenic cell ingrowth and vascularization, which is critical for bone regeneration. In the current study, we constructed a novel hierarchically-porous magnesium phosphate bone cement by incorporating extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimicking electrospun silk fibroin (SF) nanofibers.

A Universal Biomacromolecule-Enabled Assembly Strategy for Constructing Multifunctional Aerogels with 90% Inorganic Mass Loading from Inert Nano-Building Blocks.

Inert inorganic nano-building blocks, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and boron nitride (BN) nanosheets, possess excellent physicochemical properties. However, it remains challenging to build aerogels with these inert nanomaterials unless they are chemically modified or compounded with petrochemical polymers, which affects their intrinsic properties and is usually not environmentally friendly. Here, a universal biomacromolecule-enabled assembly strategy is proposed to construct aerogels with 90 wt% ultrahigh inorganic loading.

Dopamine-Modified Chitosan Patterning Hydrogel with Dynamic Information Storage Ability.

The storage of dynamic information in hydrogels has aroused considerable interest regarding the multiple responsiveness of soft matter. Herein, we propose an electrical writing methodology to prepare dopamine (DA)-modified chitosan hydrogels with a dynamic information storage ability. A pH-responsive chitosan hydrogel medium was patterned by cathodic writing to in situ generate OH in the writing area, at which dopamine underwent an auto-oxidation reaction in the locally alkaline environment to generate a dark color.

Programmable Electrical Signals Induce Anisotropic Assembly of Multilayer Chitosan Hydrogels.

Multilayer hydrogels are widely used in biomedical-related fields due to their complex and variable spatial structures. Various strategies have been developed for preparing multilayer hydrogels, among which electrically induced self-assembly provides a simple and effective method for multilayer hydrogel fabrication. By application of an oscillatory electrical signal sequence, multilayer hydrogels with distinct boundaries can be formed according to the provided programmable signals.

Janus silk fibroin/polycaprolactone-based scaffold with directionally aligned fibers and porous structure for bone regeneration.

To promote bone repair, it is desirable to develop three-dimensional multifunctional fiber scaffolds. The densely stacked and tightly arranged conventional two-dimensional electrospun fibers hinder cell penetration into the scaffold. Most of the existing three-dimensional structural materials are isotropic and monofunctional.

Cellulose nanofibers embedded chitosan/tannin hydrogel with high antibacterial activity and hemostatic ability for drug-resistant bacterial infected wound healing.

Millions of patients annually suffer life-threatening illnesses caused by bacterial infections of skin wounds. However, the treatment of wounds infected with bacteria is a thorny issue in clinical medicine, especially with drug-resistant bacteria infections. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in developing wound dressings that can efficiently fight against drug-resistant bacterial infections and promote wound healing.