Ferritin Nanocage Conjugated Hybrid Hydrogel for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery Applications.

Hydrogels have recently been attractive in various drug delivery and tissue engineering applications because of their structural similarities to the natural extracellular matrix. Despite enormous advances in the application of hydrogels, poor mechanical properties and lack of control for the release of drugs and biomolecules act as major barriers for widespread clinical applications. To overcome these challenges, we developed both physically and covalently conjugated nanocage-laden hydrogels between the surface of the nanocage and a gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel matrix.

Surface topology affects wetting behavior of biofilms.

The colonization of surfaces by bacterial biofilms constitutes a huge problem in healthcare and industry. When attempting biofilm inactivation or removal, it is crucial to sufficiently wet the biofilm surface with antibacterial agents; however, certain biofilms efficiently resist wetting, and the origin of this behavior remains to date unclear. Here, we demonstrate that, depending on the growth medium used, the model bacterium can form biofilm colonies with distinct surface properties: we find either hydrophilic or two variants of hydrophobic behavior.