Self-assembled water soluble and bone-targeting phosphorylated quercetin ameliorates postmenopausal osteoporosis in ovariectomy mice.

Natural compounds have shown promising application prospects in preventing or treating various diseases, including osteoporosis on account of their abundant sources, low price, multi-targeting and multiple biological effects. As a bioactive natural product, quercetin (Que) has previously demonstrated to ameliorate osteoporosis (OP), however, its poor bioavailability resulting from low water solubility, poor stability and lack of bone-targeting largely restricted its efficacy and clinical applications. Inspired by the bone-targeting capability of phosphate compounds, we reported a one-step procedure for synthesis of phosphorylated Que (p-Que) by direct phosphorylating phenol groups of Que for the first time.

Solvation enabled highly efficient gradient assembly creates robust metal-phenolic coatings.

Metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) are supramolecular materials that have received interest in various fields, including biomedicine, separations, environmental remediation, and catalysis. Despite recent advances, the construction of thick and robust MPN coatings that withstand harsh conditions (e.g.

Water-Enabled Electricity Generation by a Smooth Liquid-Like Semiconductor Coating Surface.

Water energy-converting techniques that focus on interfacial charge separation and transfer have aroused significant attention. However, the water-repelling nature leads to a less dense liquid layer and a sharp gradient of liquid velocity, which limits its output performance. Here, a water sliding generator (WSG) based on a smooth liquid-like/semiconductor surface (SLSS) is developed that harnesses the full advantage of liquid sliding friction.

3D printed PGCL@PLA/10CSPL composite scaffolds loaded with fibronectin 1 for intervertebral disc degeneration treatment.

Restoration of disc height and biomechanical function is essential for intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) treatment. Removing abnormal nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue is an important step to facilitate bony fusion during the healing process. We analyzed publicly available single-cell transcriptome data for human normal and degenerative NP to identify genes associated with NP degeneration.

Molecular acceptor engineering to precisely design a NIR type I photosensitizer for efficient PDT-based synergistic therapy.

Molecular design plays a crucial role in regulating the photophysical properties and photodynamic therapy (PDT) performance of photosensitizers (PSs); however, realizing PDT-based synergistic therapy based on sole PSs is still rarely reported. Herein, three near-infrared red type I PSs (named TP1, TP2, and TP3) were synthesized by adjusting their electron acceptors. The results demonstrated that these PSs exhibited aggregation-enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation efficiency and cyano groups on PSs can reduce ROS generation in solution while achieving efficient PDT-based synergistic therapy in cells glutathione depletion.

Engineering Autologous Cell-Derived Exosomes to Boost Melanoma-Targeted Radio-Immunotherapy by Cascade cGAS-STING Pathway Activation.

Radio-immunotherapy has offered emerging opportunities to treat invasive melanoma due to its immunostimulatory performances to activate antitumor immune responses. However, the immunosuppressive microenvironment and insufficient response rate significantly limit the practical efficacy. This study presents an autologous cell-derived exosomes (Exo)-engineered nanoagonist (MnExo@cGAMP) containing with metalloimmunotherapeutic agent (Mn ions) and nucleotidyltransferase (2',3'-cGAMP, a STING agonist) for boosting melanoma-targeted radio-immunotherapy by cascade cGAS-STING pathway activation.

Reprocessable Epoxy-Anhydride Resin Enabled by a Thermally Stable Liquid Transesterification Catalyst.

Introducing dynamic ester bonds into epoxy-anhydride resins enhances the reprocessability of the crosslinked network, facilitated by various types of transesterification catalysts. However, existing catalysts, such as metal salts and organic molecules, often struggle with dispersion, volatility, or structural instability issues. Here, we propose to solve such problems by incorporating a liquid-state, thermally stable transesterification catalyst into epoxy resins.

Robust liquid crystal semi-interpenetrating polymer network with superior energy-dissipation performance.

Liquid crystal networks (LCN) have attracted surging interest as extraordinary energy-dissipation materials owning to their unique dissipation mechanism based on the re-orientation of mesogens. However, how to integrate high Young's modulus, good dissipation efficiency and wide effective damping temperature range in energy-dissipation LCN remains a challenge. Here, we report a strategy to resolve this challenge by fabricating robust energy-dissipation liquid crystal semi-interpenetrating polymer network (LC-semi-IPN) consisting crystalline LC polymers (c-LCP).

"Anchoring Capture" Effect Mimicking Proline in Hardy Deep-Sea Fish to Stabilize the Zinc Anode with Lower Operating Temperature.

The low plating/stripping efficiency of zinc anodes, dendrite growth, and high freezing points of aqueous solutions hinder the practical application of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. This paper proposes a zwitterionic permeable network solid-state electrolyte based on the "anchor-capture" effect to address these problems by incorporating proline (Pro, a biological antifreeze agent) into the electrolyte. Extensive validation tests, Quantum Chemistry (QC) calculations, Molecular Dynamics (MD) Simulations, and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations consistently indicate that the amino groups in proline adsorb onto the Zn metal surface, stabilizing the zinc anode-electrolyte interface, suppressing side reactions from water decomposition, and homogenizing zinc-ion flux.

Properties and Factors of CsWO Slurry for Building Glass with High Visible Light Transmission and Outstanding Near-Infrared Insulation.

This study is dedicated to the development of a new type of cesium tungsten bronze energy-saving laminated glass and explores its application in insulating glass combinations, offering innovative ideas and practical solutions for advancing energy-saving glass technology. Experimental results show that both CsWO (CWO) dispersions exhibit good visible light transmittance and near-infrared shielding properties, with CWO1 demonstrating superior shielding in the 650-950 nm range, attributed to differences in shape and size distribution and verified by simulations using the Drude-Lorentz model and the finite element method.

DC-derived whole cell cytokine nano-regulator for remodelling extracellular matrix and synergizing tumor immunotherapy.

A smart dendritic cell (DC)-derived whole cell cytokine (DWC) nano-regulator of TCPs was developed for tumor cytokine-immunotherapy. The DWCs were purified from activated DC-cultured media and applied as a nano-dosage form. It was found that TCPs could remodel extracellular matrices the elimination of fibronectin and type I collagen (Col-I) in tumor tissues, as well as the inhibition of α-SMA expression in cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs).

Synthesis of hemostatic aerogel of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers/collagen/chitosan and / evaluation.

The treatment of internal hemorrhage remains challenging due to the current limited antibacterial capability, hemostatic efficacy, and biocompatibility of hemostatic materials. The TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers/collagen/chitosan (TCNF/COL/CS) hemostatic aerogel was developed in this work by physically encasing COL in a sandwich structure and electrostatically self-assembling polyanionic TCNF with polycationic CS. coagulation experiments revealed the favorable procoagulant properties of TCNF/COL/CS along with high adhesion to erythrocytes and platelets.

Unravelling the antioxidant behaviour of self-assembly β-Sheet in silk fibroin.

Local oxidative stress in diseases or injury severely hinders cell homeostasis and organ regeneration. Antioxidant therapy is an effective strategy for oxidative stress treatment. Biomaterials with good biocompatibility and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability are good choices for antioxidant therapeutics.

Rejuvenating liquid crystal elastomers for self-growth.

To date, only one polymer can self-grow to an extended length beyond its original size at room temperature without external stimuli or energy input. This breakthrough paves the way for significant advancements in untethered autonomous soft robotics, eliminating the need for the energy input or external stimuli required by all existing soft robotics systems. However, only freshly prepared samples in an initial state can self-grow, while non-fresh ones cannot.

Enhancing the Electrocatalytic Oxidation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Through Cascade Structure Tuning for Highly Stable Biomass Upgrading.

Electrocatalytic 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidation reaction (HMFOR) provides a promising strategy to convert biomass derivative to high-value-added chemicals. Herein, a cascade strategy is proposed to construct Pd-NiCoO electrocatalyst by Pd loading on Ni-doped CoO and for highly active and stable synergistic HMF oxidation. An elevated current density of 800 mA cm can be achieved at 1.

A series of tetraphenylene-acetonitrile AIE compounds with D-A-D' structure for drugs delivery systems of paclitaxel: Synthesis, structure-activity relationship and anti-tumors effect.

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials are attracting great attention in biomedical fields such as sensors, bioimaging, and cancer treatment, et al. due to their strong fluorescence emission in the aggregated state. In this contribution, a series of tetraphenylene-acetonitrile AIE compounds with D-A-D' structures were synthesized by Suzuki coupling reaction and Knoevenagel condensation, and their relationship of chemical structure and fluorescence properties was investigated in detail, among which TPPA compound was selected as the monomer owing to the longest emission wavelength at about 530 nm with low energy band gap ΔE 3.

Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 screening in stem cells: theories, applications and challenges.

Due to the rapid development of stem cell technology, there have been tremendous advances in molecular biological and pathological research, cell therapy as well as organoid technologies over the past decades. Advances in genome editing technology, particularly the discovery of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-related protein 9 (Cas9), have further facilitated the rapid development of stem cell researches. The CRISPR-Cas9 technology now goes beyond creating single gene editing to enable the inhibition or activation of endogenous gene loci by fusing inhibitory (CRISPRi) or activating (CRISPRa) domains with deactivated Cas9 proteins (dCas9).

A high-performance organic fluorescent probe with aggregation-induced emission properties for long-term tumor monitoring.

Near-infrared organic fluorescent probes have great need in biological sciences and medicine but most of them are still largely unable to meet demand. In this work, a delicate multipurpose organic fluorescent probe (DPPM-TPA) with aggregation-induced emission performances is designed and prepared by facile method to reflect fluorescence labeling, two-photon imaging, and long-term fluorescent tracking. Specifically, DPPM-TPA NPs was constructed from 4-(diphenylamino)phenylboronic acid and DPPM-Br by classical Suzuki coupling reaction and then coated with F127.

Intracellular Criegee's mechanism-based synergistic ozone therapy mediated by oleogels for cancer treatment.

Broad cellular components-initiated efficient chemical reactions that occur in malignant cells may contribute to exploring emerging strategies for cancer treatment. Herein, an ozonated oleogel (OG) was developed to achieve cancer ozone therapy (O-T) based on intracellular Criegee's reaction. By integrating the chemo-drug, the ozone-loaded oleogel (Dox@OG) was prepared as a chemotherapeutic agent for local O-T, associated with chemotherapy (CT)/radiotherapy (RT)/immunotherapy and wound healing.

Versatile morphology transition of nano-assemblies via ultrasonics/microwave assisted aqueous polymerization-induced self-assembly based on host-guest interaction.

Nano-assemblies have wide applications in biomedicine, functional coatings, Pickering emulsifiers, hydrogels, and so forth. The preparation of assemblies mainly utilizes the polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) method, which can produce high-concentration nanoscale assemblies in one step. However, the initiation processes of most reported PISA are limited to thermal initiation.

A Single Component, Single Layer Flexile Foam Evaporator with the Higher Efficiency for Water Generation.

One of the greenest and promising ways to solve the problem of freshwater crisis is surface solar steam generation from seawater. A great number of photothermal materials with multi-component and multi-layered delicate yet complex structures often suffer from either low evaporation rate or high energy loss. Here, this work presents a single component foam evaporator with steam generation rate of up to 4.

"Cloth-to-Clothes-Like" Fabrication of Soft Actuators.

Inspired by adaptive natural organisms and living matter, soft actuators appeal to a variety of innovative applications such as soft grippers, artificial muscles, wearable electronics, and biomedical devices. However, their fabrication is typically limited in laboratories or a few enterprises since specific instruments, strong stimuli, or specialized operation skills are inevitably involved. Here a straightforward "cloth-to-clothes-like" method to prepare soft actuators with a low threshold by combining the hysteretic behavior of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) with the exchange reaction of dynamic covalent bonds, is proposed.

Nacre-Mimetic Structure Multifunctional Ion-Conductive Hydrogel Strain Sensors with Ultrastretchability, High Sensitivity, and Excellent Adhesive Properties.

Recently, conductive hydrogels have emerged as promising materials for smart, wearable devices. However, limited mechanical properties and low sensitivity greatly restrict their lifespan. Based on the design of biomimetic-layered structure, the conductive hydrogels with nacre-mimetic structure were prepared by using layered acrylic bentonite (AABT) and phytic acid (PA) as multifunctional "brick" and "mortar" units.