Detecting telomerase activity at the single-cell level using a CRISPR-Cas12a-based chip.

The intimate association between telomerase activity and cancer has driven the exploration of diverse methodologies for its precise detection. However, detecting telomerase activity at the single-cell level remains a significant challenge. Herein, we present a MOF-DNA barcode-amplified CRISPR-Cas12a strategy integrated with a single-cell microfluidic chip for ultrasensitive detection of telomerase activity.

Synthesis and Biomedical Applications of Covalent Organic Frameworks for Disease Diagnosis and Therapy.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as a distinguished class of porous materials. Owing to their ability to be constructed through covalent bonds involving light elements, such as hydrogen, boron, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, COFs offer greater stability and lower cytotoxicity than metal-organic frameworks do, addressing critical limitations in in vivo applications. Their unique attributes, such as high surface area, customizable pore sizes, and versatile surface functionalities, make them ideal for various biomedical applications.

In vitro screening methods of novel immune checkpoint inhibitors related to T cell infiltration and anti-PD-1 resistance.

Immune checkpoint blockade-based cancer immunotherapy is an effective tool for cancer treatment. PD-1/PD-L1 blockade, however, is limited by a low response rate and adaptive resistance. A growing body of studies has shown that the high stromal content dense with extracellular matrix plays a significant role in immune checkpoint blockade resistance as well as T cell exclusion.

Hybrid Particle Size Template Method for Controllable Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Multilevel Porous Carbon as High-Rate Zn-Ion Hybrid Supercapacitor Cathode Materials.

Achieving high rate performance without compromising energy density has always been a critical objective for zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors (ZHSCs). The pore structure and surface properties of carbon cathode materials play a crucial role. We propose utilizing a hybrid particle size (20 and 40 nm) magnesium oxide templates to regulate the pore structure of nitrogen-doped porous carbon derived from the soybean isolate.

Optimization Strategies of NaV(PO) Cathode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

NaV(PO) (NVP) has garnered great attentions as a prospective cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) by virtue of its decent theoretical capacity, superior ion conductivity and high structural stability. However, the inherently poor electronic conductivity and sluggish sodium-ion diffusion kinetics of NVP material give rise to inferior rate performance and unsatisfactory energy density, which strictly confine its further application in SIBs. Thus, it is of significance to boost the sodium storage performance of NVP cathode material.

Highly Sensitive Detection of Tumor Cell-Derived Exosomes Using Solid-State Nanopores Assisted with a Slight Salt Gradient.

As an important biomarker, tumor cell-derived exosomes have substantial application prospects in early cancer screening and diagnosis. However, the unsatisfactory sensitivity and complicated sample pretreatment processes of conventional detection approaches have limited their use in clinical diagnosis. Nanopore sensors, as a highly sensitive, label-free, single-molecule technology, are widely utilized in molecule and bioparticle detection.

Harnessing Gene Editing Technology for Tumor Microenvironment Modulation: An Emerging Anticancer Strategy.

Cancer is a multifaceted disease influenced by both intrinsic cellular traits and extrinsic factors, with the tumor microenvironment (TME) being crucial for cancer progression. To satisfy their high proliferation and aggressiveness, cancer cells always plunder large amounts of nutrients and release various signals to their surroundings, forming a dynamic TME with special metabolic, immune, microbial and physical characteristics. Due to the neglect of interactions between tumor cells and the TME, traditional cancer therapies often struggle with challenges such as drug resistance, low efficacy, and recurrence.

Ultrafast mechanosynthesis of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks with UV and NIR photoswitching of photochromic/photothermal behavior.

We present a facile and ultrafast mechanosynthesis of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks |CNH‖HCO| with UV and NIR bidirectional photoswitching of photochromic/photothermal behavior. The reaction time is reduced to mere seconds, and the method is both high-yield and scalable.

Synthesis of Ultrathin FeS Nanosheets via Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Fe-based 2D materials exhibit rich chemical compositions and structures, which may imply many unique physical properties and promising applications. However, achieving controllable preparation of ultrathin non-layered FeS crystal on SiO/Si substrate remains a challenge. Herein, the influence of temperature and molecular sieves is reported on the synthesis of ultrathin FeS nanosheets with a thickness as low as 2.

Identification of a novel DEC-205 binding peptide to develop dendritic cell-targeting nanovaccine for cancer immunotherapy.

Cancer vaccine is regarded as an effective immunotherapy approach mediated by dendritic cells (DCs) which are crucial for antigen presentation and the initiation of adaptive immune responses. However, lack of DC-targeting properties significantly hampers the efficacy of cancer vaccines. Here, by using the phage display technique, peptides targeting the endocytic receptor DEC-205 primarily found on cDC1s were initially screened.

Inhibition of Transmural Inflammation in Crohn's Disease by Orally Administered Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Deoxyribozymes-Loaded Pyroptosis Nanoinhibitors.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a refractory chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with unknown etiology. Transmural inflammation, involving the intestine and mesentery, represents a characteristic pathological feature of CD and serves as a critical contributor to its intractability. Here, this study describes an oral pyroptosis nanoinhibitor loaded with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) deoxyribozymes (DNAzymes) (DNAzymes@degradable silicon nanoparticles@Mannose, Dz@MDSN), which can target macrophages at the site of inflammation and respond to reactive oxygen species (ROS) to release drugs.

In Situ Exsolution-Prepared Solid-Solution-Type Sulfides with Intracrystal Polarization for Efficient and Selective Absorption of Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Wave.

The excellent dielectric properties and tunable structural design of metal sulfides have attracted considerable interest in realizing electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption. However, compared with traditional monometallic and bimetallic sulfides that are extensively studied, the unique physical characteristics of solid-solution-type sulfides in response to EMW have not been revealed yet. Herein, a unique method for preparing high-purity solid-solution-type sulfides is proposed based on solid-phase in situ exsolution of different metal ions from hybrid precursors.

Electronic transfer and structural reconstruction in porous NF/FeNiP-CoP@NC heterostructure for robust overall water splitting in alkaline electrolytes.

Multimetal phosphides derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have garnered significant interest owing to their distinct electronic configurations and abundant active sites. However, developing robust and efficient catalysts based on metal phosphides for overall water splitting (OWS) remains challenging. Herein, we present an approach for synthesizing a self-supporting hollow porous cubic FeNiP-CoP@NC catalyst on a nickel foam (NF) substrate.

Constructing Built-In Electric Fields with Semiconductor Junctions and Schottky Junctions Based on Mo-MXene/Mo-Metal Sulfides for Electromagnetic Response.

The exploration of novel multivariate heterostructures has emerged as a pivotal strategy for developing high-performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials. However, the loss mechanism in traditional heterostructures is relatively simple, guided by empirical observations, and is not monotonous. In this work, we presented a novel semiconductor-semiconductor-metal heterostructure system, Mo-MXene/Mo-metal sulfides (metal = Sn, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, and Cu), including semiconductor junctions and Mott-Schottky junctions.

Sucrose-Powered Liposome Nanosensors for Urinary Glucometer-Based Monitoring of Cancer.

Timely detection of early-stage cancer holds immense potential in enhancing prognostic outcomes. There is an increasing desire for versatile tools to enable simple, sensitive, and cost-effective cancer detection. By exploiting the extraintestinal metabolic inertness and efficiency renal clearance of sucrose, we designed a liposome nanosensor using sucrose as a messenger to convert tumor-specific esterase activity into glucose meter readout, enabling economical and sensitive urinalysis for cancer detection in point-of-care testing (POCT).

Deferoxamine-Loaded Chitosan-Based Hydrogel on Bone Implants Showing Enhanced Bond Strength and Pro-Angiogenic Effects.

Angiogenesis is vital for bone fracture healing and plays a significant role in the fate of orthopedic implants. The growth and maintenance of new blood vessels at the fracture site of patients is essential, which promotes the clinical outcome of plasma sprayed Ti (PST) coated orthopedic implants. In order to endow the PST coating with pro-angiogenic effects, deferoxamine-loaded chitosan-based hydrogel was fabricated on the coating surface.

An integrated framework for prognosis prediction and drug response modeling in colorectal liver metastasis drug discovery.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer globally, and liver metastasis (CRLM) is the primary cause of death. Hence, it is essential to discover novel prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic drugs for CRLM.

Methods: This study developed two liver metastasis-associated prognostic signatures based on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in CRLM.

Parallel Grooved Microstructure Manufacturing on the Surface of SiN Ceramics by Femtosecond Laser.

Machining special microstructures on the surface of silicon nitride ceramics helps improve their service performance. However, the high brittleness and low fracture toughness of silicon nitride ceramics make it extremely difficult to machine microstructures on their surface. In this study, a femtosecond laser is used to machine parallel grooved microstructures on the surface of silicon nitride ceramics.

Development of LAG-3/FGL1 blocking peptide and combination with radiotherapy for cancer immunotherapy.

Aside from antibodies, peptides show great potential as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) due to several advantages, such as better tumor penetration and lower cost. Lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) is an immune checkpoint which can induce T cell dysfunction through interaction with its soluble ligand fibrinogen like protein-1 (FGL1). Here, we found that LAG-3 expression was higher than programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) in multiple human cancers by TCGA databases, and successfully identified a LAG-3 binding peptide LFP-6 by phage display bio-panning, which specifically blocks the interaction of LAG-3/FGL1 but not LAG-3/MHC-II.

Discovery of a novel small molecule as CD47/SIRPα and PD-1/PD-L1 dual inhibitor for cancer immunotherapy.

Background: Targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME) has emerged as a promising strategy in cancer treatment, particularly through the utilization of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) agents such as PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Despite partial success, the presence of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) contributes to an immunosuppressive TME that fosters tumor progression, and diminishes the therapeutic efficacy of ICB. Blockade of the CD47/SIRPα pathway has proven to be an effective intervention, that restores macrophage phagocytosis and yields substantial antitumor effects, especially when combined with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade.