Physicochemically Cross-linked Injectable Hydrogel: an Adhesive Skin Substitute for Burned Wound Therapy.

Burns carry a large surface area, varying in shapes and depths, and an elevated risk of infection. Regardless of the underlying etiology, burns pose significant medical challenges and a high mortality rate. Given the limitations of current therapies, tissue-engineering-based treatments for burns are inevitable.

Smart Vascular Grafts with Integrated Flow Biosensors for Hemodynamic Real-Time Monitoring and Vascular Healthcare.

Real-time monitoring of hemodynamics is crucial for diagnosing disorders within implanted vascular grafts and facilitating timely treatment. Integrating vascular grafts with advanced flexible electronics offers a promising approach to developing smart vascular grafts (SVGs) capable of continuous hemodynamic monitoring. However, most existing SVG devices encounter significant challenges in practical applications, particularly regarding biomechanical compatibility and the effective evaluation of vascular status.

Silica-Activated Redox Signaling Confers Rice with Enhanced Drought Resilience and Grain Yield.

Under a changing climate, enhancing the drought resilience of crops is critical to maintaining agricultural production and reducing food insecurity. Here, we demonstrate that seed priming with amorphous silica (SiO) nanoparticles (NPs) (20 mg/L) accelerated seed germination speed, increased seedlings vigor, and promoted seedling growth of rice under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mimicking drought conditions. An orthogonal approach was used to uncover the mechanisms of accelerated seed germination and enhanced drought tolerance, including electron paramagnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), metabolomics, and transcriptomics.

Hybrid Membrane Biomimetic Photothermal Nanorobots for Enhanced Chemodynamic-Chemotherapy-Immunotherapy.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly invasive and fatal brain tumor with a grim prognosis, where current treatment modalities, including postoperative radiotherapy and temozolomide chemotherapy, yield a median survival of only 15 months. The challenges of tumor heterogeneity, drug resistance, and the blood-brain barrier necessitate innovative therapeutic approaches. This study introduces a strategy employing biomimetic magnetic nanorobots encapsulated with hybrid membranes derived from platelets and M1 macrophages to enhance blood-brain barrier penetration and target GBM.

Nanoparticle Adjuvants Incorporating Haptens Drive Potent Immune Tolerance to Accelerate Hair Regrowth.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a prevalent autoimmune condition that causes sudden hair loss and poses significant psychological challenges to affected individuals. Current treatments, including corticosteroids and Janus kinase inhibitors, fail to provide long-term efficacy due to adverse effects and relapse after cessation. This study introduces a nanoparticle (NP) system that codeliver diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) and rapamycin (RAPA) prodrugs to induce immune tolerance and promote hair regeneration.

Enhancing Osteogenesis and Mechanical Properties through Scaffold Design in 3D Printed Bone Substitutes.

In the context of regenerative medicine, the design of scaffolds to possess excellent osteogenesis and appropriate mechanical properties has gained significant attention in bone tissue engineering. In this review, we categorized materials into metallic, inorganic, nonmetallic, organic polymer, and composite materials. This review provides a more integrated and multidimensional analysis of scaffold design for bone tissue engineering.

Focal Adhesion Regulation as a Strategy against Kidney Fibrosis.

Chronic kidney fibrosis poses a significant global health challenge with effective therapeutic strategies remaining elusive. While cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are known to drive fibrosis progression, the specific role of focal adhesions (FAs) in kidney fibrosis is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the role of FAs in kidney tubular epithelial cell fibrosis by employing precise nanogold patterning to modulate integrin distribution.

Interfacial Engineering with a Conjugated Conductive Polymer for a Highly Reversible Zn Anode.

For Zn metal batteries, the Zn anode faces several challenges, including Zn dendrites, hydrogen evolution, and corrosion. These issues are closely related to the Zn deposition process at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Herein, we propose interfacial engineering to protect the Zn anode and induce homogeneous deposition using conjugated cyclized polyacrylonitrile (cPAN) polymer nanofibers.

Constructing Interfacial B-P Bonding Bridge to Promote S-Scheme Charge Migration within Heteroatom-Doped Carbon Nitride Homojunction for Efficient HO Photosynthesis.

The emerging step (S)-scheme heterojunction systems became a powerful strategy in promoting photogenerated charge separation while maintaining their high redox potentials. However, the weak interfacial interaction limits the charge migration rate in S-scheme heterojunctions. Herein, we construct a unique S-scheme carbon nitride (CN) homojunction with boron (B)-doped CN and phosphorus (P)-doped CN (B-CN/P-CN) for hydrogen peroxide (HO) photosynthesis.

Enhancing Biodegradation of Insoluble High Molecular Weight Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Macroemulsion (ME) Bioreactors with a Liquid-Liquid Interface.

Due to the low bioavailability and insolubility of high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HMW-PAHs) in aqueous solutions, their degradation efficiency is significantly limited in wastewater treatment and environmental remediation. To address this challenge, we designed oil-in-water (O/W) macroemulsion (ME) bioreactors with mixed surfactants (Tween-80 and Triton X-100), -butanol, corn oil, and () to enhance the degradation efficiency of pyrene. Owing to the higher solubility of pyrene in MEs, it could be easily adsorbed onto hydrophobic groups on the cell surface.

Regulation of Bone Remodeling by Metal-Phenolic Networks for the Treatment of Systemic Osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a systemic metabolic disease that impairs bone remodeling by favoring osteoclastic resorption over osteoblastic formation. Nanotechnology-based therapeutic strategies focus on the delivery of drug molecules to either decrease bone resorption or increase bone formation rather than regulating the entire bone remodeling process, and osteoporosis interventions suffer from this limitation. Here, we present a multifunctional nanoparticle based on metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) for the treatment of systemic osteoporosis by regulating both osteoclasts and osteoblasts.

Coixol-Loaded Hydrogels Promote Osteochondral Defect Repair via Modulation of Ferroptosis and Autophagy in Chondrocytes.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic multifactorial disease characterized by cartilage degeneration, pain, and reduced mobility. Current therapies primarily aim to relieve pain and restore function, but they often have limited effectiveness and side effects. Coixol, a bioactive compound from Coix lacryma-jobi L.

Electromechanics of the Molecule-Electrode Interface and Interface-Mediated Effects in Single-Molecule Junctions.

The molecule-electrode interface can regulate both the efficiency and pathways of electron transport through single-molecule junctions (SMJs). The electromechanics of the interface has proven crucial in exposing the underlying mechanisms of electron transmission through SMJs, providing a theoretical base and practical guidance for designing and constructing functional molecular devices. Here we encompass several currently developed methodologies for investigating the electromechanics of molecule-electrode interface and provide an account of their application in elucidating the effects of the molecule-electrode interface on electron transport properties of SMJs.

InP-Based Quantum Dots as Photosensitizers in Photodynamic Antimicrobial Materials.

Ligand-functionalized InP-based quantum dots (QDs) have been developed as an innovative class of nontoxic photosensitizer suitable for antimicrobial applications, aimed at reducing or preventing pathogen transmission from one host to another via high contact surfaces. A hot injection method followed by functionalization via ligand exchange with 9-anthracene carboxylic acid (ACA) yielded the desired core/shell InP/ZnSe/ZnS QDs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed these QDs to be uniform in size (∼3.

A Proximity and Tactile Sensor with Visual Multiresponse.

Proximity and tactile multiresponse sensing electronic skin enriches the perception dimension, which is of great significance in promoting the intelligence of electronic skin. However, achieving real-time visualization in sensors such as proximity and tactile feedback remains a challenge. A proximity and tactile sensor with visual function is designed, which can realize optical early warning and electrical recognition when the object is near, and optical display and electrical output when the object is in contact.

A Integrated Molecule Based on Ferritin Nanoplatforms for Inducing Tumor Ferroptosis with the Synergistic Photo/Chemodynamic Treatment.

Ferroptosis combined with photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a powerful approach to induce cancer cell death by producing and accumulating lethal reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Despite its efficacy and safety, challenges persist in delivering multiple drugs to the tumor site for enhanced antitumor efficacy and improved tissue targeting. Hence, we designed a method of inducing ferroptosis through laser-mediated and human homologation-specific efficient activation, which is also a ferroptosis therapy with higher safety through ROS-mediated.

Enhancing the CO Oxidation Performance of Copper by Alloying with Immiscible Tantalum.

Copper-tantalum (Cu-Ta) immiscible alloy nanoparticles (NPs) have been the subject of extensive research in the field of structural materials, due to their exceptional nanostructural stability and high-temperature creep properties. However, Cu is also a highly active oxidation catalyst due to its abundant valence changes. In this study, we have for the first time obtained homogeneous CuTa ( = 0.

TiO-Based Implantable Memristor for Biomedical Engineering.

Implantable memristors are considered an emerging electronic technology that can simulate brain memory function and demonstrate some promising applications in the biomedical field. However, it remains a critical challenge to enhance their long-term stability and biocompatibility in implantation environments. In this work, an implantable memristor has been successfully fabricated based on TiO using magnetron sputtering.

Piezoelectric Nanoarrays with Mechanical-Electrical Coupling Microenvironment for Innervated Bone Regeneration.

The involvement of neurons in the peripheral nervous system is crucial for bone regeneration. Mimicking extracellular matrix cues provides a more direct and effective strategy to regulate neuronal activity and enhance bone regeneration. However, the simultaneous coupling of the intrinsic mechanical-electrical microenvironment of implants to regulate innervated bone regeneration has been largely neglected.

MXene Hollow Microsphere-Boosted Nanocomposite Electrodes for Thermocells with Enhanced Thermal Energy Harvesting Capability.

Thermal energy, constantly being produced in natural and industrial processes, constitutes a significant portion of energy lost through various inefficiencies. Employing the thermogalvanic effect, thermocells (TECs) can directly convert thermal energy into electricity, representing a promising energy-conversion technology for efficient, low-grade heat harvesting. However, the use of high-cost platinum electrodes in TECs has severely limited their widespread adoption, highlighting the need for more cost-effective alternatives that maintain comparable thermoelectrochemical performance.

Novel Dual-Functional Half-Curcumin Analogues as a Fluorescent and PET Probe for β-Amyloid Imaging in the Alzheimer's Disease APP/PS1 Model.

Noninvasive imaging of β-amyloid is pivotal for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). While single imaging methods have been extensively studied for detecting Aβ over the past decade, dual-modal probes have received scant attention. In this study, we synthesized and assessed a series of half-curcumin probes, among which demonstrated a high affinity and selectivity for Aβ aggregates.

Biodegradable Vanadium-Based Nanomaterials for Photothermal-Enhanced Tumor Ferroptosis and Pyroptosis.

The designability and high reactivity of nanotechnology provide strategies for antitumor therapy by regulating the redox state in tumor cells. Here, we synthesize a kind of vanadium dioxide nanoparticle encapsulated in bovine serum albumin and containing disulfide bonds (VSB NPs) for photothermal-enhanced ferroptosis and pyroptosis effects. Mechanism studies show that disulfide bonds can effectively consume overexpressed glutathione (GSH) in the tumor microenvironment, leading to a decrease in glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) activity.

Risk and Protective Factors for the Evolution of Subthreshold Depression During Early Adolescence.

Purpose: Subthreshold depression refers to a condition involving clinically significant depressive symptoms that fall short of meeting the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD). Identifying risk and protective factors associated with the progression of subthreshold depression in early life is essential for timely prevention. However, there is limited research on this topic among early adolescents.