720 results match your criteria: "DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials[Affiliation]"

Reversible Crosslinking of Commodity Polymers via Photocontrolled Metal-Ligand Coordination for High-Performance and Recyclable Thermoset Plastics.

Adv Mater

October 2023

Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.

Thermoset plastics, highly desired for their stability, durability, and chemical resistance, are currently consumed in over 60 million tons annually across the globe, but they are difficult to recycle due to their crosslinked structures. The development of recyclable thermoset plastics is an important but challenging task. In this work, recyclable thermoset plastics are prepared by crosslinking a commodity polymer, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), with a small percentage of a Ru complex via nitrile-Ru coordination.

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Recombinant supercharged polypeptides for safe and efficient heparin neutralization.

Biomater Sci

August 2023

Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Imaging Diagnostic and Interventional Minimally Invasive Institute, the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, Zhejiang, China.

Heparin is a widely used anticoagulant agent in the clinic. After application, its anticoagulant effect must be reversed to prevent potential side effects. Protamine sulfate (PS) is the only clinically licensed antidote that has been used for this purpose in the last 80 years, which, however, provokes severe adverse effects, such as systemic hypotension and even death.

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Compartmentalized Polyampholyte Microgels by Depletion Flocculation and Coacervation of Nanogels in Emulsion Droplets.

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl

September 2023

DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074, Aachen, Germany.

In pH-responsive drug carriers, the distribution of charges has been proven to affect delivery efficiency but is difficult to control and verify. Herein, we fabricate polyampholyte nanogel-in-microgel colloids (NiM-C) and show that the arrangement of the nanogels (NG) can easily be manipulated by adapting synthesis conditions. Positively and negatively charged pH-responsive NG are synthesized by precipitation polymerization and labelled with different fluorescent dyes.

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Dual Labeling of Primary Cells with Fluorescent Gadolinium Oxide Nanoparticles.

Nanomaterials (Basel)

June 2023

Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.

Article Synopsis
  • The interest in using mesenchymal stromal cells for therapy is growing, leading to the need for better tracking methods for these cells.
  • A new protocol was developed to quickly synthesize a type of nanoparticle (GdO-dex-RB) that can be used for both fluorescence and MRI imaging of these cells.
  • In vitro experiments showed that these nanoparticles can be effectively internalized by specific cell types without harming their growth, making them a viable tool for tracking cell activity in research.
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Transformative Materials to Create 3D Functional Human Tissue Models In Vitro in a Reproducible Manner.

Adv Healthc Mater

August 2023

Advanced Materials for Biomedicine (AMB), Institute of Applied Medical Engineering (AME), RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Center for Biohybrid Medical Systems (CMBS), Forckenbeckstraße 55, 52074, Aachen, Germany.

Recreating human tissues and organs in the petri dish to establish models as tools in biomedical sciences has gained momentum. These models can provide insight into mechanisms of human physiology, disease onset, and progression, and improve drug target validation, as well as the development of new medical therapeutics. Transformative materials play an important role in this evolution, as they can be programmed to direct cell behavior and fate by controlling the activity of bioactive molecules and material properties.

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Lifelike Transformative Materials for Biohybrid Implants: Inspired by Nature, Driven by Technology.

Adv Healthc Mater

August 2023

Department of Biohybrid & Medical Textiles (BioTex), AME-Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstraße 55, 52074, Aachen, Germany.

Today's living world is enriched with a myriad of natural biological designs, shaped by billions of years of evolution. Unraveling the construction rules of living organisms offers the potential to create new materials and systems for biomedicine. From the close examination of living organisms, several concepts emerge: hierarchy, pattern repetition, adaptation, and irreducible complexity.

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Drug delivery systems (DDS) are designed to temporally and spatially control drug availability and activity. They assist in improving the balance between on-target therapeutic efficacy and off-target toxic side effects. DDS aid in overcoming biological barriers encountered by drug molecules upon applying them via various routes of administration.

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Herein, we present a DNA circuit programmed for the delivery of CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODNs) with the pharmacological immunostimulation function. The circuit employs a complementary DNA (cDNA) strand to deactivate the biological function of CpG ODNs via hybridization, while T7 exonuclease mediates the activation by hydrolyzing the cDNA and releasing the CpG ODN as an active moiety. We investigated the influence of several factors on the kinetic profile and temporal behavior of the circuit.

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Microgels as Platforms for Antibody-Mediated Cytokine Scavenging.

Adv Healthc Mater

July 2023

Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.

Therapeutic antibodies are the key treatment option for various cytokine-mediated diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. However, systemic injection of these antibodies can cause side effects and suppress the immune system. Moreover, clearance of therapeutic antibodies from the blood is limiting their efficacy.

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In order to enhance the range of processable alloys of laser-based powder bed fusion, reinforced alloys have gained focus. Satelliting is a recently introduced method for adding fine additives to larger parent powder particles using a bonding agent. Satellited particles prevent a local demixing due to size and density effects of the powder.

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We report on triggering of p(NIPAM-AA) microgels' photo-responsiveness by making complexes with a spiropyran (SP) containing surfactant. Being dissolved in water, the SP surfactant in its merocyanine state bears three charges, while irradiation with UV and vis light leads to the partial or complete reversal of the SP state. The complexation of the photo-responsive amphiphile with swollen anionic microgels results in charge compensation within the gel interior and as a consequence its size reduces and the volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) decreases down to 32 °C.

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Functional unit of many organs like lung, kidney, intestine, and eye have their endothelial and epithelial monolayers physically separated by a specialized extracellular matrix called the basement membrane. The intricate and complex topography of this matrix influences cell function, behavior and overall homeostasis. In vitro barrier function replication of such organs requires mimicking of these native features on an artificial scaffold system.

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Formate dehydrogenases (Fdhs) mediate the oxidation of formate to carbon dioxide and concomitant reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD ). The low cost of the substrate formate and importance of the product NADH as a cellular source of reducing power make this reaction attractive for biotechnological applications. However, the majority of Fdhs are sensitive to inactivation by thiol-modifying reagents.

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The large scale production and indiscriminate use of plastics led to serious environmental pollution. To reduce the negative effects of plastics waste on the environment, an approach of enzymatic degradation was put forward to catalyze plastics degradation. Protein engineering strategies have been applied to improve the plastics degrading enzyme properties such as activity and thermal stability.

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Protein engineering has emerged as a powerful methodology to tailor the properties of proteins. It empowers the design of biohybrid catalysts and materials, thereby enabling the convergence of materials science, chemistry, and medicine. The choice of a protein scaffold is an important factor for performance and potential applications.

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Mechanochemical approaches are widely used for the efficient, solvent-free synthesis of organic molecules, however their applicability to the synthesis of functional polymers has remained underexplored. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that mechanochemically triggered free-radical polymerization allows solvent- and initiator-free syntheses of structurally and morphologically well-defined complex functional macromolecular architectures, namely stimuliresponsive microgels. The developed mechanochemical polymerization approach is applicable to a variety of monomers and allows synthesizing microgels with tunable chemical structure, variable size, controlled number of crosslinks and reactive functional end-groups.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers developed small molecules that can selectively inhibit protein kinases, specifically targeting calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1), using a new class of photoswitchable azopyrazoles.
  • These azopyrazoles enable dynamic control of CDPK1 activity by applying light of different wavelengths, allowing for fine-tuned timing in biological experiments.
  • The study reveals that the effectiveness of these inhibitors is influenced by the size of the "gatekeeper" residue in CDPK1, and shows potential use against certain infections in cell cultures, paving the way for future applications in targeted kinase research.
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Neural stem cells (NSCs) present attractive natural drug delivery systems (DDSs). Their migratory potential enables crossing of the blood-brain barrier and efficient and selective accumulation near malignant cells. Here, we present the potential of NSCs as DDSs for nucleoside analogue-conjugated nanogels (NGs).

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Flavonoids such as baohuoside I and icaritin are the major active compounds in Epimedii Folium (EF) and possess excellent therapeutic effects on various diseases. Encouragingly, in 2022, icaritin soft capsules were approved to reach the market for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China. Moreover, recent studies demonstrate that icaritin can serve as immune-modulating agent to exert anti-tumor effects.

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The healing of neuronal injuries is still an unachieved goal. Medicine-based therapies can only extend the survival of patients, but not finally lead to a healing process. Currently, a variety of stem cell-based tissue engineering developments are the subject of many research projects to bridge this gap.

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Complex geometries for electrodes are a great challenge in electrochemical applications. Slurry electrodes have been one example, which use complex flow distributors to improve the charge transfer between the current collector and the slurry particles. Here we use titanium-based flow distributors produced by indirect 3D-printing to improve further the electron transfer from highly conductive flow distributors to the slurry particles for a vanadium redox flow application.

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EfectroHO: Development and evaluation of a novel treatment technology for high-brine industrial wastewater.

Sci Total Environ

July 2023

Goethe University Frankfurt, Department for Evolutionary Ecology & Environmental Toxicology, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Fraunhofer-Institute für Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Department Environmental Media-related Ecotoxicology, Frankfurt, Germany. Electronic address:

Textile production is one of the main sources of freshwater consumption by industries worldwide. In addition, according to the world bank, 20 % of the wastewater generated globally is caused by textile wet-processing. Textile wet-processing includes the processes in textile production where garments are dyed or given the final functions like water-repellency.

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The intracellular milieu is crowded with biomacromolecules. Macromolecular crowding changes the interactions, diffusion, and conformations of biomacromolecules. Changes in intracellular crowding have been mostly ascribed to differences in biomacromolecule concentration.

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Donor organ-shortage has resulted in the increased use of marginal grafts; however, normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) holds the potential for organ viability assessment and restoration of marginal grafts prior to transplantation. Additionally, cell-, oxygen carrier-free and antioxidants-supplemented solutions could potentially prevent adverse effects (transfusion reactions, inflammation, hemolysis), associated with the use of autologous packed red blood cell (pRBC)-based perfusates. This study compared 6 h NMP of porcine kidneys, using an established pRBC-based perfusate (pRBC, n = 7), with the novel cell- and oxygen carrier-free organ preservation solution Ecosol, containing taurine (Ecosol, n = 7).

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Protein Orientation Defines Rectification of Electronic Current via Solid-State Junction of Entire Photosystem-1 Complex.

J Phys Chem Lett

March 2023

Department of Molecular Chemistry & Materials Science, Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.

We demonstrate that the direction of current rectification via one of nature's most efficient light-harvesting systems, the photosystem 1 complex (PS1), can be controlled by its orientation on Au substrates. Molecular self-assembly of the PS1 complex using four different linkers with distinct functional head groups that interact by electrostatic and hydrogen bonds with different surface parts of the entire protein PS1 complex was used to tailor the PS1 orientation. We observe an orientation-dependent rectification in the current-voltage characteristics for linker/PS1 molecule junctions.

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