Targeted Nanoprobes Enabled Precision Theranostics in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a highly aggressive and prognostically unfavorable subtype of breast cancer, characterized by the absence of common hormone receptors, which renders conventional therapies largely ineffective. This review comprehensively examines the molecular and clinical characteristics of TNBC, underscoring the substantial challenges inherent in its treatment and the innovative potential of targeted nanoprobes in advancing both diagnostic and therapeutic paradigms. Through the modification of targeting molecules, nanoprobes can deliver therapeutic agents highly specific to TNBC cells, thus significantly improving the sensitivity of diagnostic modalities and the efficacy of therapeutic interventions.

LDHzyme-assisted high-performance on-site tracking of levodopa pharmacokinetics for Parkinson's disease management.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and the consequent decline in motor and cognitive functions. The primary therapeutic agent levodopa necessitates precise dosing due to its narrow therapeutic window and complex pharmacokinetics. This study presents the development of a novel CuCoFe-LDHzyme-based sweat sensor for real-time monitoring of levodopa concentration in PD patients.

Tannic Acid-Enabled Antioxidant and Stretchable MXene/Silk Strain Sensors for Diving Training Healthcare.

MXene-based conductive hydrogels hold significant promise as epidermal sensors, yet their susceptibility to oxidation represents a formidable limitation. This study addresses this challenge by incorporating MXene into a tannic acid (TA) cross-linked silk fibroin matrix. The resulting conductive hydrogel (denoted as ) exhibits favorable characteristics such as adjustable mechanical properties, self-healing capabilities (both mechanically and electrically), and strong underwater adhesion.

Embedding AIE-type AgAu nanoclusters within ZIF-8 for improved photodynamic wound healing through bacterial eradication.

Designing antibacterial agents with rapid bacterial eradication performance is paramount for the treatment of bacteria-infected wounds. Metal nanoclusters (NCs) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) have been considered as novel photodynamic antibacterial agents without drug resistance, but they suffer from poor photostability and low charge carrier separation efficiency. Herein, we report the design of a photodynamic antibacterial agent by encapsulating AIE-type AgAu NCs (AgAu NCs) into a zeolitic Zn(2-methylimidazole) framework (ZIF-8).

Silk-based intelligent fibers and textiles: structures, properties, and applications.

Multifunctional fibers represent a cornerstone of human civilization, playing a pivotal role in numerous aspects of societal development. Natural biomaterials, in contrast to synthetic alternatives, offer environmental sustainability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Among these biomaterials, natural silk is favored in biomedical applications and smart fiber technology due to its accessibility, superior mechanical properties, diverse functional groups, controllable structure, and exceptional biocompatibility.

Advances of Layered Double Hydroxide-Based Materials for Tumor Imaging and Therapy.

Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are a class of functional anionic clays that typically consist of orthorhombic arrays of metal hydroxides with anions sandwiched between the layers. Due to their unique properties, including high chemical stability, good biocompatibility, controlled drug loading, and enhanced drug bioavailability, LDHs have many potential applications in the medical field. Especially in the fields of bioimaging and tumor therapy.

Engineered CpG-Loaded Nanorobots Drive Autophagy-Mediated Immunity for TLR9-Positive Cancer Therapy.

Smart nanorobots have emerged as novel drug delivery platforms in nanomedicine, potentially improving anti-cancer efficacy and reducing side effects. In this study, an intelligent tumor microenvironment-responsive nanorobot is developed that effectively delivers CpG payloads to Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9)-positive tumors to induce autophagy-mediated cell death for immunotherapy. The nanorobots are fabricated by co-self-assembly of two amphiphilic triblock polymer peptides: one containing the matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP2)-cleaved GPLGVRGS motif to control the mechanical opening of the nanorobots and provide targeting capability for TLR-9-positive tumors and the other consisting of an arginine-rich GRRRDRGRS sequence that can condense nuclear acid payloads through electrostatic interactions.

mRNA therapeutics for disease therapy: principles, delivery, and clinical translation.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) has become a key focus in the development of therapeutic agents, showing significant potential in preventing and treating a wide range of diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has accelerated the development of mRNA nucleic therapeutics and attracted significant investment from global biopharmaceutical companies. These therapeutics deliver genetic information into cells without altering the host genome, making them a promising treatment option.

Cu(I) complexes with aggregation-induced emission for enhanced photodynamic antibacterial application.

This communication reports the design of aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-featured PEG-condensed Cu(I)--MBA aggregates (PCuA). Benefiting from the AIE trait and intrinsic antibacterial property of Cu species, the as-developed PCuA exhibits enhanced photodynamic antibacterial activities against broad-spectrum bacteria, providing a paradigm in the design of novel antibacterial agents.

Gold nanocluster with AIE: A novel photodynamic antibacterial and deodorant molecule.

Designing long-lasting yet high-efficiency antimicrobial and deodorant agents is an everlasting goal for environmental and public health. Here we present the design of AIE-featured Au nanoclusters (NCs) for visible-light-driven antibacterial and deodorant applications. Owing to the intriguing AIE traits, the good harvest of visible-light, and rich surface chemistry, the AIE-featured Au NCs unprecedentedly exhibit excellent visible-light-driven antibacterial activities against gram-positive (≥98.

Point-of-care non-invasive enzyme-cleavable nanosensors for acute transplant rejection detection.

Accurate and non-invasive monitoring of allograft posttransplant is essential for early detection of acute cellular rejection and determines the long-term survival of the graft. Clinically, tissue biopsy is the most effective approach for diagnosing transplant rejection. Nonetheless, the procedure is invasive and potentially triggers organ failure.

Influence of Sample Wetting Method on ESC-Behavior of PMMA under Dynamic Fatigue Crack Propagation.

Environmental stress cracking (ESC) is one of the most prominent failure mechanisms for polymer components. The high sensitivity of plastics in regard to environmental influences has always meant that plastics as materials have been viewed very critically in outdoor applications. Recently, the massive occurrence of microplastics in the environment means that questions about the long-term stability of plastic parts and the studies of plastic fragmentation are of great scientific interest.

Conjugating AIE-featured AuAg nanoclusters with highly luminescent carbon dots for improved visible-light-driven antibacterial activity.

Metal nanoclusters (NCs) have emerged as novel antibacterial agents featuring broad-spectrum antibacterial activity without drug resistance for bacteria, but suffer from fast antibacterial invalidation due to their consumption by bacteria. Herein we report the design of a visible-light-driven photodynamic antibacterial agent based on conjugating aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-featured AuAg NCs with highly luminescent carbon dots (CDs). The conjugation of CDs with AuAg NCs could not only enhance the visible-light harvest, but also promote charge carrier generation/separation charge/energy transfer, leading to the production of abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS) for bacterial killing under visible-light irradiation.

A photocontrollable thermosensitive chemical spatiotemporally destabilizes mitochondrial membranes for cell fate manipulation.

Perturbations in mitochondrial membrane stability lead to cytochrome c release and induce caspase-dependent apoptosis. Using synthetic smart chemicals with changeable physicochemical properties to interfere the mitochondrial membrane stability has not yet been reported. Here we show that a thermosensitive anchor-polymer-peptide conjugate (anchor-PPC) destabilizes mitochondrial membranes upon molecule changes from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, which consequently induces apoptosis in a spatiotemporally controlled manner and acts as an antitumor pharmaceutical.

CuCoFe Layered double hydroxides as laccase mimicking nanozymes for colorimetric detection of pheochromocytoma biomarkers.

A laccase catalyzed colorimetric biosensing approach is promising for the detection of pheochromocytoma biomarkers, yet suffers from the poor stability of enzymes and high cost for production. Here we report for the first time an easy to produce, cheap, stable and reliable laccase-mimicking CuCoFe-LDHzyme, which can catalyze the oxidation of pheochromocytoma biomarkers to form a chromogenic product for smartphone-based colorimetric detection.

Marrying luminescent Au nanoclusters to TiO for visible-light-driven antibacterial application.

Long-lasting yet visible-light-driven bacterial inhibition is highly desired for environmental protection and public health maintenance. However, conventional semiconductors such as titanium dioxide (TiO) are impotent for such antibacterial application due to their low utilization rate for visible light. Herein we report the design of a long-lasting yet visible-light-driven antibacterial agent based on marrying luminescent Au nanoclusters (Au NCs for short) to TiO (TiO-NH@Au NCs).

Dual-Heteroatom-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide Sheets Conjoined CoNi-Based Carbide and Sulfide Nanoparticles for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Intensive research is being conducted into highly efficient and cheap nanoscale materials for the electrocatalytic oxidation of water. In this context, we built heterostructures of multilayered CoNi-cyanide bridged coordination (CoNi-CP) nanosheets and graphene oxide (GO) sheets (CoNi-CP/GO) as a source for heterostructured functional electrodes. The layered CoNi-CP/GO hybrid components heated in nitrogen gas (N) at 450 °C yield CoNi-based carbide (CoNi-C) through thermal decomposition of CoNi-CP, while GO is converted into reduced GO (rGO) to finally form a CoNi-C/rGO-450 composite.

Layer-by-Layer Motif Heteroarchitecturing of N,S-Codoped Reduced Graphene Oxide-Wrapped Ni/NiS Nanoparticles for the Electrochemical Oxidation of Water.

A new heterostructured material is synthesized with lamellar arrangements in nanoscale precision through an innovative synthetic approach. The self-assembled Ni-based cyano-bridged coordination polymer flakes (Ni-CP) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets with a layered morphology (Ni-CP/GO) are used as precursors for the synthesis of multicomponent hybrid materials. Annealing of Ni-CP/GO in nitrogen at 450 °C allows the formation of Ni C/rGO nanocomposites.

Montmorillonite Intercalated Norfloxacin and Tobramycin for New Drug-Delivery Systems.

The urgent need of safe, therapeutically and patient-compliant drug delivery systems (DDSs) continuously stimulates researchers to explore novel tools and strategies to monitor the loading and release of drugs. In this context, this study demonstrates that montmorillonite clay (MMT) is an appropriate material for changing the release behavior of Tobramycin and Norfloxacin drugs into medium. The DDSs were prepared by the intercalation of Tobramycin or Norfloxacin between MMT layers.

Enhancement of thermoelectric properties of La-doped SrTiO bulk by introducing nanoscale porosity.

Electron-doped SrTiO is a well-known -type thermoelectric material, although the figure of merit of SrTiO is still inferior compared with -type metal oxide-based thermoelectric materials due to its high lattice thermal conductivity. In this study, we have used a different amount of the non-ionic surfactant F127 during sample preparation to introduce nanoscale porosities into bulk samples of La-doped SrTiO. It has been observed that the porosities introduced into the bulk sample significantly improve the Seebeck coefficient and reduce the thermal conductivity by the charge carrier and phonon scattering respectively.

Controllable synthesis of hierarchical MoS nanotubes with ultra-uniform and superior storage potassium properties.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS) is a promising nanomaterial which has been extensively investigated in photo-/electro-catalysis, sensors, and batteries due to its excellent physical/chemical properties. In this manuscript, MoS hierarchical nanotubes with hollow nanostructure are successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. SEM indicates that such MoS nanotubes have perfect uniformity while TEM demonstrates the hollow structure.

Tailored Design of Mesoporous PdCu Nanospheres with Different Compositions Using Polymeric Micelles.

Mesoporous metals have attracted a lot of interest due to their wide range of applications, particularly in catalysis. We previously reported the preparation of mesoporous Pd using block copolymer micelle templates ( , , 4054). Here we extend this synthetic concept to generate alloyed spherical palladium-copper (PdCu) nanoparticles with an open porous network and uniform morphology.

Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO-B Nanobelts with Highly Crystalized Walls toward Efficient H Evolution.

Mesoporous TiO is attracting increasing interest due to properties suiting a broad range of photocatalytic applications. Here we report the facile synthesis of mesoporous crystalline TiO-B nanobelts possessing a surface area as high as 80.9 m g and uniformly-sized pores of 6-8 nm.

Pore-tuning to boost the electrocatalytic activity of polymeric micelle-templated mesoporous Pd nanoparticles.

Understanding how mesoporous noble metal architectures affect electrocatalytic performance is very important for the rational design and preparation of high-performance electrocatalysts. Herein, by using polymeric micelle-assembled structures as templates, mesoporous Pd nanoparticles with tunable porous constructions are synthesized by simply tuning the solvent compositions. The effect of porous Pd nanoparticles on the electrocatalytic performance is thoroughly studied.