Acoustic Force-Based Cell-Matrix Avidity Measurement in High Throughput.

Cancer cells interacting with the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the tumor microenvironment is pivotal for tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis. Cell-ECM adhesion has been intensively studied in cancer biology in the past decades to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the adhesion events and extracellular mechanosensing, as well as develop therapeutic strategies targeting the cell adhesion molecules. Many methods have been established to measure the cell-ECM adhesion strength and correlate it with the metastatic potential of certain cancer types.

Gap solitons on an integrated CMOS chip.

Nonlinear propagation in periodic media has been studied for decades, yielding demonstrations of numerous phenomena including strong temporal compression and slow light generation. Gap solitons, that propagate at frequencies inside the stopband, have been observed in optical fibres but have been elusive in photonic chips. In this manuscript, we investigate nonlinear pulse propagation in a chip-based nonlinear Bragg grating at frequencies inside the stopband and observe clear, unequivocal signatures of gap soliton propagation, including slow light, intensity-dependent transmission, intensity-dependent temporal delay and gap soliton compression.

A Novel Computational Biomechanics Framework to Model Vascular Mechanopropagation in Deep Bone Marrow.

The mechanical stimuli generated by body exercise can be transmitted from cortical bone into the deep bone marrow (mechanopropagation). Excitingly, a mechanosensitive perivascular stem cell niche is recently identified within the bone marrow for osteogenesis and lymphopoiesis. Although it is long known that they are maintained by exercise-induced mechanical stimulation, the mechanopropagation from compact bone to deep bone marrow vasculature remains elusive of this fundamental mechanobiology field.

Investigations of cellular copper metabolism in ovarian cancer cells using a ratiometric fluorescent copper dye.

Imbalances in metal homeostasis have been implicated in the progression and drug response of cancer cells. Understanding these changes will enable identification of new treatment regimes and precision medicine approaches to cancer treatment. In particular, there has been considerable interest in the interplay between copper homeostasis and response to platinum-based chemotherapeutic agents.

Carborane clusters increase the potency of bis-substituted cyclam derivatives against .

Bis-substituted cyclam derivatives have recently emerged as a promising new class of antibacterial agents, displaying excellent activity against drug-resistant () and efficacy in a zebrafish assay. Herein we report the synthesis and biological activity of new carborane derivatives within this class of antitubercular compounds. The resulting carborane-cyclam conjugates incorporating either hydrophobic -1,2-carborane or anionic, hydrophilic -7,8-carborane clusters display promising activity in an antibacterial assay employing the virulent strain H37Rv.

Mechano-covalent protection of coagulation factor VIII by von Willebrand factor.

von Willebrand factor (VWF) is the protective carrier of procoagulant factor VIII (FVIII) in the shear forces of the circulation, prolonging its half-life and delivering it to the developing thrombus. Using force spectroscopy, VWF-FVIII complex formation is characterized by catch-bond behavior in which force first decelerates then accelerates bond dissociation. Patients with mutations in VWF at the FVIII binding site phenocopies hemophilia A and the most common mutations are of cysteine residues involving multiple disulfide bonds.

Thermal-Radiation-Driven Ultrafast Crystallization of Perovskite Films Under Heavy Humidity for Efficient Inverted Solar Cells.

Fabricating perovskite solar cells (PSCs) in air is conducive to low-cost commercial production; nevertheless, it is rather difficult to achieve comparable device performance as that in an inert atmosphere because of the poor moisture toleration of perovskite materials. Here, the perovskite crystallization process is systematically studied using two-step sequential solution deposition in an inert atmosphere (glovebox) and air. It is found that moisture can stabilize solvation intermediates and prevent their conversion into perovskite crystals.

Nanoscale TiO Coatings Improve the Stability of an Earth-Abundant Cobalt Oxide Catalyst during Acidic Water Oxidation.

The large-scale deployment of proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers for high-throughput sustainable hydrogen production requires transition from precious noble metal anode electrocatalysts to low-cost earth-abundant materials. However, such materials are commonly insufficiently stable and/or catalytically inactive at low pH, and positive potentials required to maintain high rates of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). To address this, we explore the effects of a dielectric nanoscale-thin layer, constituted of amorphous TiO, on the stability and electrocatalytic activity of nanostructured OER anodes based on low-cost CoO.

The N-terminal autoinhibitory module of the A1 domain in von Willebrand factor stabilizes the mechanosensor catch bond.

The von Willebrand factor (VWF), by interacting with the circulatory system and platelets, harnesses hemodynamic forces to form hemostatic plugs or occlusive thrombi. The autoinhibitory modules (AIMs) flanking the VWF-A1 domain were found to contribute to its biomechanical activation. However, how AIM sequences regulate the VWF-A1 binding behavior is controversial and incompletely understood as their structures are currently unsolvable by crystallography.

High-resolution mass measurements of single budding yeast reveal linear growth segments.

The regulation of cell growth has fundamental physiological, biotechnological and medical implications. However, methods that can continuously monitor individual cells at sufficient mass and time resolution hardly exist. Particularly, detecting the mass of individual microbial cells, which are much smaller than mammalian cells, remains challenging.

The soluble N-terminal autoinhibitory module of the A1 domain in von Willebrand factor partially suppresses its catch bond with glycoprotein Ibα in a sandwich complex.

von Willebrand factor (VWF) senses and responds to the hemodynamic forces to interact with the circulatory system and platelets in hemostasis and thrombosis. The dark side of this mechanobiology is implicated in atherothrombosis, stroke, and, more recently, the COVID-19 thrombotic symptoms. The force-responsive element controlling VWF activation predominantly resides in the N terminal auto-inhibitory module (N-AIM) flanking its A1 domain.

Molecular polymer bottlebrushes in nanomedicine: therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Molecular polymer bottlebrushes are densely grafted, individual macromolecules with nanoscale proportions. The last decade has seen an increased focus on this material class, especially in nanomedicine and for biomedical applications. This Feature Article provides an overview of major developments in this area to highlight the many opportunities that these polymer architectures bring to nano-bio research.

A pH-Based Single-Sensor Array for Discriminating Metal Ions in Water.

Human activities, such as mining and manufacturing, expose society and the natural environment to harmful levels of metal ions. Recently, optical sensor arrays for metal ion detection have become popular owing to their favourable features, such as facile sample preparation and the requirement of less expensive instrumentation compared to traditional, spectrometry-based analysis techniques. Sensor arrays usually consist of numerous optical probes that are used in combination to generate unique analyte responses.

Picosecond pulse generation from continuous-wave light in an integrated nonlinear Bragg grating.

The generation of optical pulse trains from continuous-wave light has attracted growing attention in recent years because it provides a simple way to obtain high repetition rate ultrashort pulses. While pulse generation has been extensively demonstrated in optical fibers, pulse train generation from weak, continuous wave light in photonic chips has posed significant challenges because of the short interaction length and therefore difficulty in acquiring sufficient new frequency content, and/or absence of the appropriate dispersion environment. In this manuscript, we report the pulse train generation of a low continuous-wave signal to 18 ps, by leveraging cross-phase modulation induced by co-propagating pump pulses with a peak power of 3.

Tuning the Hydrophilic-Hydrophobic Balance of Molecular Polymer Bottlebrushes Enhances their Tumor Homing Properties.

Nanoparticle (NP)-based drug delivery systems are promising in anticancer therapy, capable of delivering cargo with superior selectivity and achieving enhanced tumor accumulation compared to small-molecule therapeutics. As more efforts are being devoted to NP development, molecular polymer bottlebrushes (MPBs) have gained attention as a potential drug delivery vehicle. To date, the influence of various MPB parameters such as size, shape, and surface charge in determining tumor penetrability have been systematically probed.

Delivering anion transporters to lipid bilayers in water.

Cyclodextrins have been employed as delivery agents for lipophilic anion transporters, which allow their incorporation into lipid bilayers without using an organic solvent or pre-incorporation.

Versatile naphthalimide tetrazines for fluorogenic bioorthogonal labelling.

Fluorescent probes for biological imaging have revealed much about the functions of biomolecules in health and disease. Fluorogenic probes, which are fluorescent only upon a bioorthogonal reaction with a specific partner, are particularly advantageous as they ensure that fluorescent signals observed in biological imaging arise solely from the intended target. In this work, we report the first series of naphthalimide tetrazines for bioorthogonal fluorogenic labelling.

Strategies for organelle targeting of fluorescent probes.

Fluorescent tools have emerged as an important tool for studying the distinct chemical microenvironments of organelles, due to their high specificity and ability to be used in non-destructive, live cellular studies. These tools fall largely in two categories: exogenous fluorescent dyes, or endogenous labels such as genetically encoded fluorescent proteins. In both cases, the probe must be targeted to the organelle of interest.

Bioengineering silk into blood vessels.

The rising incidence of cardiovascular disease has increased the demand for small diameter (<6 mm) synthetic vascular grafts for use in bypass surgery. Clinically available synthetic grafts (polyethylene terephthalate and expanded polytetrafluorethylene) are incredibly strong, but also highly hydrophobic and inelastic, leading to high rates of failure when used for small diameter bypass. The poor clinical outcomes of commercial synthetic grafts in this setting have driven significant research in search of new materials that retain favourable mechanical properties but offer improved biocompatibility.

A Bimodal Fluorescence-Raman Probe for Cellular Imaging.

Biochemical changes in specific organelles underpin cellular function, and studying these changes is crucial to understand health and disease. Fluorescent probes have become important biosensing and imaging tools as they can be targeted to specific organelles and can detect changes in their chemical environment. However, the sensing capacity of fluorescent probes is highly specific and is often limited to a single analyte of interest.

A Two-Dimensional Metallacycle Cross-Linked Switchable Polymer for Fast and Highly Efficient Phosphorylated Peptide Enrichment.

The selective and efficient capture of phosphopeptides is critical for comprehensive and in-depth phosphoproteome analysis. Here we report a new switchable two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular polymer that serves as an ideal platform for the enrichment of phosphopeptides. A well-defined, positively charged metallacycle incorporated into the polymer endows the resultant polymer with a high affinity for phosphopeptides.

Silk Fibroin Scaffold Architecture Regulates Inflammatory Responses and Engraftment of Bone Marrow-Mononuclear Cells.

Despite being one of the most clinically trialed cell therapies, bone marrow-mononuclear cell (BM-MNC) infusion has largely failed to fulfill its clinical promise. Implanting biomimetic scaffolds at sites of injury prior to BM-MNC infusion is a promising approach to enhance BM-MNC engraftment and therapeutic function. Here, it is demonstrated that scaffold architecture can be leveraged to regulate the immune responses that drive BM-MNC engraftment.

Comprehensive Evaluation of the Toxicity and Biosafety of Plasma Polymerized Nanoparticles.

The rapid growth of nanoparticle-based therapeutics has underpinned significant developments in nanomedicine, which aim to overcome the limitations imposed by conventional therapies. Establishing the safety of new nanoparticle formulations is the first important step on the pathway to clinical translation. We have recently shown that plasma-polymerized nanoparticles (PPNs) are highly efficient nanocarriers and a viable, cost-effective alternative to conventional chemically synthesized nanoparticles.