BMEMat最新文献

Multiphasic scaffolds with tailored gradient features hold significant promise for tissue regeneration applications. Herein, this work reports the transformation of two-dimensional (2D) layered fiber mats into three-dimensional (3D) multiphasic scaffolds using a ‘solids-of-revolution’ inspired gas-foaming expansion technology. These scaffolds feature precise control over fiber alignment, pore size, and regional structure. Manipulating nanofiber mat layers and Pluronic F127 concentrations allows further customization of pore size and fiber alignment within different scaffold regions. The cellular response to multiphasic scaffolds demonstrates that the number of cells migrated and proliferated onto the scaffolds is mainly dependent on the pore size rather than fiber alignment. In vivo subcutaneous implantation of multiphasic scaffolds to rats reveals substantial cell infiltration, neo tissue formation, collagen deposition, and new vessel formation within scaffolds, greatly surpassing the capabilities of traditional nanofiber mats. Histological examination indicates the importance of optimizing pore size and fiber alignment for the promotion of cell infiltration and tissue regeneration. Overall, these scaffolds have potential applications in tissue modeling, studying tissue-tissue interactions, interface tissue engineering, and high-throughput screening for optimized tissue regeneration.

While most nanomedicines primarily aim to stimulate the immune system against infections or tumors, there is a growing demand for inducing immune tolerance under certain conditions, such as allergic and autoimmune diseases. Researchers have explored nanotechnology-based strategies to induce immune tolerance in a targeted and specific manner. One approach involves the use of nanoparticles (NPs) to encapsulate immunosuppressive drugs and/or antigens to educate naïve T cells and promote the generation of antigen-specific regulatory T cells that inhibit immune responses. However, this approach has certain limitations. The hydrophobicity of proteins or peptides restricts the degree to which they can be encapsulated in NPs, which in turn, affects their loading efficiency and treatment efficacy. With the emergence of mRNA lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platforms, there is the possibility of overcoming the limitations of protein and peptide encapsulation. To date, mRNA LNP systems have been shown to provide organ, cellular, and subcellular targeting for the induction of immune tolerance. This method of drug delivery is flexible and scalable that can be customized for a specific patient, resulting in an effective means of administering relevant proteins or epitopes to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance. With continued research and development, this technology could offer a safer and more effective alternative to current therapies, ultimately improving the quality of life of patients worldwide.

In article number 10.1002/bmm2.12047, Ka Ram Kim and Woon-Hong Yeo have comprehensively summarized the recent advances in developing various sensors for enhanced monitoring of cellular physiological properties and metabolites with environmental conditions. This image shows the intracellular and extracellular environments that need to be monitored during cell culture processes.

The low survival rate and poor differentiation efficiency of stem cells, as well as the insufficient integration of implanted stem cells, limit the regeneration of bone defects. Here, we have developed magnetic ferroferric oxide-hydroxyapatite-polydopamine (Fe₃O₄-HAp-PDA) nanobelts to assemble mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into a three-dimensional hybrid spheroid for patterning bone tissue. These nanobelts, which are featured by their high-aspect ratio and contain Fe₃O₄ nanospheres with a PDA coating, can be manipulated by a magnetic field and foster enhanced cell-nanobelt interactions. This strategy has been demonstrated to be effective for both bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, enabling remote manipulation of stem cell spheroids and efficient spheroid fusion, which in turn accelerates osteogenic differentiation. Consequently, this methodology serves as an efficient and general tool for bone tissue printing and can potentially overcome the low survival rate and poor differentiation efficiency of stem cells, as well as mismatched interface fusion issues.

In this article number 10.1002/bmm2.12055, Fuhang Jiao, Wei Zhao and their co-workers developed a biomass-derived wound dressing exploiting the composite of water-soluble fish gelatin (FG) and antibacterial ZnO@silk fibroin (ZSF) microspheres. The ZSF microspheres serve as both germicide and hydrophile components, endowing the composite with excellent antimicrobial capacity and water solubility. The ZSF/FG composite can be easily removed from the wound using excess water, thereby preventing secondary damage. Additionally, the full-thickness skin wound model on infected mice demonstrated efficient wound closure and reduced inflammatory response. The ZSF/FG composite is expected a promising candidate as wound dressing for clinical therapy.

Photonic crystals have drawn tremendous attention in recent years owing to their unique optical properties and remarkable advantages in various applications such as bioassays, sensors and optical devices. Benefiting from the spatially ordered structures, the flow of visible light can be manipulated by photonic crystals in a controlled manner. In this review, we summarize recent progress toward bio-inspired photonic crystals, including techniques for the construction of spatially ordered structures in diverse dimensions for photonic crystals, and strategies to manipulate the periodicity of the dielectric building blocks to control the light propagation in the presence of external stimuli. We start with the description of structure induced colors in nature with a systematic investigation to reveal the derivation of these colors, followed by a discussion on the design and fabrication of various types of bio-inspired photonic crystals by manipulating the arrangement of dielectric building blocks. We also highlight the stimuli responsive photonic crystals with tunable optical properties and their applications in sensing and color display.

Coacervates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation play significant roles in a variety of intracellular and extracellular biological processes. Recently, substantial efforts have been invested in creating protocells using coacervates. Microfluidic technology has rapidly gained prominence in this area due to its capability to construct monodisperse and stable coacervate droplets. This review highlights recent advancements in utilizing microfluidic devices to construct coacervate-core-vesicle (COV) systems. These COV systems can be employed to realize the sequestration and release of biomolecules as well as to control enzymatic reactions within the coacervate systems in a spatiotemporal manner. Lastly, we delve into the current challenges and opportunities related to the development of functional coacervate systems based on microfluidic technology.

Immunoassay is a powerful technique that uses highly specific antigen-antibody interactions to detect biochemical targets such as proteins and toxins. As a diagnostic tool, immunoassay is employed in the screening, diagnosis, and prognosis of diseases, which are crucial for the grasp and control of patient conditions in clinical practice. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, immunoassays based on nanoprobes have attracted more and more attention due to the advantages of high sensitivity, specificity, stability, and versatility. These nanoprobes are nanoscale particles that can act as signal carriers or targeting agents for immunoassays. In this paper, we review the recent advances in various types of nanoprobes for immunoassays, such as colloidal gold, quantum dots, magnetic nanoparticles, nanozymes, aggregation-induced emission, and up-conversion nanoparticles. The effect of the nanoprobe construction and synthesis methods on their detection performance deserves to be studied in depth. We also compare their detection ranges and limits in different immunoassay methods, such as lateral flow immunoassays, fluorescent immunoassays, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering immunoassays. Moreover, we discuss the benefits and challenges of nanoprobes in immunoassays and provide insights into their future development. This study aims to offer a comprehensive and critical perspective on the role of nanoprobes in the field of immunoassays.

Advanced sustainable biomedical materials are urgently needed for clinical applications; however, developing biomedical materials with exceptional mechanical and bactericidal properties as well as removable functionalities to reduce unintended secondary injury remains a challenge. Here, we report a biomass-derived composite consisting of water-soluble fish gelatin (FG) and antibacterial ZnO@silk fibroin (ZSF) microspheres for potential application as the wound dressing. The ZSF microspheres are embedded in a FG matrix to realize the stretchable, antibacterial, and removable ZSF/FG composites. By introducing glycerin as the plasticizer, ZSF/FG composites deliver a tensile strength of 4.5 MPa and stretchability of 550%. Acting as both the germicide and hydrophile components, ZSF microspheres endow the composites with excellent antibacterial capacity and water solubility. To prevent secondary injury, the ZSF/FG composites can be easily removed from the wounds by simply exposing them to excess water. Additionally, the ZSF/FG composites exhibit favorable biocompatibility and sustain high cell viability of over 100%. The full-thickness skin wound model on infected mice demonstrated an efficient rate of wound closure and a reduced inflammatory response. The ZSF/FG composite shows promise to hasten the healing of infected wounds and is expected a promising candidate as wound dressing for clinical therapy.

Protein aggregate species play a pivotal role in the pathology of various degenerative diseases. Their dynamic changes are closely correlated with disease progression, making them promising candidates as diagnostic biomarkers. Given the prevalence of degenerative diseases, growing attention is drawn to develop pragmatic and accessible protein aggregate species detection technology. However, the performance of current detection methods is far from satisfying the requirements of extensive clinical use. In this review, we focus on the design strategies, merits, and potential shortcomings of each class of detection methods. The review is organized into three major parts: native protein sensing, seed amplification, and intricate program, which embody three different but interconnected methodologies. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic review has encompassed the entire workflow, from the molecular level to the apparatus organization. This review emphasizes the feasibility of the methods instead of theoretical detection limitations. We conclude that high selectivity does play a pivotal role, while signal compilation, multilateral profiling, and other patient-oriented strategies (i.e. less invasiveness and assay speed) are also important.