Macromolecular bioscience最新文献

Front Cover: In article 2400495, Franz Wegner and co-workers develop and study medical instrument markers composed of polylactic acid (PLA) and superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) for the emerging imaging technique, Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI). Over a 28-day test period, more than 90% of the PLA degrade in the surrounding water. Consequently, these markers hold potential for the temporary visualization of endovascular instruments (e.g. vascular stents) in future medical applications of this currently preclinical method.

As one of the 3D printing technologies, digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing technology has been widely applied in biomedical engineering. The principles and advantages of DLP 3D printing technology are compared with other 3D printing technologies, while the characteristics and applicable fields of each technique are analyzed. The applications of DLP 3D printing technology in tissue engineering, medical devices and pharmaceutical field are classified and summarized. Besides, the prospects and challenges of DLP 3D printing technology in biomedical engineering are discussed. With continuous advancement, DLP 3D printing technology will play an increasingly important role in personalized medicine and regenerative medicine.

Thrombocytopenia is a potential complication associated with hemodialysis due to the unsatisfactory hemocompatibility of current dialysis membranes, which leads to excessive platelet destruction, accelerates organ failure, and threatens the patients' life safety in severe cases. In the clinical application of hemodialysis, there are a proportion of patients suffer thrombocytopenia. For these patients, heparin combined with tirofiban can be used during dialysis to suppress the occurrence of thrombocytopenia, but the medication requires intravenous injection and continuous infusion. To optimize the application of hemodialysis membranes, a dialysis membrane composed of polyethersulfone (PES) base membrane and a temperature-sensitive hydrogel coating poly (N-acryloyl glycinamide) (PNAGA) is designed, and prepared that can continuously release tirofiban through temperature control to reduce the burden of medication on patients and significantly inhibit the occurrence of thrombocytopenia. The resulting membrane exhibits an encapsulation efficiency of 36.2% (72.4 µg mL^-1) for tirofiban, with drug release rates of 54.83% at 37 °C and 31.4% at 4 °C after 1 h. Additionally, the membrane shows excellent hydrophilicity and dialysis performance. It also effectively inhibits platelet adhesion (reduced by 92.3%), activation (reduced by 92.8%) and aggregation, and albumin adsorption (reduced by 84.7%). In summary, the work provides a new solution for the preparation of dialysis membranes that can prevent thrombocytopenia, which has potential applications in the safer hemodialysis membrane manufacturing sector.

The application of photosensitizers (PSs) in antibacterial photodynamic therapy is significantly restricted by the aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect of PSs. Porous organic polymers (POPs) serve as efficient molecular carriers benefiting from its microporous structure and functional groups. Here, an ester-linked POP (e-POP) bearing benzophenone groups is prepared from 3,3',4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPTCD) and phloroglucinol (PG). It exhibits a specific surface area of 14.837 m² g^-1 and a pore size of 3.421 nm, enabling it to adsorb methylene blue (MB) molecules (MB@e-POP). The negatively-charged e-POP (containing 4.671 mmol g^-1 carboxyl groups) can attract and stably load the positively-charged MB. The adsorption of MB on e-POP conforms to the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, with a maximum capacity of 400.5 mg g^-1. Compared with MB and e-POP alone, MB@e-POP demonstrates a remarkable increase in the antibacterial rate, 42.42% and 19.63% higher for Escherichia coli (E. coli) and 44.62% and 25.54% higher for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), respectively. The high antibacterial efficacy is ascribed to the distribution of MB within mesopores of e-POP and the synergistic effect of MB with e-POP in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Thus, it achieves 99.99% antibacterial rate under 10 min light irradiation and maintains efficient sterilization even after 20 cycles of use.

Thromboses are potentially fatal complication in malignant tumor diseases. Today, oral anticoagulants are considered equivalent alternatives to low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in guideline-based treatments of cancer-associated thromboses. Nevertheless, debates on potential antitumorigenic heparin activities beyond anticoagulation are still highly relevant. However, disclosure of heparin targeted activities is complicated by the heterogeneous structure of this glycosaminoglycan of natural origin. Therefore, synthetic polymers appear promising as heparin mimetics to interfere with different steps in tumor metastatic spread. Here, the synthesis of noncarbohydrate copolymers of itaconic acid is described with either potassium-3-sulfopropylmethacrylate (SPMA), sodium 4-styrenesulfonate (SS), or 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonate (AMPS) via reversible addition-fragmentation-chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The copolymers, characterized by GPC, display high efficiencies to inhibit heparanase enzymatic activity, exceeding the potency of the clinical candidate PG545. The SS-copolymers (poly(SS-co-IA)) outperform the other copolymers and LMWH in blocking tumor cell-induced platelet activation (TCIPA), thus platelet degranulation or aggregation as key issues in metastasis by reducing thrombin formation. The cytotoxicity of poly(SS-co-IA) is very low. Notably, poly(SS-co-IA) copolymers displayed a thousand-fold lower binding affinity to platelet factor-4 (PF4) than unfractionated heparin (UFH), suggesting a lower risk for HIT II susceptibility. The indicated polymers represent promising heparin mimetics with superior activities in oncology for metastatic control.

Nowadays, during hydrogel formulation design, the focus is primarily on polymers and cross-linkers. It is crucial to ensure a high level of biocompatibility and degradability, along with appropriate physico-chemical properties. However, other ingredients can also influence hydrogel formation and performance. Therefore, this study examines the effect of different salt molarities in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solutions, used as reaction solvents, on the properties of hydrogels mainly composed of polyethylene glycol, agarose, and carbomer. To conduct the study, two PBS solutions are prepared by varying the salt concentrations, and these mixtures are used as solvents in a bulk polycondensation reaction. Subsequently, the two hydrogel formulations obtained are characterized to analyze the effect of PBS concentration on the material properties. An increase in salt concentration reduced the swelling capacity and release ability of the hydrogel matrix, as well as decreased the porosity and interconnectivity of the material, contributing to non-homogeneity in the pore network. Consequently, these results highlight that the salinity and ionic strength of buffering solutions can affect various material properties, and therefore, careful consideration should be given during the preparation of these solutions.

The oxidative balance and inflammatory responses play important roles in wound healing. Plant-derived exosome-like nanovesicles exhibit antioxidant or anti-inflammatory properties. However, their effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of action in wound healing remain unclear. Herein, coriander-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (CDENs) are isolated and characterized. It is found that the CDENs can be internalized by HaCaT cells and mouse skin tissue, promoting cell migration, scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increasing the expression of antioxidant enzymes, and effectively relieving inflammation. Furthermore, it designs a CDENs-based hydrogel with a sustained CDENs-release effect and excellent biocompatibility, and explored its potential for use in wound healing in vivo. During the different phases of wound healing, CDENs-hydrogel facilitated macrophage M2 polarization in the inflammation phase, promoted angiogenesis in the proliferation phase, and expedited collagen deposition in the remodeling phase. Mechanistically, through releasing CDENs, CDENs-hydrogel activated Nrf2 signaling pathway, which enhanced the antioxidant enzyme defense system and reduced the inflammatory response, ultimately accelerated wound healing process. This is the first report that CDENs-hydrogel holds great promise as a safe and effective alternative for clinical wound management.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is the leading causes of mortality globally. Various blood-contact medical devices, by applying anticoagulant coatings on the material surface. Utilizing various anticoagulants and enhancing the lubricity of medical device surfaces can effectively reduce short-term thrombotic risks. However, thrombosis in long-term or medium-to-long-term implanted devices remains a significant challenge. Current evidence suggests that during prolonged implantation, immune rejection of the device and its matrix, along with chronic inflammation induced by the disease, are key contributors to late-stage thrombosis. Therefore, modulating inflammation under pathological conditions is considered crucial for achieving long-term antithrombotic objectives. This review summarizes several representative antithrombotic coatings strategies based on anti-inflammatory and introduces some of the research contributions in this area.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical cystectomy is the standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). While cisplatin-based regimens reduce postoperative recurrence, their severe toxicity often limits clinical application. Moreover, the need for urinary diversion after radical cystectomy significantly impacts quality of life, leading to reluctance toward surgery. Therefore, developing tumor-targeted therapies and alternative treatment strategies for MIBC is of great clinical significance. In this study, the IR780 iodide multifunctional dye is conjugated to alginate polysaccharide and developed a novel cisplatin-loaded nanoparticle. Then, the tumor targeting and antitumor effects of the nanoparticles are evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The results show that the nanoparticles have sufficient drug loading, enhanced tumor targeting, and good photothermal effect. Furthermore, they shows potential for tumor imaging and diagnostic applications in a mouse model of MIBC. This study proposes a potentially effective treatment for MIBC by combining near-infrared localized phototherapy with systemic chemotherapy to eliminate malignant tissue.