Macromolecular bioscience最新文献

The incidence of nerve tissue injuries, such as peripheral nerve injury, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and various neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), is continuously increasing because of stress, physical and chemical trauma, and the aging population worldwide. Restoration of the damaged nervous system is challenging because of its structural and functional complexity and limited regenerative ability. Additionally, there is no cure available for NDs except for medications that provide symptomatic relief. Stem cells offer an alternative approach for promoting damage repair, but their efficacy is limited by a compromised survival rate and neurogenesis process. To address these challenges, neural tissue engineering has emerged as a promising strategy in which stem cells are seeded or encapsulated within a suitable biomaterial construct, increasing cell survival and neurogenesis. Numerous biomaterials are utilized to create different types of constructs for this purpose. Researchers are trying to develop ideal scaffolds that combine biomaterials, cells, and molecules that exactly mimic the biological and mechanical properties of the tissue to achieve functional recovery associated with neurological dysfunction. This review focuses on exploring the development and applications of different biomaterials for their potential use in the diagnosis, therapy, nerve tissue regeneration, and treatment of neurological disorders.

The study aimed to develop thiolated pluronic-based self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) targeted delivery of Rifampicin coated by arginine for enhanced drug loading, mucoadhesion, muco penetration, site-specific delivery, stabilized delivery against intracellular mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), decreased bacterial burden and production by intracellular targeting. Oleic oil, PEG 200 and Tween 80 are selected as oil, co-surfactant and surfactant based on solubilizing capacity and pseudo ternary diagram region. Coating of thiolated polymer on SNEDDS with ligand arginine (Arg-Th-F407 SNEDDDS) decreased bacterial burden and production by intracellular targeting in macrophages. Formulation are evaluated through scanning electron microscope (SEM), EDAX analysis, diffraction laser scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and thermal analysis (DSC & TGA). Hydrodynamic diameter of thiolated polymeric SNEDDS (Th-F407 SNEDDS) and Arg-Th-F407 SNEDDS is observed to be 148.4 and 188.5 nm with low PDI of 0.4 and 0.3, respectively. Invitro drug release study from Arg-Th-F407 SNEDDS indicates 80% sustained release in 72 h under controlled conditions. Arg-Th-F407 SNEDDDS shows excellent capability of killing M.tb strains in macrophages even at low dose as compared to traditional rifampicin (RIF) and is found biocompatible, non-cytotoxic, and hemocompatible. Therefore, Arg-Th-F407 SNEDDDS of RIF proved ideal for targeting and treating M.tb strains within macrophages.

Addressing global challenges in wound management has greatly encouraged the emergence of home diagnosis and monitoring devices. This technological shift has accelerated the development of new skin patch sensors for continuous health monitoring. A key requirement is the creation of flexible platforms capable of mimicking human skin features. Here, for the first time, an innovative, highly adaptable electrochemical biosensor with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) is customized for the detection of the inflammatory biomarker interleukin-6 (IL-6). The 3-electrode gold pattern is geometrically standardized onto a 6 µm thick polyimide flexible membrane, an optically transparent, and biocompatible polymeric substrate. Subsequently, a biomimetic sensing layer specifically designed for the detection of IL-6 target is produced on these transducers. The obtained MIP biosensor shows a good linear response within the concentration range 50 pg mL⁻¹-50 ng mL⁻¹, with a low limit of detection (8 pg mL⁻¹). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy characterizations confirm the modifications of the flexible gold transducer. After optimization, the biosensing device shows remarkable potential in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility. Overall, the integration of a low-cost electrochemical sensor on biocompatible flexible polymers opens the way for a new generation of monitoring tools with higher accuracy, less invasiveness, and greater patient comfort.

Optical methods for studying the brain offer powerful approaches for understanding how neural activity underlies complex behavior. These methods typically rely on genetically encoded sensors and actuators to monitor and control neural activity. For microendoscopic calcium imaging, injection of a virus followed by implantation of a lens probe is required to express a calcium sensor and enable optical access to the target brain region. This two-step process poses several challenges, chief among them being the risks associated with mistargeting and/or misalignment between virus expression zone, lens probe and target brain region. Here, an adeno-associated virus (AAV)-eluting polymer coating is engineered for gradient refractive index (GRIN) lenses enabling the expression of a genetically encoded calcium indicator (GCaMP) directly within the brain region of interest upon implantation of the lens. This approach requires only one surgical step and guarantees alignment between GCaMP expression and lens in the brain. Additionally, the slow virus release from these coatings increases the working time for surgical implantation, expanding the brain regions and species amenable to this approach. These enhanced capabilities should accelerate neuroscience research utilizing optical methods and advance the understanding of the neural circuit mechanisms underlying brain function and behavior in health and disease.

Front Cover: The idea for the cover image comes from a famous Chinese fairy tale, “Nezha Conquers the Dragon King”. In this picture, Nezha with three heads and six arms represents the multifunctional submicrocage. Nezha will fight a huge dragon ball, namely “tumor”, spit out by Dragon King. More details can be found in article 2400033 by Bin Yang, Hao Li, and co-workers.

Back Cover: Synthetic polymers mimicking antimicrobial peptides show potent activity but high toxicity. This study's cationic ionenes, modified with a PEG side chain, exhibited high antimicrobial activity and reduced toxicity. Remarkably, lower molecular weight increased antifungal activity, with MICs as low as 2 and 0.0625 µg/mL for C. albicans and C. tropicalis. More details can be found in article 2400032 by Dominik Jańczewski and co-workers.

In this study, Amomum longiligulare polysaccharide 1 (ALP1) is used to chelate with magnesium (Mg) to synthesize the ALP1-Mg (II) complex (ALP1-Mg). Based on Box-Behnken response surface design, the optimum technological conditions are 22 mg mL⁻¹ trisodium citrate, 2.10 mol L⁻¹ MgCl₂, reaction at 70 °C for 2.9 h, resulting in a maximum Mg content of 2.13%. Next, the physicochemical properties and structural characteristics of ALP1 and ALP1-Mg are characterized, and the results show that the morphology, conformation, crystallinity, and thermal stability of ALP1-Mg are changed. In addition, dietary supplementation of 500 mg kg⁻¹ ALP1-Mg significantly reduces the feed conversion ratio during the grower (15–35 d). Meanwhile, the villus height/crypt depth of the duodenum and ileum are significantly increased, and the relative abundance of Lactobacillus is significantly elevated. Taken together, the results suggest that ALP1-Mg is a potential growth-promoting feed additive.

This study focuses on developing hybrid scaffolds incorporating phytotherapeutic agents via a combination of three-dimensional (3D) printing and electrospinning to enhance mechanical properties and provide antibacterial activity, in order to address the limitations of traditional antibiotics. In this regard, 3D-printed polycaprolactone (PCL) struts are first fabricated using fused deposition modeling (FDM). Then, alkaline surface treatment is applied to improve the adhesion of electrospun nanofibers. Finally, peppermint oil (PEP) or clove oil (CLV)-incorporated PCL-gelatin (GEL) electrospun nanofibers are collected on top of the 3D-printed PCL scaffolds by electrospinning. Incorporating PEP or CLV into PCL-GEL electrospun nanofibers enhances the scaffold's layer detachment and adhesion force. In addition, the DPPH free radical scavenging activity assay indicates that incorporating PEP or CLV improves the antioxidant properties of the scaffolds. Further, antibacterial activity results reveal that PEP or CLV incorporated scaffolds exhibit inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. Moreover, anti-inflammatory assays show that scaffolds reduce the concentration of nitric oxide (NO) released from Raw 264.7 macrophage-like cells. On the other hand, the phytotherapeutic hierarchical scaffolds have no toxic effect on normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells, and PEP or CLV enhance cell attachment and proliferation. Overall, incorporating natural phytotherapeutic agents into hierarchical scaffolds shows promise for advancing wound healing applications.

Protein assembly is an essential process in biological systems, where proteins self-assemble into complex structures with diverse functions. Inspired by the exquisite control over protein assembly in nature, scientists have been exploring ways to design and assemble protein structures with precise control over their topologies and functions. One promising approach for achieving this goal is through metal coordination, which utilizes metal-binding motifs to mediate protein-protein interactions and assemble protein complexes with controlled stoichiometry and geometry. Metal coordination provides a modular and tunable approach for protein assembly and de novo structure design, where the metal ion acts as a molecular glue that holds the protein subunits together in a specific orientation. Metal-coordinated protein assemblies have shown great potential for developing functional metalloproteinase, novel biomaterials and integrated drug delivery systems. In this review, an overview of the recent advances in protein assemblies benefited from metal coordination is provided, focusing on various protein arrangements in different dimensions including protein oligomers, protein nanocage and higher-order protein architectures. Moreover, the key metal-binding motifs and strategies used to assemble protein structures with precise control over their properties are highlighted. The potential applications of metal-mediated protein assemblies in biotechnology and biomedicine are also discussed.