Advanced Nanobiomed Research最新文献

Natural biomaterials are commonly used as tissue engineering scaffolds due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Plant-derived materials have also gained significant interest due to their abundance and as a sustainable resource. This study evaluates the corn-derived protein zein as a plant-derived substitute for animal-derived gelatin, which is widely used for its favorable cell adhesion properties. Limited studies exist evaluating pure zein for tissue engineering. Herein, fibrous zein scaffolds are evaluated in vitro for cell adhesion, growth, and infiltration into the scaffold in comparison to gelatin scaffolds and are further studied in a subcutaneous model in vivo. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on zein scaffolds express focal adhesion kinase and integrins such as α _v β ₃, α ₄, and β ₁ similar to gelatin scaffolds. MSCs also infiltrate zein scaffolds with a greater penetration depth than cells on gelatin scaffolds. Cells loaded onto zein scaffolds in vivo show higher cell proliferation and CD31 expression, as an indicator of blood vessel formation. Findings also demonstrate the capability of zein scaffolds to maintain the multipotent capability of MSCs. Overall, findings demonstrate plant-derived zein may be a suitable alternative to the animal-derived gelatin and demonstrates zein's potential as a scaffold for tissue engineering.

The use of tissue adhesives dates to 1940s when surgical glues were introduced for wound closure applications. However, current clinically used tissue adhesives (fibrin and cyanoacrylate glues) have limited adhesion strength and biocompatibility issues which restrict their performance in targeted applications. Due to this unmet clinical challenge, there is a need to develop next-generation tissue adhesives to expand the current limited available options. Another factor that is often overlooked in the field is the consequence of when these tissue adhesives fail while in use in specific applications. In this review, the complications arising from tissue adhesives that have insufficient adhesion strength are covered, where unintentional loosening and detachment can lead to serious complications depending on both the applications and scenarios in which the adhesives are used. Next, the current methodologies employed to design tissue-adhesive hydrogels targeting specific applications are also collated. Finally, the different strategies to engineer on-demand removal property of these tissue-adhesive hydrogels are consolidated, including some perspectives on current challenges and outlooks in this field.

Developing biocompatible material systems with accurate functional designability and powerful integration capability is the urgent demand of efficient cancer diagnosis and therapy. Deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs) as biomacromolecules are characterized with sequence programmability, rich biological activity, and molecular recognition, and show great performance in the fabrication of biomedical materials. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is an efficient isothermal enzymatic amplification strategy for production of ultralong single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) with defined repeat sequences and structures. By virtue of rational design of the RCA templates sequences, the produced ssDNA enables to integrate and amplify the required function modules, which endows RCA-based DNA materials with extraordinary performance in cancer therapeutics. In this review, RCA-based strategies for integration of functional modules are systematically summarized; construction of RCA-based functional DNA materials and their recent progress in cancer therapeutics including detection, bioimaging, and therapy are overviewed; and finally the opportunities and challenges of RCA-based assembly strategy in terms of material construction and applications in cancer diagnosis and therapy are discussed. It is envisioned that RCA-based DNA-functional materials will provide typical paradigms for the application of DNA-functional materials in the field of cancer therapeutics, and hopefully provide more possibilities for precision medicine.

Drug Delivery

Regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and chronic inflammation can be a novel approach for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. In article number 2300062, Jaeyun Kim and co-workers develop mesoporous cerium oxide (ceria) nanoparticles with high ROS scavenging and anti-inflammatory effects, while also enabling drug loading.

Oral administration, as a traditional approach of taking therapeutic drugs, is easily accepted by patients due to its convenience and compliance. However, the harsh digestive environment and mucosa-epithelial cell barriers limit the absorption of drugs through the oral route, particularly for biomacromolecules such as protein, peptide, or nucleic acid drugs. To address this issue, active carriers such as micro/nanomotors and mechanical devices have been engineered as novel delivery systems that are capable of converting various energy into mechanical force. The active delivery of these carriers holds promise for overcoming absorptive barriers and improving drug delivery efficiency, making them an attractive option for precision medicine applications that include drug delivery, gene and cell therapy, biopsy, tissue penetration, intracellular delivery, and biosensing. This article presents an overview of the progress and challenges associated with orally delivering macromolecular drugs, as well as strategies to enhance drug absorption. Additionally, it discusses recent developments and potential applications of active carriers in drug delivery and related fields, which may provide inspiration for future research.

Checkpoint immunotherapy has made great strides in the treatment of solid tumors, but many patients do not respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Identification of tumor-infiltrating cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) has the potential to stratify patients and monitor immunotherapy responses. In this study, the design of cluster of differentiation (CD8⁺) T cell-targeted nanoprobes that emit shortwave infrared (SWIR) light in the second tissue-transparent window for noninvasive, real-time imaging of CTLs in murine models of breast cancer is presented. SWIR-emitting rare-earth nanoparticles encapsulated in human serum albumin are conjugated with anti-CD8α to target CTLs with high specificity. CTL targeting is validated in vitro through binding of nanoprobes to primary mouse CTLs. The potential for the use of SWIR fluorescence intensity to determine CTL presence is validated in two syngeneic mammary fat pad tumor models, EMT6 and 4T1, which differ in immune infiltration. SWIR imaging using CD8-targeted nanoprobes successfully identifies the presence of CTLs in the more immunogenic EMT6 model, while imaging confirms the lack of substantial immune infiltration in the nonimmunogenic 4T1 model. In this work, the opportunity for SWIR imaging using CD8-targeted nanoprobes to assess CTL infiltration in tumors for the stratification and monitoring of responders to checkpoint immunotherapy is highlighted.

Biomineralization is a universal biological phenomenon in which organisms use inorganic minerals to form their own structures. Inspired by the discovery of mineralized phages in nature, the concept of artificial biomimetic viral mineralization is proposed and it is validated using a large panel of viruses. Different viruses can be mineralized under different conditions, and the same virus can be completely mineralized using different inorganic minerals. The biomineralized viruses with unique physical and chemical properties display biological phenotypes distinct from those of their native counterparts during the subsequent infection process. These new features are largely due to the inorganic minerals chosen. Calcium is the most frequently used material for viral mineralization, and other inorganic ions, including silicon, aluminum, and ferrum, have also been utilized. In this review, recent advances in the artificial biomimetic mineralization of viruses are summarized while highlighting the potential applications and challenges in biomedicine.

In this review, the latest progress in essential metal-ion-based nanomedicines for tumor therapy is summarized, existing challenges are addressed, and possible directions are proposed for such therapeutic strategies. Essential metal ions are critical for the metabolic activity of organisms. Their abnormal spatial and temporal distribution in biological systems, particularly inside the cell, disrupts biochemical processes and leads to irreversible physicochemical damage to cells. Thus, they can function as the foundation of targeted cancer therapies for tumor inhibition and eradication. Over the last decade, numerous essential metal-ion-based cancer therapies have been developed to fight a wide spectrum of cancers with improved efficiency and minor drug resistance. Triggering biocatalysis, affecting protein metabolism, interfering with signal transduction, damaging DNA, and initiating biomineralization are the main mechanisms underlying these therapies. In this study, it is aimed to provide readers with general implications for future research for an increased interest in future clinical applications of these advanced cancer therapies.

Peripheral nerve interfacing plays a crucial role in various healthcare applications. Generally, interfacing peripheral nerves results in a compromise between selectivity and invasiveness. In particular, large nerves carry many axonal fibers, which are difficult to address selectively without penetrating the nerve. Higher selectivity without nerve penetration can be achieved by targeting small nerves with extraneural cuff electrodes. However, in practice, small nerves are challenging to interface appropriately. Herein, a new multielectrode device is presented that can selectively interface small nerves (<200 μm). The device is fabricated using rapid laser-based processing with biocompatible materials such as parylene-C and Pt/Ir alloy. Furthermore, the cuff electrode is prefolded via a stick-and-roll thermoforming process, which simplifies the interfacing procedure. It is shows that the device is capable of selectively stimulating the nerve of a locust in vivo. Moreover, the subjects show no increased mortality 2 weeks after the implantation of the device.

Noble metal-based nanomaterials have attracted tremendous attention in biomedical applications due to their unique electrical, optical, and chemical properties, playing crucial roles in the ultrasensitive detection of biomarkers, bioimaging, cancer therapy, etc. Especially, porous noble metal-based nanomaterials show superior performance due to the large specific area and multiple active sites. Platforms constructed from porous noble metal-based nanomaterials are emerging as highly promising tools for various biomedical applications. Herein, the properties and synthesis strategies of porous noble metal-based nanomaterials are briefly introduced. Then the recent progress of porous noble metal-based nanomaterials in the biomedical field is highlighted, focusing primarily on their applications in optics, electrochemistry, and mass spectrometry. Finally, the challenges related to fabrication and biocompatibility for their applications while also providing an outlook on their widespread use in clinical situations are discussed. This review aims to provide further insights into the design of porous noble metal-based nanomaterials and expand their applications in the biomedical field.