Journal of Materials Chemistry B最新文献

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Inspired by the cell's membrane architecture, self-assembling amphiphilic copolymers in polymersomes can form biomimetic, compartmentalized, bilayered, and versatile structures through supramolecular interactions, enabling the simultaneous co-encapsulation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic cargo. This approach protects cargo from the surrounding media and modulates cargo release via stimuli-responsive mechanisms, such as light. This work reports on a photosensitive polymersome derived from an amphiphilic random copolymer based on poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) and a 2-nitrobenzyl alcohol light-responsive moiety. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, magnetic nuclear resonance spectroscopy, and thermal analysis were used to characterize the resulting amphiphilic copolymer. UV-light-responsive polymersomes were successfully assembled with a size of 80.38 ± 1.57 nm, a ζ-potential of −50.9 ± 0.8 mV, and a bilayer thickness of 3.5 ± 1.2 nm, as confirmed by cryo- and transmission-electron microscopy. Moreover, it assembled biotinylated polymersomes with similar physicochemical properties for the targeted delivery of cargo to cancer cells. It encapsulated 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and rhodamine-B (Rh-B) into polymersomes with high encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity as cargo models of different natures, and gold nanoparticles and magnetic nanoparticles/5-FU as a potential theranostic strategy. Polymersomes demonstrated high biocompatibility, and the encapsulated 5-FU exerted cytotoxicity after 24 h of treatment following 5 minutes of UV-triggered cargo release, positioning them as stimuli-responsive nanosystems for electromagnetic irradiation-triggered drug delivery.

Hemostatic fabric is widely employed as a clinical hemostatic agent, yet its clinical efficacy is significantly limited by blood permeation through the fabric, leading to persistent hemorrhage. To address this critical challenge, an effective hemostatic nanofabric composed of catechol-modified oxidized hyaluronic acid (COHA) and adipic dihydrazide modified hyaluronic acid (ADHA) has been reported. The reported COHA/ADHA nanofabric exhibits exceptional breathability and mechanical flexibility while demonstrating unique hemostatic functionality. Upon blood contact, Schiff base-mediated crosslinking between COHA and ADHA nanofibers induces rapid inter-fiber bonding, creating a dense network that establishes superior blood barrier functionality while simultaneously enhancing erythrocyte and platelet aggregation. Moreover, the COHA/ADHA nanofabric can adhere to the tissue to effectively seal the wound. Through integrated ex vivo and in vivo assessments it was found that the COHA/ADHA nanofabric exhibits enhanced hemostatic efficacy compared to conventional materials including cotton gauze, Combat Gauze™, and Surgicel® Original. Furthermore, the nanofabric demonstrates biodegradability, histocompatibility, and accelerated wound healing rates. This biomimetic design strategy creates a new pathway for developing high-performance hemostatic materials with integrated barrier function and physiological compatibility.

With the fast development of precision medicine, porphyrin-based photosensitizers (PSs) have been extensively employed in photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, their poor water solubility and aggregation-induced self-quenching during reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation result in less satisfactory therapeutic outcomes. Herein, three novel porphyrin derivatives have been successfully synthesized through adjusting the ratios of hydrophilic and hydrophobic side chains, and ultimately three different sizes of carrier-free porphyrin nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared by nanoprecipitation. The three porphyrin NPs exhibited good water dispersion, stable photophysical properties, and showed a higher efficiency in singlet oxygen (¹O₂) generation than traditional porphyrin-based PSs under 660 nm laser irradiation. Among them, T2 NPs exhibit the highest phototoxicity during in vitro cell experiments, attributed to their effective cellular uptake, high intracellular ROS yields, and specific localization in the mitochondria and lysosomes of T2 NPs in tumor cells. Moreover, in vivo animal experiments further confirmed the outstanding antitumor activity of T2 NPs under PDT treatment, along with excellent biocompatibility and biosafety. This study provides a promising strategy for utilizing modified water-soluble porphyrin NPs as highly effective PSs, demonstrating great potential in enhancing PDT efficacy.

Phospholipids play key roles in bone formation, with phosphatidylserine (PS) reportedly inducing more rapid mineralisation than phosphatidylcholine (PC); however, the underlying mechanisms remains unclear. This study investigated PS and PC mineralisation using experimental methods and computational chemistry. The stationary points in the potential energy surfaces of the reactions were preliminarily found using a neural network potential (PreFerred Potential in Matlantis) capable of predicting the interaction energies for arbitrary combinations of atoms, and then refined through density functional theory calculations (Gaussian16, at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory). When hydrolysis reactions were assumed to be the initial step in the mineralisation of phospholipids, the results were consistent with empirical analysis. PS was found to be more easily hydrolised than PC, primarily owing to the presence of a labile proton in the NH₃⁺ group of serine that facilitates proton transfer, enhancing hydrolysis of PS at lower energy thresholds. Specifically, when a single phospholipid was considered, three distinct hydrolysis routes were identified: between serine (or choline) and phosphate, between glycerol and phosphate, and between an aliphatic carbon chain and the glycerol backbone. In particular, the initial steps of hydrolysis involved the formation of a pentavalent phosphate intermediate. When calculations were performed with two adjacent phospholipid molecules, the loosely bound proton (H⁺) in the NH₃⁺ group could be readily transferred either to the P–O bond linking serine to the phosphate group; or to the P–O bond connecting the phosphate to glycerol in a neighboring PS6 molecule. These findings reveal the important roles of serine NH₃⁺ in facilitating hydrolysis of PS, and provide insights for designing novel molecules to accelerate bone regeneration.

Expression of concern for ‘3D-printed magnetic Fe₃O₄/MBG/PCL composite scaffolds with multifunctionality of bone regeneration, local anticancer drug delivery and hyperthermia’ by Jianhua Zhang et al., J. Mater. Chem. B, 2014, 2, 7583–7595, https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TB01063A.

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based theranostic agents with efficient reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation efficiency and long-term imaging capability are highly in demand but still challenging. Photosensitizers (PSs) with AIE characteristics have emerged as promising theranostic agents in cancer therapy. However, their high oxygen dependency, low molar extinction coefficients, and non-cellular organelle targeting ability significantly limit their theranostic effectiveness, especially in hypoxic tumor environments. In this study, tetraphenylethylene–vinyl pyridinium (TPEPy) bearing three AIE-active photosensitizers (AIE-PSs), namely TPEPyTMB-1, TPEPyTMB-2, and TPEPyTMB-3, were synthesized to enhance aggregation-induced intersystem crossing (AI-ISC), molar absorption coefficients, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation efficiency. Among the synthesized AIE-PSs, TPEPyTMB-3, which features a highly twisted structure and a large molar absorption coefficient, exhibited superior ROS generation efficiency and was selected as an ideal candidate for image-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT). Furthermore, TPEPyTMB-3 nanoparticles (TPEPyTMB-3 NPs) were prepared via a simple nanoprecipitation procedure, demonstrating efficient photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions, as well as outstanding long-term in vivo imaging capability. In vivo results revealed that TPEPyTMB-3 NPs can effectively inhibit the growth of subcutaneous tumors, under white light irradiation with minimized systemic toxicity. This work highlights the potential of AIE-PSs for the development of highly efficient cancer theranostic agents.

Mitochondrial autophagy is closely related to various diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, and changes in mitochondrial polarity are key markers of these diseases. Traditional fluorescent probes rely on membrane potential and often lose signal during key stages of autophagy. This work develops a mitochondria-immobilized fluorescent probe, Mito-NT, which uses naphthylimide as the fluorescent moiety, triphenylamine as the electron donor, pyridine salt as the electron acceptor, and a mitochondrial-targeting group. The probe achieves polarity-dependent fluorescence response through the activation of an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism. The active chlorine unit in its structure ensures that the probe remains stable in the mitochondria and is not affected by changes in the membrane potential. Mito-NT exhibits high polarity sensitivity, pH stability, strong interference resistance, and low cytotoxicity, enabling dynamic monitoring of the mitochondrial autophagy process, tracking the fusion of mitochondria and lysosomes, and distinguishing mouse hunger-induced cardiac mitochondrial autophagy (manifested as enhanced fluorescence). This probe provides a powerful tool for mitochondrial autophagy research and related disease diagnosis.

Colon cancer continues to be one of the most prevalent malignancies globally, and its treatment remains constrained by drug resistance and significant adverse effects, highlighting the need for safer and more effective therapies. Polysaccharides derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCMPs) have garnered increasing interest due to their natural origin, biocompatibility, and diverse biological activities. This review highlights that TCMPs can function both as therapeutic agents, capable of inhibiting tumor growth, inducing apoptosis, modulating immunity, and reshaping the gut microbiota, and as functional carriers for colon-targeted drug delivery. This dual role enables a synergistic strategy by integrating therapeutic and carrier properties within a single molecule. However, clinical translation is hindered by structural heterogeneity and insufficient standardization. Future research should focus on elucidating structure–activity relationships, establishing rigorous quality control, and developing intelligent delivery platforms to facilitate the translation of these polysaccharides from bench to bedside, thereby offering new avenues for advanced colon cancer therapy.

Correction for ‘Intelligent catalase-coated MnO₂ nanoparticles with programmed oxygen supply and glutathione depletion for enhanced photodynamic therapy’ by Weijuan Jia et al., J. Mater. Chem. B, 2026, 14, 311–324, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TB01925G.