Articles in 2022

A novel GelMA/ECM hydrogel fibrous scaffold was constructed via electrospinning and decellularization technique. The GelMA/ECM scaffold characterized by excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility, can accelerate SCI repair by recruiting and promoting the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs), and reducing the proportion of M1-type macrophages. The study provides a promising system for SCI repair in clinical application.

How charges travel through a solid and its subsequent distortion of the surrounding lattice, also known as a polaron, are believed to play important roles in determining photocatalytic activities. Here, along with alteration of W doping and temperature of BiVO₄ films, we reveal a new many-body large-hole polaron in W-doped BiVO₄ films and demonstrate that the strong electronic correlations and screening induced large-hole polaron combined with indirect band gap is the key factor to remarkably boost the high photocatalytic activities of BiVO₄. Our study is also promising for searching other large-hole polaron systems to improve the efficiency of photocatalytic activities.

(Left) Schematic diagrams describing a single in-situ chemical-vapor-deposition process for growing two-dimensional Janus MoSSe without initial or follow-up treatments and the growth mechanism consisting of three steps; 1) growth of a MoS₂ layer, 2) formation of vacancies on the top MoS₂ layer by an annealing effect, and filling of Se atoms in the vacancies. (Right) Optical-microscopy and photoluminescence-mapping images for a typical two-dimensional Janus sample showing that the central MoSSe region is distinguished from the peripheral MoSe₂ region.

A high-performance, cost-effective high-temperature intelligent microwire with exceptional combination of superb superelasticity, outstanding one-way shape memory effect, and remarkable two-way shape memory effect is designed with the concept of creating oligocrystalline structure with bamboo-like grains. This microwire shows tremendous potential for applications as intelligent components at elevated temperatures, especially in miniature devices, such as high-temperature microelectromechanical systems.

This study aimed to develop a simple and rapid method for the fabrication of transparent polydimethylsiloxane fibers based on thermally induced wet spinning, which is a modification of the conventional wet spinning. This novel method for fiber fabrication does not involve the use of a mold, and fibers with longer lengths can be produced. The use of eco-friendly oil with a high boiling point resolved the issues typically associated with solvent vapor generated during fiber fabricating using conventional wet spinning. The thickness of the fiber was controlled by adjusting the pulling speed of the cured PDMS fiber during rapid stretching.

This review focuses on the most recent advancements of hydrogel-based therapies with therapeutic drugs or stem cells on their applications to the treatment of CNS disorders, including brain injury, spinal cord injury, neurodegenerative diseases, and brain tumors.

We controlled the oscillatory behaviors of the comb-type self-oscillating gels by varying the properties of the grafted chain. The grafted chain was introduced by ATRP (atom-transfer radical polymerization) as a “grafting from” method. We demonstrated that controlling the length of the grafted chains and the amount of Ru(bpy)₃ in the grafted chain can lead to the controlled amplitude, swelling rate and deswelling rate during the BZ reaction.

This review describes an overview of the strategies used to prepare self-healing and self-restoring materials utilizing reversible and movable crosslinks. Reversible crosslinks, consisting of noncovalent bonds, can reversibly undergo repeated cleavage and reformation. Therefore, self-healing can be achieved by effectively regenerating reversible crosslinks between polymeric chains. Movable crosslinks consist of polymer chains that penetrate macrocyclic units and have self-restoring properties due to their sliding motion along the polymeric chains. Self-restoring materials can regain their original shape and mechanical properties after a cycle of loading and unloading external stress.

Various changes occur in the myocardial infarcted microenvironment. An in-depth understanding of these changes has enabled the development of the functional hydrogels for cardiac repair. This article introduces recent advance in functional hydrogels for the treatment of myocardial infarction, including MMP-responsive hydrogels, ROS-scavenging hydrogels, immunomodulatory hydrogels, conductive hydrogels, vascularized hydrogels, and 3D printed hydrogels. Future perspective is also presented.

We report dual-stimuli responsive and injectable hydrogels comprising a highly biocompatible cartilage acellularized matrix (CAM) and a water-soluble diselenide cross-linker, formed by ultrafast IEDDA click chemistry. The diselenide crosslinker was synthesized to have two PEG spacers and two tetrazine moieties. The PEG spacers enhanced the solubility of the crosslinker, whereas tetrazine functionalities reacted with norbornene groups of CAM during loading of DOX an ICG in hydrogels. The diselenide linkages could be cleaved internally by an over-expressed GSH tumor biomarker (a reducing molecule) or externally by NIR-light irradiation, releasing DOX which eradicated a tumor.

Versatile ionic gelatin-glycerol hydrogel for soft sensing applications: The sensing device is inexpensive and easy to manufacture, is self-healable at room temperature, can undergo strains of up to 454%, presents stability over long periods of time, and is biocompatible and biodegradable. This material is ideal for strain sensing applications, with a linear correlation coefficient R² = 0.9971 and a pressure-insensitive conduction mechanism. The experimental results show the applicability of ionic hydrogels for wearable devices and soft robotic technologies for strain, humidity and temperature sensing while being able to partially self-heal at room temperature.

The spiral potential field of the chiral structure can endow electrons with additional orbital angular momentum to realize coupling between circularly polarized photon and electron spins. In this work, the interaction among the photon, phonon, and electron spin is explored in organic chiral materials. Switching the incident light from linearly to circularly polarized light, the phenomenon of magnetic field decreased photoluminescence will change to magnetic field enhanced photoluminescence. This work can promote the understanding of photon-spin couplings and the better application of organic chiral materials in the area of organic spintronics.

We prepared fully epitaxial Fe/LiF/MgO/Fe magnetic tunnel junctions. A large enhancement of interface-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy was realized by introducing a few atomic layers of lithium fluoride (LiF) between Fe and MgO. Coherent spin-dependent tunneling through LiF/MgO bilayer tunneling barrier resulted in large tunnel magnetoresistance. Atomic-scale interface engineering using fluoride can pave a new way to improve the spintronic devices.

3D hybrid-micromesh assisted bioprinting (Hy-MAP) method combines 3D-printed micromesh scaffold structures and sequential hydrogel patterning for multi-cellular coculture models. This method of bioprinting enables rapid cell coculture through the allowance of various methods, including injection, dipping and draining. By using this method, vascularized tumor spheroids were formed by culturing endothelial cells, stromal cell mixtures and tumor spheroids inside separate but adjacent compartments. The novel approach described in this work will provide an alternative method for fabricating mesoscale implantable tissue engineering constructs and organ-on-a-chip applications.

Immunomicroparticles coupled with luminescent quantum dots resolve circulating tumor cells among blood cells on a fluorescence microspectrometer. Such tumor cells have been studied for decades due to their significance in the early stage detection of cancer metastasis. Also, these cells are clinically relevant samples for postsurgical and post-therapeutic follow-up of many cancers. Here, cancer-specific antibodies pull cancer cells from the blood to the surface of silica particles. Quantum dots and dye labels offer nine-fold accuracy for the detection by resolving the fluorescence color, spectra, and decays, each into three modes.

This work presents a polymer-matrix composite filled with BaTiO₃@TiO₂ nanosheets for tailoring the energy density. Due to the fact that TiO₂ possesses the intermediate dielectric constant between that of BaTiO₃ and the polymer matrix thus it reduces the interface charges, and also, the large aspect ratio of nanosheets enhance the ping-pong-like electron area scattering, as a result, significantly enhanced breakdown strength and energy density are fulfilled in the composite, with high potentials in electrostatic energy storage capacitors.

Sustained and controllable local gene therapy is a potential method for treating osteoarthritis (OA). Here, monodisperse gelatin methacryloyl microspheres produced under one-step innovative microfluidic technology were applied to construct “nano-micron” combined gene hydrogel by absorbing gene nanoparticles consisting of microRNA-140 and multifunctional gene vectors, arginine, histidine, and phenylalanine-modified generation 5 polyamidoamine (named G5-AHP). The “nano-micron” combined gene hydrogel showed better injectability in sustainable and matrix metalloproteinases-responsive degradation methods and provided a novel cell-free approach to alleviate the progression of OA.

A mouse model of laminectomy is established to study the process of epidural fibrosis. Neutrophils infiltrated into the wound area release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). The temperature-sensitive hydrogel loaded with DNase I not only provide a perfect physical barrier but also destroy NETs via the encapsulated DNase I, thereby alleviating the excessive fibrosis following spine operations.