Health sciences articles within Nature Materials

Featured

  • News & Views |

    Post-infusion poly(ethylene glycol) surface modification of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells and a subcutaneous chemokine-adsorbing hydrogel address cytokine release syndrome and the neurotoxicity side effects of CAR T cell therapy against tumours.

    • Chuang Liu
    •  & Khalid Shah

  • Research Briefing |

    Pressure sensing is challenging in liquid environments, where typical solid-state sensors do not perform well. A sensor with solid–liquid–liquid–gas multiphasic interfaces — its design inspired by the lotus leaf, and in which a trapped air layer modulates capacitance changes with pressure — is shown to achieve near-ideal pressure sensing and is well suited to liquid environments.

  • Review Article |

    RNA-based therapeutics hold promise for the treatment of several diseases. This Review provides an overview of hydrogels for RNA delivery, discussing how the chemical nature and physical properties of hydrogels can be explored for tailored RNA loading and release, and highlighting the use of these materials in biomedical applications.

    • Ruibo Zhong
    • , Sepehr Talebian
    •  & Jinjun Shi

  • Article |

    Micromagnets dispersed in a polymer matrix are used to realize a soft magnetoelastic generator with high magnetomechanical coupling factor, used for wearable and implantable power generation and sensing applications.

    • Yihao Zhou
    • , Xun Zhao
    •  & Jun Chen

  • News & Views |

    Elaborately designed DNA icosahedral shells cage intact virions to effectively protect host cells from viral infections.

    • Neha Chauhan
    •  & Xing Wang

  • Article |

    A functional interfacial material has been developed for soft integration of bioelectronic devices with biological tissues. This has been applied in battery-free optoelectronic systems for deep-brain optogenetics and subdermal phototherapy as well as wireless millimetre-scale pacemakers and flexible multielectrode epicardial arrays.

    • Quansan Yang
    • , Tong Wei
    •  & John A. Rogers

  • Review Article |

    This Review highlights the approaches that have been utilized in the implementation of sensory feedback onto prosthetic devices to restore the sensation of touch and proprioception for amputees.

    • Stanisa Raspopovic
    • , Giacomo Valle
    •  & Francesco Maria Petrini

  • Article |

    The basement membrane stiffness is shown to be a more dominant determinant than pore size in regulating cancer cell invasion, metastasis formation and patient survival. This stiffness is now known to be affected by the ratio of netrin-4 to laminin, with more netrin-4 leading to softer basement membranes.

    • Raphael Reuten
    • , Sina Zendehroud
    •  & Janine T. Erler

  • Comment |

    Electron microscopy touches on nearly every aspect of modern life, underpinning materials development for quantum computing, energy and medicine. We discuss the open, highly integrated and data-driven microscopy architecture needed to realize transformative discoveries in the coming decade.

    • Steven R. Spurgeon
    • , Colin Ophus
    •  & Mitra L. Taheri

  • Editorial |

    Within a few weeks of the novel coronavirus genome sequence being published, numerous therapies and vaccines have entered clinical trials with a few showing great promise in alleviating symptoms and accelerating recovery.

  • News & Views |

    Nanoformulations of cabotegravir prodrugs have been developed to prolong the pharmacokinetics of the antiretroviral agent. They can be present in the plasma of mice and non-human primates for a year following a single injection.

    • Vicente Soriano
    • , Pablo Barreiro
    •  & Carmen de Mendoza

  • Comment |

    The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited efforts to develop materials science innovations aimed at stopping viral infections. One of the greatest opportunities lies in developing broad-spectrum antiviral technologies that work against many viruses, which could be the key to thwarting outbreaks in the future.

    • Nam Joon Cho
    •  & Jeffrey S. Glenn

  • Editorial |

    A collective effort from materials scientists, life scientists and clinicians is required to systematically address fundamental questions in the mechanisms of nanoparticle delivery in order to overcome the hurdles in translating nanomedicines for tumour therapy.

  • News & Views |

    In a murine model of acute colitis, hyaluronic acid–bilirubin-based nanomaterials have been shown to modulate immune response and the gut microbiome, as well as restore the epithelial barrier.

    • Ankur Singh

  • Article |

    Lamin mutations responsible for muscular dystrophy are shown to reduce nuclear envelope stability, resulting in mechanically induced nuclear envelope rupture, DNA damage and activation of DNA damage response pathways that lead to muscle cell death. Preventing nuclear envelope damage by reducing cytoskeletal forces on the nucleus improves muscle fibre health and function.

    • Ashley J. Earle
    • , Tyler J. Kirby
    •  & Jan Lammerding

  • News & Views |

    Understanding the mechanics of acute kidney injury from toxins, ischemia and sepsis remains challenging. Molecular probes with high renal clearance have now been developed for real-time optical detection of early-stage biomarkers of drug-induced acute kidney injury, and for the understanding of the mechanisms of injury.

    • Stephen M. Hewitt
    •  & Robert A. Star

  • News & Views |

    An intermediate affinity state of integrin αIIBβ3 has been identified to be a key player in platelet mechanosignalling.

    • X. Frank Zhang
    •  & Xuanhong Cheng

  • Article |

    The extracellular matrix surrounding cells plays a significant role in their behaviour. The spreading, mechanosensing and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells are shown to be dependent on the early deposition and remodelling of local nascent proteins within degradable and viscoelastic hydrogels.

    • Claudia Loebel
    • , Robert L. Mauck
    •  & Jason A. Burdick

  • News & Views |

    An amphipathic peptide has been engineered and is capable of penetrating the blood–brain barrier as well as possessing a potent antiviral activity against Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses.

    • Jing Zou
    •  & Pei-Yong Shi

  • News & Views |

    An injectable biomaterial with angiogenic and immune-modulatory properties was developed and shown to support brain tissue repair and functional recovery in a mouse model of stroke.

    • Anup Tuladhar
    •  & Molly S. Shoichet

  • Feature |

    Camille M. Le Gall, Jorieke Weiden, Loek J. Eggermont and Carl G. Figdor provide an overview of immunotherapeutics for cancer treatment that harness dendritic cells, their challenges in clinical use, and approaches employed to enhance their recruitment and activation to promote effective anti-tumour immunity.

    • Camille M. Le Gall
    • , Jorieke Weiden
    •  & Carl G. Figdor

  • Feature |

    Darrell Irvine provides an overview of the recent advances in materials science that have enabled the use of innovative natural and synthetic compounds in vaccine development capable of regulating the potency and safety of new vaccines progressing towards the clinic.

    • Darrell Irvine

  • Editorial |

    As the interaction of the immune system with the tumour microenvironment becomes increasingly understood, more evidence indicates how immunotherapy can be employed to better eliminate cancers.

  • Review Article |

    Immunotherapy offers a promising approach to treating a range of complications. This Review discusses strategies that employ bioengineering and immunological principles to develop engineered tissues for screening therapeutics and treating diseases.

    • Emily A. Gosselin
    • , Haleigh B. Eppler
    •  & Christopher M. Jewell

  • Article |

    Molecular simulations reveal the self-assembly of small molecules into nanoparticle drug carriers. Targeting of colon and liver cancer cells by the nanoparticles via kinase inhibitors is employed in anti-tumour therapy in vivo.

    • Yosi Shamay
    • , Janki Shah
    •  & Daniel A. Heller

  • News & Views |

    Nanoparticle mimics of heparan sulfate proteoglycans offer a new strategy for the inhibition of a range of viral infections.

    • Benson J. Edagwa
    •  & Howard E. Gendelman

  • News & Views |

    Cysts were generated from organoids in vitro and the removal of adherent cues was shown to play a key role in polycystic kidney disease progression. These cysts resembled those of diseased tissue phenotypically and were capable of remodelling their microenvironment.

    • Paola Romagnani

  • News & Views |

    Drug-loaded liposomes functionalized with proteins from the cell membrane of leukocytes target inflamed tissues without eliciting a substantial immune response.

    • Kenneth A. Dawson
    •  & Yan Yan

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