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The vulnerability of hydrogel electronic materials to mechanical damage due to their soft nature has necessitated the development of self‐repairing hydrogel electronics. However, the development of such material with underwater self‐repairing capability as well as excellent mechanical properties for application in aquatic environments is highly challenging and has not yet been fully realized. This study designs a tough and highly efficient underwater self‐repairing supramolecular hydrogel by synergistically combining weak hydrogen bonds (H‐bonds) and strong dipole–dipole interactions. The resultant hydrogel has high stretchability (up to 700%) and toughness (4.45 MJ m−3), and an almost 100% fast strain self‐recovery (10 min). The underwater healing process is rapid and autonomous (98% self‐repair efficiency after 1 h of healing). Supramolecular hydrogels can be developed as soft electronic sensors for physiological signal detection (gestures, breathing, microexpression, and vocalization) and real‐time underwater communication (Morse code). Importantly, the hydrogel sensor can function underwater after mechanical damage because of its highly efficient underwater self‐repairing capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mimicking the natural bone extracellular matrix containing intrinsic topography and electrical signals is an effective way to modulate bone regeneration. However, simultaneously coupling of the intrinsic mechanobiology and electrical cues of implant to modulate bone regeneration remains ignored. Here, the authors report in situ designation of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanocone/bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) nanodot heterojunctions on bone implant surface to electro‐biomechanically trigger osseointegration at bone/implant interface. TiO2 nanocone/Bi2O3 nanodot heterojunctions exhibit built‐in electric field at the nanoscale interface and elastic modulus equivalent to that of bone tissue. The nano‐heterojunctions significantly promoted the attachment, spreading, and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in vitro, and the osteogenesis in vivo. The authors also show that the effects of nano‐heterojunctions on osteogenesis are mediated by yes‐associated protein biomechanical signal pathway and intracellular enrichment induced Phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase signal pathway. Their findings highlight the coupling of topographical and electric parameters of biomaterials for modulating cell behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining the detection of tumor protein markers with the capture of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) represents an ultra-promising approach for early tumor detection. However, current methodologies have not yet achieved the necessary low detection limits and efficient capture. Here, a novel polypyrrole nanotentacles sensing platform featuring anemone-like structures capable of simultaneously detecting protein biomarkers and capturing CTCs is introduced. The incorporation of nanotentacles significantly enhances the electrode surface area, providing abundant active sites for antibody binding. This enhancement allows detecting nucleus matrix protein22 and bladder tumor antigen with 2.39 and 3.12 pg mL -1 detection limit, respectively. Furthermore, the developed sensing platform effectively captures MCF-7 cells in blood samples with a detection limit of fewer than 10 cells mL -1 , attributed to the synergistic multivalent binding facilitated by the specific recognition antibodies and the positive charge on the nanotentacles surface. This sensing platform demonstrates excellent detection capabilities and outstanding capture efficiency, offering a simple, accurate, and efficient strategy for early tumor detection., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Chronic diabetic wounds pose significant challenges due to uncontrolled bacterial infections, prolonged inflammation, and impaired angiogenesis. The rapid advancement of photo-responsive antibacterial therapy shows promise in addressing these complex issues, particularly utilizing 2D heterojunction materials, which offer unique properties. Herein, an in situ sprayed Bi/BiOCl 0D/2D heterojunction composite fibrin gel with the characteristics of rapid formation and effective near-infrared activation is designed for the treatment of non-healing diabetes-infected wounds. The sprayed composite gel can provide protective shielding for skin tissues and promote endothelial cell proliferation, vascularization, and angiogenesis. The Bi/BiOCl 0D/2D heterojunction, with its localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), can overcome the wide bandgap limitation of BiOCl, enhancing the generation of local heat and reactive oxygen species under near-infrared irradiation. This facilitates bacterial elimination and reduced inflammation, supporting the accelerated healing of diabetes-infected wounds. This study underscores the potential of LSPR-enhanced heterojunctions as advanced wound therapies for chronic diabetic wounds., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Healthcare Materials published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Carbon dots (CDs), as new carbon nanomaterials, have potential applications in multiple fields due to their superior optical properties, good biocompatibility, and easy preparation. However, CDs are typically an aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) material, which has a huge limitation on the practical application of CDs. To solve this problem, in this paper, CDs were prepared by the solvothermal method using citric acid and o -phenylenediamine as precursors and dimethylformamide as solvent. Then using CDs as nucleating agents, solid-state green fluorescent CDs were synthesized by in situ growth of nano-hydroxyapatite (HA) crystals on the surface of CDs. The results show that CDs are stably dispersed single-particlely in the form of bulk defects in the nano-HA lattice matrices with a dispersion concentration of 3.10%, and solid-state green fluorescence of CDs is achieved with a stable emission wavelength peak position near 503 nm, which provides a new solution to the ACQ problem. CDs-HA nanopowders were further used as LED phosphors to obtain bright green LEDs. In addition, CDs-HA nanopowders showed excellent performance in cell imaging (mBMSCs and 143B) applications, which provides a new scheme for further applications of CDs in the field of cell imaging and even in vivo imaging., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)