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Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the development of antiviral drugs has attracted increasing attention. Clinical antiviral drugs show weak solubility, low bioavailability, adverse side effects, or only limited targets. With the advancement of nanotechnology and material science, biosafety nanomaterials have been constructed for drug delivery systems of antiviral disease therapy, such as liposomes, polymers, gold nanoparticles, and graphene. These nanodrug systems can either deliver synthesized antiviral drugs siRNA/miRNA and small molecular compounds, deliver bioactive large molecular drug proteins and mRNA, or show antiviral activity by themselves. Nanodelivery systems could effectively enhance the efficiency of antiviral drugs by increasing drug loading and host cell uptake with a small size and high specific surface area. This review focused on the biosafety nanomaterials used for antiviral therapy and discussed the options for the design of antiviral drugs in the future., (© 2022 Chinese Medical Association Publishing House. Published by Elsevier BV.)

Despite multiple virus outbreaks over the past decade, including the devastating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the lack of accurate and timely diagnosis and treatment technologies has wreaked havoc on global biosecurity. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas) system has the potential to address these critical needs for tackling infectious diseases to detect viral nucleic acids and inhibit viral replication. This review summarizes how the CRISPR/Cas system is being utilized for the treatment and diagnosis of infectious diseases with the help of biosafety materials and highlights the design principle and in vivo and in vitro efficacy of advanced biosafety materials used to deal with virus attacks., (© 2022 Chinese Medical Association Publishing House. Published by Elsevier BV.)

An all-optical tunable whispering gallery mode (WGM) laser pumped by a laser diode is proposed. The laser is fabricated by filling a silica capillary with a light-emitting conjugated polymer solution. Based on the thermo-optic effect of the hydroxyl groups in the polymer and capillary, the effective refractive index of the WGM cavity changes by the auxiliary irradiation of the laser, and the wavelength of the WGM mode shifts correspondingly. The emission wavelength was continuously tuned over 13 nm with the irradiation power intensity changing from 0 to 22.41 W cm -2 , showing a corresponding tuning rate of 0.58 nm W -1 cm -2 . The wavelength tuning process has a fast response time that is within 2.8 s. It shows strong stability, with the output intensity showing no obvious attenuation after 100 minutes of operation. The proposed laser exhibits good repeatability, stability and high tuning efficiency, and could be applied as a light source for on-chip devices., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In this work, a simple, high-throughput, and sensitive analytical method based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and principal component analysis (PCA) was fabricated for simultaneous and rapid determination of three polychlorinated phenols (PCPs) including 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP), and 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol (2,3,4,6-TeCP). The aggregated Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) induced by inorganic salt ions were used as sensitive SERS substrate, and the electromagnetic field distribution of AgNPs with different distances was simulated by finite difference time domain (FDTD) to verify the theory feasibility. The high throughput and rapid detection can be achieved by commercial 96-pore plate. Under the optimum conditions, the linear relationship between the Raman intensity and the concentrations of PCPs was established with satisfied correlation coefficient. The limits of detection (LOD) for 2,4-DCP, 2,4,5-TCP, and 2,3,4,6-TeCP are 0.27 mg L -1 , 0.09 mg L -1 , and 0.10 mg L -1 by rules of 3σ, respectively. The simultaneous quantitative analysis can be achieved thanks to the independent Raman characteristic peaks of three PCPs. Afterwards, the PCA method was used to eliminate the limitations of overlapping of characteristic Raman peaks in structural analogues of 2,4-DCP, 2,4,5-TCP, and 2,3,4,6-TeCP. The recovery experiments including single PCPs and mixed PCP samples show satisfied recoveries ranging from 85.0 to 113.9% and 80.4 to 114.0% with RSDs in range of 0.4-9.5% and 1.1-10.7%, respectively. The proposed method shows great potentials in rapid, high-throughput, and sensitive monitoring of the contaminants in water and pesticide samples with similar structure. Here, we introduced aggregated Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) induced by inorganic salt ion for simultaneous, rapid, and sensitive determination of polychlorinated phenols (PCPs) including 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP), and 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol (2,3,4,6-TeCP) by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) combined with principal component analysis (PCA). The AgNPs induced by inorganic salt ions were used as sensitive SERS substrate, and the electromagnetic field distribution of AgNPs with different distances was simulated by finite difference time domain (FDTD) to verify the theory feasibility. The PCA method was used to eliminate the limitations of overlapping of characteristic Raman peaks in structural analogues of 2,4-DCP, 2,4,5-TCP, and 2,3,4,6-TeCP. The proposed method shows great potentials in rapid, high-throughput, and sensitive monitoring of the contaminants in water and pesticide samples with similar structure., (© 2022. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Infection in bone transplantation process is attracting considerable attention. The current study synthesizes silver/strontium co-substituted hydroxyapatite (Ag/Sr-HA) nanoparticles with combined osteogenic and antibacterial activities. Different concentrations of silver-substituted hydroxyapatite (Ag-HA) nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method, and then their physicochemical properties were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Then, Sr was added as secondary element into Ag-HA to improve the biocompatibility of substrate. The antibacterial experiments indicated that Ag-HA had excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The effects of prepared samples on cell proliferation and differentiation were evaluated using MC3T3-E1 cells in vitro. The results showed that Sr substitution enhanced cell proliferation and differentiation, upregulated expression of osteogenic genes, and induced mineralization of cells. The substitution of Sr in Ag/Sr-HA nanoparticles can effectively alleviate the negative effects of Ag and enhance the biological activity of HA. Thus, the synthesized Ag/Sr-HA nanoparticles will serve as a potential candidate for application of biomedical implants with excellent osteogenic and antibacterial ability., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Relapse after effective bronchial arterial embolization (BAE) for controlling hemoptysis is not uncommon. Studies reported diverse predictors of recurrence. However, a model to assess the probability of recurrence in non-cancer related hemoptysis patients after BAE has not been reported. This study was to develop a model to predict recurrence after BAE for non-cancer related hemoptysis., Methods: The study cohort included 487 patients who underwent BAE for non-cancer-related hemoptysis between January 2015 and December 2019. We derived the model's variables from univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The model presented as a nomogram scaled by the proportional regression coefficient of each predictor. Model performance was assessed with respect to discrimination and calibration., Results: One-month and 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-year recurrence-free rates were 94.5%, 88.0%, 81.4%, 76.2% and 73.8%, respectively. Risk factors for recurrence were underlying lung diseases and the presence of systemic arterial-pulmonary circulation shunts. This risk prediction model with two risk factors provided good discrimination (area under curve, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.62-0.76), and lower prediction error (integrated Brier score, 0.143)., Conclusion: The proposed model based on routinely available clinical and imaging features demonstrates good performance for predicting recurrence of non-cancer-related hemoptysis after BAE. The model may assist clinicians in identifying higher-risk patients to improve the long-term efficacy of BAE., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Objective: To develop and validate a nomogram for predicting recurrent hemoptysis after successful bronchial arterial embolization (BAE) in patients with bronchiectasis., Materials and Methods: From January 2015 to December 2019, a total of 251 patients were enrolled in this study. A nomogram was developed with the predictors of recurrent events, which were identified by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. We evaluated nomogram discrimination by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, calibration by the calibration curve, and clinical usefulness potential by decision curve analysis., Results: The one-month, 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, and 5-year cumulative recurrence-free rates of patients were 98.4%, 90.5%, 82.8%, 77.7%, and 74.4%, respectively. Three predictive factors, namely sex, lung destruction, and systemic arterial-pulmonary circulation shunts, were applied to develop the nomogram. The model maintained good discrimination (area under the curve, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.62-0.81), low prediction error (integrated Brier score, 0.129), and certain net benefits in terms of clinical usefulness., Conclusions: The proposed nomogram showed favorable predictive efficacy for hemoptysis recurrence after BAE in patients with bronchiectasis. Improved long-term outcomes are expected with close follow-up, a healthy lifestyle, and pulmonary rehabilitation for patients at risk of recurrence according to the model., (© 2021. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE).)

Hyocholic acid (HCA) is a major bile acid (BA) species in the BA pool of pigs, a species known for its exceptional resistance to spontaneous development of diabetic phenotypes. HCA and its derivatives are also present in human blood and urine. We investigate whether human HCA profiles can predict the development of metabolic disorders. We find in the first cohort (n = 1107) that both obesity and diabetes are associated with lower serum concentrations of HCA species. A separate cohort study (n = 91) validates this finding and further reveals that individuals with pre-diabetes are associated with lower levels of HCA species in feces. Serum HCA levels increase in the patients after gastric bypass surgery (n = 38) and can predict the remission of diabetes two years after surgery. The results are replicated in two independent, prospective cohorts (n = 132 and n = 207), where serum HCA species are found to be strong predictors for metabolic disorders in 5 and 10 years, respectively. These findings underscore the association of HCA species with diabetes, and demonstrate the feasibility of using HCA profiles to assess the future risk of developing metabolic abnormalities.

Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) would attack living cells and cause a series of oxidative stress related diseases, such as liver damage. Hydroxyl radicals (·OH) are currently known as one of the most toxic and harmful free radicals to organisms. Therefore, studies involving hydroxyl radicals have become important research topics in the fields of biology, biochemistry, and biomedicine. In addition, imaging of analytes using upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) possesses significant advantages over that using general fluorescent dyes or nanoparticles due to its high spatial resolution, reduced photodamage, and deep tissue penetration properties. Herein, we designed a highly selective and sensitive hydroxyl radical nanoprobe based on the luminescence resonance energy transfer between upconversion nanoparticles and methylene blue (MB). The concentration of ·OH could be determined by the fluorescence recovery of the UCNPs due to the oxidative damage of MB. Using this nanoprobe, the ·OH in living cells or in liver tissues could be monitored with high sensitivity and selectivity.

Background: The composition of the bile acid (BA) pool is closely associated with obesity and is modified by gut microbiota. Perturbations of gut microbiota shape the BA composition, which, in turn, may alter important BA signaling and affect host metabolism., Methods: We investigated BA composition of high BMI subjects from a human cohort study and a high fat diet (HFD) obesity prone (HF-OP) / HFD obesity resistant (HF-OR) mice model. Gut microbiota was analysed by metagenomics sequencing. GLP-1 secretion and gene regulation studies involved ELISA, qPCR, Western blot, Immunohistochemistry, and Immunofluorescence staining., Findings: We found that the proportion of non-12-OH BAs was significantly decreased in the unhealthy high BMI subjects. The HF-OR mice had an enhanced level of non-12-OH BAs. Non-12-OH BAs including ursodeoxycholate (UDCA), chenodeoxycholate (CDCA), and lithocholate (LCA) were decreased in the HF-OP mice and associated with altered gut microbiota. Clostridium scindens was decreased in HF-OP mice and had a positive correlation with UDCA and LCA. Gavage of Clostridium scindens in mice increased the levels of hepatic non-12-OH BAs, accompanied by elevated serum 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (C4) levels. In HF-OP mice, altered BA composition was associated with significantly downregulated expression of GLP-1 in ileum and PGC1α, UCP1 in brown adipose tissue. In addition, we identified that UDCA attenuated the high fat diet-induced obesity via enhancing levels of non-12-OH BAs., Interpretation: Our study highlights that dysregulated BA signaling mediated by gut microbiota contributes to obesity susceptibility, suggesting modulation of BAs could be a promising strategy for obesity therapy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Y 2 O 3 nanoparticles (NPs) have become great promising products for numerous applications in nanoscience especially for biomedical application, therefore increasing the probability of human exposure and gaining wide attention in biosecurity. It is well known that rare earth (RE) materials are deposited in the bone and excreted very slowly. Nevertheless, the effect of Y 2 O 3 -based NPs on bone metabolism has not been exactly known yet. In the present study, the effects of Y 2 O 3 NPs on bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and bone metabolism in mice after intravenous injection were studied. The results demonstrated that Y 2 O 3 NPs could be taken up into BMSCs and localized in acidifying intracellular lysosomes and underwent dissolution and transformation from Y 2 O 3 to YPO 4 , which could lead to a break in the intracellular phosphate balance and induce lysosomal- and mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis pathways. Furthermore, after being administered to mice, a higher concentration of yttrium occurred in bone, which caused the apoptosis of bone cells and induced the destruction of bone structure. However, the formation of a YPO 4 coating on the surface of Y 2 O 3 NPs by pretreatment of Y 2 O 3 NPs in lysosome-simulated body fluid could observably decrease the toxicity in vivo and in vitro. This study may be useful for practical application of Y 2 O 3 NPs in the biomedical field.

A polymeric ionic liquid (PIL), with quaternary ammonium ions attached to the polymer matrix, displays CO 2 affinity controlled by moisture. This finding led to the development of moisture swing absorption (MSA) for direct air capture of CO 2 . This work aims to elucidate the role of water in MSA. For some humidity range, CO 2 absorption is an endothermic process associated with concurrent dehydration of the sorbent. The thermodynamic behavior of water indicates a decreased hydrophilicity of the PIL as the mobile anion transforms from CO 3 2- to HCO 3 - during CO 2 absorption. The decrease in hydrophilicity drives water out of the PIL, carrying heat away. The mechanism is elucidated by molecular modeling based on density functional theory. The finding of spontaneous cooling during absorption and its mechanism in the PIL opens new possibilities for designing an air capture sorbent with a strong CO 2 affinity but low absorption heat.

Europium-doped Gd 2 O 3 nanotubes (Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ NTs) have been extensively applied in the field of bioscience for their photostability and magnetic properties. Nevertheless, the distribution and interaction between Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ NTs and metabolism of bone are not yet sufficiently understood. In this study, a systematic study of the toxicity and distribution of Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ NTs in mice after oral administration was carried out. The results showed that a small number of the Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ NTs could pass through biological barriers into the lung, liver, and spleen, but a high concentration was observed in bone. Furthermore, the effects of Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ NTs on bone metabolism were systematically studied in vitro and in vivo when accumulating in bone. After being administered to mice, the Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ NTs extremely enhanced the bone mineral density and bone biomechanics. In vitro the Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ NTs increased the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineralization and promoted the expression of osteogenesis genes in preosteoblasts MC3T3-E1 through activation of the BMP signaling pathway. This study will be significant for appropriate application of Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ NTs in the biomedical field and expounding the molecular mechanism of bone metabolism.