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While there has been considerable success in the three-dimensional bioprinting of relatively large standalone filamentous tissues, the fabrication of solid fibers with ultrafine diameters or those cannular featuring ultrathin walls remains a particular challenge. Here, an enabling strategy for (bio)printing of solid and hollow fibers whose size ranges could be facilely adjusted across a broad spectrum, is reported, using an aqueous two-phase embedded (bio)printing approach combined with specially designed cross-linking and extrusion methods. The generation of standalone, alginate-free aqueous architectures using this aqueous two-phase strategy allowed freeform patterning of aqueous bioinks, such as those composed of gelatin methacryloyl, within the immiscible aqueous support bath of poly(ethylene oxide). Our (bio)printing strategy revealed the fabrication of standalone solid or cannular structures with diameters as small as approximately 3 or 40 μ m, respectively, and wall thicknesses of hollow conduits down to as thin as μ m. With cellular functions also demonstrated, we anticipate the methodology to serve as a platform that may satisfy the needs for the different types of potential biomedical and other applications in the future, especially those pertaining to cannular tissues of ultrasmall diameters and ultrathin walls used toward regenerative medicine and tissue model engineering.

Concurrent treatment of tumor recurrence and bone defects after surgical resection of osteosarcoma remains a clinical challenge. Combination therapy based on local drug delivery systems shows great promise in the...

Exosomes are membrane‐bound nanovesicles containing complex cargoes including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids (mRNAs and microRNAs), which can be derived from most cells. Increasing evidence has implicated exosomes as key players in intercellular and even interorganismal communications. Exosomes confer stability and can direct their cargoes to specific cell types for promoting cell growth and tissue regeneration. Exosome cargoes also appear to act in a combinatorial manner to communicate directives to other cells. This Review focuses on recent developments and findings of exosomes applied towards applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, including healing of the skin, cardiovascular, skeletal, nervous, and visceral systems. The underlying mechanisms of action of exosomes in tissue regeneration are also discussed. In addition, we highlight examples whereby exosomes have been integrated with hydrogels for biofabrication and other related biomedical utilities such as drug delivery.

Silicon-based integrated optoelectronics has become a hotspot in the field of computers and information processing systems. An integrated coherent light source on-chip with a small footprint and high efficiency is one of the most important unresolved devices. Here, we realize a silicon-based vertical cavity surface-emitting laser in the near-infrared communication band by making efforts in both controlled preparation of high-gain erbium silicate materials and novel design of high optical feedback microcavity. Single-crystal erbium/ytterbium silicate microplates with erbium concentration as high as 5 × 1021 cm−3 are controlled prepared by a chemical vapor deposition method. They can produce strong luminescence with quite a long lifetime (2.3 ms) at the wavelength of 1.5 μm. By embedding the erbium silicate microplates between two dielectric Bragg reflectors, we construct a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser at 1.5 μm, with a lasing threshold as low as 20 μJ/cm2 and Q factor of nearly 2000. Our study provides a new pathway to achieve a sub-micrometer coherent light source for optical communication.

Curcumin (CM) is a natural polyphenolic compound with multiple biomedical functions. However, clinical applications face more challenges due to its low dissolution rate and poor bioavailability. Mi...

Due to the poor mechanical properties of many hydrogel bioinks, conventional 3D extrusion bioprinting is usually conducted based on the X-Y plane, where the deposited layers are stacked in the Z-direction with or without the support of prior layers. Herein, a technique is reported, taking advantage of a cryoprotective bioink to enable direct extrusion bioprinting in the vertical direction in the presence of cells, using a freezing plate with precise temperature control. Of interest, vertical 3D cryo-bioprinting concurrently allows the user to create freestanding filamentous constructs containing interconnected, anisotropic microchannels featuring gradient sizes aligned in the vertical direction, also associated with enhanced mechanical performances. Skeletal myoblasts within the 3D-cryo-bioprinted hydrogel constructs show enhanced cell viability, spreading, and alignment, compared to the same cells in the standard hydrogel constructs. This method is further extended to a multimaterial format, finding potential applications in interface tissue engineering, such as creation of the muscle-tendon unit and the muscle-microvascular unit. The unique vertical 3D cryo-bioprinting technique presented here suggests improvements in robustness and versatility to engineer certain tissue types especially those anisotropic in nature, and may extend broad utilities in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, drug discovery, and personalized therapeutics.

The three-dimensional bioprinting technologies have attracted increasing attention due to their flexibility in producing architecturally relevant tissue constructs. Here, we present an enabling vertical embedded extrusion bioprinting strategy using uniaxial or coaxial nozzles, which allows formation of vertical structures of homogeneous or heterogeneous properties in nature. By adjusting the bioprinting parameters, the characteristics of the bioprinted vertical patterns could be precisely controlled. Using this strategy, we demonstrated two proof-of-concept applications in tissue biofabrication. Specifically, intestinal villi and hair follicles, two liner-shaped tissue types in the human body, were successfully generated with the vertical embedded bioprinting method, reconstructing some of their key structures as well as restoring partial functions in vitro. Caco-2 cells in the bioprinted intestinal villus constructs proliferated and aggregated properly, also showing functional biomarker expressions such as ZO-1 and villin. Moreover, preliminary hair follicle structures featuring keratinized human keratinocytes and spheroid-shaped human dermal papilla cells were formed after vertical bioprinting and culturing. In summary, this vertical embedded extrusion bioprinting technique harnessing a uniaxial or coaxial format will likely bring further improvements in the reconstruction of certain human tissues and organs, especially those with a linear structure in nature, potentially leading to wide utilities in tissue engineering, tissue model engineering, and drug discovery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Curcumin (CM) has multiple pharmacological activities including anti-fungal activity, but its clinical application is limited due to low solubility in aqueous media, poor bioavailability and extensive first pass metabolism. We aimed to resolve the limitation and enhance antifungal activity of CM using nanotechnology. Using silk fibroin (SF) as a carrier, we fabricated curcumin-silk fibroin nanoparticles (CM-SF NPs) by solution enhanced dispersion of supercritical CO₂ (SEDS) technique. The characterization of CM-SF NPs was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermo gravimetric apparatus (TGA). Following characterization of the NPs, we evaluated the antifungal activity of CM-SF NPs against Candida albicans in vitro and in vivo. A SF-based drug delivery system (CM-SF NPs, 85 ± 15 nm) was established by SEDS. Compared to original CM, water solubility of CM-SF NPs was improved, and its antifungal activity was enhanced. The natural compound-loaded SF nanoparticles may be a promising therapeutic candidate for fungal infection.

Natural medicines are widely utilized in human healthcare. Their beneficial effects have been attributed to the existence of natural active ingredients (NAI) with a positive impact on disease treatment and prevention. Public awareness about the side effects of synthetic chemical compounds increased the need for NAI as well. Clinical applications of NAI are limited by their instability and poor water solubility, while micronization is a major strategy to overcome these drawbacks. Supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) based nano techniques have drawn great attention in nanomedicinal area for many years, due to their unique characters such as fast mass transfer, near zero surface tension, effective solvents elimination, non-toxic, non-flammable, low cost and environmentally benign. In terms of functions of sc-CO2, many modified sc-CO2 based techniques are developed to produce NAI nanoparticles with high solubility, biological availability and stability. 5 types of promising methods, including gas-assisted melting atomization, CO2-assisted nebulization with a bubble dryer, supercritical fluidassisted atomization with a hydrodynamic cavitation mixer, supercritical CO2-based coating method and solution-enhanced dispersion by sc-CO2 process, are summarized in this article followed by a highlight of their fundamental synthesis principles and important medicinal applications.

We study the spatiotemporal solitary modes that propagate in a hollow twisted cylinder waveguide pipe with a self-focusing Kerr nonlinearity. Three generic solitary modes, one belonging to the zero-harmonic (0H) and the other two belonging to the first-harmonic (1H), are found in the first rotational Brillouin zone. The 0H solitary modes can be termed as a quasi-1D (one-dimensional) temporal soliton. Their characteristics depend only on the energy flow. The 1H solitary mode can be termed a quasi-2D (two-dimensional) bullet, whose width is much narrower than the angular domain of the waveguide. In contrast to the 0H mode, the characteristics of the 1H solitary mode depend on both their energy flow and the rotating speed of the waveguide. We demonstrate numerically that the 1H solitary modes are stable when their energy flow is smaller than the threshold norm of the \emph{Townes soliton}. The boundaries of the bistable area for these two types of solitary modes are predicted by the analyses via two-mode approximation. This prediction is in accordance with the numerical findings. We also demonstrate analytically that the 1H solitary mode of this system can be applied to emulate the nonlinear dynamics of solitary modes with 1D Rashba spin-orbit (SO) coupling by optics. Two degenerated states of the 1H solitary mode, semi-dipole and mixed mode, are found from this setting via the mechanism of SO coupling. Collisions between the pair of these two types of solitary modes are also discussed in the paper. The pair of the 0H solitary mode features only the elastic collision, whereas the pair of 1H solitary modes can feature both elastic and inelastic collision when the total energy flow of the two modes are smaller or close to the threshold norm of the \emph{Townes soliton}., Comment: 6 figures, 52 references

The present paper describes a novel multi-functional Calotropis gigantea (CG) fabric with durable antibacterial property and comfortable wearability for various applications. First, antibacterial microspheres (AMs) were prepared by self-assembly of silk fibroin (SF), chitosan (CS) and nano-silver microspheres (NSMs). Oxygen low-temperature plasma (OLTP) treatment was used to improve the adhesion between AMs and CG yarn. The AMs modified CG fabric has soft hand feeling, high moisture regain (10.37 ± 1.87%), good breathability, strong wrinkle resistance, and durable antibacterial properties. The antibacterial rate of the modified CG fabric against Escherichia coli (E. Coil) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. Aureus) is as high as 99.9 ± 0.1%, and it still has an antibacterial activity after washing 20 times (90.24 ± 0.65% and 80.25 ± 1.14%, respectively). The in vivo biocompatibility test showed clear signs of angiogenesis at the implantation site in the rats. Thus, this study offers the foundation for the development of functional CG fiber-based biomedical textiles.

Exosomes could serve as delivery platforms, owing to their good biocompatibility, stability, and long blood circulation time. Tracking the biological fate of exosomes in vivo is essential for evaluating their functions, delivery efficacy, and biosafety, and it is invaluable for guiding exosome-based therapy. Here, we merged a single-cell technique, mass cytometry, with in vivo uptake analysis to comprehensively reveal the fate of exosomes at the single-cell level. In tandem with multivariate cellular phenotyping, in vivo uptake of exosomes labeled with heavy metal-containing tags was quantified in a high-throughput manner. Interestingly, an organ-dependent uptake landscape of exosomes by diverse cell types was distinctly demonstrated, which implied that cancer cells seemed to preferably take up more released drugs from the exosomes. Using these cellular insights, the administration method of drug-loaded exosomes was optimized to elevate their accumulation in tumor sites and minimize their spread into healthy organs. Dual drug-loaded exosomes were locally administered and superior synergistic tumor treatment effects were achieved in a solid tumor model. The disclosure of exosome cellular distribution, together with the successful engineering of exosomes with multiple anticancer capacities, provides a new level of insight into optimizing and enhancing exosome-based drug delivery and synergistic tumor therapy.

To improve synergistic anticancer efficacy and minimize the adverse effects of chemotherapeutic drugs, temozolomide (TMZ) and curcumin (CUR) co-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) were prepared by microemulsion in this study. And the physicochemical properties, drug release behavior, intracellular uptake efficiency, in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects of TMZ/CUR-NLCs were evaluated. TMZ/CUR-NLCs showed enhanced inhibitory effects on glioma cells compared to single drug loaded NLCs, which may be owing to that the quickly released CUR can sensitize the cancer cells to TMZ. The inhibitory mechanism is a combination of S phase cell cycle arrest associated with induced apoptosis. Notably, TMZ/CUR-NLCs can accumulate at brain and tumor sites effectively and perform a significant synergistic anticancer effect in vivo. More importantly, the toxic effects of TMZ/CUR-NLCs on major organs and normal cells at the same therapeutic dosage were not observed. In conclusion, NLCs are promising nanocarriers for delivering dual chemotherapeutic drugs sequentially, showing potentials in the synergistic treatment of tumors while reducing adverse effects both in vitro and in vivo.

Nanometer-sized exosomes are being widely studied as cell-to-cell communicators and versatile drug vehicles. Characterizations of the biodistribution of these exosomes are essential for the evaluation of their biological functions and drug delivery efficacy. However, current technologies for exosome tracking rely on fluorescence and have the disadvantages of being low throughput due to the limited number of available channels and spectral spillover. Here, we reported the development of an engineering approach that involves loading of metal isotope-containing intercalators into exosomes to quantify exosome uptake at the single-cell level. We demonstrate that mass cytometry in conjunction with highly multivariate cellular phenotyping enables high-throughput identification of the in vivo fate of exosomes. Inspired by these insights into cellular distribution, we optimized the administration methods for exosome-based drug delivery, verifying the anticancer efficacy of these exosomes in a mouse model of breast cancer. The evaluation of exosome's fate in vivo at the single-cell level provides valuable insights into the functions of exosomes in vivo and facilitates the improvement of exosome-based therapy.

Microneedles (MNs) as a minimally invasive tool have drawn increasing attention recently. They possess many prominent advantages, including pain-free, self-administration, and ease-of-disposal, when compared to the traditional administration tools. This review summarizes the latest developments of the MN technology and focuses on the advanced applications in stimuli-responsive drug delivery, disease theranostics, and bioinspired functions. Starting from a brief overview of different types of MNs based on their structures and materials, we then detail the fabrication strategies, including hot embossing, micro-molding, thermal-drawing lithography, magnetorheological lithography, laser-drilling, and the emerging 3D printing techniques. Later, the recent biomedical applications of these MNs are highlighted, including stimuli-responsive drug release for disease therapy, biosensing for disease diagnosis, and bioinspired applications.

Poor solubility limits anticancer efficiency of Artemisinin (ART). Here, two types of micronized ART products were produced in one system, using supercritical CO2. ART microfibers (0.590 µm ± 0.160 µm) were obtained at a pressure of 25 MPa, temperature of 55 °C, and concentration of 4 mg/mL. ART microparticles (0.890 µm ± 0.610 µm) were obtained at a pressure of 20 MPa, temperature of 55 °C, and decompression time of 60 min. Importantly, the viabilities of U87 cells were 39.8% ± 2.33% and 35.3% ± 11.8%, respectively; while the viabilities of 4T1 cells were 46.2% ± 4.41% and 30.2% ± 3.74%, respectively, when treated with ART microfibers and microparticles, which could be explained by cell cycle arrest in the S phase associated with apoptotic cell induction. In conclusion, supercritical-derived ART microproducts showed improved anticancer effects.

In order to improve the stability, utilization ratio and anti-tumor effect of curcumin drug, a set of curcumin-loaded nanofiber membranes with drug releasing property were fabricated using silk fibroin and polyethylene glycol. Various curcumin-loaded silk fibroin nanofiber membranes with different components and drug loading percentages were prepared using electrospinning technology. The morphology structure, mechanical properties, secondary structure, drug release property in vitro, and their interaction effects of the curcumin-loaded silk fibroin nanofiber membranes were examined. The result of in-vitro drug release experiment showed that the curcumin can be released stably up to 350 hours, the drug releasing speed increased with the decrease of the diameter of the fibers. The stability and utilization ratio of curcumin was improved after loading with curcumin-loaded silk fibroin nanofiber membranes. In conclusion, it can be used as a control drug release system alternately in the future.

This paper describes a silk fibroin-based nanofibrous membranes loaded with antitumor drugs curcumin and 5-fluorouracil using electrospinning technique. The concentration of curcumin/5-fluorouracil in the silk fibroin solution for electrospinning was optimized to be 0.15/0.25, 0.3/0.5, and 0.45/0.75 wt%. The morphology, hydrophilic property, pore size, secondary structure, and antitumor drugs release of nanofibrous membranes were measured. The diameter of nanofibrous membranes ranged about 100–200 nm. The results indicated that electrospinning process did not influence the secondary structure and the drug content of antitumor drugs, and dual drugs encapsulated in the silk fibroin nanofibrous membranes were released in a steady and consistent process. In conclusion, the silk fibroin-based drug-loaded membranes can be useful as biomaterials with antitumor function.

As a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reporter gene, MagA has become a powerful tool to monitor dynamic gene expression and allowed concomitant high resolution anatomical and functional imaging of subcellular genetic information. Here we establish a stably expressed MagA method for lung cancer MRI. The results show that MagA can not only enhance both in vitro and in vivo MRI contrast by specifically alternating the transverse relaxation rate of water, but also inhibit the malignant growth of lung tumor. In addition, MagA can regulate magnetic nanoparticle production in grafted tissues and also suppress transferrin receptor expression by acting as an iron transporter, and meanwhile can permit iron biomineralization in the presence of mammalian iron homeostasis. This work provides experimental evidence for the safe preclinical applications of MagA as both a potential inhibitor and an MRI-based tracing tool for iron ion-dependent lung cancer.

Curcumin (CM) has multiple pharmacological activities including anti-fungal activity, but its clinical application is limited due to low solubility in aqueous media, poor bioavailability and extensive first pass metabolism. We aimed to resolve the limitation and enhance antifungal activity of CM using nanotechnology. Using silk fibroin (SF) as a carrier, we fabricated curcumin-silk fibroin nanoparticles (CM-SF NPs) by solution enhanced dispersion of supercritical CO₂ (SEDS) technique. The characterization of CM-SF NPs was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermo gravimetric apparatus (TGA). Following characterization of the NPs, we evaluated the antifungal activity of CM-SF NPs against Candida albicans

The epoxidized styrene–butadiene–styrene nanofibers, which were prepared by epoxidation of the styrene–butadiene–styrene in toluene with peroxyformic acid generated in situ, were successfully embedded with nanometer titania dioxide by electrospinning. The optimum blended electrospinning parameters on preparing the nanometer titania dioxide/epoxidized styrene–butadiene–styrene fibers were obtained. The morphology and antiultraviolet property of nanometer titania dioxide/epoxidized styrene–butadiene–styrene composite fiber were examined using scanning electron microscope and an antiultraviolet transmission tester according to American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC183-2004) standard. The scanning electron microscope results showed that nanometer titania dioxide and the epoxy group could lead to the cementation of electrospinning fibers. The ultraviolet protection factor of rutile nanometer titania dioxide/epoxidized styrene–butadiene–styrene fiber membrane is the largest one of the four fiber membranes. The epoxidized styrene–butadiene–styrene nanofibers embedded with nanometer titania dioxide have great potential in the applications of antiultraviolet textiles.

A silk fibroin (SF)-derived nanofibrous drug delivery system was fabricated by solution-enhanced dispersion via supercritical CO 2 (SEDS) (20 MPa pressure, 8 mL/min flow rate, 35 °C temperature) in this study. Curcumin (CM) was used as a water-insoluble drug model. Nanofibrous structure with controllable fiber diameter (

Maobin Xie,1,2,* Dejun Fan,3,* Yi Li,4 Xiaowen He,3 Xiaoming Chen,1,2 Yufeng Chen,3 Jixiang Zhu,1,2 Guibin Xu,5 Xiaojian Wu,3 Ping Lan3 1School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China; 2Key Laboratory of Oral Medicine, Guangzhou Institute of Oral Disease, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China;3Department of Colorectal Surgery, Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; 4School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; 5Department of Urology, Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: To deliver insoluble natural compounds into colon cancer cells in a controlled fashion.Materials and methods: Curcumin (CM)–silk fibroin (SF) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by solution-enhanced dispersion by supercritical CO2 (SEDS) (20 MPa pressure, 1:2 CM:SF ratio, 1% concentration), and their physicochemical properties, intracellular uptake efficiency, in vitro anticancer effect, toxicity, and mechanisms were evaluated and analyzed.Results: CM-SF NPs (

A silk fibroin-based drug delivery system was fabricated in supercritical CO2 (20 MPa pressure, 1:2 curcumin:silk fibroin ratio, 1% final concentration) to improve the solubility of curcumin. The effects of various parameters, including pressure, curcumin:silk fibroin ratio, and final concentration, on particle size, size distribution, drug loading, and encapsulation efficiency, were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the particles had spherical shapes with controllable particle size

Zheng Zhao,1,3 Maobin Xie,2 Yi Li,2 Aizheng Chen,4 Gang Li,5 Jing Zhang,2 Huawen Hu,2 Xinyu Wang,1,3 Shipu Li1,31State Key Lab of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 2Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong; 3Biomedical Materials and Engineering Research Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 4College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, People’s Republic of China; 5National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaAbstract: In order to enhance the bioavailability of poorlywater-soluble curcumin, solution-enhanced dispersion by supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) (SEDS) was employed to prepare curcumin nanoparticles for the first time. A 24 full factorial experiment was designed to determine optimalprocessingparameters and their influenceon the size of the curcumin nanoparticles. Particle size was demonstrated to increase with increased temperature or flow rate of the solution, or with decreased precipitation pressure, under processing conditions with different parameters considered. The single effect of the concentration of the solution on particle size was not significant. Curcumin nanoparticles with a spherical shape and the smallest mean particle size of 325nm were obtained when the following optimal processing conditions were adopted: P =20MPa, T =35°C, flow rate of solution =0.5mL.min-1, concentration of solution =0.5%. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy measurement revealed that the chemical composition of curcumin basically remained unchanged. Nevertheless, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and thermal analysis indicated that the crystalline state of the original curcumin decreased after the SEDS process. The solubility and dissolution rate of the curcumin nanoparticles were found to be higher than that of the original curcumin powder (approximately 1.4 µg/mL vs 0.2 µg/mL in 180minutes). This study revealed that supercritical CO2 technologies had a great potential in fabricating nanoparticles and improving the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs.Keywords: curcumin, crystalline sate, dissolution rate, solubility

Silk fibroin (SF) is a protein-based biomacromolecule with excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability and low immunogenicity. The development of SF-based nanoparticles for drug delivery have received considerable attention due to high binding capacity for various drugs, controlled drug release properties and mild preparation conditions. By adjusting the particle size, the chemical structure and properties, the modified or recombinant SF-based nanoparticles can be designed to improve the therapeutic efficiency of drugs encapsulated into these nanoparticles. Therefore, they can be used to deliver small molecule drugs (e.g., anti-cancer drugs), protein and growth factor drugs, gene drugs, etc. This paper reviews recent progress on SF-based nanoparticles, including chemical structure, properties, and preparation methods. In addition, the applications of SF-based nanoparticles as carriers for therapeutic drugs are also reviewed.

Silk fibroin (SF) modified poly( l -lactide)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly( l -lactide) (SF/PLLA–PEG–PLLA) nanoparticles were successfully fabricated in a process of solution-enhanced dispersion by supercritical CO 2 (SEDS). The SF/PLLA–PEG–PLLA nanoparticles exhibited a composite structure with mean particle size of 634 nm and silk fibroin wrapped with PLLA–PEG–PLLA triblock polymer. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurement indicated that minor secondary structural changes of silk fibroin occurred after the SEDS process. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) analysis supported the results of FTIR measurement and also revealed that the SEDS process resulted in a notable decrease in crystallinity of the PLLA–PEG–PLLA. In vitro cytotoxicity evaluation by MTS assay indicated that SF/PLLA–PEG–PLLA nanoparticles exhibited better biocompatibility than PLLA–PEG–PLLA nanoparticles. Fluorescence microscopy observation and flow cytometric analysis suggested that SF/PLLA–PEG–PLLA nanoparticles could be internalized into fibroblasts in a time-dependent manner and also possessed faster cell adhesion and internalization ability than PLLA–PEG–PLLA nanoparticles. In conclusion, SF/PLLA–PEG–PLLA nanoparticles prepared by the SEDS process could be used as potential biomaterials in the biomedical field, especially nanoparticle drug delivery systems.

As a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reporter gene, MagA has become a powerful tool to monitor dynamic gene expression and allowed concomitant high resolution anatomical and functional imaging of subcellular genetic information. Here we establish a stably expressed MagA method for lung cancer MRI. The results show that MagA can not only enhance both in vitro and in vivo MRI contrast by specifically alternating the transverse relaxation rate of water, but also inhibit the malignant growth of lung tumor. In addition, MagA can regulate magnetic nanoparticle production in grafted tissues and also suppress transferrin receptor expression by acting as an iron transporter, and meanwhile can permit iron biomineralization in the presence of mammalian iron homeostasis. This work provides experimental evidence for the safe preclinical applications of MagA as both a potential inhibitor and an MRI-based tracing tool for iron ion-dependent lung cancer.

A novel magnetic targeting anti-tumor drug delivery system was constructed with bacterial magnetosomes (BMs) from Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1, which have natural magnetic iron oxide and enveloped by natural lipid bi-membrane. Methotrexate (MTX) was loaded on the BMs membrane using genipin (GP). The average particle size was 44.4±1.5 nm and this system showed high drug loading (43.3–49.6%), high encapsulation efficiency (76.5–98%), and long-term release behaviors (over two months) without initial burst release to low molecule drug MTX. The method was simple but very efficient, and the results indicated that the new carrier exhibited a great potential for application in drug delivery with excellent performances for long-term release.

Antimicrobial peptides, produced by innate immune system of hosts in response to invading pathogens, are capable of fighting against a spectrum of bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and cancer cells. Here, a recombinant silkworm AMP Bmattacin2 from heterologous expression is studied, indicating a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity and showing selective killing ability towards skin and colon cancer cells over their normal cell counterparts. For the purpose of biomedical application, the electrospinning fabrication technique is employed to load Bmattacin2 into PLLA nanofibrous membrane. In addition to a good compatibility with the normal cells, Bmattacin2 loaded nanofibrous membranes demonstrate instant antibacterial effects and sustained anticancer effects. The cancer cell and bacteria targeting dynamics of recombinant Bmattacin2 are investigated. With these characteristics, PLLA/Bmattacin2 composite membranes have a great potential for developing novel biomedical applications such as cancer therapies and wound healing treatments.

The development of more effective cancer therapeutic strategies are still critically required. The maximization of the therapeutic effect in combination with avoiding the severe side effects on normal tissues when using chemotherapy drugs is still an urgent problem that requires improvements urgently. Here we provide implantable and controllable drug-release that utilises silk fibroin (SF) as a nanofibrous drug delivery system (DDS) for cancer treatment. A nanofibrous structure with controllable fibre diameter (5 μg/mL. The mechanism could be explained by the cell cycle being held in the S phase. The toxic effect on normal cells (NCM460) was minimized by using a treatment concentration range (5–20 μg/mL). Implantation of this DDS into the tumour site inhibited the growth of solid tumour; this offers an alternative approach for novel cancer therapy.

By introducing the attractive dipole–dipole interaction, we provide a proposal to buffer the matter-wave soliton in a one-dimensional discrete lattice, which is divided into three parts with different local potentials produced by the external field modulation. Our study shows that, for sufficiently small initial phase tilt of the matter wave and deep enough potential well, the soliton will be trapped in the lattice. Otherwise, the soliton will propagate through the lattice. It appears that under certain conditions such a condensate system acts as a buffer, which can be used to temporarily store the matter wave. Meanwhile, in this buffer, the matter-wave soliton performs an unidirectional propagation, which makes it serve as a matter wave diode. The norm distribution in the lattice with respect to the initial phase tilt of the input wave is discussed, and it suggests there exists a critical phase tilt, below which the soliton will be trapped in the lattice.

Curcumin (CM) possesses multiple biological activities. However, poor water solubility and low bioavailability limit its application in biomedical fields. CM nanoparticles (NPs) (230-240nm) were prepared by solution-enhanced dispersion via supercritical CO2 (SEDS) (22-22.5MPa pressure, 31-32.5°C temperature) and its biological functions were evaluated in this study. The Minimum inhibitory concentration of CM NPs against S. aureus (∼250μg/mL) was lower than CM-DMSO (∼500μg/mL). Meanwhile, CM NPs showed effective anti-oxidant ability at a concentration raging from 125 to 2000μg/mL. CM NPs showed time-dependent intracellular internalization ability, resulting in an enhanced anti-cancer effect on colorectal cancer cells (HCT116), and the mechanism could be explained by cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase associated with inducing apoptotic cells. Moreover, CM NPs exhibited reduced cytotoxicity on normal cells (NCM460) compared to CM-DMSO and 5-Fu. In conclusion, CM NPs prepared via SEDS showed potentials in biomedical applications.