Themed collection 2020 Journal of Materials Chemistry B most popular articles

The strategies and obstacles for overcoming the barriers in the tumor microenvironment are presented.

We review the range of biomolecules used across dental biomaterials to spur the design and implementation of bioinspired multifunctional materials.

Near infrared (NIR)-excitable and NIR-emitting probes have fuelled advances in biomedical applications owing to their power in enabling deep tissue imaging, offering high image contrast and reducing phototoxicity.

Schematic diagram of the antibacterial mechanism of metal nanoparticles.

This review summarises recent advances in stretchable and tough conductive hydrogel sensors for wearable and implantable devices.

Stimuli-responsive hydrogel strain sensors that synergize the advantages of both hydrogel and smart functional materials have attracted increasing interest from material design to emerging applications in health monitors and human–machine interfaces.

This review highlights the recent advancements of new materials and 3D printing techniques developed to address the unfulfilled needs of the conventional 3D printing methodologies in biomedical applications.

The research advances of the preparation, biocompatibility and biodegradation of 2D nanomaterials are introduced. The prospects and challenges of the biomedical applications of 2D nanomaterials are summarized.

In parallel with the rapidly growing and widespread use of nanomedicine in the clinic, we are also witnessing the development of so-called theranostic agents that combine diagnostic and therapeutic properties.

This review is a comprehensive overview and analysis of the most important advances in the field of substituted hydroxyapatite coatings.

Routes of dendrimer synthesis and the stages of possible applicability of dendrimer nanoparticles in the case of colorectal cancer.

Self-assembling short peptides have widespread applications in energy materials, tissue engineering, sensing and drug delivery. In this review we discuss the effect of functional N-terminal capping groups on peptide structure and function.

Thermoresponsive surfaces are used for the fabrication of cell sheets for tissue engineering purposes. Basic processes, necessary for understanding, are described and thermoresponsive polymers and their application in the biomedical field presented.

A gallol-functionalized polymer showed strong adhesion ability underwater. The effect of molecular weight and gallol content have been optimized resulting in the underwater adhesion strength as high as 4 MPa.

A glucose sensor based on a conductive Ni-MOF as an electrocatalyst exhibits a fast response time, low detection limit, and high sensitivity, and it can also be applied for the detection of glucose in blood serum samples.

A high-mechanical, ionic conductive and anti-freezing multi-crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel was assembled as a multi-model, large range and wearable sensor.

Nanoparticle-based phototherapy has evolved to include immunotherapy as an effective treatment combination for cancers through inducing anti-cancer immune activation leading to downstream adaptive responses and immune protection.

A skin-matched soft strain/pressure sensor fabricated by fully physically crosslinked conductive PDA–rGO/PVA hydrogel is reported for sensitive healthcare monitoring and human-machine interaction.

A benzothiazolium-based fluorescent pH probe HTBT2 with an ideal pK_a of 8.04 ± 0.02 for imaging mitochondrial pH in living cells.

Nanoparticles can internalize into cancer cells through CD44 and P-selectin ligand recognition, leading to significant enhancement of anti-prostate tumor activity.

Silk fibroin films were modified with zwitterionic and hydrophilic brush-like polymers via surface-initiated ATRP, resulting in surfaces that reduced protein adsorption and cell attachment.

A facile approach for the highly luminescent and biocompatible CsPbBr₃@SiO₂ core–shell PNCs was developed. The dual biological roles of these PNCs are demonstrated, offering new directions to the stable PNCs for a variety of biomedical applications.

A MOF based breath sensor with an excellent response time is reported for the first time for sleep apnea diagnosis.

A series of novel nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) reinforced gradient intelligent hydrogels with high response rate, multiple response patterns and diversified self-driven functions were successfully prepared.

A 2D Fe-BTC nanosheet was prepared via a cation exchange route. Its peroxidase-like activity is 2.2 times that of 3D MIL-100(Fe) due to highly accessible surface active sites. This is helpful for substrate contact with the catalyst during the catalytic reaction.

A mussel-inspired catechol-based strategy has been widely used in the development of underwater adhesives.

A fluorophore–protein complex for the visualization of mitochondria and the mouse intestine was developed. The complex formation of a naphthalene-based dipolar dye and serum albumin was identified and its imaging applications were investigated.

A cerium-based metal–organic framework (Ce-MOF, denoted as AU-1) was synthesized using a solvothermal method by employing 4,4′,4′′-nitrilotribenzoic acid (H₃NTB) as the linker and cerium clusters as the metal center.

¹⁴N–¹H HMQC experiments are powerful experiments to characterize amorphous drug–polymer formulations of paclitaxel yielding well-separated signals in the ¹⁴N dimension as well as information on the symmetry of ¹⁴N and ¹⁴N–¹H interactions.

Phosphate-responsive peroxidase-mimicking two-dimensional-metal–organic-framework nanozymes were employed to develop alkaline phosphatase assays with tunable dynamic ranges and colorimetric logic gates.

Hydrolytically stable, phototunable hybrid-hydrogels containing clickable decellularized extracellular matrix enable spatiotemporal control over fibroblast activation.

Bioprinting is an emerging powerful fabrication method, which enables the rapid assembly of 3D bioconstructs with dispensing cell-laden bioinks in pre-designed locations.

As traditional cancer treatment methods, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) can eliminate primary tumors, but they cannot inhibit extensive tumor metastasis and local recurrence.

A highly efficient photodynamic therapy of cancer cell ablation and bacterial inactivation by two AIEgens was reported.

Drug localisation is one of the main challenges in treating cartilage; poly-beta-amino-esters (PBAEs) drug conjugates are a possible solution; their efficacy depends on the polymer structure hence the full potential of this system is still unknown.

A library of cationic polyacrylamide homopolymers was synthesized and their gene delivery, endosomal release, and interaction with endosome-specific lipids were investigated. The guanidinium-containing polymers were most efficient.

A bioinspired hydrogen bond crosslink strategy enabled the physical hydrogels to possess exceptional mechanical properties, good self-recoverability, versatile adhesiveness, biocompatibility and antibacterial properties.

Balance of glycol chitosan content and crosslink density modulates injectable gel swelling, strength and the release of an antimicrobial peptide.

We developed hyaluronic acid (HA):poly-L-lysine (PLL) layer-by-layer (LbL) constructs whose viscoelastic properties and bioactivity can be finely tuned by using polyanions of different molecular weight and/or crosslinking.

Composite material enabling the delivery of synergistic combination of doxorubicin and gemcitabine against breast cancer with molar and kinetic precision.

A stretchable gold fiber-based wearable electrochemical pH two-electrodes sensing system for human health monitoring.

Functionalized tungsten disulfide nanotubes were evaluated as an enzyme support for electrochemical biosensors.

A novel RNA-triple-helix hydrogel for treatment of triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) by incorporating RNA-triple-helix and siRNA duplexes of CXCR4 into the same RNA nanoparticles was developed, without the synthetic polycationic reagents.

Carbon-based nanomaterials (CNMs) have attracted great attention in biomedical applications such as cancer imaging and therapy.

In this work, a new nanocomposite (Ag@S-GQDs) have been synthesized using one-step facile synthesis process and their antibacterial as well as cytotoxicity properties were investigated systematically.

Core–shell tecto dendrimers formed via supramolecular assembly enable co-delivery of microRNA 21 inhibitor and doxorubicin for enhanced anticancer therapy applications.

A mitochondria-targeting and in situ-activatable near-infrared fluorescent probe has been developed for imaging sulfur dioxide derivatives and their fluctuations in vivo.

Two ratiometric near-infrared fluorescent probes (A and B) have been developed to selectively and accurately detect mitochondrial pH changes based on highly efficient through-bond energy transfer (TBET) from cyanine donors to near-infrared-emissive hemicyanine acceptors.

B₂O₃ doped (0.5–15 mol%) ordered mesoporous bioactive glasses were synthesized via sol–gel based evaporation-induced self-assembly using P123 as a structure directing agent and characterized by biokinetic, mechanical and structural investigations.

We have prepared an antifouling and self-healable PDMS based hydrogel which consists of a mixture of curcumin loaded zwitterionic PDMS polymersomes and amine functionalized PDMS polymersomes prepared via RAFT polymerization and Schiff-base reaction.