Journals
2025 EN
Quemeneur Fanny · Igonin Annabel · Herry Catherine
+1 more
Abstract Innovations in chewable dosage forms provide solutions for swallowing difficulties faced by certain patient populations. Chewable softgel capsules (SGC) offer opportunities to expand the benefits of SGC, excelling in the delivery of lipid‐based formulations by optimizing the mechanical properties of the shell material without compromising industrial‐scale manufacturing. This study employs an original approach, with a target product profile that aims to combine processability and chewability, to develop optimized chewable dosage forms. Through a mixture design of experiments, key factors such as plasticizer content and the addition of acid‐modified thin‐boiling corn starch are explored, focusing on response parameters critical to achieving the desired properties of the capsule shell material. Optimal shell compositions—one starch‐free and another containing 9% w/w starch, with respective gelatin/non‐volatile plasticizer ratios of 0.81 and 0.67 are determined and evaluated by manufacturing chewable SGC at pilot scale using rotary die technology. The successful manufacturing and resulting capsules, which exhibit the intended properties, highlight the efficiency of this approach in striking the right balance between processability, soft texture, and quick disintegration time.
Journals
2025 EN
Magalhães Evellyn Santos · Nasser Khaldoon · Ramachandran Arjun Vakkada
+7 more
Abstract Expanding the excitation range of persistent luminescent (PeL) materials into the near infrared (NIR) region is critical to enable remote, flexible, and compact advanced optical systems. In this study, the fabrication of the first composite fiber based on SrAl 2 O 4 :Eu 2+ , Dy 3+ phosphors embedded in Yb 3+ /Tm 3+ co‐doped tellurite glass is reported. The fiber is drawn from a translucent, crack‐free composite preform prepared with 0.5 wt.% PeL phosphors. Light propagation in the fiber is demonstrated despite the presence of the PeL phosphors. Long‐lasting green emission from the preform and fiber is driven by 980 nm and suggests the survival of the PeL phosphors during the preform preparation and fiber drawing processes. The presence of the PeL phosphors in the glass matrix is confirmed using SEM/EDS composition analysis. This work offers a practical and scalable approach for integrating NIR‐excitable PeL materials into fiber‐based platforms, opening new opportunities for their application in advanced photonic technologies.
Journals
2025 EN
Langpoklakpam Catherine · Rana Siddharth · Hsieh ChiHsiang
+5 more
The rapid advancement in optoelectronic devices has sparked intense interest in wide‐bandgap semiconductors for UV and X‐ray detection. While Ga 2 O 3 has emerged as a promising material for photodetection, a quantitative understanding of the relationships between material properties, device structures, and detection performance remains challenging. This analysis reveals that among different types of UV photodetectors, phototransistors and avalanche devices can achieve superior responsivity (up to 10 7 A W −1 ) and detectivity (up to 10 18 Jones), while for X‐ray detection, structures based on Ga 2 O 3 ‐derived materials demonstrate the highest sensitivity (up to 10 9 μC Gy air −1 cm −2 ). Insights into their gain mechanisms and performance characteristics for various X‐ray detectors, especially with heterojunction and cold cathode designs are provided. In summary, this systematic comparison of growth conditions, device structures, and detection capabilities provides a valuable reference for future developments in Ga 2 O 3 ‐based UV and X‐ray detection systems.
Journals
2025 EN
Strand Elliot J. · Gopalakrishnan Anupam · Crichton Catherine A.
+9 more
Abstract Printable and wearable plant sensors offer an approach for collecting critical environmental data at high spatial resolution to understand plant conditions and aid land management practices. Here, screen printed capacitive devices that can measure relative humidity (RH) directly at the plant‐environment interface, are demonstrated in an ultra‐thin (<6 µm) form factor. Using screen printing and a temporary tattoo transfer process, a simple technique is established to: 1) enclose printed electronic features between two layers of ethyl cellulose (EtC), 2) mount printed microparticle carbon‐based electronics onto a variety of plant structures, and 3) dramatically increase the capacitance and sensitivity for humidity sensors when compared to unencapsulated devices. This sandwich tattoo capacitor (STC) platform exhibits an RH sensitivity up to 1000 pF/%RH and stability while mounted to living plant leaves over several days. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) validates the formation of electric double layers within the EtC films that encapsulate the printed electrodes providing tunable capacitance values based on the ionic concentration of the device transfer fluid.
Journals
2025 EN
Verma Amit · Pandey Vikas · Sherry Catherine
+7 more
Abstract Trastuzumab (TZM) is a monoclonal antibody that targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and is clinically used for the treatment of HER2‐positive breast tumors. However, the tumor microenvironment can limit the access of TZM to the HER2 targets across the whole tumor and thereby compromising TZM's therapeutic efficacy. An imaging methodology that can non‐invasively quantify the binding of TZM‐HER2, which is required for therapeutic action, and distribution within tumors with varying tumor microenvironments is much needed. Near‐infrared (NIR) fluorescence lifetime (FLI) Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is performed to measure TZM‐HER2 binding, using in vitro microscopy and in vivo widefield macroscopy, in HER2 overexpressing breast and ovarian cancer cells and tumor xenografts, respectively. Immunohistochemistry is used to validate in vivo imaging results. NIR FLI FRET in vitro microscopy data show variations in intracellular distribution of bound TZM in HER2‐positive breast AU565 and AU565 tumor‐passaged XTM cell lines in comparison to SKOV‐3 ovarian cancer cells. Macroscopy FLI (MFLI) FRET in vivo imaging data show that SKOV‐3 tumors display reduced TZM binding compared to AU565 and XTM tumors, as validated by ex vivo immunohistochemistry. Moreover, AU565/XTM and SKOV‐3 tumor xenografts display different amounts and distributions of TME components, such as collagen and vascularity. Therefore, these results suggest that SKOV‐3 tumors are refractory to TZM delivery due to their disrupted vasculature and increased collagen content. The study demonstrates that FLI is a powerful analytical tool to monitor the delivery of antibodydrugs both in cell cultures and in vivo live systems. Especially, MFLI FRET is a unique imaging modality that can directly quantify target engagement with the potential to elucidate the role of the TME in drug delivery efficacy in intact live tumor xenografts.
Journals
2025 EN
Leclech Claire · Cardillo Giulia · Roellinger Bettina
+5 more
Abstract Navigating complex extracellular environments requires extensive deformation of cells and their nuclei. Most in vitro systems used to study nuclear deformations impose whole‐cell confinement that mimics the physical crowding experienced by cells during 3D migration through tissues. Such systems, however, do not reproduce the types of nuclear deformations expected to occur in cells that line tissues such as endothelial or epithelial cells whose physical confinement stems principally from the topography of their underlying basement membrane. Here, it is shown that endothelial cells and myoblasts cultured on microgroove substrates that mimic the anisotropic topography of the basement membrane exhibit large‐scale 3D nuclear deformations, with partial to complete nuclear penetration into the microgrooves. These deformations do not lead to significant DNA damage and are dynamic with nuclei cyclically entering and exiting the microgrooves. Atomic force microscopy measurements show that these deformation cycles are accompanied by transient changes in perinuclear stiffness. Interestingly, nuclear penetration into the grooves is driven principally by cell‐substrate adhesion stresses, with a limited need for cytoskeleton‐associated forces. Finally, it is demonstrated that myoblasts from laminopathy patients exhibit abnormal nuclear deformations on microgrooves, raising the possibility of using microgroove substrates as a novel functional diagnostic platform for pathologies that involve abnormal nuclear mechanics.
Journals
2025 EN
He Qiao · Hadmojo Wisnu Tantyo · Hu Xiantao
+16 more
Abstract Most current highly efficient organic solar cells utilize small molecules like Y6 and its derivatives as electron acceptors in the photoactive layer. In this work, a small molecule acceptor, SC8‐IT4F, is developed through outer side chain engineering on the terminal thiophene of a conjugated 6,12‐dihydro‐dithienoindeno[2,3‐d:2′,3′‐d′]‐s‐indaceno[1,2‐b:5,6‐b′]dithiophene (IDTT) central core. Compared to the reference molecule C8‐IT4F, which lacks outer side chains, SC8‐IT4F displays notable differences in molecule geometry (as shown by simulations), thermal behavior, single‐crystal packing, and film morphology. Blend films of SC8‐IT4F and the polymer donor PM6 exhibit larger carrier mobilities, longer carrier lifetimes, and reduced recombination compared to C8‐IT4F, resulting in improved device performance. Binary photovoltaic devices based on the PM6:SC8‐IT4F films reveal an optimal efficiency over 15%, which is one of the best values for non‐Y type small molecule acceptors (SMAs). The resultant devices also show better thermal and operational stability than the control PM6:L8‐BO devices. SC8‐IT4F and its blend exhibit a higher relative degree of crystallinity and π coherence length, compared to C8‐IT4F samples, beneficial for charge transport and device performance. The results indicate that outer side chain engineering on existing small electron acceptors can be a promising molecular design strategy for further pursuing high‐performance organic solar cells.
Journals
2025 EN
Coviello Vito · Reffatto Catherine · Fawaz Mehdi W.
+6 more
Abstract Laser ablation in liquid (LAL) is a reference technique for the synthesis of multicomponent non‐equilibrium nanomaterials which have potentially disruptive properties in photonics, nanomedicine, and catalysis. Yet, ablation dynamics is poorly understood regarding the multielement matter and, therefore, the remarkable potential of LAL for controlling the local atomic structure of metastable nanophases remains largely unexploited. Here, the dynamics of LAL are investigated with non‐equilibrium gold‐iron nanoalloys generated in the presence of gas‐evolving additives, which drive the formation of different nanostructures. With analytical electron microscopy, the structure in the different conditions is properly identified through complete segregation into oxide‐metal heterostructures, precipitation of nanoclusters within the nanoalloys, or ordered solid solutions. To elucidate the unforeseen effects of the solutes on the atomic structure of nanoalloys, the early and full dynamics of LAL is investigated with time‐resolved experiments, leading to the pivotal evidence that alloying of metastable compounds with different chemical reactivity is favored by decreasing the pressure of the shockwave front. The resulting picture indicates LAL with gas‐evolving additives as a strategy for molding the atomic structure of non‐equilibrium nanoalloys, opening the way to the development of a library of advanced nanomaterials otherwise inaccessible.
Journals
2025 EN
Ma Keke · Wang Jie · Jiang Min
+12 more
Abstract T cell receptor (TCR) based immunotherapy is an attractive strategy to target a wide range of intra‐tumoral antigens and elicit robust tumor cytotoxicity. However, engineering soluble TCR engagers that preserve physiological affinity is crucial for universal TCR drug development, yet remains challenging. In the present study, multiple TCR engagers featuring diverse architectures based on the KRAS‐G12V specific 1–2C TCR in the context of HLA‐A*11:01 is designed and evaluated. Notably, a soluble tandem double single‐chain TCR (STanD‐scTCR) engager, comprising two repeated single‐chain variable fragment (scFv) TCRs, exhibit enhanced binding avidity and potent T‐cell activation. Through site‐directed mutagenesis, T96F mutation (T96F‐TCR) within the TCR β chain is identified, which substantially augment T cell reactivity while maintaining physiological affinity and minimizing off‐target cross‐reactivity. The T96F‐mutated STanD‐scTCR engager demonstrates improved antigen sensitivity, promotes multi‐functional T‐cell responses, and facilitates immune synapse formation between T cells and target cells. In a xenograft tumor model harboring the KRAS‐G12V mutation, the TCR engager displays substantial tumor suppression efficacy. These findings underscore the therapeutic potential of 1–2C STanD‐scTCR engage in targeting KRAS‐G12V mutations in the context of HLA‐A*11:01. Furthermore, the engineering strategies employ in the development of STanD‐scTCR engager provide an invaluable for future designs of TCR engager drugs.
Journals
2025 EN
Fouesnard Mélanie · Salin Adélie · Ribes Sandy
+11 more
Abstract Background & Aims: Alternating periods of excessive and restrained eating results in weight cycling (‘yo‐yo’ effect), a suspected risk factor for eating behavior dysregulation such as binge eating. The hypothesis that recurrent diet alternation alters hedonic feeding regulation by changing either or both intestinal microbiota and brain neuronal and glial regulation in mouse is tested. Methods : C57BL/6 mice undergo 3 cycles of 1 week of western diet (WD) separated by 2 weeks of chow diet (CYCL group) or remain under chow diet (CTRL group). Results : CYCL mice exhibit weight cycling, with enhanced weight gain upon each WD feeding phase and increased energy intake specifically during the first hours following WD re‐introduction, reminiscent of binge‐eating episodes. Expression of reward‐related genes in the striatum and thickness of the astro‐glial barrier in the brain stem is enhanced in CYCL mice. Diet alternation induces caecal dysbiosis in CYCL mice. Gut microbiota transfer from CYCL mice to naive recipient mice recapitulates the altered eating behavior upon WD exposure. Conclusions : Alternation between high‐energy and standard diets is established to durably remodel the gut microbiota and the brain toward a profile associated with an increase in hedonic appetite and that this microbiota signature affects hedonic feeding regulation.