Journals
2025 EN
Stark Martin · Bayat Fereshteh · Rahmani Sara
+7 more
Abstract Implant‐associated infections remain a significant complication in medicine. often leading to chronic infection, tissue damage, or implant failure. To address this, this work develops a modular, triple‐action titanium implant that integrates bacterial repellency, bactericidal activity, and enhanced tissue integration. The implant comprises medical‐grade titanium with a co‐deposited layer of bacteriophages and collagen stably embedded within a repellent lubricant layer. The collagen layer promotes cell deposition and spreading in vitro. When tested against Pseudomonas aeruginosa , the coating reduces bacterial load by 3.2 logs on the surface and 1.9 logs in the medium, outperforming conventional liquid‐infused surfaces. A modified version targeting Staphylococcus aureus achieves 4.1‐log and 5.2‐log reductions, respectively, after a 6‐h incubation. When challenging the coating in a sepsis survival model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, mice with the phage‐activated implants exhibit a 100% survival rate and fully recover from the infection. In comparison, those with pathogen‐repellent and untreated titanium implants show survival rates of only 30% and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, phage, but no bacteria, are detected in the bloodstream of mice implanted with phage‐activated titanium, suggesting that locally implanted phage‐biomaterials can distribute systemically to control blood infections. Therefore, the engineered phage‐activated, triple‐action biomaterials may prevent implant‐associated infections locally and systemically.
Journals
2025 EN
Mann Hannah · Khan Shadman · Prasad Akansha
+7 more
Abstract Developing cost‐effective, consumer‐accessible platforms for point‐of‐use environmental and clinical pathogen testing is a priority, to reduce reliance on laborious, time‐consuming culturing approaches. Unfortunately, a system offering ultrasensitive detection capabilities in a form that requires little auxiliary equipment or training has remained elusive. Here, a colorimetric DNAzyme‐crosslinked hydrogel sensor is presented. In the presence of a target pathogen, DNAzyme cleavage results in hydrogel dissolution, yielding the release of entrapped gold nanoparticles in a manner visible to the naked eye. Recognizing that Escherichia coli holds high relevance within both environmental and clinical environments, an E. coli ‐responsive DNAzyme is incorporated into this platform. Through the optimization of the hydrogel polymerization process and the discovery of bacteriophage‐induced DNAzyme signal amplification, 10 1 CFU mL −1 E. coli is detected within real‐world lake water samples. Subsequent pairing with an artificial intelligence model removed ambiguity in sensor readout, offering 96% true positive and 100% true negative accuracy. Finally, high sensor specificity and stability results supported clinical use, where 100% of urine samples collected from patients with E. coli urinary tract infections are accurately identified. No false positives are observed when testing healthy samples. Ultimately, this platform stands to significantly improve population health by substantially increasing pathogen testing accessibility.
Journals
2025 EN
Rashidy Ahmady Azin · Khan Shadman · Han Hong
+3 more
Abstract Medical micro‐ and nano‐bots (MMBs and MNBs) have attracted a lot of attention owing to their precise motion for accessing difficult‐to‐reach areas in the body. These emerging tools offer the promise of non‐invasive diagnostics and therapeutics for a wide range of ailments. Here, it is highlighted how MMBs and MNBs can revolutionize infection management. The latest applications of MMBs and MNBs are explored for infection prevention, including their use as accurate, minimally invasive surgeons and diagnosis, where they function as sensitive and rapid biosensors or carriers for contrast agents for real‐time imaging of infected tissue. Further, the applications are outlined in treatment serving as anti‐biofilm agents and smart carriers for antibiotics and anti‐infective biologics. The current challenges in designing MMBs and MNBs are highlighted for overcoming immune barriers, moving to deep infected tissue, and swimming in low Reynolds numbers and discuss mitigating strategies. Finally, as a future perspective, the potential advantages of multi‐drive propulsion, bioinspired, and artificial‐intelligence‐trained MMBs and MNBs are discussed, with a special focus on challenges and opportunities for their commercialization.
Journals
2025 EN
Singh Siddharth · Hamid Zeinab · Babu Ramavath
+6 more
Abstract The need to constrain the use of fossil fuels causing global warming is motivating the development of a variety of photocatalysts for solar‐to‐fuel generation and chemical synthesis. In particular, semiconductor‐based photocatalysts have been extensively exploited in solar‐driven organic synthesis, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) conversion into value‐added products, and hydrogen (H 2 ) generation from water (H 2 O) splitting. Recently, metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have emerged as an important class of semiconductors for heterogeneous photocatalysis owing to their interesting properties. Despite key issues with long‐term stability and degradation in polar solvents due to their ionic character, there has been significant progress in halide perovskite‐based photocatalysts with improving their stability and performance in the gas and liquid phases. This review discusses the state‐of‐the‐art for using halide perovskite‐based photocatalysts and photoelectrocatalysis in hydrogen production from water and halogen acid solutions, CO 2 reduction into value‐added chemicals, and various organic chemical transformations. The different types of halide perovskites used, design strategies to overcome the instability issues in polar solvents, and the efficiencies achieved are discussed. Furthermore, the outstanding challenges associated with the use of polar electrolytes and how the stability and performance can be improved are discussed.
Journals
2025 EN
Shalash Ahmed O. · Hussein Waleed M. · Nahar Ummey J.
+7 more
Abstract Nanoemulsions, like MF59, are potent vaccine adjuvants due to their immunogenicity, scalability, stability, and generation of broad cross‐clade neutralizing immune responses, facilitating their feasibility for pandemic preparedness. However, they are unsuitable for single‐shot applications due to limited immunogenicity with subunit antigens, and need to be explored for key immunogenic formulation variables like surfactant type, antigen anchoring, oil‐globule solidification, hydrogel polymer trapping, or globule size. Here, a multivariate analysis approach is used for the first time in adjuvant development, selecting 14 formulations from over 150, each with a unique formulation variable, to evaluate their immunological properties on C57BL/6 mice. Results show that nanoemulsions with hydrogel trapping, smaller globule size, or mannide monooleate cosurfactant significantly enhance immunogenicity, each by 5‐to‐10 folds over MF59. For the first time, these formulation variables are combined into an “optimized emulgel” that is predicted to maximize immunogenicity after a single shot, model fit gave ( R 2 = 0.97). The optimized emulgel triggers long‐lasting immune responses matching both the model's prediction and those triggered by the gold‐standard Freund's adjuvant against various antigens, while maintaining excellent safety. The findings highlight the potential of emulgels as a novel adjuvant class and underscore the utility of multivariate analysis in adjuvant design.
Journals
2025 EN
Shukla Shivani · Walsh Callum · Bansal Shashank
+6 more
Abstract High‐throughput, intracellular electrophysiology is crucial for advancing the understanding of neuronal processing and network dynamics. Nanoelectrode arrays (NEA) offer a promising approach by directly capturing intracellular signals across sub‐neuronal compartments, including action potentials, postsynaptic potentials, and low‐frequency membrane fluctuations. However, the complexity of NEA datasets, characterized by multiscale events of varying amplitude and duration, demands novel analytical strategies. In this work, a dynamic spike sorting pipeline is introduced and designed to isolate, extract, and sort these diverse electrical signals within a landscape of spontaneous electrical behavior. It is obtained estimates of signal attenuation and distortion using a bespoke biophysical circuit simulation designed to match the specific nanoelectrode interface. Based on these observations, bounds are set for filtering and extracting multiscale waveforms, and validated their isolation using pharmacological data. Finally, it is shown that multiscale analysis of spontaneous electrical recordings reveals interrelationships between high frequency events such as action potentials, and low frequency membrane potential fluctuations which may inform models of neuronal network excitability. Advanced sorting algorithms tailored for nanoelectrode array recordings are essential for unlocking the full potential of next generation, high throughput neuroelectronic devices and achieving a deeper understanding of neuronal dynamics.
Journals
2025 EN
Tsai ChingTing · Gao Hongyan · Forro Csaba
+5 more
Abstract Nanoelectrode arrays (NEAs) are emerging as promising technologies for minimally‐invasive, parallel intracellular recording. These vertical electrodes, typically hundreds of nanometers in diameter and micrometers in height, provide a means for gentle electroporation and reversible membrane permeabilization to achieve intracellular recording. Prior studies have used 5–9 vertical nanostructures per recording channel to enhance device robustness and signal strength. However, this approach complicates the establishment of a one‐to‐one correspondence between cells and electrodes. In this study, devices with recording channels featuring 1‐, 3‐, 5‐, or 9‐ vertical nanocrowns electrode arrays (NcEAs) are developed in the same device. Channels with vertical nanoelectrodes of different geometries, as well as non‐vertical electrodes, such as shallow hole electrodes and large flat electrodes, are also incorporated. These measurements demonstrate that a single NcEA not only provides high‐quality iAP recordings but also excels at preserving the intracellular waveform. In contrast, non‐vertical electrodes detect intracellular‐like signals with distorted waveforms and are not suitable for cardiac intracellular recordings. These findings highlight the critical role of electrode geometry in improving the precision and reliability of intracellular recording technologies.
Journals
2025 EN
Zhang Linxuan · Lv Quanjie · Chu Jing
+7 more
Abstract Lanthanide‐based multilayer nanoparticles exhibiting near‐infrared II (NIR‐II, 1,000–1,700 nm) emissions have garnered significant interest for diverse frontier optical applications. However, precisely manipulating emissions simultaneously in intensity and lifetime remains challenging. This study proposes a conceptual model of tuning interfacial energy transfer (IET) in a core–shell–shell nanostructure to spatiotemporally control Er 3+ downconversion luminescence and lifetime. Nanoscale manipulation of the interfacial interactions between Er and Yb sublattices enhances downconversion. Additionally, increasing the thickness of Yb 3+ interlayer effectively modulates the Nd‐Yb‐Er energy transfer pathway, simultaneously 8.2‐fold of suppressing emission intensity and 1.8‐fold prolonging luminescence lifetime. This strategy enables multifunctional tuning of optical properties through combined steady‐state excitation and time‐gated detection, offering new opportunities for photonic applications such as high‐security optical anti‐counterfeiting.
Journals
2025 EN
Ifayefunmi Olalekan Sanmi · Chimtali Peter Joseph · Frimpong Asante Obed
+9 more
Abstract The development of functional and stable aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) is critical for application in large‐scale energy storage, owing to their high capacity, low cost, and environmental compatibility. However, the limited reversibility of zinc plating/stripping and the poor cycling stability of the zinc interface in aqueous electrolytes remain major obstacles. Herein, triethylene glycol (TEG) is introduced as a multifunctional additive, whose hydroxyl groups coordinate with Zn 2 ⁺ in the primary solvation sheath while forming a protective layer on the zinc surface. Supported by theoretical modeling and systematic characterizations, TEG is shown to suppress direct H 2 O interaction with the (002) zinc surface, thereby reducing corrosion, dendrite growth, and hydrogen evolution, while enabling uniform Zn 2 ⁺ deposition. Consequently, symmetric Zn||Zn cells with TEG achieve over 5800 h of cycling at 0.5 mA cm −2 , and Zn||NVO full cells exhibit excellent capacity retention. This study aims to motivate a rational and facile strategy for creating stable interface chemistry focused on protecting the metal anode, ultimately improving the practical uses of aqueous batteries.
Journals
2025 EN
Zhang Leisi · Zhang Honghai · Wang TingYu
+17 more
Abstract Cell signaling pathways are enriched for biological processes crucial for cellular communication, response to external stimuli, and metabolism. Here, a cell signaling‐focused CRISPR screen identified cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4 isoform 1 (COX4I1) as a novel vulnerability in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Depletion of COX4I1 hindered leukemia cell proliferation and impacted in vivo AML progression. Mechanistically, loss of COX4I1 induced mitochondrial stress and ferroptosis, disrupting mitochondrial ultrastructure and oxidative phosphorylation. CRISPR gene tiling scans, coupled with mitochondrial proteomics, dissected critical regions within COX4I1 essential for leukemia cell survival, providing detailed insights into the mitochondrial Complex IV assembly network. Furthermore, COX4I1 depletion or pharmacological inhibition of Complex IV (using chlorpromazine) synergized with venetoclax, providing a promising avenue for improved leukemia therapy. This study highlights COX4I1, a nuclear encoded mitochondrial protein, as a critical mitochondrial checkpoint, offering insights into its functional significance and potential clinical implications in AML.