Featured
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Article
| Open AccessDrinkable in situ-forming tough hydrogels for gastrointestinal therapeutics
Sequential drinks of crosslinker and polymer solutions form a tough hydrogel in the stomach, enabling delivery of drugs and biologics in this harsh chemical environment.
- Gary W. Liu
- , Matthew J. Pickett
- & Giovanni Traverso
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Editorial |
Life-saving vaccines awarded
The fundamental discoveries that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 were awarded with this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine.
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News & Views |
Taming CAR T cell therapy toxicity
Post-infusion poly(ethylene glycol) surface modification of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells and a subcutaneous chemokine-adsorbing hydrogel address cytokine release syndrome and the neurotoxicity side effects of CAR T cell therapy against tumours.
- Chuang Liu
- & Khalid Shah
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News & Views |
Lymphatics drain nanoparticles from tumours
Lymphatic vessels within and near to tumours facilitate nanoparticle transport out of tumours, with ramifications in the design and implementation of next-generation clinical cancer nanomedicines.
- Meghan J. O’Melia
- & Susan N. Thomas
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Article
| Open AccessMagneto-acoustic protein nanostructures for non-invasive imaging of tissue mechanics in vivo
Magneto-gas vesicles, protein nanostructures with enhanced ultrasound signal and sensitivity, enable the non-invasive, long-term and quantitative monitoring of the mechanics of three-dimensional tissues and animals.
- Whee-Soo Kim
- , Sungjin Min
- & Jinwoo Cheon
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Article |
In situ PEGylation of CAR T cells alleviates cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity
Polyethylene glycol conjugation to chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cells creates a physical block between CAR T cell interactions and other immune and tumour cells, controlling tumour lysis and immune response stimulation to mitigate cytokine release syndrome.
- Ningqiang Gong
- , Xuexiang Han
- & Michael J. Mitchell
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Article |
Fibre-infused gel scaffolds guide cardiomyocyte alignment in 3D-printed ventricles
A gelatin–alginate hydrogel ink incorporating short gelatin fibres guides the self-organization of human cardiomyocytes into contractile tissues that can be 3D-printed into structures mimicking human organs.
- Suji Choi
- , Keel Yong Lee
- & Kevin Kit Parker
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Article |
Photo-expansion microscopy enables super-resolution imaging of cells embedded in 3D hydrogels
Photopolymerizable hydrogels enable optical clearance and high homogeneous expansion for high-resolution optical imaging of cells embedded within degradable hydrogels.
- Kemal Arda Günay
- , Tze-Ling Chang
- & Kristi S. Anseth
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News & Views |
Exosome-disrupting peptides for cancer immunotherapy
A curvature-sensing peptide is used to disrupt exosomes for enhanced cancer immunotherapy.
- Ningqiang Gong
- , Alex G. Hamilton
- & Michael J. Mitchell
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Review Article |
Hydrogels for RNA delivery
RNA-based therapeutics hold promise for the treatment of several diseases. This Review provides an overview of hydrogels for RNA delivery, discussing how the chemical nature and physical properties of hydrogels can be explored for tailored RNA loading and release, and highlighting the use of these materials in biomedical applications.
- Ruibo Zhong
- , Sepehr Talebian
- & Jinjun Shi
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News & Views |
A synthetic tumour microenvironment
A bioengineered model incorporating a synthetic extracellular matrix recapitulates the lymphoid tumour microenvironment, making it a valuable tool for drug testing and designing personalized therapies.
- Akhilesh K. Gaharwar
- & Irtisha Singh
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News & Views |
Immunostimulatory nanoparticles go viral
A polymeric nanoparticle adjuvant containing a Toll-like receptor 7 agonist elicits broad protection against viral challenges.
- Jorge Huete-Carrasco
- & Ed C. Lavelle
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News & Views |
Inhalable mRNA nanoparticles
A large-scale screening identifies an inhalable polymer nanoparticle formulation that safely and effectively delivers therapeutic mRNA molecules to the lungs of several animal species.
- Ronnie H. Fang
- & Liangfang Zhang
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News & Views |
Exploiting endothelial transcytosis to reach into the brain
Targeting P-selectin enables safer and more effective nanomedicine delivery through caveolin-1-mediated endothelial transcytosis in preclinical medulloblastoma tumour models.
- Lin Wang
- & Stefan Wilhelm
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Article
| Open AccessP-selectin-targeted nanocarriers induce active crossing of the blood–brain barrier via caveolin-1-dependent transcytosis
Targeting of tumour vasculature endothelial P-selectin promotes caveolin-1-mediated transcytosis for enhanced blood–brain barrier crossing of therapeutic nanoparticles against medulloblastoma.
- Daniel E. Tylawsky
- , Hiroto Kiguchi
- & Daniel A. Heller
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News & Views |
A bioadhesive robot to activate muscles
Soft actuators composed of a tough bioadhesive/elastomer shell encapsulating a stimuli-responsive metallic spring provide in situ mechanical stimulation of skeletal muscles to promote muscle tissue rehabilitation and prevent atrophy.
- Xuanhe Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessPolarity and chirality control of an active fluid by passive nematic defects
Defects of a passive nematic liquid crystal made from actin filaments pattern the collective behaviour of active microtubules, creating macroscopic polar patterns and chiral loops.
- Alfredo Sciortino
- , Lukas J. Neumann
- & Andreas R. Bausch
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Review Article |
Hierarchically structured bioinspired nanocomposites
This Review discusses recent progress in bioinspired nanocomposite design, emphasizing the role of hierarchical structuring at distinct length scales to create multifunctional, lightweight and robust structural materials for diverse technological applications.
- Dhriti Nepal
- , Saewon Kang
- & Hendrik Heinz
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Comment |
Ascendancy of semi-synthetic biomaterials from design towards democratization
Semi-synthetic goldilocks material design integrates the tunable characteristics of synthetic materials and the refined complexity of natural components, enabling for the progress of biomaterials across length scales. Accelerated translational success may thus be possible for more personalized and accessible products.
- Alessondra T. Speidel
- , Christopher L. Grigsby
- & Molly M. Stevens
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Article |
Transient nuclear deformation primes epigenetic state and promotes cell reprogramming
Mechanical confinement of fibroblasts into micrometre-sized channels deforms the cell nucleus, leading to temporary nuclear lamina destablization and disassembly, loss of lamina-associated domains in chromatin and a decrease in histone and DNA methylation. These mechanically induced alterations in chromatin boost the conversion of fibroblasts into neurons and pluripotent stem cells and thus can be explored for cell engineering applications.
- Yang Song
- , Jennifer Soto
- & Song Li
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News & Views |
Multi-channel control of fruit fly behaviour
Fruit flies injected with magnetic nanoparticles and genetically modified to sensitize neural circuits to the rate of change in temperature have enabled subsecond behavioural responses to magnetic stimuli and multi-channel magnetic control.
- Michael G. Christiansen
- & Simone Schuerle
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Article |
Subsecond multichannel magnetic control of select neural circuits in freely moving flies
Here the authors describe a method for remote magnetothermal stimulation of neurons that achieves subsecond behavioural responses in Drosophila fruit flies by combining magnetic nanoparticles with TRPA1-A, a rate-sensitive thermoreceptor. Tuning the properties of magnetic nanoparticles to respond to different magnetic field strengths and frequencies enables multichannel thermal magnetogenetic stimulation.
- Charles Sebesta
- , Daniel Torres Hinojosa
- & Jacob T. Robinson
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Editorial |
Materials at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic
Materials scientists have played a key role in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the development of vaccines and diagnostic tools to the rapid prototyping of ventilators.
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Article
| Open Access3D printed protein-based robotic structures actuated by molecular motor assemblies
Three-dimensional printed protein-based robotic structures are actuated by exoskeleton-like coats of molecular motor assemblies upon the spatially targeted release of chemical fuel, resulting in micrometre-scale shape-morphing activity.
- Haiyang Jia
- , Johannes Flommersfeld
- & Petra Schwille
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Article |
Porosity-based heterojunctions enable leadless optoelectronic modulation of tissues
Fabrication of semiconductor heterojunctions typically involves a complex process and often leads to bioincompatibility. Here, the authors propose a porous heterojunction in p-type silicon via simple stain etching at ambient conditions, and apply it in optically induced biomodulation.
- Aleksander Prominski
- , Jiuyun Shi
- & Menahem Y. Rotenberg
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News & Views |
Lipid nanodiscs give cancer a STING
Lipid nanodiscs carrying a potent STING agonist penetrate deep into solid tumours compared with gold-standard liposomes and enable long-term antitumour immunotherapy.
- Ningqiang Gong
- & Michael J. Mitchell
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Editorial |
Materials come alive
The dissemination of synthetic biology into materials science is creating an evolving class of functional, engineered living materials that can grow, sense and adapt similar to biological organisms.
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News & Views |
Living building blocks
A prototypical biocomposite block comprising a blend of bacteria, fungi and feedstock can be assembled into human-sized, living structures with self-healing and environmental sensing capabilities.
- Kwok Soon Wun
- , In Young Hwang
- & Matthew Wook Chang
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Perspective |
The living interface between synthetic biology and biomaterial design
This Perspective reviews the complementary developments in synthetic biology and biomaterials and discusses how convergence of these two fields creates a promising design strategy for the fabrication of tailored living materials for medicine and biotechnology.
- Allen P. Liu
- , Eric A. Appel
- & Ovijit Chaudhuri
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Article |
3D-printed hierarchical pillar array electrodes for high-performance semi-artificial photosynthesis
Wiring photosynthetic biomachineries to electrodes is promising for sustainable bio-electricity and fuel generation, but designing such interfaces is challenging. Aerosol jet printing is now used to generate hierarchical pillar array electrodes using indium tin oxide nanoparticles for high-performance semi-artificial photosynthesis.
- Xiaolong Chen
- , Joshua M. Lawrence
- & Jenny Z. Zhang
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News & Views |
Synthetic scaffold for pancreatic organoids
A synthetic matrix recapitulates fundamental biological interactions of pancreatic cancer to facilitate the culture of mouse and human pancreatic organoids.
- Sohini Khan
- & Hervé Tiriac
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Article |
Engineering living and regenerative fungal–bacterial biocomposite structures
Lignocellulosic waste is transformed into fungal–bacterial biocomposites that can be processed into recyclable, human-scale structural objects with biosynthetic and sensing–reporting functionalities.
- Ross M. McBee
- , Matt Lucht
- & Harris H. Wang
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Article |
Synthetic dynamic hydrogels promote degradation-independent in vitro organogenesis
The influence of stress relaxation of the extracellular matrix on the formation of intestinal organoids was investigated. It was shown that a stress-relaxing synthetic matrix promotes crypt budding through increased symmetry breaking and niche cell formation.
- Antonius Chrisnandy
- , Delphine Blondel
- & Matthias P. Lutolf
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News & Views |
A ‘Swiss army knife’ probe for metastatic cancers
A nanosensor probe that combines a tumour-targeting peptide, a diagnostic reporter and an imaging contrast agent enables early diagnosis, precision imaging, disease stratification and downstream therapeutic response monitoring of metastatic cancer.
- Matthew Bogyo
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Article |
A microenvironment-inspired synthetic three-dimensional model for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma organoids
A synthetic hydrogel has been developed to mimic the physicochemical properties of pancreatic tissue and is shown to support the culture of pancreatic cancer organoids, revealing the role of laminin–integrin interactions in their growth.
- Christopher R. Below
- , Joanna Kelly
- & Claus Jørgensen
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Editorial |
A molecular jack-of-all-trades
DNA is much more than the genetic information it carries. It is a versatile material for creating systems with tailor-made functionalities that are having an important impact in emerging technologies.
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News & Views |
Nanocages for virus inhibition
Elaborately designed DNA icosahedral shells cage intact virions to effectively protect host cells from viral infections.
- Neha Chauhan
- & Xing Wang
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Review Article |
Next-generation cancer organoids
This Review summarizes limitations in the current techniques used for patient-derived cancer organoid culture and highlights recent advancements and future opportunities for their standardization.
- Bauer L. LeSavage
- , Riley A. Suhar
- & Sarah C. Heilshorn
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Article |
Photocurable bioresorbable adhesives as functional interfaces between flexible bioelectronic devices and soft biological tissues
A functional interfacial material has been developed for soft integration of bioelectronic devices with biological tissues. This has been applied in battery-free optoelectronic systems for deep-brain optogenetics and subdermal phototherapy as well as wireless millimetre-scale pacemakers and flexible multielectrode epicardial arrays.
- Quansan Yang
- , Tong Wei
- & John A. Rogers
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News & Views |
Getting a grip with kirigami
An implantable stent inspired by kirigami has been developed and integrated with a fluidically driven soft actuator to deliver drugs to tubular organs in the body such as the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts.
- Alexandra Teleki
- & Per Artursson
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Article |
Microenvironment-triggered multimodal precision diagnostics
Multimodal nanosensors have been developed to target and respond to hallmarks in the tumour microenvironment and provide both a non-invasive urinary monitoring tool and an on-demand positron emission tomography imaging agent to localize tumour metastasis and assess response to therapy.
- Liangliang Hao
- , Nazanin Rohani
- & Sangeeta N. Bhatia
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News & Views |
Remote modulation of neuronal cells in the brain
The combination of multicomponent magnetic nanoparticles and a mechanosensitive ion channel has been shown to achieve fast magnetomechanical stimulation of neurons within the brain.
- Rahul Mushi
- & Arnd Pralle
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Article |
Programmable icosahedral shell system for virus trapping
Programmable triangular DNA blocks self-assemble into distinct icosahedral shells with specific geometry and apertures that can encapsulate viruses and decrease viral infection.
- Christian Sigl
- , Elena M. Willner
- & Hendrik Dietz
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Letter |
Kirigami-inspired stents for sustained local delivery of therapeutics
A kirigami-inspired stent-based system has been developed for extended local drug delivery to the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts as well as the vascular system.
- Sahab Babaee
- , Yichao Shi
- & Giovanni Traverso
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Article |
Random access DNA memory using Boolean search in an archival file storage system
Silica beads encapsulating DNA information and functionalized with DNA labels create an alternative DNA data storage system, where direct random access and data retrieval are enabled by complementary fluorescent strands that identify beads for separation in fluorescence-activated sorting.
- James L. Banal
- , Tyson R. Shepherd
- & Mark Bathe
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News & Views |
Overcoming delivery barriers with LNPs
Ionizable phospholipids have been developed to enhance the delivery of mRNA and sgRNA for gene editing by selective organ targeting and endosomal membrane destabilization.
- Satish G. Jadhav
- & Steven F. Dowdy
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Article |
Integrated computer-aided engineering and design for DNA assemblies
An approach integrating molecular dynamics-based computer-aided engineering with computer-aided design allows for the rapid construction of large three-dimensional DNA assemblies and control over their geometry, mechanics and dynamics.
- Chao-Min Huang
- , Anjelica Kucinic
- & Carlos E. Castro
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Review Article |
Diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 infections
This Review highlights the progress that has been made in the development of diagnostic tools for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the fight against COVID-19.
- Bhavesh D. Kevadiya
- , Jatin Machhi
- & Howard E. Gendelman
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