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Light‐assisted 3D printing technology, which uses a light source to solidify a photopolymerizable prepolymer solution, has shown great potential in the development of antibacterial hydrogels with high‐resolution, specific features and functionalities. 3D‐printed hydrogels with customized structures and antibacterial functions are widely used in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, wound healing, and implants to advance the modeling and treatment of diseases. In the current review, an overview of light‐assisted 3D printing technologies is first provided for the development of antibacterial hydrogels. Novel strategies involving the integration of inorganic nanomaterials, antibiotics, and functional polymers into 3D‐printed hydrogels for the enhancement of antibacterial effects are then discussed. Finally, the perspective of advanced design using artificial intelligence and machine learning is proposed, providing a comprehensive yet succinct examination of 3D‐printed hydrogels for antibacterial purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with brain cancers including medulloblastoma lack treatments that are effective long‐term and without side effects. In this study, a multifunctional fluoropolymer‐engineered iron oxide nanoparticle gene‐therapeutic platform is presented to overcome these challenges. The fluoropolymers are designed and synthesized to incorporate various properties including robust anchoring moieties for efficient surface coating, cationic components to facilitate short interference RNA (siRNA) binding, and a fluorinated tail to ensure stability in serum. The blood‐brain barrier (BBB) tailored system demonstrates enhanced BBB penetration, facilitates delivery of functionally active siRNA to medulloblastoma cells, and delivers a significant, almost complete block in protein expression within an in vitro extracellular acidic environment (pH 6.7) – as favored by most cancer cells. In vivo, it effectively crosses an intact BBB, provides contrast for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and delivers siRNA capable of slowing tumor growth without causing signs of toxicity – meaning it possesses a safe theranostic function. The pioneering methodology applied shows significant promise in the advancement of brain and tumor microenvironment‐focused MRI‐siRNA theranostics for the better treatment and diagnosis of medulloblastoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its great promise in non-invasive treatment of cancers, magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) is currently limited by the insensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for visualization of small tumors, low efficiency of in vivo ultrasonic energy deposition, and damage to surrounding tissues. We hereby report the development of an active targeting nano-sized theranostic superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) platform for significantly increasing the imaging sensitivity and energy deposition efficiency using a clinical MRgFUS system. The surfaces of these PEGylated SPIO nanoparticles (NPs) were decorated with anti-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) monoclonal antibodies (mAb) for targeted delivery to lung cancer with EGFR overexpression. The potential of these targeted nano-theranostic agents for MRI and MRgFUS ablation was evaluated in vitro and in vivo in a rat xenograft model of human lung cancer (H460). Compared with nontargeting PEGylated SPIO NPs, the anti-EGFR mAb targeted PEGylated SPIO NPs demonstrated better targeting capability to H460 tumor cells and greatly improved the MRI contrast at the tumor site. Meanwhile, this study showed that the targeting NPs, as synergistic agents, could significantly enhance the efficiency for in vivo ultrasonic energy deposition in MRgFUS. Moreover, we demonstrated that a series of MR methods including T2-weighted image (T2WI), T1-weighted image (T1WI), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and contrast-enhanced T1WI imaging, could be utilized to noninvasively and conveniently monitor the therapeutic efficacy in rat models by MRgFUS.

Nanoengineering the composition and morphology of functional nanoparticles endows them to perform multiple tasks and functions. An intriguing strategy for creating multifunctional nanomaterials involves the construction of core–shell nanostructures, which have enabled promising applications in biomedicine, energy, sensing, and catalysis. Here, a straightforward nanoengineering approach is presented utilizing liquid metal nanoparticles and galvanic replacement to create diverse core–shell nanostructures. Controlled nanostructures including liquid metal core‐gold nanoparticle shell (LM@Au), gold nanoparticle core‐gallium oxide shell (Au@Ga oxide), and hollow Ga oxide nanoparticles are successfully fabricated. Remarkably, these investigations reveal that LM@Au exhibits exceptional photothermal performance, achieving an impressive conversion efficiency of 65.9%, which is five times that of gold nanoparticles. By leveraging the high photothermal conversion efficiency and excellent biocompatibility of LM@Au, its promising application in hyperthermia cancer therapy is demonstrated. This simple yet powerful nanoengineering strategy opens new avenues for the controlled synthesis of complex core–shell nanostructures, advancing various fields beyond biomedicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Droplet‐based microfluidics represents a disruptive technology in the field of chemistry and biology through the generation and manipulation of sub‐microlitre droplets. To avoid droplet coalescence, fluoropolymer‐based surfactants are commonly used to reduce the interfacial tension between two immiscible phases to stabilize droplet interfaces. However, the conventional preparation of fluorosurfactants involves multiple steps of conjugation reactions between fluorinated and hydrophilic segments to form multiple‐block copolymers. In addition, synthesis of customized surfactants with tailored properties is challenging due to the complex synthesis process. Here, we report a highly efficient synthetic method that utilizes living radical polymerization (LRP) to produce fluorosurfactants with tailored functionalities. Compared to the commercialized surfactant, our surfactants outperform in thermal cycling for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, and exhibit exceptional biocompatibility for cell and yeast culturing in a double‐emulsion system. This breakthrough synthetic approach has the potential to revolutionize the field of droplet‐based microfluidics by enabling the development of novel designs that generate droplets with superior stability and functionality for a wide range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospraying technique has attracted much attention in food science because of its importance for biological macromolecule encapsulation of food bioactive substances. The purpose of this review is to overview the electrospraying technique and its recent application advances for biological macromolecule encapsulation of food bioactive substances. First, the history, principles, setup, and products of the electrospraying technique are briefly introduced. Second, the application of electrosprayed nano-, micro-, and millimeter-sized particles with solid, porous, core-shell, and multi-core structures for biological macromolecule encapsulation of nutrients is reviewed. Thirdly, the application of electrosprayed micro- and millimeter-sized particles for biological macromolecule encapsulation of probiotics is analyzed. Finally, the application of electrospraying technique for biological macromolecule encapsulation of food bioactive substances is summarized and an outlook is provided. This review will provide guide instruction to the research and development of electrosprayed particles for biological macromolecule encapsulation of food bioactive substances in novel food development. It will be useful for those who are interested to enter this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]