In Situ Photocatalyzed Oxygen Generation with Photosynthetic Bacteria to Enable Robust Immunogenic Photodynamic Therapy in Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer

Hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment is a major hurdle dampening the antitumor effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, active photosynthetic bacteria (Synechococcus 7942, Syne) are utilized for tumor‐targeted photosensitizer delivery and in situ photocatalyzed oxygen generation to achieve photosynthesis‐boosted PDT. Photosensitizer‐encapsulated nanoparticles (HSA/ICG) are assembled by intermolecular disulfide crosslinking and attached to the surface of Syne with amide bonds to form a biomimetic system (S/HSA/ICG). S/HSA/ICG combined the photosynthetic capability of Syne and the theranostic effect of HSA/ICG. Syne capable of photoautotrophy exhibit a moderate immune stimulation effect and a certain photodynamic role under 660 nm laser irradiation. Upon intravenous injection into tumor‐bearing mice, S/HSA/ICG can effectively accumulate in tumors and generate oxygen continuously under laser irradiation through photosynthesis, which remarkably relieve tumor hypoxia and enhance reactive oxygen species production, thereby completely eliminating primary tumors. This photosynthesis‐boosted PDT can also effectively reverse the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment and robustly evoke systematic antitumor immune responses, which exhibit excellent effect on preventing tumor recurrence and metastasis inhibition in a metastatic triple‐negative breast cancer mouse model. Hence, this photosynthetic bacteria‐based photosynthesis‐boosted immunogenic PDT offers a promising approach to eliminate both local and metastatic tumors.     

Superhydrophobic Carbon Nanotube Electrode Produces a Near‐Symmetrical Alternating Current from Photosynthetic Protein‐Based Photoelectrochemical Cells

The construction of protein‐based photoelectrochemical cells that produce a variety of alternating currents in response to discontinuous illumination is reported. The photovoltaic component is a protein complex from the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides which catalyses photochemical charge separation with a high quantum yield. Photoelectrochemical cells formed from this protein, a mobile redox mediator and a counter electrode formed from cobalt disilicide, titanium nitride, platinum, or multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) generate a direct current during continuous illumination and an alternating current with different characteristics during discontinuous illumination. In particular, the use of superhydrophobic MWCNT as the back electrode results in a near symmetrical forward and reverse current upon light on and light off, respectively. The symmetry of the AC output of these cells is correlated with the wettability of the counter electrode. Potential applications of a hybrid biological/synthetic solar cell capable of generating an approximately symmetrical alternating current are discussed.     

Nanocellulose-Based Functional Materials: From Chiral Photonics to Soft Actuator and Energy Storage

Nanocellulose is currently in the limelight of extensive research from fundamental science to technological applications owing to its renewable and carbon-neutral nature, superior biocompatibility, tailorable surface chemistry, and unprecedented optical and mechanical properties. Herein, an up-to-date account of the recent advancements in nanocellulose-derived functional materials and their emerging applications in areas of chiral photonics, soft actuators, energy storage, and biomedical science is provided. The fundamental design and synthesis strategies for nanocellulose-based functional materials are discussed. Their unique properties, underlying mechanisms, and potential applications are highlighted. Finally, this review provides a brief conclusion and elucidates both the challenges and opportunities of the intriguing nanocellulose-based technologies rooted in materials and chemistry science. This review is expected to provide new insights for nanocellulose-based chiral photonics, soft robotics, advanced energy, and novel biomedical technologies, and promote the rapid development of these highly interdisciplinary fields, including nanotechnology, nanoscience, biology, physics, synthetic chemistry, materials science, and device engineering.     

A Photo-Therapeutic Nanocomposite with Bio-Responsive Oxygen Self-Supplying Combats Biofilm Infections and Inflammation from Drug-Resistant Bacteria

The use of non-antibiotic strategies to combat refractory drug-resistant bacterial infections, especially biofilms and accompanying inflammation, has recently aroused widespread interest. Herein, a photo-therapeutic nanocomposite with bio-responsive oxygen (O₂) self-supplying is introduced by integrating manganese dioxide (MnO₂) nanozymes onto photosensitizer (indocyanine green, ICG)-loaded mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles (MPDA), namely MI-MPDA NPs. MI-MPDA can activate O₂ generation in the infection microenvironment, thereby effectively alleviating biofilm hypoxia. Under near-infrared light (NIR) irradiation, continuous O₂ supplying further boosts the level of singlet oxygen (¹O₂), enabling robust biofilm elimination through O₂-potentiated photodynamic/photothermal therapy. Interestingly, MI-MPDA down-regulates the factor expression of inflammatory signaling pathways through MnO₂-mediated reactive oxygen species scavenging, which ameliorates the inflammatory condition. Meanwhile, O₂ supplying prevents the M1-phenotype switch of macrophages from the overexpression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), thereby prompting macrophage reprogramming toward pro-regenerative M2-phenotype. In the mouse models of subcutaneous implant-associated infection caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilms and burn infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms, NIR-irradiated MI-MPDA not only effectively eliminates the formed biofilms, but also alleviates the oxidative stress and accompanying inflammation, and drives the cascade reaction of immunomodulation-wound healing. Overall, this O₂-potentiated photo-therapeutic strategy provides a reliable tool for combating biofilm infections and inflammation from drug-resistant bacteria.     

Two-Photon Polymerization Lithography for Optics and Photonics: Fundamentals,Materials, Technologies,and Applications

The rapid development of additive manufacturing has fueled a revolution in various research fields and industrial applications. Among the myriad of advanced 3D printing techniques, two-photon polymerization lithography (TPL) uniquely offers a significant advantage in nanoscale print resolution, and has been widely employed in diverse fields, for example, life sciences, materials sciences, mechanics, and microfluidics. More recently, by virtue of the optical transparency of most of the resins used, TPL is finding new applications in optics and photonics, with nanometer to millimeter feature dimensions. It enables the minimization of optical elements and systems, and exploration of light-matter interactions with new degrees of freedom, never possible before. To review the recent progress in the TPL related optical research, it starts with the fundamentals of TPL and material formulation, then discusses novel fabrication methods, and a wide range of optical applications. These applications notably include diffractive, topological, quantum, and color optics. With a panoramic view of the development, it is concluded with insights and perspectives of the future development of TPL and related potential optical applications.     

Materials in Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Bioelectronic Applications: Past,Present, and Future

Organic electrochemical transistors are bioelectronic devices that exploit the coupled nature of ionic and electronic fluxes to achieve superior transducing abilities compared to conventional organic field effect transistors. In particular, the operation of organic electrochemical transistors relies on a channel material capable of conducting both ionic and electronic charge carriers to ensure bulk electrochemical doping. This review explores the various types of organic semiconductors that are employed as channel materials, with a particular focus on the past 5 years, during which the transducing abilities of organic electrochemical transistors have witnessed an almost tenfold increase. Specifically, the structure–property relationships of the various channel materials employed are investigated, highlighting how device performance can be related to functionality at the molecular level. Finally, an outlook on the field is provided, in particular toward the design guidelines of future materials and the challenges ahead in the field.     

Biodegradable Supramolecular Materials Based on Cationic Polyaspartamides and Pillar[5]arene for Targeting Gram‐Positive Bacteria and Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance

The increasing number of infections caused by pathogenic bacteria has severely affected human society, for instance, numerous deaths are from Gram‐positive methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) each year. In this work, four biodegradable antibacterial polymer materials based on cationic polyaspartamide derivatives with different lengths of side chains are synthesized through the ring‐opening polymerization of β‐benzyl‐l ‐aspartate N‐carboxy anhydride, followed by an aminolysis reaction and subsequent methylation reaction. The cationic quaternary ammonium groups contribute to the insertion of the catiomers into the negatively charged bacterial membranes, which leads to membranolysis, the leakage of bacterial content, and the death of pathogens. Except for wiping out MRSA readily, the biodegradable polymers possessing alterable antibacterial potency can minimize the possibility of microbial resistance and mitigate drug accumulation by virtue of their cleavable backbone. To manipulate the poor biocompatibility of these polycations, carboxylatopillar[5]arene (CP[5]A) is introduced to the polymeric antibacterial catiomers through the supramolecular host–guest approach to obtain novel antibacterial materials with pH‐sensitive characteristics (with CP[5]A departure from cationic quaternary ammonium compounds under acid conditions) and selective targeting of Gram‐positive bacteria. Finally, the facile and robust antibacterial system is successfully applied to in vivo MRSA‐infected wound healing, providing a significant reference for the construction of advanced antibacterial biomaterials.     

Mn2+‐Doped CdSe Quantum Dots: New Inorganic Materials for Spin‐Electronics and Spin‐Photonics

Recent advances in the chemistry of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystal doping have led to new materials showing fascinating physical properties of potential technological importance. This article provides an overview of efforts to dope one of the most widely studied colloidal semiconductor nanocrystal systems, CdSe quantum dots, with one of the most widely studied transition‐metal dopant ions, Mn²⁺, and describes the major new physical properties that have emerged following successful synthesis of this material. These properties include spin‐polarizable excitonic photoluminescence, magnetic circular dichroism, exciton storage, and excitonic magnetic polaron formation. A brief survey of parallel advances in the characterization of analogous self‐assembled Mn²⁺‐doped quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy is also presented, and the physical properties of the colloidal quantum dots are shown to compare favorably with those of the self‐assembled quantum dots. The rich variety of physical properties displayed by colloidal Mn²⁺‐doped CdSe quantum dots highlights the attractiveness of this material for future fundamental and applied research.     

无团聚纳米级SnO_2粉末及其气敏元件的制备

用液相沉淀法在结晶五水四氯化锡的水溶液中滴加浓氨水，通过在沉淀时加入高分子有机分散剂，剧烈搅拌，控制反应结束时ｐＨ值，用无水乙醇洗涤、冷冻干燥及选取适当的煅烧温度等一系列工艺手段来制取ＳｎＯ２粉末。将得到的粉末用ＴＥＭ、ＢＥＴ及ＸＲＤ半峰宽法测定其粒径大小，证明粉末最小平均粒径可至３．７９ｎｍ且无团聚存在，ＸＲＤ分析表明所得的ＳｎＯ２为四方相。将此粉末制成气敏元件，经测试表明气敏性能有很大提高。     

Direct Heating Amino Acids with Silica: A Universal Solvent‐Free Assembly Approach to Highly Nitrogen‐Doped Mesoporous Carbon Materials

A general solvent‐free assembly approach via directly heating amino acid and mesoporous silica mixtures is developed for the synthesis of a family of highly nitrogen‐doped mesoporous carbons. Amino acids have been used as the sole precursors for templating synthesis of a series of ordered mesoporous carbons. During heating, amino acids are melted and strongly interact with silica, leading to effective loading and improved carbon yields (up to ≈25 wt%), thus to successful structure replication and nitrogen‐doping. Unique solvent‐free structure assembly mechanisms are proposed and elucidated semi‐quantitatively by using two affinity scales. Significantly high nitrogen‐doping levels are achieved, up to 9.4 (16.0) wt% via carbonization at 900 (700) °C. The diverse types of amino acids, their variable interactions with silica and different pyrolytic behaviors lead to nitrogen‐doped mesoporous carbons with tunable surface areas (700–1400 m² g^?1), pore volumes (0.9–2.5 cm³ g^?1), pore sizes (4.3–10 nm), and particle sizes from a single template. As demonstrations, the typical nitrogen‐doped carbons show good performance in CO₂ capture with high CO₂/N₂ selectivities up to ≈48. Moreover, they show attractive performance for oxygen reduction reaction, with an onset and a half‐wave potential of ≈?0.06 and ?0.14 V (vs Ag/AgCl).     

Functional Polycarbonates from Carbon Dioxide and Tailored Epoxide Monomers: Degradable Materials and Their Application Potential

Aliphatic polycarbonates synthesized from carbon dioxide (CO₂) and epoxides are resource‐saving, highly biocompatible and biodegradable polymers. Since the discovery of the copolymerization of epoxides and CO₂ in 1969 by Inoue et al., this has become an important and useful technology for the large‐scale utilization of CO₂ in chemical synthesis, employing mainly propylene oxide, and cyclohexene oxide (CHO). Only in recent years, functionalized polycarbonates have become an emerging topic with a broad scope of potential applications. This review summarizes synthetic routes and properties of numerous functionalized polycarbonates synthesized from CO₂ and functional epoxide monomers. Implications for new materials and possible applications, for instance for pharmaceutical purposes and membranes are reviewed. Besides polycarbonates based on oxirane and CHO derivatives, particular emphasis is placed on the manifold synthetic approaches and postpolymerization modifications of glycidyl ether based polycarbonates. Not only functionalized linear polycarbonates are presented but also a variety of novel polycarbonate architectures, e.g., star and hyperbranched polymers.     

Quantum Materials with Atomic Precision: Artificial Atoms in Solids: Ab Initio Design,Control, and Integration of Single Photon Emitters in Artificial Quantum Materials

This Progress Report explores advances and opportunities in the atomic‐scale design, fabrication, and imaging of quantum materials toward creating artificial atoms in solids with tailored optoelectronic and quantum properties. The authors outline an “ab initio” approach to quantitatively linking first‐principles calculations and atomic imaging with atomic patterning, setting the stage for new designer quantum nanomaterials.     

Self‐Defensive Biomaterial Coating Against Bacteria and Yeasts: Polysaccharide Multilayer Film with Embedded Antimicrobial Peptide

Prevention of pathogen colonization of medical implants is a major medical and financial issue since infection by microorganisms constitutes one of the most serious complications after surgery or critical care. Immobilization of antimicrobial molecules on biomaterials surfaces is an efficient approach to prevent biofilm formation. Herein, the first self‐defensive coating against both bacteria and yeasts is reported, where the release of the antimicrobial peptide is triggered by enzymatic degradation of the film due to the pathogens themselves. Biocompatible and biodegradable polysaccharide multilayer films based on functionalized hyaluronic acid by cateslytin (CTL), an endogenous host‐defensive antimicrobial peptide, and chitosan (HA‐CTL‐C/CHI) are deposited on a planar surface with the aim of designing both antibacterial and antifungal coating. After 24 h of incubation, HA‐CTL‐C/CHI films fully inhibit the development of Gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and Candida albicans yeasts, which are common and virulent pathogens agents encountered in care‐associated diseases. Hyaluronidase, secreted by the pathogens, leads to the film degradation and the antimicrobial action of the peptide. Furthermore, the limited fibroblasts adhesion, without cytotoxicity, on HA‐CTL‐C/CHI films highlights a medically relevant application to prevent infections on catheters or tracheal tubes where fibrous tissue encapsulation is undesirable.     

Dealing with the Foreign-Body Response to Implanted Biomaterials: Strategies and Applications of New Materials

Foreign-body response caused by implanted biomaterials seriously impedes the function of implants and is a major obstacle to the development of implantable biomaterials and medical devices. Recent advances in implantable biomaterials and medical devices have provided strategies to resist the foreign-body response. In this review, the mechanism of the foreign-body response and conventional strategies to mitigate foreign-body response is briefly introduced. Then, three types of promising foreign-body response resisting materials are focused and the advantages, characteristics, and applications of each material are discussed. Finally, prospects are put forward for future development of foreign-body response resisting materials and current challenges that require in-depth study.