Small Science最新文献

{"title":"In Situ Transfer of Laser-Induced Graphene Electronics for Multifunctional Smart Windows","authors":"Tongmei Jing, Han Ku Nam, Dongwook Yang, Younggeun Lee, Rongke Gao, Hongki Yoo, Soongeun Kwon, Seung-Woo Kim, Liandong Yu, Young-Jin Kim","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202400010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400010","url":null,"abstract":"The ascent of internet of things (IoT) technology has increased the demand for glass electronics. However, the production of glass electronics necessitates complicated processes, including conductive materials coating and chemical vapor deposition, which entail the use of additional chemicals. Consequently, this raises environmental apprehensions concerning chemical and electronic waste. In this study, a fast, cost-effective, and simple approach are presented to meet the growing demand for glass electronics while addressing environmental concerns associated with their production processes. The method involves converting polyimide (PI) tape into laser-induced graphene (LIG) and transferring it onto a glass substrate using ultraviolet laser direct writing technology. This process allows for the fabrication of LIG-embedded glass without additional chemical treatments in ambient air. Subsequently, the residual PI tape is removed, resulting in LIG-based glass electrodes with an electrical resistivity of 1.065 × 10⁻³ Ω m. These LIG electrodes demonstrate efficient functionality for window applications such as defogging, heating, temperature sensing, and solar warming, suitable for automotive and residential windows. The potential scalability of this eco-friendly technology to IoT-based smart and sustainable window electronics further underscores its adaptability to meet diverse user needs.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141532289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficient Nebulization and Pulmonary Biodistribution of Polymeric Nanocarriers in an Acute Lung Injury Preclinical Model","authors":"Anna Solé-Porta, Aina Areny-Balagueró, Marta Camprubí-Rimblas, Elena Fernández Fernández, Andrew O’Sullivan, Rossella Giannoccari, Ronan MacLoughlin, Daniel Closa, Antonio Artigas, Anna Roig","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202400066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400066","url":null,"abstract":"Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a clinical syndrome characterized by acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Pneumonia and sepsis are the most common causes, turning ARDS into a critical public health problem. Despite recent advances in pharmacological strategies, clinical trials have not demonstrated a reduction in ARDS-associated mortality. This is in part connected to the singularity of the pulmonary physiological barrier, which hampers drug delivery, specifically at distal areas. To this aim, the use of polymeric nanocarriers as a platform for the efficient delivery of therapeutics to the lungs by nebulization is introduced. Herein, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocapsules (NCs) loaded with human serum albumin, as an inhalable nanotherapeutic are prepared. The production of stable NCs aerosols in the inhalable range is achieved using a commercial device, while the nanocarrier's physicochemical parameters are only minimally altered after nebulization. Importantly, in vivo studies with healthy and acute lung injury animals show that after inhalation, the NCs are homogeneously distributed throughout the lungs, arriving at the distal areas. The NCs are internalized by alveolar type II cells, avoiding macrophage-mediated lung clearance. These features make the PLGA NCs excellent vehicles for noninvasive pulmonary delivery, facilitating a ready-to-be-used nanomedicine.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141505739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Accelerated Mechanophore Activation and Drug Release in Network Core-Structured Star Polymers Using High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound","authors":"Jilin Fan, Mingjun Xuan, Kuan Zhang, Rostislav Vinokur, Lifei Zheng, Robert Göstl, Andreas Herrmann","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202400082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400082","url":null,"abstract":"The ultrasound (US)-induced activation of mechanophores embedded in linear polymers (LPs) is the most widely employed technique to realize chemical function by polymer mechanochemistry. However, the commonly used US frequency in this context is around 20 kHz, producing strong inertial cavitation limiting biomedical applicability. Herein, 20 kHz US and 1.5 MHz high-intensity focused US (HIFU) are investigated to drive disulfide mechanophore activation and mechanochemical polymer chain scission in network core-structured star polymers (NCSPs). It is found that the efficiency of activating disulfide mechanophores in NCSPs using 1.5 MHz HIFU irradiation is similar to the efficiency achieved with 20 kHz sonication. This is quantified by ‘turn on’ sensor molecules leveraging the Michael addition of the mechanochemically generated thiol groups and subsequent retro Diels–Alder reaction to release a fluorophore. Moreover, the anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) covalently loaded into NCSPs is efficiently released by 1.5 MHz HIFU. Finally, an in vitro study of drug release from NCSPs is performed, demonstrating the potential of HIFU-activated polymer mechanochemistry for sonopharmacology.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141527225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantitative Single-Cell Comparison of Sensitization to Radiation and a Radiomimetic Drug for Diverse Gold Nanoparticle Coatings","authors":"Douglas Howard, Tyron Turnbull, Puthenparampil Wilson, David John Paterson, Valentina Milanova, Benjamin Thierry, Ivan Kempson","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202400053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400053","url":null,"abstract":"Metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) have entered clinical use for enhancing radiotherapy, but the underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous. Herein, single-cell analysis of two cell lines in response to megavolt irradiation and a radiomimetic drug, neocarzinostatin (NCS) after coculture with gold NPs with different surface coatings, polyethylene glycol (AuPEG), PEG, and transferrin (AuT) or silica (AuSiO₂), is reported. Different surface chemistry presents a major challenge for objective comparison between the biological impacts where major differences in cell-uptake exist. AuSiO₂ NPs are the most efficient for promoting radiosensitization despite being associated with cells 10 times less than the actively targeted AuT NPs. Conversely, for cells exposed to NCS, AuSiO₂ NPs impede the radiomimetic action and promote cell survival. AuT NPs enhance death of cells in combination with NCS showing that NPs can sensitize against cytotoxic agents in addition to radiation. While NPs contribute to radiosensitization (or enhancing/impeding chemotherapeutic drug activity), due to cell and cell line heterogeneity, the ultimate radiosensitivity of a cell appears to be dominated by its inherent radiosensitivity and how this cell-regulated response is manipulated by NPs. This is evidenced through comparison of radiobiological response of cells with equivalent NP association rather than equivalent coculture conditions.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141529392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Probing Short-Range Correlations in the van der Waals Magnet CrSBr by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering","authors":"Andrey Rybakov, Carla Boix-Constant, Diego Alba Venero, Herre S. J. van der Zant, Samuel Mañas-Valero, Eugenio Coronado","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202400244","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400244","url":null,"abstract":"The layered metamagnet CrSBr offers a rich interplay between magnetic, optical, and electrical properties that can be extended down to the two-dimensional (2D) limit. Despite the extensive research regarding the long-range magnetic order in magnetic van der Waals materials, short-range correlations have been loosely investigated. By using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) the formation of short-range magnetic regions in CrSBr with correlation lengths that increase upon cooling up to <i>≈</i>3 nm at the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature (<i>T</i>\u0000_N\u0000<i> ≈ </i>140 K) is shown. Interestingly, these ferromagnetic correlations start developing below 200 K, i.e., well above <i>T</i>\u0000_N. Below <i>T</i>\u0000_N, these correlations rapidly decrease and are negligible at low-temperatures. The experimental results are well-reproduced by an effective spin Hamiltonian, which pinpoints that the short-range correlations in CrSBr are intrinsic to the monolayer limit, and discard the appearance of any frustrated phase in CrSBr at low-temperatures within the experimental window between 2 and 200 nm. Overall, the obtained results are compatible with a spin freezing scenario of the magnetic fluctuations in CrSBr and highlight SANS as a powerful technique for characterizing the rich physical phenomenology beyond the long-range order paradigm offered by van der Waals magnets.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141527227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Bioengineered Stable Protein 1-Hemin Complex with Enhanced Peroxidase-Like Catalytic Properties","authors":"Yara Zeibaq, Oren Bachar, Jenia Sklyar, Noam Adir, Omer Yehezkeli","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202470018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202470018","url":null,"abstract":"<b>Enzyme-Mimicking Platform</b>","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141532290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Homopolar Chemical Bonds Induce In-Plane Anisotropy in Layered Semiconductors","authors":"Jieling Tan, Jiang-Jing Wang, Hang-Ming Zhang, Han-Yi Zhang, Heming Li, Yu Wang, Yuxing Zhou, Volker L. Deringer, Wei Zhang","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202400226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400226","url":null,"abstract":"Main-group layered binary semiconductors, in particular, the III–VI alloys in the binary Ga–Te system are attracting increasing interest for a range of practical applications. The III–VI semiconductor, monoclinic gallium monotelluride (m-GaTe), has been recently used in high-sensitivity photodetectors/phototransistors and electronic memory applications due to its anisotropic properties yielding superior optical and electrical performance. Despite these applications, the origin of such anisotropy, namely the complex structural and bonding environments in GaTe nanostructures remain to be fully understood. In the present work, a comprehensive atomic-scale characterization of m-GaTe is reported by element-resolved atomic-scale microscopy experiments, enabling a direct measure of the in-plane anisotropy at the sub-Angstrom level. It is shown that these experimental images compare well with the results of first-principles modeling. Quantum-chemical bonding analyses provide a detailed picture of the atomic neighbor interactions within the layers, revealing that vertical Ga<span></span>Ga homopolar bonds get stronger when they are distorted and rotated, inducing the strong in-plane anisotropy. Beyond GaTe, using a systematic screening over the Materials Project database, the four additional low-symmetric layered crystals with similar distorted tetrahedral patterns are identified, indicating that the homopolar-bond-induced anisotropy is a more generic feature in these layered van der Waals (vdW) materials.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141257453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Proteomic Approach to Determine Stem Cell Skeletal Differentiation Signature on Additive Manufactured Scaffolds","authors":"Clarissa Tomasina, Ronny Mohren, Sandra Camarero-Espinosa, Berta Cillero-Pastor, Lorenzo Moroni","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202300316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202300316","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding how porous biomaterials interact with cells at their surface and how they either promote or inhibit cellular processes has presented several challenges. Additive manufacturing enables the fabrication of scaffolds with distinct compositions and designs for different tissue engineering applications. To evaluate the in vitro performance of multiple printed materials, biochemical assays can be limiting in providing valuable insight and key information to select the best tissue destination. Omics technologies like proteomics are crucial for studying important cellular events and gathering valuable information about cellular processes and mechanisms. However, only few studies focus on proteomics to decipher cell–material interactions and cell differentiation on additive manufactured scaffolds. Here, scaffolds were fabricated using three polymers (polycaprolactone (PCL), poly(ethylene oxide)–poly(butylene terephthalate) (PEOT/PBT), and polylactic acid (PLA)) through additive manufacturing. Their chondrogenic and osteogenic potential were characterized and compared using human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) through proteomics analysis. The 3D scaffolds were all hydrophilic and displayed Young's moduli close to those of bone or cartilage for PLA and PCL and PEOT/PBT, respectively. Biochemical assays indicated that PEOT/PBT and PLA scaffolds have a greater chondrogenic potential by higher glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and collagen deposition compared to PCL. PLA and PEOT/PBT showed to be more effective in promoting bone formation, as evidenced by higher calcium deposits detected by alizarin red staining, and higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP), especially for PLA in osteogenic medium. Proteomics data revealed the most distinct separation between conditions in chondrogenic medium, which had the highest protein identification rates. Pathway analysis showed that PCL did not induce any differentiation-related pathways when compared to PEOT/PBT and PLA in any of the tested media conditions. Analysis of PEOT/PBT proteins showed pathways involved in chondrogenesis in all three media and pathways related to hypertrophic phenotype progression in chondrogenic medium. These data suggests that PEOT/PBT is a valuable candidate for cartilage and osteochondral applications, able to drive hBMSCs differentiation without the need of growth factors. PLA was also a valuable candidate for cartilage and bone applications by upregulating both chondrogenic and osteogenic-related proteins in maintenance and chondrogenic media. In osteogenic and maintenance media, the upregulation of angiogenic proteins makes PLA a better candidate for bone application where vascularization is key.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141257121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Tumor Targeting Strategy of Phytoflavonoid Biochanin A for Efficient Fluorescence-Guided Chemotherapy","authors":"Yoonbin Park, Gayoung Jo, Hoon Hyun","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202400111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400111","url":null,"abstract":"Cancer chemotherapy using natural phytochemicals, especially including isoflavone biochanin A (BCA), has attracted considerable attention because of the potent antitumor therapeutic effect and excellent biosafety. However, the preclinical application of BCA is still generally limited by its poor water solubility and low biological availability. To overcome these important limitations, a tumor targetable hemicyanine-based near-infrared (NIR) theranostic agent is rationally designed and prepared to improve the water solubility, tumor targetability, and antitumor activity of BCA. A key point to enhance the tumor targeting efficiency of BCA is the combination of a tumor-targeted water-soluble zwitterionic NIR fluorophore (ZW800-Cl) and BCA to create the hemicyanine structure, named BCA-ZW. Owing to the long-wavelength emission (&gt;750 nm) and large Stokes shift (72 nm) of BCA-ZW, the in vivo performance of BCA-ZW is effectively monitored. The molecularly engineered BCA-ZW not only exhibits high targeting ability to HT-29 xenograft tumors but also induces high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the tumor tissues. Therefore, the fluorescence-guided chemotherapy by BCA-ZW to the tumor-bearing mouse model achieves the enhanced antitumor effect of BCA. This work provides a simple but effective strategy to design NIR fluorescent phytoflavonoids as potential therapeutic agents for further biomedical applications.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141257272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Innovative Self-Assembly of 15-Mer Chimeric α-Peptide–Oligourea Foldamers toward Cl−-Selective Ion Channels","authors":"Chiranjit Dutta, Pannaga Krishnamurthy, Dandan Su, Jianwei Li, Sung Hyun Yoo, Gavin W. Collie, Morgane Pasco, Jingsong Fan, Min Luo, Mihail Barboiu, Gilles Guichard, R. Manjunatha Kini, Prakash Kumar","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202300352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202300352","url":null,"abstract":"Constructing artificial ion channels is a challenging task. Herein, the de novo design of transmembrane ion channels made up of amphiphilic peptide–oligourea chimeric helices is described. They consist of an oligourea segment (7-mer) attached to the C-terminus of a short peptide (8-mer). Mass spectrometry (MS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses show that in an aqueous solution, two of these chimeras (HPU-E and HPU-N) independently form defined oligomeric structures. TEM also shows that they form fiber bundles. The third related chimera HPU-F does not oligomerize (MS) but forms spherical nanostructures (TEM). HPU-E and HPU-N exhibit anion transport activity across lipid bilayers via antiport mechanism (HPU-N &gt; HPU-E). The anion selectivity of HPU-N is Cl⁻&gt;NO₃⁻ &gt; Br⁻&gt;SCN⁻ &gt; I⁻ &gt; AcO⁻&gt;F⁻, which can be due to anion binding within the channels rather than size exclusion. Patch-clamp data support HPU-N's Cl⁻ selectivity (PCl⁻/PI⁻ = 3.26). X-ray crystal structure (1.77 Å) of HPU-N reveals well-packed α-helices, and cryo-electron microscopy data shows the formation of nanotubes (13.7 Å diameter pores) and transmembrane channels. The study shows that α-peptide–oligourea-based de novo design can yield unique bioactive molecules with defined structures and functions.","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141257420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}