Luis Marcos, Charlie Hall, Eric J. Hill, Samantha L. Wilson, Paul Roach
{"title":"Selective Promotion of Retinal Organoid Attachment and Differentiation by Amine- and Hydroxyl-Modified Surfaces","authors":"Luis Marcos, Charlie Hall, Eric J. Hill, Samantha L. Wilson, Paul Roach","doi":"10.1002/anbr.202500189","DOIUrl":"10.1002/anbr.202500189","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The clinical success of organoid-based therapies depends critically on understanding and controlling how biomaterial surfaces influence organoid behavior and integration. Retinal organoids (ROs) are emerging as advanced in vitro models with potential for transplantation, yet the molecular underpinnings of their interactions with engineered biomaterials remain largely unexplored. Here, this study systematically examines the effects of surface chemical modifications: amine (<span></span>NH<sub>2</sub>), hydroxyl (<span></span>OH), phenyl (<span></span>Ph), and methyl (<span></span>CH<sub>3</sub>) groups presented via alkyl-based self-assembled monolayers, on RO attachment, migration, and differentiation at key developmental stages. This study's' findings reveal that surface chemistry is a major determinant of organoid response: Hydrophilic surfaces (<span></span>OH and <span></span>NH<sub>2</sub>) markedly enhance RO migration and retinal ganglion cell differentiation, while less wettable surfaces (<span></span>Ph and <span></span>CH<sub>3</sub>) restrict initial attachment. These results shed new light on the pivotal role of the biomaterial interface in directing 3D organoid development, offering actionable insights for the optimization of organoid delivery, integration, and function in regenerative medicine. A deeper understanding of these interactions will enable the rational design of biomaterial platforms and accelerate the translation of organoid models to clinical therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":29975,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Nanobiomed Research","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anbr.202500189","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146147925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ilaria Condò, Marcella Trombetta, Emiliano Schena, Daniela Lo Presti, Sara Maria Giannitelli
{"title":"A Lightweight Skin-Adhesive Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor to Advance Minimally Invasive Healthcare Monitoring","authors":"Ilaria Condò, Marcella Trombetta, Emiliano Schena, Daniela Lo Presti, Sara Maria Giannitelli","doi":"10.1002/anbr.202500213","DOIUrl":"10.1002/anbr.202500213","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Wearable sensors that combine high precision with conformability and skin adhesion are crucial for reliable and highly unobtrusive physiological monitoring. In this context, increasing efforts are directed toward next-generation miniaturized self-adhesive sensors employing different sensing technologies. Herein, for the first time a self-adhesive sensor is developed for real-time detection of physiological and biomechanical strain signals, by embedding a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor into a soft, biomimetic, flexible matrix. This hydrogel-based matrix, composed of gelatin methacrylate, xanthan gum, and glycerol, is engineered to balance fiber–matrix mechanical coupling and skin adhesion. The encapsulated FBG sensor exhibits stable optical response, reduced signal attenuation, and retains good sensitivity to both strain (0.07 nm mε<sup>−1</sup>) and temperature (0.01 nm °C<sup>−1</sup>). Preliminary on-skin tests on a healthy volunteer demonstrate the ability to capture subtle physiological signals such as breathing and heartbeats, as well as limb motion. Notably, the self-adhesive properties of the matrix enable firm skin contact without additional tapes, enhancing signal reliability, and reducing motion artifacts. This approach offers a robust, biocompatible, and scalable solution for wearable sensing, opening new opportunities in health monitoring, rehabilitation, and human–machine interfaces.</p>","PeriodicalId":29975,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Nanobiomed Research","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anbr.202500213","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146162564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comprehending the Membrane Properties for Emulation in Organs-on-a-Chip","authors":"Tanmayee Makarand Sathe, Dhananjay Shrikrishna Bodas","doi":"10.1002/anbr.202500078","DOIUrl":"10.1002/anbr.202500078","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Membranes are fundamental to the operation of any organ. They not only act as a basal layer for cells, but also partake in transport and communication in the body. Consequently, comprehension of the role of organ-specific membranes is just as vital to understanding the overall organ function. The characteristics such as biocompatibility, surface roughness, hydrophilicity, porosity, elasticity, and permeability define the organ-specific function of the membrane while emulating its structure in vitro. Various polymer materials have been reported for the fabrication of organ-specific membranes owing to the specific characteristics they impart to the membrane individually. Additionally, fabrication techniques are responsible for imparting specific attributes to the membrane. Thus, organ-specific membrane characteristics, along with material and fabrication techniques, must be identified to better recapitulate the in vivo conditions. Although several membrane-integrated on-chip models have been reported, new strategies need to be tailored to obtain organ-specific functional membranes. Furthermore, perfusion-based on-chip models will aid in emulating the fluid stress, thus moving closer to the in vivo conditions. Such models can elicit faithful emulation of the in vivo environment and organ-specific functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":29975,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Nanobiomed Research","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anbr.202500078","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Surface-Coated Inorganic Nanomaterials for Drug Delivery: Chemical Design, Biomedical Applications, and Mechanistic Insights","authors":"Hossein Daneshgar, Sepideh Ahmadi, Nikzad Abbariki, Navid Rabiee, Sidi A. Bencherif","doi":"10.1002/anbr.202500144","DOIUrl":"10.1002/anbr.202500144","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Enhancing the efficiency of biomedical compounds while reducing development costs and timelines remains a critical priority in pharmaceutical science. Inorganic nanomaterials (INMs) play a pivotal role in drug delivery systems (DDSs), where their properties and performance are central to practical applications and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Surface coatings significantly enhance DDS efficacy, positioning coated INMs as a distinct and promising pharmaceutical class. This review outlines a framework that highlights coating strategies designed for simplicity, scalability, and alignment with green chemistry principles, distinguishing them from more complex traditional functionalization approaches. Diverse coating agents, including plant extracts, biomolecules, polymers, and inorganic compounds, are categorized according to their properties and performance characteristics. Advanced characterization techniques, integrated with biological and functional evaluations, provide a comprehensive perspective that underscores both current limitations and emerging innovations. By bridging laboratory performance with clinical translation, this review emphasizes the potential of noncovalent coating strategies for INMs in developing smart, stimuli-responsive DDSs. Through optimized designs and innovative approaches, including artificial intelligence (AI), these systems offer pathways toward personalized therapies, enhanced targeting precision, and ultimately improved patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":29975,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Nanobiomed Research","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anbr.202500144","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ashkan Seza, Kimia Mozahheb Yousefi, Sara Minaeian
{"title":"Engineering Ultrasound Contrast Agents for Targeted Therapeutics: A Theranostic Approach to Drug Delivery, Gene Therapy, and Immunomodulation","authors":"Ashkan Seza, Kimia Mozahheb Yousefi, Sara Minaeian","doi":"10.1002/anbr.202500176","DOIUrl":"10.1002/anbr.202500176","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Engineering of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) has revolutionized diagnostic imaging and therapeutic applications in medical science. These agents, comprising microbubbles (MBs) and nanobubbles (NBs), are gas-filled structures with unique acoustic properties that not only enhance ultrasound imaging quality but also enable targeted therapeutic delivery through controlled acoustic stimulation. While available microbubble-based UCAs have demonstrated significant success in clinical imaging and drug delivery, their size (1–8 μm) restricts application to the vascular compartment. This limitation has driven the development of NBs (100–500 nm), which exploit enhanced permeability and retention effects to penetrate tumor tissues and other pathological sites. Recent advances in UCA engineering have focused on optimizing shell composition, surface modifications, and payload incorporation to create sophisticated theranostic platforms. These developments have expanded UCA applications beyond traditional imaging to include targeted drug delivery, gene therapy, and immunomodulation. This review critically examines the engineering principles and structural parameters governing UCA performance in diagnostic and therapeutic applications, emphasizing emerging strategies for enhanced therapeutic delivery. It explores how innovations in shell design, size control, and surface modification enable more effective therapeutic interventions while maintaining excellent imaging capabilities, paving the way for next-generation theranostic applications in medicalscience.</p>","PeriodicalId":29975,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Nanobiomed Research","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anbr.202500176","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146147988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daewoo Han, Iris S. Weitz, Hasan Slika, Betty Tyler, Andrew J. Steckl
{"title":"Combined Delivery of CuO Nanoparticles and HIF-1α Inhibitor Acriflavine for Synergistic Local Treatment of Glioblastoma","authors":"Daewoo Han, Iris S. Weitz, Hasan Slika, Betty Tyler, Andrew J. Steckl","doi":"10.1002/anbr.202500124","DOIUrl":"10.1002/anbr.202500124","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and highly aggressive primary malignant central nervous system tumor, has seen minimal improvement in its median survival of <24 months. This study investigates the codelivery of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and acriflavine (ACF), a hypoxia-inducible factor-inhibiting drug, to provide synergistic dual reactions in order to effectively kill tumor-initiating cells and to target multiple processes implicated in GBM progression. The two anticancer agents are embedded in polymeric core-sheath nanofibers formed by coaxial electrospinning. Transmission electron microscopy and dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping are used to confirm the uniform distribution of CuO NPs in the fiber core. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis results suggest that drug-core polymer interactions mainly occur through weak bonding with the solvent surrounding the core-polymer chains, leading to a relatively faster drug release. Cytotoxicity of combinations of drugs is evaluated in vitro against the GL261-LUC cell line, showing a very strong synergistic effect. Dose-effect-based model presents the average combination index of ≈0.48 and dose reduction index of 19.6 for ACF and 2.6 for CuO NPs. A 3D GBM spheroid model is utilized to better mimic the tumor microenvironment, including cell heterogeneity and hypoxic conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":29975,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Nanobiomed Research","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anbr.202500124","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Faysal A. Farah, Yu Qin, Xin Shi, Dylan M. Owen, Mark A. Green, James D. E. T. Wilton-Ely
{"title":"Dual Modality Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles for Use in Optical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging","authors":"Faysal A. Farah, Yu Qin, Xin Shi, Dylan M. Owen, Mark A. Green, James D. E. T. Wilton-Ely","doi":"10.1002/anbr.202500230","DOIUrl":"10.1002/anbr.202500230","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (SPNs) hold great promise as fluorescent nanoparticles with many advantageous optical and biological properties. However, their potential for optical imaging in clinical applications is currently restricted by limited tissue penetration, compared to the depth offered by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Multimodal SPN-based contrast agents that integrate different, complementary imaging modalities into one platform allow the strengths to be combined and the weaknesses mitigated. This study presents an accessible route to modular, well-defined, and versatile dual modality SPNs composed of red-emitting SPNs functionalized with novel gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). The Gd unit is attached to the surface of the SPN using a rigid linker, providing a robust attachment point as well as enhancing the MRI performance. Preliminary in vitro studies show that the SPNs are nontoxic across all concentrations tested and are readily taken up by cells, illustrating their potential as imaging probes. Anchoring the GBCA unit to the surface of the SPN yields a dramatic increase in the relaxivity compared to the unattached contrast agent unit. The dual modality probe shows a fourfold relaxivity enhancement over the clinical standard, Dotarem, at clinical field strengths, making this dual modality platform a promising design for combined optical and MR imaging.</p>","PeriodicalId":29975,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Nanobiomed Research","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anbr.202500230","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ashkan Seza, Kimia Mozahheb Yousefi, Sara Minaeian
{"title":"Engineering Ultrasound Contrast Agents for Targeted Therapeutics: A Theranostic Approach to Drug Delivery, Gene Therapy, and Immunomodulation","authors":"Ashkan Seza, Kimia Mozahheb Yousefi, Sara Minaeian","doi":"10.1002/anbr.70096","DOIUrl":"10.1002/anbr.70096","url":null,"abstract":"<p><b>Ultrasound Contrast Agents</b></p><p>The cover illustration depicts an engineered nanobubble ultrasound contrast agent designed for \ttheranostic applications in drug delivery, gene therapy, and immunomodulation. The nanobubble features a multifunctional hybrid shell integrating lipid layers (yellow), polymeric coatings (green), and nanoparticle-based components (red), representing versatile structural architectures that enhance stability, responsiveness, and targeting capabilities. Inside the nanobubble core, various therapeutic cargos (including drugs, genes, and immune agents) are depicted, symbolizing the broad use of microbubbles and nanobubbles that can be encapsulated for controlled, ultrasound-triggered release. Overall, the image visually summarizes the central theme of the review: how rationally engineered ultrasound contrast agents can serve as theranostic platforms uniting imaging and targeted therapy across drug delivery, gene therapy, and immunomodulation. More details can be found in the Research Article by Sara Minaeian and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/anbr.202500176).\u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":29975,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Nanobiomed Research","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/anbr.70096","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146184611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}