Predicting anti-tumor efficacy of multi-functional nanomedicine on decellularized hepatocellular carcinoma-on-a-chip.

Traditional hepatocellular carcinoma-chip models lack the cell structure and microenvironments necessary for high pathophysiological correlation, leading to low accuracy in predicting drug efficacy and high production costs. This study proposed a decellularized hepatocellular carcinoma-on-a-chip model to screen anti-tumor nanomedicine. In this model, human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and human normal liver cells (L02) were co-cultured on a three-dimensional (3D) decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) in vitro to mimic the tumor microenvironments of human hepatocellular carcinoma in vivo. Additionally, a smart nanomedicine was developed by encapsulating doxorubicin (DOX) into the ferric oxide (Fe3O4)-incorporated liposome nanovesicle (NLV/Fe+DOX). NLV/Fe+DOX selectively killed 78.59% ± 6.78% of HepG2 cells through targeted delivery and synergistic chemo-chemodynamic-photothermal therapies, while the viability of surrounding L02 cells on the chip model retained high, at over 90.0%. The drug efficacy tested using this unique chip model correlated well with the results of cellular and animal experiments. In summary, our proposed hepatocellular carcinoma-chip model is a low-cost yet accurate drug-testing platform with significant potential for drug screening.

A Critical Review on Recent Progress of Solution-Processed Monolayer Assembly of Nanomaterials and Applications.

The rapid development in nanotechnology has necessitated accurate and efficient assembly strategies for nanomaterials. Monolayer assembly of nanomaterials (MAN) represents a challenging and important architecture to manufacture and is critical in understanding interactions among nanomaterials, solvents, and substrates. MAN enables highly tunable performance in electronic and photonic devices. This review summarizes the recent progress on the methods to achieve MAN and discusses important control factors. Moreover, the importance of MAN is elaborated by a broad range of applications in electronics and photonics. In the end, the opportunities as well as challenges in manufacturing and new applications are outlooked.

Bionic Bilayer Scaffold for Synchronous Hyperthermia Therapy of Orthotopic Osteosarcoma and Osteochondral Regeneration.

Large osseous void, postsurgical neoplastic recurrence, and slow bone-cartilage repair rate raise an imperative need to develop functional scaffold in clinical osteosarcoma treatment. Herein, a bionic bilayer scaffold constituting croconaine dye-polyethylene glycol@sodium alginate hydrogel and poly(l-lactide)/hydroxyapatite polymer matrix is fabricated to simultaneously achieve a highly efficient killing of osteosarcoma and an accelerated osteochondral regeneration. First, biomimetic osteochondral structure along with adequate interfacial interaction of the bilayer scaffold provide a structural reinforcement for transverse osseointegration and osteochondral regeneration, as evidenced by upregulated specific expressions of collagen type-I, osteopontin, and runt-related transcription factor 2. Meanwhile, thermal ablation of the synthesized nanoparticles and mitochondrial dysfunction caused by continuously released hydroxyapatite induce residual tumor necrosis synergistically. To validate the capabilities of inhibiting tumor growth and promoting osteochondral regeneration of our proposed scaffold, a novel orthotopic osteosarcoma model simulating clinical treatment scenarios of bone tumors is established on rats. Based on amounts of in vitro and in vivo results, an effective killing of osteosarcoma and a suitable osteal-microenvironment modulation of such bionic bilayer composite scaffold are achieved, which provides insightful implications for photonic hyperthermia therapy against osteosarcoma and following osseous tissue regeneration.