Super-Absorbent Polymer Valves and Colorimetric Chemistries for Time-Sequenced Discrete Sampling and Chloride Analysis of Sweat via Skin-Mounted Soft Microfluidics.

This paper introduces super absorbent polymer valves and colorimetric sensing reagents as enabling components of soft, skin-mounted microfluidic devices designed to capture, store, and chemically analyze sweat released from eccrine glands. The valving technology enables robust means for guiding the flow of sweat from an inlet location into a collection of isolated reservoirs, in a well-defined sequence. Analysis in these reservoirs involves a color responsive indicator of chloride concentration with a formulation tailored to offer stable operation with sensitivity optimized for the relevant physiological range. Evaluations on human subjects with comparisons against ex situ analysis illustrate the practical utility of these advances.

Sensitive electrochemical sensing platform based on Au nanoflower-integrated carbon fiber for detecting interleukin-6 in human serum.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most prevalent cancer worldwide, with a high mortality rate. The early and accurate detection of PCa is critical in reducing mortality and saving lives. Timely diagnosis can improve the chances of successful treatment using advanced technologies. In recent years, nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensing strategies have been adopted in clinical diagnosis, as they allow sensitive early-biomarker detections to be converged with a cost-effective electronic readout system. Herein, we present a flexible electrochemical immunosensor platform for detecting interleukin-6 (IL-6) based on an Au-integrated flexible carbon fiber (Au/CF) electrode prepared via electrodeposition and chemically modified to capture IL-6 antibodies. Several techniques are used to analyze the prepared Au/CF composite electrodes to confirm their morphology, structure, and elemental composition. Under optimum conditions, the fabricated immunosensor exhibits a wide linear dynamic ranging from 1 fg/mL to 1 µg/mL and a low detection limit of 0.056 fg/mL, with a sensitivity of 62.17 µA/(fg mL-1). The proposed fiber-based immunosensor is used to quantify the concentration of IL-6 in serum samples from clinical PCa patients (T3b and T4 stages), and the results are validated using the commercial Meso Scale Diagnostics (MSD) V-Plex method. The acceptable results yielded by the proposed immunosensor indicate that it can serve as a new platform to realize highly sensitive and cost-effective diagnostic strategies for the early diagnosis of PCa.

Covalent, Non-Covalent, Encapsulated Nanodrug Regulate the Fate of Intra- and Extracellular Trafficking: Impact on Cancer and Normal Cells.

Drugs need to be designed to access the designated intracellular organelle compartments in order to maximize anticancer efficacy. This study identified that covalently conjugated, non-covalent polyethylene glycol coated and encapsulated nanodrugs selectively influence drug uptake, the intracellular and extracellular trafficking of cancer cells. The types of nano conjugation modulated intracellular dynamics associated with differential impact on anti-cancer efficacy, but also induced differential cytotoxicity on cancer versus normal cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the importance of selecting the appropriate type of nano-conjugation for delivering organelle specific, active chemotherapeutic agents through controlled intracellular trafficking.

Biomimetic component coating on 3D scaffolds using high bioactivity of mesoporous bioactive ceramics.

BACKGROUND: Mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) are very attractive materials for use in bone tissue regeneration because of their extraordinarily high bone-forming bioactivity in vitro. That is, MBGs may induce the rapid formation of hydroxy apatite (HA) in simulated body fluid (SBF), which is a major inorganic component of bone extracellular matrix (ECM) and comes with both good osteoconductivity and high affinity to adsorb proteins. Meanwhile, the high bioactivity of MBGs may lead to an abrupt initial local pH variation during the initial Ca ion-leaching from MBGs at the initial transplant stage, which may induce unexpected negative effects on using them in in vivo application. In this study we suggest a new way of using MBGs in bone tissue regeneration that can improve the strength and make up for the weakness of MBGs. We applied the outstanding bone-forming bioactivity of MBG to coat the main ECM components HA and collagen on the MBG-polycarplolactone (PCL) composite scaffolds for improving their function as bone scaffolds in tissue regeneration. This precoating process can also expect to reduce initial local pH variation of MBGs. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The MBG-PCL scaffolds were immersed in the mixed solution of the collagen and SBF at 37°C for 24 hours. The coating of ECM components on the MBG-PCL scaffolds and the effect of ECM coating on in vitro cell behaviors were confirmed. RESULTS: The ECM components were fully coated on MBG-PCL scaffolds after immersing in SBF containing dilute collagen-I solution only for 24 hours due to the high bone-forming bioactivity of MBG. Both cell affinity and osteoconductivity of MBG-PCL scaffolds were dramatically enhanced by this precoating process. CONCLUSION: The precoating process of ECM components on MBG-PCL scaffold using a high bioactivity of MBG was not only effective in enhancing the functionality of scaffolds but also effective in eliminating the unexpected side effect. The MBG-PCL scaffold-coated ECM components ideally satisfied the required conditions of scaffold in tissue engineering, including 3D well-interconnected pore structures with high porosity, good bioactivity, enhanced cell affinity, biocompatibility, osteoconductivity, and sufficient mechanical properties, and promise excellent potential application in the field of biomaterials.

Analysis on migration and activation of live macrophages on transparent flat and nanostructured titanium.

The immunotoxicity of implanted nanostructured titanium is a paramount issue for vascular, dental and orthopedic applications. However, it has been unclear whether implanted surface nanostructures can inhibit or aggrevate inflammatory responses. Herein, macrophage activation, as evidence of migration, on transparent flat and nanostructured titanium correlated with pro-inflammatory protein synthesis and cytokine release. Through the real-time monitoring of initial cytoskeleton variations, this study identified that macrophage movement was restricted on nanostructured titanium compared to flat titanium surfaces. Furthermore, nanostructured titanium elicited secretion of fewer pro-inflammatory enzyme molecules and cytokines, as well as reduced nitric oxide production. All results collectively indicated that initial macrophage activation can be mitigated by nanoscale surface topography alone, without modification of surface chemistry or stiffness.