Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Promising Therapeutic Opportunities for Diabetic Wound Healing.

Wound healing is a sophisticated and orderly process of cellular interactions in which the body restores tissue architecture and functionality following injury. Healing of chronic diabetic wounds is difficult due to impaired blood circulation, a reduced immune response, and disrupted cellular repair mechanisms, which are often associated with diabetes. Stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (SC-EVs) hold the regenerative potential, encapsulating a diverse cargo of proteins, RNAs, and cytokines, presenting a safe, bioactivity, and less ethical issues than other treatments. SC-EVs orchestrate multiple regenerative processes by modulating cellular communication, increasing angiogenesis, and promoting the recruitment and differentiation of progenitor cells, thereby potentiating the reparative milieu for diabetic wound healing. Therefore, this review investigated the effects and mechanisms of EVs from various stem cells in diabetic wound healing, as well as their limitations and challenges. Continued exploration of SC-EVs has the potential to revolutionize diabetic wound care.

The Emerging Roles of Exosomal miRNAs in Breast Cancer Progression and Potential Clinical Applications.

Breast cancer remains the leading malignancy in terms of morbidity and mortality today. The tumor microenvironment of breast cancer includes multiple cell types, secreted proteins, and signaling components such as exosomes. Among these, exosomes have a lipid bilayer structure. Exosomes can reflect the biological traits of the parent cell and carry a variety of biologically active components, including proteins, lipids, small molecules, and non-coding RNAs, which include miRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA. MiRNAs are a group of non-coding RNAs of approximately 20-23 nucleotides in length encoded by the genome, triggering silencing and functional repression of target genes. MiRNAs have been shown to play a significant role in the development of cancer owing to their role in the prognosis, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. MiRNAs in exosomes can serve as effective mediators of information transfer from parental cells to recipient cells and trigger changes in biological traits such as proliferation, invasion, migration, and drug resistance. These changes can profoundly alter the progression of breast cancer. Therefore, here, we systematically summarize the association of exosomal miRNAs on breast cancer progression, diagnosis, and treatment in the hope of providing novel strategies and directions for subsequent breast cancer treatment.

Simultaneous Removal of NO and SO2 from Flue Gas Using [Bmim]2FeCl4/Sulfolane Binary Mixtures.

NO and SO2 are the major pollutants of coal combustion. As superior absorbents, ionic liquids are environmentally friendly, are reusable, and can clean flue gases, such as CO2, SO2, and NO x . However, NO and SO2 absorption with low concentration in flue gases under normal conditions is rarely studied. In this work, [Bmim]2FeCl4 was synthesized and mixed with sulfolane for NO and SO2 removal from flue gas. The investigated concentrations of NO and SO2 were 1100 and 2500 ppm, respectively, which are close to real fuel gas conditions. Results showed that 30 wt % [Bmim]2FeCl4/sulfolane mixture performed the best absorption behavior. The presence of SO2 could promote NO absorption by [Bmim]2FeCl4/sulfolane mixture. The 30 wt % [Bmim]2FeCl4/sulfolane mixture had removal efficiencies of 93.6 and 76.2% for NO and SO2, respectively. This mixture also showed great reusability for NO and SO2 after six cycles of absorption. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum indicated that SO2 and NO removal by [Bmim]2FeCl4/sulfolane binary mixture was due to the chemical reaction between NO and [Bmim]2FeCl4 and the physical absorption between SO2 and sulfolane.

Plasmonic Ag decorated graphitic carbon nitride sheets with enhanced visible-light response for photocatalytic water disinfection and organic pollutant removal.

Photocatalytic disinfection with high performance is thought to be a promising way for water purification. Herein, plasmonic Ag doped urea-derived graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) composites were fabricated via in-situ photo-deposition at room temperature as the visible-light photocatalyst. Scan electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images showed the uniform dispersion of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of g-C3N4 sheet, which facilitated the synergistic effect of antibacterial performance from Ag and photocatalytic property from Ag/g-C3N4 composites. Photocatalytic water disinfection against Escherichia coli with visible light was performed to demonstrate the improved photocatalytic property with assistance of Ag. The 3-Ag/g-C3N4 exhibited the best bactericidal performance by inactivating all bacteria within 120 min with damaged cell membranes of Escherichia coli observed by scan electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images. Photoluminescence spectra, steady-state surface photovoltage spectra, photocurrent response, and electrochemical impedance spectra results revealed that Ag nanoparticles inhibited the recombination of photo-generated e- and h+ pairs and further reinforced the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4. Scavenger experiments indicated that h+ produced on valence band of g-C3N4 dominated the photocatalytic disinfection process against Escherichia coli. This work further proved Ag/g-C3N4 showed great potential in photocatalytic water disinfection under visible-light irradiation.

A green method to synthesize flowerlike Fe(OH)3 microspheres for enhanced adsorption performance toward organic and heavy metal pollutants.

Dyestuffs and heavy metal ions in water are seriously harmful to the ecological environment and human health. Three-dimensional (3D) flowerlike Fe(OH)3 microspheres were synthesized through a green yet low-cost injection method, for the removal of organic dyes and heavy metal ions. The Fe(OH)3 microspheres were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The adsorption kinetics of Congo Red (CR) on Fe(OH)3 microspheres obeyed the pseudo-second-order model. Cr6+ and Pb2+ adsorption behaviors on Fe(OH)3 microspheres followed the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacities of the synthesized Fe(OH)3 were 308, 52.94, and 75.64mg/g for CR, Cr6+, and Pb2+ respectively. The enhanced adsorption performance originated from its surface properties and large specific surface area of 250m2/g. The microspheres also have excellent adsorption stability and recyclability. Another merit of the Fe(OH)3 material is that it also acts as a Fenton-like catalyst. These twin functionalities (both as adsorbent and Fenton-like catalyst) give the synthesized Fe(OH)3 microspheres great potential in the field of water treatment.