Composition Optimization and Microstructure Design in MOFs-Derived Magnetic Carbon-Based Microwave Absorbers:A Review

Magnetic carbon-based composites are the most attractive candidates for electromagnetic(EM)absorption because they can terminate the propagation of surplus EM waves in space by interacting with both electric and magnetic branches.Metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)have demonstrated their great potential as sacrificing precursors of magnetic metals/carbon composites,because they provide a good platform to achieve high dispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in carbon matrix.Nevertheless,the chemical composition and microstructure of these composites are always highly dependent on their precursors and cannot promise an optimal EM state favorable for EM absorption,which more or less discount the superiority of MOFs-derived strategy.It is hence of great importance to develop some accompanied methods that can regulate EM properties of MOFs-derived magnetic carbon-based composites e ectively.This review comprehensively introduces recent advancements on EM absorption enhancement in MOFs-derived magnetic carbon-based composites and some available strategies therein.In addition,some challenges and prospects are also proposed to indicate the pending issues on performance breakthrough and mechanism exploration in the related field.

Intelligent hydrogels for treating malignant melanoma

Malignant melanoma(MM)is an extremely aggressive and fatal form of skin cancer that primarily affects the bottom layer of the epidermis and is associated with poor clinical outcomes.Early-stage MM is typically treated through surgical removal,while chemotherapy and radiotherapy are common conventional treatment options that come with harmful side effects.Emerging therapies such as immunotherapy,photodynamic therapy,biologic therapy,and photothermal therapy present hopeful options for treatment due to their effective and secure drug delivery methods.To address the limitations of current treatment options,advanced methods of drug delivery for subcutaneous MM are being developed,with hydrogels emerging as a promising alternative.To date,significant advancements have been made in the treatment of MM through the use of hydrogels-based drug delivery systems through focal plastering,injection,implantation,and microneedles.Recent research on hydrogel-based drug delivery systems that integrate multiple therapies for the treatment of subcutaneous MM is discussed in this review.

Clinical efficacy and identification of factors confer resistance to afatinib(tyrosine kinase inhibitor)in EGFR-overexpressing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR)is reportedly overexpressed in most esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)patients,but anti-EGFR treatments offer limited survival benefits.Our preclinical data showed the promising antitumor activity of afatinib in EGFR-overexpressing ESCC.This proof-of-concept,phase II trial assessed the efficacy and safety of afatinib in pretreated metastatic ESCC patients(n=41)with EGFR overexpression(NCT03940976).The study met its primary endpoint,with a confirmed objective response rate(ORR)of 39%in 38 efficacy-evaluable patients and a median overall survival of 7.8 months,with a manageable toxicity profile.Transcriptome analysis of pretreatment tumors revealed that neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase 2(NTRK2)was negatively associated with afatinib sensitivity and might serve as a predictive biomarker,irrespective of EGFR expression.Notably,knocking down or inhibiting NTRK2 sensitized ESCC cells to afatinib treatment.Our study provides novel findings on the molecular factors underlying afatinib resistance and indicates that afatinib has the potential to become an important treatment for metastatic ESCC patients.

Bio-inspired clamping microneedle arrays from flexible ferrofluid-configured moldings

Microneedle(MN)arrays have demonstrated value for cosmetics,diagnosis,transdermal drug delivery,and other biomedical areas.Much effort has been devoted to developing simple stratagem for creating versatile moldings and generating functional MN arrays.Here,inspired by the serrated microstructure of mantises’forelegs,we present a novel serration-like clamping MN array based on ferrofluidconfigured moldings.Benefiting from the flexibility and versatility of ferrofluids,negative microhole array moldings with various sizes and angles toward the midline could be created easily.The corresponding biocompatible polymer MN arrays with both isotropic and anisotropic structures could then be produced feasibly and cost-effectively by simply replicating these moldings.It was found that the resultant serrated clamping MN arrays had the ability to adhere to skin firmly,enabling them to be used over a relatively long time and while the recipient was moving.This proposed technology performed well in minimally invasive drug administration and sustained glucocorticoids release during treatment for imiquimod-induced psoriasis in mice.These features indicated that such MN arrays could play important roles in wearable transdermal drug delivery systems and in other applications.

Advances in core–shell engineering of carbon-based composites for electromagnetic wave absorption

Electromagnetic(EM)absorption is paving the way to overcome the challenges related to conventional shielding strategy against EM pollution through sustainable energy dissipation.As characteristic functional media that can interact with electric or magnetic field branch,EM wave absorption materials(EWAMs)have received extensive attention and realized considerable development in the past two decades,where carbon-based composites are always considered as promising candidates for high-performance EMAWs due to their synergetic loss mechanism as well as diversified composition and microstructure design.Recent progress indicates that there is more and more interest in the fabrication of carbon-based composites with unique core–shell configuration.On one hand,core–shell configuration usually ensures good chemical homogeneity of final products and provides some positive protections for the components with susceptibility to corrosion,on the other hand,it creates enough heterogeneous interfaces between different EM components,which may bring enhanced polarization effect and intensify the consumption of EM energy.In this review,we firstly introduce EM wave absorption theory,and then highlight the advances of core–shell engineering in carbonbased composites in terms of built-in carbon cores and built-out carbon shells.Moreover,we also show some special core–shell carbon-based composites,including carbon/carbon composites,assembled composites,and decorated composites.After analyzing EM absorption performance of some representative composites,we further propose some challenges and perspectives on the development of core–shell carbon-based composites.

Living Bacterial Microneedles for Fungal Infection Treatment

Fungal infections are everlasting health challenges all over the world,bringing about great financial and medical burdens.Here,inspired by the natural competition law of beneficial bacteria against other microbes,we present novel living microneedles(LMNs)with functionalized bacteria encapsulation for efficient fungal infection treatment.The chosen beneficial bacterial components,Bacillus subtilis(B.subtilis),which are naturally found on the human skin and widely used for food processing,can get nutrients from the skin and escape from the immune system with the help of microneedles.Besides,the encapsulated B.subtilis can continuously produce and secrete various potential antifungal agents which can directly bind to fungal cell surfaceassociated proteins and destruct the cell membranes,thus avoiding drug resistance.After immobilization in the LMNs,the bacteria can stay within the LMNs without invasion and the encapsulated bacteria together with microneedles can be removed after application.Thus,the side effects,especially the risk for subsequent bacterial infections,are controlled to a minimum to ensure security.In addition,strong penetrability of the microneedles enhances penetration of antifungal agents,and their heights can be adjusted according to the infected depth to acquire better therapeutic effects.These features make the LMNs potentially valuable for clinical applications.

Immune tolerance induced by immune-homeostatic particles

Autoimmune diseases,induced by dysfunction of the adaptive immune system,are the common disease categories worldwide.Recently,regulatory T cells(Tregs)enhancing therapies have been demonstrated to treat autoimmune diseases,which could induce immune tolerance to protect cells and tissues from self-attacking of the immune system.However,their widespread application is limited by complex manufacturing process,long production period and high cost.Herein,we give a perspective of immune-homeostatic particles as immune regulators to induce antigen-specific Tregs for treating autoimmune diseases.Disease-specific autoantigen is loaded into the particle to induce Tregs differentiation after release.In addition,the surface of the particles is decorated by specific ligands that could bind and trigger apoptosis of activated T cells,thereby impressing the overreacted immune system.Furthermore,liver sinusoidal endothelial cells(LSEC)-targeting particles are developed to stimulate CD4^(+)T cells differentiation into Tregs.We believe that the immune-homeostatic particles have great potential in autoimmune diseases treatment and are valuable in various immune-related disease treatments.