Artificial Intelligence in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Drug discovery and development affects various aspects of human health and dramatically impacts the pharmaceutical market.However,investments in a new drug often go unrewarded due to the long and complex process of drug research and development(R&D).With the advancement of experimental technology and computer hardware,artificial intelligence(AI)has recently emerged as a leading tool in analyzing abundant and high-dimensional data.Explosive growth in the size of biomedical data provides advantages in applying AI in all stages of drug R&D.Driven by big data in biomedicine,AI has led to a revolution in drug R&D,due to its ability to discover new drugs more efficiently and at lower cost.This review begins with a brief overview of common AI models in the field of drug discovery;then,it summarizes and discusses in depth their specific applications in various stages of drug R&D,such as target discovery,drug discovery and design,preclinical research,automated drug synthesis,and influences in the pharmaceutical market.Finally,the major limitations of AI in drug R&D are fully discussed and possible solutions are proposed.

One-step floating conversion of biomass into highly graphitized and continuous carbon nanotube yarns

The rapid growth of the demand for carbon nanotubes(CNTs) has greatly promoted their large-scale synthesis and development. However,the continuous production of CNT fibers by floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition(FCCVD) requires a large amount of non-renewable carbon sources. Here, the continuous production of highly graphitized CNT yarns from biomass tannic acid(TA) is reported. The chelation of TA and catalyst promotes the rapid cracking of biomass into carbon source gas, and the pyrolysis cracking produces the reducing gas, which solves the problems of the continuous production of CNT yarns using biomass. Through simple twisting, the mechanical strength of CNT yarn can reach 886 ± 46 MPa, and the electrical conductivity and graphitization(IG/ID) can reach 2 × 10^(5)S m^(-1)and 6.3, respectively. This work presents a promising solution for the continuous preparation of CNT yarns based on green raw material.

Tissue Engineering in Neuroscience: Applications and Perspectives

Neurological disorders have always been a threat to human physical and mental health nowadays,which are closely related to the nonregeneration of neurons in the nervous system(NS).The damage to the NS is currently difficult to repair using conventional therapies,such as surgery and medication.Therefore,repairing the damaged NS has always been a vast challenge in the area of neurology.Tissue engineering(TE),which integrates the cell biology and materials science to reconstruct or repair organs and tissues,has widespread applications in bone,periodontal tissue defects,skin repairs,and corneal transplantation.Recently,tremendous advances have been made in TE regarding neuroscience.In this review,we summarize TE’s recent progress in neuroscience,including pathological mechanisms of various neurological disorders,the concepts and classification of TE,and the most recent development of TE in neuroscience.Lastly,we prospect the future directions and unresolved problems of TE in neuroscience.

Single small molecule-assembled nanoparticles mediate efficient oral drug delivery

Oral drug delivery,which requires surviving the harsh environment in the gastrointestinal(Gl)tract and penetrating the intestinal epithelium,has not bee n achieved using simple formulatio n nan oparticles(NPs).Medici nal natural products(MNPs)have bee n widely used in traditi onal medicine for disease management through oral consumption.However,most pharmacologically active compounds within MNPs do not have the properties suitable for oral applicatio ns.We hypothesize that some MNPs contain n atural nano materials that can convert those compounds into oral formulations by forming NPs.After screening 66 MNPs,we identified five classes of small molecules that form NPs,many of which are capable of efficient drug encapsulation and Gl penetration.We show that one of them,dehydrotrametenolic acid(DTA),is capable of mediating oral delivery for effective disease treatment.We determined that DTA NPs assemble through hydrogen bonding and penetra怕the Gl tract via apical sodium-depe ndent bile acid tran sporter.Our study reveals a no vel class of single comp orient,small molecule-assembled NPs for oral drug delivery,and suggests a n ovel approach to modernizi ng MNPs through nano material discovery.