Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have now earned the reputation as "artificial receptors" or "plastic antibodies". As the mimics of natural receptors, MIPs are reminiscent of some basic ...functions of natural receptors in living systems, e.g., the ability to interact with or recognize cells. The latest decade has witnessed a great advance in MIPs from simple molecular extraction to efficient cell recognition, implying that MIP-based synthetic receptors are approaching to be perfectly functioning replicates of their natural counterparts. With the most emerging development in molecular imprinting, MIP-mediated cell recognition has now shown great promise in cell biology research, theranostics and regenerative medicine. This tutorial review provides a panoramic view of current MIPs for both microorganism and mammalian cell recognition. The most representative developments of MIP-mediated cell recognition, from initial imprinting strategies to eventual bio-related applications, are highlighted.
To achieve on‐demand drug release, mesoporous silica nanocarriers as antitumor platforms generally need to be gated with stimuli‐responsive capping agents. Herein, a “smart” mesoporous nanocarrier ...that is gated by the drug itself through a pH‐sensitive dynamic benzoic–imine covalent bond is demonstrated. The new system, which tactfully bypasses the use of auxiliary capping agents, could also exhibit desirable drug release at tumor tissues/cells and enhanced tumor inhibition. Moreover, a facile dynamic PEGylation via benzoic–imine bond further endows the drug‐self‐gated nanocarrier with tumor extracellular pH‐triggered cell uptake and improves therapeutic efficiency in vivo. In short, the paradigm shift in capping agents here will simplify mesoporous nanomaterials as intelligent drug carriers for cancer therapy. Moreover, the self‐gated strategy in this work also shows general potential for self‐controlled delivery of natural biomolecules, for example, DNA/RNA, peptides, and proteins, due to their intrinsic amino groups.
A drug‐self‐gated strategy for mesoporous nanocarrier could achieve on‐demand drug release at tumor tissue/cells and improved antitumor efficiency. The key is using a pH‐sensitive benzoic–imine bond for dynamic conjugation of amino‐containing drug molecules (i.e., doxorubicin) on the pore outlets.
Multifunctional nanomaterials with efficient tumor‐targeting and high antitumor activity are highly anticipated in the field of cancer therapy. In this work, a synergetic tumor‐targeted, ...chemo‐photothermal combined therapeutic nanoplatform based on a dynamically PEGylated, borate‐coordination‐polymer‐coated polydopamine nanoparticle (PDA@CP‐PEG) is developed. PEGylation on the multifunctional nanoparticles is dynamically achieved via the reversible covalent interaction between the surface phenylboronic acid (PBA) group and a catechol‐containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) molecule. Due to the acid‐labile PBA/catechol complex and the weak‐acid‐stable PBA/sialic acid (SA) complex, the nanoparticles can exhibit a synergetic targeting property for the SA‐overexpressed tumor cells, i.e., the PEG‐caused “passive targeting” and PBA‐triggered “active targeting” under the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment. In addition, the photothermal effect of the polydopamine core and the doxorubicin‐loading capacity of the porous coordination polymer layer endow the nanoparticles with the potential for chemo‐photothermal combination therapy. As expected, the in vitro and in vivo studies both verify that the multifunctional nanoparticles possess relatively lower systematic toxicity, efficient tumor targeting ability, and excellent chemo‐photothermal activity for tumor inhibition. It is believed that these multifunctional nanoparticles with synergetic tumor targeting property and combined therapeutic strategies would provide an insight into the design of a high‐efficiency antitumor nanoplatform for potential clinical applications.
Double‐insurance: A synergetic tumor targeted and chemo‐photothermal cancer therapeutic nanoplatform based on dynamically PEGylated and borate‐coordination‐polymer‐coated polydopamine nanoparticles is demonstrated here. The combination of PEGylation‐caused “passive targeting” and phenylboronic acid‐triggered “active targeting” endow the antitumor nanoplatform with low systematic toxicity, efficient tumor targeting, and excellent antitumor activity in vivo.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a novel cell‐free strategy for the treatment of many diseases including cancer. As a result of their natural properties to mediate cell‐to‐cell ...communication and their high physiochemical stability and biocompatibility, EVs are considered as excellent delivery vehicles for a variety of therapeutic agents such as nucleic acids and proteins, drugs, and nanomaterials. Increasing studies have shown that EVs can be modified, engineered, or designed to improve their efficiency, specificity, and safety for cancer therapy. Herein, a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in the strategies and methodologies of engineering EVs for scalable production and improved cargo‐loading and tumor‐targeting is provided. Additionally, the potential applications of engineered EVs in cancer therapy are discussed by presenting prominent examples, and the opportunities and challenges for translating engineered EVs into clinical practice are evaluated.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are excellent delivery vehicles for various therapeutic agents. EVs are engineered to improve their efficiency, specificity, and safety for cancer therapy. A comprehensive overview of advanced strategies for engineering EVs is given. Additionally, potential applications of engineered EVs in cancer therapy and the challenges for translating them into clinical practice are discussed.
With the booming requirements for diabetes management, food quality control, and bioprocess inspection, monitoring of glucose in various matrices has drawn unprecedented interest of both academic and ...industrial researchers recently. As a relatively new class of glucose sensors, enzyme-free detection of the target is capable of providing several fascinating characters such as ultra-high sensitivity, excellent stability, and simple fabrication. Considering the rapid expansion of the glucose determination field without using any biological enzymes, here we focus our attention on updating the latest advances in non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose sensors based on non-noble transition metal materials achieved in the past few years. In this minireview, both the superiorities and the intrinsic drawbacks of detecting glucose by employing non-precious materials including Ni, Cu, Co, Mn, and Fe are intensively highlighted, followed by a systematic discussion on the important progress harvested for enzymeless glucose sensing. Finally, the potential opportunities of non-noble transition metal materials in fabricating high-performance enzyme-free glucose sensors are given, and the current challenges for their practical applications are also summarized.
We summarize the latest advances of non-enzymatic glucose detection using non-noble transition metal materials, highlighting their opportunities and challenges.
Nucleoside analogs play a crucial role in the production of high-value antitumor and antimicrobial drugs. Currently, nucleoside analogs are mainly obtained through nucleic acid degradation, chemical ...synthesis, and biotransformation. However, these methods face several challenges, such as low concentration of the main product, the presence of complex matrices, and the generation of numerous by-products that significantly limit the development of new drugs and their pharmacological studies. Therefore, this work aims to summarize the universal separation methods of nucleoside analogs, including crystallization, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), column chromatography, solvent extraction, and adsorption. The review also explores the application of molecular imprinting techniques (MITs) in enhancing the identification of the separation process. It compares existing studies reported on adsorbents of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the separation of nucleoside analogs. The development of new methods for selective separation and purification of nucleosides is vital to improving the efficiency and quality of nucleoside production. It enables us to obtain nucleoside products that are essential for the development of antitumor and antiviral drugs. Additionally, these methods possess immense potential in the prevention and control of serious diseases, offering significant economic, social, and scientific benefits to the fields of environment, biomedical research, and clinical therapeutics.
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•Improved oxidase-mimetic catalytic activity of Ag3PO4/UiO-66.•Malathion rapidly adsorbs onto Ag3PO4/UiO-66 surface and inhibits its activity.•Colorimetric sensing of malathion ...completely free from bioenzymes.•A chromogenic hydrogel-based smartphone sensing system for pesticide analysis.
Detection of pesticide residues is important because it is related to food and environmental safety. Although lots of sensors have been developed and applied for pesticide analysis, most of them rely on the use of vulnerable bioenzymes, weakening the highlights of these sensors. Here we recommend a bioenzyme-free colorimetric assay of malathion, a typical organophosphorus pesticide, based on the analyte inducing the oxidase-mimicking activity loss of Ag3PO4/UiO-66. Compared to counterparts, the Ag3PO4/UiO-66 composite can provide enhanced oxidase-mimetic catalytic activity to trigger the 3,3′-tetramethylbenzidine chromogenic reaction with the participation of dissolved O2. When malathion exists, it rapidly adsorbs onto the composite surface via their unique interactions and significantly shields the oxidase-like activity of Ag3PO4/UiO-66, thus affecting the catalytic chromogenic reaction. With such a principle, sensing of malathion in a wide linear range (0.0083–5.333 μg/mL) was realized with a detection limit 7.5 ng/mL. Given no biological elements were involved in the proposed assay, it exhibited robust and reliable performance in determining malathion in practical samples. Furthermore, a chromogenic hydrogel-based smartphone sensing system was developed for instrument-free on-site analysis of malathion. With good analytical performance and facile operation, our assay and device will find promising applications in phosphothionate pesticide determination.
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•Green biomass matrix cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) acted as film units.•MWCNTs and GO cooperated with CNCs to participate in the coordination of Dy(III).•The maximum partition ...coefficient of imprinted films to Dy(III) was 872.266 mL g−1.
Selectively extracting high-value rare earth elements from scrap rare earth products is a measure that combines economic and environmental benefits. In this paper, TEMPO-mediated oxidation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) acted as film units, oxidized carbon materials were involved in the cooperative construction of high-performance CNC composite films, and applied them for selective adsorption of Dy(III). The carboxyl groups on multi-walled carbon nanotube and graphene oxide provide additional binding sites with Dy(III), thereby achieving improvement on mechanical properties and adsorption performance. Based on the surface ion-imprinted polymers, stable imprinted structure sites were distributed on the surface of films, which could effectively improve adsorption capacity and selectivity. When pH was 4.0, saturated adsorption capacities of CNC films were in the range of 22.57–34.03 mg g−1. Further, in selective experiments, materials exhibited preferential adsorption for Dy(III) with a partition coefficient of 872.266 mL g−1. Reusability tests revealed film materials have a strong regeneration performance. Overall, the green, highly efficient and non-toxic CNC composite films are expected to provide a novel method for recycling REEs.
Nitrogen-doped carbon materials have attracted enormous interest in catalysis owing to their outstanding catalytic performance. In this work, nitrogen-doped carbonaceous catalysts (NCC) supported on ...inexpensive and naturally abundant halloysite nanotubes were successfully synthesized via precipitation polymerization, calcination, and sulfonation processes. The physical and chemical properties of the obtained catalysts were systematically characterized by different methods. The results indicated that NCC catalysts had mesoporous structures, excellent thermostability and acid-base bi-functional active sites. One-pot synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from glucose was performed to investigate the synthesized NCC catalysts. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of the acid-base bi-functional active sites, the highest HMF yield (62.8%) was achieved in an isopropanol-mediated DMSO system under optimal conditions. Moderate to excellent yields of HMF were also obtained from one-pot conversions of other carbohydrates, including inulin, sucrose, cellobiose, maltose and starch, with our developed catalytic system. The one-pot production of HMF from cellulose was also smoothly processed by the NCC bi-functional catalyst in an IL-based system. This work has developed a versatile strategy for designing nitrogen-doped carbonaceous catalysts that can be employed for the direct transformation of renewable carbohydrates to platform chemicals.
Hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been widely applied as a carrier material in the molecular imprinting process because of their excellent properties, with high specific surface area and ...well-defined active centers. However, these kinds of materials face the inevitable problem that they have low mass transfer efficiency and cannot be conveniently recycled. In order to solve this problem, this work has developed a composite hydrogel microsphere (MMHSG) encapsulated with hollow mesoporous imprinted nanoparticles for the selective extraction of 2’-deoxyadenosine (dA). Subsequently, the hollow mesoporous imprinted polymers using dA as template molecule and synthesized 5-(2-carbomethoxyvinyl)-2′-deoxyuridine (AcrU) as functional monomer were encapsulated in hydrogel. MMHSG displayed good performance in specifically recognizing and quickly separating dA, whereas no imprinting effect was observed among 2′-deoxyguanosine (dG), deoxycytidine (dC), or 5′-monophosphate disodium salt (AMP). Moreover, the adsorption of dA by MMHSG followed chemisorption and could reach adsorption equilibrium within 60 min; the saturation adsorption capacity was 20.22 μmol·g−1. The introduction of AcrU could improve selectivity through base complementary pairing to greatly increase the imprinting factor to 3.79. Therefore, this was a successful attempt to combine a hydrogel with hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles and molecularly imprinted material.
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