Published in Biomaterials
Pulmonary fibrosis is an irreparable and life-threatening disease with only limited therapeutic options. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a sharp rise in the incidence of pulmonary fibrosis owing to SARS-CoV-2 infection-mediated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The considerable oxidative damage caused by locally infiltrated imm...
Published in Biomaterials
The endothelium plays a central role in regulating vascular homeostasis and is key in determining the response to materials implanted in the vascular system. Endothelial cells are uniquely sensitive to biophysical cues from applied forces and their local cellular microenvironment. The glycocalyx is a layer of proteoglycans, glycoproteins and glycos...
Published in Biomaterials
In vivo, the interior and exterior of cells is populated by various macromolecules that create an extremely crowded milieu. Yet again, in vitro eukaryotic cell culture is conducted in dilute culture media that hardly imitate the native tissue density. Herein, the concept of macromolecular crowding is discussed in both intracellular and extracellula...
Published in Biomaterials
Nanovaccine can elicit antigen-specific immune responses against tumor cells expressing homologous antigens and has attracted enormous attention in cancer immunotherapy. However, tumor heterogeneity remarkably hinders the development of nanovaccines. Here we demonstrate that PTT-induced in situ vaccination cancer therapy can elicit potent antitumor...
Published in Biomaterials
Prior to cancer cell invasion, the structure of the extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding the tumor is remodeled, such that circumferentially oriented matrix fibers become radially aligned. This predisposed radially aligned matrix structure serves as a critical regulator of cancer invasion. However, a biomimetic 3D model recapitulating a tumor's b...
Published in Biomaterials
The development of activatable photosensitizers (PSs) is of particular interest for achieving tumor photodynamic therapy (PDT) with minimal side effects. However, the in vivo applications of PSs are limited by complex physiological and biological delivery barriers. Herein, boron dipyrromethene (BDP)-based nanoparticles are developed through the sel...
Published in Biomaterials
T cell activation is sensitive to the mechanical properties of an activating substrate. However, there are also contrasting results on how substrate stiffness affects T cell activation, including differences between T cells of mouse and human origin. Towards reconciling these differences, this report examines the response of primary human T cells t...
Published in Biomaterials
• Biomaterials examined for FBR across subcutaneous and uterine environments. • Polyester fibers can achieve physicochemically diverse drug release up to 10 days. • Polyester fibers induce higher pro-inflammatory and pro-healing cytokine expression. • PLGA/PCL/Gel/SN initiated the greatest FBR subcutaneously in mice. • Targeted fiber/IUD did not in...
Published in Biomaterials
Myocardial infarction is the first cause of worldwide mortality, with an increasing incidence also reported in developing countries. Over the past decades, preclinical research and clinical trials continually tested the efficacy of cellular and acellular-based treatments. However, none of them resulted in a drug or device currently used in combinat...
Published in Biomaterials
Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), a non-enveloped plant virus, and empty CPMV (eCPMV), a virus-like particle (VLP) composed of CPMV capsid without nucleic acids, are potent in situ cancer vaccines when administered intratumorally (I.T.). However, it is unclear how immune cells recognize these nanoparticles and why they are immunogenic, which was investig...
