A platform for rapid patient-derived cutaneous neurofibroma organoid establishment and screening.

Localized cutaneous neurofibromas (cNFs) are benign tumors that arise in the dermis of patients affected by neurofibromatosis type 1 syndrome. cNFs are benign lesions: they do not undergo malignant transformation or metastasize. Nevertheless, they can cover a significant proportion of the body, with some individuals developing hundreds to thousands of lesions.

The landscape of drug sensitivity and resistance in sarcoma.

Unlabelled: Sarcomas are a family of rare malignancies composed of over 100 distinct histological subtypes. The rarity of sarcoma poses significant challenges in conducting clinical trials to identify effective therapies, to the point that many rarer subtypes of sarcoma do not have standard-of-care treatment. Even for established regimens, there can be substantial heterogeneity in responses.

Drug screening at single-organoid resolution via bioprinting and interferometry.

High throughput drug screening is an established approach to investigate tumor biology and identify therapeutic leads. Traditional platforms use two-dimensional cultures which do not accurately reflect the biology of human tumors. More clinically relevant model systems such as three-dimensional tumor organoids can be difficult to scale and screen.

Combined Effects of Electric Stimulation and Microgrooves in Cardiac Tissue-on-a-Chip for Drug Screening.

Animal models and traditional cell cultures are essential tools for drug development. However, these platforms can show striking discrepancies in efficacy and side effects when compared to human trials. These differences can lengthen the drug development process and even lead to drug withdrawal from the market.

Cancer-on-a-Chip for Modeling Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor and Tumor Interactions.

Cancer immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapies, have revolutionized cancer treatment. However, patient response to ICIs is highly variable, necessitating the development of methods to quickly assess efficacy. In this study, an array of miniaturized bioreactors has been developed to model tumor-immune interactions.

Highly absorptive dressing composed of natural latex loaded with alginate for exudate control and healing of diabetic wounds.

Wounds can take longer to heal in diabetic patients, increasing the risk of infections and other complications. The most common wounds in diabetic patients are diabetic foot ulcers, a severe complication associated with diabetes mellitus. The United States alone spends $18.

Recent advances in 3D bioprinting of musculoskeletal tissues.

The musculoskeletal system is essential for maintaining posture, protecting organs, facilitating locomotion, and regulating various cellular and metabolic functions. Injury to this system due to trauma or wear is common, and severe damage may require surgery to restore function and prevent further harm. Autografts are the current gold standard for the replacement of lost or damaged tissues.

A Patch of Detachable Hybrid Microneedle Depot for Localized Delivery of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Regeneration Therapy.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely used for regenerative therapy. In most current clinical applications, MSCs are delivered by injection but face significant issues with cell viability and penetration into the target tissue due to a limited migration capacity. Some therapies have attempted to improve MSC stability by their encapsulation within biomaterials; however, these treatments still require an enormous number of cells to achieve therapeutic efficacy due to low efficiency.

Rhodamine Conjugated Gelatin Methacryloyl Nanoparticles for Stable Cell Imaging.

Fluorescent nanomaterials have been widely used in biological imaging due to their selectivity, sensitivity, and noninvasive nature. These characteristics make the materials suitable for real-time and in situ imaging. However, further development of highly biocompatible nanosystems with long-lasting fluorescent intensity and photostability is needed for advanced bioimaging.

Microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for wearable contact lens biosensing.

Microchannels in hydrogels play an essential role in enabling a smart contact lens. However, microchannels have rarely been created in commercial hydrogel contact lenses due to their sensitivity to conventional microfabrication techniques. Here, we report the fabrication of microchannels in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(HEMA)) hydrogels that are used in commercial contact lenses with a three-dimensional (3D) printed mold.

Screening Cancer Immunotherapy: When Engineering Approaches Meet Artificial Intelligence.

Immunotherapy is a class of promising anticancer treatments that has recently gained attention due to surging numbers of FDA approvals and extensive preclinical studies demonstrating efficacy. Nevertheless, further clinical implementation has been limited by high variability in patient response to different immunotherapeutic agents. These treatments currently do not have reliable predictors of efficacy and may lead to side effects.

Thrombolytic Agents: Nanocarriers in Controlled Release.

Thrombosis is a life-threatening pathological condition in which blood clots form in blood vessels, obstructing or interfering with blood flow. Thrombolytic agents (TAs) are enzymes that can catalyze the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin to dissolve blood clots. The plasmin formed by TAs breaks down fibrin clots into soluble fibrin that finally dissolves thrombi.

Biodegradable microneedle patch for transdermal gene delivery.

The skin houses a developed vascular and lymphatic network with a significant population of immune cells. Because of the properties of the skin, nucleic acid delivery through the tissue has the potential to treat a range of pathologies, including genetic skin conditions, hyperproliferative diseases, cutaneous cancers, wounds, and infections. This work presents a gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) microneedle (MN)-based platform for local and controlled transdermal delivery of plasmid DNA (pDNA) with high transfection efficiency both in vitro and in vivo.

Design and Simulation of an Integrated Centrifugal Microfluidic Device for CTCs Separation and Cell Lysis.

Separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples and subsequent DNA extraction from these cells play a crucial role in cancer research and drug discovery. Microfluidics is a versatile technology that has been applied to create niche solutions to biomedical applications, such as cell separation and mixing, droplet generation, bioprinting, and organs on a chip. Centrifugal microfluidic biochips created on compact disks show great potential in processing biological samples for point of care diagnostics.

Gut-on-a-chip: Current progress and future opportunities.

Organ-on-a-chip technology tries to mimic the complexity of native tissues in vitro. Important progress has recently been made in using this technology to study the gut with and without microbiota. These in vitro models can serve as an alternative to animal models for studying physiology, pathology, and pharmacology.

A Novel Negative Pressure Isolation Device for Aerosol Transmissible COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic creates a need to protect health care workers (HCWs) from patients undergoing aerosol-generating procedures which may transmit the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Existing personal containment devices (PCDs) may protect HCWs from respiratory droplets but not from potentially dangerous respiratory-generated aerosols. We describe a new PCD and its aerosol containment capabilities.

Biodegradable β-Cyclodextrin Conjugated Gelatin Methacryloyl Microneedle for Delivery of Water-Insoluble Drug.

Transdermal delivery of water-insoluble drugs via hydrogel-based microneedle (MN) arrays is crucial for improving their therapeutic efficacies. However, direct loading of water-insoluble drug into hydrophilic matrices remains challenging. Here, a biodegradable MN array patch that is fabricated from naturally derived polymer conjugates of gelatin methacryloyl and β-cyclodextrin (GelMA-β-CD) is reported.

Stimuli-Responsive Delivery of Growth Factors for Tissue Engineering.

Growth factors (GFs) play a crucial role in directing stem cell behavior and transmitting information between different cell populations for tissue regeneration. However, their utility as therapeutics is limited by their short half-life within the physiological microenvironment and significant side effects caused by off-target effects or improper dosage. "Smart" materials that can not only sustain therapeutic delivery over a treatment period but also facilitate on-demand release upon activation are attracting significant interest in the field of GF delivery for tissue engineering.

Gelatin Methacryloyl Microneedle Patches for Minimally Invasive Extraction of Skin Interstitial Fluid.

The extraction of interstitial fluid (ISF) from skin using microneedles (MNs) has attracted growing interest in recent years due to its potential for minimally invasive diagnostics and biosensors. ISF collection by absorption into a hydrogel MN patch is a promising way that requires the materials to have outstanding swelling ability. Here, a gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) patch is developed with an 11 × 11 array of MNs for minimally invasive sampling of ISF.

Non-transdermal microneedles for advanced drug delivery.

Microneedles (MNs) have been used to deliver drugs for over two decades. These platforms have been proven to increase transdermal drug delivery efficiency dramatically by penetrating restrictive tissue barriers in a minimally invasive manner. While much of the early development of MNs focused on transdermal drug delivery, this technology can be applied to a variety of other non-transdermal biomedical applications.

Electrically conductive nanomaterials for cardiac tissue engineering.

Patient deaths resulting from cardiovascular diseases are increasing across the globe, posing the greatest risk to patients in developed countries. Myocardial infarction, as a result of inadequate blood flow to the myocardium, results in irreversible loss of cardiomyocytes which can lead to heart failure. A sequela of myocardial infarction is scar formation that can alter the normal myocardial architecture and result in arrhythmias.

Organ-on-a-Chip for Cancer and Immune Organs Modeling.

Bridging the gap between findings in preclinical 2D cell culture models and in vivo tissue cultures has been challenging; the simple microenvironment of 2D monolayer culture systems may not capture the cellular response to drugs accurately. Three-dimensional organotypic models have gained increasing interest due to their ability to recreate precise cellular organizations. These models facilitate investigation of the interactions between different sub-tissue level components through providing physiologically relevant microenvironments for cells in vitro.