Photocrosslinked Mucoadhesive Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel for Transmucosal Drug Delivery.

Drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) is primarily hindered by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). To address this, mucoadhesive formulations have been designed to prolong residence time at the application site. In this study, we comprehensively characterized the physicochemical and mucoadhesive properties of hyaluronic acid tyramine (HATA) photocrosslinked hydrogels using rheological methods, nanoindentation, contact angle goniometry, and advanced confocal microscopy.

Tunable, permanent and instantly available super-wettability states on metal surfaces by laser texturing and plasma coating.

Wettability, the ability of a liquid to spread on or repel from a surface, holds particular significance for applications requiring extreme control of liquid interaction, including self-cleaning, anti-icing, dropwise condensation, anti-fogging, and enhanced fluid transport. This work investigates the synergistic combination of laser surface texturing and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) to achieve tunable, permanent, and instantly available super-wettability states on metal surfaces. Ultrashort laser pulses were employed to produce various surface textures, ranging from fine nanoscale ripples to rougher microtextures such as microgrooves, spikes, and holes, on stainless steel AISI 304, copper, and the titanium alloy Ti64.

A standardizable human-based psoriasis skin model for drug development.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with a prevalence of 2-3% in the western population. For the development of urgently needed new therapeutic options, standardizable and human-relevant disease models are essential. The transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays a key role in the pro-inflammatory response of psoriatic keratinocytes.

Animal-Free Setup of a 3D Mature Adipocyte-Macrophage Co-Culture to Induce Inflammation In Vitro.

Adipose tissue inflammation plays a central role in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders. It is closely associated with immune cell infiltration, particularly macrophages, and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Reliable in vitro test systems that mimic the inflamed environment while being free of animal-derived components are essential to explore new treatments for obesity-related diseases.

Interplay of turbulent transport and Reynolds stress in drift-wave turbulence.

The dynamical interplay between turbulent particle transport (Γ) and Reynolds stress (ℜ) at the edge of toroidal magnetically confined plasmas is experimentally investigated on the basis of the cross-coupling between density and potential fluctuations in drift-wave turbulence. Both Γ and ℜ are found to be temporally anticorrelated, with a dynamical coupling of the density and potential fluctuations as an agent in their interplay. The density-potential coupling is shown for the first time to be dynamically related to the Reynolds stress in agreement with the E×B vortex-tilting mechanism.

Photocurable Crosslinker from Bio-Based Non-Isocyanate Poly(hydroxyurethane) for Biocompatible Hydrogels.

This study explores the synthesis of photocurable non-isocyanate polyhydroxyethylurethanes (BPHUs) derived from renewable sources, designed for biomedical applications and the development towards advanced light curing processes. The following two pathways were developed: an aliphatic route using 1,4-butanediol-derived cyclic carbonates and an aromatic route with resorcinol-based carbonates. Ring-opening polymerization with dodecanediamine produced BPHU intermediates, which were methacrylated to form photoreactive derivatives (aliphatic MAs and aromatic MAs).

New Highly Sulfonated Polythioethers as Polyelectrolyte Membranes for Water Electrolysis.

Herein, the synthesis and characterization of highly sulfonated poly(arylene thioethers) for application as polymer electrolyte membranes in water electrolysis are reported. In a first step, poly(arylene thioethers) were obtained by using mild reaction conditions of a polycondensation reaction between 4,4'-thiobisbenzenethiol and decafluorobiphenyl. In a second step, the resulting poly(arylene thioethers) were sulfonated by a fluorothiol displacement click reaction of the fluorinated monomers by sodium 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonate.

Recovering Ammonia as Ammonium Citrate and Ammonium Sulfate from Sludge Digestion Liquors Using Membrane Contactors in a Pilot Plant.

Membrane contactors have proved to be effective for recovering ammonia from wastewater by absorbing it into a trapping solution. This study compares the performance of sulfuric acid and citric acid as trapping solutions in a pilot-scale plant for recovering ammonia from sludge digestion liquors using membrane contactors in a liquid-liquid configuration operating at pH 10 and a temperature of 37 °C and using ultrafiltration (UF) technology as pretreatment. The performance of the process using sulfuric acid at a lower pH (9.

Exploring for Nutraceuticals: Cultivation Techniques and Neurotoxin Risk Assessment.

This study investigates the potential of the diatom (PT) as a sustainable and nutritionally valuable food source, focusing on its ability to produce bioactive compounds such as eicosapentaenoic acid, fucoxanthin, chrysolaminarin (CRY) and proteins. PT was cultivated in a flat-plate airlift photobioreactor (FPA-PBR) illuminated with LEDs from two sides. The study aimed to monitor and minimize β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) levels to address safety concerns.

A novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid.

The conversion of CO into methanol depicts one of the most promising emerging renewable routes for the chemical and biotech industry. Under this regard, native methylotrophs have a large potential for converting methanol into value-added products but require targeted engineering approaches to enhance their performances and to widen their product spectrum. Here we use a systems-based approach to analyze and engineer M.

A novel method for recombinant mammalian-expressed S-HBsAg virus-like particle production for assembly status analysis and improved anti-HBs serology.

The Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) as the only lipid-associated envelope protein of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) acts as cellular attachment and entry mediator of HBV making it the main target of neutralizing antibodies to provide HBV immunity after infection or vaccination. Despite its central role in inducing protective immunity, there is however a surprising lack of comparative studies examining different HBsAgs and their ability to detect anti-HBs antibodies. On the contrary, various time-consuming complex HBsAg production protocols have been established, which result in structurally and functionally insufficiently characterized HBsAg.

Identification of CRTH2 as a New PPARγ-Target Gene in T Cells Suggested CRTH2 Dependent Conversion of T2 Cells as Therapeutic Concept in COVID-19 Infection.

Background: COVID-19 is a serious viral infection, which is often associated with a lethal outcome. Therefore, understanding mechanisms, which affect the immune response during SARS-CoV2 infection, are important.

Methods: To address this, we determined the number of T cells in peripheral blood derived from intensive care COVID-19 patients.

A novel approach for in vivo DNA footprinting using short double-stranded cell-free DNA from plasma.

Here, we present a method for enrichment of double-stranded cfDNA with an average length of ∼40 bp from cfDNA for high-throughput DNA sequencing. This class of cfDNA is enriched at gene promoters and binding sites of transcription factors or structural DNA-binding proteins, so that a genome-wide DNA footprint is directly captured from liquid biopsies. In short double-stranded cfDNA from healthy individuals, we find significant enrichment of 203 transcription factor motifs.

Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Triggers for Enhanced Photosynthetic Glycerol Production in Different Isolates.

The salt-tolerant marine microalgae is reported to generate significant amounts of intracellular glycerol as an osmoprotectant under high salt conditions. This study highlights the phylogenetic distribution and comparative glycerol biosynthesis of seven new isolates compared to a reference strain. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that all isolates are newly discovered and do not relate to the reference.

Automation of customizable library preparation for next-generation sequencing into an open microfluidic platform.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is becoming more relevant for medical diagnostics, especially for using cell-free DNA to monitor response to therapy in cancer management, as high sensitivity of NGS enables detection of rare events. Sequencing Library preparation is a time-consuming and complex process, and large-scale liquid handlers are often used for automation. However, for smaller labs and low-to-medium throughput samples, these liquid handlers are expensive and need experts for handling.

Current trends in medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates: Microbial production, purification, and characterization.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have gained interest recently due to their biodegradability and versatility. In particular, the chemical compositions of medium-chain-length (mcl)-PHAs are highly diverse, comprising different monomers containing 6-14 carbon atoms. This review summarizes different feedstocks and fermentation strategies to enhance mcl-PHA production and briefly discusses the downstream processing.

Suppression PCR-Based Selective Enrichment Sequencing for Pathogen and Antimicrobial Resistance Detection on Cell-Free DNA in Sepsis-A Targeted, Blood Culture-Independent Approach for Rapid Pathogen and Resistance Diagnostics in Septic Patients.

Sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome triggered by infection and accompanied by high mortality, with antimicrobial resistances (AMRs) further escalating clinical challenges. The rapid and reliable detection of causative pathogens and AMRs are key factors for fast and appropriate treatment, in order to improve outcomes in septic patients. However, current sepsis diagnostics based on blood culture is limited by low sensitivity and specificity while current molecular approaches fail to enter clinical routine.

Transmembrane Chemical Absorption Process for Recovering Ammonia as an Organic Fertilizer Using Citric Acid as the Trapping Solution.

Membrane contactors are among the available technologies that allow a reduction in the amount of ammoniacal nitrogen released into the environment through a process called transmembrane chemical absorption (TMCA). This process can be operated with different substances acting as trapping solutions; however, strong inorganic acids have been studied the most. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate, at laboratory scale, the performance of citric acid as a capturing solution in TMCA processes for recovering ammonia as an organic fertilizer from anaerobic digestor reject water using membrane contactors in a liquid-liquid configuration and to compare it with the most studied solution, sulfuric acid.

Homeostatic T helper 17 cell responses triggered by complex microbiota are maintained in ex vivo intestinal tissue slices.

Segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB) are members of the commensal intestinal microbiome. They are known to contribute to the postnatal maturation of the gut immune system, but also to augment inflammatory conditions in chronic diseases such as Crohn's disease. Living primary tissue slices are ultrathin multicellular sections of the intestine and provide a unique opportunity to analyze tissue-specific immune responses ex vivo.

TheraVision: Engineering platform technology for the development of oncolytic viruses based on herpes simplex virus type 1.

Viruses are able to efficiently penetrate cells, multiply, and eventually kill infected cells, release tumor antigens, and activate the immune system. Therefore, viruses are highly attractive novel agents for cancer therapy. Clinical trials with first generations of oncolytic viruses (OVs) are very promising but show significant need for optimization.

Rich microbial and depolymerising diversity in Antarctic krill gut.

With almost a quadrillion individuals, the Antarctic krill processes five million tons of organic carbon every day during austral summer. This high carbon flux requires a broad range of hydrolytic enzymes to decompose the diverse food-derived biopolymers. While krill itself possesses numerous such enzymes, it is unclear, to what extent the endogenous microbiota contribute to the hydrolytic potential of the gut environment.

Life cycle assessment for early-stage process optimization of microbial biosurfactant production using kinetic models-a case study on mannosylerythritol lipids (MEL).

This study assesses the environmental impacts of mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) production for process optimization using life cycle assessment (LCA). MELs are glycolipid-type microbial biosurfactants with many possible applications based on their surface-active properties. They are generally produced by fungi from the family of Ustilaginaceae via fermentation in aerated bioreactors.

is a source of α-tocomonoenol, and its concentration, in contrast to α-tocopherol, is not affected by nitrogen depletion.

α-Tomonoenols (αT1) are tocochromanols structurally related to tocopherols (T) and tocotrienols (T3), the bioactive members of the vitamin E family. However, limited evidence exists regarding the sources and biosynthesis of tocomonoenols. Nitrogen depletion increases the content of α-tocopherol (αT), the main vitamin E congener, in microalgae, but little is known regarding its effect on other tocochromanols, such as tocomonoenols and tocotrienols.

A novel three-dimensional Nrf2 reporter epidermis model for skin sensitization assessment.

Skin sensitization assessment has progressed from the use of animal models towards the application of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). Several skin sensitization NAMs are accepted for regulatory use, but a majority relies on submerged in vitro cell cultures that limit their applicability domain, posing challenges for testing hydrophobic chemicals and mixtures. A newly developed three-dimensional (3D) Nrf2 reporter epidermis model for skin sensitization assessment is reported.

Discrimination of pancreato-biliary cancer and pancreatitis patients by non-invasive liquid biopsy.

Background: Current diagnostics for the detection of pancreato-biliary cancers (PBCs) need to be optimized. We therefore propose that methylated cell-free DNA (cfDNA) derived from non-invasive liquid biopsies serves as a novel biomarker with the ability to discriminate pancreato-biliary cancers from non-cancer pancreatitis patients.

Methods: Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) from plasma cfDNA between PBCs, pancreatitis and clinical control samples conditions were identified by next-generation sequencing after enrichment using methyl-binding domains and database searches to generate a discriminatory panel for a hybridization and capture assay with subsequent targeted high throughput sequencing.