Xuanyong Liu

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative whole-joint disease characterized by interconnected pathological processes, including mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory microenvironment dysregulation, extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, and aberrant subchondral bone remodeling. However, biological interventions or physical stimulation alone are often insufficient to coordinately regulate these processes. Here, we developed GM@KP-ABs, an injectable ultrasound-responsive hydrogel. It incorporates polydopamine-modified potassium sodium niobate nanoparticles (KNN@PDA) and Urolithin A-engineered apoptotic bodies (UA-ABs) within a gelatin methacryloyl matrix. KNN@PDA functioned as an electroactive transducer capable of converting low-intensity ultrasound into piezoelectric stimulation. Under these activation conditions, the treatment was associated with enhanced PINK1/Parkin-related mitophagic activity. In parallel, UA-ABs delivered complementary mitochondria-regulating signals through their vesicular cargo. The combined treatment was associated with enhanced clearance of damaged mitochondria and improved mitochondrial functional indices under osteoarthritic inflammatory conditions. These changes were accompanied by attenuated mitochondrial damage-associated activation of the cGAS-STING-NF-κB pathway, a treatment-associated shift of macrophages toward an anti-inflammatory M2-like phenotype, reduced inflammation, and improved ECM metabolic balance. In a destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM)-induced OA model, ultrasound-activated GM@KP-ABs mitigated cartilage degeneration and aberrant subchondral bone remodeling. These findings support the potential of a remotely activated hydrogel platform that combines piezoelectric stimulation with engineered vesicular signaling for mitochondrial quality-control-oriented OA treatment.

The process of sample preparation (A) and the antibacterial mechanism via the metabolic collapse and oxidative burst pathways (B).

Biomaterials science literature contains rich experimental data scattered across unstructured text, tables, and figures, making manual extraction unscalable. Existing regex‐based and multi‐agent methods are limited by insufficient semantic understanding and poor multitask consistency. We developed MatInform, a two‐stage multi‐agent information extraction framework integrating preprocessing and paragraph awareness where a Main Agent unifies global variables (e.g., material names and methods) and Sub‐Agents perform six constrained fine‐grained extraction tasks in parallel, following a biomaterial‐domain six‐task unified schema covering composition, processing, characterization, antibacterial activity, biocompatibility, and ion release. Evaluated on 20 annotated Ti‐based papers, MatInform achieves a four‐model average System F1 of 0.826. Ablation studies identify the two‐stage architecture as the primary contributor to performance, whereas preprocessing and paragraph awareness contribute marginal improvements. Applied to 1469 titanium‐based antibacterial material papers, MatInform extracts structured data for 8127 samples. Downstream machine learning and SHAP analysis guide the development of a Ca–AgZn modified Ti material with excellent antibacterial performance and enhanced cell proliferation. With minor code adaptation, the framework yields an F1 of 0.764 on 20 ceramic fiber papers. Overall, the framework enables reusable automated extraction with consistent and interpretable multitask coordination.

Although hydrophobic drugs demonstrate the promising therapeutic efficacy for peripheral artery disease in vitro, their in vivo performance is often hindered by low bioavailability due to inherent hydrophobicity. To address this, an injectable, self-healing and curcumin-sustained-release hydrogel (CGP hydrogel) using a gelatin/polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel (GP hydrogel) was developed. The CGP hydrogel effectively preserved the DPPH radical-scavenging activity of curcumin at room temperature. Meanwhile, in murine hindlimb ischemia model, a single intramuscular injection of CGP following femoral artery ligation significantly improved the motor function of the ischemic limb compared to curcumin suspension. This superior therapeutic outcome is attributed to the sustained release of curcumin from the CGP hydrogel. Mechanistically, we found that CGP, but not GP, inhibited the expression of Atp6v0d2 in ischemic skeletal muscle cells and suppressed ischemia-induced autophagy. The inhibition of autophagy may mitigate tissue and cellular necrosis and promoted the expression of Myogenin. Furthermore, CGP reduced the expression of pro-fibrotic factors such as Tgfb1 and Ctgf, and prevented skeletal muscle fibrosis. In summary, the CGP hydrogel, through its sustained release of curcumin, inhibits ischemia-induced autophagy, alleviates necrosis and fibrosis in skeletal muscle tissue, and preserves motor function in the ischemic limb.

Accurate monitoring of thermal dynamics at the single-cellular scale is crucial for elucidating metabolism, signaling pathways and disease mechanisms, yet remains hampered by the limited stability and spatiotemporal resolution of current sensors. Here, we report a fiber-optic quantum dots sensor (FOQDS), which is based on a tapered fiber optic tip functionalized with CdSe/CdS/ZnS QDs and encapsulated by a dense Al₂O₃ layer to ensure exceptional long-term stability. FOQDS features a linear thermal response with high sensitivity (145 pm/°C), a temporal resolution of <10 μs, with the potential to achieve single-cellular-scale spatial precision. This performance enables quantitative and real-time monitoring of pharmacologically induced thermal fluctuations within living three-dimensional glioblastoma spheroids. This work provides a stable and minimally invasive platform for monitoring cellular thermogenesis in physiologically relevant microenvironments, with promising prospects in applications of fundamental biology and precision therapeutics.

Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ-OA) is a degenerative disease that lacks effective treatment options. The inflammatory microenvironment caused by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) in TMJ-OA leads to chondrocyte apoptosis, extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, and abnormal cartilage metabolism. Herein, we innovatively constructed a manganese-nitrogen-carbon single-atom nanozymes (Mn-NC SAzymes) - chitosan composite hydrogel system. A coordination structure of Mn-N₄ was proposed based on X-ray absorption fine structure spectra. The composite hydrogel achieves an integration of atomic level catalytic design and a localized delivery system. It fully leverages the synergistic dual enzyme-like activities of the Mn - NC SAzyme and the active repair properties of chitosan, successfully overcoming the limitations of traditional materials that target only a single site. It realizes a multi-dimensional functional synergy, ranging from efficient ROS scavenging and regulation of the inflammatory microenvironment to promoting combined bone-cartilage repair. Furthermore, through in-depth analysis of molecular mechanisms, the mechanism by which it inhibits inflammation-induced chondrocyte apoptosis and ECM degradation via suppression of the MAPK signaling pathway was elucidated. Density functional theory (DFT) was also employed to uncover the catalytic reaction pathways. This systematically explained the structure-property relationship of SAzymes and the mechanism of functional reconstruction in vivo, driving the transition of TMJ-OA treatment from mere symptom relief to multi-dimensional functional reconstruction.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has been recognized as a major technique for the treatment of tumors. However, its clinical implementation is constrained by the scarcity of effective sonosensitizers. Here, a Schottky heterojunction (CeTCPP@AuNPs) was rationally designed to combine sonosensitization with a Fenton-like reaction, enabling synergistic therapeutic effects. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of AuNPs endows CeTCPP@AuNPs with exceptional ultrasound-catalyzed activity. The LSPR effect of AuNPs reduces the Schottky barrier and facilitates interfacial electron transfer under ultrasound excitation, thereby enhancing the sonodynamic performance. Beyond its conventional role in photocatalysis, the LSPR effect is shown here to directly regulate electron transfer at a Schottky heterointerface under ultrasound. It is worth noting that the general applicability of this mechanism was confirmed by observing similar LSPR-mediated effects in Ag and Pt. Moreover, amplification of peroxidase-like activity improves chemodynamic therapy (CDT). In biodegradable microneedle patches, CeTCPP@AuNPs microneedles penetrate the dermis, delivering antitumor agents to melanoma lesions and inducing apoptosis. This strategic combination of SDT and CDT demonstrates the potential of CeTCPP@AuNPs for advancing antitumor therapies.