Enhanced physiochemical, antibacterial, and hemostatic performance of collagen-quaternized chitosan-graphene oxide sponges for promoting infectious wound healing.

Bacteria-infected wound healing has attracted widespread attention in biomedical engineering. Wound dressing is a potential strategy for repairing infectious wounds. However, the development of wound dressing with appropriate physiochemical, antibacterial, and hemostatic properties, remains challenging. Hence, there is a motivation to develop new synthetic dressings to improve bacteria-infected wound healing. Here, we fabricate a biocompatible sponge through the covalent crosslinking of collagen (Col), quaternized chitosan (QCS), and graphene oxide (GO). The resulting Col-QCS-GO sponge shows an elastic modulus of 1.93-fold higher than Col sponge due to enhanced crosslinking degree by GO incorporation. Moreover, the fabricated Col-QCS-GO sponge shows favorable porosity (84.30 ± 3.12 %), water absorption / retention (2658.0 ± 113.4 % / 1114.0 ± 65.7 %), and hemostasis capacities (blood loss <50.0 mg). Furthermore, the antibacterial property of the Col-QCS-GO sponge under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation is significantly enhanced (the inhibition rates are 99.9 % for S. aureus and 99.9 % for E. coli) due to the inherent antibacterial properties of QCS and the photothermal antibacterial capabilities of GO. Finally, the Col-QCS-GO+NIR sponge exhibits the lowest percentage of wound area (9.05 ± 1.42 %) at day 14 compared to the control group (31.61 ± 1.76 %). This study provides new insights for developing innovative sponges for bacteria-infected wound healing.

Tailored gelatin methacryloyl-based hydrogel with near-infrared responsive delivery of Qiai essential oils boosting reactive oxygen species scavenging, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities for diabetic wound healing.

The management of diabetic wounds poses a substantial economic and medical burden for diabetic patients. Oxidative stress and persistent bacterial infections are considered to be the primary factors. Qiai essential oil (QEO) exhibits various pharmacological characteristics, including inflammatory-reducing, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties. Nevertheless, the hydrophobic nature and propensity for explosive release of this substance present constraints on its potential for future applications. Here, we developed a stimulus-responsive hydrogel to overcome the multiple limitations of QEO-based wound dressings. The QEO was encapsulated within graphene oxide (GO) through repeated extrusion using an extruder. Subsequently, QEO@GO nanoparticles were incorporated into a Gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel. The QEO@GO-GelMA hydrogel demonstrated controlled release ablation, photothermal antibacterial effects, and contact ablation against two representative bacterial strains. It effectively reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, promoted angiogenesis, and decreased levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), thereby accelerating the healing process of diabetic wounds. In addition, in vitro and in vivo tests provided further evidence of the favorable biocompatibility of this multifunctional hydrogel dressing. Overall, the QEO@GO-GelMA hydrogel provides numerous benefits, encompassing antimicrobial properties, ROS-scavenging abilities, anti-inflammatory effects, and the capacity to expedite diabetic wound healing. These attributes make it an optimal choice for diabetic wound management.

Graphene Oxide Functionalized Gelatin Methacryloyl Microgel for Enhanced Biomimetic Mineralization and in situ Bone Repair.

Introduction: The formation of bone-like apatite (Ap) on natural polymers through biomimetic mineralization using simulated body fluid (SBF) can improve osteoconductivity and biocompatibility, while lowering immunological rejection. Nonetheless, the coating efficiency of the bone-like Ap layer on natural polymers requires improvement. Carbonyls (-COOH) and hydroxyls (-OH) are abundant in graphene oxide (GO), which may offer more active sites for biomimetic mineralization and promote the proliferation of rat bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). Methods: In this study, gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) microgels were infused with GO (0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/mL) and embedded into microgels in SBF for 1, 7, and 14 days. Systematic in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to evaluate the structure of the microgel and its effect on cell proliferation and ability to repair bone defects in rats. Results: The resulting GO-GelMA-Ap microgels displayed a porous, interconnected structure with uniformly coated surfaces in bone-like Ap, and the Ca/P ratio of the 1 mg/mL GO-GelMA-Ap group was comparable to that of natural bone tissue. Moreover, the 1 mg/mL GO-GelMA-Ap group exhibited a greater Ap abundance, enhanced proliferation of BMSCs in vitro and increased bone formation in vivo compared to the GelMA-Ap group. Discussion: Overall, this study offers a novel method for incorporating GO into microgels for bone tissue engineering to promote biomimetic mineralization.

Sulfidation forwarding high-strength Anammox process using nitrate as electron acceptor via thiosulfate-driven nitrate denitratation.

A single up-flow thiosulfate-driven nitrate denitratation coupled with the sulfurized Anammox (TDSA) with the core-shell structure (S0@ Anammox granules) provided a chemical/energy-saving way for the removal of high-content ammonium with nitrate as electron acceptor. Approximately 83.66% total nitrogen removal efficiency (TNRE) could be achieved by the sulfurized Anammox encrusted by S0/Sn2- at a high loading rate (2.6 kg-N/(m3·d)) via resisting high concentration of free ammonia (FA) (22.35 mg/L), mainly through S2O32-, S0/Sn2- -driven partial denitrification-Anammox (PDN-Anammox) process. Moreover, S0/Sn2--PDN-Anammox was largely restricted when intermittently aerated, but still resulting in 74.47% TNRE due to the partial nitrification-Anammox (PN-Anammox). The sequencing analysis revealed that Anammox bacterium (Candidatus_Kuenenia) and sulfur-oxidizing bacterium (Thiobacillus) coexisted, in which Anammox process occurred mainly via NO instead of NH2OH. This study provided a new perspective for high concentration nitrogen wastewater removal in engineering applications.

An assessment of sulfate reducing bacteria on treating sulfate-rich metal-laden wastewater from electroplating plant.

Electroplating effluent contaminated with heavy metals posed a major threat on the aquatic ecosystems. The effect of the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) enriched sludge on simultaneous removals of sulfate and nickel was identified. Batch tests showed that SRB biogenic precipitation could completely eliminate the nickel (100 %) with sodium lactate as carbon source at pH 7 within 3 d, and enhanced in the presence of Fe2+ and Fe3+, while inhibited at high concentrations. The formation of NiS2 (confirmed by XRD, EDS and FTIR) indicated that the nickel was removed mainly through chemical bond. RDA analysis showed that COD/S ratios and the iron had the greatest influence on the performance. High-throughput sequencing indicated that the SRB enriched sludge was dominant with Desulfovibiro (43.3 %) at genus level. Finally, a pilot-scale experiment with SRB biological precipitation demonstrated that it could partially replace chemical precipitation for removing sulfate and nickel, and greatly improved the removals of ammonia-N, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the sequential Anaerobic-Anoxic-Oxic process. This approach could greatly minimize the secondary contamination and chemicals dosing for pH adjusting and chemical coagulation. Therefore, SRB-based metal removal performance is a promising technology to realize a high-rate and low-cost process for treating practical sulfate rich metal-laden wastewater. This study is the first report about the comprehensive effect of SRB reactor with practical electroplating wastewater treatment system, which provides a new application template for electroplating wastewater treatment.

The effects of Fe2+ on sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) driven autotrophic denitrification.

With the short-term exposure to Fe2+, the mechanism of autotrophic denitrification and sulfide oxidation and the correlation between microbial community changes and environmental factors have been explored in the ADSOB process. RSM was used to optimize conditions for the maximum nitrate reduction and sulfide oxidation. About 88% of nitrate could be autotrophically denitrified to nitrogen by utilizing sulfide as the electron donor with the molar ratio C/N of 1.14 and S/N of 0.99 at pH 7.1. Lower Fe2+ additions can reduce TDS inhibition with dissolved sulfide to form FeS precipitates, while high amount of Fe2+ limited the mass transfer of NO3- and intermediate products such as S0 may be generated. High-throughput sequencing and RDA analysis revealed the correlation between ferrous iron, environmental factors and microorganisms. Sulfurospirillum, Rhodanobacter, Thauera and Thiobacillus were all slightly promoted at NFL level and inhibited at NFH level. And the narrow angles of the arrows indicated that Thauera, Sulfurospirillum and Thiobacillus were positively correlated with SO42- concentrations, while large angles indicated these bacteria were inversely related with TDS and NO3- arrows, which further confirmed that these bacteria played a dominant role in the ADSOB process, and can reduce NO3- by the oxidation of TDS. The correlation further indicated that lower Fe2+ additions have a promoting effect, while high concentrations have an inhibiting effect.

The effect of biotic and abiotic environmental factors on Pd(II) adsorption and reduction by Bacillus megaterium Y-4.

In this study, we screened a new aerobic bacterium (Bacillus megaterium Y-4) that can efficiently reduce Pd(II) with different electron donors. The best electron donor was sodium formate and the best reduction of Pd(II) were by log growth phase cells. The high removal capacity of Pd(II) (1658.3 mg/g) was obtained with 30 mg/L dry cell weight and 50 mg/L Pd (II) in the presence of 5 mM sodium formate. The removal amount of Pd(II) increased with initial Pd(II) concentrations ranging from 50 to 200 mg/L with 100 mg/L Pd(II) being completely removed by 148 mg/L dry cell weight in 6 h. The cell wall, periplasmic space and intracellular contents of B. megaterium Y-4 contains different kinds of enzymes for reducing Pd(II). In addition, the activity of extracellular and periplasmic enzymes was more sensitive to temperature than intracellular enzymes. XRD and XPS analysis revealed that the enzyme for reducing Pd(II) in B. megaterium Y-4 can tolerate a broad range of temperatures (20-60 °C) and pH (2.0-7.0) but was sensitive to oxygen. TEM analysis showed that biogenic palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NPs) were mainly distributed evenly in the periplasmic space of the live cells and were released from cells into aqueous solution, which reduced the toxicity of Pd(II), allowing Pd-NP recovery without cell destruction. B. megaterium Y-4 is a potential bacterium for efficient treatment and reclamation of Pd(II) pollution and formation of Pd-NPs.