Space-Efficient 3D Microalgae Farming with Optimized Resource Utilization for Regenerative Food.

Photosynthetic microalgae produce valuable metabolites and are a source of sustainable food that supports life without compromising arable land. However, the light self-shading, excessive water supply, and insufficient space utilization in microalgae farming have limited its potential in the inland areas most in need of regenerative food solutions. Herein, this work develops a 3D polysaccharide-based hydrogel scaffold for vertically farming microalgae without needing liquid media. This liquid-free strategy is compatible with diverse microalgal species and enables the design of living microalgal frameworks with customizable architectures that enhance light and water utilization. This approach significantly increases microalgae yield per unit water consumption, with an 8.8-fold increase compared to traditional methods. Furthermore, the dehydrated hydrogels demonstrate a reduced size and weight (≈70% reduction), but readily recover their vitality upon rehydration. Importantly, valuable natural products can be produced in this system including proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and carotenoids. This study streamlines microalgae regenerative farming for low-carbon biomanufacturing by minimizing light self-shading, relieving water supply, and reducing physical footprints, and democratizing access to efficient aquatic food production.

Cyclic immonium ion of lactyllysine reveals widespread lactylation in the human proteome.

Lactylation was initially discovered on human histones. Given its nascence, its occurrence on nonhistone proteins and downstream functional consequences remain elusive. Here we report a cyclic immonium ion of lactyllysine formed during tandem mass spectrometry that enables confident protein lactylation assignment. We validated the sensitivity and specificity of this ion for lactylation through affinity-enriched lactylproteome analysis and large-scale informatic assessment of nonlactylated spectral libraries. With this diagnostic ion-based strategy, we confidently determined new lactylation, unveiling a wide landscape beyond histones from not only the enriched lactylproteome but also existing unenriched human proteome resources. Specifically, by mining the public human Meltome Atlas, we found that lactylation is common on glycolytic enzymes and conserved on ALDOA. We also discovered prevalent lactylation on DHRS7 in the draft of the human tissue proteome. We partially demonstrated the functional importance of lactylation: site-specific engineering of lactylation into ALDOA caused enzyme inhibition, suggesting a lactylation-dependent feedback loop in glycolysis.

Liquid-induced topological transformations of cellular microstructures.

The fundamental topology of cellular structures-the location, number and connectivity of nodes and compartments-can profoundly affect their acoustic1-4, electrical5, chemical6,7, mechanical8-10 and optical11 properties, as well as heat1,12, fluid13,14 and particle transport15. Approaches that harness swelling16-18, electromagnetic actuation19,20 and mechanical instabilities21-23 in cellular materials have enabled a variety of interesting wall deformations and compartment shape alterations, but the resulting structures generally preserve the defining connectivity features of the initial topology. Achieving topological transformation presents a distinct challenge for existing strategies: it requires complex reorganization, repacking, and coordinated bending, stretching and folding, particularly around each node, where elastic resistance is highest owing to connectivity. Here we introduce a two-tiered dynamic strategy that achieves systematic reversible transformations of the fundamental topology of cellular microstructures, which can be applied to a wide range of materials and geometries. Our approach requires only exposing the structure to a selected liquid that is able to first infiltrate and plasticize the material at the molecular scale, and then, upon evaporation, form a network of localized capillary forces at the architectural scale that 'zip' the edges of the softened lattice into a new topological structure, which subsequently restiffens and remains kinetically trapped. Reversibility is induced by applying a mixture of liquids that act separately at the molecular and architectural scales (thus offering modular temporal control over the softening-evaporation-stiffening sequence) to restore the original topology or provide access to intermediate modes. Guided by a generalized theoretical model that connects cellular geometries, material stiffness and capillary forces, we demonstrate programmed reversible topological transformations of various lattice geometries and responsive materials that undergo fast global or localized deformations. We then harness dynamic topologies to develop active surfaces with information encryption, selective particle trapping and bubble release, as well as tunable mechanical, chemical and acoustic properties.

Characterization, stability, and application of domain walls in flexible mechanical metamaterials.

Domain walls, commonly occurring at the interface of different phases in solid-state materials, have recently been harnessed at the structural scale to enable additional modes of functionality. Here, we combine experimental, numerical, and theoretical tools to investigate the domain walls emerging upon uniaxial compression in a mechanical metamaterial based on the rotating-squares mechanism. We first show that these interfaces can be generated and controlled by carefully arranging a few phase-inducing defects. We establish an analytical model to capture the evolution of the domain walls as a function of the applied deformation. We then employ this model as a guideline to realize interfaces of complex shape. Finally, we show that the engineered domain walls modify the global response of the metamaterial and can be effectively exploited to tune its stiffness as well as to guide the propagation of elastic waves.

Expansible thermal gelling foam aerosol for vaginal drug delivery.

Vaginal delivery of antimicrobial drugs is the most effective method for the local treatment of the vaginal infections. However, current vaginal drug delivery systems (VDDS), including gel, lotion, aerosol and cream, are suffering from low penetration in the deep vaginal rugae and easy elimination by self-cleaning of vaginal canal. To address these issues, a foam aerosol based on the thermal transformation was designed to improve penetration efficiency and achieve the extended retention. The expansible thermal gelling foam aerosol (ETGFA) consisting of thermal sensitive matrix, silver nanoparticle, adhesive agent and propellant, was optimized by evaluations of precursor viscosity, foam expansion, thermal gelation, gel adhesiveness, antimicrobial effects and tissue irritation. The ETGFA would penetrate to the deep vaginal rugae to cover the infectious sites by foam expansion. Drug leakage was intended to be avoided by the thermal gelation at physiological temperature before foam collapse. The gel could be retained in the vaginal canal for extended time due to its superior adhesiveness when compared to the commercial gel Asimi®. The ETGFA provided extended drug release for over 4 h and maintained effective drug concentrations at the infectious sites. The ETGFA containing silver nanoparticles showed dose-dependent antimicrobial effects on the vaginal floras and irritation reduction to the vaginal tissues. The results demonstrated that the ETGFA could overcome the limitations of conventional dosage forms, including poor drug penetration, carrier retention and patient compliance and satisfied the requirements for vaginal drug delivery.

Anti-Lung-Cancer Activity and Liposome-Based Delivery Systems of ß-Elemene.

In the past decade, ß-elemene played an important role in enhancing the effects of many anticancer drugs and was widely used in the treatment of different kinds of malignancies and in reducing the side effects of chemotherapy. Further study showed that it is also a promising anti-lung cancer drug. However, the clinical application of ß-elemene was limited by its hydrophobic property, poor stability, and low bioavailability. With the development of new excipients and novel technologies, plenty of novel formulations of ß-elemene have improved dramatically, which provide a positive perspective in terms of clinical application for ß-elemene. Liposome as a drug delivery system shows great advantages over traditional formulations for ß-elemene. In this paper, we summarize the advanced progress being made in anti-lung cancer activity and the new liposomes delivery systems of ß-elemene. This advancement is expected to improve the level of pharmacy research and provide a stronger scientific foundation for further study on ß-elemene.