Wound healing is a complex process that requires specific interactions between multiple cells such as fibroblasts, mesenchymal, endothelial, and neural stem cells. Recent studies have shown that calcium silicate (CS)-based biomaterials can enhance the secretion of growth factors from fibroblasts, which further increased wound healing and skin regeneration. In addition, gelatin methacrylate (GelMa) is a compatible biomaterial that is commonly used in tissue engineering. However, it has low mechanical properties, thus restricting its fullest potential for clinical applications. In this study, we infused Si ions into GelMa hydrogel and assessed for its feasibility for skin regeneration applications by observing for its influences on human dermal fibroblasts (hDF). Initial studies showed that Si could be successfully incorporated into GelMa, and printability was not affected. The degradability of Si-GelMa was approximately 20% slower than GelMa hydrogels, thus allowing for better wound healing and regeneration. Furthermore, Si-GelMa enhanced cellular adhesion and proliferation, therefore leading to the increased secretion of collagen I other important extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling-related proteins including Ki67, MMP9, and decorin. This study showed that the Si-GelMa hydrogels were able to enhance the activity of hDF due to the gradual release of Si ions, thus making it a potential candidate for future skin regeneration clinical applications.

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Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been established to sufficiently eradicate tumors by means of heat production for photothermal therapy. However, the translation of the AuNPs from bench to the clinic still remains to be solved until realizing high bioclearance after treatment. Herein, we developed a simple strategy for simultaneous formation and assembly of small-size gold nanoparticles (Au-SNPs) to form a novel nanocomposite in the presence of gum arabic (GA) by synchrotron X-ray irradiation in an aqueous solution within 5 min. GA, a porous polysaccharide, can not only provide a confined space in which to produce uniform Au-SNPs (1.6 ± 0.7 nm in diameter), but can also facilitate the formation of Au-SNPs@GA (diameter ≈ 40 nm) after irradiating synchrotron X-rays. Specifically, the Au-SNPs@GA possesses high thermal stability and a strong photothermal effect for killing cancer cells. Importantly, a bioclearance study demonstrated that the Au-SNPs@GA can be gradually excreted by the renal and hepatobiliary system, which might be due to the breakdown and oxidation of GA under irradiating synchrotron X-rays. Thus, the novel gold nanocomposite can be promising photothermal agents for cancer treatment at the therapeutic level, minimizing toxicity concerns regarding long-term accumulation in vivo.

Linear-like and photoluminescent polyethylenimines (LPEIs) were synthesized through a one-pot reaction within 5 min using synchrotron radiation for intracellular imaging and siRNA delivery.

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