Herein, the recent advances in realizing highly efficient cellulose-based solar evaporators for alleviating the global water crisis are summarized. Fresh water scarcity is one of most threatening issues for sustainable development. Solar steam generation, which harnesses the abundant sunlight, has been recognized as a sustainable approach to harvest fresh water. In contrast to synthetic polymeric materials that can pose serious negative environmental impacts, cellulose-based materials, owing to their biocompatibility, renewability, and sustainability, are highly attractive for realizing solar steam generators. The molecular and macromolecular features of cellulose and the physicochemical properties of extracted cellulose nanoparticles (cellulose nanocrystals and cellulose nanofibrils) and natural cellulose materials (wood and bacterial nanocellulose) that make them attractive as supporting substrate materials in solar steam generators are briefly discussed. Recent progress in designing highly efficient cellulose-based solar evaporators, including utilizing the extracted cellulose nanoparticles via bottom-up assembly (cellulose nanofibrils), natural cellulose materials with intrinsic hierarchical structure (wood and bacterial nanocellulose), and commercial planar cellulose substrates (air-laid paper, cellulose paper and cotton fabric) is reviewed. The outstanding challenges that need to be addressed for these materials and devices to be utilized in the real-world and in overcoming global water crisis are also briefly highlighted.
Cancer immunotherapy involves a cascade of events that ultimately leads to cytotoxic immune cells effectively identifying and destroying cancer cells. Responsive nanomaterials, which enable spatiotemporal orchestration of various immunological events for mounting a highly potent and long-lasting anti-tumor immune response, are an attractive platform to overcome challenges associated with existing cancer immunotherapies. Here, we report a multifunctional near infrared (NIR)-responsive core-shell nanoparticle, which enables (i) photothermal ablation of cancer cells for generating tumor associated antigen (TAA) and (ii) triggered release of an immunomodulatory drug (gardiquimod) for starting a series of immunological events. The core of these nanostructures is composed of polydopamine nanoparticle, which serves as a photothermal agent, and the shell is made of mesoporous silica, which serves as a drug carrier. We employed a phase-change material as gatekeeper to achieve concurrent release of both TAA and adjuvant, thus efficiently activating the antigen presenting cells (APCs). Photothermal-immunotherapy enabled by these nanostructures resulted in regression of primary tumor and significantly improved inhibition of secondary tumor in a mouse melanoma model. These biocompatible, biodegradable, and NIRresponsive core-shell nanostructures simultaneously deliver payload and cause photothermal *
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