The development of novel therapeutic platforms is critical to overcoming chronic drug delivery difficulties such as poor solubility, restricted bioavailability, and continuous oxidative stress.To address these, a library of 15 curcumin-loaded niosomal formulations has been developed for curcumin delivery in a synergistic combination with zinc ions, cholesterol, oleic acid and plant-derived bioactive oils. These nanocarriers are designed to demonstrate adjustable architecture, high entrapment efficiency, and prolonged release profiles, while maintaining structural stability and biocompatibility. The strategic combination of PEGylation with cholesterol, oleic acid and essential oils, including black seed, tea tree, and sesame, yields enhanced antioxidant, antibacterial, and hypoglycemic effects, as demonstrated by a comprehensive array of bioassays. PEG-coated vesicles also showed favorable cytocompatibility and modified physicochemical properties. The combination of trace metals with phytochemicals may contribute to the modulation of oxidative and inflammatory pathways, as supported by the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial results.The formulations showed high curcumin entrapment efficiencies of up to 93.7% and antioxidant activity of up to 93.9%. These findings demonstrate the potential of plant- and metal-integrated vesicular nanocarriers as multifunctional delivery systems with promising in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial, and glucose-modulating properties.
This paper prepared a flexible dual-functional electronic film fabricated by laser reduction, which could simultaneously achieve efficient electrical heating function and high sensitivity temperature sensing performance. Graphene oxide (GO) film was deposited on a glass substrate and selectively reduced using a 785 nm near-infrared laser to prepare laser-reduced graphene oxide (LrGO) with a multi-channel conductive structure. This paper systematically investigated the effects of laser power, scanning rate, spacing and frequency on the reduction degree, microstructure and electrical properties of LrGO, and determined the optimal process parameters. The LrGO film encapsulated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has excellent waterproof performance and mechanical stability. Experimental results showed that LrGO/PDMS film exhibited excellent negative temperature coefficient (NTC) characteristics in temperature sensing, with a resistance temperature coefficient (TCR) of up to −0.421%/°C, and had a good linearity (R2 > 0.99) and a fast response time (3.3 s). The LrGO/PDMS film can rapidly heat up to 81.3 °C under a 25 V load voltage, and the power density showed a highly linear correlation with the equilibrium temperature. This dual-functional film has an important application value in intelligent wearables, medical monitoring and flexible electronic skin fields.
Solar-driven sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) offers a decentralized route to freshwater production by coupling hygroscopic sorbents with solar or low-grade thermal energy. However, material performance is still frequently judged by maximum equilibrium water uptake, which does not directly represent recoverable liquid-water production under realistic operating conditions. This review examines the relationships between sorbent mechanisms, effective working capacity, and liquid-water recovery, with particular attention to material-related constraints on device performance. The thermodynamic and microscopic origins of water capture are first analyzed in terms of sorption isotherms, effective working capacity, hydrophilic-site binding, ionic hydration, water-cluster growth, bulk absorption, pore filling, capillary condensation, and hysteresis. The structure–mechanism–performance relationships of three major sorbent families—crystalline porous frameworks (MOFs and COFs), hygroscopic polymer gels and aerogels, and salt-based composites—are then compared, with emphasis on working humidity window, transport resistance, regeneration demand, swelling or salt migration, cycling stability, and manufacturability. We show that high practical productivity requires coordinated optimization of water affinity, reversible storage capacity, hierarchical mass-transfer pathways, heat transfer, desorption kinetics, and condensation efficiency rather than maximization of a single uptake metric. Effective working capacity, release efficiency, condensation efficiency, cycle duration, durability, water quality, and areal productivity are identified as key metrics for meaningful cross-study comparison. Future progress depends on integrating sorbent chemistry with device-scale thermal and mass management and on standardized testing under realistic environmental conditions to translate laboratory sorption performance into reliable, scalable water production.
Phase transformation in materials is important since their properties, such as mechanical, thermal, and electrical, undergo substantial changes. Metals are regularly found in three crystal structures, namely body-centered cubic (BCC), face-centered cubic (FCC), hexagonal close packed (HCP). The transitions between these phases take place by different types of external stimuli, such as pressure and temperature. Initially, metallic elements adopt one of the aforementioned crystal structures at normal conditions. BCC is the prevalent structure of such metals as iron, while FCC is normally adopted by aluminum and copper. HCP is also the prime structure of titanium, zirconium and hafnium. In this article, we review molecular dynamics (MD) simulations conducted on the phase transformation of metals. Many studies on the properties of metallic structures employ interatomic potential functions developed on the ground of the embedded-atom method (EAM). Machine learning (ML) techniques are also used to develop such functions. In the current work, the effects of interatomic potential functions in the MD simulations are also examined in some cases available in the literature.
Objectives Multifunctional biopolymer-based systems are attractive for biomedical devices owing to their biocompatibility, structural versatility, and ability to interact functionally with biological tissues. Existing reviews, however, are organized mainly by material class or application and offer limited guidance on biointerface-driven design. This review uses biointerface behavior as the organizing principle for designing biopolymer-based biomedical devices. Methods Relevant literature was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, screened by title, abstract, and full text, and supplemented with landmark studies. Material platforms, structural engineering, multifunctionality, and biointerface design were integrated into a unified framework, within which hydrogels, films/coatings, nanofibers, and biocomposites were critically compared in terms of structure, property and biointerface relationships, advantages, limitations, and biomedical applications. Results Device performance in biointegrated systems depends on the concurrent optimization of mechanical compliance, adhesion, biodegradability, and electrical functionality rather than on any single property. Each platform shows characteristic biointerface failure modes, including dehydration and swelling mismatch in hydrogels, delamination in films, fiber fracture in nanofibers, and filler–matrix debonding in biocomposites. Biointerface characterization and biodegradability claims were often inconsistent or qualitative. Key challenges include the compliance–robustness trade-off, batch-to-batch variability, limited long-term biointerface data, and regulatory uncertainty. A biointerface-driven conceptual framework is proposed to guide material selection, structural engineering, and multifunctionality integration according to application-specific requirements. Conclusions Biopolymers act as active determinants of biointerface behavior rather than merely sustainable alternatives to synthetic polymers. The evidence base remains uneven, with limited replication and partial in vivo validation, so standardized evaluation protocols and long-term validation will be essential for clinical translation.
