Carbon nanotube nanocomposite scaffolds: advances in fabrication and applications for tissue regeneration and cancer therapy

Carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposite scaffolds have emerged as highly promising frameworks for tissue engineering research. By leveraging their intrinsic electrical conductivity and valuable mechanical properties, CNTs are commonly dispersed into polymers to create robust, electrically conductive scaffolds that facilitate tissue regeneration and remodeling. This article explores the latest progress and challenges related to CNT dispersion, functionalization, and scaffold printing techniques, including electrospinning and 3D printing. Notably, these CNT scaffolds have demonstrated remarkable positive effects across various cell culture systems, stimulating neuronal growth, promoting cardiomyocyte maturation, and facilitating osteocyte differentiation. These encouraging results have sparked significant interest within the regenerative medicine field, including neural, cardiac, muscle, and bone regenerations. However, addressing the concern of CNT cytotoxicity in these scaffolds remains critical. Consequently, substantial efforts are focused on exploring strategies to minimize cytotoxicity associated with CNT-based scaffolds. Moreover, researchers have also explored the intriguing possibility of utilizing the natural cytotoxic properties of CNTs to selectively target cancer cells, opening up promising avenues for cancer therapy. More research should be conducted on cutting-edge applications of CNT-based scaffolds through phototherapy and electrothermal ablation. Unlike drug delivery systems, these novel methodologies can combine 3D additive manufacturing with the innate physical properties of CNT in response to electromagnetic stimuli to efficiently target localized tumors. Taken together, the unique properties of CNT-based nanocomposite scaffolds position them as promising candidates for revolutionary breakthroughs in both regenerative medicine and cancer treatment. Continued research and innovation in this area hold significant promise for improving healthcare outcomes.

3D-Printed Artificial Cilia Arrays: A Versatile Tool for Customizable Mechanosensing

Bio-inspired cilium-based mechanosensors offer a high level of responsiveness, making them suitable for a wide range of industrial, environmental, and biomedical applications. Despite great promise, the development of sensors with multifunctionality, scalability, customizability, and sensing linearity presents challenges due to the complex sensing mechanisms and fabrication methods involved. To this end, high-aspect-ratio polycaprolactone/graphene cilia structures with high conductivity, and facile fabrication are employed to address these challenges. For these 3D-printed structures, an "inter-cilium contact" sensing mechanism that enables the sensor to function akin to an on-off switch, significantly enhancing sensitivity and reducing ambiguity in detection, is proposed. The cilia structures exhibit high levels of customizability, including thickness, height, spacing, and arrangement, while maintaining mechanical robustness. The simplicity of the sensor design enables highly sensitive detection in diverse applications, encompassing airflow and water flow monitoring, braille detection, and debris recognition. Overall, the unique conductive cilia-based sensing mechanism that is proposed brings several advantages, advancing the development of multi-sensing capabilities and flexible electronic skin applications in smart robotics and human prosthetics.

Enhancing Hydrophilicity of Thick Electrodes for High Energy Density Aqueous Batteries

Thick electrodes can substantially enhance the overall energy density of batteries. However, insufficient wettability of aqueous electrolytes toward electrodes with conventional hydrophobic binders severely limits utilization of active materials with increasing the thickness of electrodes for aqueous batteries, resulting in battery performance deterioration with a reduced capacity. Here, we demonstrate that controlling the hydrophilicity of the thicker electrodes is critical to enhancing the overall energy density of batteries. Hydrophilic binders are synthesized via a simple sulfonation process of conventional polyvinylidene fluoride binders, considering physicochemical properties such as mechanical properties and adhesion. The introduction of abundant sulfonate groups of binders (i) allows fast and sufficient electrolyte wetting, and (ii) improves ionic conduction in thick electrodes, enabling a significant increase in reversible capacities under various current densities. Further, the sulfonated binder effectively inhibits the dissolution of cathode materials in reactive aqueous electrolytes. Overall, our findings significantly enhance the energy density and contribute to the development of practical zinc-ion batteries.

Hybridized Radial and Edge Coupled 3D Plasmon Modes in Self-Assembled Graphene Nanocylinders

Current graphene-based plasmonic devices are restricted to 2D patterns defined on planar substrates; thus, they suffer from spatially limited 2D plasmon fields. Here, 3D graphene forming freestanding nanocylinders realized by a plasma-triggered self-assembly process are introduced. The graphene-based nanocylinders induce hybridized edge (in-plane) and radial (out-of-plane) coupled 3D plasmon modes stemming from their curvature, resulting in a four orders of magnitude stronger field at the openings of the cylinders than in rectangular 2D graphene ribbons. For the characterization of the 3D plasmon modes, synchrotron nanospectroscopy measurements are performed, which provides the evidence of preservation of the hybridized 3D graphene plasmons in the high precision curved nanocylinders. The distinct 3D modes introduced in this paper, provide an insight into geometry-dependent 3D coupled plasmon modes and their ability to achieve non-surface-limited (volumetric) field enhancements.

3D Printed Neural Regeneration Devices

Neural regeneration devices interface with the nervous system and can provide flexibility in material choice, implantation without the need for additional surgeries, and the ability to serve as guides augmented with physical, biological (e.g., cellular), and biochemical functionalities. Given the complexity and challenges associated with neural regeneration, a 3D printing approach to the design and manufacturing of neural devices could provide next-generation opportunities for advanced neural regeneration via the production of anatomically accurate geometries, spatial distributions of cellular components, and incorporation of therapeutic biomolecules. A 3D printing-based approach offers compatibility with 3D scanning, computer modeling, choice of input material, and increasing control over hierarchical integration. Therefore, a 3D printed implantable platform could ultimately be used to prepare novel biomimetic scaffolds and model complex tissue architectures for clinical implants in order to treat neurological diseases and injuries. Further, the flexibility and specificity offered by 3D printed in vitro platforms have the potential to be a significant foundational breakthrough with broad research implications in cell signaling and drug screening for personalized healthcare. This progress report examines recent advances in 3D printing strategies for neural regeneration as well as insight into how these approaches can be improved in future studies.

3D Bioprinted In Vitro Metastatic Models via Reconstruction of Tumor Microenvironments

The development of 3D in vitro models capable of recapitulating native tumor microenvironments could improve the translatability of potential anticancer drugs and treatments. Here, 3D bioprinting techniques are used to build tumor constructs via precise placement of living cells, functional biomaterials, and programmable release capsules. This enables the spatiotemporal control of signaling molecular gradients, thereby dynamically modulating cellular behaviors at a local level. Vascularized tumor models are created to mimic key steps of cancer dissemination (invasion, intravasation, and angiogenesis), based on guided migration of tumor cells and endothelial cells in the context of stromal cells and growth factors. The utility of the metastatic models for drug screening is demonstrated by evaluating the anticancer efficacy of immunotoxins. These 3D vascularized tumor tissues provide a proof-of-concept platform to i) fundamentally explore the molecular mechanisms of tumor progression and metastasis, and ii) preclinically identify therapeutic agents and screen anticancer drugs.

Nano-Architecture Driven Plasmonic Field Enhancement in 3D Graphene Structures

The limited spatial coverage of the plasmon enhanced near-field in 2D graphene ribbons presents a major hurdle in practical applications. In this study, diverse self-assembled 3D graphene architectures are explored that induce hybridized plasmon modes by simultaneous in-plane and out-of-plane coupling to overcome the limited coverage in 2D ribbons. While 2D graphene can only demonstrate in-plane, bidirectional coupling through the edges, 3D architectures benefit from fully symmetric 360° coupling at the apex of pyramidal graphene, orthogonal four-directional coupling in cubic graphene, and uniform cross-sectional radial coupling in tubular graphene. The 3D coupled vertices, edges, surfaces, and volume induce corresponding enhancement modes that are highly dependent on the shape and dimensions comprising the 3D geometries. The hybridized modes introduced through the 3D coupling amplify the limited plasmon response in 2D ribbons to deliver nondiffusion limited sensors, high efficiency fuel cells, and extreme propagation length optical interconnects.

3D Printed Stem-Cell Derived Neural Progenitors Generate Spinal Cord Scaffolds

A bioengineered spinal cord is fabricated via extrusion-based multi-material 3D bioprinting, in which clusters of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived spinal neuronal progenitor cells (sNPCs) and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) are placed in precise positions within 3D printed biocompatible scaffolds during assembly. The location of a cluster of cells, of a single type or multiple types, is controlled using a point-dispensing printing method with a 200 μm center-to-center spacing within 150 μm wide channels. The bioprinted sNPCs differentiate and extend axons throughout microscale scaffold channels, and the activity of these neuronal networks is confirmed by physiological spontaneous calcium flux studies. Successful bioprinting of OPCs in combination with sNPCs demonstrates a multicellular neural tissue engineering approach, where the ability to direct the patterning and combination of transplanted neuronal and glial cells can be beneficial in rebuilding functional axonal connections across areas of central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage. This platform can be used to prepare novel biomimetic, hydrogel-based scaffolds modeling complex CNS tissue architecture in vitro and harnessed to develop new clinical approaches to treat neurological diseases, including spinal cord injury.

Fabrication of Three-Dimensional Graphene-Based Polyhedrons via Origami-Like Self-Folding

The assembly of two-dimensional (2D) graphene into three-dimensional (3D) polyhedral structures while preserving the graphene's excellent inherent properties has been of great interest for the development of novel device applications. Here, fabrication of 3D, microscale, hollow polyhedrons (cubes) consisting of a few layers of 2D graphene or graphene oxide sheets via an origami-like self-folding process is described. This method involves the use of polymer frames and hinges, and aluminum oxide/chromium protection layers that reduce tensile, spatial, and surface tension stresses on the graphene-based membranes when the 2D nets are transformed into 3D cubes. The process offers control of the size and shape of the structures as well as parallel production. In addition, this approach allows the creation of surface modifications by metal patterning on each face of the 3D cubes. Raman spectroscopy studies show the method allows the preservation of the intrinsic properties of the graphene-based membranes, demonstrating the robustness of our method.

3D Printed Polymer Photodetectors

Extrusion-based 3D printing, an emerging technology, has been previously used in the comprehensive fabrication of light-emitting diodes using various functional inks, without cleanrooms or conventional microfabrication techniques. Here, polymer-based photodetectors exhibiting high performance are fully 3D printed and thoroughly characterized. A semiconducting polymer ink is printed and optimized for the active layer of the photodetector, achieving an external quantum efficiency of 25.3%, which is comparable to that of microfabricated counterparts and yet created solely via a one-pot custom built 3D-printing tool housed under ambient conditions. The devices are integrated into image sensing arrays with high sensitivity and wide field of view, by 3D printing interconnected photodetectors directly on flexible substrates and hemispherical surfaces. This approach is further extended to create integrated multifunctional devices consisting of optically coupled photodetectors and light-emitting diodes, demonstrating for the first time the multifunctional integration of multiple semiconducting device types which are fully 3D printed on a single platform. The 3D-printed optoelectronic devices are made without conventional microfabrication facilities, allowing for flexibility in the design and manufacturing of next-generation wearable and 3D-structured optoelectronics, and validating the potential of 3D printing to achieve high-performance integrated active electronic materials and devices.

Self-Assembled Three-Dimensional Graphene-Based Polyhedrons Inducing Volumetric Light Confinement

The ability to transform two-dimensional (2D) materials into a three-dimensional (3D) structure while preserving their unique inherent properties might offer great enticing opportunities in the development of diverse applications for next generation micro/nanodevices. Here, a self-assembly process is introduced for building free-standing 3D, micro/nanoscale, hollow, polyhedral structures configured with a few layers of graphene-based materials: graphene and graphene oxide. The 3D structures have been further modified with surface patterning, realized through the inclusion of metal patterns on their 3D surfaces. The 3D geometry leads to a nontrivial spatial distribution of strong electric fields (volumetric light confinement) induced by 3D plasmon hybridization on the surface of the graphene forming the 3D structures. Due to coupling in all directions, resulting in 3D plasmon hybridization, the 3D closed box graphene generates a highly confined electric field within as well as outside of the cubes. Moreover, since the uniform coupling reduces the decay of the field enhancement away from the surface, the confined electric field inside of the 3D structure shows two orders of magnitude higher than that of 2D graphene before transformation into the 3D structure. Therefore, these structures might be used for detection of target substances (not limited to only the graphene surfaces, but using the entire volume formed by the 3D graphene-based structure) in sensor applications.

Plasma Triggered Grain Coalescence for Self-Assembly of 3D Nanostructures

Grain coalescence has been applied in many areas of nanofabrication technology, including modification of thin-film properties, nanowelding, and self-assembly of nanostructures. However, very few systematic studies of self-assembly using the grain coalescence, especially for three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures, exist at present. Here, we investigate the mechanism of plasma triggered grain coalescence to achieve the precise control of nanoscale phase and morphology of the grain coalescence induced by exothermic energy. Exothermic energy is generated through etching a silicon substrate via application of plasma. By tuning the plasma power and the flow rates of reactive gases, different etching rates and profiles can be achieved, resulting in various morphologies of grain coalescence. Balancing the isotropic/anisotropic substrate etching profile and the etching rate makes it possible to simultaneously release 2D nanostructures from the substrate and induce enough surface tension force, generated by grain coalescence, to form 3D nanostructures. Diverse morphologies of 3D nanostructures have been obtained by the grain coalescence, and a strategy to achieve self-assembly, resulting in desired 3D nanostructures, has been proposed and demonstrated.

Tunable Optical Transparency in Self-Assembled Three-Dimensional Polyhedral Graphene Oxide

The origami-like self-folding process is an intellectually stimulating technique for realizing three-dimensional (3D) polyhedral free-standing graphene oxide (GO) structures. This technique allows for easy control of size, shape, and thickness of GO membranes, which in turn permits fabrication of free-standing 3D microscale polyhedral GO structures. Unlike 2D GO sheets, the 3D polyhedral free-standing GO shows a distinct optical switching behavior, resulting from a combination of the geometrical effect of the 3D hollow structure and the water-permeable multilayered GO membrane that affects the optical paths.

Towards parallel fabrication of single electron transistors using carbon nanotubes

Single electron transistors (SETs) are considered to be promising building blocks for post CMOS era electronic devices, however, a major bottleneck for practical realization of SET based devices is a lack of a parallel fabrication approach. Here, we have demonstrated a technique for the scalable fabrication of SETs using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The approach is based on the integration of solution processed individual SWNTs via dielectrophoresis (DEP) at the selected position of the circuit with a 100 nm channel length, where the metal-SWNT Schottky contact works as a tunnel barrier. Measurements carried out at a low temperature (4.2 K) show that the majority of the devices with a contact resistance (RT) > 100 kΩ display SET behavior. For the devices with 100 kΩ < RT < 1 MΩ, periodic, well-defined Coulomb diamonds with a charging energy of ∼14 meV, corresponding to the transport through a single quantum dot (QD) was observed. For devices with high RT (>1 MΩ) multiple QD behavior was observed. From the transport study of 50 SWNT devices, a total of 38 devices show SET behavior giving a yield of 76%. The results presented here are a significant step forward for the practical realization of SET based devices.

Negative differential resistance in ZnO coated peptide nanotube

We investigate the room temperature electronic transport properties of a zinc oxide (ZnO) coated peptide nanotube contacted with Au electrodes. Current-voltage (I-V ) characteristics show asymmetric negative differential resistance (NDR) behavior along with current rectification. The NDR phenomenon is observed in both negative and positive voltage sweep scans, and found to be dependent on the scan rate and humidity. Our results suggest that the NDR is due to protonic conduction arising from water molecule redox reaction on the surface of ZnO coated peptide nanotubes rather than the conventional resonant tunneling mechanism.

Ultralight multiwalled carbon nanotube aerogel

Ultralight multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) aerogel is fabricated from a wet gel of well-dispersed pristine MWCNTs. On the basis of a theoretical prediction that increasing interaction potential between CNTs lowers their critical concentration to form an infinite percolation network, poly(3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate) (PTMSPMA) is used to disperse and functionalize MWCNTs where the subsequent hydrolysis and condensation of PTMSPMA introduces strong and permanent chemical bonding between MWCNTs. The interaction is both experimentally and theoretically proven to facilitate the formation of a MWCNT percolation network, which leads to the gelation of MWCNT dispersion at ultralow MWCNT concentration. After removing the liquid component from the MWCNT wet gel, the lightest ever free-standing MWCNT aerogel monolith with a density of 4 mg/cm(3) is obtained. The MWCNT aerogel has an ordered macroporous honeycomb structure with straight and parallel voids in 50-150 μm separated by less than 100 nm thick walls. The entangled MWCNTs generate mesoporous structures on the honeycomb walls, creating aerogels with a surface area of 580 m(2)/g which is much higher than that of pristine MWCNTs (241 m(2)/g). Despite the ultralow density, the MWCNT aerogels have an excellent compression recoverable property as demonstrated by the compression test. The aerogels have an electrical conductivity of 3.2 × 10(-2) S·cm(-1) that can be further increased to 0.67 S·cm(-1) by a high-current pulse method without degrading their structures. The excellent compression recoverable property, hierarchically porous structure with large surface area, and high conductivity grant the MWCNT aerogels exceptional pressure and chemical vapor sensing capabilities.

High yield fabrication of chemically reduced graphene oxide field effect transistors by dielectrophoresis

We demonstrate high yield fabrication of field effect transistors (FET) using chemically reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets. The RGO sheets suspended in water were assembled between prefabricated gold source and drain electrodes using ac dielectrophoresis. With the application of a backgate voltage, 60% of the devices showed p-type FET behavior, while the remaining 40% showed ambipolar behavior. After mild thermal annealing at 200 degrees C, all ambipolar RGO FET remained ambipolar with increased hole and electron mobility, while 60% of the p-type RGO devices were transformed to ambipolar. The maximum hole and electron mobilities of the devices were 4.0 and 1.5 cm(2) V( - 1) s( - 1) respectively. High yield assembly of chemically derived RGO FET will have significant impact in scaled up fabrication of graphene based nanoelectronic devices.

The electronic transport properties of ternary Cd(1-x)Zn(x)S nanowire networks

We present the electronic transport characteristics of ternary alloy Cd(1-x)Zn(x)S nanowire networks in the dark and under white light illumination. Compared to the negligible dark current, we observed a photocurrent enhancement of up to four orders of magnitude at an intensity of 460 mW cm(-2). The time constant of the dynamic photoresponse is approximately 5 s. The current-voltage characteristics at different intensities show Ohmic behavior at low bias and space charge limited conduction (SCLC) at higher bias voltages. The SCLC behavior and slow time response indicate that the charge transport is dominated by tunneling at the percolating inter-nanowire junctions.

Lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma in mice overexpressing the Mer (MerTK) receptor tyrosine kinase

Mer (MerTK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase important in platelet aggregation, as well as macrophage cytokine secretion and clearance of apoptotic cells. Mer is not normally expressed in thymocytes or lymphocytes; however, ectopic Mer RNA transcript and protein expression is found in a subset of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines and patient samples, suggesting a role in leukemogenesis. To investigate the oncogenic potential of Mer in vivo, we created a transgenic mouse line (Mer(Tg)) that expresses Mer in the hematopoietic lineage under control of the Vav promoter. Ectopic expression and activation of the transgenic Mer protein was demonstrated in lymphocytes and thymocytes of the Mer(Tg) mice. At 12-24 months of age, greater than 55% of the Mer(Tg) mice, compared to 12% of the wild type, developed adenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and circulating lymphoblasts. Histopathological analysis and flow cytometry were consistent with T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma. Mer may contribute to leukemogenesis by activation of Akt and ERK1/2 anti-apoptotic signals, which were upregulated in Mer(Tg) mice. Additionally, a significant survival advantage was noted in Mer(Tg) lymphocytes compared to wild-type lymphocytes after dexamethasone treatment. These data suggest that Mer plays a cooperative role in leukemogenesis and may be an effective target for biologically based leukemia/lymphoma therapy.