bims-enlima Biomed News
on Engineered living materials
Issue of 2026–01–11
24 papers selected by
Rahul Kumar, Tallinna Tehnikaülikool
  1. Dynamic Control of DNA Origami Self-Assembly by Transcriptional Modules.
  2. Rapid photocontrollable dopamine polymerization for instant adaptive wet adhesion.
  3. Soft photonic skins with dynamic texture and colour control.
  4. Digital shape-morphing thermo-mechanical metamaterials.
  5. Hydrogel array patterning using 3D-printed microfluidic inserts to control cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions.
  6. Assembling Lipid Membrane Scaffolds on Microgel-Based Artificial Cells through Vesicle Fusion onto the Hydrogel Network.
  7. Molecular systems engineering of synthetic cells.
  8. A Water-Soluble PVA Macrothiol Enables Two-Photon Microfabrication of Cell-Interactive Hydrogel Structures at 400 mm s-1.
  9. Chemical Strategies for Controlling Sulfation in Biomacromolecules.
  10. Multi-Stimulus Triggered Programmable Transformation of Molecular Motor Based Chiral Supramolecular Polymers in Water.
  11. Biomimic Conductive Hydrogel Based on Polyphenol-Modified Cellulose Nanocrystals for Flexible Mechano-sensors.
  12. Biodegradable and Transparent Soft Piezoelectret Film with an Artificially Foamed Air Cell for Sustainable Bioelectronics.
  13. Step-Ladder Bioprinting to Align Collagen Fibers for Anisotropic Tissue Fabrication.
  14. Light-Triggered Reversible Control of Viscoelasticity and Emulsion Stability via Photoswitchable Aqueous Systems.
  15. Programmable electric tweezers.
  16. Oriented Micropore-Forming Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting of Muscle Tissues.
  17. Chlorinated Poly(vinyl chloride) Stamps with High Adhesion for Origami Folding of 2D Materials.
  18. Monolithic cell-on-memristor architecture enables wafer-scale integration of oscillatory chemoreceptors for bio-realistic gustatory chips.
  19. An Opto-Actuated Hydrogel for Cell Mechanoactuation and Real-Time Force Monitoring.
  20. De novo design of protein nanoparticles with integrated functional motifs.
  21. Electromagnetic (EM)-Driven Functional Materials.
  22. Protein Biomaterials with Muscle-like Water-Driven Actuation.
  23. Shape-morphing active particles with invertible effective polarizability for configurable locomotion and steering.
  24. Soft biodegradable implants for long-distance and wide-angle sensing.
  1. J Am Chem Soc. 2026 Jan 07.
    Dynamic Control of DNA Origami Self-Assembly by Transcriptional Modules.
    Lei Zhang, Ruojie Sha, Lev Bershadsky, Paul M Chaikin.
      Biological cells achieve adaptive and responsive behaviors by dynamically regulating self-assembly through sensing, processing, and transmitting environmental information. Emulating this is key to engineering dynamic synthetic materials with life-like functions. In most existing dynamic self-assembly systems, the responses are achieved by changes in the free energy landscape induced by external inputs (such as molecules, light, or pH) that push the system toward a new stable thermodynamic equilibrium. In contrast, achieving the sustained and complex processes characteristic of living systems requires a nonequilibrium approach involving continuous energy dissipation. Here, we present a new strategy for dynamic control of DNA origami tile self-assembly by directly coupling a transcriptional module's activity to the tiles' assembly state. Transcription is triggered only upon tile dimerization, which brings the module components into close proximity. The resulting RNA blocker strands then disassemble into dimers via strand displacement, establishing a dissipative, autonomous feedback loop. We demonstrated that integrating two mutually inhibitory tile pairs constructs a bistable system whose state can be switched by using RNA inducers or upstream transcriptional circuits. Simulations of larger networks further predict complex, nonequilibrium temporal behaviors (including sustained oscillations and pulses) that are maintained only through continuous energy consumption. This work presents a generalizable strategy for dynamic control of DNA origami tile self-assembly via transcriptional modules, paving the way for applications in nanorobotics, biosensing, biomedicine, and artificial life systems.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c18964
  2. Nat Commun. 2026 Jan 07. 16(1): 11150
    Rapid photocontrollable dopamine polymerization for instant adaptive wet adhesion.
    Zhe Lu, Shuyan Bai, Hao Lu, Zhenhao Zhu, Jie Yu, Qian Wang, Ping Zhang, Lu Qian, Zijian Zheng, You Yu.
      Dopamine-based adhesives offer strong, versatile adhesion through diverse interactions but are limited by slow, poorly controlled oxidative polymerization and dopamine's inhibition of radical polymerization. We present an efficient photochemical strategy for in-situ fabrication of high-performance polydopamine-containing hydrogels with instant wet adhesion. By integrating a scalable synthesis of a protected dopamine derivative with rational photochemical design, we enable simultaneous, light-controlled oxidative and radical polymerizations, forming interpenetrated hydrogel networks within seconds. The resulting tough adhesives exhibit high polydopamine content and strong adhesion across diverse wet and dry substrates, outperforming conventional polydopamine-coated systems. This rapid, light-driven process is compatible with extrusion-based 3D printing, allowing spatially programmable adhesion and the creation of complex biomimetic architectures. Furthermore, the instant, robust adhesion enables integration of flexible electroluminescent devices that remain stable under large deformations. This work establishes a versatile platform for rapid, programmable adhesion in soft electronics and biointerfacing systems.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66530-0
  3. Nature. 2026 Jan;649(8096): 345-352
    Soft photonic skins with dynamic texture and colour control.
    Siddharth Doshi, Nicholas A Güsken, Gerwin Dijk, Johan Carlström, Jennifer E Ortiz-Cárdenas, Peter Suzuki, Bohan Li, Polly M Fordyce, Alberto Salleo, Nicholas A Melosh, Mark L Brongersma.
      The visual appearances of surfaces are influenced by their colour and texture. Although the creation and tuning of structural colours has been realized with nanostructures1,2, achieving dynamic control over visual texture3,4 remains challenging. Inspired by dynamic modulation of cephalopod skin5,6, we develop polymer films with programmable surface textures. We bring these textures to life through immersion in different liquids that cause reversible local swelling/contraction to a degree that is determined by electron-beam irradiation. We show how standard electron-beam patterning tools can spatially encode arbitrary textures that can be hidden and shown on demand. Similarly, by modulating the topography of optical Fabry-Pérot cavities, we create colour patterns that can be continuously tuned with microfluidic control to achieve several distinct appearance states, allowing them to camouflage with different backgrounds. Finally, by creating multilayer devices, we demonstrate independent control of texture and colour in a single device, enabling a higher level of dynamic control over visual appearance.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09948-2
  4. Mater Horiz. 2026 Jan 05.
    Digital shape-morphing thermo-mechanical metamaterials.
    Roshira Premadasa, Zhe Wan, Pouya Almasi, Amir H Alavi, Qianyun Zhang.
      There is an ongoing pursuit to develop intelligent mechanical systems with multifunctional capabilities. These capabilities include sensing external stimuli, actuating and adapting in response, and processing and storing logical information. Enabling such functions opens new avenues for autonomous systems across adaptive structures, soft robotics, medical devices, and consumer electronics. Here, we introduce digital shape-morphing thermo-mechanical metamaterials (DSTMs) capable of sensing thermal and mechanical stimuli, deploying and adapting through shape morphing, and performing digital computation. These functionalities are achieved by integrating mechanical metamaterials with temperature-responsive components, modular designs, and digital electronics. DSTMs leverage engineered mechanical behaviors to undergo temperature-induced autonomous deformations, enabling programmable shape morphing and morphology-based computation. We design DSTM unit cells as modular building blocks to achieve programmable shape morphing and customized logic gate constructions. Theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies validate the performance of DSTMs. Logical input storage and digital output realization are achieved through mechanical and thermal processing techniques, enabling implementation of digital logic gates including AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, and XNOR. Furthermore, temperature-induced sequential and non-sequential programmable shape morphing, shape recoverability, and modal bifurcation functionalities of the DSTMs are demonstrated.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1039/d5mh02021b
  5. bioRxiv. 2025 Dec 22. pii: 2025.12.21.695682. [Epub ahead of print]
    Hydrogel array patterning using 3D-printed microfluidic inserts to control cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions.
    Matthew D Poskus, Mohammadmahdi Eskandarisani, Ioannis K Zervantonakis.
      By shaping biochemical gradients and extracellular matrix cues within the local microenvironment, cellular spatial organization plays a critical role in regulating tissue development, homeostasis, and disease progression. Microfluidic platforms are highly suitable for the study of these cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions as they precisely control cell arrangement and gradients compared to conventional experimental systems. Cells are often embedded within hydrogels to improve physiological relevance by enabling matrix-mediated signaling. However, many designs restrict the number and arrangement of hydrogels or generate gradients in only one dimension, limiting their ability to recapitulate complex tissue architectures. To address this need, we introduce a 3D printed microfluidic insert compatible with microplates that allows patterning of up to ten unique hydrogel arrays in two dimensions and generation of parallel or orthogonal concentration gradients. We first develop a physics-based computational model of hydrogel filling to define design parameters that ensure robust hydrogel patterning. We then establish perpendicular concentration gradients on timescales relevant to biological experiments. Furthermore, we demonstrate high cell viability in our 3D-printed devices and control of fibroblast migration across multiple patterned hydrogels. Finally, we monitor the recruitment of primary human monocyte towards cell-free and fibroblast-seeded 3D collagen matrices. Our microfluidic insert platform is compatible with high-throughput automation workflows and allows for interrogation of spatially variant signals that regulate cell migration and cell-cell signaling in physiologically-relevant 3D microenvironments.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.12.21.695682
  6. ACS Nano. 2026 Jan 08.
    Assembling Lipid Membrane Scaffolds on Microgel-Based Artificial Cells through Vesicle Fusion onto the Hydrogel Network.
    Matthew E Allen, James W Hindley, Maya I Müller, Kexin Cai, Marina K Kuimova, Robert V Law, Simon D Connell, Seraphine V Wegner, Oscar Ces, Yuval Elani.
      Artificial cells assembled from materials such as hydrogels have emerged as platforms to replicate and understand biological functionalities, processes, and behaviors. However, hydrogels lack a lipid membrane, a vital property of cellular systems. Here we develop a process for the assembly of a fluid and stable lipid membrane which coats the hydrogel mesh network within the particle, through electostatically-mediated fusion of nanoscale lipid vesicles. This confers cell-mimetic and biotechnologically relevant properties upon microscale, cell sized, hydrogel artificial cells generated through microfluidics. We exploit the properties of the created membrane to augment existing hydrogel properties through permeability alteration and protection of the hydrogel from small molecule degraders. Furthermore, we show that the lipid membrane is compatible with organelle substructures within the hydrogels, which enables the exploitation of an enhanced material design space to build hydrogel artificial cells that increasingly mimic the organization of cells. This platform paves the way for producing next generation artificial cells and functional microdevices from interfaced hydrogel-lipid materials. Our technologies may underpin new opportunities for integrating membranes into hydrogel-based systems, inlcuding for drug delivery and tissue engineering.
    Keywords:  artificial cells; biomimicry; hydrogels; lipid membranes; self-assembly
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c12532
  7. Nat Chem. 2026 Jan;18(1): 14-22
    Molecular systems engineering of synthetic cells.
    Marcus Fletcher, Bradley Diggines, Yuval Elani.
      Building synthetic versions of biological cells from the bottom up offers an unprecedented opportunity to understand the rules of life and harness cellular capabilities in biotechnology. Whereas substantial progress has been made in recapitulating elementary cell functions, we argue that accelerating the engineering of synthetic cells requires a shift in research practices. The dominant approach-rationally designing and integrating functional modules-becomes restrictive when dealing with the massively complex biochemical pathways associated with life, especially when design principles remain unclear. We advocate moving away from theoretical rational design towards a data-driven model that is centred on library generation. Inspired by a systems chemistry perspective, this strategy prioritizes the systematic creation and distribution of composition-function libraries. To enable this, experimental strategies must integrate high-throughput synthetic cell generation, automation and closed-feedback control of workflows. Broad adoption will also require greater emphasis on quantitative benchmarking, and the de-skilling of techniques, supporting effective laboratory-to-laboratory collaboration.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-025-02019-z
  8. Adv Mater. 2026 Jan 08. e10834
    A Water-Soluble PVA Macrothiol Enables Two-Photon Microfabrication of Cell-Interactive Hydrogel Structures at 400 mm s-1.
    Wanwan Qiu, Margherita Bernero, Muja Emilie Ye, Xianjun Yang, Philipp Fisch, Ralph Müller, Xiao-Hua Qin.
      Two-photon polymerization (2PP) has garnered increasing attention for engineering hydrogels with tailored architectures and controlled cellular responses. However, current 2PP strategies typically rely on (meth)acrylated proteins and inefficient chain-growth crosslinking mechanisms. Although thiol-ene photo-click reactions can enhance 2PP efficiency, commercial water-soluble thiol crosslinkers (e.g., DTT-dithiothreitol) tend to form intramolecular loops and introduce structural defects due to their short molecular length. As a result, high polymer concentrations (often up to 20%-50%) are required to achieve satisfactory print fidelity. Here, we develop a series of water-soluble, polyvinyl alcohol macromolecular thiol (PVASH, bearing 10-35 thiol groups) for fast high-fidelity hydrogel microfabrication via 2PP. A two-step synthesis yields PVASH with tunable degrees of substitution and excellent water-solubility. Compared to DTT and polyethylene glycol di-thiol, PVASH-based hydrogels exhibit reduced swelling, enhanced mechanical properties, and significantly improved printing fidelity. Notably, several complex hydrogel structures are fabricated at laser power as low as 20 mW and high scanning speeds of up to 400 mm s-1, achieving sub-micron feature size at 3% polymer concentration. After biofunctionalization with RGD motifs, the micro-scaffolds support cell infiltration, adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation. Altogether, this work reports a new strategy for 2PP microfabrication of cell-interactive hydrogel structures with unprecedented printing efficiency and precision.
    Keywords:  3D printing; biomaterials; hydrogels; polyvinyl alcohol; thiol‐ene reactions; two‐photon polymerization
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202510834
  9. ACS Chem Biol. 2026 Jan 09.
    Chemical Strategies for Controlling Sulfation in Biomacromolecules.
    Chao Liu, Xueyi Liu, Yu Deng, Jia Niu.
      Sulfation is a fundamental post-translational modification that imparts negative charge and structural complexity to biomolecules, thereby regulating molecular recognition, signaling, and homeostasis across all domains of life. Yet, the ability to interrogate the biological functions of sulfation has long been hindered by the difficulty of constructing molecules with defined sulfation patterns. This Account summarizes our efforts to develop chemical strategies that enable precise control over sulfation in glycans and proteins. We describe an organobase-promoted sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) chemistry that allows early stage, chemoselective O-sulfation across a broad substrate scope, providing a general solution to sulfate installation in complex settings. Building on this foundation, we introduce an iterative "clickable disaccharide" platform for the programmable assembly of sequence-defined heparan sulfate glycomimetics, enabling systematic dissection of sulfation-dependent glycan-protein interactions. Extending these concepts to the protein realm, we developed a fluorosulfate tyrosine strategy that installs latent sulfates into peptides and proteins, which can be unmasked under physiological conditions or light control via hydroxamic-acid-mediated Lossen rearrangement, offering spatiotemporal control of sulfation in living systems. Collectively, these approaches delineate a unified chemical framework for constructing and manipulating sulfated biomacromolecules with molecular precision, opening new opportunities to elucidate and engineer the biological roles of sulfation.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.5c00876
  10. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2026 Jan 09. e21360
    Multi-Stimulus Triggered Programmable Transformation of Molecular Motor Based Chiral Supramolecular Polymers in Water.
    Jinghao Wang, Marc C A Stuart, Ben L Feringa.
      A notable characteristic of living organisms is their capacity to adapt to environmental changes and transform external signals into distinct responsiveness, facilitating the execution of diverse functions with motility as a key parameter. To better mimic such lifelike behavior, researchers have developed various supramolecular assembled systems with responsive behavior toward a variety of stimuli. However, exploiting motion along length scales and achieving collective control over the responsiveness to multiple stimuli in supramolecular systems is still challenging. Here we present the development of molecular motor based supramolecular polymers that are responsive toward multi-stimulus and exhibit multi-state assembly and chirality. Taking advantages of aldehyde functionalized motors, we realized photo-responsive supramolecular polymers featuring boosted photo-efficiency, near quantitative photoconversions, programmable behavior and responsiveness to multiple stimuli in a reversible manner in aqueous media. The various stimuli including light and different chemicals could act on the motor building blocks and subsequently trigger the transformation of the supramolecular polymers toward reversible polymerization, direct post-functionalization and chirality modulation. The interplay between the rotary molecular motion and the supramolecular systems assembly process, taking advantage of different external stimuli to govern the assembly state, provides a basis for multi-responsive supramolecular materials.
    Keywords:  Chemical triggered transformation; Chirality; Light‐responsive materials; Molecular motors; Supramolecular polymers
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202521360
  11. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2026 Jan 09.
    Biomimic Conductive Hydrogel Based on Polyphenol-Modified Cellulose Nanocrystals for Flexible Mechano-sensors.
    Bin Yang, Longfei Jiang, Songteng Luo, Yuan Yao, Yuanyuan Cao, Yongsheng Li.
      Excellent mechanical properties and force-electric coupling are essential for flexible conductive hydrogels, enabling their applications in soft robotics, wearable sensors, and human-machine interfaces. However, such hydrogels often face a fundamental trade-off between mechanical strength and electrical sensitivity. Inspired by the "soft-hard" architecture strategy in biological mechanical tissues and mussel-inspired multimode interacting mechanisms, we report the fabrication of a composite conductive hydrogel with enhanced mechanical strength, fatigue resistance, universal surface adhesion, and highly sensitive mechano-sensing capabilities by incorporating tannic acid-modified cellulose nanocrystals (CNC@TA) into an interpenetrating polyacrylamide/poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid)/Al3+ multinetwork hydrogel matrix. The TA functionalization provides the CNCs with abundant cross-linking and interaction sites, enabling strong bonding with the surrounding matrix through physical entanglements, hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking, and coordination interactions. The hydrogel exhibits universal adhesion to various substrates and achieves well-performed mechanical property with elongation up to 765%, tensile strength around 83 kPa, and toughness around 276 kJ/m3. Simultaneously, the coordinated Al3+ ions provide the hydrogel with excellent ionic conductivity and a high strain sensitivity (gauge factor of up to 2.7). With superior mechanical properties and force-electric coupling performance, this hydrogel holds broad application potential in flexible electronics, human-machine interaction devices, and biomimetic materials.
    Keywords:  cellulose nanocrystals; conductive hydrogel; interpenetrating hydrogel; strain sensor; tannic acid
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c18390
  12. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2026 Jan 09.
    Biodegradable and Transparent Soft Piezoelectret Film with an Artificially Foamed Air Cell for Sustainable Bioelectronics.
    Xingchen Ma, Yi Qin, Lian Zhou, Qianqian Hu, Zehai Ruan, Zhiming Shi, Sergey Zhukov, Alexander Anton Altmann, Mario Kupnik, Xiaoqing Zhang.
      Piezoelectric functional films based on biomass materials are attractive due to their promising sustainable applications in wearable/implantable sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters, especially for biological systems. However, their widespread use is often hampered by the high stiffness and weak piezoelectricity of the involved biomaterials. In addition, the introduction of optical transparency is highly desirable, which can lead to the integration of tactile and visual intelligence in a piezoelectric sensor/actuator system. Herein, by leveraging space charge injection and a microstructural engineering strategy, biodegradable and transparent soft piezoelectret (BTSP) sensors from PLA films with artificially formed air cells were proposed. Artificial air cells drastically reduce the compressive modulus of elasticity of BTSP (∼0.02 MPa), resulting in a high longitudinal piezoelectric d33 coefficient (∼6000 pC/N), which is 2 to 3 orders of magnitude larger than that of conventional biodegradable piezoelectric material counterparts. Additionally, a large transverse piezoelectric coefficient (d31 ∼-10 pC/N) and exceptional electromechanical sensing stability determined by performing 70,000 mechanical loading cycles are simultaneously combined with the high resolution in terms of pressure and location. Thus, the presented BTSP has significant advantages over conventional biodegradable piezoelectric materials as they possess both high out-of-plane/in-plane piezoelectric coefficients and remarkable flexibility. This work paves the way for a simple but effective method to fabricate high-performance biodegradable piezoelectric materials and promotes their practical applications in the field of biological and medical microdevices.
    Keywords:  PLA piezoelectret; artificially formed air cell; biodegradable; sustainable bioelectronics; transparent
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c23143
  13. Small. 2026 Jan 08. e10498
    Step-Ladder Bioprinting to Align Collagen Fibers for Anisotropic Tissue Fabrication.
    Ilayda Namli, Yogendra Pratap Singh, Deepak Gupta, Syed Hasan Askari Rizvi, Yasar Ozer Yilmaz, Joao Vitor Silva Robazzi, Medine Dogan Sarikaya, Mehmet Baykara, Ibrahim T Ozbolat.
      Aligned collagen microstructure is essential for the mechanical and biological function of anisotropic tissues. However, conventional engineering methods often fail to achieve consistent and tunable fiber alignment within complex geometries. In this study, we developed a step-ladder printing (SLP) approach by incorporating successive segments of channels of variable widths into a custom barrel design, combining controlled extensional flows with 3D bioprinting to enhance collagen fiber alignment. The results revealed that constructs 3D-printed via SLP demonstrated improved anisotropy of collagen fibers and narrower fiber angle distributions compared to both extrusion-based bioprinting with a conventional straight nozzle and drop casting methods. Furthermore, SLP effectively guided the directionality of seeded cells, aligning them consistently with underlying collagen fibers. To exemplify the utility of SLP, we built corneal constructs, achieving high transparency and shape fidelity, and articular cartilage constructs, showing mechanical properties within the range of native tissue and supported extracellular matrix production. These results suggest that the SLP approach offers a strategy for fabricating complex anisotropic tissues with integrated fiber alignment and cellular guidance.
    Keywords:  3D bioprinting; cell alignment; collagen alignment; extensional flow; fiber alignment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202510498
  14. Langmuir. 2026 Jan 07.
    Light-Triggered Reversible Control of Viscoelasticity and Emulsion Stability via Photoswitchable Aqueous Systems.
    Meikun Hu, Jiaming Feng, Haoqian Wang, Zhihang Wang, Nong Wang.
      Stimulus-responsive emulsions and gels are powerful platforms for intelligent soft materials, yet the reversible light-controlled modulation of their macroscopic properties has remained elusive. Here we report a multicomponent aqueous formulation─comprising cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), cosurfactants, oil, water, and para-aminoazobenzene (AAB)─that, depending on water content, enables robust and reversible control of both viscoelasticity and emulsion stability with light. Within a defined composition window, the system forms entangled wormlike micelles that impart gel-like viscoelasticity. Ultraviolet irradiation disrupts this network, reducing viscosity by orders of magnitude, while visible light restores the original structure. At higher water content, the same formulation produces stable oil-in-water emulsions whose integrity can be reversibly switched by photoisomerization-driven interfacial rearrangements. This dual-level responsiveness demonstrates a simple and general strategy to couple molecular photoisomerization with macroscopic flow and phase behavior, opening new opportunities for adaptive formulations, reconfigurable soft matter, and light-controlled delivery technologies.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c05387
  15. Sci Adv. 2026 Jan 09. 12(2): eaec3443
    Programmable electric tweezers.
    Yuang Chen, Haojing Tan, Jiahua Zhuang, Yang Xu, Chen Zhang, Jiandong Feng.
      The interaction between a single microscopic object such as a cell or a molecule and electromagnetic field is fundamental in single-object manipulation such as optical trap and magnetic trap. Function-on-demand, single-object manipulation requires local high-freedom control of electromagnetic field, which remains challenging. Here, we propose a manipulation concept: programmable single-object manipulation, based on programming the electromagnetic field in a multibit electrode system realized on a programmable electric tweezer (PET) with four individually addressed electrodes. Its probe-integrated electrode array supports spatial-selective manipulation, while the adjustable electrode gaps enable manipulating multiscale targets. The independent programming of the electrical signals of each electrode further allows using multiple electric principles to achieve multiscale and spatiotemporal programmable control and in situ measurements, marking a transition from function-fixed single-object manipulation to function-on-demand single-object manipulation. Last, with integrated functions of PET, we demonstrate multistep manipulation to measure the spontaneous relaxation of DNA supercoiling, highlighting the versatility of PET in uncovering stochastic biophysical phenomena at the single-molecule level.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aec3443
  16. Small. 2026 Jan 05. e09439
    Oriented Micropore-Forming Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting of Muscle Tissues.
    Debabrata Palai, Hana Yasue, Miho Ohta, Koichiro Uto, Tetsushi Taguchi, Akihiro Nishiguchi.
      3D bioprinting provides a wide avenue for designing complex and customized constructs for regenerative medicine. Bioink formulations in 3D bioprinting usually lack micrometer-sized and interconnected pores for the supply of nutrients and oxygen and biological communications with host tissues, thus limiting cellular activities and therapeutic efficacy. Herein, we present microfibrous pore-forming bioinks for fabricating microporous hydrogels that encapsulate cells for muscle tissue reconstruction. Using phase separation technology, a liquid porogen is embedded into gelatin-based bioinks to form microfibrous structures. Printing bioinks with shear stress enabled the orientation of microfibrous pores along the printing direction, which facilitated the orientation of printed cells and enhanced myoblast differentiation. Moreover, the porous 3D scaffold exhibited promising results in terms of supplying nutrients and oxygen to improve cell survival. Printed tissue constructs are successfully transplanted into muscle tissue defects. This approach holds immense potential for creating anisotropically oriented 3D tissue constructs for applications in cell transplantation, drug screening, and disease modelling.
    Keywords:  3D bioprinting; liquid–liquid phase separation; orientation; porosity; tissue reconstruction
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202509439
  17. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2026 Jan 08.
    Chlorinated Poly(vinyl chloride) Stamps with High Adhesion for Origami Folding of 2D Materials.
    Momoko Onodera, Rai Moriya, Yuta Seo, Jimpei Kawase, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Tomoki Machida.
      We demonstrate that a chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) film containing a high-viscosity plasticizer enables stable three-dimensional (3D) manipulation of two-dimensional materials, including atomic-layer origami. In clear contrast to conventional PVC films, the CPVC film prevents flake detachment and allows precise control of folding, realizing diverse 3D morphologies such as multiply and corrugated structures. To clarify why CPVC outperforms PVC, we quantitatively investigated adhesion behavior using adhesive force measurements during tensile detachment. The CPVC film exhibits both strong initial adhesion and a long adhesion-sustaining distance, characteristics that correlate directly with reliable folding operations. This study establishes a framework linking measurable adhesion properties to manipulation performance, providing rational guidelines for stamp material design and advancing high-precision techniques for transfer, stacking, and folding.
    Keywords:  2D materials; chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride); origami folding; scanning probe manipulation; van der Waals heterostructures
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c20724
  18. Nat Mater. 2026 Jan 06.
    Monolithic cell-on-memristor architecture enables wafer-scale integration of oscillatory chemoreceptors for bio-realistic gustatory chips.
    Bowen Zhong, Xiaokun Qin, Hao Xu, Fei Deng, Hailong Wang, Linlin Li, Zhexin Li, Wenxuan Zhang, Zheng Lou, Lili Wang.
      Array fabrication and the wafer-scale integration of artificial oscillatory chemoreceptors are crucial for enabling biomimetic chips with bio-realistic chemoreception in practical bioapplications. However, existing chemoreceptors based on conventional architectures require sophisticated or non-scalable fabrication techniques due to inherent material or structural defects. Here we introduce a monolithic cell-on-memristor (CoM) chemoreceptive architecture featuring a unique oscillation mechanism for self-powered biosensing and in situ spike encoding. Through rational material selection and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible fabrication, we realize the demonstration of a wafer-scale 10 × 10 CoM array with a spatial resolution of 51 pixels per inch and a very small pixel size of 150 μm, with potential for further scaling down. Using its bio-plausible ion-modulated voltage oscillations with spatiotemporal probabilistic spiking information, we exploit the CoM-array-based gustatory chip to replicate gustation for accuracy salty taste classification. Our CoM architecture offers a general and scalable approach for implementing chemoreceptive oscillatory systems aimed at human-machine biointegration applications.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02436-y
  19. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2026 Jan 04. e11538
    An Opto-Actuated Hydrogel for Cell Mechanoactuation and Real-Time Force Monitoring.
    Rinku Kumar, Marc A Fernandez-Yague, Adrien Bessaguet, Hosoowi Lee, Nicolas Giuseppone, Andrés J García, Aránzazu Del Campo.
      Cellular force sensing and transduction are fundamental processes in development, homeostasis, and disease. To understand how cells detect and integrate mechanical forces, we need non-invasive methods to apply forces at the molecular scale while monitoring cellular responses within physiological contexts. Here, we present a mechanoactuated hydrogel interface that can exert forces on integrin adhesion receptors and allows monitoring of traction force responses in real time. The actuation is achieved by light excitation of a rotary molecular motor presenting an adhesion peptide to bind integrins at the cell membrane and to a hydrogel surface via flexible polymer chains. Illumination results in chain twisting and an applied pulling force on the linked integrin receptors within subcellular illuminated areas. Fluorescent particles in the hydrogel allow parallel quantification of cellular forces by traction force microscopy. With this methodology, we monitored talin recruitment, actin organization, and traction force generation and their reversibility in response to applied forces by the rotary motor-interface. We demonstrate reversible talin recruitment, enhanced F-actin polymerization, and a reduction in cell traction force when force is applied to focal adhesions. This research expands the application of nano machine-based actuation within soft hydrogels and showcases its capabilities.
    Keywords:  cell forces; hydrogel; mechanoactuation; mechanotransduction; molecular motor; talin
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202511538
  20. bioRxiv. 2026 Jan 02. pii: 2025.12.19.695620. [Epub ahead of print]
    De novo design of protein nanoparticles with integrated functional motifs.
    Cyrus M Haas, Sanela Rankovic, Hanul K Lewis, Kenneth D Carr, Connor Weidle, Sophie S Gerdes, Lily R Nuss, Felicitas Ruiz, Syed Moiz, Maggie Fiorelli, Emily Grey, Jackson McGowan, Nikhila Kumar, Adrian Creanga, Alex Kang, Hannah Nguyen, Yanqing Wang, Banumathi Sankaran, Annie Dosey, Rashmi Ravichandran, Asim K Bera, Elizabeth M Leaf, Cole A DeForest, Masaru Kanekiyo, Andrew J Borst, Neil P King.
      Computational design of self-assembling proteins has long relied on pre-existing structures and sequences, fundamentally limiting control over their structural and functional properties. Recent machine learning-based methods have transformed our ability to design functional small de novo proteins and oligomers, yet methods to design large de novo protein assemblies with structures tailored to specific applications are still underexplored. Here, we develop a generalizable method for designing de novo symmetric protein complexes that incorporate target functional motifs into their structures. We report 34 new protein nanoparticles that form on-target assemblies with cubic point group symmetries. The nanoparticles exhibit a wide variety of backbones that were designed with atom-level accuracy, as evidenced by several cryo-EM and crystal structures that reveal minimal deviations from the design models. We use the method to generate a de novo antigen-tailored nanoparticle vaccine that elicits robust immune responses in mice. These results establish a generalizable approach that can be used to design functional self-assembling protein complexes with structures tailored to specific applications.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.12.19.695620
  21. Adv Mater. 2026 Jan 07. e21268
    Electromagnetic (EM)-Driven Functional Materials.
    Jay Sim, Lu Lu, Ruike Renee Zhao.
      Electromagnetic (EM) fields have been used in technologies such as communication, imaging, and energy transfer. In recent years, there has been growing interest in exploiting EM fields for the actuation of functional materials, enabling applications in soft robotics, biomedical devices, active metamaterials, and shape-morphing systems. These materials are often composites that incorporate EM-responsive components, granting them a remarkable versatility in responsiveness. Specifically, EM fields can induce actuation through static magnetic force and torque, Lorentz forces, or thermal effects via eddy currents and magnetic hysteresis losses. In addition, EM fields can be harnessed for sensing, wireless communication, and power transfer, extending their role far beyond actuation. The coexistence of such diverse mechanisms makes EM one of the most powerful and integrative external stimuli for multifunctional materials. This review provides the first holistic overview of EM-active material systems. We systematically organize recent progress in EM-based actuation, sensing, communication, and wireless power transfer, highlighting the fundamental principles, experimental demonstrations, and emerging design strategies. Approaches that integrate multiple EM-driven functionalities and the role of optimization and machine learning in advancing design and control are discussed. By consolidating these advances, this review establishes a roadmap for the development of next-generation EM-enabled intelligent materials and devices.
    Keywords:  Lorentz force; electromagnetic actuation; induction heating; soft robotics; stimuli‐responsive materials
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202521268
  22. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2026 Jan 03.
    Protein Biomaterials with Muscle-like Water-Driven Actuation.
    Sanam Bista, Ionel Popa.
      Unlike muscles, man-made shape-morphing biomaterials take much longer times to perform their actuation. Here we report a novel class of protein-based actuators that mimic muscle contraction through ethanol-induced fibril formation in bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogels, enabling reversible shape changes and fast, water-driven motion. These structural changes result in mechanical stiffening, enabling programmable and reversible shape changes, which take place over minutes to hours. At intermediate ethanol concentrations (40-80%), fibril formation dominates and contributes to shape retention, while at high ethanol concentrations (80-99%), aggregation outpaces fibrillation, allowing full recovery of the original shape upon rehydration. Furthermore, upon reinsertion into water, ethanol retention triggers stochastic pulsating motion in cylindrical samples and spins on the a protein-based propeller motor (rotational speeds up to 471 deg·s-1), a process driven by a surface tension gradient. These findings address the challenge of achieving rapid, reversible motion in biomaterials, resembling that of muscles, with promising applications in smart biomaterials, microactuators, and bioresponsive systems.
    Keywords:  Marangoni flow; amyloid fibrils; hydrogel actuators; programmable biomaterials; protein-based biomaterials; shape-memory; solvent-exchange motor; solvent-responsive actuation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c19991
  23. Nat Commun. 2026 Jan 06. 17(1): 51
    Shape-morphing active particles with invertible effective polarizability for configurable locomotion and steering.
    Jin Gyun Lee, Seog-Jin Jeon, Alanna R Duarte, Matthew Ticknor, Montana B Minnis, Ryan C Hayward, C Wyatt Shields Iv.
      Active particles are analogs of microorganisms in that they locally dissipate energy to propel in low Reynolds number fluids. However, most active particles lack the ability to undergo controlled shape transformations that change how they move in response to environmental cues. Here, we present a class of stimuli-responsive active particles that exhibit fully reversible, shape-dependent propulsion. The particles consist of a bilayer of a thermoresponsive hydrogel and a non-swelling glassy polymer, patterned into rectangular microscale prisms. Temperature changes near the phase transition of hydrogel cause large curvature shifts, from flat plates at 35 °C to crescent shapes at 20 °C, accompanied by changes in effective polarizability. When powered by AC electric fields, this coupling between geometry and polarizability enables programmable propulsion modes including linear and helical motions. Sequential temperature changes allow encoded in situ steering, establishing a design principle for microscale active systems capable of adaptive propulsion and reconfiguration.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65482-9
  24. Nature. 2026 Jan;649(8096): 366-374
    Soft biodegradable implants for long-distance and wide-angle sensing.
    Yuqun Lan, Shuang Li, Haitao Guo, Qinyuan Liu, Tairan Wang, Lianqiao Zhou, Jiahuiyu Fang, Yang Zhao, Zanxin Zhou, Qi Wang, Jing Li, Yiping Zhu, Rongfang Su, Xinyi Wen, Xinkai Xu, Yuhong Wu, Zixuan Wang, Bo Liu, Jiaqi Li, Hui Li, Hanfei Gao, Yuchen Wu, Qi Gu, Xi-Qiao Feng, Xinge Yu, Yewang Su.
      Monitoring internal physiological signals is essential for effective medical care1, yet most current technologies rely on external measurements or imaging systems that cannot capture enough deep-tissue dynamics2-6. Implantable devices offer a solution, but conventional designs often require batteries or magnets7-11, which carry risks during removal, and existing biodegradable sensors based on passive inductor-capacitor circuits are limited by short readout distances and unstable communication issues12-19. Here we describe a soft, biodegradable, wireless sensing device that can monitor pressure, temperature and strain over long distances (up to 16 cm), maintaining accuracy across varying positions and angles. This is achieved through a 'pole-moving sweeping' readout system combined with a folded structure that integrates mechanical flexibility with electromagnetic function. In vivo tests in the abdominal cavity of horses reliably captured deep-tissue pressure and temperature, and ex vivo measurements demonstrated accurate strain monitoring without strict positional control. The long-distance and wide-angle readout of soft biodegradable implants holds translational promise for accessing deep-tissue physiological signals.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09874-3
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