SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4201-0
Open fracture fixation faces dual critical challenges: bacterial infection and impaired bone healing. This study presents a rationally designed biomacromolecular network coating (Ti-GOED) on titanium alloy bone plates to simultaneously address these issues. The coating integrates antimicrobial and osteogenic components, achieving an optimal balance between antibacterial efficacy and biocompatibility. In vitro assays demonstrated that Ti-GOED eliminates over 99% of common pathogenic bacteria by inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis, disrupting bacterial cell wall formation, compromising membrane integrity, and leading to intracellular DNA leakage and bacterial death. Concurrently, Ti-GOED enhances the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) via activation of the PI3K-Akt and HIF-1 signaling pathways. In vivo animal experiments confirmed strong antibacterial and osteogenic properties. This work provides a strategy for developing antibacterial coatings on medical devices, with significant potential for preventing and treating infections post-fracture fixation.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3584-3
Sutures, as necessary medical devices for postoperative treatment, are no longer merely supportive but are required to have advanced functions to promote repair. Here, we report an absorbable self-powered electrical stimulation suture (SES-suture). The suture is composed entirely of absorbable materials (magnesium, polylactic acid, and polycaprolactone) and can be used in vivo for incision closure and repair. The suture has the capacity to generate spontaneous electrical stimulation in response to body movement, allowing for accelerated tissue reconstruction. An in vivo muscle incision repair model in rabbits demonstrated that the wound healing rate under treatment with this suture was 1.6 times faster than that of commercial sutures, proving its postoperative therapeutic capability. Immunofluorescence and quantitative analyses showed that SES-sutures significantly increased α-SMA and CD31 expression, with levels approximately 2.8 and 3.2 times higher than the blank group, respectively, indicating enhanced angiogenesis and muscle regeneration. The SES-suture exhibited excellent mechanical properties, sustained electrical output, structural and functional stability after implantation, and good biocompatibility. This large animal approach offers crucial translational evidence for potential human applications, addressing the limitations of rodent models due to differences in biomechanics and regeneration rates. While the biosafety profile requires further long-term evaluation, the findings strongly suggest that SES-sutures represent a promising therapeutic strategy for enhancing tissue regeneration and functional recovery.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3409-1
Multimodal luminescent materials are of interest for multiplexed biosensing, multi-mode thermometry, and multidimensional displays, yet achieving simultaneous high-performance multimodal luminescence and multifunctionality remains challenging. This work reports NaNd0.7Gd0.3F4:Yb@NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaGdF4:Yb/Tm core@shell@shell upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) that enable multi-mode temperature and molecular sensing with enhanced sensitivity. By exploiting temperature-dependent intensity ratio variations of I520/I550, I697/I650, and I697/I475, multi-mode temperature sensing is achieved with a maximum relative sensitivity of 2.27%/K, exceeding many previously reported lanthanide-doped UC systems. The UCNPs are further applied for multi-channel molecular detection under both 980 and 808 nm excitation, with limits of detection for methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB) as low as 0.48 and 0.57 μg/mL, respectively, outperforming most lanthanide-doped UC systems in the literature. These results underscore the potential of core@shell@shell UCNPs for advanced multimodal sensing in environmental monitoring, biomedical diagnostics, and multi-channel molecular analysis.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3395-4
Magnetic transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) offer intrinsic spin polarization for spintronic devices, yet ferromagnetic TMDs remain scarce. The theoretically predicted nontrivial topological 1T NbTe2 is thermodynamically unstable relative to the 1T′ phase under ambient conditions, impeding its spintronic application. Heteroatom doping can stabilize the 1T phase and introduce magnetism. We synthesized Nb1−xCrxTe2 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 1/3, 0.4) crystals and discovered the 1T Nb2/3Cr1/3Te2 phase. Cr doping induces a 1T′-to-1T structural transition in NbTe2. Density functional theory confirms the thermodynamic stability of 1T Nb2/3Cr1/3Te2. Magnetic measurements reveal a transition from diamagnetic to ferromagnetic behavior with increasing Cr content. The ferromagnetism in 1T Nb2/3Cr1/3Te2 originates primarily from localized Cr 3d electrons, achieving a Curie temperature (TC) of 254 K, surpassing most Cr-based van der Waals ferromagnets. The compound exhibits metallic behavior coexisting with the Kondo effect and a positive magnetoresistance of 32.1% at 2 K under μ0H = 9 T. This work unveils a doping-induced phase transition mechanism and provides a new layered ferromagnetic material for spintronic devices.