Inspired from some time-honored recipes, we modified the current classical nanoengineering processes to explore some new features. The synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was selected here as the model system. Inspired from the distilling technology of white spirits (Er Guo Tou), the size and properties of the obtained Ag NPs could be adjusted effectively without any additional agent. Moreover, according to the characteristic of a flowers jelly, polyethylene glycol encapsulated Ag was synthesized, which exhibited longer storage, lower skin toxicity, and unique touch triggered releasing features. Its relative applications on virtual reality (VR) glasses were also demonstrated with the aid of a 3D printing constructed paintbrush. The proposed strategy has a certain universality, which can also be applied to other kinds of nanomaterials. This study not only explored a novel nanoengineering conception but also solved some common problems in the current nanomaterials, such as poor dispersion, easy agglomeration, and high toxicity. More importantly, the whole process could be accomplished in an environmentally friendly and energy-saving manner, which thus paved the way for a green avenue to explore functional nanomaterials.Keywords: 3D printing; Antibacterial; Low toxic; Nanoengineering; Silver Nanoparticles;

With the aid of air flow, porous carbon with selective region elemental enrichment was synthesized, for the first time, through a facile one step strategy. As the model system, a series of porous carbon substrates with exquisite gradient Ag/ZnO nanomodifications were accordingly obtained. The relative air assisted formational mechanism and potential capabilities of these gradient color products were investigated systematically. As a result, the obtained samples exhibited impressive potential in both the inhibition of microorganism and degradation of organic pollutants. And the corresponding high-efficient water purification process could be accomplished even without irradiation.Keywords: Antibacterial; Hierarchical materials; Nanocomposites; Silver nanoparticles; Zinc oxide;

Exemplified with jackfruit and sugarcane, natural extracted aerogels with inherent structural anisotropy were investigated for the first time. With the help of nano-modification, the dual liquid/current directing capability of the Ag decorated jackfruit aerogel was discovered. This interesting material was then applied as the core component of a 3D printed wearable device for intelligent wound management. The as-prepared ultra-light (<10 g) wearable device could provide drainage diversion, wound warning and triple antibacterial treatment in a continuous and automatic manner.

Herein, a highly customized and broad-spectrum antibacterial implant was prepared through the combination of 3D printing technology and surface nano-modification. The antibacterial coating, which consists of the film-forming agent polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyethylene acid (PAA), and green-synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), was modified on the surface of a 3D-printed implant. The small-sized Ag-NPs (<10 nm) showed potent broad spectrum activity and good biocompatibility in relatively low concentration. Moreover, through changing the content of the Ag-NPs and the proportion of PVA and PAA, the loadings and release rate of Ag-NPs could be controlled according to actual requirements, achieving the goal of precise treatment. Animal experiments demonstrated that the implant system exhibited superior anti-infection performance, which could effectively reduce the postoperative infection risk of implant materials, consequently promoting the practical process of 3D printed implants.

The first visible three-mode switchable antibiotic nanocomposite, including “Packaged” (low toxicity and high stability), “On” (potent antibacterial activity, including drug-resistant strains) and “Off” (easy separation) modes, was synthesized to address several problems caused by antibiotic abuses. Some potential applications were discussed by using animal experiments and 3D printing separately.

For the first time, homogeneous and well-ordered functional nanoarrays were grown densely on the complex structured three-dimensional (3D) printing frameworks through a general plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) assisted hydrothermal surface engineering process. The entire process was free from toxic additives or harmful residues and, therefore, can meet the critical requirements of high-purity products. As a practical example, 3D customized earplugs were precisely manufactured according to the model of ear canals at the 0.1 mm level. Meanwhile, well-ordered ZnO nanoarrays, formed on the surfaces of these 3D printed earplugs, could effectively prevent the growth of five main pathogens derived from the patients with otitis media and exhibited excellent wear resistance as well. On the basis of both animal experiments and volunteers’ investigations, the 3D customized earplugs showed sound insulation capabilities superior to those of traditional earplugs. Further animal experiments demonstrated the potential of as-modified implant scaffolds in practical clinical applications. This work, exemplified with earplugs and implant scaffolds, oriented the development direction of 3D printing in biomedical devices, which precisely integrated customized architecture and tailored surface performance.Keywords: 3D printing; Hydrothermal synthesis; nanostructures; surface engineering; zinc oxide

Assisted by three-dimensional printing technology, we proposed and demonstrated a full spectrum visible light activated antibacterial system by using a combination of 500 nm sized Cu2O crystals and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. Further improved antibacterial ratios were achieved, for the first time, with pure Cu2O for both Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria among all of the six different color LED lamps. For practical antibacterial applications, we revealed that the nonwoven fabric could act as excellent carrier for Cu2O crystals and provide impressive antibacterial performance. Furthermore, integrated with our self-developed app, the poly(ethylene terephthalate) film loaded with Cu2O crystals also showed significant antibacterial property, thus making it possible to be applied in field of touch screen. The present research not only provided a healthier alternative to traditional ultraviolet-based sterilization but also opened an auto-response manner to decrease the rate of microbial contamination on billions of touch screen devices.Keywords: 3D printing; antibacterial; cuprous oxide; full-wave; LED

Lotus root imitated implant scaffolds with highly flexible drug release patterns were fabricated. Several critical release parameters could be conveniently prearranged through creating a precisely customized inner chamber via 3D printing. Furthermore, when postoperative infection caused hyperthermia, the inner drugs could be spontaneously released to inhibit the invasive pathogens.

•A pulsatile release was realized via applying an alternating magnetic field.•Thermosensitive materials Pluronic® F-127 was coated on magnetic nanocubes to obtain the drug delivery system.•Folic acid decorated on the DDS endow the targeted ability.•The prepared DDS showed good biocompatibility and inhibited cancer cells effectively.To develop vehicles for remote controlled anticancer drug release efficiently, we report a remotely triggered drug delivery system based on magnetic nanocubes. The synthesized magnetic nanocubes with average edge length of around 30 nm acted as cores, while folic acid (FA) decorated amphiphilic Pluronic® F-127 gels (F127) were employed as the coating layers. The hydrophobic anticancer drug paclitaxel was loaded during the formation of nanocarrier via hydrophobic interaction. The carrier was stable at physiological temperature and paclitaxel released with an alternating magnetic field treatment, owing to the phase change of F127 when environment temperature elevated via magnetocaloric effect. Cell viability assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy observations demonstrated that the loaded paclitaxel could be efficiently released after cellular endocytosis and induced cancer cells apoptosis with a cooperative effect of hyperthermia and chemotherapy thereby. All results suggested that FA-F127 coated magnetic nanocubes would be a promising remotely controlled drug carrier for cooperative cancer therapy.

•Metagenomic results indicated that the microbial diversity in different patients and sites are obviously different.•The microbial diversity in positive patients were predominant by specific bacteria, while is well distributed in negative patients.•The reduced number of bacterial species and the overgrowth of some specific pathogens in positive patients maybe the cause of the implant-associated infection.Few molecular studies have shown that the number of bacterial species in implant-associated infection may have been underestimated. To determine the actual microbial diversity in implant-associated infection, a high-throughput sequencing method was adopted to sequence the DNAs extracted from the tissues of infected and uninfected patients. Principal component analysis (PCA) and β diversity showed an obvious divergence of infected and uninfected groups, and that the overgrowth of Proteobacteria (80.87%), Firmicutes (13.41%) in the positive deep infection group (P.d, via biopsy) and Proteobacteria (91.68%) in the positive surface infection group (P.s, via swabs) might be the causative factors in implant-associated infection. Moreover, Venn results indicated that a mean of 330 common operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was obtained in all groups, of which 113, 109, 45, 20, 13 and 12 OTUs belonging to Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Gemmatimonadetes and Chloroflexi were identified. In conclusion, many traditional “pathogenic bacteria” were identified as the common bacteria in operation sites, and the disruption of their complex interaction caused infection; therefore, further work is need to illustrate the aetiology of implant-associated infection using in-depth systems-level analyses.

Herein, a highly customized and broad-spectrum antibacterial implant was prepared through the combination of 3D printing technology and surface nano-modification. The antibacterial coating, which consists of the film-forming agent polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyethylene acid (PAA), and green-synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), was modified on the surface of a 3D-printed implant. The small-sized Ag-NPs (<10 nm) showed potent broad spectrum activity and good biocompatibility in relatively low concentration. Moreover, through changing the content of the Ag-NPs and the proportion of PVA and PAA, the loadings and release rate of Ag-NPs could be controlled according to actual requirements, achieving the goal of precise treatment. Animal experiments demonstrated that the implant system exhibited superior anti-infection performance, which could effectively reduce the postoperative infection risk of implant materials, consequently promoting the practical process of 3D printed implants.

The first visible three-mode switchable antibiotic nanocomposite, including “Packaged” (low toxicity and high stability), “On” (potent antibacterial activity, including drug-resistant strains) and “Off” (easy separation) modes, was synthesized to address several problems caused by antibiotic abuses. Some potential applications were discussed by using animal experiments and 3D printing separately.