High cell viability and metabolic activity were observed after up to 7 days in culture for encapsulated cells. Mesenchymal stromal cells encapsulated in chitosan microbeads released higher amounts of the vascular endothelial growth factor after 24 h compared to the cells encapsulated in manually cast macrogels. Moreover, microbeads were injectable through 23G needles without significant deformation or rupture. The emulsion-generated chitosan microbeads are a promising delivery vehicle for therapeutic cells because of their cytocompatibility, biodegradation, mechanical strength, and injectability. Clinical-scale encapsulation of therapeutic cells such as mesenchymal stromal cells in chitosan microbeads can readily be achieved using this simple and scalable emulsion-based process.Marine biofouling is considered to be one of the most challenging issues affecting maritime industries worldwide. In this regard, traditional biocides, being used to combat biofouling, have high toxicity toward aquatic systems. Recently, a new chitosan/zinc oxide nanoparticle (CZNC) composite has been used as a promising “green” biocide. It is thought that because of the ecofriendly nature of chitosan, CZNCs may pave the way to developing less toxic surfaces for combating marine fouling. Zebrafish has become one of the most employed models for ecotoxicology studies. Therefore, this study aims to comprehensively evaluate any potential acute, cardio, neuro, or hepatotoxic effect of CZNCs using zebrafish embryos. As evidenced by the acute toxicity assays, exposing zebrafish embryos to CZNCs (25-200 mg/L) did not elicit any signs of acute toxicity or mortality, suggesting a hypothetical LC50 higher than the maximum dose employed. CZNCs, at a concentration of 250 mg/L, also showed no cardiotoxic or neurotoxic effects. At the same dosage, a minor hepatotoxic effect was observed in zebrafish embryos exposed to CZNCs. However, the observed hepatotoxicity had no effect on embryo survival even after long-term (10-days) exposure to CZNCs. We believe our results add valuable information to the potential toxicity of chitosan/metal oxide nanocomposites, which may provide new insights into the synthesis of ecofriendly coatings with improved antifouling performance and a low adverse impact on the marine environment.The use of targeted liposomes encapsulating chemotherapy drugs enhances the specific targeting of cancer cells, thus reducing the side effects of these drugs and providing patient-friendly chemotherapy treatment. Targeted pegylated (stealth) liposomes have the ability to safely deliver their loaded drugs to the cancer cells by targeting specific receptors overly expressed on the surface of these cells. Applying ultrasound as an external stimulus will safely trigger drug release from these liposomes in a controlled manner. In this study, we investigated the release kinetics of the model drug “calcein” from targeted liposomes sonicated with low-frequency ultrasound (20 kHz). Our results showed that pegylated liposomes were more sonosensitive compared to nonpegylated liposomes. A comparison of the effect of three targeting moieties conjugated to the surface of pegylated liposomes, namely human serum albumin (HSA), transferrin (Tf) and arginylglycylaspartic acid (RGD), on calcein release kinetics was conducted. The fluorescent results showed that HSA-PEG and Tf-PEG liposomes were more sonosensitive (showing higher calcein release following the exposure to pulsed LFUS) compared to the control pegylated liposomes, thus adding more acoustic benefits to their targeting efficacy.To mimic the brain tissue microenvironment in vitro, the biological and structural properties of the utilized system must be similar to those of the native brain in the microenvironment in vivo. To promote the bioactive (biological) properties of matrix hydrogels, we used the decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) of porcine brain, which was found to enhance neuronal differentiation/outgrowth and neuron-to-brain dECM interactions. Darovasertib To implement the desired structural properties, we aligned microfibrils within a composite hydrogel mixed with the brain dECM and collagen I, with or without encapsulated neurons, by the stretching and releasing of a hydrogel-based chip. We then tested the ability of the aligned brain dECM hydrogel-based three-dimensional (3D) culture platform to mimic the in vivo brain microenvironment. We found that dECM-containing gels harbored brain-derived ECM proteins, including collagen I, collagen IV, laminin, and various cytokines, and that neurons incubated in these gels exhibited enhanced neurite outgrowth and development compared to those incubated in collagen gel (dECM 0 mg/mL). We evaluated the surface morphology and mechanical properties of the hydrogel with and without the brain dECM and found that their encapsulated neurons showed similar levels of cell viability. We then used a mechanical process to align the composite dECM hydrogel, conferring the desired structural properties to our system. Together, our results suggest that our newly developed brain dECM-based 3D culture platform could potentially be further developed for use in drug screening.d-Pantoic acid (d-PA) is an important chiral precursor of a broad range of biologically active compounds. The asymmetric synthesis of d-PA through reductase coupling with NADPH regeneration systems is highly promising, but the process is restricted by expensive cofactor consumption and low cofactor recycling frequency. Here, an effective construction of self-assembled ketopantoic acid reductase and glucose dehydrogenase via protein-peptide interaction of PDZ domain and PDZ ligand was established. The self-assembled enzymes exhibited highly ordered two-dimensional threadlike macromolecular structures with improved cofactor regeneration. Furthermore, the bioconversion with whole-cell catalysis showed that the robustness and efficiency of the system with self-assembled enzymes were significantly higher than those of the unassembled enzymes. This study provides a strategy for the effective asymmetric biosynthesis of d-PA with a trace amount of cofactor and shows potential for industrial applications.