Adv. Funct. Mater. 2026: e74749.

Early burst ion release of biodegradable alloys, such as Zn²⁺, often triggers inflammation and impairs bone formation, which affects the clinical application of biodegradable alloys. Here, a multifunctional hydrophilic selenium-containing polyurea (SePUA) is designed with a tunable ratio of selenium-containing groups to hydrophilic groups. The SePUA can form stable Se-metal coordination, achieving controlled ion release of biodegradable alloys, and simultaneously leverages the biological functions of selenium to realize immuno-osteogenic synergistic modulation. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that SePUA accelerates the shift from acute inflammation to a healing-permissive immune environment. It reduces early Zn²⁺ release and achieves controllable selenium release, thereby suppressing neutrophil chemotaxis and maturation, recruiting macrophages, activating the KEAP1-NRF2-SEPP1 pathway to decrease intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and drive M2 polarization. Simultaneously, SePUA upregulates the stemness-associated NR2F2-SOX2/NANOG axis in MSCs and enhances their osteogenic differentiation capacity, thereby promoting new bone formation around the implants. This work develops a facile, multifunctional bioactive hydrophilic SePUA for the coating of biodegradable alloys that integrates ion release control, immunomodulation, and osteogenesis, offering critical support for the clinical translation of biodegradable alloys.

Adv.  Mater.; 2026: e23642.

The construction and integration of curvature govern the structure and function of materials based on 2D sheets, yet achieving ultrafast and scalable curvature programming remains a major challenge. We rapidly generate large stress mismatches by combining an ultrafast stress-relaxing diselenide-containing polyurethane with an ultraslow stress-relaxing disulfide-containing polyurethane. Coupled with modular components and compression, this mismatch enables localized, directional loading of high stress with excellent scalability. Using this strategy, 2D polymer sheets achieve 180° bending within 10 s of UV irradiation, yielding a curvature-programming rate 15-fold faster than state-of-the-art methods. Furthermore, origami modules, which display a 37-fold enhancement in compressive performance, can be obtained through mass production and assembled into complex 3D architectures. This rapid, high-curvature programming approach offers efficiency, mechanical robustness, and scalability, advancing the practical deployment of origami-based metamaterials.

Biomaterials, 2026: p. 124099.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have emerged as a promising immunotherapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the indiscriminate cytotoxicity of chemotherapies and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment paradoxically impede this potential. To overcome these limitations, we engineered β-selenoester–crosslinked nanocapsules delivering Gefitinib, designed to induce opposite cell fates in cancer cells and macrophages. In cancer cells, the Se-C bond in β-selenoester is ultrasensitive under the intrinsic reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. It generates acrylates through selenoxide elimination reaction, which further depletes intracellular GSH to regenerate cytotoxic ROS. The ROS-triggered positive-feedback induces nanocapsule disassembly, enabling rapid Gefitinib release and apoptosis induction. The released Gefitinib also disrupts the CD47-SIRPα “don’t eat me” axis to enhance macrophage phagocytic activity. In macrophages, low ROS level limits Gefitinib exposure, but the selenium metabolites generated from the elimination reaction are sufficient to promote macrophage activation. This selective cell fate programming yielded no macrophage toxicity at cancer-cell IC₅₀ levels and a 91.1 % tumor suppression in vivo. Collectively, this work demonstrates a divergent cell fate induction strategy based on β-selenoester–crosslinking for integrated TAM-mediated immunotherapy.

Acta Polymerica Sinica, 2025, 56, 2302.

Intelligent adaptive materials constitute a vital component of modern advanced material systems. Compared to other stimuli such as temperature and pH, light exhibit advantageous characters including cleanliness, renewability, and high spatiotemporal resolution. As a result, light-responsive intelligent adaptive materials have witnessed significant development in recent years, both in fundamental research and technological applications. They are now widely applied in frontier fields such as manufacturing, optoelectronics, and bio-nano applications. Polymer topology network, as a decisive factor in material properties, directly influences the material intelligence level through its dynamic reconfiguration capability. This review begins with systematically summarizing the photochemical/physical reaction mechanisms of commonly used photosensitive moieties in light-responsive materials. It then focuses on the multi-level response processes involved in light-controlled topological transformations: through analysis of representative cases, the review elucidates the modulation mechanisms of photo-induced behaviours in photosensitive groups (including isomerization, dissociation/recombination) on material topological structures across multiple molecular-scale aspects—including polymer chain segments (e.g., alteration of crosslinking density), network architecture (e.g., three-dimensional topological reconfiguration), network integrity (e.g., chain scission and degradation), and interface engineering. Finally, the review analyzes current bottlenecks in light-controlled topology reconfigurable materials—such as insufficient response rates, low efficiency, and challenges in mitigating phototoxicity and biotoxicity, and envision their applications in fields like adaptive coatings and programmable soft robotics.

Nano Letters, 2025. 25(36): p. 13629-13638.

Despite advances in immunotherapy, its efficacy against postoperative glioma recurrence remains limited. Here, we present a neoantigen-targeting peptide nanoshield that synergizes with glioma resection to eliminate residual tumor cells and prevent relapse. The nanoshield architecture is constructed using a multicationic protein (MCP) as the structural scaffold, which is assembled with the mutated isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (muIDH1) neoantigen. The nanoshield vaccine enables lysosome-escaping muIDH1 delivery and inflammasome-mediated immune activation, generating polyfunctional CD8⁺ T cells. The results demonstrate superior and durable immunogenicity, with a 3-fold increase in CD8⁺ T cells and a 6-fold in vivo retention profile compared to free peptide controls, respectively. This leads to significant reduction in tumor size in prophylactic and therapeutic glioma models. Notably, it achieves over 40% improvement in terms of postoperative recurrence-free survival through combining the nanovaccine with antiprogrammed death-1 (aPD-1) therapy. Our immunotherapeutic strategy induces potent antitumor immunity, offering promising clinical potential for postoperative management.

 Adv. Funct. Mater. 2026: e14534.

Titanium implants, although widely used in clinical applications, are still facing challenges of inflammation and compromised osseointegration, especially in diabetic and osteoporotic patients. Existing titanium modification techniques are confronted with problems of complicated manufacturing processes, poor bonding strength, and difficulties in dual regulation of immunity and osteogenesis. Here, a selenium-containing polyurethane (SePU) is synthesized and modified the titanium surface with SePU via a convenient soaking method. Notably, SePU formed a coordination bond with Ti, induced M2 polarization of macrophages, promoted osteogenic differentiation, inhibited osteoclast formation, and enhanced peri-implant bone formation in diabetic and osteoporotic rats. Tissue RNA-sequencing and validation reveal SePU regulated NRF2-mediated oxidative stress by upregulating GSTM3, enhancing ROS scavenging, reducing oxidative damage, thus creating a pro-regenerative immune microenvironment. These findings provide a novel approach using the essential element selenium to solve intractable clinical bottlenecks of titanium implants, especially for systemic backgrounds unfavorable to osteogenesis, such as diabetes and osteoporosis.

Cell Biomaterials. 2025. 1(11).

Radiation-induced intestine injury is a common clinical complication in radiotherapy for abdominal and pelvic cancers. To date, oral radioprotective agents are still extremely rare because the harsh gastrointestinal environment would denature the drugs. Melanin, a natural polymer, has attracted attention for its potential radioprotective properties. However, the inherent low Z elements in natural melanin offer limited defense against radiation energy. Hence, a selenocysteine-modified melanin nanoparticles (SeMNPs) strategy for intestinal radioprotection is proposed. Introducing selenium increases the attenuation of melanin to radiation energy. This material exhibits remarkable radiation protection properties, while maintaining stable activity in the gastrointestinal environment and enabling precise regulation of release kinetics, making it ideal for oral treatment of intestinal injury. SeMNPs demonstrate effective mitigation of intestinal injury and increase the survival rate of mice from 20% to 100% after total body irradiation. This highlights the potential of melanin engineering for radioprotection in vivo.

Supramolecular Materials, 2025.4 : p. 100115.

Fluorescent polymeric materials have recently gained significant attention in diverse fields, including biological imaging, luminescent sensing, encryption, and anti-counterfeiting. However, the patterning of many materials mentioned above has primarily been achieved through soft lithography technology using ultraviolet light, which can cause unnecessary damage to the materials and is limited by a shallow penetration depth. Herein, we introduce oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) derivatives (cyano-OPVs) as fluorescent molecules into diselenide-containing polyurethane (PUSeSe). Upon swelling, OPV molecules transition from aggregates to monomers, resulting in a blue shift in fluorescence spectra. By leveraging diselenide metathesis within the material, we successfully stabilized the monomeric state of OPV, enabling the inscription of green fluorescent images in illuminated regions, distinct from the original orange emission of the aggregated state. These materials can be effectively patterned within ten minutes under gentle and harmless visible light illumination. This visible light-induced fluorescence patterning method offers a convenient approach for designing advanced anti-counterfeiting materials with broader applications.

Adv. Mater. 2025: e08549.

Can artificial polymer materials exhibit the characteristic of “evolution” over time, similar to biological tissue? The limitations arise from their inherently static nature and the absence of dynamic structures. A strategy is proposed for designing polymer materials whose phases and mechanical properties can be continuously transformed and enhanced temporally. Specifically, the polymer phases experience a sequence of transitions involving generation, separation, and fusion. Each period enhances mechanical properties in distinct and significant ways, demonstrating a mechanical evolution. This evolution is initiated through in situ polymerization within the material and can be precisely controlled using visible light. Applied to a hydrogel system, this approach achieves a record-breaking increase in Young’s modulus by over 2400-fold, from 18.5 kPa to 44.5 MPa. The findings highlight the potential for tailoring mechanical properties on demand and constructing metamaterials with multilevel moduli and composite architectures.

Polym. Sci. Technol. 2026, 2, 2, 79

In recent decades, significant advancements have been achieved in the field of polymer self-assembly. Among various polymer assemblies, the unique chemical properties of selenium and tellurium have established a robust foundation for the development of functional polymer assemblies that incorporate these elements. Polymer assemblies containing selenium and tellurium have garnered significant attention due to their sensitive responsiveness to stimuli and their precise biological functions. In this review, we summarize the research findings on selenium- and tellurium-containing polymer assemblies. The article elaborates on the applications of selenium- and tellurium-containing polymer assemblies in redox responsive materials, gamma-ray (γ-Ray) responsive materials, light responsive materials, and coordination responsive materials. Finally, the research on selenium and tellurium-containing polymer assemblies lays a methodological foundation for the development of new functional materials driven by elemental characteristics.