Membranous extracellular matrix (ECM)-based scaffolds are one of the most promising biomaterials for skin wound healing, some of which, such as acellular dermal matrix, small intestinal submucosa, and amniotic membrane, have been clinically applied to treat chronic wounds with acceptable outcomes. Nevertheless, the wide clinical applications are always hindered by the poor mechanical properties, the uncontrollable degradation, and other factors after implantation. To highlight the feasible strategies to overcome the limitations, in this review, we first outline the current clinical use of traditional membranous ECM scaffolds for skin wound healing and briefly introduce the possible repair mechanisms; then, we discuss their potential limitations and further summarize recent advances in the scaffold modification and fabrication technologies that have been applied to engineer new ECM-based membranes. With the development of scaffold modification approaches, nanotechnology and material manufacturing techniques, various types of advanced ECM-based membranes have been reported in the literature. Importantly, they possess much better properties for skin wound healing, and would become promising candidates for future clinical translation.

Male infertility affects 10–15% of couples globally, with azoospermia — complete absence of sperm — accounting for 15% of cases. Traditional diagnostic methods for azoospermia are subjective and variable. This study presents a novel, noninvasive, and accurate diagnostic method using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) combined with machine learning to analyze seminal plasma exosomes. Semen samples from healthy controls ([ ]) and azoospermic patients ([ ]) were collected, and their exosomal SERS spectra were obtained. Machine learning algorithms were employed to distinguish between the SERS profiles of healthy and azoospermic samples, achieving an impressive sensitivity of 99.61% and a specificity of 99.58%, thereby highlighting significant spectral differences. This integrated SERS and machine learning approach offers a sensitive, label-free, and objective diagnostic tool for early detection and monitoring of azoospermia, potentially enhancing clinical outcomes and patient management.

Injury to lower genitourinary (GU) tissues, which may result in either infertility and/or organ dysfunctions, threatens the overall health of humans. Bioactive agent-based regenerative therapy is a promising therapeutic method. However, strategies for spatiotemporal delivery of bioactive agents with optimal stability, activity, and tunable delivery for effective sustained disease management are still in need and present challenges. In this review, we present the advancements of the pivotal components in delivery systems, including biomedical innovations, system fabrication methods, and loading strategies, which may improve the performance of delivery systems for better regenerative effects. We also review the most recent developments in the application of these technologies, and the potential for delivery-based regenerative therapies to treat lower GU injuries. Recent progress suggests that the use of advanced strategies have not only made it possible to develop better and more diverse functionalities, but also more precise, and smarter bioactive agent delivery systems for regenerative therapy. Their application in lower GU injury treatment has achieved certain effects in both patients with lower genitourinary injuries and/or in model animals. The continuous evolution of biomaterials and therapeutic agents, advances in three-dimensional printing, as well as emerging techniques all show a promising future for the treatment of lower GU-related disorders and dysfunctions.

Background: Advances in biotechnology, especially next-generation sequencing (NGS) and array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) approaches, have improved preimplantation genetic screening; however, these methods have not been directly compared. This study was carried out to identify the more promising method for screening reciprocal and Robertsonian translocations. Here, blastocysts from carriers with reciprocal and Robertsonian translocations were retrospectively evaluated and results from preimplantation genetic testing in 272 blastocytes were analysed for parental unbalanced translocations using aCGH and NGS. Results: There was no significant difference in the no embryo-transfer rate between aCGH and NGS. Among 59 blastocysts screened in the aCGH group, 32.76% were normal embryos and 67.24% were abnormal embryos, including 36.21% embryos with a translocation, 17.24% with no translocation, and 15.52% with combined abnormalities. Similar results were obtained from the 214 blastocysts tested in the NGS group. In women <35-years, more normal blastocysts were identified in the NGS group compared to the aCGH group. There was a higher rate of euploidy among blastocysts with higher quality grades in the NGS group than in the aCGH group for the trophectoderm (43.51% vs 29.41%) and inner cell mass (59.11% vs 25.00%). Conclusion: Equivalent clinical findings were observed for aCGH and NGS for parental reciprocal chromosomal translocations. However, NGS has the potential to overcome the inherent limitations of aCGH, including the detection of mosaicism and smaller partial gains/losses, thereby providing improvements in the detection of euploid blastocysts, along with enhanced reliability and sensitivity.