The gut microbiota represents a large community of microorganisms that play an important role in immune regulation and maintenance of homeostasis. Living bacteria receive increasing interest as potential therapeutics for gut disorders, because they inhibit the colonization of pathogens and positively regulate the composition of bacteria in gut. However, these treatments are often accompanied by antibiotic administration targeting pathogens. In these cases, the efficacy of therapeutic bacteria is compromised by their susceptibility to antibiotics. Here, we demonstrate that a single-cell coating composed of tannic acids and ferric ions, referred to as ‘nanoarmor’, can protect bacteria from the action of antibiotics. The nanoarmor protects both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria against six clinically relevant antibiotics. The multiple interactions between the nanoarmor and antibiotic molecules allow the antibiotics to be effectively absorbed onto the nanoarmor. Armored probiotics have shown the ability to colonize inside the gastrointestinal tracts of levofloxacin-treated rats, which significantly reduced antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) resulting from the levofloxacin-treatment and improved some of the pre-inflammatory symptoms caused by AAD. This nanoarmor strategy represents a robust platform to enhance the potency of therapeutic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts of patients receiving antibiotics and to avoid the negative effects of antibiotics in the gastrointestinal tract.

One cyclopalladated ferrocene compound CP was synthesized, which showed a good cell cytotoxicity. Assisted by a dual-targeting drug delivery system, the anticancer activity of CP to MDA-MB-468 remained unchanged, but the toxicity to non-tumorigenic cell line NIH3T3 was remarkably reduced. This provided a new path for the development of cyclopalladated ferrocene as an antitumor drug candidate.

Male genitourinary dysfunction causes serious physical or mental distress, such as infertility and psychological harm, which leads to impaired quality of life. Current conventional treatments involving drug therapy, surgical repair, and tissue grafting have a limited effect on recovering the function and fertility of the genitourinary organs. To address these limitations, various biomaterials have been explored, with collagen-based materials increasingly gaining attention for reconstructing the male genitourinary system due to their superior biocompatibility, biodegradability, low antigenicity, biomimetic 3D matrix characteristics, hemostatic efficacy, and tissue regeneration capabilities. This review covers the recent biomedical applications of collagen-based materials including treatment of erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, penile girth enlargement, prostate cancer, Peyronie's disease, chronic kidney disease, etc. Although there are relatively few clinical trials, the promising results of the existing studies on animal models reveal a bright future for collagen-based materials in the treatment of male genitourinary diseases. Graphic Abstract