Coal fly ash (CFA) is a major global pollutant produced by thermal power plants during the generation of electricity. A significant amount of coal fly ash is dumped every year in the near vicinity of the thermal power plants, resulting in the spoilage of agricultural land. CFA has numerous value-added structural elements, such as cenospheres, plerospheres, ferrospheres, and carbon particles. Cenospheres are spherical-shaped solid-filled particles, formed during the combustion of coal in thermal power plants. They are lightweight, have high mechanical strength, and are rich in Al-Si particles. Due to cenospheres’ low weight and high mechanical strength, they are widely used as ceramic/nanoceramics material, fireproofing material, and in nanocomposites. They are also used directly, or after functionalization, as an adsorbent for environmental cleanup—especially for the removal of organic and inorganic contaminants from wastewater. By utilizing this waste material as an adsorbent, the whole process becomes economical and eco-friendly. In this review, we have highlighted the latest advances in the cenospheres recovery from fly ash and their application in ceramics and wastewater treatment.

Immune cell-based therapies are a rapidly emerging class of new medicines that directly treat and prevent targeted cancer. However multiple biological barriers impede the activity of live immune cells, and therefore necessitate the use of surface-modified immune cells for cancer prevention. Synthetic and/or natural biomaterials represent the leading approach for immune cell surface modulation. Different types of biomaterials can be applied to cell surface membranes through hydrophobic insertion, layer-by-layer attachment, and covalent conjugations to acquire surface modification in mammalian cells. These biomaterials generate reciprocity to enable cell–cell interactions. In this review, we highlight the different biomaterials (lipidic and polymeric)-based advanced applications for cell–surface modulation, a few cell recognition moieties, and how their interplay in cell–cell interaction. We discuss the cancer-killing efficacy of NK cells, followed by their surface engineering for cancer treatment. Ultimately, this review connects biomaterials and biologically active NK cells that play key roles in cancer immunotherapy applications.

PH-reponsive and amphiphilic prodrug of cabazitaxel causes greater damages to human prostate cancer cells than free cabazitaxel.

The field of cancer therapy is actively pursuing highly effective self-targeted drug delivery materials endowed with exceptional properties. Recently, hyaluronic acid (HA), a naturally occurring polysaccharide, has been recognized as a potential target ligand for CD44 receptors, which are frequently expressed on various solid tumor cells targeted in cancer therapy. HA carbon quantum dots (CQDs) exhibit several advantageous properties, including a high surface area-to-volume ratio, small particle size, biocompatibility, and low cytotoxicity, making them ideal for biomedical applications, such as CD44-targeted drug delivery in ferroptosis-based cancer therapy. In this study, we synthesized HA-CQDs to enhance CD44-mediated ligand–receptor interactions targeting triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). CQDs facilitate the intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to glutathione depletion. These processes result in crucial actions such as the downregulation of glutathione peroxidase 4, downregulation of solute carrier family 7 member 11, and inhibition of cystine intake. The subsequent intracellular ROS, originating from lipid peroxidation, induces ferroptosis. Our HA-CQDs engage CD44 receptors, selectively targeting TNBCs and enhancing cancer recognition. This interaction potentially enhances the nanoplatform-based CD44 targeted therapeutic effects in inducing ferroptosis.