Since its discovery in 1992, the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) has emerged as a key receptor in many pathological conditions, especially in inflammatory conditions. RAGE is expressed by most, if not all, immune cells and can be activated by many ligands. One characteristic of RAGE is that its ligands are structurally very diverse and belong to different classes of molecules, making RAGE a promiscuous receptor. Many of RAGE ligands are damaged associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that are released by cells under inflammatory conditions. Although RAGE has been at the center of a lot of research in the past three decades, a clear understanding of the mechanisms of RAGE activation by its ligands is still missing. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the role of RAGE and its ligands in inflammation.

Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as advanced porous crystalline materials due to their highly ordered structures, ultra-high surface areas, fine-tunable pore sizes, and massive chemical diversity. These features, arising from the coordination between an almost unlimited number of metal ions/clusters and organic linkers, have resulted in significant interest in MOFs for applications in gas storage, catalysis, sensing, energy, and biomedicine. Beyond their stand-alone properties and applications, recent research has increasingly explored the integration of MOFs with other substrates, particularly electrodes, polymeric thin films, and glass surfaces, to create synergistic effects that enhance material performance and broaden application potential. Coating MOFs onto these substrates can yield significant benefits, including, but not limited to, improved sensitivity and selectivity in electrochemical sensors, enhanced mechanical and separation properties in membranes, and multifunctional coatings for optical and environmental applications. This review provides a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of recent advances (primarily from the past 3–5 years) in MOF coating techniques, including layer-by-layer assembly, in situ growth, and electrochemical deposition. This is followed by a discussion of the representative applications arising from MOF-substrate coating and an outline of key challenges and future directions in this rapidly evolving field. This article aims to serve as a focused reference point for researchers interested in both fundamental strategies and applied developments in MOF surface coatings.

Proteases cleave peptide bonds and generate shorter polypeptide products, finding broad applications. For applications in peptide sequencing, protein mapping, and production of bioactive polypeptides, control over where proteolysis initiates and how it proceeds is critical. Natural proteolytic selectivity primarily originates from local recognition of short amino-acid motifs. However, higher-order or regional selectivity (i.e., cleavage biased toward specific termini or domains) remains difficult even with sophisticated protein engineering or complex multi-enzyme, cascade proteolytic design. We recently reported that trypsin@Ca-BPDC preferentially cleaved the N-terminus of T4 phage lysozyme (T4L) [ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, 15 (7), 8927–8936], indicating a promising alternative to introduce directional or regional proteolysis through enzyme immobilization via a unique MOF, Ca-BPDC. To confirm such preference, as a follow-up of that work, here, we extend the MOF-based immobilization to two commercial serine proteases (mixture products with unreported compositions). Our time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) shows that, despite differing or weakly defined selectivity in solution, both commercial proteases exhibit a consistent shift toward N-terminal cleavage of T4L upon immobilized in Ca-BPDC through co-crystallization. Control experiments indicate negligible adsorption of the substrate to the Ca-BPDC alone, suggesting that directional selectivity arises from the coupled MOF–protease environment rather than substrate–MOF interactions. These results indicate that Ca-BPDC may be able to impose an additional, material-derived layer of proteolytic selection on commercial serine proteases. Thus, it may offer a practical way for directional or programmable proteolysis without enzyme chemical or genetic modification. Our immobilization platform also offers a reusable matrix compatible with real-time mechanistic analysis. This approach opens opportunities for controlled peptide generation, proteolytic selectivity tuning, and design of programmable proteolytic bioreactors.

Background: Suicidal ideation is a pressing mental health concern among university students, especially in low- and middle-income countries like Bangladesh, where academic pressure, research-related stress, and limited support systems heighten the risk. While mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety are known predictors, the role of academic research involvement—particularly thesis engagement, supervision, and institutional support—remains underexplored and is examined in this study. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 508 university students and recent graduates in Bangladesh using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression to examine associations between suicidal ideation and psychological, academic, and institutional factors, while QGIS was used to conduct geospatial analysis. Results: The prevalence of past-year suicidal ideation was 14.0%. In the adjusted model, anxiety (AOR = 2.41, 95% CI: 1.12–5.17) and insomnia (AOR = 3.29, 95% CI: 1.24–8.73) were significantly associated, while students not engaged in thesis work (AOR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.16–0.88) and not interested in publishing their theses (AOR = 3.450, 95% CI: 1.047–11.371) had higher odds of suicidal ideation. Among students engaged in thesis work, unadjusted analyses revealed significant associations between suicidal ideation and intention to publish thesis work, poor supervisor availability, unclear academic guidance, lack of publication support, and perceptions of a non-supportive institutional research environment. Conclusion: Mental health challenges and academic exclusion—particularly non-thesis status and inadequate supervisory or institutional support—are key contributors to suicidal ideation. Universities should adopt inclusive research policies, enhance mental health services, and strengthen mentorship systems to reduce suicide risk and promote student well-being, especially in resource-constrained academic environments like Bangladesh.

Photosensitive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) provide chemically tunable platforms for studying light-induced charge transfer at solid/electrolyte interfaces, yet many reported systems rely on energy-intensive synthesis, organic solvents, or rare and/or toxic metal ions. Here, building on our previously reported ambient, water-assisted eco-LAGent synthesis of Cu-BPDC and Zn-BPDC MOFs, we formulate these materials as Nafion-bound films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes and evaluate their photoelectrochemical behavior. The resulting electrode platform enables a controlled comparison of the two MOFs under matched coating, electrolyte, and illumination conditions. The combination of earth-abundant Cu and Zn with the carboxylate ligand biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate (BPDC) provides a chemically matched platform for comparing a redox-active Cu-BPDC MOF with a closed-shell Zn analogue under the same coating, electrolyte, and illumination geometry. Comparable scan-rate cyclic voltammetry (CV) showed a broad Cu-associated redox feature for Cu-BPDC, whereas Zn-BPDC remained comparatively featureless over the same potential window. Under chopped-light chronoamperometry (CA) at +0.449 V versus RHE, Cu-BPDC generated a sustained cathodic response of +0.448 ± 0.009 μA cm–2 when plotted as −Δj, while Zn-BPDC, bare FTO, and Nafion/FTO controls showed only weak responses under identical conditions. Optical measurements showed similar apparent direct-transition band gaps for Zn-BPDC and Cu-BPDC (∼4.00 eV), whereas distinct solid-state photoluminescence (PL) profiles indicated that optical absorption alone does not account for the different photoelectrochemical behaviors. These results support a Cu-centered photoinduced charge-transfer response in Cu-BPDC films and establish a controlled platform for interrogating metal-node-dependent photoelectrochemistry in MOF-based electrode coatings.