As a classic mechanical fastening system, zippers are widely used in applications ranging from daily life to biomedicine. Conventional zippers, however, have limited deformation compatibility due to their unidirectional zipping and nonstretchable interlocking mechanism, highlighting their insufficient structural adaptability in scenarios involving cross-connections or multi-directional dynamic deformation. Here, we report a crossed stretchable zipper that enables zipping in overlapping areas via a cross adapter, prevents structural failure through latch-slot and suture-joint mechanisms, and closes separated fabrics while maintaining stretchability. This design allows a two-dimensional mesh configuration without compromising the inherent stretching performance of the zipper, significantly enhancing flexibility and adaptability. In hemiplegia rehabilitation wearables, modularity based on the crossed stretchable zipper offers advantages in personalized deployment and conformability, highlighting its potential for the personalized and widespread development of wearable systems.

Hollow architectures offer significant advantages in achieving simultaneous weight reduction and efficient electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption; however, their practical application is often constrained by inherent structural limitations. In this study, Zn_1-xCo_2-yNi_xFe_yO₄ composites were synthesized through an integrated self-sacrificing templating and ion-doping approach. Specifically, mixed zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) were utilized as sacrificial templates to fabricate hollow dodecahedral nanocages. Subsequent ion doping was facilitated by the chelating effect of tannic acid, followed by oxidative annealing in a tube furnace. Interestingly, the introduction of hetero-metal ions disturbed the original spinel lattice structure, leading to the extensive precipitation of a secondary ZnO phase. This spontaneous phase separation generated a high density of heterogeneous interfaces, which significantly enhanced interfacial polarization and thereby improved overall EM wave attenuation performance. These structural and compositional features enable the material to exhibit excellent microwave absorption capabilities even at low filler loadings. The hollow architecture not only reduces the intrinsic density of spinel ferrites but also extends the effective absorption bandwidth by optimizing impedance matching characteristics. As a result, a minimum reflection loss of -57.6 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 10.27 GHz were achieved with a filler content as low as 30 wt.%. This work presents a new strategy for the rational design of high-performance EM absorbers through the synergistic optimization of structural architecture and compositional modulation.

Magnetic soft robots are emerging as biomedical tools for minimally invasive interventions. They synergize remote magnetic actuation with the compliance of soft materials to ensure safe navigation and therapy within delicate anatomical structures, such as the gastrointestinal tract, blood vessels, and urinary system. This review analyzes material-tissue toxicity and mechanical interactions and summarizes material innovations in magnetic hydrogels, elastomers, ferrofluids, and responsive composites. Organ-specific material and structural designs for clinical applications are discussed, showcasing advances of soft medical robots in targeted drug delivery, thrombus extraction, tissue sampling, thermal therapy, and in situ sensing. Furthermore, we focus on key translational challenges, including long-term biostability of materials, adaptive closed-loop control, and multifunctional system integration, which must be addressed to reach the full potential of magnetic soft robots for clinical applications.

Real-time and accurate respiratory monitoring is crucial in extreme conditions, such as high-altitude aviation, critical care, and hazardous occupations, where subtle respiratory changes may rapidly escalate into life-threatening events. However, existing respiratory support systems are often cumbersome, insensitive to nuanced breathing patterns, or susceptible to environmental interference. Herein, we introduce a highly sensitive, plasma-modified triboelectric textile sensor integrated into an oxygen mask for real-time respiratory dynamics monitoring. By engineering nanoscale surface roughness and surface modification via plasma treatment, the sensor achieves a remarkable 420% enhancement in output voltage, yielding high sensitivity (2.02 V·kPa^-1), rapid response (96 ms), and excellent stability (over 95% signal retention after 90 days). Integrated with a machine learning-assisted classifier, the system achieves 97.2% accuracy in respiratory pattern recognition, while automatically discriminating authentic breathing signals from artifacts. With a customized electronic circuit and an application terminal, the on-mask intelligent system provides immediate feedback for adaptive oxygen regulation. This capability is of paramount importance for improving oxygen-management efficiency and safeguarding the lives of personnel operating under extreme conditions.

This review thoroughly evaluates the advancements and applications of electrospun functional fiber-based pressure sensors in healthcare diagnostics. Electrospinning is a versatile technique for producing micro- and nanoscale fibers with high surface-to-volume ratios and tunable porosity, making it an excellent platform for highly sensitive, flexible, and wearable sensing structures. The survey focuses on integrating piezoelectric and piezoresistive materials into electrospun fiber mats. These materials are key to transduction mechanisms, converting mechanical pressure stimuli into electrical signals by varying charge or resistance. Key healthcare applications based on pressure are critically evaluated, including wearable vital sign monitors (pulse and respiration), body motion detection for rehabilitation, gait analysis, smart prosthetics, and real-time wound-healing assessment through pressure distribution mapping. Fiber-based sensors offer high sensitivity, lower detection limits, flexibility, biocompatibility, breathability, and adaptability to complex body contours. Findings reveal that the sensitivity of the multilayer sensor (996.7 kPa^-1) is far greater than that of the composite sensor (0.21 kPa^-1), enabling precise detection of pulse and joint movements. Several limitations have also been addressed, including signal stability and durability, ecological interference (including humidity and temperature), scalable manufacturing, and seamless integration with electronics for continuous monitoring. Future research directions are provided for developing novel, multifunctional, and self-powered materials that enhance environmental resilience, scalable fabrication, and wireless data transmission. Finally, it is concluded that electrospun fiber sensors are poised to transform personalized, non-invasive, and continuous health monitoring, advancing next-generation, innovative healthcare systems.

Four-dimensional (4D) printing couples additive manufacturing with stimuli-responsive materials to create soft microrobots that can be programmed to change their shape, properties, and functions in response to external cues. This review synthesizes the core blueprint for 4D-printed soft microrobots, encompassing printing technologies, smart materials, and stimulus modalities. It explores how these elements collectively design locomotion, manipulation, and sensing at the microscale, and investigates application frontiers including targeted drug delivery, tissue engineering, stents, sensing, and other applications. Despite rapid progress, key obstacles remain, such as resolution-throughput-multimaterial trade-offs, interlayer adhesion, long-term fidelity, limited force density, biocompatibility, near-body-temperature triggers, and closed-loop imaging and navigation. Our conclusion is that 4D printing provides a unifying platform for adaptive, reconfigurable soft microrobots, and coordinated advances in materials, manufacturing, modeling, and regulation are essential for unlocking reliable clinical and industry-relevant systems.

Tissue engineering offers promising regenerative alternatives to conventional medical treatments, particularly for tissues with limited self-healing capabilities such as bone and cartilage. Central to this field is three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting, an advanced fabrication technique that utilizes bio-inks to construct complex, patient-specific tissue structures. Among emerging bio-ink materials, nanocellulose and its derivatives have attracted considerable attention for their exceptional mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Derived from natural cellulose, nanocellulose exists primarily as cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), each contributing unique structural and rheological characteristics. CNCs enhance scaffold stiffness and mechanical strength, while CNFs support intricate architectures conducive to cellular infiltration and tissue growth. This review highlights recent advances in nanocellulose-based bio-inks for 3D bioprinting, emphasizing their role in improving printability and scaffold functionality for bone and cartilage tissue engineering applications.

Carbon-based microwave-absorbing (MA) aerogel materials have emerged as a prominent research focus in recent years due to their three-dimensional (3D) interconnected conductive networks and diverse porous microstructures, which optimize impedance matching and dissipate microwaves through multiple loss effects. Guided by the research rationale of constructing carbon-based aerogels with diverse microstructures and corresponding unique electromagnetic response behaviors, this review systematically summarizes recent advances in carbon-based microwave-absorbing aerogels over the past five years, with particular emphasis on the rational design of carbon-based aerogels using different templating strategies. These include hard-template methods based on natural biomass and polymer foams, soft-template approaches such as isotropic and directional freeze-drying, and non-template techniques such as electrospinning and 3D printing. By discussing the mechanisms and advantages of these synthesis strategies in depth, the relationship between porous architecture and microwave response properties is elucidated, while also providing insights and perspectives on future carbon-based microwave-absorbing aerogels with synergistic performance and potential for large-scale production.