journal article·2026

Ice-assisted cryogenic embrittlement grinding for surfactant-free fabrication of soft nanomaterials

Yangjie Fu, Xunan Wei, Tianyu Wang, Yi Peng, Shuwang Wu, Ke Li, Dongsheng Liu, Jianjun Wang, Yuanchen Dong, Jie Liu

Materials Horizons· Volume 13· Issue 11
Publisher page

Abstract

Soft nanomaterials enable technologies spanning biomedicine, energy conversion, catalysis and soft electronics, yet scalable conversion of bulk soft matter into nanoparticles remains constrained by chemistry-specific routes, surfactant residues and limited throughput. Here we present ice-assisted cryogenic embrittlement grinding (ICE-grinding), a general top-down approach that transforms hydrated or solvent-swollen soft matrices into colloidally stable, surfactant-free nanoparticles while retaining their native composition. In ICE-grinding, matrices are infused with defined amounts of water or solvent, rapidly vitrified at 77 K with solid additives, and fragmented by impact and shear under cryogenic conditions. The resulting glassy or finely crystalline ice shifts the brittle-ductile transition, enabling controlled fracture into nanometre-scale fragments without disrupting the polymer network. We establish processing windows across diverse hydrogel chemistries and show that additive identity and loading govern low-temperature brittleness and tune particle size. ICE-grinding generates high-loading nanogels encapsulating DNA, siRNA and hydrophobic drugs, supporting efficient in vitro delivery. Paclitaxel nanogels form stable dispersions with drug loading up to 54.5% while maintaining cytotoxic potency. We further demonstrate multifunctional alginate composite nanogels for burn dressings that rapidly absorb exudate, ionically crosslink in situ in physiological fluids, adhere strongly to tissue, reduce bacterial burden and accelerate re-epithelialization in murine wounds.
Source: europepmc · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Nanofabrication and Lithography Techniques · Polymer Surface Interaction Studies · Advanced Surface Polishing Techniques

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, CAS Key Laboratory of Green Printing, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China

School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China

Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China

Department of Plastic and Burn Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China

State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China

Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, P. R. China

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China

School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China · National Natural Science Foundation of China · Key Technology Research and Development Program of Shandong Province · Chinese Academy of Sciences · Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality

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