About

Ping Wang has an educational background in biochemical engineering and a research focus on nanotechnology and enzyme engineering. Benefiting from the latest advances in enzymology, nanoscale science and materials technology, he explores powerful biocatalysts for biomanufacturing and bioenergy. Conceiving and realizing nature-inspired multienzyme reaction pathways in vitro for important biotransformations is one major thrust in his research. That involves the discovery and activation of enzymes to drive desired transformations under intensified engineering environments for production of value-added chemicals, fuels and materials from renewable materials.

Research topics

• Chemical engineering
• Chemistry
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Biochemistry

Selected publications

• Virtuous personality and bystander defending behavior among college students: roles of moral identity and friendship quality

  BMC Psychology · 2025-07-04

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: To explore the relationship between virtuous personality and bystander defending behavior among college students, and to examine the roles of moral identity and friendship quality, a survey was conducted with 643 college students. METHODS: The survey used the Chinese Virtuous Personality Scale, the Bystander Defending Behavior Scale, the Moral Identity Scale, and the Friendship Quality Inventory. To test the hypotheses, descriptive statistics, t-tests, and correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS 22.0. Additionally, mediation and moderation effects were tested using the SPSS macro program PROCESS, specifically Models 4, 7, and 59. RESULTS: The results revealed the following: (1) a significant positive correlation was found between virtuous personality, bystander defending behavior, moral identity, and friendship quality; (2) virtuous personality not only directly and positively predicted bystander defending behavior, but also influenced this behavior through the mediating role of moral identity; (3) the first part of the mediating effect- "virtuous personality → moral identity → bystander defending behavior"-was moderated by friendship quality. Specifically, the impact of virtuous personality on moral identity was stronger in individuals with higher friendship quality compared to those with lower friendship quality. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that virtuous personality can enhance bystander defending behavior among college students by fostering moral identity. However, lower levels of friendship quality can weaken the positive influence of virtuous personality on moral identity, thereby affecting bystander defending behavior.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Construction of hierarchical CuO sphere-like structure for ppb-level H2S sensing at room temperature

  Journal of Alloys and Compounds · 2025-05-20 · 7 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• In situ growth of hierarchical In2O3 hollow spheres for ppb-level NO2 sensing at different low temperatures

  Microchemical Journal · 2025-01-04 · 9 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• Photo-reversible amyloid nanoNETs for regenerative antimicrobial therapies

  Nature Communications · 2025-12-10 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Drug-resistant bacterial infections, exacerbated by antibiotic resistance and biofilm resilience, disrupt tissue repair through dysregulated inflammation and impaired regeneration. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) play a crucial role in endogenous immunity by entrapping and eliminating pathogens, inspiring the development of synthetic biomaterials that replicate this function. However, current synthetic NETs face challenges in complexity, biocompatibility, structural integrity and effectiveness. Here, we present a NETs-mimicking hydrogel composed of reversible lysozyme amyloid flexible nanofibrils (FFs) enabling pathogen elimination and tissue regeneration. The FFs therein self-assemble from natural egg-white lysozyme endowing these nanoNETs with bioactivity against pathogens, and when duly labeled to respond to near-infrared irradiation, they disassemble into unfolded lysozyme monomers with antimicrobial activity. Notably, the hydrogel disassembly is followed by the controlled release of pre-dissolved Mg²⁺ ions, reprogramming macrophages toward a pro-regenerative phenotype and mitigating inflammation. In both murine and porcine models, these biocompatible nanoNETs demonstrate excellent antibacterial performance, accelerating healing of wounds infected by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Moreover, these nanoNETs boost in-vivo healing of MRSA-infected periprosthetic joints, preserving osteogenic and regenerative microenvironments. These results build on the reversible nature of flexible amyloids to introduce stimuli-responsive biocompatible nanoNETs with significant potential for antimicrobial and regenerative therapies in bacterial-resistant infections.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Copper/Selectfluor Co-catalyzed Ritter-Type Benzylic C—H Amination

  Chinese Journal of Organic Chemistry · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Amyloid‐Templated Ceria Nanozyme Reinforced Microneedle for Diabetic Wound Treatments

  Advanced Materials · 2025-02-25 · 63 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Amyloid fibrils have emerged as excellent templates and building blocks for the development of ordered functional materials with considerable potential in biomedical applications. Here, lysozyme amyloid fibrils (Lys‐AFs) are employed as templates for the in situ synthesis of ceria nanozymes (Lys‐AFs‐Ceria) with ultrafine dimensions, an optimized Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ ratio, and uniform distribution on the fibril surface, addressing the challenges of low catalytic efficiency and high susceptibility to aggregation typical of traditional methods. As a proof of concept, it is further applied Lys‐AFs‐Ceria to develop hydrogel/microneedle for treating bacteria‐infected diabetic wounds via non‐covalent interactions between polyphenols and amyloid fibrils incorporating glucose oxidase (GOX). The hydrogel/microneedle facilitates superoxide dismutase and catalase cascade catalysis by Lys‐AFs‐Ceria, and integrates GOX‐mediated glucose consumption, synergistically achieving glucose reduction, reactive oxygen species elimination, and hypoxia alleviation in the diabetic wound infection microenvironment. In addition to antibacterial properties and tissue regeneration promotion of Lys‐AFs scaffold, Lys‐AFs‐Ceria regulates macrophages polarization toward an anti‐inflammatory M2 state. Collectively, these attributes contribute to the enhanced efficacy of diabetic wound healing, with in vivo studies demonstrating increased healing efficiency following a single application, and more in general an effective strategy toward high‐catalytic and stable nanozymes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Toxin‐Responsive Antigen Reservoir Nanovaccines for In Situ Vaccination Against Bacterial Infection Recurrence

  Advanced Functional Materials · 2025-05-30 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Current bacterial vaccines remain unsatisfactory in combating the increasing recurrence rates of drug‐resistant bacterial infections due to the inefficient activation of antigen presenting cells and the absence of long‐term immune memory. Here, a therapeutic nanovaccine (RBCM@PPPB) is engineered based on a photoimmunotherapy strategy and fabricated using polydopamine (PDA)‐modified Prussian blue nanoparticles, coated with targeting peptides and red blood cell membrane. These features enhance their biosafety and responsiveness to toxins from methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The targeting peptides guide the nanoparticles to infection sites, allowing them to accumulate on the MRSA surface. Under near‐infrared irradiation, the photothermal bactericidal effect triggers the antigens release from dead MRSA, creating a diverse bacterial antigen library. PDA coating endows the nanoparticles with robust bacterial antigen‐gathering capacity, enabling in situ vaccination that enhances the antigen presentation process and subsequent MRSA‐specific adaptive immunity. Re‐challenge experiments demonstrated that RBCM@PPPB induced both cellular and humoral immune memory, significantly reducing recurrence risks. This study offers a proof‐of‐concept for “antigen reservoir” nanovaccines‐enhanced in situ vaccination, which establishes long‐term immune memory to prevent infection recurrence.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• In situ growth of Ag-loaded hierarchical NiO microspheres for enhanced H2S-sensing performance and the sensing mechanism

  Applied Surface Science · 2024-12-06 · 13 citations

  articleCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Highly sensitive and low-temperature triethylamine sensor based on in situ growth of hierarchical α-MoO3 flowers

  Applied Surface Science · 2024-10-18 · 13 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• Gas‐phase degradation of VOCs using supported bacteria biofilms

  Biotechnology and Bioengineering · 2023-02-13 · 13 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Herein we report the use of Pseudomonas putida F1 biofilms grown on carbonized cellulosic fibers to achieve biodegradation of airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the absence of any bulk aqueous‐phase media. It is believed that direct exposure of gaseous VOC substrates to biomass may eliminate aqueous‐phase mass transfer resistance and facilitate VOC capture and degradation. When tested with toluene vapor as a model VOC, the supported biofilm could grow optimally at 300 p.p.m. toluene and 80% relative humidity, with a specific growth rate of 0.425 day −1 . During long‐term VOC biodegradation tests in a tubular packed bed reactor, biofilms achieved a toluene degradation rate of 2.5 mg g DCW −1 h −1 during the initial growth phase. Interestingly, the P. putida F1 film kept biodegrading activity even at the stationary nongrowth phase. The supported biofilms with a biomass loading of 20% (wt) could degrade toluene at a rate of 1.9 mg g DCW −1 h −1 during the stationary phase, releasing CO 2 at a rate of 6.4 mg g DCW −1 h −1 at the same time (indicating 100% conversion of substrate carbon to CO 2 ). All of these observations promised a new type of “dry” biofilm reactors for efficient degradation of toxic VOCs without involving a large amount of water.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: Study of Novel Interfacial Biocatalysis of Multienzyme Systems Self-Assembled at Organic-Aqueous Interfaces

  NSF · $244k · 2006–2010

Frequent coauthors

• Songping Zhang

  28 shared

• Xueyan Zhao

  24 shared

• Chao Chen

  21 shared

• Yibing Wang

  Xianyang Normal University

  18 shared

• Hao Dong

  Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University

  18 shared

• Michael J. Sadowsky

  16 shared

• Wenxue Zhang

  East China University of Science and Technology

  15 shared

• Wen Tang

  14 shared

Education

• PhD, Chemical Engineering

  Tufts University

  1994

Awards & honors

• Distinguished Alumni Award