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Theranostic nanoplatforms integrating fluorescence imaging and photothermal therapy have shown great potential in cancer research for tumor detection and image-guided treatment. Herein, a unique th... more...

As a gasotransmitter, hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) has been studied to treat wounds and inflammation, but its potential antimicrobial effects in this context have not been evaluated. An H(2)S-releasing dipeptide hydrogel (S-FE), and several non-H(2)S-releasing control dipeptides, (C-FE, C-GE, FBA-FE, and FE where S = S-aroylthiooxime, an H(2)S donor; C = control, an oxime incapable of H(2)S release; FBA = 4-formylbenzamide, also incapable of H(2)S release; and E, F, G = glutamic acid, phenylalanine, and glycine, respectively), were studied to correlate differences in their chemical structures and H(2)S-releasing abilities with their antimicrobial effects on Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Dipeptides with Phe (S-FE, C-FE, and FE) self-assembled into nanoribbons in water and displayed β-sheet formation and enhanced fluorescence, while the other two dipeptides (FBA-FE and C-GE) did not form assemblies in water. In vitro experiments with Staphylococcus aureus, which is a commonly found bacterium associated with wounds, showed significant antimicrobial effects from some of the dipeptides. Dipeptide S-FE inhibited bacterial growth more effectively than any of the controls, thereby limiting biofilm formation or disrupting established biofilms. These antimicrobial H(2)S-releasing dipeptide hydrogels provide a promising new approach to treat wound infections. more...

Nanoparticles offer many promising advantages for improving current surgical regimens through their ability to detect and treat disseminated colorectal cancer (CRC). Hybrid Donor-Acceptor Polymer Particles (HDAPPs) have recently been shown to fluorescently detect and thermally ablate tumors in a murine model. Here, HDAPPS were functionalized with hyaluronic acid (HA) to improve their binding specificity to CT26 mouse CRC cells using HA to target the cancer stem cell marker CD44. In this work, we compared the binding of HA functionalized HDAPPs (HA-HDAPPs) in in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo environments. The HA-HDAPPs bound to CT26 cells 2-fold more in vitro and 2.3-fold higher than un-functionalized HDAPPs ex vivo. Compared to intraoperative abdominal perfusion, intraperitoneal injection prior to laser stimulation for nanoparticle heat generation provides a superior modality of HA-HDAPPs delivery for CRC tumor selectivity. Photothermal treatment of disseminated CRC showed that only HA-HDAPPs delivered via intraperitoneal injection had a reduction in the tumor burden, and these nanoparticles also remained in the abdomen following resolution of the tumor. The results of this work confirm that HA-HDAPPs selectively bind to disseminated CRC, with ex vivo tumors having bound HA-HDAPPs capable of photothermal ablation. HA-HDAPPs demonstrated superior binding to tumor regions compared to HDAPPs. Overall, this study displays the theranostic potential of HDAPPs, emphasizing their capacity to detect and photothermally treat disseminated CRC tumors. more...

Triple negative breast cancer is exceptionally difficult to treat due to the lack of distinguishing biomarkers for drug targeting. An alternative approach based on recent data indicates that these cells may be more susceptible to mechanical influences, such as alterations in the tumor stroma. Three dimensional collagen gels containing co-cultures of mesenchymal cells and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells were utilized to explore the effects of multi-walled nanotubes (MWNT) on cell contraction, invasion, viability, MMP-9 expression, and migration of breast cancer cells. MWNT were able to restrict each of these features for the cancer cells without impeding the associated mesenchymal cells. MWNT-collagen gels are useful tools for cellular reprogramming of cancer cells and should be considered in greater detail as a potential agent for therapeutic treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.Breast cancer is still a leading cause of death for women worldwide. One subtype of this cancer which is very aggressive is the triple negative breast cancer. The behavior of tumors may be affected by the tumor stromal environment. In this study, the authors investigated the effects of multi-walled nanotubes (MWNT) on tumor cell biology. The positive findings may point a new way in using this modality for treatment of triple-negative breast cancer in the future. more...

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US. Cancerous cells may have inadequate adhesions to the extracellular matrix and adjacent cells. Previous work has suggested that restoring these contacts may negate the cancer phenotype. This work aims to restore those contacts using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). Varying concentrations of carboxylated MWNTs in water, with or without type I collagen, were dried to create a thin film upon which one of three breast cell lines were seeded: cancerous and metastatic MDA- MB-231 cells, cancerous but non-metastatic MCF7 cells, or non-cancerous MCF10A cells. Proliferation, adhesion, scratch and autophagy assays, western blots, and immunochemical staining were used to assess adhesion and E-cadherin expression. Breast cancer cells grown on a MWNT-collagen coated surface displayed increased adhesion and decreased migration which correlated with an increase in E-cadherin. This work suggests an alternative approach to cancer treatment by physically mediating the cells' microenvironment. more...

Poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS)/nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) composites were assessed to develop new materials for closure via tissue transport for nonhealing defects (e.g., cleft palate and large skin wounds). The elastic shape memory polymer, PGS, was reinforced with nHA at 3 and 5% loading to increase the mechanical properties compared with the undoped PGS. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was utilized to identify a glass transition temperature (Tg ) of -25°C. X-ray diffraction demonstrated a reduction in the amorphous nature of the material. The Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectral (FTIR-PAS) data showed decreased CO bonding and increased hydrogen bonding with increased nHA incorporation. Composites exhibited Young's moduli in the range of 0.25-0.5 MPa and tensile strength of 1.5-3 N. No significant difference in extension to break (∼50 mm) with addition of nHA was observed. The elastic modulus significantly increased for 5% PGS/nHA compared to 0 and 3% PGS/nHA and tensile strength significantly increased for 3% PGS/nHA compared to 0 and 5% PGS/nHA. Degradation of 5% nHA/PGS significantly increased during the second week compared to PGS 0 and 3% PGS/nHA. The accelerated degradation for 5% PGS/nHA coupled with decreased flexibility and tensile strength implies an interruption in crosslinking. By maintaining flexibility and extension while increasing tensile strength, the 3% PGS/nHA doped satisfied the force range desired for closure of soft tissue defects. Based on this work, PGS with 3% nHA shape memory polymers should serve as a good candidate for closure of nonhealing soft tissues. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 1366-1373, 2016. more...

Development of resorbable elastic composites as an alternative means to apply contractive forces for manipulating craniofacial bones is described herein. Composites made from the biodegradable elastomer, poly (1,8-octanediol co-citric acid) (POC), and hydroxyapatite (nHA) with a 200 nm diameter (0-20% loadings) were created to develop a material capable of applying continuous contractive forces. The composites were evaluated for variation in their mechanical properties, rate of degradation, and interaction of the hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with the polymer chains. First, an ex vivo porcine model of cleft palate was used to determine the rate of cleft closure with applied force. The closure rate was found to be 0.505 mm N(-1) . From this approximation, the ideal maximum load was calculated to be 19.82 N, and the elastic modulus calculated to be 1.98 MPa. The addition of nHA strengthens POC, but also reduces the degradation time by 45%, for 3% nHA loading, compared to POC without nHA. X-ray diffraction data indicates that the addition of nHA to amorphous POC results in the formation of a semicrystalline phase of the POC adjacent to the nHA crystals. Based on the data, we conclude that amongst the 0-20% nHA loadings, a 3% loading of nHA in POC may be an ideal material (1.21 MPa elastic modulus and 13.17 N maximum load) to induce contraction forces capable of facilitating osteogenesis and craniofacial bone repair. more...

Staphylococcus aureus capsular polysaccharides are believed to play a role in adhesion to surfaces and may contribute to their antimicrobial resistance, thereby increasing the rates and severity of associated infections. The purpose of this study was to compare the adhesiveness of distinct S. aureus capsular polysaccharides to determine whether adhesiveness was a general or specific feature across different S. aureus strains. Atomic force microscopy was used to confirm the presence or absence of capsular polysaccharides and to measure adhesive forces on a noncapsulated, serotype 8, and serotype 2 strain of S. aureus. Serotype 8 displayed a larger range of adhesive forces (1–19 nN) than the noncapsulated (0–4 nN) and serotype 2 (0–4 nN) strain. The majority of adhesive forces for serotype 8 were in the 10–15 nN range. Removal of capsular polysaccharides gave a marked decrease in adhesive forces measured for serotype 8 and, to a lesser extent, a decrease for serotype 2. Noncapsulated, serotype 8, and serotype 2 S. aureus had water contact angles of 23.8 (±8.9), 34.4 (±2.5), and 56.7 (±11.2) degrees (mean ± standard deviation), respectively. For the first time, capsular polysaccharides from serotype 8 (clinically common) and serotype 2 (clinically rare) were demonstrated to have different physical properties, which may account for variations in studies in which clinical isolates are utilized, and the conflict in proposed roles for capsular polysaccharides on S. aureus is explained. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2009 more...

The photothermal efficiency of two similar organic nanomaterials, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrene-sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) nanoparticles and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanotubes, are compared. The PEDOT:PSS nanoparticles ranged from 100-200 nm in diameter, while the PEDOT nanotubes ranged from 200-400 nm in diameter and 4-10 microm in length. By changing the aspect ratio of the PEDOT nanomaterials from a spherical to a tubular shape, interesting differences in the optical and electronic properties of the materials were realized. Because of this, the PEDOT nanotubes were shown to generate on average approximately to 10 degrees C better internal heating for similar concentrations compared to the PEDOT:PSS nanoparticles. Cytotoxicity studies of both nanomaterials showed no significant toxicity towards RKO or HCT116 colorectal cancer cells in the absence of NIR light. The NIR-mediated photothermal efficiency of the PEDOT:PSS nanoparticles and the PEDOT nanotubes were compared in-vitro. A cell viability assay was performed and at the highest concentration (0.1 mg/mL) of nanomaterial, cell survival was close to 20% for the PEDOT:PSS nanoparticles with both RKO and HCT116 cells. Consequently, cell survival for the PEDOT nanotubes was less than 5% for both RKO and HCT116 cells. An in-vitro three dimensional tumor model was assembled using collagen gel tissue phantoms. The depth of heat penetration from the PEDOT nanotubes into the tissue phantoms, along with cell viability of RKO and HCT116 cells was determined and quantified. more...

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) exhibit physical properties that render them ideal candidates for application as noninvasive mediators of photothermal cancer ablation. Here, we demonstrate that use of MWCNTs to generate heat in response to near-infrared radiation (NIR) results in thermal destruction of kidney cancer in vitro and in vivo. We document the thermal effects of the therapy through magnetic resonance temperature-mapping and heat shock protein-reactive immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrate that use of MWCNTs enables ablation of tumors with low laser powers (3 W/cm 2 ) and very short treatment times (a single 30-sec treatment) with minimal local toxicity and no evident systemic toxicity. These treatment parameters resulted in complete ablation of tumors and a >3.5-month durable remission in 80% of mice treated with 100 μg of MWCNT. Use of MWCNTs with NIR may be effective in anticancer therapy. more...