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Afterglow luminescence has attracted increasing attention due to its prolonged emission, reduced autofluorescence, and minimized photodamage. However, persistent luminescence typically requires high-energy excitation (e.g., ultraviolet and visible light), which has limited tissue penetration. Herein, we have developed a one-pot surface segregation strategy to construct NIR-excitable afterglow superclusters (UCZG-SCs) by modularly assembling spinel-phase afterglow nanoparticles (Zn 1.1 Ga 1.8 Ge 0.1 O 4 :Cr 3+ ) and hexagonal-phase upconversion nanoparticles (NaYF 4 :Yb,Tm@NaLuF 4 :Y). Since the proposed methodology does not require crystal lattice similarity, it enables fabrication of various NIR-excitable persistent superclusters with great flexibility in size, composition, and luminescent profiles. As a proof of concept, an injectable persistent implant is established by embedding UCZG-SCs in the oleosol of poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid)/ N -methylpyrrolidone, which serves as an inner-body lamp to excite photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy. With its excellent charging-recharging stability, a repetitive phototherapy under periodic 980 nm light illumination is accomplished, which significantly improves phototherapeutic efficiency and restrains tumor growth.

Tumor microenvironment, characterized by dense extracellular matrix and severe hypoxia, has caused pronounced resistance to photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, it has designed an artificial nitric oxide (NO) nanotractor with a unique "motor-cargo" structure, where a photoswitching upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) core serves as the optical engine to harvest NIR light and asymmetrically coated mesoporous silica (SiO 2 ) shell acts as a cargo unit to load nitric oxide (NO) fuel molecule (RBS, Roussin's black salt) and PDT photosensitizer (ZnPc, zinc phthalocyanine). Upon illumination by 980 nm light, the UCNP emits blue light to excite RBS salt and release NO gas. On one hand, NO is used as the driving force to propel the particle with a high speed of ≈194 µm s -1 that generates significant rupture stress (over 0.95 kPa) on cell membrane to promote cellular endocytosis and intratumoral penetration. On the other hand, NO enables to alleviate tumor hypoxia by inhibiting cellular respiration as an oxygen conserver. When the excitation is subsequently switched to 808 nm light, the UCNP emits red light, triggering ZnPc to produce large amount of reactive oxygen species for PDT treatment. This study explores Janus-typed nanostructures for cell-particle interaction and gas-assisted phototherapy, opening avenues for versatile bioapplications., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The motility of bacteria is crucial for navigating competitive environments and is closely linked to physiological activities essential for their survival, such as biofilm development. Precise regulation of bacterial motility enhances our understanding of these complex processes. While optogenetic tools have been used to control and investigate bacterial motility, the excitation light in most existing systems are limited to the visible light spectrum. Here, we introduce a new type of bio-microrobot comprising genetically engineered E. coli cells and orthogonally emissive upconversion nanoparticles that can respond to both 980 nm and 808 nm NIR light. This system allows toggling of bacterial states between tumbling and swimming via simply alternating the NIR light between different wavelengths. It is believed that the use of NIR light with deeper tissue penetration suggests potential applications for these bio-microrobots in areas like targeted drug delivery., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this study, a multi-functional packaging film was fabricated, utilizing the natural polysaccharide chitosan (CS) as the base material, integrating natural blueberry anthocyanin (AN) as pH-responsive indicator, and reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). The implications of addition levels of CNCs on the characteristics of the films were systematically investigated, resulting in that CS-AN-CNCs 9 % film exhibited optimal performance. Specifically, the film showed a substantial enhancement in maximum tensile strength from 15 MPa to 35 MPa; On the other hand, the swelling degree properties, the oxygen permeability and water vapor permeability decreased from 159.2 % to 92.0 %, from 51.7 g/(m 2 d) to 12.2 g/(m 2 d), from 31.6 × 10 -12  g/(m·s·Pa) to 1.6 × 10 -12  g/(m·s·Pa), respectively. Moreover, the CS-AN-CNCs 9 % film exhibited antioxidant, antibacterial, coupled with a color metrically responsive to pH variations, displaying great potential in indicating the shrimp freshness and delaying spoilage. Another notable advantage of the-prepared packaging material lies in its completely biodegradability, therefore meeting the requirement of environmental protection. Therefore, the prepared CS-AN-CNCs film as an intelligent packaging solution with potential applications in food preservation and freshness monitoring applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The low targeted drug delivery efficiency, including poor tumor accumulation and penetration and uncontrolled drug release, leads to the failure of cancer therapy. Herein, a multifunctional supramolecular nanoplatform loading triptolide (TPL/PBAE TK @GA NPs) was fabricated via the host-guest interaction between glycyrrhetinic-acid-modified poly(ethylene glycol)-adamantanecarboxylic acid moiety and reactive oxygen species (ROS)/pH cascade-responsive copolymer poly(β-amino esters)-thioketal (TK)-β-cyclodextrin. TPL/PBAE TK @GA NPs could accumulate in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue effectively, mediated by nanoscale advantage and GA' recognition to specific receptors. The elevated concentration of ROS in tumor microenvironment (TME) quickly breaks the TK linkages, causing the detachment of shell (cyclodextrin) CD layer. Then, the accompanying negative-to-positive charge-reversal of NPs was realized via the PBAE moiety protonation under the slightly acidic TME, significantly enhancing the NPs' cellular internalization. Remarkably, the pH-responsive endo/lysosome escape of PBAE core triggered intracellular TPL burst release, promoting the cancer cell apoptosis, autophagy, and intracellular ROS generation, leading to the self-amplification of ROS in TME. Afterward, the ROS positive-feedback loop was generated to further promote size-shrinkage and charge-reversal of NPs. Both in vitro and in vivo tests verified that TPL/PBAE TK @GA NPs produced a satisfactory anti-HCC therapy outcome. Collectively, this study offers a potential appealing paradigm to enhance TPL-based HCC therapy outcomes via multifunctionalized supramolecular nanodrugs.

Introduction: The insufficient targeting delivery of therapeutic agents greatly impeded the treatment outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Despite the recognized therapeutic advantages of gambogic acid (GBA) in inflammatory diseases, its high delivery efficiency to inflammatory site still limits its clinical application. Self-assembly of drug dimers into carrier-free nanoparticles (NPs) has become a straightforward and attractive approach to develop nanomedicines for RA treatment. Herein, homodimers of GBA were designed to form the carrier-free NPs by self-assembly for RA treatment., Methods: The synthetic gambogic acid dimers (GBA 2 ) were self-assembled into NPs using a one-step solvent evaporation method. The size distribution, morphology, drug-loading efficiency (DLE) and storage stability were evaluated. A molecular dynamic simulation was conducted to gain further insight into the self-assembly mechanisms of GBA 2 /NPs. Besides, we investigated the cytotoxicity, apoptosis and cellular uptake profiles of GBA 2 /NPs in macrophages and osteoclasts. Finally, the specific biodistribution on the ankles of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) mice, and the anti-RA efficacy of the AIA rat model were assessed., Results: GBA 2 /NPs exhibited the uniform spherical structure, possessing excellent colloidal stability, high self-assembly stability, high drug loading and low hemolytic activity. Comparing with GBA, GBA 2 /NPs showed higher cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and apoptosis rate against osteoclasts. In addition, GBA 2 /NPs exhibited much higher accumulation in ankle joints in vivo. As expected, the systematic administration of GBA 2 /NPs resulted in the greater alleviation of arthritic symptoms, cartilage protection, and inflammation, notably the reduced systemic toxicity compared to free GBA., Conclusion: GBA 2 /NPs formed GBA dimers exhibited the superior accumulation in the inflamed joint and anti-RA activity, potentially attributing to the similar extravasation through leaky vasculature and subsequent inflammatory cell-mediated sequestration ("ELVIS") effects in inflamed joint and the enhanced cellular uptake in macrophages and osteoclasts. Our findings provide substantial evidence that self-assembly of GBA 2 /NPs would be a promising therapeutic alternative for RA treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could influence the work reported in this study., (© 2023 Liu et al.)

Enterocyte uptake with high binding efficiency and minor endogenous interference remains a challenge in oral nanocarrier delivery. Enterocyte membrane-biomimetic lipids may universally cooperate with endogenous phosphatidyl choline via a biorthogonal group. In this study, we developed a sophorolipid-associated membrane-biomimetic choline phosphate-poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid hybrid nanoparticle (SDPN). Aided by physical stability in the gastrointestinal tract and rapid mucus diffusion provided by association with sophorolipid, these nanoparticles show improved endocytosis, driven by dipalmitoyl choline phosphate-phosphatidyl choline interaction as well as its optimized membrane fluidity and rigidity. Luteolin- and silibinin-co-loaded with SDPN alleviated breast cancer metastasis in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice by regulating the conversion of tumor-associated M2 macrophages into the M1 phenotype and reducing the proportion of the M2-phenotype through co-action on STAT3 and HIF-1α. In addition, SDPN reduces angiogenesis and regulates the matrix barrier in the tumor microenvironment. In conclusion, this membrane-biomimetic strategy is promising for improving the enterocyte uptake of oral SDPN and shows potential to alleviate breast cancer metastasis., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Oral nanoparticles (NPs) are more suitable for obesity control compared to NPs administered intravenously, as their convenience increases patient compliance. Herein, we developed an oral nano-system to improve the anti-obesity efficacy of celastrol (Cel). The observed enhanced efficacy was mediated by zein core NPs decorated with adipose-homing peptides that were coated with N-trimethylated chitosan. The optimized Cel/AHP-NPs@TMC exhibited spherical morphology by TEM, as well as narrow size distribution (221.76 ± 6.73 nm) and adequate stability in a gastrointestinal environment. Based on the combined delivery advantages of AHP-NPs@TMC - i.e., improved cellular internalization within Caco-2 cells and enhanced white adipose tissue (WAT) vascular targeting - Cel/AHP-NPs@TMC significantly reduced the body weight, blood lipid levels, adipose inflammation, and WAT distribution in diet-induced obese mice without side-effects. In short, this study provides clear evidence that TMC-based oral NPs can effectively improve celastrol for obesity treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Natural isoflavonoids have attracted much attention in the treatment of oral bacterial infections and other diseases due to their excellent antibacterial activity and safety. However, their poor water solubility, instability and low bioavailability seriously limited the practical application. In this study, licoricidin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (LC-CSNPs) were synthesized by self-assembly for improving the dispersion of licoricidin (LC) and strengthening antibacterial and anti-biofilm performance. Compared to free LC, the minimum inhibitory concentration of LC-CSNPs against Streptococcus mutans decreased >2-fold to 26 μg/mL, and LC-CSNPs could ablate 70 % biofilms at this concentration. The enhanced antibacterial activity was mainly attributed to the spontaneous surface adsorption of LC-CSNPs on cell membranes through electrostatic interactions. More valuably, LC-CSNPs had no inhibitory effect on the growth of probiotic. Mechanism study indicated that LC-CSNPs altered the transmembrane potential to cause bacterial cells in a hyperpolarized state, generating ROS to cause cells damage and eventually apoptosis. This work demonstrated that the chitosan-based nanoparticles have great potential in enhancing the dispersibility and antibacterial activity of insoluble isoflavonoids, offering a promising therapeutic strategy for oral infections., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Luminescent Janus nanoparticles refer to a special category of Janus-based nanomaterials that not only exhibit dual-asymmetric surface nature but also attractive optical properties. The introduction of luminescence has endowed conventional Janus nanoparticles with many alluring light-responsive functionalities and broadens their applications in imaging, sensing, nanomotors, photo-based therapy, etc. The past few decades have witnessed significant achievements in this field. This review first summarizes well-established strategies to design and prepare luminescent Janus nanoparticles and then discusses optical properties of luminescent Janus nanoparticles based on downconversion and upconversion photoluminescence mechanisms. Various emerging applications of luminescent Janus nanoparticles are also introduced. Finally, opportunities and future challenges are highlighted with respect to the development of next-generation luminescent Janus nanoparticles with diverse applications., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and immunotherapy are considered promising methods for the treatment of tumors. However, these treatment systems are still suffering from shortcomings such as hypoxia, easy metastasis, and delayed immune response during PDT. Therefore, it is still challenging to establish a programmed and rapid response immune combination therapy platform. Here, we construct a two-step synergetic therapy platform for the treatment of primary tumors and distant tumors using upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and engineered bacteria as therapeutic media. In the first step, erbium ion (Er 3+ )-doped UCNPs act as a photoswitcher to activate the photosensitizer ZnPc to produce 1 O 2 for primary tumor therapy. In the second step, thulium ion (Tm 3+ )-doped UCNPs can emit blue-violet light under the excitation of near-infrared (NIR) light to activate the engineered bacteria to produce interferon (INF-γ) and release them in the intestine, which can not only treat tumors directly but also act with PDT to regulate immune pathways to activate the immune system, resulting in a joint immunotherapy effect to inhibit the growth of distant tumors. As a new type of programmatic combination therapy, we have proved that this platform can jointly activate the body's immune system during PDT and immunization treatment and can effectively inhibit tumor metastasis.

Although upconversion photodynamic therapy (PDT) has gained extensive interests in disease treatment, the intracellular migration pathway of upconversion photosensitizers and underlying cell-particle interaction mechanism is still largely unexplored. In this work photoswitchable upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are reported  that can release orthogonal emissions excited by two near-infrared lights, i.e., red color of 980-nm and green color of 808-nm light excitation. Taking advantage of the dual-emissive property, a methodology based on Pearson's correlation analysis is proposed to verify the accuracy of upconversion luminescence signals under different excitation lights, which has been previously neglected. Meanwhile, we have designed a near-infrared mediated bioimaging nanoplatform that can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) using one light and simultaneously track the location of upconversion photosensitizers using another excitation light. Our study not only depicts the migration pathway of upconversion photosensitizers, but also demonstrates the organelle escape of these upconversion nanoparticles via PCI (photochemical internalization) process. It is believed that our results inspire more efficient synergistic therapy by combining PDT with other modalities in a programmable manner., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been extensively investigated due to their unique capabilities of upconverting near-infrared light (NIR) to visible/ultraviolet emission. However, use of conventional Yb-based UCNPs under 980 nm excitation for biomedical applications is limited due to the overheating caused by the strong light absorption by water at this wavelength. Although this could be improved by using Nd 3+ -Yb 3+ codoped UCNPs and changing the excitation wavelength to 808 nm, the amount of Nd 3+ doping is usually below 20 mol% due to the lattice strain in highly Nd-doped core-shell structures. In this study, we report Nd 3+ -sensitized NaYF 4 :Yb,Er@NaLuF 4 :Nd@NaLuF 4 UCNPs, in which the NaLuF 4 in the intermediate shell can accommodate more structural changes caused by the Nd 3+ doping, and allow for high concentration of Nd 3+ doping (up to 50 mol%). Due to such high Nd 3+ doping in the nanostructure, the red and green upconversion emissions of as-synthesized UCNPs are significantly increased upon 808 nm excitation, which are used to activate two photosensitizer drugs, MC540 (merocyanine 540) and FePc (iron phthalocyanine), for the dual photodynamic and photothermal therapy. The results show that the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon 808 nm light excitation is substantially boosted due to the synergistic therapeutic effect, which significantly prohibits the growth of cancer cells. It is believed that the nanoplatform specially developed in this study can solve the overheating issue associated with the 980 nm light excitation and the combined photodynamic and photothermal therapy can significantly improve the cancer therapy efficacy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The toxicity and inefficient delivery of triptolide (TPL) in tumor therapy have greatly limited the clinical application. Thus, we fabricated a CD44-targeting and tumor microenvironment pH/redox-sensitive nanosystem composed of hyaluronic acid-vitamin E succinate and poly (β-amino esters) (PBAEss) polymers to enhance the TPL-mediated suppression of breast cancer proliferation and lung metastasis., Results: The generated TPL nanoparticles (NPs) had high drug loading efficiency (94.93% ± 2.1%) and a desirable average size (191 nm). Mediated by the PBAEss core, TPL/NPs displayed a pH/redox-dual-stimuli-responsive drug release profile in vitro. Based on the hyaluronic acid coating, TPL/NPs exhibited selective tumor cellular uptake and high tumor tissue accumulation capacity by targeting CD44. Consequently, TPL/NPs induced higher suppression of cell proliferation, blockage of proapoptotic and cell cycle activities, and strong inhibition of cell migration and invasion than that induced by free TPL in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Importantly, TPL/NPs also showed higher efficacy in shrinking tumor size and blocking lung metastasis with decreased systemic toxicity in a 4T1 breast cancer mouse model at an equivalent or lower TPL dosage compared with that of free TPL. Histological immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical analyses in tumor and lung tissue revealed that TPL/NPs induced a high level of apoptosis and suppressed expression of matrix metalloproteinases, which contributed to inhibiting tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis., Conclusion: Collectively, our results demonstrate that TPL/NPs, which combine tumor active targeting and pH/redox-responsive drug release with proapoptotic and antimobility effects, represent a promising candidate in halting breast cancer progression and metastasis while minimizing systemic toxicity.

Flavonoids rich in Tartary buckwheat (TBFs) are the acknowledged health-promoting substances, even with the low oral bioavailability due to its chemical instability in gastrointestinal tract and poor intestinal absorption. To obtain the enhanced oral delivery, TBFs, obtained by an environmentally friendly extraction strategy in advance with the amount of 7.66 ± 0.47 mg rutin/g, was incorporated in biocompatible lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNs). Its high encapsulation efficiency of 96.4% ± 1.1%, narrow size distribution of 61.25 ± 1.83 nm with spherical shape, and good storage stability were observed. Compared to free TBFs, TBFs/LPNs exhibited higher antioxidant activity and significant suppression on the pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in RAW 264.7 macrophage. Moreover, the enhanced delivery of TBFs/LPNs was also embodied in the improved transmembrane transport in Caco-2 monolayer, suggesting its better intestinal absorption, and significantly immune-enhancing efficacy in immunosuppressed mice. These results demonstrated the new perspectives of Tartary buckwheat flavonoids-loaded nanosystem for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.

Rare earth (RE)-doped CaS phosphors have been widely used as light-emitting components in various fields. Nevertheless, the application of nanosized CaS particles is still significantly limited by their poor water resistance and weak luminescence. Herein, a lattice-matching strategy is developed by growing an inert shell of cubic NaYF4 phase on the CaS luminescent core. Due to their similarity in crystal structure, a uniform core–shell heterostructure (CaS:Ce3+@NaYF4) can be obtained, which effectively protects the CaS:Ce3+ core from degradation in aqueous environment and enhances its luminescence intensity. As a proof of concept, a label-free aptasensor is further constructed by combining core–shell CaS:Ce3+@NaYF4 and Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) for the ultrasensitive detection of kanamycin antibiotics. Based on the efficient FRET process, the detection linear range of kanamycin spans from 100 to 1000 nM with a detection limit of 7.8 nM. Besides, the aptasensor shows excellent selectivity towards kanamycin antibiotics, and has been successfully applied to the detection of kanamycin spiked in tap water and milk samples, demonstrating its high potential for sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reductive biodegradation by microorganisms has been widely explored for detoxifying recalcitrant contaminants; however, the biodegradation capacity of microbes is limited by the energy level of the released electrons. Here, we developed a method to self-assemble Shewanella oneidensis-CdS nanoparticle hybrids with significantly improved reductive biodegradation capacity and constructed a living material by encapsulating the hybrids in hydrogels. The material confines the nano-bacteria hybrids and protects them from environmental stress, thus improving their recyclability and long-term stability (degradation capacity unhindered after 4 weeks). The developed living materials exhibited efficient photocatalytic biodegradation of various organic dyes including azo and nitroso dyes. This study highlights the feasibility and benefits of constructing self-assembled nano-bacteria hybrids for bioremediation and sets the stage for the development of novel living materials from nano-bacteria hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is a dangerous gas because it reacts very easily with oxygen to explode, and the accumulation of hydrogen in confined spaces is a safety hazard. Composites consisting of polymers and catalysts are a common getter, where the commonly used catalyst is usually commercial Pd/C. However, it often shows poor compatibility with polymers, making it difficult to form a homogeneous and stable composite. In this work, palladium chloride (PdCl2) was converted to palladium (Pd) nanoparticles by reduction reaction and supported on graphene oxide (GO) modified by silanization. Spherical Pd nanoparticles with a size of 2–36 nm were uniformly distributed over the Silanized graphene oxide (SGO) matrix. When mixed with Pd/SGO, polymethylvinylsiloxane can be cured to silicone rubber (SR) by B2O3. Afterwards, the vinyl in the polymer can interact with hydrogen under the catalysis of Pd through the addition reaction, thus achieving the purpose of hydrogen elimination. The polymer elastomers with excellent self-healing properties and improved hydrogen elimination performance were prepared and were superior to the commercial Pd/C. In addition, excellent environmental adaptability was also demonstrated. The new getter SR-Pd/SGO provides a new avenue for developing polymer getters with superior properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 nanoparticles are decorated on MOF (ZIF-67) derived carbon via an impregnation followed by solid-phase sintering method. The ultra-small Na 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 (~5 nm) particles and underlying mesoporous carbon framework enable fast charge transportation. A high sodium ion diffusion coefficient of 2.47 × 10−13 cm2 s−1 is achieved as measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electron transfer resistance is also greatly reduced by the incorporation of mesoporous carbon. Therefore, such composite material demonstrates outstanding high rate performance as sodium ion battery cathode. Specifically, a discharge capacity of 84.6 mA h g−1 is recorded after 5000 cycles at a current density of 20C (1C = 117 mA g−1) corresponding to 86.3% of its initial capacity. The capacities still reach 74.5 and 62 mA h g−1 after 4500 cycles at high current densities of 30C and 50C, with Coulombic efficiency remains over 98%. • Ultra-small Na 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 nanoparticles (~5 nm) were synthesized. • A high sodium ion diffusion coefficient of 2.47 × 10−13 cm2 s−1 • A high capacity of 84.6 mA h g−1 is recorded after 5000 cycles at a current density of 20C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]