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As an emerging two-dimensional nanomaterial with promising prospects, mono- or few-layer black phosphorus (BP) is potentially toxic to humans. We investigated the effects of two types of BPs on adult male mice through intratracheal instillation. Using the flow cytometry method, the generation, migration, and recruitment of immune cells in different organs have been characterized on days 1, 7, 14, and 21 post-exposure. Compared with small BP (S-BP, lateral size at ∼188 nm), large BP (L-BP, lateral size at ∼326 nm) induced a stronger stress lymphopoiesis and B cell infiltration into the alveolar sac. More importantly, L-BP dramatically increased peripheral neutrophil (NE) counts up to 1.9-fold on day 21 post-exposure. Decreased expression of the CXCR4 on NEs, an important regulator of NE retention in the bone marrow, explained the increased NE release into the circulation induced by L-BP. Therefore, BP triggers systemic inflammation via the disruption of both the generation and migration of inflammatory immune cells.

Metastasis, a complex multi-stage process, is the primary cause of breast cancer-related death. Unfortunately, the molecular mechanisms underlying tumor metastasis have not been fully elucidated thus far. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) dictate the behaviours of tumor cells via multiple signaling pathways, resulting in tumor cell migration and invasion, as well as all stages of cancer progression. LncRNAs function as regulators in shaping cellular activities directly through influencing key genes involved in biological processes of the tumor, and representing promising novel targets in cancer diagnosis and therapy. We therefore sought to define the correlations between lncRNA expression and breast cancer metastasis, especially to investigate the functional pathway underlying lncRNA-mediated tumor invasion and metastasis process.In this study, we compared the lncRNA transcriptome profiles between primary breast cancer 4T1 cells and high metastatic 4T1-LG12 cells. We found that many differently expressed lncRNAs greatly correlated to the metastatic propensity of 4T1-LG12 cells, particularly lncRNA-45, a new lncRNA without functional annotations, which was found to be the most upregulated lncRNA transcribed by an internal region within the regulatory associated with protein of mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase (mTOR) complex 1 (Rptor) gene. LncRNA-45 was uncovered to be involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition process of breast cancer cells, as evidenced by the observation that lncRNA-45 knockdown significantly suppressed the invasive capability of parental 4T1-LG12 cells. Molecular mechanistic investigation showed that reduced activity of mTORC1-associated pathway led to a decrease of total ribosomal protein S6 kinase, polypeptide 1 (S6K1) content and enhancement of autophagy, consequently compromising the metastatic propensity in lncRNA-45 knockdown cells.Overall, our experiments uncovered that the newly identified lncRNA-45 played a regulatory role in breast cancer cell metastasis.

In recent years, targeted therapies and immunotherapeutics, along with conventional chemo- and radiotherapy, have greatly improved cancer treatments. Unfortunately, in cancer patients, anemia, either as a complication of cancer progression or as the result of cancer treatment, undermines the expected therapeutic efficacy. Here, we developed a smart nanosystem based on the palladium nanoplates (PdPLs) to deliver tocilizumab (TCZ, a widely used IL-6R antibody) to the liver for specific blockade of IL-6/IL-6R signaling to correct anemia. With chemical modifications, this nanosystem delivered a large mass of TCZ and enhanced liver delivery, inducing a marked suppression of hepcidin expression as a result of diminished IL-6 signaling. Through this mechanism, significant suppression of tumor progression was realized (at least in part) because of the corrected anemia after treatment.

From the perspective of knowledge specificity and resource dependence, this study takes A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2014 to 2019 as samples to explore the impact of direc...

Rare earth element nanoparticles (REE NPs) or agents have been used extensively in various fields. Human exposure to REE NPs is an increasing concern. To date, REE NP-mediated comprehensive immune responses after incorporation into the body remain unclear. In our study, using gadolinium oxide NPs (Gd

In this study, we comprehensively explored graphene oxide (GO)-induced systemic immune responses and interference with hematopoiesis in mice upon GO intravenous injection. In the liver and spleen, GO led to alterations in immune components at different time points. GO exposure showed an effect on the populations of different types of hepatic macrophages. In the liver, the populations of macrophages mainly affected by GO including Kupffer cells and monocyte-derived macrophages. Stimulated hepatic inflammation led to the infiltration of platelets from the circulation into the liver and decreased peripheral platelets population at day 1. Interestingly, a decreased platelet population was observed on day 7 in the spleen. GO also led to accelerated hematopoiesis in the spleen. Therefore, the possible forced generation of more platelets and the release of mature platelets from the spleen contributed to the increased circulating platelet count on day 7. Therefore, although GO showed a low potential to induce severe inflammation in the liver and spleen, it disrupted hematopoiesis in the spleen, which contributed to fluctuations in circulating platelet counts. The interaction of GO with the immune system warrants comprehensive study for gaining better understanding.

Since most cancer nanomedicine relies on the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect to eradicate tumors, strategies that are able to promote nanoparticle (NP) delivery and extravasation are presupposed to elevate the EPR effect for more effective cancer therapeutics. However, nanothermotherapeutics still suffers from limited drug delivery into tumor sites, for even though numerous efforts have been made to enhance the selective tumor targeting of NPs. In this study, we uncovered that radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT), an important approach in physical therapy that has been overlooked in cancer treatment in the past, can largely improve the EPR-dependent tumor uptake of NPs. We here defined the optimal low dosage and desirable combinatory manner for rESWT in driving NP accumulation towards tumors. Two underlying biophysical mechanisms responsible for the rESWT-enhanced EPR effect were proposed. On one hand, rESWT-conducted compressive and tensile forces could relieve high intra-tumoral pressure; on the other hand, rESWT-induced cavitation bubbles could directly distend and disrupt tumor blood vessels. All these together synergistically promoted vessel vasodilation, tumor perfusion and NP extravasation. Further experiments revealed that the combinatory therapeutics between rESWT and nanothermotherapeutics greatly improved the tumor-killing efficacy. Thus, our findings open a new path to improve EPR-mediated drug delivery with the assistance of rESWT.

The self-pressurization process of a liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank in normal gravity due to the heat leakage through the insulation layer and the exposed supports is investigated using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) approach. The ringlike supports are welded to the upper and lower ends of the cylindrical tank body. The Lee model is used to calculate the interfacial mass transfer, in which the accommodation coefficient is modified by trial test method and compared with the measured liquid level drop rate. In consideration of the possibility of ice formation on the foam and support surfaces exposed to the environment, the thermal boundary conditions are theoretically determined. A numerical strategy for controlling the ullage pressure is also presented to simulate the safety valve. Emphases are put on analyzing the effects of the rated ullage pressure on the evaporation rate. The results show that the whole evaporation process experiences three periods, which are pressure rise, liquid level invariant, and steady evaporation. The rated pressure has almost no effect on the duration of the pressure rise and the steady evaporation period. However, the duration of the liquid level invariant period is linearly related to the rated pressure. All of the mechanisms are explained in detail. Effects of the rated pressure on the temperature and flow distribution are also investigated. The calculation can be used to optimize the cryogenic tank operation for long-time storage.

Enzymes have been used to direct the conversion of prodrugs in cancer therapy. However, non-specific distribution of endogenous enzymes seriously hinders their bioapplications. Herein, we developed a near-infrared-triggered locoregional chemo-photothermal therapy based on the exogenous enzyme delivery and remolded tumor mivroenvironment. The catalytic efficiency of enzymes was enhanced by the hyperthermia, and the therapeutic efficacy of photothermal therapy (PTT) was improved owing to the inhibition of heat shock protein 90 by chemotherapeutics. The locoregional chemo-phototherapy achieved a one-time successful cure in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice model. Thus, a mutually reinforcing feedback loop between PTT and chemotherapy can be initiated by the irradiation, which holds a promising future in cancer therapy.

The cavitating flow of liquid nitrogen (LN2) over a three-dimensional (3D) twisted hydrofoil is simulated based on homogeneous mixture model with LES turbulent closure. The numerical model is validated by modeling the cavitating flow of LN2 over a hydrofoil in Hord’s experiments. The general results, such as the horseshoe U-shape cavity morphology evolutions, are presented and compared with the cases of water cavitation. The emphasis is focused on illustrating the differences of complex shedding mechanisms in thermal cavitation with thermal effects and isothermal cavitation without thermal effects in the complex 3D flow. The shedding frequency of thermal LN2 cavitation is found to be smaller than the isothermal case without thermal effects. The sheet cavity surface is not continuous in thermal cavitation and the maximum cavity volume is also smaller than that of isothermal case. Different from the isothermal cavitating flow in which the strong re-entrant jet initiated in the tail of the cavity rolling up the entire sheet cavity is the main reason causing the cavity shedding, the interactions of cavity and small vortices have great responsibility for the formations of cavity cloud in the thermal cases. The results offer deep insight into the physics of cryogenic cavitation dynamics.

In this paper, the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) combined with the Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model and the permeable Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings (FW-Hpds) acoustic analogy approach are introduced to study the unsteady cavitation behaviors and the radiated noise characteristics of the transient liquid nitrogen (LN2) cavitating flow around a NACA66 (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) hydrofoil. Satisfactory agreement is obtained between the numerical predictions and experimental measurements. The cavitation noise is predicted based on the sound radiation theory for spherical bubbles and compared with the sound pressure levels of non-cavitating flow from the FW-Hpds equation. It is found that the cavity volume acceleration is directly responsible for driving the generation of cavitation noise, and the sound pressure caused by the development of LN2 cavitation is shown to vary with the periodic pulsing cavity volume evolution, indicating a strong link between cavity evolutions and radiated noises. The transient cavitation structures of the sheet and cloud cavitation are well captured, and the evolution features of the cavities and vortex structures are analyzed in detail. The collapse of the detached small cloud cavity downstream is the main mechanism for generating intense acoustic impulses for both sheet and cloud cavitation. While the strong interaction between the re-entrant jet and the main flow results in violent pressure fluctuations, and thus produces instantaneous extreme dipole noise, which accounts for another distinctive mechanism to induce intense acoustic impulses for cloud cavitation, the presented study provides a deep understanding of the nature of cavitation-dominated noise for cryogenic cavitating flow.

Metastasis accounts for the majority of cancer deaths in many tumor types including breast cancer. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the driving force for the occurrence and progression of metastasis, however, no targeted strategies to block the EMT program are currently available to combat metastasis. Diverse engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have been reported to exert promising anti-cancer effects, however, no ENMs have been designed to target EMT. Palladium (Pd) nanomaterials, a type of ENM, have received substantial attention in nanomedicine due to their favorable photothermal performance for cancer therapeutics. Herein, Pd nanoplates (PdPL) were found to be preferentially biodistributed to both primary tumors and metastatic tumors. Importantly, PdPL showed a significant inhibition of lung metastasis with and without near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. Mechanistic investigations revealed that EMT was significantly compromised in breast cancer cells upon the PdPL treatment, which was partially due to the inhibition of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling. Strikingly, the PdPL was found to directly interact with TGF-β proteins to diminish TGF-β functions in activating its downstream signaling, as evidenced by the reduced phosphorylation of Smad2. Notably, TGF-β-independent pathways were also involved in undermining EMT and other important biological processes that are necessary for metastasis. Additionally, NIR irradiation elicited synergistic effects on PdPL-induced inhibition of primary tumors and metastasis. In summary, these results revealed that the PdPL remarkably curbed metastasis by inhibiting EMT signaling, thereby indicating the promising potential of PdPL as a therapeutic agent for treating breast cancer metastasis.

Fluorescence is routinely used for in vivo tracking and imaging of molecules and nanostructures with assuming that the fluorescence intensity is proportional to the dye concentration. Herein, we report the unique tumor-specific fluorescence character of rhodamine B isothiocyanate derivatives (RBITCs), which emits fluorescence selectively in cancerous tissues, including small metastatic tumors, but is quenched in blood and healthy tissues. A preliminary mechanism study shows that binding of the thiourea group in the RBITCs on hemoglobin quenches their fluorescence, but the oxidation of the thiourea by the elevated reactive oxygen species in tumor activates the fluorescence. Thus, the fluorescent intensity of RBITCs is associated with the microenvironment of tissues and positively correlates with the cancer stages. These findings suggest that the RBITCs are not suitable for tracking of cargos in the presence of red blood cells but may be useful for cancer imaging and early diagnosis, and probing the tumor microenvironment.

Additional file 1. Additional figures and table.

Since the advent of graphene in 2004, two-dimensional nanomaterials (2DNMs) have gained attention in various fields due to their unique physicochemical properties. In particular, their large surface area, excellent biocompatibility, and strong surface plasmon resonance absorption provide great potentials for medical applications, such as bioimaging, drug delivery, and phototherapy. As representative 2DNMs, graphene oxide, black phosphorus nanosheets, palladium nanosheets, and molybdenum disulfide nanosheets have been extensively investigated for cancer treatment. This chapter briefly reviews the current status and discusses the future challenges in these research fields.

Gold complexes can serve as efficient photothermal converters for cancer therapy, but their non-biodegradability hinders clinical bioapplications. Although enormous effort has been devoted, the conventionally adopted synthetic methods of biodegradation are characterized by high cost and complicated procedures, which delay the process of further clinical translation of gold complexes. Here, we report a multifunctional poly(amino acid)-gold-magnetic complex with self-degradation properties for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy via simple and green chemistry methods. Nanoparticles of ∼3 nm in the biodegradation product were observed in simulated body fluid in 4 days. The biodegradability mainly benefits from the weakened internal electrostatic interaction of the poly(amino acid) by the ions in simulated body fluid. It is demonstrated that the poly(amino acid)-gold-magnetic complex has great cellular endocytosis by taking advantage of the guanidine group in arginine and possesses multimodal imaging and efficient tumor ablation (94%). This study reports a possibility for gold-magnetic complexes composed of poly(amino acid) to serve as a biodegradable nanotherapeutic for clinical applications.

Carbon black (CB), a core elemental carbon component of airborne particles, has been used as a model material to study environmental safety and health impacts of airborne particles. Although potential adverse effects of CB have been reported, limited knowledge is available regarding CB-induced metabolic disorders and secondary effects distant from primary target organs, such as the effects on joints. The knee cavity is a relatively closed space along the peripheral circulation route with a slow rate of interchange of nutrition with blood. While epidemiologic studies have indicated that airborne particle exposure may affect the occurrence and severity of inflammatory knee diseases, no research has been performed to understand the potential hazardous direct/indirect interactions between particles and knee cells. Herein, we have scrutinized the toxicity of four commercial nano-sized CB samples in the lung and a distant site: knee joint. Our results indicated that CB triggered pulmonary and systemic inflammation upon inhalation exposure, and, more strikingly, CB also elicited injuries of the knee joint, as demonstrated by thickened synovial membrane, suggesting disordered cellular metabolism within the knee joint. Our data recognized the CB toxicity profiles to macrophages as characterized by pro-inflammatory reactions, and also defined an activated metabolic state of chondrocytes, as evidenced by metalloproteinase (MMP) induction. Of note, remarkable variations were also found for these changes induced by these four CB samples, due to their distinct physicochemical properties. Collectively, our results uncovered a significant toxicity of CB inhalation exposure to the knee joint, as reflected by metabolic activation of chondrocytes, and, more importantly, these findings unearthed CB-induced metabolic disorders and secondary effects owing to systemic pro-inflammatory conditions upon CB exposure, in addition to the likelihood of direct toxicity to knee cells.

Thus far, tremendous efforts have been made to understand the biosafety of metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs). Nevertheless, most previous studies focused on specific adverse outcomes of MNPs at unrealistically high concentrations with little relevance to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) exposure thresholds, and failed to comprehensively evaluate their toxicity profiles. To address these challenges, we here endeavored to multihierarchically profile the hazard effects of various popularly used MNPs in macrophages under low exposure doses. At these doses, no remarkable cell viability drop and cell death were induced. However, a cellular antioxidant defense system was seen to be initiated in cells by all MNPs even at these low concentrations, albeit to a differential extent and through different pathways, as reflected by differential induction of the antioxidant enzymes and Nrf2 signaling. Regarding inflammation, rare earth oxide nanomaterials (REOs) except nCeO2 greatly increa...

Rationale: Graphene oxide (GO) has shown great promises in biomedical applications, such as drug delivery and thermotherapeutics, owing to its extraordinary physicochemical properties. Nonetheless, current biomedical applications of GO materials are premised on the basis of predesigned functions, and little consideration has been given to the influence of bio-transformation in the physiological environment on the physicochemical properties and predesigned functionalities of these materials. Hence, it is crucial to uncover the possible influence on GO's physicochemical properties and predesigned functionalities for better applications. Methods: Bio-transformed GOs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra, Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared transmission (FT-IR) spectra. The morphologies of various GO materials were assessed via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. The photothermal (PTT) performance of different GO materials in vitro and in vivo were measured using 808 nm laser at a power density of 2 W/cm2. The PTT efficacy was determined using transplanted 4T1 cells-derived breast tumors in mice. Results: Bio-transformation of GO in the lung (a main target organ for GO to localize in vivo) can induce dramatic changes to its physicochemical properties and morphology, and consequently, its performances in biomedical applications. Specifically, GO underwent significant reduction in two simulated lung fluids, Gamble's solution and artificial lysosomal fluid (ALF), as evidenced by the increase of C/O ratio (the ratio of C content to O content) relative to pristine GO. Bio-transformation also altered GO's morphology, characterized by sheet folding and wrinkle formation. Intriguingly, bio-transformation elevated the PTT performance of GO in vitro, and this elevation further facilitated PTT-based tumor-killing efficacy in tumor cells in vitro and in a mouse model with transplanted tumors. Bio-transformation also compromised the interaction between drug with GO, leading to reduced drug adsorption, as tested using doxorubicin (DOX). Conclusions: Transformation in Gamble's solution and ALF resulted in varied degrees of improved performances of GO, due to the differential effects on GO's physicochemical properties. Our findings unveiled an overlooked impact of GO bio-transformation, and unearthed a favorable trait of GO materials in thermotherapeutics and drug delivery in the lung microenvironment.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a promising non-invasive therapeutic modality. Compared to photo-inspired therapy, SDT provides many opportunities and benefits, including deeper tissue penetration, high precision, less side effects, and good patient compliance. Thanks to the facile engineerable nature of nanotechnology, nanoparticles-based sonosensitizers exhibit predominant advantages, such as increased SDT efficacy, binding avidity, and targeting specificity. This review aims to summarize the possible mechanisms of SDT, which can be expected to provide the theoretical basis for SDT development in the future. We also extensively discuss nanoparticle-assisted sonosensitizers to enhance the outcome of SDT. Additionally, we focus on the potential strategy of combinational SDT with other therapeutic modalities and discuss the limitations and challenges of SDT toward clinical applications.

Pulsating heat pipes (PHPs) are promising heat transfer devices due to their high heat transfer rate, simple construction, and low manufacturing cost. Most previous investigations focused mainly on...

Graphene oxide (GO) and its derivatives (e.g., reduced graphene oxide, RGO) have shown great promise in biomedicine. Although many studies have been conducted to understand the relative cyto-compatibility between GO and RGO materials, the results are inconclusive and controversial. In this study, we compared the biocompatibility aspects (e.g. cytotoxicity, pro-inflammatory effects and impairment of cellular morphology) between parental and reduced GOs towards macrophages using primary bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and J774A.1 cell line. Two RGOs (RGO1 and RGO2) with differential reduction levels relative to the parental GO were prepared. Intriguingly, besides loss of oxygen-containing functional groups, significant morphological alteration of GO occurred, from the sheet-like structure to a polygonal curled shape for RGO, without significant aggregation in biological medium. Cytotoxicity assessment unveiled that the RGOs were more toxic than pristine GO to both types of cells. It was surprising to find for the first time (to our knowledge) that GO and RGOs elicited different effects on the morphological changes of BMDMs, as reflected by elongated protrusions from GO treatment and shortened protrusions from the RGOs. Furthermore, RGOs induced greater pro-inflammatory responses than GO, especially in BMDMs. Compromised cyto-compatibility of RGOs was attributable (at least partially) to their greater oxidative stress in macrophages. Mechanistically, these differences in bio-reactivities between GO and RGO should be boiled down to (at least in part) the synergistic effects from the variation of oxygen-containing functional groups and the distinct morphology in between. This study unearthed the crucial contribution of reduction-mediated detrimental cellular effects between GO and RGO towards macrophages.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been attractive for nanomedicine because of their pronounced optical properties. Here, we customerized the methods to synthesize two types of gold nanostars, Au nanostars-1 and Au nanostars-2, which have different spire lengths and optical properties, and also spherical AuNPs. Compared to nanospheres, gold nanostars were less toxic to a variety of cells, including macrophages. Au nanostars-1 and Au nanostars-2 also manifested a similar pattern of tissue distribution upon in vivo administration in mice to that of nanospheres, and but reveled less liver retention than nanospheres. Due to their strong absorption in the near-infrared (NIR), Au nanostars-2 induced a strong hyperthermia effect in vitro upon excitation at 808 nm, and elicited a robust photothermal therapy (PTT) efficacy in ablating tumors in a mouse model of orthotopic breast cancer using 4T1 breast cancer cells. Meanwhile, Au nanostars-1 showed a great capability to enhance the Raman signal through surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in 4T1 cells. Our combined results opened a new avenue to develop Au nanostars for cancer imaging and therapy.

In breast cancer chemophotothermal therapy, it is a great challenge for the development of multifunctional nanoagents for precision targeting and the effective treatment of tumors, especially for metastasis. Herein, we successfully design and synthesize a multifunctional black phosphorus (BP)-based nanoagent, BP/DTX@PLGA, to address this challenge. In this composite nanoagent, BP quantum dots (BPQDs) are loaded into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) with additional conjugation of a chemotherapeutic agent, docetaxel (DTX). The in vivo distribution results demonstrate that BP/DTX@PLGA shows striking tropism for targeting both primary tumors and lung metastatic tumors. Moreover, BP/DTX@PLGA exhibits outstanding controllable chemophotothermal combinatory therapeutics, which dramatically improves the efficacy of photothermal tumor ablation when combined with near-light irradiation. Mechanistically, accelerated DTX release from the nanocomplex upon heating and thermal treatment per se synergistically incurs apoptosis-dependent cell death, resulting in the elimination of lung metastasis. Meanwhile, in vitro and in vivo results further confirm that BP/DTX@PLGA possesses good biocompatibility. This study provides a promising BP-based multimodal nanoagent to constrain cancer metastasis.

Nanozymes have attracted extensive interest owing to their high stability, low cost and easy preparation, especially in the field of cancer therapy. However, the relatively low catalytic activity of nanozymes in the tumor microenvironment (TME) has limited their applications. Herein, we report a novel nanozyme (PtFe@Fe3 O4 ) with dual enzyme-like activities for highly efficient tumor catalytic therapy. PtFe@Fe3 O4 shows the intrinsic photothermal effect as well as photo-enhanced peroxidase-like and catalase-like activities in the acidic TME, thereby effectively killing tumor cells and overcoming the tumor hypoxia. Importantly, a possible photo-enhanced synergistic catalytic mechanism of PtFe@Fe3 O4 was first disclosed. We believe that this work will advance the development of nanozymes in tumor catalytic therapy.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), the most serious complication of diabetes mellitus, can induce high morbidity, the need to amputate lower extremities, and even death. Although many adjunctive strategies have been applied for the treatment of DFUs, the low treatment efficiency, potential side effects, and high cost are still huge challenges. Recently, nanomaterial-based drug delivery systems (NDDSs) have achieved targeted drug delivery and controlled drug release, offering great promises in various therapeutics for diverse disorders. Additionally, the radial extracorporeal shock wave (rESW) has been shown to function as a robust trigger source for the NDDS to release its contents, as the rESW harbors a potent capability in generating pressure waves and in creating the cavitation effect. Here, we explored the performance of oxygen-loaded nanoperfluorocarbon (Nano-PFC) combined with the rESW as a treatment for DFUs. Prior to in vivo assessment, we first demonstrated the high oxygen affinity in vitro and great biocompatibility of Nano-PFC. Moreover, the rESW-responsive oxygen release behavior from oxygen-saturated Nano-PFC was also successfully verified in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, the wound healing of DFUs was significantly accelerated due to improved blood microcirculation, which was a result of rESW therapy (rESWT), and the targeted release of oxygen into the wound from oxygen-loaded Nano-PFC, which was triggered by the rESW. Collectively, the oxygen-saturated Nano-PFC and rESW provide a completely new approach to treat DFUs, and this study highlights the advantages of combining nanotechnology with rESW in therapeutics.

Graphite/Al composites were fabricated by vacuum hot pressing technology in this study. The main factors affecting the thermal conductivity (TC) of graphite/Al composites were deeply investigated by experimental and modeling study. The results showed that the TC of graphite/Al composite can be improved via designing the preferred orientation of graphite flakes, selecting graphite flakes with large diameter, increasing the content of graphite flakes in graphite/Al composite and solving the poor wettability between Al and graphite. The modified model can well predict the heat transfer behavior of graphite/Al composite.

The bacterial magnetic nanoparticles (BMPs) are biomineralized by the magnetotactic bacteria and naturally covered with a layer of biomembrane. Herein, BMPs were isolated and firstly used for the photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer under the guidance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that BMPs could rapidly convert the energy of 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) light into heat. After internalization by the HepG2 tumor cells, BMPs with good biocompatibility could induce an efficient killing effect after NIR light irradiation, along with a change of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). The in vivo therapy also confirms that PTT with BMPs could effectively and completely ablate the tumor in mice without inducing observable toxicity. T2-weighted MRI showed a clear tumor boundary and a 25% enhancement of negative contrast enhancement at the tumor site, suggesting that BMPs can act as an effective MRI contrast agent for guiding the PTT. Our results indicate that BMPs could be a potential theranostic agent for simultaneous MRI and PTT of cancer.

The graphite/Al composites with SiC coated on graphite surface (graphite-SiC/Al) were fabricated by vacuum hot pressing technology. The microstructures and interfaces of graphite-SiC/Al composites were studied and the effect of SiC coated on graphite surface on thermal conductivity and bending strength were investigated. The results showed the 250 nm SiC layer was formed during coating process and this interlayer inhibited the formation of Al4C3. The thermal conductivity of the graphite-SiC/Al composite in x-y plane direction increased from 528 to 735 W/m K as the volume fraction of the graphite increased from 40 to 70%. The introduction of nano SiC layer indeed improved the interfacial thermal conductance and thus increased the thermal conductivity of the composites. The bending strength of graphite/Al composites were significantly enhanced after SiC coated and the maximum bending strength was 90 MPa when the volume fraction of graphite was 40%. The fracture mechanism and the reasons for the improvement of bending strength were deeply discussed in this study. Keywords: Graphite/Al composite, Thermal conductivity, Bending strength

Carbon-based nanomaterials have been developed for photothermal cancer therapy, but it is still a great challenge to fabricate their multifunctional counterparts with facile methods, good biocompatibility and dispersity, and high efficiency for cancer theranostics. In this work, an alternative multifunctional nanoplatform is developed based on carbon–silica nanocapsules with gold nanoparticle in the cavity (Au@CSN) for cancer theranostics. The encapsulated chemodrug doxorubicin can be released from the Au@CSN with mesoporous and hollow structure in a near-infrared light and pH stimuli-responsive manner, facilitating spatiotemporal therapy to decrease off-target toxicity. The nanocapsules with efficient photothermal conversion and excellent biocompatibility achieve a synergistic effect of photothermal and chemotherapy. Furthermore, the nanocapsules can act as a multimodal imaging agent of computed tomography and photoacoustic tomography imaging for guiding the therapy. This new design platform can provide a promising strategy for precise cancer theranostics.

Although gold nanoshells are widely considered as one of the promising photothermal nanomaterials used for biomedicine, the high cost, low yield and poor stability severely limit their potential application in clinical trials. Herein, robust gold nanoshells on silica nanorattles (GSNs) were easily prepared in a high yield by an improved seed-mediated method employing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilizing and capping agent. The present method is very simple, effective and reproducible and can well control the growth process of gold nanoshells. The as-prepared GSNs have a narrow size distribution (

Iron chelation has already been proposed to be a feasible strategy for cancer therapeutics in that reinforced iron demand is demonstrated in cancer cells, and quite a few iron chelators have been developed for this purpose. Desferrioxamine (DFO), an iron chelator approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has been extensively examined to remove extra iron. However, DFO has been found to harbor limited efficacies in combating cancer cells due to poor cellular permeability. In the current study, we synthesized the DFO derivative, named as desferrioxamine-caffeine dimer (DFCAF) by linking DFO to caffeine with high purity and excellent stability. Our data showed that DFCAF displayed greater cellular permeability to chelate intracellular iron in 4T1 breast cancer cells than DFO, posing more inhibition on cell growth and cellular motility/invasion. Importantly, DFCAF was uncovered to remarkably deplete cancer stem cells (CSCs), as characterized by the remarkable decrease of the CD44+/high/CD24-/low and ALDH+/high subpopulation. In parallel, DFCAF was also found to greatly reverse epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), suggesting the potential application to restrain tumor progression and metastasis. Collectively, these data unveiled the improved efficacy to target cancer cells and to deplete CSCs, thus opening a new path for better cancer therapeutics through iron chelation.

Environmental exposure and health risk upon engineered nanomaterials are increasingly concerned. The family of mesoporous carbon nanomaterials (MCNs) is a rising star in nanotechnology for multidisciplinary research with versatile applications in electronics, energy and gas storage, and biomedicine. Meanwhile, there is mounting concern on their environmental health risks due to the growing production and usage of MCNs. The lung is the primary site for particle invasion under environmental exposure to nanomaterials. Here, we studied the comprehensive toxicological profile of MCNs in the lung under the scenario of moderate environmental exposure. It was found that at a low concentration of 10μg/mL MCNs induced biophysical inhibition of natural pulmonary surfactant. Moreover, MCNs at similar concentrations reduced viability of J774A.1 macrophages and lung epithelial A549 cells. Incubating with nature pulmonary surfactant effectively reduced the cytotoxicity of MCNs. Regarding the pro-inflammatory responses, MCNs activated macrophages in vitro, and stimulated lung inflammation in mice after inhalation exposure, associated with lung fibrosis. Moreover, we found that the size of MCNs played a significant role in regulating cytotoxicity and pro-inflammatory potential of this nanomaterial. In general, larger MCNs induced more pronounced cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory effects than their smaller counterparts. Our results provided valuable information on the toxicological profile and environmental health risks of MCNs, and suggested that fine-tuning the size of MCNs could be a practical precautionary design strategy to increase safety and biocompatibility of this nanomaterial.

Large scale cryogenic air separation is the most efficient and cost-effective approach to produce high-purity air products by present. Structured packing columns (SPC) are widely focused and applied due to their characteristics of high efficiency and energy saving in the cryogenic distillation process. The optimal design of the SPC is to reduce the energy consumption and initial investment, while it is a highly nonlinear and multivariable problem. The coexistence of real variables and integer variables, such as the flow rates and the positions of materials at the inlets/outlets, makes the optimization become a typical mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem. The purpose of this paper is to study the optimal design method for the cryogenic SPC using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. A modified PSO for handling the MINLP problem (MI-PSO) is proposed. A multi-objective optimal design for the SPC in cryogenic air separation plant with the capacity of 17,000 Nm3/h is investigated as a instance. By MI-PSO algorithm, the total exergy loss theoretically reduces 36.3% and the main condenser heat load decreases 5.4% after optimization, which can provide test prediction for the cryogenic distillation experiment.

In article number 1901378, Qi Yang, Huiyu Liu, and co‐workers develop a dual modality photothermal/photodynamic thrombolytic strategy via targeting nanoagents with GPIIb/IIIa receptors targeting agents, effectively breaking the fibrin skeleton and preventing high bleeding risk of systematic fibrinolytic therapy.

Photothermal–radiotherapy (PT–RT) is an effective strategy for relieving hypoxia‐related radiotherapy resistance and inducing tumor‐specific cell apoptosis/necrosis. Nevertheless, limited tissue penetration of near‐infrared (NIR) laser and the serious side effects of high‐dose radiation severely hinder its applications for deep tumors. An interventional photothermal–brachytherapy (IPT–BT) technology is proposed here for the internal site‐specific treatment of deep tumors. This technology utilizes a kind of biodegradable honeycomb‐like gold nanoparticles (HGNs) acting as both internal photothermal agents and radiosensitizers. A high tumor inhibition rate of 96.6% is achieved in SW1990 orthotopic pancreatic tumor‐bearing mice by HGNs‐mediated IPT–BT synergistic therapy. Interestingly, this approach effectively causes double‐stranded DNA damage and improves the oxygen supply and the penetration of nanoparticles inside the tumor. Therefore, it is believed that this strategy may open up a new avenue for PT–RT synergistic therapy of deep malignant tumors and has a significant impact on the future clinical translation.

Novel upconversion NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+/TiO2 core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized and used to prepare the photoelectrode (PE) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The morphology, structure, photoluminescence characterization of the NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+/TiO2 core–shell NPs and the photoelectric performance, alternating current impedance spectroscopy of DSSCs are characterized using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, upconversion luminescence (UCL) spectrofluorimetry and electrochemistry. Compared with the pure TiO2 PE or the NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ upconversion NPs and TiO2 simply mixed prepared PE as the volume ratio of the core–shell structure, the DSSCs with the upconversion core–shell PE show a greater photovoltaic efficiency. The energy conversion efficiency of the DSSCs with a NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+/TiO2 PE is 23.1% higher than with a pure TiO2 PE and 99.1% higher than with a mixed PE using the same conditions. This enhancement is due to the UCL core extending the spectral response range of DSSCs to the infrared region and their particular shell structure, retaining its semiconductor character. This method represents a novel approach to increase the efficiencies of DSSCs.

Mesoporous carbon nanospheres containing porphyrin-like metal centers (denoted as "PMCS") are successfully synthesized by the pyrolysis of an imidazolate framework using a mesoporous-silica protection strategy. The PMCS allow infrared and photoacoustic imaging and synergetic photothermal therapy/photodynamic therapy derived from the porphyrin-like moieties, offering the possibility of real-time monitoring of therapeutic processes and image-guided precise conformal phototherapy. PMCS thus represent a novel multifunctional theranostic platform for improved treatment efficiencies.

Recently, mesoporous/hollow silica (MHSN) has attracted considerable attention for their biomedical application. With their special structure and properties of high surface, uniformly sized, excellent biocompatibility, easily surface functionalization, ease of large-scale synthesis and low cost, MHSN-based nanoparticles show great advantages in drug delivery and imaging system. In this chapter, we discuss the recent research progress of MHSN-based theranostic applications. Firstly, the development of MHSN-based fluorescent optical imaging and medical imaging is introduced. Then, we overview the building up and application of MHSN-based imaging-guided therapies, as well as the understanding of the functional modalities which may affect the transport, delivery, and release of the MHSN loading cargos. In the end, the potential limitation and challenge related to the successful applications of multifunctional MHSN nanomaterials in clinical are concluded. We anticipate that the MHSN-based nanocomposites will open a new era of inorganic nanomaterials for the effective personalized cancer therapy in clinical in the near future.

Although the combination therapy of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy has improved survival rates in selected patients with peritoneal metastasis (PM), therapeutic efficiency remains a challenge due to low targeting specificity, poor tissue penetration of chemotherapy drugs, and incomplete tumor clearance. To overcome these drawbacks, novel gold nanoshells conjugated with indocyanine green (I-GSNs) for image-guided photothermal adjunctive CRS (iPTA-CRS) are synthesized. The as-prepared nanoparticles effectively accumulate both in subcutaneously transplanted and PM models. I-GSN-mediated near-infrared imaging provides sufficient optical contrast for preoperative guidance and intraoperative resection with the accurate detection of visible/microtumor lesions (