Designing a Hypoxia-Activated Sensing Platform Using an Azo Group-Triggered Reaction with the Formation of Silicon Nanoparticles.

Hypoxia is known as a specific signal of various diseases, such as liver fibrosis. We designed a hypoxia-sensitive fluorometric approach that cleaved the azo bond (N═N) in the presence of hypoxia-controlled agents (sodium dithionite and azoreductase). 4-(2-Pyridylazo) resorcinol (Py-N═N-RC) bears a desirable hypoxia-responsive linker (N═N), and its azo bond breakup can only occur in the presence of sodium dithionite and azoreductase and leads to the release of 2,4-dihydroxyaniline, which can react with 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethylamino]propyltrimethoxysilane to generate yellow fluorescent silicon nanoparticles.

A Versatile Nanozyme-Based NADH Circulating Oxidation Reactor for Tumor Therapy through Triple Cellular Metabolism Disruption.

Nanozyme-based metabolic regulation triggered by tumor-specific endogenous stimuli has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy for tumors. The current efficacy, however, is constrained by the limited concentration of endogenous substrates and the metabolic plasticity of tumors. Consequently, the implementation of efficient metabolic regulation in tumor therapy is urgently needed.

Highly Enhancing CO Photoreduction by Metallization of an Imidazole-linked Robust Covalent Organic Framework.

Converting CO into value-added chemicals to solve the issues caused by carbon emission is promising but challenging. Herein, by embedding metal ions (Co , Ni , Cu , and Zn ) into an imidazole-linked robust photosensitive covalent organic framework (PyPor-COF), effective photocatalysts for CO conversion are rationally designed and constructed. Characterizations display that all of the metallized PyPor-COFs (M-PyPor-COFs) display remarkably high enhancement in their photochemical properties.

Metal-Organic Frameworks@Au Nanoreactor as an Oxidative Stress Amplifier for Enhanced Tumor Photodynamic Therapy through the Alleviation of Hypoxemia and the Depletion of Glutathione.

Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) based on the generation of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) has drawn great attention in tumor treatment. However, the hypoxia tumor microenvironment (TME) inhibits the generation efficacy of ROS, and the high glutathione (GSH) level in TME could neutralize the generated ROS, both of which strongly reduce the therapeutic efficiency of PDT. In this work, we first constructed the porphyrinic metal-organic framework PCN-224.

Carbon dots nanophotosensitizers with tunable reactive oxygen species generation for mitochondrion-targeted type I/II photodynamic therapy.

Carbon dots (CDs) have emerged as promising nanomaterials for bioimaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, designing red-emissive CDs (RCDs) with tunable type I and type II reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation to simultaneously meet PDT applications in aerobic and hypoxic scenarios still remain major challenges. Herein, three types of RCDs with maximum emission at approximately 680 nm are successfully prepared.

Iron phthalocyanine-derived nanozyme as dual reactive oxygen species generation accelerator for photothermally enhanced tumor catalytic therapy.

Nanozymes are artificial enzymes that mimic natural enzyme-like activities and show great promise for tumor catalytic therapy. However, new nanozymes with multiple catalytic activities for multifunctional nanotheranostic use remain challenging to design. Herein, for the first time, iron phthalocyanine (Fe(II)Pc) was assembled with poly(l-lactide-co-glycolide)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) to prepare an Fe(II)Pc assembly (denoted as Fe(II)Pc-A).

Red Emissive Carbon Dots Prepared from Polymers as an Efficient Nanocarrier for Coptisine Delivery in vivo and in vitro.

Negatively charged fluorescent carbon dots (CDs, E =608 nm) were hydrothermally prepared from thiophene phenylpropionic acid polymers and then successfully loaded with the positively charged anticancer cargo coptisine, which suffers from poor bioavailability. The formed CD-coptisine complexes were thoroughly characterized by particle size, morphology, drug loading efficiency, drug release, cellular uptake and cellular toxicity in vitro and antitumor activities in vivo. In this nano-carrier system, red emissive CDs possess multiple advantages as follows: 1) high drug loading efficiency (>96 %); 2) sustained drug release; 3) enhanced drug efficacy towards cancer cells; 4) EPR effect; 5) drug release tracing with near-infrared imaging.

Hypocrellin Derivative-Loaded Calcium Phosphate Nanorods as NIR Light-Triggered Phototheranostic Agents with Enhanced Tumor Accumulation for Cancer Therapy.

Dopamine modified hypocrellin B (DAHB) derivative-loaded calcium phosphate nanorods (DAHB@CaP NRs) were prepared as a novel phototheranostic agent for effective tumor imaging and therapy. DAHB@CaP NRs were obtained through microwave treatment using DAHB, CaCl , NH ⋅H O, and H PO as precursors. The DAHB@CaP NRs possessed the following advantages: 1) efficient absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region from 650 nm to 800 nm; 2) maximum NIR emission at approximately 735 nm; 3) enhanced cellular uptake efficiency in vitro and in vivo; and 4) efficient inhibition of tumor growth and low biotoxicity.

Biodegradable Natural Product-Based Nanoparticles for Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging-Guided Sonodynamic Therapy.

Natural products show high potential for clinical translation because of their specific biological activities and molecular structure diversities. Sonosensitizers that originate from natural products play a crucial role as anti-inflammatory and anticancer agents. Herein, hypocrellin-derivative nanoparticles (APHB NPs) were constructed for synchronous near-infrared fluorescence (NIR FL) imaging and sonodynamic therapy (SDT) for deep-seated tumors in vivo.

Pheophytin Derived Near-Infrared-Light Responsive Carbon Dot Assembly as a New Phototheranotic Agent for Bioimaging and Photodynamic Therapy.

Carbon dots (CDs), a kind of phototheranostic agent with the capability of simultaneous bioimaging and phototherapy [i.e., photodynamic therapy (PDT) or photothermal therapy (PTT)], have received considerable attention because of their remarkable properties, including flexibility for surface modification, high biocompatibility, low toxicity and photo-induced activity for malignant tumor cells.

Modifying Mechanical, Optical Properties and Thermal Processability of Iridescent Cellulose Nanocrystal Films Using Ionic Liquid.

Iridescent films formed from the self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are brittle and difficult to handle or integrate within an industrial process. Here we present a simple approach to prepare iridescent CNC films with tunable pliability and coloration through the addition of ionic liquids (ILs) of 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AmimCl) as plasticizers. By using the undried CNC film as a filter membrane and ILs solution as a leaching liquid, it was found that the filtration process made ILs uniformly interpenetrate into CNC film due to the strong ionic interaction between CNC and AmimCl.

Tuning the iridescence of chiral nematic cellulose nanocrystal films with a vacuum-assisted self-assembly technique.

Iridescent films composed of the chiral nematic liquid crystal phase of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) have attracted significant interest due to their fascinating optical properties. However, the current fabrication method, i.e.