Monitoring the Mitochondrial Viscosity Changes During Cuproptosis with Iridium(III) Complex Probe Phosphorescence Lifetime Imaging.

Cuproptosis is a novel copper-dependent form of programmed cell death, displaying important regulatory functions in many human diseases, including cancer. However, the relationship between the changes in mitochondrial viscosity, a key factor associated with cellular malfunction, and cuproptosis is still unclear. Herein, we prepared a phosphorescent iridium (Ir) complex probe for precisely monitoring the changes of mitochondrial viscosity during cuprotosis phosphorescence lifetime imaging.

A "turn-on" red cyclometalated iridium (III) complex for long-term tracking the diffusion of CORM-2 in cells and zebrafish.

Transition metal carbonyl compound of CO releasing molecules (CORMs) are widely used to treat arthritis, tumor and immune. They play a physiological role by directly acting on target tissues to release CO for disease treatment without matrix metabolism after dissolution. It is important to track the level and diffusion process of CORMs in vivo to control CO dose and distribution, facilitating to understand the roles of CORMs in disease treatment.

Boric acid group-functional ruthenium complex as a novel fluorescence probe for robust detection of propyl gallate and tert-butyl hydroquinone by tuning the pH.

This study reported a ruthenium complex-based fluorescence probe, achieving rapid and sequential detection of propyl gallate (PG) and tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) for the first time by tuning pH only. Under 480 nm excitation, probe exhibited intensive emission at 620 nm, which was selectively quenched by PG at pH 7.0 due to the covalent binding between the boric acid of probe and o-diphenol hydroxyl of PG.

Comparative analysis of chloroplast genomes of endangered heterostylous species and its closely related species.

, well known for its heterostyly, is the largest genus in the family Primulaceae with more than 500 species. The considerable species number has introduced a huge challenge for taxonomy. The phylogenetic relationships among still maintain unresolved due to frequent hybridization and introgression between closely related species.

A platinum-ruthenium hybrid prodrug with multi-enzymatic activities for chemo-catalytic therapy of hypoxic tumors.

Regulation of tumor hypoxia and redox homeostasis is a promising strategy for cancer therapy. Nanocatalytic medicine has played more and more important roles in this field because it can cleverly convert the efficiency and selectivity of catalysis into high therapeutic efficiency. Herein, we developed a platinum(iv)-ruthenium hybrid prodrug, named as Pt-Ru, for efficient chemo-catalytic synergistic therapy of hypoxic tumors.

Toxicity of CuS/CdS semiconductor nanocomposites to liver cells and mice liver.

Semiconductor nanomaterials not only bring great convenience to peoples lives but also become a potential hazard to human health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of CuS/CdS nanocomposites in hepatocytes and mice liver. The CuS/CdS semiconductor nanocomposites were synthesized by a biomimetic synthesis - ion exchange strategy.

Heptaphylline suppresses the proliferation and migration of human bladder cancer cells via induction of intrinsic apoptosis, autophagy and inhibition of β-catenin signalling pathway.

The Editors of JBUON issue an Expression of Concern to 'Heptaphylline suppresses the proliferation and migration of human bladder cancer cells via induction of intrinsic apoptosis, autophagy and inhibition of β-catenin signalling pathway', by An Xu, Gang-Gang Yang, Yu Zhang, Shu-Tian Zhao, JBUON 2020;25(1):274-279; PMID: 32277642. Following the publication of the above article, readers drew to our attention that part of the data was possibly unreliable. We sent emails to the authors with a request to provide the raw data to prove the originality, but received no reply.

Regulating Tumor N -Methyladenosine Methylation Landscape using Hypoxia-Modulating OsS Nanoparticles.

The epigenetic dysregulation and hypoxia are two important factors that drive tumor malignancy, and N -methyladenosine (m A) in mRNA is involved in the regulation of gene expression. Herein, a nanocatalyst OsS -PEG (PEG = poly(ethylene glycol)) nanoparticles (NPs) as O modulator is developed to improve tumor hypoxia. OsS -PEG NPs can significantly downregulate genes involved in hypoxia pathway.

Precisely Assembled Nanoparticles against Cisplatin Resistance via Cancer-Specific Targeting of Mitochondria and Imaging-Guided Chemo-Photothermal Therapy.

Cisplatin resistance in tumor cells is known mainly due to the reduced accumulation of platinum ions by efflux, detoxification by intracellular GSH, and nucleotide excision repair machinery-mediated nuclear DNA repair. In this work, theranostic , which are precisely self-assembled by biotin-labeled Pt(IV) prodrug derivative and cyclodextrin-functionalized IR780 in a 1:1 molecular ratio, have been developed for addressing all these hurdles via mitochondria-targeted chemotherapy solely or chemophotothermal therapy. In these nanoparticles, IR780 as a small-molecule dye acts as a mitochondria-targeting ligand to make relocate finally in the mitochondria and release cisplatin.

CAIXplatins: Highly Potent Platinum(IV) Prodrugs Selective Against Carbonic Anhydrase IX for the Treatment of Hypoxic Tumors.

Hypoxia and the acidic microenvironment play a vital role in tumor metastasis and angiogenesis, generally compromising the chemotherapeutic efficacy. This provides a tantalizing angle for the design of platinum(IV) prodrugs for the effective and selective killing of solid tumors. Herein, two carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX)-targeting platinum(IV) prodrugs have been developed, named as CAIXplatins.

Heptaphylline suppresses the proliferation and migration of human bladder cancer cells via induction of intrinsic apoptosis, autophagy and inhibition of β-catenin signalling pathway.

Purpose: Heptaphylline has been shown to suppress the growth of different types of cancer cells. Nonetheless, the anticancer effects of Heptaphylline have not been examined against human bladder cancer cells. Against this backdrop, this study was undertaken to investigate the anticancer effects of the carbazole alkaloid Heptaphylline against human bladder cancer cells.

A halogen ion-selective phosphorescence turn-on probe based on induction of Pt-Pt interactions.

Square-planar cyclometalated platinum(ii) complexes have been found to serve as turn-on phosphorescent probes selectively for biological halogen ions. This is based on the halogen ion induced self-assembly of Pt(ii) compounds in aqueous media, resulting in intermolecular Pt-Pt interaction associated emission.

Multifunctional low-temperature photothermal nanodrug with in vivo clearance, ROS-Scavenging and anti-inflammatory abilities.

Harsh photothermal temperatures, long-term body retention of nanoagents, elevated ROS and inflammation induction all threaten the normal tissues, thus hindering the translation of photothermal therapy (PTT) from bench to clinical practice. To resolve these problems, we have developed a disassembled theranostic nanodrug Qu-FeP based on the quercetin coordination. Herein, quercetin is not only the heat shock protein (Hsp 70) inhibitor but also the skeleton of Qu-FeP, realizing near-infrared light induced low-temperature PTT (45 °C) to ablate tumor completely without heat stress to normal tissues.

Traceable in-cell synthesis and cytoplasm-to-nucleus translocation of a zinc Schiff base complex as a simple and economical anticancer strategy.

We have proposed a facile and cheap cancer therapeutic strategy by in-cell synthesizing theranostic Zn Schiff base complexes with nuclear targeting and DNA damaging capability. The in-cell synthesis can be traced via a green-to-blue fluorescence shift, and the subsequent cytoplasm-to-nucleus translocation realizes cancer-specific therapy both in vitro and in vivo.

Folate receptor-targeted theranostic IrS nanoparticles for multimodal imaging-guided combined chemo-photothermal therapy.

Nano-drug delivery systems with multi-modality imaging capacities are worth pursuing because they integrate diagnostic and therapeutic functions. Herein, we report the design, synthesis and evaluation of modified iridium sulfide (IrS) nanoparticles (NPs) for cancer therapy in vitro and in vivo. This nanosystem was prepared by modifying IrS with polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated to the targeting ligand folate (FA) for multimodal imaging-guided combined chemo-photothermal therapy.

Cancer-specific chemotherapeutic strategy based on the vitamin K3 mediated ROS regenerative feedback and visualized drug release in vivo.

A promising theranostic nanosystem VK3-CPT@Ru-CD is designed and fabricated by the host-guest driven self-assembly between the fluorescent adamantine-functionalized Ru(II) complexes and the ROS-labile-cyclodextrin modified thioketal linkers, in which anticancer drug camptothecin (CPT) and vitamin K3 (VK3) are effectively co-encapsulated. On account of the generative feedback between the intracellular redox cycling of VK3 and the high degree of ROS-triggered collapse of nanoparticles, VK3-CPT@Ru-CD can facilitate cancer-specific ROS amplification and drug release selectively in cancer cells, thus realizing the selective killing of tumor with minimal side-effects both in vitro and in vivo, the therapeutic effect of which is more prominent than the free anti-cancer drugs. More interestingly, the menadione structure of encapsulated VK3 can effectively quench the inherent fluorescence of Ru-CD, and a fluorescence lightening up phenomenon is observed accompanied with the ROS-triggered drug release, which can be utilized for real-time tracking of drug release in vitro and in vivo.

Three-in-One Self-Assembled Nanocarrier for Dual-Drug Delivery, Two-Photon Imaging, and Chemo-Photodynamic Synergistic Therapy.

We herein present a three-in-one nanoplatform (named Fu/LD@RuCD) for dual-drug delivery, two-photon imaging, and chemo-photodynamic synergistic therapy, enabled by simple self-assembly between adamantine-functionalized ruthenium complexes ([Ru(phen-ad)](PF), Ru) and natural cyclodextrin (β-CD) monomers. By host-guest chemistry, nanocarrier RuCD 70-90 nm in diameter is fabricated through a very simple mixing step in water at room temperature, in which the octahedral configuration of Ru complex provides a rigid skeleton and the hydrogen bonding of secondary hydroxyl groups formed between two adjacent β-CD monomers displays a bridging role allowing for three-dimensional architectures. The dual-drug-loaded nanoparticle Fu/LD@RuCD (Fu: 5-fluorouracil; LD: lonidamine) effectively penetrates into cancer cells in 8 h and selectively accumulates in lysosomes, in which dual-drug release is promoted by the mildly acidic environment.

Correction: A self-assessed photosensitizer: inducing and dual-modal phosphorescence imaging of mitochondria oxidative stress.

Correction for 'A self-assessed photosensitizer: inducing and dual-modal phosphorescence imaging of mitochondria oxidative stress' by Jing Yang et al., Chem. Commun.

A self-assessed photosensitizer: inducing and dual-modal phosphorescence imaging of mitochondria oxidative stress.

Two novel Ir(iii)-nitroxide conjugates have been synthesized as mitochondria-targeted multi-functional theranostic photosensitizers, capable of simultaneously inducing and dual-modal phosphorescence imaging of mitochondrial oxidative stress under two-photon excitation, thus realizing the photodynamic therapy of cancer and self-assessment of their PDT efficacies.

Braided thin-walled biodegradable ureteral stent: preliminary evaluation in a canine model.

Objectives: To evaluate a novel designed degradable ureteral stent.

Methods: A total of 24 male Beagles, each with bilateral stents implanted (a biodegradable ureteral 4.5-Fr stent and a standard 4-Fr biostable stent) were divided into four groups.