Esterase-Responsive Floxuridine-Tethered Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Targeted Cancer Therapy.

Floxuridine is a potential clinical anticancer drug for the treatment of various cancers. However, floxuridine typically causes unfavorable side effects due to its very poor tumor selectivity, and, hence, there is a high demand for the development of novel approaches that permit the targeted delivery of floxuridine into cancerous cells. Herein, the design and synthesis of an esterase-responsive multifunctional nanoformulation for the targeted delivery of floxuridine in esterase-overexpressed cancer cells is reported.

G-Hemin-loaded 2D nanosheets for combined and targeted chemo-photodynamic cancer therapy.

Synergetic combination therapy is emerging as one of the most promising approaches for cancer treatment. Among the various therapeutic approaches, PDT has received particular attention due to its non-invasive nature. However, the therapeutic performance of PDT is severely affected by tumour hypoxia.

Validation of Microionization Chambers in Small-field Dosimetry.

Aim: This study aims to validate the Razor Nano Chamber (RNC) and Razor Chamber (RC) dosimetric characteristics in a small field. The dosimetric parameters of the two chambers were compared.

Materials And Methods: The chamber characteristics of leakage (pre and post), stability, energy dependency, dose linearity, dose rate effect, stem effect, angular dependency, ion recombination effect, and polarity effect were studied.

Bimetallic DNAsome Decorated with G-DNA as a Nanozyme for Targeted and Enhanced Chemo/Chemodynamic Cancer Therapy.

Cancer is indisputably one of the major threats to mankind, and hence the design of new approaches for the improvement of existing therapeutic strategies is always wanted. Herein, the design of a tumor microenvironment-responsive, DNA-based chemodynamic therapy (CDT) nanoagent with dual Fenton reaction centers for targeted cancer therapy is reported. Self-assembly of DNA amphiphile containing copper complex as the hydrophobic Fenton reaction center results in the formation of CDT-active DNAsome with Cu-based Fenton catalytic site as the hydrophobic core and hydrophilic ssDNA protrude on the surface.

Multifunctional siRNA/ferrocene/cyclodextrin nanoparticles for enhanced chemodynamic cancer therapy.

The therapeutic outcome of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is greatly hindered by the presence of oxidative damage repair proteins (MTH1) inside cancer cells. These oxidative damage repair proteins detoxify the action of radicals generated by Fenton or Fenton-like reactions. Hence, it is extremely important to develop a simple strategy for the downregulation of MTH1 protein inside cancer cells along with the delivery of metal ions into cancer cells.

Evaluation of International Atomic Energy Agency Technical Report Series-483 Detector-specific Output Correction Factor for Various Collimator Systems.

Aim: In this study, a 6MV flattening filter (FF) and 6MV FF Free (FFF) photon beam small-field output factors (OF) were measured with various collimators using different detectors. The corrected OFs were compared with the treatment planning system (TPS) calculated OFs.

Materials And Methods: OF measurements were performed with four different types of collimators: Varian Millennium multi-leaf collimator (MLC), Elekta Agility MLC, Apex micro-MLC (mMLC) and a stereotactic cone.

Determination of small-field output factors for beam-matched linear accelerators using various detectors and comparison of detector-specific output correction factors using IAEA Technical Report Series 483 protocol.

Background: Beam matching is widely used to ensure that linear accelerators used in radiotherapy have equal dosimetry characteristics. Small-field output factors (OF) were measured using different detectors infour beam-matched linear accelerators and the measured OFs were compared with existing treatment planning system (TPS) Monte Carlo algorithm calculated OFs.

Materials And Methods: Three Elekta Versa HD and one Elekta Infinitylinear accelerators with photon energies of 6 MV flattening filter (FF), 10 MVFF, 6 MV flattening filter free (FFF) and 10 MVFFF were used in this study.

Adamantoid Scaffolds for Multiple Cargo Loading and Cellular Delivery as β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes.

There is huge demand for developing guests that bind β-CD and can conjugate multiple cargos for cellular delivery. We synthesized trioxaadamantane derivatives, which can conjugate up to three cargos per guest. H NMR titration and isothermal titration calorimetry revealed these guests form 1 : 1 inclusion complexes with β-CD with association constants in the order of 10  M .

F NMR ON/OFF nanoparticles: a universal approach for the specific detection of DNA-binding cancer biomarkers.

A supramolecular approach for the design of assembly-disassembly-driven F ON/OFF nanoparticles, triggered by specific molecular recognition, for the detection of DNA binding cancer biomarkers is reported. The key to our design strategy is the characteristic F NMR signal of the probe, which completely vanishes in the aggregated state due to the shortening of relaxation. However, molecular recognition of DNA by the cancer biomarkers through specific molecular recognition results in the disassembly of the nanoparticles, which causes the restoration of the characteristic F signal of the probe.

Blue-emissive two-component supergelator with aggregation-induced enhanced emission.

Two-component organogels offer several advantages over one-component gels, but their design is highly challenging. Hence, it is extremely important to design new approaches for the crafting of two-component organogels with interesting optical and mechanical properties. Herein, we report the design of a new class of two-component supergelators obtained from the assembly between acid functionalized tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based dendrons and alkylated melamine.

Galactose Grafted Two-Dimensional Nanosheets as a Scaffold for the In Situ Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles: A Potential Catalyst for the Reduction of Nitroaromatics.

Two major hurdles in NP-based catalysis are the aggregation of the NPs and their recycling. Immobilization of NPs onto a 2D support is the most promising strategy to overcome these difficulties. Herein, amphiphilicity-driven self-assembly of galactose-hexaphenylbenzene-based amphiphiles into galactose-decorated 2D nanosheet is reported.

Biotin-decorated NIR-absorbing nanosheets for targeted photodynamic cancer therapy.

Targeted photodynamic therapy (PDT) is one of the promising approaches for the selective killing of cancerous cells without affecting the normal cells, and hence designing new strategies for targeted PDT is extremely important. Herein we report the design and synthesis of a new class of nanosheets derived from the self-assembly of the iodo-BODIPY-biotin conjugate as a photosensitizer for targeted PDT applications. The nanosheet exhibits a high extinction coefficient in the NIR region, high singlet oxygen efficiency, no toxicity in the dark and cell targeting ligands (biotin) on the surface, which are necessary features required for an ideal photosensitizer.

Investigating different computed tomography techniques for internal target volume definition.

Purpose: The aim of this work was to evaluate the various computed tomography (CT) techniques such as fast CT, slow CT, breath-hold (BH) CT, full-fan cone beam CT (FF-CBCT), half-fan CBCT (HF-CBCT), and average CT for delineation of internal target volume (ITV). In addition, these ITVs were compared against four-dimensional CT (4DCT) ITVs.

Materials And Methods: Three-dimensional target motion was simulated using dynamic thorax phantom with target insert of diameter 3 cm for ten respiration data.

Augmentation of antioxidant and iron(III) chelation properties of tertiary mixture of bioactive ligands.

The excess of iron in plasma and cellular compartment pose direct and indirect toxic effects. In the present investigation, we proposed additive function of nutritional bioactive ligands in combination which has shown enhanced antioxidant and iron(III) chelation property. The optimal interaction and in vitro antioxidant activity of tertiary mixture comprising of curcumin+quercetin+gallic acid was validated by central composite design (CCD) based on ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP).

Evaluating the image quality of cone beam CT acquired during rotational delivery.

Objective: The aim of this work was to evaluate the quality of kilovoltage (kV) cone beam CT (CBCT) images acquired during arc delivery.

Methods: Arc plans were delivered on a Catphan(®) 600 phantom (The Phantom Laboratory Inc., Salem, NY), and kV CBCT images were acquired during the treatment.

Dosimetric verification of gated delivery of electron beams using a 2D ion chamber array.

The purpose of this study was to compare the dosimetric characteristics; such as beam output, symmetry and flatness between gated and non-gated electron beams. Dosimetric verification of gated delivery was carried for all electron beams available on Varian CL 2100CD medical linear accelerator. Measurements were conducted for three dose rates (100 MU/min, 300 MU/min and 600 MU/min) and two respiratory motions (breathing period of 4s and 8s).