Mercury reduction by agricultural organic waste-derived dissolved organic matter: Kinetic analysis and the role of light-induced free radicals.

Agricultural organic wastes can leach dissolved organic matter (DOM) into surrounding water bodies, establishing them as significant sources of aquatic DOM. Given the importance of DOM in biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg), this DOM may mediate divalent Hg (Hg(II)) reduction, a process that remains poorly understood. This study investigated Hg(II) reduction using DOM derived from six representative agricultural wastes, categorized into livestock manure (chicken, pig, cow) and crop straw (rice, corn, rapeseed), with systematic considerations of the kinetics of reduction processes and the involvement of key free radicals.

Methylmercury degradation by hot spring sulfur-linked microbial communities as a dominant pathway in regulating mercury speciation.

Sulfidic hot springs harbor unique microbial communities and are important in mercury (Hg) species transformations, although the fine scale drivers of these processes remain poorly understood. Here we studied Hg speciation in water, biofilms, and sediment across three sampling seasons in a French sulfidic hot spring with low Hg concentrations. Microbial Hg species methylation and demethylation potentials were evaluated using incubation experiments with species-specific Hg isotope tracers.

Addressing Challenges of Membrane Clogging in AF4-UV-ICPMS Analysis for Size Determination of Trace Elements in Acidic, Organic-Rich Peat Bog Waters.

The analysis of colloid-associated trace elements (TEs) in acidic, organic-rich waters (pH 3.8-5.8) using AF4-UV-ICPMS often necessitates the use of neutral or weakly alkaline carriers (pH 7-8.

Anthropogenic activities enhance mercury methylation in sediments of a multifunctional lake: Evidence from dissolved organic matter and mercury-methylating microorganisms.

Multifunctional lakes are highly susceptible to anthropogenic influences, potentially introducing exogenous pollutants or nutrients into aquatic sediments. This, in turn, affects the mercury (Hg) methylation in the sediments. This study was conducted in the Changshou Lake, a representative multifunctional lake in southwestern China, with a specific focus on investigating the Hg variations, the potential of Hg methylation, and the influential factors affecting the methylation process within sediments across different functional areas.

Targeted Drug Delivery System Based on Copper Sulfide for Synergistic Near-Infrared Photothermal Therapy/Photodynamic Therapy/Chemotherapy of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Multi-modal synergistic therapy, especially the integration of near-infrared laser phototherapies and chemotherapy, is often sought after owing to its minimal invasiveness, low side effects, and improved anticancer therapeutic efficacy. Herein, CuS nanoparticles were first coated with zinc phthalocyanine derivant (Pc)-functionalized mesoporous silica (mSiO-Pc) to achieve a drug delivery system (CuS@mSiO-Pc) with photothermal/photodynamic therapy. Chemical drug DOX was subsequently loaded for chemotherapy, and hyaluronic acid (HA) was employed as a covering material with cancer targeting.

Novel molecular photosensitizer with simultaneously GSH depletion, aggregation inhibition and accelerated elimination for improved and safe photodynamic therapy.

The major challenges in photodynamic therapy (PDT) are the neutralization of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the excessive antioxidant glutathione (GSH) in tumor cells, high self-aggregation of most photosensitizers (PSs), and long time to protect from light after treatment. Thus, to develop the molecular PSs for the improved and safe PDT in clinic, a novel and versatile PS (Mal-Pc) has been designed by di-substituting maleimides to the axial positions of silicon (Ⅳ) phthalocyanine. Owning to the conjugation of maleimides, Mal-Pc can not only entry tumor cells more easily and faster, but also can react with the intracellular overexpressed GSH after entry.

A MCL-1-targeted photosensitizer to combat triple-negative breast cancer with enhanced photodynamic efficacy, sensitization to ROS-induced damage, and immune response.

As growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2), progesterone receptor (PR) and estrogen receptor (ER) are scarce in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), it is a great challenge to combat TNBC with high tumor specificity and therapeutic efficacy. Most traditional treatments including surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy would more or less cause serious side effects and drug resistance. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has huge potential in the treatment of TNBC for minimal invasiveness, low toxicity, less drug resistance and high spatiotemporal selectivity.

A phthalocyanine-based photosensitizer for effectively combating triple negative breast cancer with enhanced photodynamic anticancer activity and immune response.

Although photodynamic therapy (PDT) has attracted great interest, the photosensitizers in clinical had weak inhibition on metastasis and invasion of cancers. Additionally the immune response induced by PDT was insufficient to eradicate cancer. Herein, indoximod, an inhibitor of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), is introduced to concatenate with zinc phthalocyanines (ZnPc) for effectively overcoming above inadequacy.

Role of the rhizosphere of a flooding-tolerant herb in promoting mercury methylation in water-level fluctuation zones.

The water-level fluctuation zone (WLFZ) has been considered as a hotspot for mercury (Hg) methylation. Flooding-tolerant herbs are gradually acclimated to this water-land ecotone, tending to form substantial root systems for improving erosion resistance. Accompanying rhizosphere microzone plays crucial but unclear roles in methylmercury (MeHg) formation in the WLFZ.

Fluorescence-Reporting-Guided Tumor Acidic Environment-Activated Triple Photodynamic, Chemodynamic, and Chemotherapeutic Reactions for Efficient Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Ablation.

Tumor acidic environment-activated combination therapy holds great promise to significantly decrease side effects, circumvent multiple drug resistance, and improve therapeutic outcomes for cancer treatment. Herein, Sorafenib/ZnPc(PS)@Fe-TA nanoparticles (SPFT) are designed with acid-environment turned-on fluorescence to report the activation of triple therapy including photodynamic, chemodynamic, and chemotherapy on hepatocellular carcinoma. The SPFT are composed of SP cores formulated self-assembly of sorafenib and ZnPc(PS), with high drug loading efficiency, and Fe-TA shells containing FeCl and tannic acid.

Using porphyrins as albumin-binding molecules to enhance antitumor efficacies and reduce systemic toxicities of antimicrobial peptides.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are originally developed for anti-infective treatments. Because of their membrane-lytic property, AMPs have been considered as candidates of antitumor agents for a long time. However, their antitumor applications are mainly hampered by fast renal clearance and high systemic toxicities.

Novel Targeted Photosensitizer as an Immunomodulator for Highly Efficient Therapy of T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Dasatinib is a kinase-targeted drug used in the treatment of leukemia. Regrettably, it remains far from optimal medicine due to insurmountable drug resistance and side effects. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has proven that it can induce systemic immune responses.

Improved photodynamic anticancer activity and mechanisms of a promising zinc(II) phthalocyanine-quinoline conjugate photosensitizer and .

Since the discovery of photodynamic therapy, scientists have constantly been searching for more effective and ideal photosensitizers (PSs). As part of our ongoing interest in the development of more potent photosensitizers, quinoline-8-yloxy-substituted zinc(II) phthalocyanine () has been identified as a promising photosensitizers in tumor cells. This study aims to explore the photodynamic mechanism and photodynamic efficacy of , and further evaluate its potential in clinical photodynamic therapy application.

A Study on Hair Mercury Levels of University Students.

Total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations were measured in hair of 98 Chinese university students to study their levels of Hg exposure and influencing factors. The results showed that Hg exposure for university students was at a low level with concentrations lower than the USEPA recommended reference level (1 µg/g) across all hair samples. The percentage of MeHg to THg (%MeHg) in hair was about 50%, lower than the previously reported value of 70-100%, probably associated with the low %MeHg in the diet of university students.

Blood distribution and plasma protein binding of PHOTOCYANINE: a promising phthalocyanine photosensitizer inphaseⅡ clinical trials.

Blood distribution and plasma protein binding are the important properties that can influence pharmacokinetics and ultimately the anticancer efficacy of photosensitizers in clinical photodynamic therapy. As a novel and promising phthalocyanine photosensitizer under clinical phase Ⅱ investigation in China, the superiority of PHOCYANINE is speculated on its attribution to its binding with plasma proteins. To verify this hypothesis, explore the targeting mechanism and further apply foundation for its clinical trial evaluation, we further study its in vitro and in vivo human blood distribution, in vitro plasma protein and lipoprotein binding in detail.

A phase Ι study to evaluate the application of photocyanine using pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis in patients with malignancy.

Purpose: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) schedules are based on sensitiser dose, light dose, and drug-light interval. The aim of the phase Ι study was to choose optimal dose and drug-light interval for PDT with photocyanine using pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD).

Methods: Twenty-eight cancer patients were enrolled.

Enhanced Synergistic Antibacterial Activity through a Smart Platform Based on UiO-66 Combined with Photodynamic Therapy and Chemotherapy.

Harmful bacteria have seriously threatened human health and wealth for a long time. Herein, a multifunctional drug delivery system based on UiO-66 was fabricated, and it showed potent synergistic antibacterial effects when used in conjunction with photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy. First, UiO-66-NH was prepared via a facile solvothermal method.

Enhanced Efficacy of Gefitinib in Drug-Sensitive and Drug-Resistant Cancer Cell Lines after Arming with a Singlet Oxygen Releasing Moiety.

Attractive results have been achieved with small-molecule target-based drugs in the anticancer field; however, enhancing their treatment effect and solving the problem of drug resistance remain key concerns worldwide. Inspired by the specific affinity of gefitinib for tumour cells and the strong oxidation capacity of singlet oxygen, we combined a chemically generated singlet oxygen moiety with the small-molecule targeted drug gefitinib to improve its anticancer effect. We designed and synthesised a novel compound (Y5-1), in which a small-molecule targeted therapy agent (gefitinib) and a singlet oxygen (provided by an in vitro photodynamic reaction) thermally controlled releasing moiety are covalently conjugated.

Tumor Targeting Chemo- and Photodynamic Therapy Packaged in Albumin for Enhanced Anti-Tumor Efficacy.

Purpose: Combination therapy for tumors is an important and promising strategy to improve therapeutic efficiency. This study aims at combining tumor targeting, chemo-, and photodynamic therapies to improve the anti-tumor performance.

Patients And Methods: Human serum albumin (HSA), as a nontoxic and biodegradable drug carrier, was used to load hydrophobic photosensitizers (mono-substituted β-4-pyridyloxy phthalocyanine zinc, mPPZ) by a dilution-incubation-purification (DIP) strategy to form molecular complex HSA:mPPZ.

Small molecular target-based multifunctional upconversion nanocomposites for targeted and in-depth photodynamic and chemo-anticancer therapy.

A novel multifunctional nano-system, ZnPc-UCNPs-PEG-G, was designed for targeted and in-depth photodynamic therapy. The nano-system was built via covalent conjugation, in which phthalocyanine zinc (ZnPc), Gefitinib (G), NaYF: Yb, Er (UCNPs) and PEG derivatives were employed as the photosensitizer, target moiety, upconversion nanomaterial and linker unit, respectively. The photophysical/chemical properties, in-depth photodynamic activity, cancer cell specificity and anticancer activity of ZnPc-UCNPs-PEG-G were investigated.

An epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted and endoplasmic reticulum-localized organic photosensitizer toward photodynamic anticancer therapy.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER), as the largest organelle in eukaryotic cells, plays complex but pivotal roles in multiple intracellular metabolic functions, including biosynthesis, sensing, and signal transduction, especially in proteins folding and post-translation modification. The ER is regarded as a promising target for anticancer therapy. Based on previous tumor-targeted photodynamic therapy (PDT), we chemically modified the phthalocyanine-based photosensitizer molecule with the small molecular anticancer-targeting drug erlotinib and the ER-targetable moiety methyl sulfonamide to develop an advanced photosensitizer EB-ER-Pc that can specifically target the subcellular organelle ER of EGFR-overexpressing cancer cells.

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Targeted Delivery of a Singlet-Oxygen Sensitizer with Thermal Controlled Release for Efficient Anticancer Therapy.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) utilizing light-induced singlet oxygen has achieved attractive results in anticancer fields; however, its development is hindered by limited light penetration depth, skin phototoxicity, tumor hypoxia, and PDT-induced hypoxia. Inspired by our previous research work and the limitations of PDT, we introduce a small-molecule-targeted drug erlotinib into the singlet-oxygen chemical source endoperoxide to achieve an EGFR-targeted PDT-mimetic sensitizer () for anticancer therapy. We demonstrated the erlotinib-based precise delivery of the singlet-oxygen chemical source (in vitro photosensitization) to EFGR-overexpressing tumor cells and tissues.

Nanoparticle Binding to Urokinase Receptor on Cancer Cell Surface Triggers Nanoparticle Disintegration and Cargo Release.

Cancer cell expresses abundant surface receptors. These receptors are important targets for cancer treatment and imaging applications. Our goal here is to develop nanoparticles with cargo loading and tumor targeting capability.