Recent advances of anti-tumor nano-strategies via overturning pH gradient: alkalization and acidification.

The acidic tumor microenvironment, a hallmark of many solid tumors, is primarily induced by the high glycolytic rate of tumor cells. To avoid acidosis, tumor cells ingeniously maintain an acidic extracellular pH while keeping a relatively alkaline intracellular pH. Overturning the unique pH gradient of tumor cells has exhibited to be a viable approach for cancer therapy.

Vacancy engineering enhanced photothermal-catalytic properties of CoS nanozymes for mild NIR-II hyperthermia-amplified nanocatalytic cancer therapy.

While nanozymes are commonly employed in nanocatalytic therapy (NCT), the efficacy of NCT is hampered by the limited catalytic activity of nanozymes and the intricate tumor microenvironment (TME). In this work, we design a high-efficiency nanozyme with NIR-II photothermal property for the mild hyperthermia-augmented NCT. In order to endow a single-component nanomaterial the ability to simultaneously catalyze and exhibit NIR-II photothermal properties, a straightforward template method is utilized to fabricate sulfur vacancies (V)-doped CoS nanocages.

Alterations in genes associated with cytosolic RNA sensing in whole blood are associated with coronary microvascular disease in SLE.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients are 90% women and over three times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than women in the general population. Chest pain with no obstructive cardiac disease is associated with coronary microvascular disease (CMD), where narrowing of the small blood vessels can lead to ischemia, and frequently reported by SLE patients. Using whole blood RNA samples, we asked whether gene signatures discriminate SLE patients with coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) on cardiac MRI (n = 4) from those without (n = 7) and whether any signaling pathway is linked to the underlying pathobiology of SLE CMD.

Intelligent response agarose/chitosan hydrogel wound dressing: Synergistic chemotherapy, PDT and PTT effects against bacterial infection.

Bacterial infections impede skin wound healing, and antibacterial hydrogels have garnered significant attention in the field of wound care due to their combined therapeutic effects. In this study, an intelligent, responsive AC-Gel@Cur-Au hydrogel was developed using temperature-sensitive agarose and pH-responsive chitosan as the structural framework, infused with Gel@Cur and AuNR. The AC-Gel@Cur-Au hydrogels demonstrated excellent mechanical properties, swelling capacity, tissue adhesion, and biodegradability.

Surface Modification of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Latex Nanoparticles through Chain Entanglement by Poly(meth)acrylate Monomer Swelling Seeded Emulsion Polymerization.

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) latex nanoparticles serve as a versatile platform for surface modification due to their role as precursors in PVDF manufacturing. However, the strong chemical stability and poor compatibility of PVDF present significant challenges for effective surface modification. To address this, we developed a method that facilitates surface modification through chain entanglement.