To effectively solve the challenges of rapid capacity decay and electrode crushing of silicon-carbon (Si-C) anodes, it is crucial to carefully optimize the structure of Si-C active materials and enhance their electron/ion transport dynamic in the electrode. Herein, a unique hybrid structure microsphere of Si/C/CNTs/Cu with surface wrinkles is prepared through a simple ultrasonic atomization pyrolysis and calcination method. Low-cost nanoscale Si waste is embedded into the pyrolysis carbon matrix, cleverly combined with the flexible electrical conductivity carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and copper (Cu) particles, enhancing both the crack resistance and transport kinetics of the entire electrode material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLocal chemotherapy is an alternative therapeutic strategy that involves direct delivery of drugs to the tumor site. This approach avoids adverse reactions caused by the systemic distribution of drugs and enhances the tumor-suppressing effect by concentrating the drugs at the tumor site. Drug-loaded microspheres are injectable sustained-release drug carriers that are highly suitable for local chemotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacterial infection has always been one of the most serious threats faced by humans. Bacterial targeting is a promising strategy to enhance treatment efficacy and reduce the emergence of drug resistance. However, the traditional antibiotic targeting efficiency is poor, and it is challenging to achieve therapeutic concentrations of both drugs simultaneously in the same tissue due to differences in drug metabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Studies have found that sleep disturbance is associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms. This study aimed to elaborate on the mediating and moderating mechanisms between these two variables. We hypothesized that repetitive negative thinking plays a mediating role in the relationship between sleep disturbance and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and experiential avoidance plays a moderating role.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFModel-free tracking control methods have been developed for redundant robotic manipulators with unknown kinematic or dynamic models. However, most existing works have not considered the problems of joint physical limits and joint angular drift. Joint angular drift refers to the phenomenon that the joint angles of a redundant manipulator are different from their initial state when the end-effector of the manipulator returns to its initial position.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTreatment for acute brain conditions remains a major challenge owing to the unavailability of antidotes, especially for organophosphorus compounds, exposure to which leads to rapid death. Despite recent advances in brain-targeted nano delivery systems (BTNDS), the traditional ones which have been developed will likely not lead to the quick release of an antidote, which is essential to counteract fast neurotoxic effects. Herein, we present a BTNDS using thermosensitive liposomes, without the need for functionalization, to obtain a platform for brain-targeted delivery, which has a simple structure and thus can be easily synthesized and scaled-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrganophosphorus agents, also known as nerve agents, are very dangerous chemicals that were used as chemical warfare agents. HI-6 is one of the most promising reactivators which is effective in reactivating AChE inhibited by many nerve agents. However, the fast in-vivo clearance of HI-6 became a large barrier for first aid use under some sophisticated circumstances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRedundant manipulators could be efficient tools in industrial production as a result of their dexterity. However, existing kinematic control methods for redundant manipulators have two main disadvantages. On one hand, model uncertainties or unknown kinematic parameters may degrade the performance of existing model-based control methods subject to joint limits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWuhan was the first large city where the initial breakout of COVID-19 took numerous lives. A group of social workers and mental health specialists coordinated the "Be Together Program" (BTP), a psychosocial grief intervention program to help a group of Wuhan COVID-19 bereaved people. Under the Dual-process model framework, BTP used the internet and social media as the main tools, combined with group and individual intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffective intracerebral delivery acetylcholinesterase (AChE) reactivator is key for the acute organophosphorus (OPs) poison treatment. However, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts the transport of these drugs from blood into the brain. Herein, we developed transferrin receptor (TfR) aptamer-functionalized liposomes (Apt-LP) that could deliver AChE reactivator (obidoxime) across the BBB to act against paraoxon (POX) poisoning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In this study, we aimed to design a novel oral insulin delivery system, named "oil-soluble" reversed lipid nanoparticles (ORLN), in which a hydrophilic insulin molecule is encapsulated by a phospholipid (PC) shell and dissolved in oil to prevent the enzymatic degradation of insulin. ORLN was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering.
Results: In vitro enzymatic stability studies showed higher concentrations of insulin in cells incubated with ORLN-encapsulated insulin than in those incubated with free insulin solution in artificial intestinal fluid (pH 6.
Purpose: To prospectively assess safety and efficacy of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) with bleomycin-eluting microspheres for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in a canine model.
Materials And Methods: Twelve adult male beagles (mean age, 1.6 y ± 0.
Objectives: A child-friendly taste-masking strategy using solid lipid microsphere (SLM) has been proposed to obscure the undesirable taste of some water-soluble drugs. In this study, the reversed lipid-based nanoparticle (RLBN) technique was used to encapsulate a water-soluble drug to facilitate the preparation of SLM.
Methods: The model drug used was atomoxetine hydrochloride (ATX), and a three-step method was used to prepare ATX-RLBN.
Classical mixed micelle systems make excellent parenteral drug carriers for lipophilic or poorly soluble drugs, but many formulations details are not fully understood and need further study. Thus, we constructed mixed micelle systems with lecithin and either glycocholic acid sodium salt or deoxycholic acid sodium salt in order to investigate the differences between the bile salts. Vitamin K, a lipid-soluble drug, was encapsulated in the mixed micelles, and the influence of bile salts on the quality and stability of the mixed micelle systems was analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
June 2019
Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a promising treatment for patients suffering from unresectable liver malignancy. A coarse emulsion of doxorubicin solution and iodized oil is widely used in clinical practice. However, this coarse emulsion lacks sufficient physical stability and can split into water and oil very quickly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe aimed to develop a novel method for assessing the bitterness of azithromycin-containing reverse micelles (AM-containing RMs). Azithromycin-containing reverse micelles were prepared by processing Lipoid E80 and medium chain triglycerides via a freeze-drying method. The bitterness threshold of azithromycin was determined by human taste test, and an equation was derived to correlate the azithromycin concentrations and bitterness scores of standard solutions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe oral administration of water-soluble chemotherapeutical agents is limited by their serious gastrointestinal side effects, instability at intestinal pH, and poor absorption. Aiming to solve these problems, we chose topotecan (TPT) as a model drug and developed a novel lipid formulation containing core-shell lipid nanoparticle (CLN) that makes the water-soluble drug to 'dissolve' in oil. TPT molecules can be encapsulated into nanoparticles surrounded by oil barrier while avoiding the direct contact with intestinal environment, thus easing the intestinal hydrolytic degradation and gastrointestinal (GI) irritation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntratumoral injection of anticancer drugs directly delivers chemotherapeutics to the tumor region, offering an alternative strategy for cancer treatment. However, most hydrophilic drugs spread quickly from the injection site into systemic circulation, leading to inferior antitumor activity and adverse effects in patients. Therefore, we developed novel reversed lipid-based nanoparticles (RLBN) as a nanoscale drug carrier.
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