Shedding light on vascular imaging: the revolutionary role of nanotechnology.

Vascular dysfunction, characterized by changes in anatomy, hemodynamics, and molecular expressions of vasculatures, is closely linked to the onset and development of diseases, emphasizing the importance of its detection. In clinical practice, medical imaging has been utilized as a significant tool in the assessment of vascular dysfunction, however, traditional imaging techniques still lack sufficient resolution for visualizing the complex microvascular systems. Over the past decade, with the rapid advancement of nanotechnology and the emergence of corresponding detection facilities, engineered nanomaterials offer new alternatives to traditional contrast agents.

Switching CO-to-Acetate Electroreduction on Cu Atomic Ensembles.

The electrocatalytic reaction pathway is highly dependent on the intrinsic structure of the catalyst. CO/CO electroreduction has recently emerged as a potential approach for obtaining C products, but it is challenging to achieve high selectivity for a single C product. Herein, we develop a Cu atomic ensemble that satisfies the appropriate site distance and coordination environment required for electrocatalytic CO-to-acetate conversion, which shows outstanding overall performance with an acetate Faradaic efficiency of 70.

Switching CO Electroreduction Pathways between Ethylene and Ethanol via Tuning Microenvironment of the Coating on Copper Nanofibers.

Engineering the microenvironment of electrode surface is one of the effective means to tune the reaction pathways in CORR. In this work, we prepared copper nanofibers with conductive polypyrrole coating by polymerization of pyrrole using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as template. As a result, the obtained copper nanofibers Cu/CuO/SHNC, exhibited a superhydrophobic surface, which demonstrated very high selectivity for ethanol with a Faraday efficiency (FE) of 66.

Highly Selective CO Electroreduction to Multi-Carbon Alcohols via Amine Modified Copper Nanoparticles at Acidic Conditions.

Electroreduction of CO into multi-carbon (C2+) products (e.g. C2+ alcohols) offers a promising way for CO utilization.

Aqueous Grown Quantum Dots with Robust Near-Infrared Fluorescence for Integrated Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnosis and Surgical Monitoring.

Surgical intervention is the most common first-line treatment for severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) associated with high intracranial pressure, while the complexity of these surgical procedures often results in complications. Surgeons often struggle to comprehensively evaluate the TBI status, making it difficult to select the optimal intervention strategy. Here, we introduce a fluorescence imaging-based technology that uses high-quality silver indium selenide-based quantum dots (QDs) for integrated TBI diagnosis and surgical guidance.

Switching Reaction Pathways of CO Electroreduction by Modulating Cations in the Electrochemical Double Layer.

Tuning the selectivity of CO electroreduction reaction (CORR) solely by changing electrolyte is a very attractive topic. In this study, we conducted CORR in different aqueous electrolytes over bulk metal electrodes. It was discovered that controlled CORR could be achieved by modulating cations in the electrochemical double layer.

Enzyme-Responsive Modular Peptides Enhance Tumor Penetration of Quantum Dots via Charge Reversal Strategy.

Quantum dots (QDs) are colloidal semiconductor nanoparticles acting as fluorescent probes for detection, disease diagnosis, and photothermal and photodynamic therapy. However, their performance in cancer treatment is limited by inadequate tumor accumulation and penetration due to the larger size of nanoparticles compared to small molecules. To address this challenge, charge reversal nanoparticles offer an effective strategy to prolong blood circulation time and achieve enhanced endocytosis and tumor penetration.

Chuanzhitongluo Inhibits Neuronal Apoptosis in Mice with Acute Ischemic Stroke by Regulating the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway.

Background And Purpose: Apoptosis is involved in the occurrence and development of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). This study aimed to assess whether Chuanzhitongluo (CZTL), a multi-target and multi-pathway compound preparation, plays a neuroprotective role in AIS by modulating neuronal apoptosis via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Methods: A mouse model of AIS was established by photochemical processes.

Building in biologically appropriate multifunctionality in aqueous copper indium selenide-based quantum dots.

Advanced nanoplatforms equipped with different functional moieties for theranostics hold appealing promise for reshaping precision medicine. The reliable construction of an individual nanomaterial with intrinsic near-infrared (NIR) photofunction and magnetic domains is much desired but largely unexplored in a direct aqueous synthesis system. Herein, we develop an aqueous phase synthetic strategy for Mn doping of ZnS shell grown on Zn-Cu-In-Se core quantum dots (ZCISe@ZnS:Mn QDs), providing the optimal NIR fluorescence quantum efficiency of up to 18.

Schottky Junction Nanozyme Based on Mn-Bridged Co-Phthalocyanines and TiCT Nanosheets Boosts Integrative Type I and II Photosensitization for Multimodal Cancer Therapy.

Cancer phototheranostics have the potential for significantly improving the therapeutic effectiveness, as it can accurately diagnose and treat cancer. However, the current phototheranostic platforms leave much to be desired and are often limited by tumor hypoxia. Herein, a Schottky junction nanozyme has been established between a manganese-bridged cobalt-phthalocyanines complex and TiCT MXene nanosheets (CoPc-Mn/TiCT), which can serve as an integrative type I and II photosensitizer for enhancing cancer therapeutic efficacy a photoacoustic imaging-guided multimodal chemodynamic/photothermal/photodynamic therapy strategy under near-infrared (808 nm) light irradiation.

Dual-stimuli responsive smart nanoprobe for precise diagnosis and synergistic multi-modalities therapy of superficial squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Although the promising advancements of current therapeutic approaches is available for the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients, the clinical treatment of SCC still faces many difficulties. The surgical irreparable disfigurement and the postoperative wound infection largely hamper the recovery, and the chemo/radiotherapy leads to toxic side effects.

Results: Herein, a novel pH/Hyaluronidase (HAase) dual-stimuli triggered smart nanoprobe FeTA@HA has been designed through the biomineralization of Fe and polyphenol tannic acid (TA) under the control of hyaluronic acid (HA) matrix.

Enhanced stability and clinical absorption of a form of encapsulated vitamin A for food fortification.

Food fortification is an effective strategy to address vitamin A (VitA) deficiency, which is the leading cause of childhood blindness and drastically increases mortality from severe infections. However, VitA food fortification remains challenging due to significant degradation during storage and cooking. We utilized an FDA-approved, thermostable, and pH-responsive basic methacrylate copolymer (BMC) to encapsulate and stabilize VitA in microparticles (MPs).

Bright, Magnetic NIR-II Quantum Dot Probe for Sensitive Dual-Modality Imaging and Intensive Combination Therapy of Cancer.

Improving the effectiveness of cancer therapy will require tools that enable more specific cancer targeting and improved tumor visualization. Theranostics have the potential for improving cancer care because of their ability to serve as both diagnostics and therapeutics; however, their diagnostic potential is often limited by tissue-associated light absorption and scattering. Herein, we develop CuInSe@ZnS:Mn quantum dots (QDs) with intrinsic multifunctionality that both enable the accurate localization of small metastases and act as potent tumor ablation agents.

Two-Pronged Intracellular Co-Delivery of Antigen and Adjuvant for Synergistic Cancer Immunotherapy.

Nanovaccines have emerged as promising alternatives or complements to conventional cancer treatments. Despite the progresses, specific co-delivery of antigen and adjuvant to their corresponding intracellular destinations for maximizing the activation of antitumor immune responses remains a challenge. Herein, a lipid-coated iron oxide nanoparticle is delivered as nanovaccine (IONP-C/O@LP) that can co-deliver peptide antigen and adjuvant (CpG DNA) into cytosol and lysosomes of dendritic cells (DCs) through both membrane fusion and endosome-mediated endocytosis.

Nanotechnology-enhanced immunotherapy for metastatic cancer.

A vast majority of cancer deaths occur as a result of metastasis. Unfortunately, effective treatments for metastases are currently lacking due to the difficulty of selectively targeting these small, delocalized tumors distributed across a variety of organs. However, nanotechnology holds tremendous promise for improving immunotherapeutic outcomes in patients with metastatic cancer.

Continuous Flow Synthesis of Persistent Luminescent Chromium-Doped Zinc Gallate Nanoparticles.

Near-infrared persistent luminescent (or afterglow) nanoparticles with the biologically appropriate size are promising materials for background-free imaging applications, while the conventional batch synthesis hardly allows for reproducibility in controlling particle size because of the random variations of reaction parameters. Here, highly efficient chemistry was matched with an automated continuous flow approach for directly synthesizing differently sized ZnGaO:Cr (ZGC) nanoparticles exhibiting long persistent luminescence. The key flow factors responsible for regulating the particle formation process, especially the high pressure-temperature and varied residence time, were investigated to be able to tune the particle size from 2 to 6 nm and to improve the persistent luminescence.

Turning-on persistent luminescence out of chromium-doped zinc aluminate nanoparticles by instilling antisite defects under mild conditions.

Spinel oxide nanocrystals are appealing hosts for Cr for forming persistent luminescent nanomaterials due to their suitable fundamental bandgaps. Benefiting from their antisite defect-tolerant nature, zinc gallate doped with Cr ions has become the most studied near-infrared (NIR) persistent luminescent material. However, it remains challenging to achieve persistent luminescence from its inexpensive analogs, e.

A Cyclodextrin-Hosted Ir(III) Complex for Ratiometric Mapping of Tumor Hypoxia In Vivo.

Hypoxia is considered as a key microenvironmental feature of solid tumors. Luminescent transition metal complexes particularly those based on iridium and ruthenium have shown remarkable potentials for constructing sensitive oxygen-sensing probes due to their unique oxygen quenching pathway. However, the low aqueous solubility of these complexes largely retards their sensing applications in biological media.

Two-Dimensional and Subnanometer-Thin Quasi-Copper-Sulfide Semiconductor Formed upon Copper-Copper Bonding.

Ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors exhibit outstanding properties, but it remains challenging to obtain monolayer-structured inorganic semiconductors naturally occurring as nonlayered crystals. Copper sulfides are a class of widely studied nonlayered metal chalcogenide semiconductors. Although 2D copper sulfides can provide extraordinary physical and chemical applications, investigations of 2D copper sulfides in the extreme quantum limit are constrained by the difficulty in preparing monolayered copper sulfides.

Doping Lanthanide Nanocrystals With Non-lanthanide Ions to Simultaneously Enhance Up- and Down-Conversion Luminescence.

The rare-earth nanocrystals containing Er emitters offer very promising tools for imaging applications, as they can not only exhibit up-conversion luminescence but also down-conversion luminescence in the second near-infrared window (NIR II). Doping non-lanthanide cations into host matrix was demonstrated to be an effective measure for improving the luminescence efficiency of Er ions, while still awaiting in-depth investigations on the effects of dopants especially those with high valence states on the optical properties of lanthanide nanocrystals. To address this issue, tetravalent Zr doped hexagonal NaGdF:Yb,Er nanocrystals were prepared, and the enhancement effects of the Zr doping level on both up-conversion luminescence in the visible window and down-conversion luminescence in NIR II window were investigated, with steady-state and transient luminescence spectroscopies.

Longer and Stronger: Improving Persistent Luminescence in Size-Tuned Zinc Gallate Nanoparticles by Alcohol-Mediated Chromium Doping.

Benefiting from near-infrared persistent luminescence, chromium-doped zinc gallate nanoparticles have become appealing for background-free biomedical imaging applications, where autofluorescence from adjacent tissues no longer poses a problem. Nevertheless, the synthesis of persistent luminescent nanoparticles with controllable and biologically appropriate size, high luminescence intensity, and long persistent duration remains very challenging. Herein, we report a solvothermal synthetic route for preparing differently sized ZnGaO:Cr nanoparticles with a particle size tunable from 4 to 31 nm and afterglow duration longer than 20 h.

Bioinspired Cryoprotectants of Glucose-Based Carbon Dots.

In nature, antifreeze proteins (AFPs) present in plants, fish, and insects living in cold regions exhibit unique abilities to decrease the freezing temperature of water, inhibiting ice growth and recrystallization. However, AFPs suffer from difficult extraction, low stability, and potential immunogenicity, which limit their wide applications in cryopreservation. Thus, AFP-inspired cryoprotectants with low cytotoxicity, simple design, and large-scale production are highly desired.

Enabling nanopore technology for sensing individual amino acids by a derivatization strategy.

Nanopore technology holds remarkable promise for sequencing proteins and peptides. To achieve this, it is necessary to establish a characteristic profile for each individual amino acid through the statistical description of its translocation process. However, the subtle molecular differences among all twenty amino acids along with their unpredictable conformational changes at the nanopore sensing region result in very low distinguishability.