Bile acid-based dual-functional prodrug nanoparticles for bone regeneration through hydrogen peroxide scavenging and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

A high level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (HO) upregulates pro-inflammatory cytokines and inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are key factors in bone regeneration. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a hydrophilic bile acid, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and also plays beneficial roles in bone regeneration by stimulating the osteogenic differentiation of MSCs while suppressing their adipogenic differentiation. Despite its remarkable capacity for bone regeneration, multiple injections of UDCA induce adverse side effects such as mechanical stress and contamination in bone defects.

Stimulus-activatable echogenic maltodextrin nanoparticles as nanotheranostic agents for peripheral arterial disease.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are closely related with various pathological disorders. Therefore, real-time detection of ROS is essential for understanding the procedure of diseases and diagnosing the accurate lesion sites. Hydrogen peroxide (HO) accounts for a large portion of ROS and has a longer half-life than other ROS, which makes it a highly promising diagnostic and therapeutic biomarker.

Acid-triggered echogenic nanoparticles for contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging and therapy of acute liver failure.

There has been increasing interest in the development of pathological stimulus-activatable nanoplatforms with theranostic functions. Here, we report ketalized maltodextrin (KMD) nanoparticles which are able to deliver therapeutic and imaging functions to the acidic conditions simultaneously, as may be found in the site of inflammation. KMD was synthesized as a platform of the theranostic nanoparticles by conjugating acid-cleavable hydrophobic moieties to maltodextrin through carbonate bonds.