Effect of Bioactive Black Phosphorus Nanomaterials on Cancer-Associated Fibroblast Heterogeneity in Pancreatic Cancer.

Tumor-stromal interactions and stromal heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment are critical factors that influence the progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here, we used spatial transcriptome technology to profile the gene expression landscape of primary PDAC and liver metastatic PDAC after bioactive black phosphorus nanomaterial (bioactive BP) treatment using a murine model of PDAC (; ; and mice). Bioinformatic and biochemical analyses showed that bioactive BP contributes to the tumor-stromal interplay by suppressing cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) activation.

A black phosphorus nanosheet-based RNA delivery system for prostate cancer therapy by increasing the expression level of tumor suppressor gene PTEN via CeRNA mechanism.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) has a high incidence in men worldwide, and almost all PCa patients progress to the androgen-independent stage which lacks effective treatment measures. PTENP1, a long non-coding RNA, has been shown to suppress tumor growth through the rescuing of PTEN expression via a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism. However, PTENP1 was limited to be applied in the treatment of PCa for the reason of rapid enzymatic degradation, poor intracellular uptake, and excessively long base sequence to be synthesized.

Transformation of Black Phosphorus through Lattice Reconstruction for NIR-II-Responsive Cancer Therapy.

The photothermal performance of black phosphorus (BP) in the near infrared (NIR)-II bio-window (1000-1500 nm) is low, which limits its biomedical applications. Herein, ultrasmall nickel phosphide quantum dots (Ni P QDs) are synthesized with BP quantum dots (BPQDs) as the template by topochemical transformation. The size of Ni P QDs is ≈3.

BiTiS bio-transducer with explosive on-demand generation of NO gas for synergetic cancer therapy.

Combined photothermal therapy and nitric oxide (NO)-mediated gas therapy has shown great potential as a cancer treatment. However, the on-demand release of NO at a high concentration presents a challenge owing to the lack of an ideal bio-transducer with a high loading capacity of NO donors and sufficient energy to induce NO release. Here, we present a new 2D BiTiS nanosheet that is synthesized, loaded with the NO donor (BNN6), and conjugated with PEG-iRGD to produce a multifunctional bio-transducer (BNN6-BiTiS-iRGD) for the on-demand production of NO.

Synthesis of germanium/germanium phosphide in-plane heterostructure with efficient photothermal and enhanced photodynamic effects in the second near-infrared biowindow.

Inspired by the bifunctional phototherapy agents (PTAs), constructing compact PTAs with efficient photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) effects in the near-infrared (NIR-II) biowindow is crucial for high therapeutic efficacy. Herein, none-layered germanium (Ge) is transformed to layered Ge/germanium phosphide (Ge/GeP) structure, and a novel two-dimensional sheet-like compact S-scheme Ge/GeP in-plane heterostructure with a large extinction coefficient of 15.66 L/g cm at 1,064 nm is designed and demonstrated.

Biodegradable FePS nanoplatform for efficient treatment of osteosarcoma by combination of gene and NIR-II photothermal therapy.

As a common tumor with high incidence, osteosarcoma possesses extremely poor prognosis and high mortality. Improving the survival of osteosarcoma patients is still a great challenge due to the precipice of advancement in treatment. In this study, a combination strategy of gene therapy and photothermal therapy (PTT) is developed for efficient treatment of osteosarcoma.

Microencapsulation of Lead-Halide Perovskites in an Oil-in-Fluorine Emulsion for Cell Imaging.

The superior optical properties of lead-halide perovskites (LHPs) inspired significant research in cell imaging applications; many encapsulating processes have improved perovskite stabilities with comparable biosafety. Herein, facile solvent evaporation encapsulation based on an oil-in-fluorine emulsion for aqueous-stable and extremely nontoxic LHP microcapsules is described. Perfluorooctane dispersed the emulsifier fluorocarbon surfactant to form a continuous fluorine phase, while LHPs and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were dispersed in 1,2-dichloroethane, then emulsified in the fluorine phase to form an oil-in-fluorine emulsion.

Combined chemotherapy based on bioactive black phosphorus for pancreatic cancer therapy.

Pancreatic cancer is the most aggressive malignant tumor with difficulty in early diagnosis, very short survival time in advanced stage, and lack of effective treatment options. In this work, a novel combination chemotherapy strategy based on bioactive black phosphorus (BP) and gemcitabine (GEM) is developed for efficient treatment of pancreatic cancer. The combined cell cycle blockage in G2/M phase induced by BP and G0/G1 phase by GEM results in synergistic killing of pancreatic cancer cells with the combination index (CI) < 1.

Niobium Diselenide Nanosheets: An Emerging Biodegradable Nanoplatform for Efficient Cancer Phototheranostics in the NIR-II Window.

As a prominent class of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), niobium diselenide nanosheets (NbSe NSs) have garnered tremendous interest on account of promising applications pertaining to optoelectronics and energy storage. Although NbSe NSs have many unique advantages such as inherent biocompatibility and broad absorption in the NIR region, their biomedical applications have rarely been reported, especially as therapeutic agents for the second near-infrared (NIR-II) range. Herein, a biodegradable nanotherapeutic platform consisting of NbSe NSs is designed and demonstrated for NIR-II light-triggered photothermal therapy.

Black Phosphorous Aptamer-based Platform for Biomarker Detection.

Black phosphorus nanostructures (nano-BPs) mainly include BP nanosheets (BP NSs), BP quantum dots (BPQDs), and other nano-BPs-based particles at nanoscale. Firstly discovered in 2014, nano-BPs are one of the most popular nanomaterials. Different synthesis methods are discussed in short to understand the basic concepts and developments in synthesis.

Intrinsic bioactivity of black phosphorus nanomaterials on mitotic centrosome destabilization through suppression of PLK1 kinase.

Although nanomaterials have shown promising biomedical application potential, incomplete understanding of their molecular interactions with biological systems prevents their inclusion into mainstream clinical applications. Here we show that black phosphorus (BP) nanomaterials directly affect the cell cycle's centrosome machinery. BP destabilizes mitotic centrosomes by attenuating the cohesion of pericentriolar material and consequently leads to centrosome fragmentation within mitosis.

Bioactive phospho-therapy with black phosphorus for tumor suppression.

: Although inorganic nanomaterials have been widely used in multimodal cancer therapies, the intrinsic contributions of the materials are not well understood and sometimes underestimated. In this work, bioactive phospho-therapy with black phosphorus nanosheets (BPs) for tumor suppression is studied. : Orthotopic liver tumor and acute myeloid leukemia are chosen as the models for the solid tumor and hematological tumor, respectively.

InSe Nanosheets for Efficient NIR-II-Responsive Drug Release.

Near-infrared-II (NIR-II) biowindow is appealing from the perspectives of larger maximum permissible exposure in comparison with the near-infrared-I biowindow, so the NIR-II-responsive drug-delivery nanoplatform is highly desirable. In this work, two-dimensional InSe nanosheets (InSe NSs) are modified with poly(ethylene glycol) and evaluated as an effective NIR-II-responsive cancer treatment nanoplatform. The InSe NSs synthesized by liquid exfoliation exhibit prominent NIR-II-responsive photothermal conversion efficiency (39.

Synthesis of lipid-black phosphorus quantum dot bilayer vesicles for near-infrared-controlled drug release.

Black phosphorus quantum dots are incorporated into liposomal bilayers to produce a drug delivery system with excellent near-infrared (NIR) photothermal properties and drug release capability controlled by light. In vitro experiments demonstrate its good biocompatibility and NIR-light-induced chemo-photothermal antitumor efficiency.

A Light-Responsive Self-Assembly Formed by a Cationic Azobenzene Derivative and SDS as a Drug Delivery System.

The structure of a self-assembly formed from a cationic azobenzene derivative, 4-cholesterocarbonyl-4'-(N,N,N-triethylamine butyloxyl bromide) azobenzene (CAB) and surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solution was studied by cryo-TEM and synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Both unilamellar and multilamellar vesicles could be observed. CAB in vesicles were capable to undergo reversible trans-to-cis isomerization upon UV or visible light irradiation.

Two cholesterol derivative-based PEGylated liposomes as drug delivery system, study on pharmacokinetics and drug delivery to retina.

In this study, two cholesterol derivatives, (4-cholesterocarbonyl-4'-(N,N,N-triethylamine butyloxyl bromide) azobenzene (CAB) and 4-cholesterocarbonyl-4'-(N,N-diethylamine butyloxyl) azobenzene (ACB), one of which is positively charged while the other is neutral, were synthesized and incorporated with phospholipids and cholesterol to form doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded liposomes. PEGylation was achieved by including 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatiylethanol-amine-N-[methoxy-(polyethylene glycol)-2000 (DSPE-PEG2000). Our results showed that PEGylated liposomes displayed significantly improved stability and the drug leakage was decreased compared to the non-PEGylated ones in vitro.

CDBA-liposome as an effective sunscreen with longer UV protection and longer shelf life.

Harmful effects caused by the absorption of ultraviolet (UV) light can be reduced by using sunscreens. The long-wavelength UV (UVA) and short-wavelength UV (UVB) protective effects of an azobenzene compound, 4-cholesterocarbonyl-4'-(N,N'-diethylaminobutyloxy) azobenzene (CDBA) liposomal formulation, especially its repeated photo-isomerization were evaluated in the presence of substrates such as propylene glycol and glycerol. It was indicated that periodic UV and visible light irradiation did not affect the photo-isomerization and the structure of CDBA-liposome.

Physical stability of cholesterol derivatives combined with liposomes and their in vitro behavior.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical stability and drug release of two cholesterol derivatives (4-cholesterocarbonyl-4'-(N,N,N-triethylamine butyloxyl bromide, CTBBA, and 4-cholesterocarbonyl-4'-(N,N'-diethylamino-butyloxy, CDBA), when combined with doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded liposomes in vitro. CTBBA-liposome revealed a positive charge at a pH between 3 and 10, as indicated by the ζ-potential. DOX-encapsulated CTBBA-liposomes possessed better physical stability both in PBS and in fetal bovine serum (FBS) added to PBS.

Preparation of zein conjugated quantum dots and their in vivo transdermal delivery capacity through nude mouse skin.

Zein have been successfully conjugated with quantum dots (QD630) via N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N(-ethyl-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) coupling. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements indicated that the average diameter of QD630 was about 5 nm, and that of the zein conjugated QD630 (QD630/Zein) increased to 24 nm. Their size distributions were relatively narrow (Polyindex (PI) < 0.