Recent advances and design strategies for organic afterglow agents to enhance autofluorescence-free imaging performance.

Long-lasting afterglow luminescence imaging that detects photons slowly being released from chemical defects has emerged, eliminating the need for real-time photoexcitation and enabling autofluorescence-free imaging with high signal-to-background ratios (SBRs). Organic afterglow nano-systems are notable for their tunability and design versatility. However, challenges such as unsatisfactory afterglow intensity, short emission wavelengths, limited activatable strategies, and shallow tissue penetration depth hinder their widespread biomedical applications and clinical translation.

Tc/Y radiolabeled biodegradable gel microspheres for lung shutting fraction assessment and radioembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma theranostics.

Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) is a well-established clinical therapy for the treatment of patients with intermediate to advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or those who are ineligible for radical treatment. However, commercialized radioactive microspheres still have some issues, such as high density, complicated preparation, non-biodegradability. Furthermore, the use of different radioactive microspheres during TARE and lung shunt fraction assessment has led to inconsistencies in biodistribution in certain cases.

Bacteria-based biohybrids for remodeling adenosine-mediated immunosuppression to boost radiotherapy-triggered antitumor immune response.

Radiotherapy (RT) can trigger immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells and release adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to activate antitumor immunity. However, the formation of immunosuppressive adenosine (ADO) mediated by ectonucleotidases including CD39 and CD73, can exacerbate the immunosuppressive effects. Herein, a radiosensitizer-based metal-organic framework (MOF) composed of bismuth (Bi) and ellagic acid (EA) was synthesized in situ on the surface of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) to serve as a carrier for the CD39 inhibitor sodium polyoxotungstate (POM-1).

The Effect of Metformin on Radiation-Induced Lung Fibrosis in Mice.

Radiation-induced lung fibrosis (RILF) is a common complication of thoracic radiotherapy. Metformin has been suggested to have a radioprotective effect. This study explored the radioprotective effects of metformin on RILF and its mechanisms.

HIG-2 promotes glioma stemness and radioresistance mediated by IGFBP2-rich microparticles in hypoxia.

Hypoxia can weaken the efficacy of radiotherapy and decrease tumor immunogenicity leading to immune escape. Thus, a thorough understanding of the key signaling pathways regulated by hypoxia is vitally important to enhance the radiosensitivity and improve immunosuppressive microenvironment of glioma. In this study, we verified the crucial role of hypoxia-inducible gene 2 (HIG-2) in lipid droplet (LD) accumulation and demonstrated that HIG-2 binding to frizzled class receptor 10 (FZD10) activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and increased its downstream insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) level in microparticles (MPs) derived from glioma stem cells (GSCs), leading to decreased radiosensitivity and immunogenicity of MPs-receiving cells via the cross-talk between GSCs and non-stem glioma cells (GCs).

Specific surface-modified iron oxide nanoparticles trigger complement-dependent innate and adaptive antileukaemia immunity.

Considerable advances have been achieved in the application of nanomaterials for immunotherapies, yet the precise immune effects induced by protein corona remain elusive. Here, we explore the formation mechanism and immune regulation process of protein corona in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) mouse models using commercialized iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs), with different surface modifications, including an FDA-approved variant. Using macrophages depleted or Complement Component 3 (C3) knockout mice, we demonstrate that carboxymethyl dextran-coated IONP (IONP-COOH) reduces leukaemia burden.

Exacerbated hepatotoxicity in in vivo and in vitro non-alcoholic fatty liver models by biomineralized copper sulfide nanoparticles.

Copper sulfide nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized through biomineralization have significant commercial potential as photothermal agents, while the safety evaluation of these NPs, especially for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), remains insufficient. To explore the differential hepatotoxicity of copper sulfide NPs in NAFL conditions, we synthesized large-sized (LNPs, 15.1 nm) and small-sized (SNPs, 3.

Design of a High-Performance Near-Infrared Scintillator through Metal-Atom Substitution in Metal Chalcogenide.

We report the synthesis and optical characterization of a series of metal chalcogenides, ASiSTe (A = Sr, Ba, Eu), highlighting the metal-atom substitution strategy for the discovery of a high-performance metal chalcogenide-based near-infrared (NIR) scintillator of EuSiSTe. EuSiSTe exhibits exceptionally broad NIR emission with a full width at half-maximum of 210 nm, the largest among all known Eu-based NIR emitters. EuSiSTe has a high light yield of 41697 photons/MeV and excellent resistance to hygroscopicity.

Discovery of Lipoxygenase-Like Materials for Inducing Ferroptosis.

Recent research has highlighted the pivotal role of lipoxygenases in modulating ferroptosis and immune responses by catalyzing the generation of lipid peroxides. However, the limitations associated with protein enzymes, such as poor stability, low bioavailability, and high production costs, have motivated researchers to explore biomimetic materials with lipoxygenase-like activity. Here, we report the discovery of lipoxygenase-like two-dimensional (2D) MoSnanosheets capable of catalyzing lipid peroxidation and inducing ferroptosis.

Noninvasive Immunotyping and Immunotherapy Monitoring of Lung Cancers via Nuclear Imaging of LAG-3 and PD-L1.

Immunotherapy has significantly improved cancer patient survival, while its efficacy remains limited due to the reliance on a single marker like PD-L1 as well as its spatiotemporal heterogeneity. To address this issue, combining lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) with PD-L1 is proposed for identifying immunotypes and monitoring immunotherapy through nuclear imaging. In short, Tc-HYNIC-αLAG-3 and Tc-HYNIC-αPD-L1 probes are synthesized using anti-human LAG-3 and PD-L1 antibodies, respectively.

Enhancing the Self-Healing Efficiency of TiAlC MAX Phase via Irradiation.

Self-healing materials are highly desirable in the nuclear industry to ensure nuclear security. Although extensive efforts have been devoted to developing self-healing materials in the past half century, very limited successes have been reported for ceramics or metals. Here, we report an intrinsic self-healing material of TiAlC MAX phase, which exhibits both ceramic and metallic properties, and a strategy for further enhancing the self-healing via irradiation is proposed.

Role of damaged mitochondrial transfer in alpha-particle generator Pb radiation-induced bystander effect.

Pb, a promising alphaparticle generator of Bi, has aroused much interest as a therapeutic radionuclide. For the development of targeted alpha therapy (TAT), it is important to determine the contribution of targeted effects in irradiated cells, and also of non-targeted effects in non-irradiated bystander cells. Currently, the critical roles of mitochondrial transfer in cellular crosstalk have garnered significant attention.

Targeted sonodynamic therapy induces tumor cell quasi-immunogenic ferroptosis and macrophage immunostimulatory autophagy in glioblastoma.

In this study, we demonstrated the mechanism of a glioblastoma (GBM)-targeted sonodynamic therapy (SDT) strategy employing platelets loaded with a sonosensitizer based on functionalized boron nitride nanoparticles carrying chlorin e6 (BNPD-Ce6). In the in vitro study, we first found that the BNPD-Ce6-mediated sonodynamic action (SDA) induced remarkable viability loss, DNA damage, and cell death in the GBM cells (GBCs) but not macrophages. Surprisingly, the SDA-exposed GBCs displayed a ferroptotic phenotype while the SDA-exposed macrophages underwent immuno-stimulatory autophagy and potently potentiated the SDA's toxicity to the GBCs.

Insights into the mechanism of a substituted metal center regulating the enzymatic activity of Prussian blue analogues for catalytic antioxidation.

Atom engineering has been demonstrated to be an efficient strategy for optimizing the activities of Prussian blue analogue (PBA)-based nanozymes. Herein, using a series of metal atom-coordinated N PBAs as models, a mechanistic insight into the effect of substituted metal centers on the antioxidant activities of PBA-based nanozymes is provided for the first time. The PBAs exhibit substituted metal atom-dependent antioxidant activities and the optimal Cu-substituted PBAs can effectively protect cells from oxidative stress.

Unleashing the Power of Cold Atmospheric Plasma: Inducing Mitochondria Damage-Mediated Mitotic Catastrophe.

Despite the promise of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) for cancer treatment, the challenges associated with the treatment of solid tumors and penetration depth limitations remain, restricting its clinical application. Here, biological evidence is provided that the killing effect of CAP treatment is confined to less than 500 µm subcutaneously and the actual biological dose decreased gradually with depth for the first time, indicating that the limited penetration depth has become an urgent problem that demands immediate solutions. Significantly, it is showed that different from high-dose treatments, CAP decreased the doses to the low-dose range but still exhibited anti-tumor effects via mitotic catastrophe.

Loureirin hydrogel promotes healing of radionuclide-contaminated wounds by regulating angiogenesis and immune cells.

Radionuclide-contaminated wounds face clinical dilemmas such as repeated erosion and ulceration and are difficult to heal. In this work, we aimed to develop a biodegradable hydrogel with a beneficial effect on radionuclide-contaminated wounds and initially investigated the mechanism of action of the hydrogel. The hydrogel was produced through the ring-opening polymerization of polycaprolactone (PCL) triggered by polyethylene glycol (PEG), and its physicochemical properties were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, rheological properties testing, and other techniques.

Electric-Field Controlled Switchable and Efficient Separation of Radioactive Xe/Kr on Borophene: A Theoretical Study.

The efficient and reversible separation of radioactive Xe/Kr during spent fuel reprocessing is important and challenging for the rapid development of nuclear energy. In this study, we firstly report a strategy of applying an electric field on the solid adsorbent borophene to realize efficient and switchable Xe/Kr separation via a density functional theory (DFT) investigation. Based on the calculational results, the adsorption energies for Xe and Kr on borophene without an electric field are -0.

Glutathione-Depleted Photodynamic Nanoadjuvant for Triggering Nonferrous Ferroptosis to Amplify Radiotherapy of Breast Cancer.

Radiotherapy plays a crucial role in the treatment of advanced breast cancer, but the increased antioxidant system, especially the rise in glutathione (GSH), presents a significant obstacle to its effectiveness. To address this challenge, a versatile GSH-depleted photodynamic nanoadjuvant is developed to augment the efficacy of radiotherapy for breast cancer treatment. This nanoadjuvant operates within the tumor microenvironment to effectively deplete intracellular GSH through a sequence of cascaded processes, including GSH exhaustion, biosynthetic inhibition, and photodynamic oxidation.