Latest ArticlesThe two-dimensional surfaces have been fueled by the infinite possibility they offered for basic research, and for novel technologies in nanoelectronics. To realize many of these promises, the effective strategies were to design and control their surface chemistry, which plays a vital role in determining the chemical and physical properties. Macrocyclic host-guest chemistry with the reversible noncovalent interactions between macrocyclic hosts and suitable guests can be readily used for constructing multifunctional surfaces. Macrocyclic pillararenes, possessed the unique structure, have attracted the attentions of researchers in recent years. This feature article covers the recent development of pillararene-based two-dimensional interfaces, including the fabrication and function of the hybrid composite. The combination of pillararenes and materials platform exhibited the novel property because of the characteristic of cavity of macrocyclic host and confined spaces of surfaces. We anticipate that this review will be helpful to the researchers working in the fields of supramolecular chemistry and materials science.
The tumor microenvironment (TME) significantly influences cancer evolution and therapeutic efficacy. Targeting biofunctional molecules to the TME has long been appreciated as a means of raising local drug concentrations and reducing systemic toxicities. The booming nanotechnology field has realized the importance of cathepsin B to derive a variety of intelligent enzyme-responsive nanosized drug delivery systems (nanoDDS) to improve treatment responses and clinical outcomes. In this tutorial review, after introducing the molecular structure and physiological/pathological functions of cathepsin B, the outstanding achievements of cathepsin B-responsive nanoplatforms in the precise diagnosis, targeted therapy, and synergistic theranostics of malignant tumors are systematically described. Finally, the challenges of enzyme-substrate incompatibility, low diagnostic sensitivity, mass production and biocompatibility of multifunctional nanoDDS are considered in order to successfully promote them to clinical applications.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become the fourth predominant cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and HCC is still one of the worst prognoses for survival as it is poorly responsive to both chemotherapy and surgical treatment due to drug resistance and great toxic effects. Triptolide (TP), a key ingredient from the traditional Chinese medical herb, has been utilized to treat inflammation and antitumor for centuries. However, investigations of this potent agent have been met with only limited success due to the severe systemic toxicities in patients and low water solubility as well as its high toxicity over the past two decades. Herein, we reported the development of a reduction-responsive drug delivery system loaded with TP for glutathione (GSH)-triggered drug release for cancer therapy. With the GSH-sensitive TP loaded nanoparticles, the remarkable increases in tumor accumulation and amelioration of drug toxicity in animals are demonstrated, which is likely due to sustained stepwise release of active TP within cancer cells. Moreover, in a patient-derived tumor xenograft model of liver cancer, administration of tritolide nanoparticles enhances the antitumor efficacy relative to administration of free TP. These findings indicate that GSH-sensitive release of TP may be a promising strategy for cancer treatment.
The development of heterogeneous catalysts with substrate shape, size or electronic constitution selectivity is a huge challenge in photocatalysis. Reported herein is a host-guest interaction strategy to endow photocatalysts with special selectivity. By adjusting the precursors, conjugated macrocycle polymers (CMPs) with pillar[5]arene struts (CMP-1 and CMP-2) and a corresponding non-pillar[5]arene-contained conjugated organic polymer (COP-1) were prepared and the photocatalytic activities toward sulfide derivatives were investigated. The sulfides showed similar conversions when COP-1 was used as a photocatalyst, but exhibited significant differences when it turned to the CMPs. Remarkably, the conversion yield of S-1 achieved near 18 folds over the one of S-2 when CMP-2 was used as a catalyst. Mechanism studies confirmed that the "host-guest" effect of pillar[5]arene struts in CMPs was the main cause of the difference. The present work establishes CMPs as novel heterogeneous photocatalysts with substrate selectivity, and such a method will inspire the researchers concerning preparation of heterogeneous catalysts with excellent selectivity.
Combination therapy such as photothermal therapy (PTT) enhanced chemotherapy is regarded as a promising strategy for cancer treatment. Herein, we developed redox-responsive polymeric vesicles based on the amphiphilic triblock copolymer PCL-ss-PEG-ss-PCL. To avoid the limited therapeutic effect of chemotherapeutic drugs caused by systemic exposures and drug resistance, the redox-sensitive polymeric vesicles were cargoed with two chemotherapeutics: doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTX). Besides, indocyanine green (ICG) was encapsulated, and cell-penetrating peptides and LHRH targeting molecule were modified on the surface of polymeric vesicles. The results indicated that the polymeric vesicles can load different kinds of drugs with high drug loading content, trigger drug release in responsive to the reductive environment, realize high cellular uptake via dual peptides and laser irradiation, and achieve higher cytotoxicity via chemo-photothermal combination therapy. Hence, the redox-responsive LHRH/TAT dual peptides-conjugated PTX/DOX/ICG co-loaded polymeric micelles exhibited great potential in tumor-targeting and chemo-photothermal therapy.
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have become a research hotspot and widely used in the biomedical field in recent decades due to their unique magnetic properties. This minireview summarizes the specific gene transfection of magnetic particles (magnetofection) during eversy dynamic process of gene delivery (gene binding, cellular uptake, endosomal escape, intracellular trafficking and in vivo targeting). Meanwhile, the synergistic biomedical application of magnetofection and the effects of MNPs have also been discussed, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic mediated hyperthermia (MMH), Fenton reaction and autophagy. Finally, the clinical prospect of magnetofection was briefly expected.
The copper(II) diethyldithiocarbamate (Cu(DDC)2) complex exhibited excellent inhibition to cancer cells. The usual administration is intravenous injection for disulfram and oral for copper. A new strategy was reported to improve the administration efficiency of the Cu(DDC)2 drug. Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles were used to trap disulfram and copper gluconate separately, the two types of drug loaded nanoparticles were injected in mesothelioma-bearing nude mice via intraperitoneal injection. The in vivo formation of Cu(DDC)2 complex was induced by disulfiram and Cu2+ released from PLGA nanoparticles. This strategy avoided many obstacles in the use of Cu(DDC)2 complex as chemotherapeutic and exhibited excellent anticancer activity to mesothelioma.
A versatile heteropoly acid (H3PMo12O40)-catalyzed coupling of diarylmethanols with epoxides was established for the synthesis of polyaryl-substituted aldehydes. Furthermore, the catalytic system was also suitable for the reaction of diarylmethanols and diols/aldehydes. The application of such an earthabundant, readily accessible, and nontoxic catalyst provides a green approach for the construction of polyaryl-substituted aldehydes.
Li2FeTiO4 composites have been produced using commercial LiAC, FeCl2 and different titanium sources by hydrothermal synthesis (HS) at 175 ℃ and subsequent annealing at 700 ℃. Impure phase TiO2, Fe2O3 and FeTiO4 were detected out among the Li2FeTiO4 composites with different titanium sources. Micron and nano-sized particles of Li2FeTiO4 were prepared from various titanium raw materials, with nano-sized particles predominating when titanium raw materials were layered hydrogen titanate nanowire (H2Ti3O7NW, HTO-NW) and titanium oxide nanotubes (TiO2NB). The Li2FeTiO4 composites synthesized by HTO-NW shows a primary particle size of 50-200 nm of high crystallinity staggered with undissolved nanowire with a diameter size of about 100 nm. The samples using one-dimensional nanometer titanium oxide (TiO2 NB) as the raw material can get a super high initial discharge capacity of 367.8 mAh/g at the rate of C/10 and excellent cycling stability. The selection of raw materials and adopting multi-phase modification can be considered as an effective strategy to improve the electro-chemical properties of Li2FeTiO4 composite cathode materials for the lithium secondary battery.
Peptide self-assembled nanomaterials have attracted more and more attention due to their wide applications such as drug delivery, cell imaging, and real-time drug monitoring. However, the application of the peptide is still limited by its inherent optical properties. Here we proposed and prepared a series of fluorescent tripeptide nanoparticles (TPNPs) through π-π stacking and zinc coordination. The experimental results show that the nanoparticles (TPNPs1) formed by the self-assembly of the tripeptide tryptophan-tryptophan-tryptophan have the highest fluorescence intensity, uniform and appropriate size, and low cytotoxicity. Furthermore, there was fluorescence resonance between TPNPs1 and doxorubicin, which has been successfully applied for real-time cell imaging and drug release monitoring.
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