Highly sensitive and specific discrimination of brain tumor margins from the surrounding parenchyma remains a formidable challenge. Limited by the short of photostable probes with deep tissue penetration and high efficiency of crossing the blood-brain-barrier (BBB), the development of fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) of brain tumors was markedly constrained. Herein, we report the capability of the strong second near-infrared-IIb (NIR IIb, 1500−1700 nm) fluorescence from Er-based lanthanide nanoparticles in imaging-guided surgery of orthotopic glioma. We designed an energy-cascaded Er 3+ -Ce 3+ -A 3+ (A = Yb, Ho, Tm) system and prepared a series of NaErF 4 :Ce@NaAF 4 @NaLuF 4 down-conversion nanoparticles (DCNPs) for optimizing the influence of NaAF 4 interlayer and Ce 3+ dopants. We modified the optimal NaErF 4 :2.5 %Ce@NaYbF 4 (0.9 nm)@NaLuF 4 DCNPs with Dye-brush polymer (Dye-BP) to facilitate 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 transition, which leads to an impressive 675-fold enhancement of 1525 nm fluorescence in aqueous solution under 808 nm excitation due to the excellent energy-cascaded downconversion (ECD), in comparison with that of NaErF 4 nanoparticles. We further modified these highly bright nanoparticles with tumor-targeting angiopep-2 peptide, and efficiently delivered them to the glioma by using the focused ultrasound sonication (FUS) to temporarily open the BBB. We obtained the highest tumorto-background ratio (TBR = 12.5) ever reported in the targeted NIR IIb fluorescence imaging of small orthotopic glioma (size < 3 mm, depth> 3 mm) through intact skull and scalp, which was drastically improved to ∼150 after cardiac perfusion and craniotomy to ensure the precise resection of tumor. More importantly, the size of glioma measured from the width of fluorescence profile is very close to that from T 2 -weighted MRI images. Our work provides the insights into engineering NIR IIb fluorescence of lanthanide nanoparticles, and demonstrates the great potential of NIR IIb fluorescence imaging-guided surgery of tumor.

Multifunctional phototheranostics were successfully constructed for NIR-II fluorescence/photoacoustic dual-modal imaging and simultaneous photodynamic/photothermal combination therapy.

Multifunctional supramolecular vesicles were constructed by self-assembly of water-soluble pillar[5]arene and near infrared-absorbing guest G. They exhibited remarkable antitumor efficacy through simultaneous combination of photothermal, photodynamic and photodynamic-triggered hypoxia-activated chemotherapy.

No abstract

Developing multifunctional supramolecular nanoplatforms for effective tumor therapy is a challenging task. In this contribution, a NIR-absorbing perylene diimide dye G has been prepared, which not only acted as a photothermal agent, but also served as a guest. Multifunctional supramolecular vesicles were efficiently constructed by the recognition of dye G and water-soluble pillar[5]­arene, which showed high-loading capacity for hydrophobic chemotherapy drug doxorubicin. What’s more, the resulting drug-loaded vesicles had high stability in simulated normal physiological condition but showed rapid drug release in the acidic microenvironment. Additionally, the drug-loaded vesicles exhibited more remarkable antitumor efficacy than chemotherapy or photothermal treatment alone through chemo-photothermal synergistic therapy. Furthermore, such supramolecular drug nanocarriers could efficiently get inside the tumor cells mainly via endocytosis to obtain excellent accumulation of drug in tumor sites. Overall, this study offers an innovative tactic to fabricate smart nanocarriers for synergistic therapy of cancer.

No abstract

Novel versatile phototheranostics have been successfully developed for tri-modal (NIR-II fluorescence/photoacoustic/thermal) imaging-guided photothermal therapy, which was triggered by a single-wavelength laser.

Maillard reaction (MR) is a cascade of complex interactions between reducing sugars and amine groups in food processing and storage. It produces a variety of volatile compound, nonenzymatic intermediates, and high molecular weight melanoidin contributing improved aroma, color, flavor, and antioxidant properties to the final food products. When uncontrolled, it can produce some harmful derivatives such as acrylamide, heterocyclic amine, advanced glycation end Products (AGEs), and other substances that can be detrimental to human health leading to cancer and chronic diseases. Herein, we reviewed the MR leading to different MRPs and factors affecting the MR and MRPs, their application in food model systems, their biological activities, and the formation mechanism and effective inhibition methods of common harmful MRPs. The updated overview can be useful to explore the rational use of MR, which can ameliorate its positive biological features with reduced adverse effects.