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Breast cancer is a neoplastic disease with a high mortality rate among women. Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) attracted considerable attention because of their minimal invasiveness. The PTT approach works based on hyperthermia generation, and PDT approach employs laser irradiation to activate a reagent named photosensitizer. Therefore, in the current paper, a dual-functioned nanocomposite (NC) was designed for the treatment of breast cancer model in Balb/c mice with the combination of photodynamic and photothermal approaches. Transmission electron microscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, FTIR, and XRD were employed to validate the nanostructure and silica coating and curcumin (CUR) immobilization on the Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The effect of Fe3O4/SiO2-CUR combined with PDT and PTT was assessed in vivo on the breast tumor mice model, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was employed to evaluate the expression of apoptotic Bax and Caspase3 proteins. The TEM images, UV–visible absorption, and FTIR spectra demonstrated the successful immobilization of curcumin molecules on the surface of Fe3O4/SiO2. Also, MTT assay confirmed the nontoxic nature of Fe3O4/SiO2 nanoparticles in vitro. In the breast tumor mice model, we have assessed six treatment groups, including control, CUR + PDT, Blue + NIR (near-infrared) lasers, NC, NC + PTT, and NC + PDT + PTT. The tumor volume in the NC + PDT + PTT group showed a significant reduction compared to other groups (p < 0.05). More interestingly, the tumor volume of NC + PDT + PTT group showed a 27% decrease compared to its initial amount. It should be noted that no detectable weight loss or adverse effects on the vital organs was observed due to the treatments. Additionally, the IHC data represented that the expression of proapoptotic Bax and Caspase3 proteins were significantly higher in the NC + PDT + PTT group compared to the control group, indicative of apoptosis. To conclude, our data supported the fact that the NC + PDT + PTT strategy might hold a promising substitute for chemotherapy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers.

LLLT using an 80-Hz pulsed infrared diode laser accelerated third-degree burn healing in rat.

Aluminum spectra in the noble gases of helium and argon at initial delay times after plasma formation are numerically calculated. Temporal behavior of plasma emissions up to 200 ns after laser irradiation is investigated. Plasma parameters are computed by coupling the thermal model of laser ablation, hydrodynamic of plasma expansion, and Saha-Eggert equations. A spectrum is constructed from the superposition of 13 strong lines of aluminum and several strong lines of ambient gases. Spectral radiations are superimposed on a continuous emission composed of bremsstrahlung and recombination radiation. The self-absorption effect on plasma radiation at 1 atm gas pressure is studied. In this paper, a comparison between thin and thick aluminum radiation is done. Furthermore, the self-absorption coefficient of each strong line at laser energies of 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, and 1.1 GW/cm(2) is estimated. Results show that at specific laser energy, the self-absorption effect in argon is more significant than in helium. For most of the spectral lines in both noble gases, the self-absorption coefficient will diminish with the delay time. As indicated with passing time, the line widths of the self-absorbed lines will rise. More intense continuous emissions are observed at higher wavelengths, and these radiations will be increased with laser energy.

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