Tumor metastasis is one of the big challenges in cancer treatment and is often associated with high patient mortality. Until now, there is an agreement that tumor invasion and metastasis are related to degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) by enzymes. Inspired by the formation of natural ECM and the in situ self-assembly strategy developed in our group, herein, we in situ constructed an artificial extracellular matrix (AECM) based on transformable Laminin (LN)-mimic peptide 1 (BP-KLVFFK-GGDGR-YIGSR) for inhibition of tumor invasion and metastasis. The peptide 1 was composed of three modules including (i) the hydrophobic bis-pyrene (BP) unit for forming and tracing nanoparticles; (ii) the KLVFF peptide motif that was inclined to form and stabilize fibrous structures through intermolecular hydrogen bonds; and (iii) the Y-type RGD-YIGSR motif, derived from LN conserved sequence, served as ligands to bind cancer cell surfaces. The peptide 1 formed nanoparticles (1-NPs) by the rapid precipitation method, owing to strong hydrophobic interactions of BP. Upon intravenous injection, 1-NPs effectively accumulated in the tumor site due to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect and/or targeting capability of RGD-YIGSR. The accumulated 1-NPs simultaneously transformed into nanofibers (1-NFs) around the solid tumor and further entwined to form AECM upon binding to receptors on the tumor cell surfaces. The AECM stably existed in the primary tumor site over 72 h, which consequently resulted in efficiently inhibiting the lung metastasis in breast and melanoma tumor models. The inhibition rates in two tumor models were 82.3% and 50.0%, respectively. This in vivo self-assembly strategy could be widely utilized to design effective drug-free biomaterials for inhibiting the tumor invasion and metastasis.

The solubilities of dexamethasone sodium phosphate in different solvents were measured using a synthetic method. The laser monitoring observation technique was used to determine the disappearance of the solid phase in a solid + liquid mixture. The solubility data were correlated with Apelblat equation.

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Unravelling the molecular complexities of crystal nucleation from solutions is predicated on our ability to measure and interpret high quality kinetic data. This allows us to link nucleation rates to supersaturation, as well as to kinetic rate expressions and their parameters, arising from mechanistic considerations. In this context it is vital to be able to assess the reliability of measured nucleation rate data. Accordingly this contribution details a statistical approach that aims at quantifying the inherent uncertainty associated with nucleation rates obtained from induction time measurements carried out in small volumes. We investigate how uncertainties attached to nucleation rates propagate to mechanistic parameters derived from them and make recommendations for experimental protocols as well as data analysis strategies that minimize said uncertainty. The approach is applied to induction time measurements obtained for benzoic acid/toluene solutions in a wide range of supersaturations.

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The use of in situ tools to monitor the transformation of a polymorphic material has the potential to provide unique information about the mechanism and rate of transformation of the polymorphs. In this paper, the solution mediated transformation between α and β form p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) was investigated in detail. Solubility of α and β form PABA in pure ethanol was also reported for the first time, allowing the accurate determination of the transition temperature of 13.8 °C. For the transformation experiments, Raman spectroscopy and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy were used to in situ monitor the solid phase concentration and liquid concentration, respectively; Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement (FBRM) was used to in situ track the changes in the size and morphology of the particles. The observed changes were confirmed using PVM in-process imaging. It was proved by solubility data and transformation experiments that the relationship between α and β form is enantiotropic.

Due to the exceptional characteristics which resulted from nanoscale size, such as improved catalysis and adsorption properties as well as high reactivity, nanomaterials have been the subject of active research and development worldwide in recent years. Numerous studies have shown that nanomaterials can effectively remove various pollutants in water and thus have been successfully applied in water and wastewater treatment. In this paper, the most extensively studied nanomaterials, zero-valent metal nanoparticles (Ag, Fe, and Zn), metal oxide nanoparticles (TiO2, ZnO, and iron oxides), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and nanocomposites are discussed and highlighted in detail. Besides, future aspects of nanomaterials in water and wastewater treatment are discussed.