Our results show that HMME-SDT can induce C6 cell death through both necrosis and apoptosis. ROS in C6 cells play a decisive role in HMME-SDT-induced cell death. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) may be a major target of HMME-SDT, ROS can induce SERCA(2) degradation, causing the elevation of [Ca(2+)](i).

The aim of this study was to study the effects of killing C6 glioma cells induced by hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME)-mediated sonodynamic therapy combined with photodynamic therapy (SPDT). In the SPDT group, the cells were treated with sonication at an intensity of 0.5 W/cm2 and a frequency of 1 MHz, followed by different doses of light irradiation. The growth inhibition rate following treatment was determined by MTT assay. The apoptotic rate was examined by a flow cytometry. Cleavage of caspase 3, 8 and 9 was investigated by immunoblotting. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by a fluorescence microplate reader. The effect of SPDT on the glioma cells was also studied in the absence or presence of various ROS scavengers. The growth inhibition rate of C6 glioma cells treated with SPDT was significantly higher compared with sonodynamic therapy (SDT) or photodynamic therapy (PDT) alone at light doses <200 J/cm2. The growth inhibition rate of C6 glioma cells treated with SPDT did not rise significantly when the light dose increased to >120 J/cm2. The apoptosis rate was the highest in the SPDT group, when the light dose was at 80 J/cm2. A greater amount of ROS were generated in the SPDT group than in the groups treated with SDT or PDT alone. The addition of NaN3 or mannitol resulted in a decrease in the growth inhibition rate with SPDT. In conclusion, our data indicate that SPDT powerfully kills C6 glioma cells in vitro through the synergistic effects of SDT and PDT. The pathway of PDT inducing C6 glioma cell apoptosis includes both the mitochondrial and death receptor pathways. Furthermore, ROS may play an important role in SPDT.

Mesoporous carbon microparticles (MCMPs) with anisotropic shapes and ordered structures are attractive materials that remain challenging to access. In this study, a facile yet versatile route is developed to prepare anisotropic MCMPs by combining neutral interface-guided 3D confined self-assembly (3D-CSA) of block copolymer (BCP) with a self-templated direct carbonization strategy. This route enables pre-engineering BCP into microparticles with oblate shape and hexagonal packing cylindrical mesostructures, followed by selective crosslinking and decorating of their continuous phase with functional species (such as platinum nanoparticles, Pt NPs) via in situ growth. To realize uniform in situ growth, a "guest exchange" strategy is proposed to make room for functional species and a pre-crosslinking strategy is developed to preserve the structural stability of preformed BCP microparticles during infiltration. Finally, Pt NP-loaded MCMPs are derived from the continuous phase of BCP microparticles through selective self-templated direct carbonization without using any external carbon source. This study introduces an effective concept to obtain functional species-loaded and N-doped MCMPs with oblate shape and almost hexagonal structure (p6mm), which would find important applications in fuel cells, separation, and heterogeneous catalysis.

Generally, nanostructured polymer particles are prepared by 3D confined self‐assembly (3D‐CSA) of block copolymers (BCPs), while micelles are obtained through self‐assembly of BCPs in dilute solutions. Herein, a facile yet robust strategy is developed to regulate the assembled structures of BCP, poly(styrene‐block‐4‐vinylpyridine) (PS‐b‐P4VP), from nanostructured particles to micelles. The assemblies are prepared by an emulsion‐solvent diffusion‐induced self‐assembly route, which is conducted by dialysis. A key feature of this strategy is that a P4VP‐selective solvent (e.g., ethanol) is added to the dialysate to tune the interfacial behavior of the droplets and assembled structures of PS‐b‐P4VP. The authors’ results reveal that in the presence of slight ethanol, the surface and internal structural transitions of nanostructured particles are caused by changes in the interfacial selectivity and packing parameter. Interestingly, interfacial instability, which results in the formation of micelles, is observed when the dialysate contains 50 vol% ethanol or more. The reason can be ascribed to the decreased interface tension, which is induced by the increase in ethanol and enhanced solubility of P4VP. This facile strategy provides a new opportunity to bridge the gap between traditional 3D‐CSA and solution self‐assembly of BCPs, offering a promising route to engineer morphologies and nanostructures of polymeric assemblies.

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