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A simple hydrophobic-affinity-derived assembly approach to pack graphene sheets into a nanoporous foam structure has been developed. Nanoporous graphene foams with the highest pore volume and large surface area are obtained. The pore diameter of the graphene foams can be finely adjusted from the mesopore to the macropore range by employing spherical templates with different sizes.

Abstract-We propose a protocol that, given a communication network, computes a subnetwork such that, for every pair (u, v) of nodes connected in the original network, there is a a minimum-energy path between u and v in the subnetwork (where a minimum-energy path is one that allows messages to be transmitted with a minimum use of energy). The network computed by our protocol is in general a subnetwork of the one computed by the protocol given in [13]. Moreover, our protocol is computationally simpler. We demonstrate the performance improvements obtained by using the subnetwork computed by our protocol through simulation.

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In this research we employed layered double hydroxide nanoparticles (LDHs) to simultaneously deliver an anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and Allstars Cell Death siRNA (CD-siRNA) for effective cancer treatment. The strategy takes advantage of the LDH anion exchange capacity to intercalate 5-FU into its interlayer spacing and load siRNA on the surface of LDH nanoparticles. LDH nanoparticles have been previously demonstrated as an effective cellular delivery system for 5-FU and siRNA separately in various investigations. More excitedly, the combination of CD-siRNA and anticancer drug 5-FU with the same LDH particles significantly enhanced cytotoxicity to three cancer cell lines, e.g. MCF-7, U2OS and HCT-116, compared to the single treatment with either CD-siRNA or 5-FU. This enhancement is probably a result of coordinate mitochondrial damage process. Thus, the strategy to co-deliver siRNA and an anticancer drug by LDHs has great potential to overcome the drug resistance and enhance cancer treatment.

The pH in tumour cells and the tumour microenvironment has played important roles in cancer development and treatment.

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Lipid coated calcium phosphate (LCP) nanoparticles (NPs) remain an attractive option for siRNA systemic delivery. Previous research has shown that the stoichiometry of reactants affects the size and morphology of nanostructured calcium phosphate (CaP) particles. However, it is unclear how synthesis parameters such as the Ca/P molar ratio and mixing style influence the siRNA loading and protection by LCP NPs, and subsequent siRNA delivery efficiency. In this research, we found that the Ca/P molar ratio is critical in controlling the size, zeta potential, dispersion state, siRNA loading and protection. Based on the siRNA loading efficiency and capacity as well as siRNA protection effectiveness, we suggested an optimized LCP NPs delivery system. The optimized LCP NPs had a hollow, spherical structure with the average particle size of ~40 nm and were able to maintain their stability in serum containing media and PBS for over 24 h, with a pH-sensitive dissolution property. The superior ability of optimized LCP NPs to maintain the integrity of encapsulated siRNA and the colloidal stability in culture medium allow this formulation to achieve improved cellular accumulation of siRNA and enhanced growth inhibition of human breast cancer cells in vitro, compared with the commercial transfection agent Oligofectamine™.