Copper sulfide (CuS) nanoparticles have been considered one of the most clinical relevant nanosystems because of their straightforward chemistry, small particle size, low toxicity, and intrinsic theranostic characteristics. In our previous studies, radioactive [64Cu]CuS nanoparticles were successfully developed to be used as efficient radiotracers for positron emission tomography and for photothermal ablation therapy of cancer cells using near-infrared laser irradiation. However, the major challenge of CuS nanoparticles as a theranostic platform is the lack of a means for effective targeted delivery to the tumor site. To overcome this challenge, we designed and synthesized angiogenesis-targeting [64Cu]CuS nanoparticles, which are coupled with cyclic RGDfK peptide [c(RGDfK)] through polyethylene glycol (PEG) linkers using click chemistry. In assessing their tumor-targeting efficacy, we found that the tumor uptakes of [64Cu]CuS-PEG-c(RGDfK) nanoparticles at 24 h after intravenous injection were significantly greater (8.6%±1.4% injected dose/gram of tissue) than those of nontargeted [64Cu]CuS-PEG nanoparticles (4.3%±1.2% injected dose/gram of tissue, p < 0.05). Irradiation of tumors in mice administered [64Cu]CuS-PEG-c(RGDfK) nanoparticles induced 98.7% necrotic areas. In contrast, irradiation of tumors in mice administered non-targeted CuS-PEG nanoparticles induced 59% necrotic areas (p < 0.05). The angiogenesis-targeting [64Cu]CuS nanoparticles may serve as a promising platform for image-guided ablation therapy with high efficacy and minimal side effects in future clinical translation of this novel class of multifunctional nanomaterials.
We have developed novel gold-silver alloy nanoshells as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dual T1 (positive) and T2 (negative) contrast agents as an alternative to typical gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast agents. Specifically, we have doped iron oxide nanoparticles with Gd ions and sequestered the ions within the core by coating the nanoparticles with an alloy of gold and silver. Thus, these nanoparticles are very innovative and have the potential to overcome toxicities related to renal clearance of contrast agents such as nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. The morphology of the attained nanoparticles was characterized by XRD which demonstrated the successful incorporation of Gd(III) ions into the structure of the magnetite, with no major alterations of the spinel structure, as well as the growth of the gold-silver alloy shells. This was supported by TEM, ICP-AES, and SEM/EDS data. The nanoshells showed a saturation magnetization of 38 emu/g because of the presence of Gd ions within the crystalline structure with r1 and r2 values of 0.0119 and 0.9229 mL mg-1 s-1, respectively (Au:Ag alloy = 1:1). T1- and T2-weighted images of the nanoshells showed that these agents can both increase the surrounding water proton signals in the T1-weighted image and reduce the signal in T2-weighted images. The as-synthesized nanoparticles exhibited strong absorption in the range of 600-800 nm, their optical properties being strongly dependent upon the thickness of the gold-silver alloy shell. Thus, these nanoshells have the potential to be utilized for tumor cell ablation because of their absorption as well as an imaging agent.
Here we describe an immunosensing method, which is designed for high sensitivity sensing of various substances utilizing specificity of antigen-antibody (ELISA-type) interaction. The building up of the nanostructured sensing interface and the immunointeraction at the surface were characterized by atomic force microscopy. The proposed design makes potentially feasible attaining ultimate single-molecule sensitivity upon optimization of the system. The first non-optimized prototype described here has already demonstrated sensitivity to the presence of dinitrophenyl (DNP) in concentrations as low as 10 pM, which is 100 times better than reported limits of detection of DNP with a traditional enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay setup.
The present work was undertaken to study the effect of electret on transdermal drug delivery in vivo. The experiment was carried out in depilated abdominal rat skin using lidocaine hydrochloride as a model compound.Rats were divided into control and electret group. The electrets were applied on the drug in a vial and the blood samples were taken from jugular vein at predetermined time intervals. The concentration of lidocaine in plasma was measured by high proficiency liquid chromatograph (HPLC) after extraction. The plasma lidocaine concentration was significantly increased in electret group. The results suggested that electret could promote the permeability of drug by its effect on the structure of epidermis and blood flow change..
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