Gold nanorods, mesoporous silica, gadolinia, folic acid, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) derivatives have been investigated due to their own advantages in cancer theranostics. However, it remains a great challenge to assemble these components into a stable unity with the diverse and enhanced functionality for more potential applications. Herein, as inspired by the first-principles calculation, a highly stable and safe all-in-one nanoprobe is fabricated via a novel nanoassembly strategy. Multiscale calculations were performed to address the atomistic bonding of a nanoprobe, heat necrosis of a tumor adjacent to the vasculature, and thermal diffusion in a photothermal circumstance, respectively. The nanoprobe gains an 8-fold increase in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) relaxivity compared to the clinical gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetate, achieving a significant MRI signal in vivo. Conjugated with folate-PEG, the nanoprobe can be effectively absorbed by tumoral cells, obtaining a vivid two-photon cell imaging. A specific multisite scheme for photothermal therapy of a solid tumor is proposed to improve low photothermal efficacy caused by thermal diffusion in a large tumor, leading to the successful cure of the mice with xenograft tumor sized 10−12 mm. In vitro and in vivo toxicity, long-term excretion data, and the recovery of the treated mice demonstrate that the theranostic nanoprobe possesses good biocompatibility and metabolism efficacy.

The longitudinal surface plasmon resonance of light-irradiated gold nanorods (Au NRs) is generated to enhance the local electric fields of Au NR-based nano-dumbbells (NDs), tailored specifically by coating mesoporous silica at two poles of Au NRs and embedding photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG) into the mesopores. The assembled NDs possess a superior uniformity and water dispersity with a strong plasmonic absorption around 800 nm. Time-domain finite-difference calculations indicate that the enhanced local electric field of NDs is predominantly distributed in the dumbbells at two poles of Au NRs, which improves the photonic performance of ICG significantly. Illuminated by an 800 nm laser, the fabricated NDs demonstrate an enhanced combination of photothermal and photodynamic effects in comparison to either Au NRs or ICG alone. Synergistic damaging of photothermal and photodynamic combination to nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells has been corroborated experimentally, thus causing substantial cell death under a lower incident near-infrared laser power. This study concludes that the plasmonic NDs combined synergistically with efficient photothermal and photodynamic effects are highly promising in cancer therapy.

The degradation of AlGaN-based UVC LEDs under constant temperature and constant current stress for up to 500 hrs was analyzed in this work. During each degradation stage, the two-dimensional (2D) thermal distributions, I-V curves, optical powers, combining with focused ion beam and scanning electron microscope (FIB/SEM), were thoroughly tested and analyzed the properties and failure mechanisms of UVC LEDs. The results show that: 1) the opto-electrical characteristics measured before/during stress indicate that the increased leakage current and the generation of stress-induced defects increase the non-radiative recombination in the early stress stage, resulting in a decrease in optical power; 2) the increase of temperature caused by the deterioration of the Cr/Al layer of p-metal after 48 hrs of stress aggravates the optical power in UVC LEDs. The 2D thermal distribution in conjunction with FIB/SEM provide a fast and visual way to precisely locate and analyze the failure mechanisms of UVC LEDs.

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