In this work, we present the coating regulations of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) by the reverse microemulsion
method
to obtain the Fe3O4@SiO2 core/shell
NPs. The regulation produces the core/shell NPs with a single core
and with different shell thicknesses, and it especially can be applied
to different sizes Fe3O4 NPs and avoid the formation
of core-free silica particles. Our results reveal that the silica
coating parameters suitable for Fe3O4 NPs with
certain size are not definitely applicable to that with other sizes,
and the match of the number of Fe3O4 NPs with
aqueous domain is essential. We found that the small aqueous domain
is suitable to coat ultrathin silica shell, while the large aqueous
domain is indispensable for coating thicker shells. To avoid the formation
of core-free silica particles, the thick silica shell can be achieved
by increasing the content of either TEOS through the equivalently
fractionated drops or ammonia with a decreased one-off TEOS. The ligand
exchange between the intermediate processes of the silica coating
is evidenced. Our results provide not only a strategy for synthesizing
uniform Fe3O4@SiO2 core/shell NPs
with controlled shell thickness, but also a regulation that can be
applied to preparation other core–shell NPs.
SummaryT helper type 17 (Th17) cells, which represent a novel subset of CD4 + T cells, play an active role in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Recent studies have also suggested that they have an impact on solid tumours. However, the nature of Th17 cells in haematological malignancies remains unknown. In this study, we investigated Th17 cell frequency and secretion of related cytokines in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). First, we found that Th17 cell frequencies were increased significantly in peripheral blood samples from untreated patients with AML, compared with those from healthy volunteers. Moreover, increased interleukin (IL)-17 concentrations accompanied the increased Th17 cell frequencies in these patients. These results suggest that Th17 cells may play a role in the pathogenesis of AML. Secondly, we found that the increased Th17 cell frequencies were reduced when patients achieved complete remission after chemotherapy, suggesting that measurement of Th17 cell frequencies may have clinical value in the evaluation of therapeutic effect. In addition, we found that IL-6 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-b1 concentrations increased in the untreated patients and that IL-6 concentrations showed a positive correlation with the frequencies of Th17 cells, suggesting that IL-6 may play an important role in Th17 cell differentiation in patients with AML.
In this paper, we report on a novel family of monodisperse thermo‐sensitive core–shell hydrogel microspheres that is featured with high monodispersity and positively thermo‐responsive volume phase transition characteristics with tunable swelling kinetics, i.e., the particle swelling is induced by an increase rather than a decrease in temperature. The microspheres were fabricated in a three‐step process. In the first step, monodisperse poly(acrylamide‐co‐styrene) seeds were prepared by emulsifier‐free emulsion polymerization. In the second step, poly(acrylamide) or poly[acrylamide‐co‐(butyl methacrylate)] shells were fabricated on the microsphere seeds by free radical polymerization. In the third step, the core–shell microspheres with poly‐ (acrylamide)/poly(acrylic acid) based interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) shells were finished by a method of sequential IPN synthesis. The proposed monodisperse core–shell microspheres provide a new mode of the phase transition behavior for thermo‐sensitive “smart” or “intelligent” monodisperse micro‐actuators that is highly attractive for targeting drug delivery systems, chemical separations, sensors, and so on.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.