Natural
nanoparticles have been extensively studied due to their
diverse properties and easy accessibility. Here, the nanoparticles
extracted from cuttlefish ink (CINPs) with significant antitumor efficacy
are explored. These CINPs, with spherical morphology, good dispersibility,
and biocompatibility, are rich in melanin and contain a variety of
amino acids and monosaccharides. Through the activation of mitogen-activated
protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, CINPs can efficiently reprogram
tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) from immune-suppressive M2-like
phenotype to antitumor M1-like phenotype. Besides, under near-infrared
(NIR) irradiation, CINPs exhibit high photothermal effect and tumor
cell killing ability, which make them a potential candidate in photothermal
therapy (PTT) of tumor. In vivo, CINPs can increase
the proportion of M1 macrophages and foster the recruitment of cytotoxic
T lymphocytes (CTLs) to tumors, leading to reduced primary tumor growth
and lung metastasis. In combination with their photothermal effect,
which can induce tumor-specific antigens release, CINPs could almost
completely inhibit tumor growth accompanied by more active immune
responses. Collectively, these CINPs described here can provide both
tumor immunotherapy and PTT, implying that CINPs are promising for
tumor treatment.
A photothermal bacterium (PTB) is reported for tumor‐targeted photothermal therapy (PTT) by using facultative anaerobic bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1 (S. oneidensis MR‐1) to biomineralize palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) on its surface without affecting bacterial activity. It is found that PTB possesses superior photothermal property in near infrared (NIR) regions, as well as preferential tumor‐targeting capacity. Zeolitic imidazole frameworks‐90 (ZIF‐90) encapsulating photosensitizer methylene blue (MB) are hybridized on the surface of living PTB to further enhance PTT efficacy. MB‐encapsulated ZIF‐90 (ZIF‐90/MB) can selectively release MB at mitochondria and cause mitochondrial dysfunction by producing singlet oxygen (1O2) under light illumination. Mitochondrial dysfunction further contributes to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis inhibition and heat shock proteins (HSPs) down‐regulated expression. The PTB‐based therapeutic platform of PTB@ZIF‐90/MB demonstrated here will find great potential to overcome the challenges of tumor targeting and tumor heat tolerance in PTT.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is regarded as a potential therapeutic agent with multiple beneficial functions for biomedical applications. In this study, a versatile CO nanogenerator (designated as PPOSD) was fabricated and developed for tumor therapy and anti-inflammation. Partially oxidized tin disulfide (SnS 2 ) nanosheets (POS NSs) were decorated with a tumor-targeting polymer (polyethylene glycol-cyclo(Asp-D-Phe-Lys-Arg-Gly), PEG-cRGD), followed by the loading of chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) to prepare polymer@POS@DOX, or PPOSD. After injected intravenously, PPOSD could selectively accumulate in tumor tissue via the cRGD-mediated tumor recognition. Upon 561 nm laser irradiation, the POS moiety in PPOSD can photoreduce CO 2 to CO, which significantly sensitized the chemotherapeutic effect of DOX. The POS in PPOSD can also act as a photothermal agent for effective photothermal therapy (PTT) of the tumor upon 808 nm laser irradiation. Furthermore, the generated CO can simultaneously decrease the inflammatory reaction caused by PTT. Blood analysis and hematoxylin-eosin staining of major organs showed that no obvious systemic toxicity was induced after the treatment, suggesting good biosafety of PPOSD. This versatile CO nanogenerator will find great potential for both enhanced tumor inhibition and anti-inflammation.
An interface to allow on-line qualitative and quantitative full-plate detection and analysis of compounds separated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is presented. A continuous wave diode laser is employed as a desorption source. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry ionizes and subsequently identifies the desorbed sample molecules. Besides direct laser desorption on untreated TLC plates, graphite particles were used as a matrix to couple in the laser power and improve the efficiency of desorption.
Traditional phototherapies face the issue that the insufficient penetration of light means it is difficult to reach deep lesions, which greatly reduces the feasibility of cancer therapy. Here, an implantable nitric oxide (NO)‐release device is developed to achieve long‐term, long‐distance, remote‐controllable gas therapy for cancer. The device consists of a wirelessly powered light‐emitting diode (wLED) and S‐nitrosoglutathione encapsulated with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), obtaining the NO‐release wLED (NO‐wLED). It is found that NO release from the NO‐wLED can be triggered by wireless charging and the concentration of produced NO reaches 0.43 × 10−6 m min−1, which can achieve a killing effect on cancer cells. In vivo anticancer experiments exhibit obvious inhibitory effect on the growth of orthotopic cancer when the implanted NO‐wLED is irradiated by wireless charging. In addition, recurrence of cancer can be prevented by NO produced from the NO‐wLED after surgery. By illumination in the body, this strategy overcomes the poor penetration and long‐wavelength dependence of traditional phototherapies, which also provides a promising approach for in vivo gas therapy remote‐controlled by wireless charging.
Retorting is a frequently used method for producing shale oil from oil shale. During retorting, heat is usually supplied to the retort by heat-carrier gas of high temperature, such as 700 °C, until retorting ends. In this work, a low-energyinput retorting process using low-temperature carrier gas but without marked loss in oil yield was achieved by a self-heating effect, that is, spontaneously increasing retorting temperature in the absence of external heat provision. The self-heating retorting process starts by preheating oil shale from room temperature to 300 °C by external heating under N 2 and then switching N 2 to air of 150 °C. When N 2 is replaced by air, the self-heating effect starts. Subsequently, the temperature of raw oil shale can increase spontaneously to complete the retorting, so that an external heat supply is no longer required. While using only N 2 or only air as the carrier gas throughout the whole retorting process cannot produce such a good effect. In this N 2 -air sequence retorting process, because an external heat supply is needed only to preheat the raw oil shale to 300 °C (i.e., the required energy input and external-heating terminal temperature are low), the retorting process is significantly simplified. The present work provides a promising starting point for the further development of not only ex situ (aboveground) but also in situ (underground) retorting for the production of shale oil.
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