Developing a cancer vaccine with a potent adjuvant, which is safe for human use, remains to be an unmet need. In this study, we developed a simple, safe, yet efficient, peptide-based therapeutic cancer vaccine, DOTAP/E7 complex, which comprises only two molecules: a DOTAP cationic lipid and a peptide antigen derived from E7 oncoprotein of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16. The anti-cancer activity of DOTAP/E7 against existing HPV positive TC-1 tumor was compared to that of our previous LPD/E7 formulation, which contains bacterial DNA CpG motifs. Tumor-bearing mice showed significant tumor inhibition following a single vaccination of either formulation at the optimal lipid dose, suggesting that DOTAP liposome alone can provide a potent adjuvant activity without plasmid DNA. E7 peptide formulated with DOTAP induced migration of activated dendritic cells (DC) to the draining lymph node (DLN) and efficiently generated functional antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocyte responses. Accumulation of CD8+ tumor infiltrating T cells and apoptosis at tumor sites were observed after treatment with DOTAP/E7 complexes, which was also associated with a decreased amount of CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells in treated animals. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by DOTAP cationic lipid in DLN revealed a plausible mechanism of the initial interaction between DC and DOTAP. An adequate amount of ROS generation was apparently required for the initiation of the vaccine mechanism; however, an overdose of DOTAP induced massive ROS production and apoptosis of DC in DLN, which led to diminished anti-cancer immunity. Overall, these results indicate that cationic lipid DOTAP alone serves as an efficient vaccine adjuvant for the induction of a therapeutic, antigen-specific anti-cancer activity.
With the trend of
device miniaturization and higher integration,
polymer composites with high thermal conductivity are highly desirable
for efficient removal of accumulated heat to maintain high performance
of electronics. In this work, epoxy composites embedded with three-dimensional
hexagonal boron nitride (BN) scaffold were fabricated. The BN–poly(vinylidene
difluoride) (PVDF) scaffold was prepared by the salt template method
using PVDF as the adhesive, while the corresponding epoxy composite
was manufactured with vacuum-assisted impregnation. The epoxy/BN-PVDF
composite exhibits high thermal conductivity with low loading of BN.
The thermal conductivity of epoxy/BN-PVDF composite achieved 1.227
W/(m K) with 21 wt % BN, contributed by the constructed BN pathway
held together by PVDF adhesive. In addition, PVDF could be further
converted into carbon by thermal treatment, further enhancing the
thermal conductivity of epoxy/BN-C composites through alleviating
the phonon scattering at the interfaces, eventually obtaining thermal
conductivity of 1.466 W/(m K). This type of epoxy-based composite
with high thermal conductivity is promising to be used as thermal
management materials in advanced electronic devices.
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