Stretchability and compressibility of supercapacitors is an essential element of modern electronics, such as flexible, wearable devices. Widely used polyvinyl alcohol-based electrolytes are neither very stretchable nor compressible, which fundamentally limits the realization of supercapacitors with high stretchability and compressibility. A new electrolyte that is intrinsically super-stretchable and compressible is presented. Vinyl hybrid silica nanoparticle cross-linkers were introduced into polyacrylamide hydrogel backbones to promote dynamic cross-linking of the polymer networks. These cross-linkers serve as stress buffers to dissipate energy when strain is applied, providing a solution to the intrinsically low stretchability and compressibility shortcomings of conventional supercapacitors. The newly developed supercapacitor and electrolyte can be stretched up to an unprecedented 1000 % strain with enhanced performance, and compressed to 50 % strain with good retention of the initial performance.
The
formation of promising oil-in-water nanoemulsion suitable for
pesticide delivery has been achieved by using methyl laurate as oil
phase, and alkyl polyglycoside (APG) and polyoxyethylene 3-lauryl
ether (C12E3) as mixed surfactant. Effects of
APG and C12E3 mixing ratios, oil weight fraction,
and total surfactant concentration on droplet size and distribution
of the nanoemulsion were systematically investigated. Long-term stabilities
of the nanoemulsions prepared with various surfactant mixing ratios
were assessed by measuring droplet size at different time intervals;
the results indicated that the main driving force for droplet size
increase over time was Ostwald ripening. On this basis, a practical
water-insoluble pesticide β-cypermethrin (β-CP) was incorporated
into two optimized nanoemulsion systems to demonstrate potential applications.
The results of dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) measurements showed that the nanoemulsions had a
nearly monodisperse droplet size distribution (PDI < 0.2) and incorporation
of β-CP had no notable effect on the size and stability of the nanoemulsions. For consideration
of practical application, dilution stability and spreading properties
of the pesticide-loaded nanoemulsion were studied by DLS, contact
angle, and dynamic surface tension, respectively. The nanoemulsion
was still homogeneous after dilution, although destabilization in
droplet size was observed by DLS. The results of contact angle and
dynamic surface tension demonstrated the excellent spreading performance
of the optimized nanoemulsion.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), one of the most important angiogenic factors, plays an essential role in both physiological and pathological angiogenesis. The VEGF receptor KDR/Flk-1 (a kinase domain receptor) mediates various biological activities of VEGF related to proliferation, differentiation, and migration of endothelial cells. Here we present a novel peptide designated K237-(HTMYYHHYQHHL), which was isolated from a phage-displayed peptide library, binding to KDR with high affinity and specificity. By interfering with the VEGF-KDR interaction, the peptide K237 inhibited proliferation of cultured primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells induced by recombinant human VEGF 165 in a dose-dependent and cell type-specific manner. The peptide also exerted an anti-angiogenesis activity in vivo as revealed using the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane angiogenesis assay. Moreover, the peptide K237 significantly inhibited the growth of solid tumors implanted beneath the breasts and their metastases to lungs in severe combined immunodeficient mice. Taken together, these findings suggest that the peptide K237 can functionally disrupt the interaction between VEGF and the KDR receptor and cause potent biological effects that include the inhibition of angiogenesis and tumor growth. As a consequence, this peptide (and its future derivatives) may have use as a potential cancer therapy.
A7R peptide (ATWLPPR), a ligand of the NRP-1 receptor, regulates the intracellular signal transduction related to tumor vascularization and tumor growth. Here, we designed A7R-cysteine peptide (A7RC) surface modified paclitaxel liposomes (A7RC-LIPs) to achieve targeting delivery and inhibition of tumor growth and angiogenesis simultaneously. The cytotoxicity, inhibiting angiogenesis, and internalization of various liposomes by cells were assessed in vitro to confirm the influence of the peptide modification. The accumulations of A7RC-LIPs in various xenografts in mice were tracked to further identify the function of the peptide on the liposomes' surface. The results confirmed that A7RC peptides could enhance the uptake of vesicles by MDA-MB-231 cells, leading to stronger cytotoxicity in vitro and higher accumulation of vesicles in MDA-MB-231 xenografts in vivo. In addition, A7RC peptides enhanced the inhibitory effects of LIPs on the HUVEC tubular formation on Matrigel. The A7RC-LIPs may be promising drug carriers for anticancer therapy.
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