Ursolic acid (UA) is a food-plant-derived natural product which has good anticancer activities and low toxicity. However, the poor water solubility of UA limits its application in clinic. To address this issue, we developed a carrier-free nanodrug by self-assembly of UA. Here, we showed that UA nanoparticles (NPs) have a near-spherical shape with a diameter of ∼150 nm. UA NPs exhibited higher antiproliferative activity; significantly caused apoptosis; decreased the expression of COX-2/VEGFR2/VEGFA; and increased the immunostimulatory activity of TNF-α, IL-6, and IFN-β and decreased the activity of STAT-3 in A549 cells in vitro. Furthermore, UA NPs could inhibit tumor growth and have the ability of liver protection in vivo. More importantly, UA NPs could significantly improve the activation of CD4+ T-cells, which indicated that UA NPs have the potential for immunotherapy. Overall, a carrier-free UA nanodrug may be a promising drug to further enhance their anticancer efficacy and immune function.

Phototherapy including photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) has attracted great attention. However, applications of some photosensitizers remain an obstacle by their poor photostability. To enhance the treatment efficiency of photosensitizers and tumor theranostic effect, herein, we reported a novel carrier-free, theranostic nanodrug by self-assembly of small molecule dual anticancer drugs and photosensitizer for tumor targeting. The developed carrier-free small molecule nanodrug delivery system was formed by hydrophobic ursolic acid, paclitaxel, and amphipathic indocyanine green (ICG) associated with electrostatic, π-π stacking, and hydrophobic interactions exhibiting water stability. The self-assembling of ICG on the dual anticancer nanodrug significantly enhanced water solubility of hydrophobic anticancer drugs and ICG photostability contributing to long-term near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging and effective chemophototherapy of tumor. The in vivo NIR fluorescence imaging showed that the theranostic nanodrug could be targeted to the tumor site via a potential enhanced permeability and retention effect proving the efficient accumulation of nanoparticles in the tumor site. Dramatically, chemophototherapy of tumor-bearing mice in vivo almost completely suppressed tumor growth and no tumor recurrence was observed. Encouraged by its carrier-free, prominent imaging and effective therapy, the small molecule nanodrug via self-assembly will provide a promising strategy for synergistic cancer theranostics.

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Organic cocrystal exhibits excellent photothermal conversion (PTC), but how the intermolecular interactions of cocrystals regulate the PTC is obscure. Here, two isomeric donor molecules (phenanthrene and anthracene) and two electron-withdrawing molecules (7,7,8,8,8-tetracyanodimethylquinone and 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinone dimethane) are self-assembled into the four cocrystals (PTQ, PFQ, ATQ, and AFQ). By changing the molecular configuration of the donor and the electron-withdrawing ability of the acceptor, the intrinsic influencing factors of the intermolecular interaction on the PTC were explored. Under near-infrared laser (808 nm) irradiation, the PTC efficiencies of PTQ, PFQ, AFQ, and ATQ are 35.85, 44.74, 57.00, and 60.53%, respectively. Based on the single-crystal X-ray diffraction, ultrafast time-resolved transient absorption, and excited-state theoretical calculations, we found that the π–π stacking in ATQ and AFQ is conducive to promoting the near-infrared light-harvesting ability and the p−π interaction of cocrystals can regulate the nonradiative rotation of −C­(CN)2 groups, resulting in a tunable near-infrared PTC via the isomeric cocrystals. Accordingly, the evaporation rate of the porous polyurethane-AFQ foam can reach 1.33 kg·m–2·h–1 in the simulated solar-driven water evaporation system. This work provides a strategy to boost the PTC by the intermolecular interactions of cocrystal materials.

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Ursolic acid and doxorubicin co-assembled into nanoparticles were modified with an aptamer for enhanced anti-tumor effects.

The combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy displays improved anti-cancer effects and lower systematic toxicity of a free drug compared with monotherapy.

Anthraquinone (AQ) compounds have been used as photolabile protecting groups (PPGs) to protect alcohols, ketones, and carboxylic acids. However, because of the lack of direct spectroscopic information for the transient species and intermediates related with the deprotection reaction(s), the photorelease mechanism(s) of these systems are still largely unknown. In this contribution, we detail a time-resolved spectroscopic investigation using anthraquinone-protected galactose (1) and adenosine (2) to investigate the photodeprotection reaction mechanism(s) of these kinds of AQ-PPGs. It was found that, in THF-H2O solvents, the ketyl radical species generated for 1 and 2 was found to be a reactive intermediate that then formed a dihydroxyanthracene species. The photodeprotection then occurred with the accompaniment of a decarboxylation process. These results provide an improved understanding for how AQ-PPGs work and will help assist in the design and applications of selected anthraquinone derivatives as a PPG platform, especially in aqueous environments more relevant for use in biological systems.