Fucoidan, a natural sulfated polysaccharide, which can activate the immune response and lessen adverse effects, is expected to be an adjuvant agent in combination with chemotherapy. Using natural hydrophilic anticancer polysaccharides to simultaneously encapsulate hydrophobic anticancer drugs is feasible, and a reduced side effect can be achieved to amplify the therapeutic efficacy. In this study, a novel type of fucoidan-PLGA nanocarrier (FPN-DTX) was developed for the encapsulation of the hydrophobic anticancer drug, docetaxel (DTX), as a drug delivery system. From the comparison between FPN-DTX and the PLGA particles without fucoidan (PLGA-DTX), FPNs–DTX with fucoidan were highly stable with smaller sizes and dispersed well without aggregations in an aqueous environment. The drug loading and release can be further modified by modulating relative ratios of Fucoidan (Fu) to PLGA. The (FPN 3-DTX) nanoparticles with a 10:3 ratio of Fu:PLGA displayed uniform particle size with higher encapsulation efficiency than PLGA NPs and sustained drug release ability. The biocompatible fucoidan-PLGA nanoparticles displayed low cytotoxicity without drug loading after incubation with MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cells. Despite lower cellular uptake than that of PLGA-DTX due to a higher degree of negative zeta potential and hydrophilicity, FPN 3-DTX effectively exerted better anticancer ability, so FPN 3-DTX can serve as a competent drug delivery system.

Pain is a common health problem for hospitalized patients. It is necessary to understand the factors that affect patients’ pain to provide individual and complete pain management. This study explored the severity and incidence of pain in hospitalized patients on the admission day, during the hospitalization, and the discharge day, and explored the predictive factors that affect the patient's pain on the discharge day.This was a retrospective study that reviewed the medical records of 73,814 hospitalized patients from January 2016 to April 2018. The number of pain assessments was 471,339.The incidence of pain on the discharge day of patients was significantly higher than that on the admission day. The factors that affect and predict the pain of patients on discharge day include the degree of pain on the day of admission, emotional distress on the day of discharge, disease category, gender, age, and length of stay in hospital. It shows that the higher the degree of pain on the day of admission, the higher the degree of emotional distress on the day of discharge, female patients, younger patients, longer hospitalization days, and surgical and gynecological patients have significantly higher pain levels on the day of discharge (P < .05).This study found that the incidence of pain on the discharge day of patients was 46.5%. Previous pain level, disease category, emotional distress, gender, age, and length of hospital stay were important factors affecting patient pain on the discharge day. The influencing factors of patient pain should be fully assessed to provide individual and complete pain management, and improve patient quality of life after discharge.

The potential clinical application of gadolinium-neutron capture therapy (Gd-NCT) for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) treatment has been compromised by the fast clearance and nonspecific biodistribution of gadolinium-based agents. We have developed a stem cell–nanoparticle system (SNS) to actively target GBM for advanced Gd-NCT by magnetizing umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UMSCs) using gadodiamide-concealed magnetic nanoparticles (Gd-FPFNP). Nanoformulated gadodiamide shielded by a dense surface composed of fucoidan and polyvinyl alcohol demonstrates enhanced cellular association and biocompatibility in UMSCs. The SNS preserves the ability of UMSCs to actively penetrate the blood brain barrier and home to GBM and, when magnetically navigates by an external magnetic field, an 8-fold increase in tumor-to-blood ratio is achieved compared with clinical data. In an orthotopic GBM-bearing rat model, using a single dose of irradiation and an ultra-low gadolinium dose (200 μg kg−1), SNS significantly attenuates GBM progression without inducing safety issues, prolonging median survival 2.5-fold compared to free gadodiamide. The SNS is a cell-based delivery system that integrates the strengths of cell therapy and nanotechnology, which provides an alternative strategy for the treatment of brain diseases.