Nanoparticle drug formulations have enormous application prospects owing to achievement of targeted and sustained release drug delivery, improvement in drug solubility and reduction of adverse drug reactions. Recently, a variety of efficient drug nanometer carriers have been developed, among which carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been increasingly utilized in the field of cancer therapy. However, these nanotubes exert various toxic effects on the body due to their unique physical and chemical properties. CNT-induced toxicity is related to surface modification, degree of aggregation in vivo, and nanoparticle concentration. This review has focused on the potential toxic effects of CNTs utilized as anti-tumor drug carriers. The main modes by which CNTs enter target sites, the toxicity expressive types and the factors affecting toxicity are discussed.

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Background Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important angiogenic factor and may be connected with chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) to some extent. However, previous researches about the relationship between the +405G>C (dbSNP: rs2010963) polymorphism in VEGF gene and the risk of IMIDs are controversial and inconsistent. So we conducted this meta-analysis to assess whether the relationship between the +405G>C polymorphism in the 5'-UTR region of VEGF gene and IMID susceptibility exists. Methods Our literature search was conducted on the PubMed, Embase, Web of science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biomedical databases to retrieve for eligible studies. Odds ratios as well as their 95 % confidence intervals were utilized to deduce the possible relationship. Results A total number of 5175 patients with IMIDs and 7069 healthy controls from 27 case-control studies were included. For the overall eligible data collected in our meta-analysis, there was no marked relationship between +405G>C polymorphism and the risk of IMIDs. However, subgroup analysis by ethnicity suggested that +405C allele could be a protective factor for IMIDs in Asians, whereas an opposite conclusion was drawn in Caucasians. Conclusion Thus, we may come to the conclusion that the VEGF +405G>C polymorphism could be associated with IMIDs, and the correlation might vary with ethnic groups.

A UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS method was developed to quantify the significant constituents in Wen-Dan Decoction (WDD), a traditional Chinese medicine. Analysis of 19 compounds was conducted on an ACQUITY UPLC® BEH C18 Column (2.1 × 50 mm, 1.7 μm) using elution with a gradient elution of acetonitrile and 0.05% (v/v) formic acid in water. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was operated in negative ionization mode and positive ionization mode by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), respectively. All calibration curves showed acceptable linearity (r ≥ 0.9950). The RSDs of intra- and inter-day precisions of low, mid and high concentrations were ≤ 8.88%. The repeatabilities (RSDs ≤ 7.17%) and stabilities (RSD ≤ 4.79%) of the samples were qualified. The recoveries were found in the range of 93.07 ± 3.86 to 103.98 ± 2.98% with the RSD varying between 1.30 and 7.86%. The final rapid, sensitive, precise, accurate and reliable UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS method was used for the simultaneous quantification of 19 constituents in WDD and its commercial preparations. The strategy of combining the contents of the 19 chemicals in a daily dose of the WDD preparations with the hierarchical cluster analysis and the 3D principal component analysis was employed to effectively distinguish the WDD preparations provided by the different suppliers, which represents a contribution to the evaluation and control of the quality of WDD (or other decoctions consisting of the same herbs) and the preparations of WDD in other dosage forms such as tablets and granules.