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Metal nanoparticles (NPs), such as gold NPs (AuNPs), are particularly sensitive to X-rays, and thus specific accumulation of AuNPs in a tumor would allow radiotherapy with low energy X-rays and reduced side effects. AuNPs can be generated using HAuCl₄ and the natural polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) in the presence of citrate. Here, we generated EGCG-AuNPs in the presence of several additives and examined the accumulation of these NPs in mouse tumors following intravenous administration. EGCG-AuNPs 15 ​nm in diameter in the presence of sodium alginate accumulated more in tumors compared to 40-nm-diameter EGCG-AuNPs. Furthermore, the results of in vitro cellular uptake and serum protein absorption studies suggest that adsorption of 15–16 ​kDa serum proteins to EGCG-AuNPs suppresses accumulation in tumors. Thus, tendency to adsorb specific proteins on EGCG-AuNPs surface should be tailored for enhancing their accumulation in tumors.

The design of electrodes with highly exposed electroactive sites and improved charge transport that overcomes the current limitations of pseudocapacitors may result in electrodes with high capacity at high rates. These energy storage electrodes are interesting and may have applications as micro-supercapacitors for wearable and implantable devices. Herein, hybrid heterostructured thin film electrodes based on triruthenium clusters and graphene were constructed using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. The hybrid thin film performance as supercapacitor electrode was demonstrated in a three-electrode set-up and in asymmetric supercapacitors using graphene as negative electrode and B-PVA-KCl as electrolyte. The hybrid heterostructured LB films exhibited high efficiency as active material and excellent performance at high rates. It led to a better device performance as compared with devices using just triruthenium cluster LB films, achieving a capacitance of 0.710 ​mF ​cm⁻² for an 8-monolayer hybrid heterostructured thin film, which is comparable to other graphene metal oxide hybrid electrodes. This performance was attributed to improved charge transport due to the organized heterostructured LB structure and contributions of both faradaic fast redox reaction from ruthenium(II/III) centers and high double-layer capacitance of the graphene sheets.

Nanocrystal suspensions have been introduced to overcome the low bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drug compounds by increasing the dissolution rates. For both injection- and inhalation-based administrations it is important that the suspensions are sterile to eliminate any adverse events from potential microbial infections, but it has proven very challenging to sterilize nanocrystal suspensions without aggregation or degradation. Here we describe bead milling methodology to generate ultrafine nanocrystal suspensions of several poorly water-soluble drug compounds that can be passed through 0.22 ​μm sterilization filters. The most important factors for successful milling to ultrafine nanocrystal suspensions are the stabilizer excipients combined with fine milling-beads. The sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) or docusate sodium/aerosol OT (AOT) combined with Polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 (PVP) stabilizer systems and 1,2-Dipalmitoryl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphoethanolamine conjugated methoxy Polyethylene Glycol (DPPE) and 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphoethanolamine conjugated methoxy Polyethylene Glycol (DSPE) surfactants were among the best stabilizer excipients studied.

Xerogels (X-G) are biopolymeric and zero chemical materials, applied in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering because of inherently elevated biocompatibility, nil-immunogenicity, as well as zero-cytotoxicity. X-G are porous, functional and advanced materials composed of dried, cross-linked and ambient polymeric structures possessing very elevated porosity, broad surface area, as we as inexpensive fabrication pathway capable of being garnered from varying organic and inorganic initiators for multifunctional applications. Due to their inherently desirous properties, X-G are appropriate for numerous medical as well as biomedical uses. Relative to their elevated drug delivery capacity, X-G ability of maintaining sustainable drug releasing present them highly suitable for drug conveying applications. Biopolymeric materials exhibit capability of interacting, cross-linking, and/or trapping severally inclined active entities, like antibiotics or naturally occurring antimicrobial substrates, which are critically essential for wound dressing as well as other mending applications. Hence, X-G are capable of being utilized in antibodies trapping, enzymes, as well as cells for biosensor and monitoring gadgets. Therefore, this paper presents recently emerging trends in X-G polymeric bionanoarchitectures encompassing biopolymeric X-G introduction, strategies of construction, as well as their properties. Herein, biological attributes sustaining their suitability for versatile biomedical uses especially biosensing, tissue scaffolding, drug conveying, wound mending and dressing are comprehensively elucidated.

The effect of salinity (NaCl concentration) was determined at 25 ​°C for systems composed of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) and equal volumes of squalane and brine. At all the NaCl concentrations the samples are triphasic with an upper phase made of pure squalane while brine is present in two other phases. At NaCl concentration (in brine) below 1.6 %w/v there is the coexistence of lamellar and sponge (L₃) phases. Loading with NaCl above 1.6 %w/v one observes the coexistence of L₃ and pure brine. The amount of AOT dissolved in the AOT bilayer has been quantified by thermogravimetric analysis. At salinity above 2 %w/v of NaCl in brine, the AOT sponge phase shrinks expelling brine and the squalane whose presence in the bilayer becomes negligible. The L₃ phases have been further characterized by SAXS and diffusion-NMR. The measured self-diffusion coefficients of water and AOT are essentially coincident with those measured at the same salinity in the absence of squalane. The SAXS curves of sponge phases have been fitted to a single equation accounting for the contributions of the bilayer structure and of the large-scale interactions allowing the determination of the average interpore separation D∗ and the bilayer correlation length ξ. The correlation length has been interpreted as reflecting static randomness of connected bilayer instead of the dynamic thermal undulations. Considering the correlation length as the displacement along the bilayer surface subtending a critical angular change (θ∗) below which the surface appears as flat, permits to define the curvature (H) as |H| $=\frac{{\theta }^{\ast }}{\xi }$. The correlation length scales linearly with the square of the bilayer volume fraction as proposed by a previous theoretical model assuming the sponge phases are thermodynamically constrained to a curvature that equals the spontaneous curvature.

Anti-cocaine vaccines are a promising therapeutic strategy for treating cocaine use disorders. Here we hypothesize that nanoemulsions (NE) or suspensions (SS) loaded with the calix [4]arene-based immunogen UFMG-V4N2 can induce the production of anti-cocaine antibodies and decrease the passage of radiolabeled cocaine analog [^99mTc]Trodat-1 through of the brain barrier. UFMG-V4N2 was characterized (solubility, morphology, DSC, XRD) and loaded into NEs and SSs using excipients approved for human use. Immunogenic efficacy was assessed by quantifying the titers and determining the specificity of anti-cocaine IgG antibodies, and by assessing the inhibition of [^99mTc]Trodat-1 trafficking across the mice brain-barrier. UFMG-V4N2 is an amorphous, thermally stable molecule with very low hydrophilicity. The immunogenicity of NE or SS was similar, but aluminum phosphate and the lower dose of UFMG-V4N2 induced higher anti-cocaine IgG antibody titers, minimizing [^99mTc]Trodat-1 uptake in the brain. Therefore, the UFMG-V4N2 may represent an alternative for the treatment of cocaine use disorder.

We examine the dynamics of a liquid bridge between a sphere and a flat plate being separated from each other. Unlike previous research, this paper focuses on the case where the viscosity of the bridge is lower than that of the external fluid within which the particle, the plate, and the liquid bridge are immersed. For the general case of a viscosity mismatch between the bridge fluid and the external fluid, we develop a lubrication theory-based model for the viscous force during separation. The model predicts that a low viscosity bridge reduces the force as compared to both - separation without a liquid bridge, or separation with a bridge of matched viscosity. The magnitude of force reduction is expected to be more severe at small sphere-plate separations and at large bridge volumes. Experiments confirm all these predictions qualitatively, but unexpectedly the magnitude of the reduction is even larger than predicted. Experiments also find that the bridge length at rupture for specified velocity exceeds that for quasistatic rupture by an amount that increases with the squareroot of the velocity. Although we only examine bridges between a plate and a spherical particle, all results are expected to apply for bridges between a pair of particles as well.

The immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment often compromises chemotherapeutic efficacy. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) are a critical component of the tumor immune microenvironment, a large portion of which is in M2-polarization with immunosuppressive effects. Priming the TAM to M1 polarization is a promising strategy for reversing the immunosuppressive microenvironment for promoting tumor therapy. In this study, a co-delivery nanoplatform that integrates GM-CSF as an immune adjuvant with chemotherapy of DOX has been developed to enhance the efficacy of cancer therapy. The photothermal effect from embedded single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) controlled the release of GM-CSF and DOX. The results of MB49 ​cells verified that the GM-CSF pre-treating macrophages enhanced the anti-proliferative efficacy of DOX. This improvement could be related to GM-CSF inducing macrophages to release TNF-α and other cytokines that prevent the growth of cancer cells. This work provides a facile method to prepare a protein/drug/hyperthermia co-delivery system, promising in cancer combined therapy through reversing the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

Colloidal shuttles are micro/nanoscale motors that display controllable cargo loading/release and programmable navigation, which are emerging delivery vehicles at the small scale. Here we present a hydrogen peroxide-fueled catalytic colloidal shuttle composed of a hematite cube half coated with platinum, i.e. a Pt/hematite Janus cube, which can be remotely controlled with ease by light and magnetic field. Interestingly, the dynamic behaviors of the Pt/hematite motor under light illumination in lower fuel concentration are similar to those Pt-based motors in higher fuel concentration without UV light, including the self-propulsion direction and the interaction with passive particles. In lower fuel concentration, we demonstrate the ability of the Pt/hematite motor for light-switchable cargo loading and release, and programmable and directional transportation of cargoes using the intrinsic magnetic property of hematite. Our work offers an efficient colloidal shuttle that operates at favorable fuel concentration and light intensity in comparison to earlier reported cargo-towing colloidal motors, which should find applications as microscale delivery vehicles, particularly for cargo transportation on microchips.