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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.

The qualitative presentation from Winsor on an interfacial balance of interactions between the surfactant and the oil and water phases has been transformed into a multivariable linear equation so-called hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLD). This relation involves at least 6 independent variables (surfactant head and tail specifications, water salinity, oil nature, temperature, and pressure) with a MacLaurin series first order approximation, i.e., a linear multivariable expression. After 40 years of practical experience, it can be said that the HLD relation matches well the experimental data, with only very few exceptions with complex mixtures. Herein, we clear the confusion concerning the meaning and the mathematical handling of the surfactant parameter in the HLD equation. We start with a presentation of simple surfactant systems with only 4 parameters (water salinity, oil nature, surfactant nature, and temperature) as was done 40 years ago. Later, we present a critical discussion on the surfactant term, concerning binary surfactant systems, and on strategies for applications in ternary surfactant mixtures. We have found that the surfactant parameters can only be compared in a series of surfactants with the same head group, where the surfactant parameter is a linear function of the surfactant tail length.

A simple eco-friendly method was employed to generate white light using pomegranate-PVA - curcumin mediated silver nanoparticles (CAg NP-PVA) mixture. The white light emission is obtained by integrating the green emitting curcumin and blue emitting pomegranate extract. Controlling the emission of curcumin with Ag NP-PVA and mixing with pomegranate extract resulted in efficient white light with the Commission Internationale d’Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinate (0.28,0.31). Ag NP-PVA and anthocyanin played a significant role in obtaining CIE coordinate close to that of pure white light (0.33,0.33). The optimized white light emission obtained from pomegranate- CAg NP-PVA mixture is cheap and fairly green in nature.