氮掺杂发光碳纳米点的研究探索

采用微波法制备了氮掺杂碳纳米点。通过调控碳纳米点中氮元素的掺杂含量和表面的化学环境,实现了对碳纳米点发光特性的调控。在此基础上,可实现完全基于氮掺杂碳纳米点的荧光墨水、比率型荧光探针及光泵浦激光。研究目的在于探索氮掺杂碳纳米点的发光机理,揭示影响碳纳米点荧光量子效率的因素及其在生物成像、传感、防伪、信息存储、激光等领域的应用。     

红光/近红外光响应碳点在肿瘤治疗中的应用进展

碳点作为一种新型碳纳米材料,具有优异的光学特性、良好的生物相容性以及催化活性,在生物医学、能源、环境等领域展现出巨大的应用潜力。红光/近红外光响应碳点具有组织穿透深度大、生物体自发光干扰较小、对组织损伤小等优点,在生物医学研究领域倍受关注。本文首先介绍了影响碳点吸收/发光的因素,随后评述了近几年红光/近红外光响应碳点在肿瘤治疗中的新进展,主要包括光动力治疗、光热治疗、光动力/光热协同治疗等。同时,针对肿瘤微环境的特点,介绍了微环境响应型碳点及其在肿瘤治疗中的应用研究进展。最后,对碳点在肿瘤治疗领域存在的挑战进行了展望。     

2019年5期 电子期刊

碳纳米点（碳点）是一种新型的纳米发光材料,具有优异的发光性能、良好的生物相容性、低毒性、水溶性好和表面易功能化等特性,在光电器件、生物成像、光热治疗等领域展现了潜在应用价值。然而,合成碳点的前驱体材料多种多样,合成方法各有不同,导致其发光机理复杂多样。本文主要针对使用柠檬酸作为碳源、尿素或氨水作为氮源,采用微波和溶剂热的合成方法制备的氮掺杂碳点,探索碳点的发光机理和抑制碳点聚集诱导荧光猝灭的方法,并进一步研究碳点在固态照明、可见光光通讯、生物成像和光热治疗等领域的应用前景。     

基于超级碳点的水致荧光“纳米炸弹”

介绍了一种发光性质依赖于水接触的新型纳米发光材料--基于超级碳点的发光"纳米炸弹"。在甲苯溶液中, 这种"纳米炸弹"光致发光很弱;当遇见水后, "纳米炸弹"分解为小的碳点, 光致发光显著增强。将"纳米炸弹"与纸复合可应用在喷水荧光打印和汗孔成像。目前, 大部分智能荧光材料存在光稳定性差, 潜在的生物毒性, 制备成本高, 或与传统喷墨打印不兼容等缺点。本文报道的碳基纳米材料没有(或很少有)这些缺点, 并可实际应用在光信息存储, 司法鉴定和医疗检测等领域。     

氮掺杂碳点的合成与应用

碳纳米点(碳点)是一种新型的纳米发光材料,具有优异的发光性能、良好的生物相容性、低毒性、水溶性好和表面易功能化等特性,在光电器件、生物成像、光热治疗等领域展现了潜在应用价值。然而,合成碳点的前驱体材料多种多样,合成方法各有不同,导致其发光机理复杂多样。本文主要针对使用柠檬酸作为碳源、尿素或氨水作为氮源,采用微波和溶剂热的合成方法制备的氮掺杂碳点,探索碳点的发光机理和抑制碳点聚集诱导荧光猝灭的方法,并进一步研究碳点在固态照明、可见光光通讯、生物成像和光热治疗等领域的应用前景。     

发光碳纳米点的带隙调控及应用

碳点作为一种新型的碳基荧光纳米粒子由于其可调谐发光、高光稳定性、生物相容性和低成本等独特优势而引起了很多关注。在过去的十几年中,碳点的制备和应用取得了巨大进展。然而,由于前体和合成方法的多样性,碳点的光致发光机理具有很大争议。现在人们普遍认为,碳点的光致发光源于电子在带隙的跃迁,并将荧光起源分别归结为碳核跃迁(π-π~*)、表面态跃迁(n-π~*)以及分子荧光团等。本文总结了碳点发光起源的几种可能和机制,分别讨论了通过调控碳点粒径以及进行表面工程处理的方法来实现碳纳米点带隙可调控的高效发光。介绍了通过表面工程、元素掺杂等手段提升碳纳米点光致发光量子产率及其在光电器件、信息存储、生物成像、光热治疗以及光动力治疗中的应用。     

碳点在生物医学领域中的应用

碳点作为新兴的碳纳米材料之一,由于具有低细胞毒性、强亲水性、良好的生物相容性、优异的光稳定性、可调的发光和易于修饰等独特的理化特性,在生物医学领域具有广泛的应用前景。本综述主要阐述了碳点在生物成像、药物/染料/蛋白/基因的递送和癌症诊断治疗等方面的应用,并探讨了其在生物医学领域应用的当前挑战和未来前景。     

近红外光热转换纳米晶研究进展

近红外光热转换纳米晶材料因其在近红外区(普遍位于780~1 400 nm)的高效光热转换性能,已广泛应用于光热杀死癌细胞、肿瘤治疗、海水淡化等领域。因其多样的液相制备方法和形貌控制、纳米结构复合、逐渐提高的光热转换效率以及表面易于药物修饰等优点,该材料在光热成像诊断、光热治疗等领域引起了学术界的广泛关注。本文综述了近红外光热转换纳米晶的研究进展,主要包括贵金属纳米晶、铜硫族半导体纳米晶、碳相关纳米晶以及这些纳米晶材料构成的复合结构,同时介绍了具有较高光热转换效率的表面等离子体共振(SPR)材料的研究进展,尤其是双模态SPR性质的耦合在光热转换领域的应用前景。基于其性能协同耦合的特性,双模态表面等离子体共振耦合的复合纳米晶将是近几年光热转换纳米晶发展的重要方向。     

碳量子点负载TiO_2纳米棒阵列的光电化学性能

研究了碳量子点负载的Ti O2纳米棒阵列光阳极的光电化学过程和光催化行为。实验发现碳量子点的引入使Ti O2纳米棒阵列在可见光区域的吸收强度增强,对可见光的响应电流提高3倍,光照下的开路电位增加了2.5%,光生载流子的转移和传输能力得到相应提高。光阳极对亚甲基蓝的降解特性显示,碳量子点的引入使Ti O2纳米棒在可见光照射下的催化效率由25%提高到33%。利用电化学交流阻抗谱(EIS)、MottSchottky曲线讨论了光影响下的电荷运动过程,表明Ti O2纳米棒阵列负载碳量子点后的电荷转移电阻减小,电子寿命增加;碳量子点的负载使Ti O2纳米棒的平带电位负移,导带位置提高,电子的还原能力增强。     

基于氮掺杂碳量子点/DNA自组装纳米探针检测鱼精蛋白

将柠檬酸置于单乙醇胺中,通过简单加热实现快速、大规模的合成氮掺杂荧光碳点。所得氮掺杂碳量子点被370 nm 的光激发后在458 nm 处有较强的荧光发射,最大吸收波长为365.085 nm。脱氧核糖核苷酸能增强该碳量子点的荧光且具有相关线性关系,因而制备了氮掺杂碳点与脱氧核糖核苷酸的杂交纳米复合物（纳米探针）,并首次用于检测鱼精蛋白。在实验条件最佳情况下,该方法简便、选择性好,该分析方法的线性检测范围为1~10 μg·mL^-1,检出限可达0.61 μg·mL^-1。     

Tantalum Nitride Nanosheets for Photoacoustic Imaging-Guided Photothermal Cancer Therapy

In this study, the synthesis of TaN nanosheets and their application in theranostic agents is reported. After coating polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the TaN nanosheets, the as-synthesized PEG-modified TaN nanosheets (TaN-PEG) show good stability and biocompatibility. Because of their high absorbance in the near-IR region, TaN-PEG can be utilized as photoacoustic imaging contrast agents for tumor imaging. Moreover, TaN-PEG has significant photothermal conversion performance, exhibiting effective laser-induced tumor ablation capability. The TaN-PEG possessing excellent photoacoustic contrast effect and photothermal properties thus have great promise in theranostic applications, especially imaging-guided cancer treatment.     

Cobalt Phosphide Nanoparticles Applied as a Theranostic Agent for Multimodal Imaging and Anticancer Photothermal Therapy

Biocompatible single‐component theranostic nanoagents instinctly affording multiple imaging modalities with satisfying therapeutic functions are highly desirable for anticancer treatments. Although cobalt‐based phosphides are well‐recognized as competent electrocatalysts, their potentials for biomedical applications remain unexplored. In this work, cobalt phosphide nanoparticles (CoP NPs) are developed to be a powerful theranostic agent for multimodal imaging and anticancer photothermal therapy. The uniform CoP NPs in a size of ≈21 nm are synthesized via a facile thermal decomposition method, followed by surface modification. The resultant CoP NPs exhibit excellent compatibility and stability in water as well as various physiological solutions. Supported by the good biocompatibility, strong near‐infrared absorption, and high photothermal conversion property, significant photothermal effect of the NPs is demonstrated, realizing efficient hyperthermia ablation on cancer cells. Importantly, the CoP NPs have shown considerable capabilities on high‐contrast in vitro and in vivo triple‐modal imaging, including infrared thermal (IRT), photoacoustic (PA), and T₂‐weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. This work has unraveled the promising potentials of CoP‐based nanoagent for precise diagnosis and efficient therapy.     

In Vivo Targeted Cancer Theranostics by Core/Shell‐Structured Multifunctional Prussian Blue/PLGA “Nanococktails”

The construction of high‐performance nanotheranostic agent with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved materials for efficient treatment of breast cancer is still of great challenge. This work reports, for the first time, on the elaborate integration of two FDA‐approved materials together to construct a multifunctional core/shell‐structured “nanococktail” for cancer theranostics. The biocompatible Prussian blue nanoparticles with high photothermal‐conversion performance are coated by poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) followed by further surface targeting engineering (folic acid conjugation). The anticancer drug paclitaxel is concurrently encapsulated into the nanocarrier with high efficiency and capacity. Especially, these “nanococktails” act as the desirable contrast agents for photoacoustic/magnetic resonance imaging dual‐mode diagnostic imaging, providing the potential for guidance and monitoring during the therapeutic process, which has been systematically demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, these “nanococktails” have demonstrated their high performance in synergistic in vivo photothermal therapy and chemotherapy against breast cancer tumor xenograft. This work not only provides a high‐performance theranostic “nanococktail” platform for efficient theranostic treatment of cancer but also paves a new way for the integration of various functional moieties together for realizing the specific diagnostic imaging‐guided and synergistic cancer therapy.     

Facile Synthesis of Manganese Tellurite Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Photothermal Therapy

In this study, manganese tellurite (MnTeO₃) nanoparticles are developed as theranostic agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided photothermal therapy of tumor. MnTeO₃ nanoparticles are synthesized via a simple one-step method. The as-synthesized MnTeO₃ nanoparticles with uniform size show good biocompatibility. In particular, MnTeO₃ nanoparticles exhibit a high photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 26.3%), which is higher than that of gold nanorods. Moreover, MnTeO₃ nanoparticles also have high MRI performance. The longitudinal relaxivity (r₁) value of MnTeO₃ nanoparticles is determined to be 8.08 ± 0.2 mm ⁻¹ s⁻¹, which is higher than that of clinically approved T₁-contrast agents Gd-DTPA (4.49 ± 0.1 mm ⁻¹ s⁻¹). The subsequent MnTeO₃ nanoparticles-mediated photothermal therapy displays a highly efficient ablation of tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo with negligible toxicity. It is demonstrated that MnTeO₃ nanoparticles can serve as promising theranostic agents with great potentials for MRI-guided photothermal therapy.     

Multifunctional Small Molecule Fluorophore for Long‐Duration Tumor‐Targeted Monitoring and Dual Modal Phototherapy

In this work, a specific tumor‐targeted small molecular fluorophore for synchronous long‐duration cancer imaging, photodynamic therapy, and photothermal therapy is synthesized. This novel fluorophore exhibits specific targeting ability in certain tumors (U87MG, MDA‐MB‐231, A549, etc.) based on its inherent structure and efficiently generates local hyperthermia and reactive oxygen species simultaneously for imaging‐guided precise cancer therapy combining the photothermic and photodynamic effects under laser irradiation. Meanwhile, compared to traditional near infrared fluorophore, this novel fluorophore with significantly enhanced stability against photobleaching can prolong the time of tumor imaging and improve the phototherapy efficiency. This work presents a potential strategy to develop small‐molecule‐based cancer theranostic agents for simultaneous cancer targeting, imaging, and therapy.     

Interfacial aspects of carbon composites

Abstract

Carbon-based composites bring great promise for various practical applications ranging from aviation industry to advanced biomedical sensors. The interface chemistry and the ultimate conductivity of these composites are responsible for their functional applicability. The interfaces can be modified by various chemical and physical techniques. This article reviews the synthesis methods of carbon composites and discusses how the interface properties dictate their applicability.     

Leveraging re-chargeable nanobubbles on amine-functionalized ZnO nanocrystals for sustained ultrasound cavitation towards echographic imaging

Nanoparticles able to promote inertial cavitation when exposed to focused ultrasound have recently gained much attention due to their vast range of possible applications in the biomedical field, such as enhancing drug penetration in tumor or supporting ultrasound contrast imaging. Due to their nanometric size, these contrast agents could penetrate through the endothelial cells of the vasculature to target tissues, thus enabling higher imaging resolutions than commercial gas-filled microbubbles. Herein, Zinc Oxide NanoCrystals (ZnO NCs), opportunely functionalized with amino-propyl groups, are developed as novel nanoscale contrast agents that are able, for the first time, to induce a repeatedly and over-time sustained inertial cavitation as well as ultrasound contrast imaging. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is investigated, revealing that re-adsorption of air gas nanobubbles on the nanocrystal surface is the key factor for this re-chargeable cavitation. Moreover, inertial cavitation and significant echographic signals are obtained at physiologically relevant ultrasound conditions (MI < 1.9), showing great potential for low side-effects in in-vivo applications of the novel nanoscale agent from diagnostic imaging to gas-generating theranostic nanoplatforms and to drug delivery.     

Theranostic Nanoplatforms for MRSA Detection and Destruction from Whole Blood

Bloodstream infection with methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other drug‐resistant bacteria kill several million people in the world every year. Detection of drug‐resistant bacteria in the blood stream is clinically important to save lives. Driven by this need, multifunctional theranostic nanoplatforms have been developed for simultaneous targeted imaging and multimodal photodestruction of MRSA in a whole‐blood sample. Experimental data for the whole‐blood sample spiked with MRSA show that the theranostic nanoplatform can be used for fluorescence imaging after magnetic separation even in a 10^?5:1 ratio. A targeted photodynamic and photothermal combined treatment shows that the multimodal treatment regime can dramatically enhance the possibility of destroying MRSA in vitro. Therefore, our developed theranostic nanoplatform have a great potential as a fluorescent marker and as a light absorber for combined therapy in clinical settings. The possible mechanisms and operating principles are discussed for targeted imaging and combined therapeutic actions using theranostic nanoplatform.     

Highly Ligand‐Directed and Size‐Dependent Photothermal Properties of Magnetite Particles

The development of cancer photothermal therapies, many of which rely on photothermal agents, has received significant attention in recent years. In this work, various ligands‐stabilized magnetite (Fe₃O₄) particles are fabricated and utilized as a photothermal agents for in vivo tumor‐imaging‐guided photothermal therapy. Fe₃O₄ particles stabilized by macromolecular ligands as, e.g. polyethylene glycol (PEG), exhibit a superior and more stable photothermal effect compared to Fe₃O₄ particles stabilized by small molecules like citrate, due to their stronger ability of antioxidation. In addition, the photothermal effect of Fe₃O₄ particles is revealed to increase with size, which is attributed to the redshift of Vis‐NIR spectra. Fe₃O₄ particles injected intravenously into mice can be accumulated in the tumor by the application of an external magnetic field, as revealed by magnetic resonance imaging. In vivo photothermal therapy test of PEG‐stabilized Fe₃O₄ further achieves better tumor ablation effect. Overall, this study demonstrates efficient imaging‐guided photothermal therapy of cancer that is based on Fe₃O₄ particles of optimized size and with optimized ligands. It is expected that the ligand‐directed and size‐dependent photothermal effect will provide more approaches in the design of novel materials.