Organic Nanocrystals Based on a Solid-emission-tunable AIEgen for Cell Imaging

The development of fluorescent nanocrystals based on organic small molecules is of great importance in bioimaging due to the merits of easy modification,high brightness and excellent photostability,however suffering from the emission-detrimental aggregation-caused quenching(ACQ)effect.Herein,we successfully designed and synthesized an AIE-active di(N,N-dimethylaniline)-dibenzofulvene(named as NFTPE),which exhibits the crystallization-induced emission enhancement(CIEE)effect.Interestingly,two types of yellow-and orange-emissive crystals for NFTPE were obtained,exhibiting aggregation microenvironment-dependent emission tuning in the solid state.Single-crystal analysis and density functional theory(DFT)calculations reveal that different aggregation microenvironments result in the distinct molecular conformation for various emission.Excitingly,the crystallization of NFTPE in an aqueous solution under the assistance of amphiphilic PEG polymer matrices could be monitored in situ by the fluorescence changes,facilitating the preparation of NFTPE nanocrystals(NFTPE-NCs)by adjusting the aggregation microenvironment.The obtained NFTPE-NCs exhibit the superior performance in cell imaging in respect to high brightness,photostability,and biocompatibility,thus demonstrating the potential in bioimaging applications.     

Accessing the spatiotemporal heterogeneities of single nanocatalysts by optically imaging gas nanobubbles

Catalysts that catalyze the generation of products in the gas phase, especially those involved in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), hold great promise for ecofriendly and sustainable energy development. In general, gas chromatography is widely used to measure catalytic activity. Unfortunately, it gives an averaged output that washes out the heterogeneities among individuals. To assess the unique catalytic properties at the single nanoparticle level, various methods based on single particle catalysis have been proposed. Over the past fifteen years, tremendous breakthroughs have been achieved, which uncovered hidden spatial and temporal heterogeneities. Although powerful, effectively quantifying the activities of single HER nanocatalysts remains challenging because of the fast diffusion of hydrogen (H₂). In 2017, a novel approach based on a nanobubble indicator was proposed to correlate the kinetics of gas bubble evolution with the catalytic activities of individual nanoentities during the HER process. Since then, a plethora of optical microscopy techniques have been utilized to monitor dynamically evolved nanobubbles and to measure the catalytic activities of single HER catalysts. In this minireview, we summarized state-of-the-art optical microscopy for in operando imaging of dynamic nanobubbles involved in gas-generating reactions while highlighting some important discoveries, including the blinking photocatalytic activity and heterogeneous distribution of active sites. Finally, challenges and future perspectives in this promising field were identified.     

Applications of Vibrational Spectroscopy for Analysis of Connective Tissues

Advances in vibrational spectroscopy have propelled new insights into the molecular composition and structure of biological tissues. In this review, we discuss common modalities and techniques of vibrational spectroscopy, and present key examples to illustrate how they have been applied to enrich the assessment of connective tissues. In particular, we focus on applications of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), near infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy to assess cartilage and bone properties. We present strengths and limitations of each approach and discuss how the combination of spectrometers with microscopes (hyperspectral imaging) and fiber optic probes have greatly advanced their biomedical applications. We show how these modalities may be used to evaluate virtually any type of sample (ex vivo, in situ or in vivo) and how “spectral fingerprints” can be interpreted to quantify outcomes related to tissue composition and quality. We highlight the unparalleled advantage of vibrational spectroscopy as a label-free and often nondestructive approach to assess properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) associated with normal, developing, aging, pathological and treated tissues. We believe this review will assist readers not only in better understanding applications of FTIR, NIR and Raman spectroscopy, but also in implementing these approaches for their own research projects.     

PET Diagnostic Molecules Utilizing Multimeric Cyclic RGD Peptide Analogs for Imaging Integrin αvβ3 Receptors

Multimeric ligands consisting of multiple pharmacophores connected to a single backbone have been widely investigated for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this review, we summarize recent developments regarding multimeric radioligands targeting integrin α_vβ₃ receptors on cancer cells for molecular imaging and diagnostic applications using positron emission tomography (PET). Integrin α_vβ₃ receptors are glycoproteins expressed on the cell surface, which have a significant role in tumor angiogenesis. They act as receptors for several extracellular matrix proteins exposing the tripeptide sequence arginine-glycine-aspartic (RGD). Cyclic RDG peptidic ligands c(RGD) have been developed for integrin α_vβ₃ tumor-targeting positron emission tomography (PET) diagnosis. Several c(RGD) pharmacophores, connected with the linker and conjugated to a chelator or precursor for radiolabeling with different PET radionuclides (¹⁸F, ⁶⁴Cu, and ⁶⁸Ga), have resulted in multimeric ligands superior to c(RGD) monomers. The binding avidity, pharmacodynamic, and PET imaging properties of these multimeric c(RGD) radioligands, in relation to their structural characteristics are analyzed and discussed. Furthermore, specific examples from preclinical studies and clinical investigations are included.     

多种超分辨荧光成像技术比较和进展评述

所见即所得是生命科学研究的中心哲学,贯穿在不断认识单个分子、分子复合体、分子动态行为和整个分子网络的历程中。活的动态的分子才是有功能的,这决定了荧光显微成像在生命科学研究中成为不可替代的工具。但是当荧光成像聚焦到分子水平的时候,所见并不能给出想要得到的。这个障碍是由于受光学衍射极限的限制,荧光显微镜无法在衍射受限的空间内分辨出目标物。超分辨荧光成像技术突破衍射极限的限制,在纳米尺度至单分子水平可视化生物分子,以前所未有的时空分辨率研究活细胞结构和动态过程,已成为生命科学研究的有力工具,并逐渐应用到材料科学、催化反应过程和光刻等领域。超分辨成像技术原理不同,其具有的技术性能各异,限制了各自特定的技术特色和应用范围。目前主流的超分辨成像技术包括3种:结构光照明显微镜技术(structured illumination microscopy, SIM)、受激发射损耗显微技术(stimulated emission depletion, STED)和单分子定位成像技术(single molecule localization microscopy, SMLM)。这些显微镜采用不同的复杂技术,但是策略却是相同和简单的,即通过牺牲时间分辨率来提升衍射受限的空间内相邻两个发光点的空间分辨。该文通过对这3种技术的原理比较和在生物研究中的应用进展介绍,明确了不同超分辨成像技术的技术优势和适用的应用方向,以方便研究者在未来研究中做合理的选择。     

一锅法可控合成金属有机框架材料Mn-荧光素用于核磁共振/荧光成像

通过一锅法,首次将核磁共振成像试剂Mn²⁺和荧光成像试剂荧光素（FSD）自组装于一个简单的金属有机框架材料（Mn-FSD）上。实验结果表明,Mn-FSD的粒径可被控制在微纳米水平内并进行生物成像。体外和体内实验结果证实,Mn-FSD可在细胞和裸鼠中显示强绿色荧光。同时,Mn-FSD表现出较高的弛豫值（r₁=4.95 L·mmol^-1·s^-1）。     

一种基于萘酰亚胺的检测细胞内pH值的荧光探针及其生物成像应用

细胞内溶酶体的pH值对细胞自噬、吞噬、酶加工等各项生命活动有着重要影响. 细胞核是真核细胞中最大的细胞器, 控制着生物体内的遗传和代谢过程, 参与代谢过程的酶对pH值的变化很敏感. 因此, 研究细胞体内的pH值变化至关重要. 我们设计并以简单的两步反应合成了一种新型荧光探针 NpH-1. 该探针以萘酰亚胺作为荧光团, 以吗啉基团作为对pH值响应的位点, 通过光诱导电子转移(PET)机制调控荧光, 能够对pH值变化响应. 我们在缓冲范围为1.81到11.92的Britton-Robison缓冲液中测定了 NpH-1对pH值变化响应的光谱性质. 在pH值3.0道10.0的范围内, NpH-1能够对pH值的变化产生快速可逆的响应, 其p Ka值为5.41. 探针具有很高的光稳定性. NpH-1具有很低的细胞毒性, 能够用于活细胞成像. 我们用氯喹刺激HeLa细胞, 使细胞的pH值发生变化, 并用探针 NpH-1监测了这一过程中的pH值变化. 另外, 还对 NpH-1进行了溶酶体、线粒体、高尔基体、内质网和细胞核的共定位实验, 结果表明, 探针主要分布在溶酶体和细胞核中, 这意味着 NpH-1可以用于检测复杂细胞环境中的pH值变化.     

透明质酸纳米材料在荧光/光声成像和光疗中的应用

荧光/光声成像和光疗技术的生物医学应用引起了人们越来越多的关注, 然而很多荧光/光声造影剂存在生物相容性较差, 缺乏肿瘤靶向性, 信噪比较低, 功能单一等共性问题, 严重限制其诊疗应用. 透明质酸具有优异的生物相容性和主动肿瘤靶向性, 可被透明质酸酶降解, 并且易于化学修饰和实现多种超分子弱相互作用力协同工作. 因此, 人们将透明质酸与荧光/光声造影剂结合制备纳米材料, 使其在细胞乃至活体的标记性能和治疗效果获得了很大的改善. 本文综述了将两类物质结合制备纳米材料的方法, 着重阐述了纳米材料的结构与性能关系, 为其未来设计和开发提供了指导, 最后对存在的主要问题以及未来的重要研究方向进行了分析和展望.     

MD-UNET: Multi-input dilated U-shape neural network for segmentation of bladder cancer

Accurate segmentation of the tumour area is crucial for the treatment and prognosis of patients with bladder cancer. However, the complex information from the MRI image poses an important challenge for us to accurately segment the lesion, for example, the high distinction among people, size of bladder variation and noise interference. Based on the above issues, we propose an MD-Unet network structure, which uses multi-scale images as the input of the network, and combines max-pooling with dilated convolution to increase the receptive field of the convolutional network. The results show that the proposed network can obtain higher precision than the existing models for the bladder cancer dataset. The MD-Unet can achieve state-of-art performance compared with other methods.     

螺旋CT成像联合血清copeptin、IL-18水平检测在急性脑梗死患者神经功能及预后评估中的应用价值

本文选取74例急性脑梗死(ACI)患者作为研究对象,入院时根据美国国立卫生院卒中量表(NIHSS)评分分为重度组(NIHSS评分>15分,n=21)、中度组(NIHSS评分5~15分,n=24)、轻度组(NIHSS评分<5分,n=29),均接受血清copeptin和IL-18水平检测及螺旋CT成像检查。结果发现,随ACI神经功能缺损加重,血清copeptin、白细胞介素18(IL-18)水平及峰值时间升高,CBV、CBF异常下降。经ROC曲线显示,血清IL-18联合CBF预测ACI患者预后不良的曲线下面积(AUC)最大。由上述结果可见螺旋CT成像参数、血清copeptin、IL-18水平与ACI患者神经功能存在一定相关性,三者联合为临床实现ACI患者个体化治疗和改善预后提供了可能。