Core–Shell Bi2Se3@mSiO2‐PEG as a Multifunctional Drug‐Delivery Nanoplatform for Synergistic Thermo‐Chemotherapy with Infrared Thermal Imaging of Cancer Cells

Thermo‐chemotherapy combining photothermal therapy (PTT) with chemotherapy has become a potent approach for antitumor treatment. In this study, a multifunctional drug‐delivery nanoplatform based on polyethylene glycol (PEG)‐modified mesoporous silica‐coated bismuth selenide nanoparticles (referred to as Bi₂Se₃@mSiO₂‐PEG NPs) is developed for synergistic PTT and chemotherapy with infrared thermal (IRT) imaging of cancer cells. The product shows no/low cytotoxicity, strong near‐infrared (NIR) optical absorption, high photothermal conversion capacity, and stability. Utilizing the prominent photothermal effect, high‐contrast IRT imaging and efficient photothermal killing effect on cancer cells are achieved upon NIR laser irradiation. Moreover, the successful mesoporous silica coating of the Bi₂Se₃@mSiO₂‐PEG NPs cannot only largely improve the stability but also endow the NPs high drug loading capacity. As a proof‐of‐concept model, doxorubicin (DOX) is successfully loaded into the NPs with rather high loading capacity (≈50.0%) via the nanoprecipitation method. It is found that the DOX‐loaded NPs exhibit a bimodal on‐demand pH‐ and NIR‐responsive drug release property, and can realize effective intracellular drug delivery for chemotherapy. The synergistic thermo‐chemotherapy results in a significantly higher antitumor efficacy than either PTT or chemotherapy alone. The work reveals the great potential of such core–shell NPs as a multifunctional drug‐delivery nanosystem for thermo‐chemotherapy.     

Synthesis of Silver-Based Plasmas by Plant Extracts for In Vitro PTT/PDT/CT Synergistic Antitumor Therapy

In this study, biosynthetic Ag@AgCl plasma is used as a photosensitizer for the first time to construct a photothermal/photodynamic/chemotherapy and pH-responsive synergistic antitumor nanomedicine delivery system CS-Ag@AgCl/C. The Ag@AgCl and AgNPs synthesized by the extracts of alpine banana, Citrus reticulata, and Citrus sinensis are characterized. The Ag@AgCl NPs synthesized with banana extract have a regular crystal shape and a granular size of 12 nm, and they are more stable than AgNPs synthesized with the other two extracts. In addition, Ag@AgCl plasma used as a photosensitizer can reduce the dependence of CS-Ag@AgCl/C on oxygen in the photodynamic process. After coating with chitosan, though the photothermal conversion efficiency of CS-Ag@AgCl/C decreases from 44.06% to 29.51%, the pH response character of it increases, and the pH response plays an important role in drug release experiments. Under an acidic environment of pH = 5.0 phosphate-buffered saline buffer, the drug release rate of the samples increases significantly. In the synergistic antitumor experiment, the cell survival rate increases from 36.83% to 78.69% after chitosan-coated Ag@AgCl/C NPs. When CS-Ag@AgCl/C-DOX+808 nm is co-cultured with HeLa cells, the cell survival rate is only 14.89%, which indicates that the constructed plasma drug delivery system has excellent photothermal/photodynamic/chemotherapy combined treatment capability.     

Near-Infrared-Absorbing Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles for Photothermal Therapy

Photothermal therapy, an excellent therapeutic approach, has received much attention in recent years. Herein, a novel diketopyrrolopyrrole polymer (DPP-BDP) is prepared, which shows intense near-infrared (NIR) optical absorption and admirable photothermal conversion efficacy. Impressively, after assembly into nanoparticles (DB-FA), the as-prepared conjugated polymer demonstrates a uniformly distributed size around 200 nm with remarkable NIR absorption at 808 nm. Additionally, it displays high biocompatibility and photostability. More interestingly, the obtained DB-FA NPs are uptaken by cancer cells and present excellent anticancer in vitro and in vivo under 0.8 W cm⁻² or 1 W cm⁻² NIR laser irradiation, respectively. Hence, this work is expected to pave the way for using conjugated-polymer nanoparticles as a powerful photothermal agents for anticancer applications.     

Generation of Soft Ferrite Nanoparticles by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids

We generate Mn–ferrite nanoparticles (NPs) by Nd:YAG (1064 nm) laser irradiation in distilled water. We characterize such NPs in terms of the size distribution, shape and chemical composition using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X rays (EDS), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Using a magnetic force microscope (MFM), we show the magnetic properties of the generated nanoparticles.     

Understanding of Polydopamine Encapsulation of Hydrophobic Curcumin for Pleiotropic Drug Nanoformulation

Pleiotropic drug nanoformulation promises the enhanced efficacy of nanomedicines on the market. In this study, it is demonstrated that polydopamine (PDA)-based drug encapsulation is a potential strategy for such nanoformulation, yet its mechanism remains poorly investigated. This study elucidates the mechanism of PDA-encapsulated Curnanoformulations (CP NPs) using hydrophobic curcumin (Cur) as a model drug via local dopamine (DA) polymerization on self-assembled Cur NPs. The formation of PDA-based drug nanoformulations with the core–shell structure is comprehensively investigated by controlling the key synthetic parameters, deepening the understanding of DA polymerization in the context of drugs. An intriguing morphology evolution is proposed to be the key event in the formation of CP NPs, attributing to the Cur diffusion from the core to the shell of CP NPs. Moreover, the morphological data can be used to guide the optimization of the PDA-based nanoformulation. In addition, the verification of soluble DA polymers in CP NPs hints at the heterogeneous nature of the excipient (i.e., PDA) of CP NPs, providing a cautionary view on the long-term safety of PDA-formulated drugs. In sum, this study would enable the pharmaceutical development of PDA-encapsulated Cur nanomedicines and generalize the PDA-based nanoformulation approach for a wider range of hydrophobic drugs.     

A Dual-Functional Ferroferric Oxide/Quantum Dots Theranostic Nanoplatform for Fluorescent Labeling and Photothermal Therapy

A biocompatible, nontoxic theranostic nanoplatform consisting of mesoporous silica-coated ferroferric oxide (Fe₃O₄) and Mn-doped ZnS-ZnS quantum dots (QDs) is synthesized via a layer-by-layer method. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer, magnetometry, and fluorophotometer are employed to characterize the nanoplatform. The nanoplatform exhibits excellent superparamagnetic, fluorescent, and light absorption properties. The template method is introduced to form a mesoporous silica structure on the nanoplatform, lowering the mass of the nanoplatform and effectively promoting the absorption efficiency of the incident light compared with the traditional silica layer. In addition, after endocytosis of the nanoplatform, cancer cells are easily detected under a fluorescence microscope because of the excellent fluorescent behavior of QDs. Moreover, in vitro experiments confirm that nanoplatform possesses perfect photothermal effect to destroy tumor cells under laser irradiation. Therefore, ferroferric oxide/QDs nanoplatforms, combined with the functions of fluorescent labeling and photothermal therapy for cancer cells, are expected to be a promising biopotential material in the field of diagnosis and 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.     

All-Solid-State Nd:YAG Laser Operating at 1064nm and 1319nm under 885nm Thermally Boosted Pumping

We report a high-effciency Nd：YAG laser operating at 1064 nm and 1319nm, respectively, thermally boosted pumped by an all-solid-state Q-switched Ti：sapphire laser at 885 nm. The maximum outputs of 825.4 m W and 459.4mW, at 1064nm and 1319nm respectively, are obtained in a 8-ram-thick 1.1 at.% Nd：YAG crystal with 2.1 W of incident pump power at 885nm, leading to a high slope efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power of 68.5% and 42.0%. Comparative results obtained by the traditional pumping at 808nm are presented, showing that the slope efficiency and the threshold with respect to the absorbed pump power at 1064nm under the 885nm pumping are 12.2% higher and 7.3% lower than those of 808rim pumping. At 1319nm, the slope efficiency and the threshold with respect to the absorbed pump power under 885nm pumping are 9.9% higher and 3.5% lower than those of 808 nm pumping. The heat generation operating at 1064 nm and 1319 nm is reduced by 19.8% and 11.1%, respectively.     

Enhancement of the 808 nm Photothermal Effect of Gold Nanorods by Thiol‐Induced Self‐Assembly

Gold (Au) nanomaterials are promising photothermal agents for the selective treatment of tumor cells owing to the strong capability to convert near‐infrared (NIR) irradiation into heat energy. One basic issue for practical photothermal therapy is the enhancement of photothermal effect in NIR region. Here, various low‐molecular‐weight thiols are applied to induce one‐dimensional (1D) self‐assembly of Au nanorods (NRs), which leads to the redshift of absorption peak towards NIR region. As a result, the 1D assembled Au NRs exhibit improved photothermal effect at 808 nm in comparison to unassembled Au NRs.     

Gold Nanocages as Effective Photothermal Transducers in Killing Highly Tumorigenic Cancer Cells

Numerous gold nanostructures have the potential for photothermal therapy in cancers. Here, gold nanocages and gold nanoshells are synthesized, the sizes of which are fine‐tuned for a response at 750 nm wavelength. Their photothermal therapeutic efficiency is compared at gold concentration of 100 lg mL^?1 using a near‐infrared laser (750 nm). The biocompatibility for varying concentrations of gold (1 to 100 lg mL^?1) is performed in a normal cell line and laser‐mediated cell cytotoxicity for varying time intervals (7.5 and 10 min) is carried out in breast cancer cells. This study shows that when analyzed under similar conditions, the gold nanocages show better biocompatibility and are more efficient in near‐infrared absorption and photothermal conversion in comparison with conventional gold nanoshells. When subjected to photothermal laser ablation of breast cancer cell line for 7.5 min and 10 min, the nanocages are able to induce 62.92 ± 3.25% and 96.41 ± 3.04% reduction in cell viability, respectively, in comparison to nanoshells, in which a 43.35 ± 1.91% and 79.89 ± 4.74% reduction in cell viability is observed. The current study shows that the gold nanocages can outperform gold nanoshells and effectively kill cancer cells without any significant cytotoxic effect on normal cells.     

Dual-wavelength investigation of laser-induced damage in multilayer mirrors at 532 and 1064 nm

Thin film beam splitters with high reflectivity at 532 nm and high transmittance at 1064 nm were deposited via reactive electron-beam evaporation with optimized parameters. The damage performance of the samples was investigated under irradiations of 532 nm laser only, 1064 nm laser only, and various combined laser fluences. The damages induced by the 1064 nm laser were primarily attributed to the initiators at the interface between the coatings and substrate. Under 532 nm laser irradiation only, two distinctive damage pits initiated by the submicron absorptive defects located at different coating depths and correlated to interfaces were observed. The damage effect under simultaneous irradiation in multilayer films was also investigated. The respective sensitive defects of the two lasers remained the precursors for causing damage. However, the dominant damage factors in simultaneous irradiation changed with the 1064 nm laser fluence, which also determined the coupling effect between the two lasers in terms of causing damage. Finally, correlative analysis methods were used to discuss the different coupling effects.     

Human‐Serum‐Albumin‐Coated Prussian Blue Nanoparticles as pH‐/Thermotriggered Drug‐Delivery Vehicles for Cancer Thermochemotherapy

Constructing novel multimodal antitumor therapeutic nanoagents has attracted tremendous recent attention. In this work, a new drug‐delivery vehicle based on human‐serum‐albumin (HSA)‐coated Prussian blue nanoparticles (PB NPs) is synthesized. It is demonstrated that doxorubicin (DOX)/HSA is successfully loaded after in situ polymerization of dopamine onto PB NPs, and the PB@PDA/DOX/HSA NPs are highly compatible and stable in various physiological solutions. The NPs possess strong near‐infrared (NIR) absorbance, and excellent capability and stability of photothermal conversion for highly efficient photothermal therapy applications. Furthermore, a bimodal on‐demand drug release sensitively triggered by pH or NIR irradiation has been realized, resulting in a significant chemotherapeutic effect due to the preferential uptake and internalization of the NPs by cancer cells. Importantly, the thermochemotherapy efficacy of the NPs has been examined by a cell viability assay, revealing a remarkably superior synergistic anticancer effect over either monotherapy. Such multifunctional drug‐delivery systems composed of approved materials may have promising biomedical applications for antitumor therapy.     

Polydopamine Nanoparticle as a Multifunctional Nanocarrier for Combined Radiophotodynamic Therapy of Cancer

Combination of different therapeutic strategies to treat cancer has attracted tremendous attention in recent years. Herein, the authors develop polydopamine (PDA) nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification as a multifunctional nanocarrier for coloading photosensitizer chlorine6 (Ce6) and curcumin (Cur) for combined photodynamic therapy (PDT) and radiotherapy (RT) of cancer. PEGylated PDA nanoparticles (PDA‐PEG) exhibit well water soluble and biocompatible in different physiological solutions and cause no obvious toxicity to cancer cells. In this nanoparticle, the loaded Ce6 can trigger the generation of single oxygen under near‐infrared laser irradiation for PDT, while the loaded Cur can act as an excellent radiosensitizer under X‐ray irradiation for enhanced external RT. As demonstrated by in vitro and in vivo therapeutic efficiency, combined PDT and RT based on PDA‐PEG/Cur/Ce6 nanoparticles exhibits significant inhibition the growth of cancer cells, revealing perfect performance in cancer treatment. Therefore, the study not only presents a polymer‐based theranostic platform for cancer treatment but also demonstrates the potential applications of combined RT and PDT for the future clinic cancer therapy.     

Room-temperature continuous wave laser oscillations in Nd:YAG ceramic waveguides produced by carbon ion implantation

We report on the generation of continuous wave lasers at a wavelength of ∼1064 nm in a Nd:YAG ceramic waveguide at room temperature. The waveguide was fabricated by using 6 MeV carbon ion implantation at a fluence of 3×10¹⁴ ions/cm². Laser operation has been realized with a slope efficiency as high as ∼11%. The pump threshold of an 808-nm laser beam for the waveguide laser oscillation is 19.5 mW.     

对赖氨酸和精氨酸具选择性响应特性的聚二炔酸纳米粒子分散液

通过“非共价键合胶束”的方法制备聚二炔酸纳米粒子分散液,将二炔酸单体的乙醇溶液滴加到水中,通过254 nm紫外光照射聚合获得分散液.对于18种水溶性天然氨基酸,该体系对赖氨酸和精氨酸具有选择性响应.     

Photothermal laser processing of thin silicon nanoparticle films: on the impact of oxide formation on film morphology

Photothermal laser processing of thin films of H-terminated silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) is investigated. Ethanolic dispersions of Si NPs with an average diameter of 45 nm are spin-coated on silicon substrates yielding films with thicknesses ≤500 nm. Small-area laser processing is carried out using a microfocused scanning cw-laser setup operating at a wavelength of 532 nm and a 1/e laser spot size of 1.4 μm. In conjunction with microscopic techniques, this provides a highly reproducible and convenient approach in order to study the dependence of the resulting film morphology and composition on the experimental parameters. Processing in air results in strongly oxidized granular structures with sizes between 100 and 200 nm. The formation of these structures is dominated by surface oxidation. In particular, changing the processing parameters (i.e., laser power, writing speed, and/or the background air pressure) has little effect on the morphology. Only in vacuum at pressures <1 mbar, oxygen adsorption, and hence oxide formation, is largely suppressed. Under these conditions, irradiation at low laser powers results in mesoporous surface layers, whereas compact silicon films are formed at high laser powers. In agreement with these results, comparative experiments with films of H-terminated and surface-oxidized Si NPs reveal a strong impact of the surface oxide layer on the film morphology. Mechanistic aspects and implications for photothermal processing techniques, e.g., targeting photovoltaic and thermoelectric applications, are discussed.     

Laser emission in Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> channel waveguides at 1064 nm

In this work, we report 1064 nm laser emission in Nd:YVO₄ channel waveguides fabricated by carbon implantation. Typical threshold pump powers (∼808 nm) were ≥45 mW. Maximum conversion efficiency was 11.5% (29.6% slope efficiency), and up to 9 mW of signal was delivered. Sample lengths of 4 mm were sufficient to completely absorb the pump power. The special spectral characteristics of this material such as broad absorption band and superior cross sections compared to the YAG crystal makes it suitable for developing compact sources to be integrated in optoelectronic devices.     

A compact and high efficiency diode pumped green laser based on MgO doped PPLN

In this work, an efficient intra-cavity second harmonic generation of green laser in a periodically poled MgO doped LiNbO₃ (MgO:PPLN) bulk crystal using a compact Nd:YVO₄ laser as a fundamental laser source is reported. Different length, different working temperature MgO:PPLN crystals are tested and investigated in the SHG experiments. The maximum output power at 532 nm is 6.2 W at the absorbed pump power at 808 nm of 14 W, the optical to optical conversion efficiencies from 808 to 532 nm and 1064 to 532 nm are 43 and 77%, respectively, the instability in 2 hours is less than 5%.     

Near‐Infrared‐Light‐Induced Fast Drug Release Platform: Mesoporous Silica‐Coated Gold Nanoframes for Thermochemotherapy

Development of advanced theranostics for personalized medicine is of great interest. Herein, a multifunctional mesoporous silica‐based drug delivery carrier has been developed for efficient chemo/photothermal therapy. The unique Au nanoframes@mSiO₂ spheres are elaborately prepared by utilizing Ag@mSiO₂ yolk–shell spheres as the template through spatially confined galvanic replacement method. Compared with the Ag@mSiO₂ yolk–shell spheres, the resultant Au nanoframes@mSiO₂ spheres show a strong and broad near‐infrared (NIR) absorbance in the 550–1100 nm region, high surface areas, and good biocompatibility. When irradiated with a NIR laser with a power intensity of 1 W cm^?2 at 808 nm, they can become highly localized heat sources through the photothermal effect. Moreover, the photothermal effect of the Au nanoframes can significantly promote the fast release of doxorubicin. The in vitro studies show obvious synergistic effects combining photothermal therapy and chemotherapy in the Au nanoframes@mSiO₂ spheres against Hela cells. It is believed that the as‐obtained multifunctional vehicles provide a promising platform for the combination of hyperthermia and chemotherapy for cancer treatment application.     

Femtosecond laser written stress-induced Nd:Y<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> (Nd:YAG) channel waveguide laser

Single tracks and pairs of tracks were written into undoped and Nd-doped YAG crystals using a commercial femtosecond laser system delivering pulses with pulse duration of 140 fs and pulse energies up to 10 μJ. The pulses were focused by a 50× microscope objective below the surface of the crystals. Due to the elasto-optical effect, stress-induced birefringence was observed in domains surrounding the single tracks and between the pairs of tracks. Waveguiding was demonstrated in certain channels in these domains. To investigate the underlying guiding mechanism highly selective chemical etching of the modified material was performed with etching rates up to 5 μm/h. Pumped at 808 nm, laser operation at a wavelength of 1064 nm was achieved. The maximum output power was 25.5 mW at 261 mW of launched pump power with a slope efficiency of 23%.