Recent Advances in Renal Clearable Inorganic Nanoparticles for Cancer Diagnosis

The rapid growth of inorganic nanoparticles provides numerous opportunities for cancer diagnosis. Due to their adjustable and diverse characteristics that are strongly dependent on the size, morphology, charge, and the nature of surface coatings, they are widely used in the field of oncology. However, inorganic nanomaterials are usually difficult to degrade and excrete within a short time, resulting in long-term in vivo retention and potential toxicity, which significantly hinders their translation into clinical practice. Therefore, the development of renal clearable inorganic nanomaterials that can excrete out of body within desired timeframe is of great significance to promote their clinical bioapplications. Herein, the recent advances in renal clearable inorganic nanoparticles for tumor diagnosis are focused on, and the factors affecting the renal clearance efficiency, with a view to understand the underlying metabolism mechanism and the relevant bioapplications, are discussed.     

Photovoltaic characterization of WSe2 with the scanning tunneling microscope

In the present study we use the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) as an instrument to investigate the photovoltaic properties of semiconducting materials. The surfaces of the layered semiconductor WSe₂ were optically illuminated during the tunneling process. The resulting photo-induced tunneling current (PITC) was measured as a function of the wavelength. Microscopic information on the energy dependent generation and recombination of the photo-electrons in the vicinity of the tunneling tip was obtained by this method without the necessity of covering the surface with a conducting electrode. The analysis of the wavelength dependence of the PITC points at the existence of excitonic excitations. Compared to the spectral response of conventional photosensitive heterodiodes our PITC spectra exhibit a more structured response and an increase of the signal in the UV region. Finally, PITC studies on differently treated WSe₂ surfaces show an improved photoactivity for WSe₂ crystals treated with NaI/I₂ solutions.     

二维MoSi2N4WSe2异质结的第一性原理研究

实验上新合成的MoSi2N4（MSN）由于其独特的七原子层结构和电子特性引起了人们的广泛关注。本文搭建了一种由二维MSN与二维WSe2（WS）垂直堆垛而成的二维MSN/WS异质结,其表现出直接间隙半导体和I型能带排列的特性,具有1.46 eV的带隙。在异质结界面处存在一个由电荷耗尽层MSN指向电荷积累层WS微弱的内建电场。最后,通过施加双轴应变对二维MSN/WS异质结进行调控。发现在正双轴应变的作用下,MSN/WS异质结保持了原来直接带隙半导体和I型能带排列特性;在负双轴应变作用下,MSN/WS异质结由原来的直接带隙半导体转变为间接带隙半导体,当施加的负双轴应变达到-6%与-8%时,I型能带排列转变为Ⅱ型能带排列。     

WSe2光电性质的第一性原理研究

本文采用基于非平衡态格林函数-密度泛函理论的第一性原理方法,计算了单层WSe₂的光电性质.计算结果表明：在小偏压下,几乎整个可见光范围内都能产生较强的光响应,且光响应与偏振角θ呈现完美的余弦关系,与唯象理论相符合.锯齿型和扶手椅型WSe₂纳米器件均在光子能量为2.8 eV(443 nm,对应于可见光)时,能产生较大的光响应;利用能带结构和态密度分析了产生较大光响应的原因,其主要来自第一布里渊区高对称点X处的电子受激跃迁.此外,WSe₂纳米器件还具有较强的各向异性和较高的偏振灵敏度;这些结果可为WSe₂在光电子器件中的应用提供重要的理论参考.     

层状半导体WSe2的电子结构和各向异性光学性质研究

采用第一性原理密度泛函理论研究了六角层状晶体 WSe2 的电子结构和各向异性光学性质. 结果表明:WSe2 为间接带隙半导体, 带隙值为1 .44 eV, 略小于实验值(1 .51 eV) ; 价带和导带均主要由 W-5d 和Se-4p 电子构成, 在价带顶(0~2eV) 及导带底(1 .5 ~3.5 eV) , W-5d 和 Se-4p 电子杂化明显, 形成共价键. 介电函数的虚部和实部均表现出明显的各向异性,εi (xx ) 有一个明显的介电吸收峰, 而εi (zz ) 却有两个明显的介电吸收峰; WSe2 晶体对zz 光的低频透明区的能量范围几乎是xx 光的2 倍, 应用 WSe2 晶体的这一特性可以制备不同要求的偏振片.     

单层与双层WSe2纳米片层的光致发光

采用气相沉积法制备了WSe₂二维纳米材料,对其低温光致发光谱进行了研究。结果表明：随着WSe₂层数的增加,其光致发光强度单调下降;当WSe₂层数从单层增加为双层时,其发光强度急剧下降,表明其能带结构已从直接带隙转变为间接带隙。进一步研究了双层WSe₂的变温光致发光谱,发现随着温度的升高,双层WSe₂发光峰中A峰峰位的变化基本符合半导体带隙的温度变化规律,而I峰峰位红移与温度基本成线性关系,表明双层WSe₂同时存在间接和直接跃迁,且直接跃迁和间接跃迁特性不同。     

Size and Shape Effects of Near-Infrared Light-Activatable Cu2(OH)PO4 Nanostructures on Phototherapeutic Destruction of Drug-Resistant Hypoxia Tumors

Development of simple, robust, and noninvasive therapeutic approaches to treat cancers and improve survival rates is a grand challenge in clinical biomedicine. In particular, the sizes and shape of the nanomaterials play a vital role in dictating their biodistribution and clearance pathways. It remains elusive how the size and shape of a nanomaterial affect its therapeutic efficacy in cancer diagnosis and treatments. To tackle the above problem, the effects of size and shape of Cu₂(OH)PO₄ nanostructures (nanosheets and quantum dots) on the photodynamic therapy (PDT) in destroying malignant drug-resistant lung tumors and on combating the tumor hypoxia problem are investigated and compared. The photocatalytic mechanism of Cu₂(OH)PO₄ nanostructures mainly involves the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydroxyl radical (^·OH) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂). Under an oxygen deprivation condition, Cu₂(OH)PO₄ nanosheets still can generate OH radicals to kill cancer cells upon near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. Overall, in vitro and in vivo experiments show that Cu₂(OH)PO₄ nanosheets can overcome tumor hypoxia problems and effectively mediate dual modal PDT and photothermal therapeutic (PTT) effects on destruction of NCI-H23 lung tumors in mice using ultralow doses (350 mW cm⁻²) of NIR (915 nm) light.     

Lu2O3∶Eu3+纳米粉末及透明陶瓷的制备及其发光性能

采用共沉淀法和溶剂热法制备了Lu2O3∶Eu3+纳米粉体,通过X射线衍射谱、傅里叶变换红外光谱和扫描电镜照片,比较了两种方法制备的Lu2O3∶Eu3+粉末的微观结构,测量和比较合成粉体的激发与发射光谱.将获得的Lu2O3∶Eu3+煅烧粉体在不使用任何添加剂的情况下,干压成型制成素坯,先在真空中1100℃煅烧5h,氮气氛...     

Degradable Nanomotors Using Platinum Deposited Complex of Calcium Carbonate and Hyaluronate Nanogels for Targeted Drug Delivery

Recently, micro/nanomotor systems have been widely investigated for biomedical applications especially for the active transport and delivery of specific drugs. However, there are few stimuli-responsive micro/nanomotor systems to enhance the drug delivery efficiency and reduce side effects by the spatiotemporal controllability. Here, a degradable nanomotor is first fabricated for targeted drug delivery using a platinum (Pt)-deposited complex of calcium carbonate and cuccurbit[6]uril-conjugated hyaluronate (Pt/CaCO₃@HA-CB[6]). The nanomotors could efficiently deliver model drugs to the cells in reactive oxygen species (ROS) abundant environments such as the tumor site. After reaching the tumor site around pH 6.5, Pt/CaCO₃@HA-CB[6] nanomotors (≈1 µm) are pH-responsively disintegrated by the dissociation of CaCO₃ and the encapsulated HA-CB[6] (≈300 nm) are released for cancer cell uptake. The released HA conjugate are finally uptaken into cancer cells via HA receptor-mediated endocytosis. Moreover, model drugs are modularly loaded into the nanomotors via the host–guest chemistry of CB[6] for stable delivery to cancer cells. Taken together, Pt/CaCO₃@HA-CB[6] nanomotors systems could be successfully harnessed for active drug delivery to cancer cells.     

基于亚甲基蓝的近红外荧光探针用于HOCl的特异性检测

次氯酸(HOCl)是一种由过氧化氢和氯离子在髓过氧化物酶(MPO)催化作用下产生的活性氧。由于其在机体抵抗病原体的免疫防御中起着至关重要的作用,因此对HOCl的识别和检测具有非常重要的意义。目前,检测HOCl的方法有电分析法、色谱法、化学发光法和荧光分析法,其中荧光检测法以其简单、快速、高选择性、高灵敏度和实时检测等突出优点引起了许多研究者的兴趣。本文以亚甲基蓝(Methylene blue,MB)为荧光母核,设计合成了一种近红外荧光探针MB-1用于HOCl的特异性检测。该探针可在体外特异性检测HOCl,响应之后,荧光会有显著的增强,同时伴有溶液颜色从无色到蓝色的明显变化。该探针对HOCl具有较高的灵敏度,其检测限为8.2 nmol/L。此外,该探针具有较好的抗干扰能力,为在生理水平上检测HOCl提供了可能。     

Dy3+、Tm3+共掺杂Ca2MgSi2O7的发光特性

采用高温固相法合成了系列Ca₂MgSi₂O₇：Dy³⁺,Tm³⁺发光材料。对样品进行了XRD结构表征,测量了激发光谱、发射光谱、色温和荧光寿命。研究结果表明,Ca₂MgSi₂O₇：Tm³⁺在355 nm激发下显示出蓝色发光,在CIE1931中的色坐标为x=0.165 9,y=0.082 2,色纯度为89%。通过Dy³⁺和Tm³⁺的叠加激发谱带激发,即在349,353,365 nm激发下,Ca₂MgSi₂O₇：Dy³⁺,Tm³⁺显示出青白、冷白和暖白光,相关色温值分别为5 193,9 672,4 685 K。300~500 nm区域间可以有效地激发Ca₂MgSi₂O₇：Dy³⁺,Tm³⁺,并在400~600 nm之间产生蓝光和黄光复合产生的白光,表明该体系可用作白光LED的发光材料。     

Toxicity of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: Research strategies and implications for nanomedicine

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles （SPIONs） are one of the most versatile and safe nanoparticles in a wide variety of biomedical applications. In the past decades, considerable efforts have been made to investigate the potential adverse biological effects and safety issues associated with SPIONs, which is essential for the development of next-generation SPIONs and for continued progress in translational research. In this mini review, we summarize recent developments in toxicity studies on SPIONs, focusing on the relationship between the physicochemical properties of SPIONs and their induced toxic biological responses for a better toxicological understanding of SPIONs.     

On the Factors behind the Photocatalytic Activity of Graphene Quantum Dots for Organic Dye Degradation

Graphene quantum dots (GQD) are promising visible-light photocatalysts for organic dye degradation. Besides having improved visible-light activity compared with commercial TiO₂, GQD are versatile photocatalysts as their chemical composition and, consequently, optical properties can be tuned synthetically, with a direct impact on photoactivity. However, there is a lack of systematic comparative studies to benchmark GQD photocatalytic performance and relate it to their intrinsic properties. This is undertaken in this work for three types of GQD, which are prepared using well-established synthetic methods representative of top-down and bottom-up approaches using different precursors. Resulting GQD are similar in size but differ in chemical composition, crystallinity, bandgap (ranging from 2.63 to 3.63 eV) and visible-light absorptivity. Photoactivity measurements under comparable experimental conditions (visible-light illumination) reveal enormous activity differences for rhodamine B (RhB) degradation, with up to tenfold higher degradation yields at the same time for certain GQD types. The enormous influence of intrinsic and tunable GQD factors, like visible-light absorptivity and surface charge, on their photoactivity for the degradation of organic dyes is demonstrated, highlighting the importance of tailoring such parameters for enhanced photocatalytic performance. A plausible mechanism for GQD-catalyzed photodegradation of RhB is also proposed.     

VO2薄膜表面氧缺陷的修复:F4TCNQ分子吸附反应

VO₂表面氧缺陷的存在对VO₂材料具有显著的电子掺杂效应, 极大地影响材料的本征电子结构和相变性质. 通过2, 3, 5, 6-四氟-7, 7', 8, 8'-四氰二甲基对苯醌(F₄TCNQ)分子表面吸附反应, 可以有效消除表面氧缺陷及其电子掺杂效应. 利用同步辐射光电子能谱和X射线吸收谱原位研究了修复过程中电子结构的变化以及界面的化学反应, 发现这种方式使得VO₂薄膜样品氩刻后得到的V³⁺失去电子成功地被氧化成原先的V⁴⁺, 同时F₄TCNQ分子吸附引起电子由衬底向分子层转移, 界面形成带负电荷的分子离子物种. 受电化学性质的制约, F₄TCNQ分子吸附反应修复氧缺陷较氧气氛退火更安全有效, 不会引起表面过度氧化形成V₂O₅.     

一步水热法合成的石墨烯量子点及其在锰离子探测中的应用

以还原氧化石墨烯为前驱体,采用一步水热法成功制备出了近似球状、分散性良好、尺寸均一的石墨烯量子点。通过傅立叶红外光谱(FTIR)、紫外-可见吸收光谱、荧光光谱等光学手段对样品的结构和光学性能进行了表征,结果显示制备的石墨烯量子点表面含有丰富的含氧官能团,在紫外区有很强的吸收,发射峰强而窄,表现出激发波长不依赖的荧光性能。研究结果表明石墨烯量子点可应用于Mn2+微量探测,石墨烯量子点的荧光强度会随着所加入的Mn2+浓度的增大而降低,在0~400μmol/L间的校准曲线呈线性相关。     

Variation of the gas components of a TEA CO2 laser during its lifetime

An in situ mass-spectrometric sampling technique has been developed for lifetime studies of TEA CO₂ lasers. Using the new technique, an analysis of the gas components of a TEA CO₂ laser during its lifetime has been performed. The results show that the laser output pulse energy was strongly influenced by the oxygen concentration inside the device.     

Preparation of Mitochondria- and Epigenetics-Targeting Nanoparticles for Suppression of Cancer Metastasis

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of carcinoma cells is a promising target for cancer therapy since it is closely related to tumor metastasis and therapeutic resistance. The process of EMT is strongly associated with epigenetic alterations in cancer cells. In addition, recent accumulating evidence suggests that EMT also has a significant influence on inducing cancer stem cells (CSCs). In this study, novel polymer core–lipid shell nanoparticles (PLNPs) are prepared to suppress cancer EMT by the combined effects of the antioxidant activity of core-encapsulated Mn imidazolium porphyrin (MnImP) and the epigenetic control by histone acetyltransferase-encoding plasmid DNA (pHAT) hybridized onto the shell surface. PLNPs show the ability to control the expression of EMT-related markers, resulting in the suppression of EMT in lung epithelial cancer cells (paraquat-treated A549 cells). Furthermore, PLNPs suppress the levels of intracellular mitochondrial ROS and the transformation to CSCs. The results of this study may provide a novel therapeutic strategy against tumor metastasis and treatment resistance.     

白光LED用Ca_8Mg(SiO_4)_4Cl_2:Eu~(2+),Dy~(3+)发光粉的发光性能

采用高温固相法合成了白光LED用Ca8Mg(SiO4)4Cl2:Eu和Ca8Mg(SiO4)4Cl2:Eu,Dy绿色发光粉。研究发现:共掺Dy可以明显地提高Ca8Mg(SiO4)4Cl2:Eu发光粉的发光性能,表明Dy3+和Eu2+之间存在着能量传递过程。当Dy3+的最佳掺杂摩尔分数为0.02时,发光粉505nm处绿光发射的强度约提高12%。通过对Dy3+和Eu2+光谱特性的分析,Dy3+和Eu2+之间的能量传递机制可归因于无辐射交叉弛豫。     

Feasibility of similarity coefficient map for improving morphological evaluation of T2* weighted MRI for renal cancer

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using a similarity coefficient map(SCM) in improving the morphological evaluation of T2* weighted(T2*W) magnatic resonance imaging(MRI) for renal cancer.Simulation studies and in vivo 12-echo T2*W experiments for renal cancers were performed for this purpose.The results of the first simulation study suggest that an SCM can reveal small structures which are hard to distinguish from the background tissue in T2*W images and the corresponding T2* map.The capability of improving the morphological evaluation is likely due to the improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) and the carrier-to-noise ratio(CNR) by using the SCM technique.Compared with T2* W images,an SCM can improve the SNR by a factor ranging from 1.87 to 2.47.Compared with T2* maps,an SCM can improve the SNR by a factor ranging from 3.85 to 33.31.Compared with T2*W images,an SCM can improve the CNR by a factor ranging from 2.09 to 2.43.Compared with T2* maps,an SCM can improve the CNR by a factor ranging from 1.94 to 8.14.For a given noise level,the improvements of the SNR and the CNR depend mainly on the original SNRs and CNRs in T2*W images,respectively.In vivo experiments confirmed the results of the first simulation study.The results of the second simulation study suggest that more echoes are used to generate the SCM,and higher SNRs and CNRs can be achieved in SCMs.In conclusion,an SCM can provide improved morphological evaluation of T2*W MR images for renal cancer by unveiling fine structures which are ambiguous or invisible in the corresponding T2*W MR images and T2* maps.Furthermore,in practical applications,for a fixed total sampling time,one should increase the number of echoes as much as possible to achieve SCMs with better SNRs and CNRs.     

Exploration of structural,optical, and photoluminescent properties of (1-x)NiCo2O4/xPbS nanocomposites for optoelectronic applications

The (1-x)NiCo₂O₄/xPbS (0≤ x≤ 0.2) nanocomposite samples are synthesized using the hydrothermal and thermolysis procedures. The different phases developed in the obtained nanocomposite samples are accurately determined using the x-ray diffraction technique equipped with a line-detector. The percentage of the formed phases (NiCo₂O₄ (NCO), PbS, PbSO₄), structural and microstructure parameters are determined using Rietveld quantitative phase analysis. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) images and Rietveld analysis reveal almost isotropic particle size in the nano range with a very narrow size distribution. The obtained phase percentage of PbS and PbSO₄ are smaller than nominated values (x) suggesting dissolving of some Pb and S ions into NCO which is then confirmed by the analysis of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of nanocomposite samples. The absorption spectra are modified upon doping NCO with PbS. The optical band gaps of the nanocomposites increase as the amount of PbS augments. The effect of alloying on extinction coefficient, refractive index, dielectric constant, optical conductivity, the intensity, and emitted color from the photoluminescence of the nanocomposite samples are also studied. The refractive index value of NCO and NCO-PbS nanocomposite samples exhibit normal dispersions. The photoluminescent measurements reveal that the NCO-PbS nanocomposites can emit a violet color. The improvement in the values of the nonlinear optical (NLO) parameters of pristine NCO at high frequencies or the nanocomposite samples at low frequencies, are made them used in NLO photonic devices.