An Intrinsic Photothermal Liquid for Light Detection and Energy Storage

Photothermal materials (PTMs) have been intensively investigated in the fields of photothermal conversion. Superior to solid PTMs, liquid PTMs are leading the trends in satisfying the demands of high flexibility and easy recycling. Successful examples of liquid PTMs are mostly formulated by dispersing solid PTMs in solvents, but suffer from the problems of phase segregation and solvent pollution. In this work, a low-cost formulation is proposed, which involves an oxidative product of ethyl oleate by iodine. It is an intrinsic liquid PTM, preserving the fluidic nature as well as possessing considerable ability for photothermal conversion. In addition to understanding the mechanism of light absorption in the visible and even near infrared windows, two examples are presented to demonstrate the great potential of liquid PTMs in broad areas such as light sensing and energy storage.     

Studies of proteasome inhibition and apoptosis induction in triple‐negative breast cancer cells by novel amino acid–polypyridine–copper complex

An innovative ternary copper(II) complex, [Cu(Cl‐PIP)(Tyr)Cl]_n, has been synthesized and characterized using infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. X‐ray crystallography indicates that the Cu atom is five‐coordinated in a square‐pyramidal configuration. The unit forms a one‐dimensional chain along the crystallographic c‐axis. The complex was screened for cytotoxicity against a panel of eight human cancer cell lines, namely MDA‐MB‐231, CAL‐51, K562, HeLa, SGC‐7901, A549, MCF‐7 and SMMC‐7721. The best anticancer activity was obtained with triple‐negative breast cancer CAL‐51 and MDA‐MB‐231 cell lines, with IC₅₀ values in the range 0.035–0.10 μM, and this was better than using carboplatin. The complex inhibits proteasomal chymotrypsin‐like activity, and docking studies reveal its interaction with 20S proteasome. In addition, the complex causes accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins, induces apoptosis and inhibits cell proliferation, indicating its great potential as a novel therapy for triple‐negative breast cancer.     

Photodynamic Therapy of Oligoethylene Glycol‐Dendronized Reduction‐Sensitive Porphyrins

Graphene oxide (GO ) and its functionalized derivatives have attracted increasing attention in medical treatment. Herein, a reduction sensitive PEI‐GO ‐SS ‐TPP was synthesized for photodynamic therapy. More than 80% porphyrin release was observed in the presence of 10 mmol•L⁻¹ DTT in one day. The confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed that the cell uptake efficiency of PEI‐GO‐SS‐TPP was remarkably enhanced as compared to free porphyrin which was significantly dependent on incubation time. For photodynamic therapy, GSH‐OEt could effectively increase the photodynamic therapy efficiency of PEI‐GO ‐SS ‐TPP . Compared with free porphyrin, the toxicity from PEI‐GO ‐SS ‐TPP is much higher with a low IC₅₀ (2.1 µg/mL ) value. All results indicate that the PEI‐GO ‐SS ‐TPP PSs are promising for photodynamic therapy.     

pH‐ and Thiol‐Responsive BODIPY‐Based Photosensitizers for Targeted Photodynamic Therapy

A diiodo distyryl boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) core was conjugated to two ferrocenyl quenchers through acid‐labile ketal and/or thiol‐cleavable disulfide linkers, of which the fluorescence and photosensitizing properties were significantly quenched through a photoinduced electron‐transfer process. The two symmetrical analogues that contained either the ketal or disulfide linkers could only be activated by a single stimulus, whereas the unsymmetrical analogue was responsive to dual stimuli. Upon interaction with acid and/or dithiothreitol (DTT), these linkers were cleaved selectively. The separation of the BODIPY core and the ferrocenyl moieties restored the photoactivities of the former in phosphate buffered saline and inside the MCF‐7 breast cancer cells, rendering these compounds as potential activable photosensitizers for targeted photodynamic therapy. The dual activable analogue exhibited the greatest enhancement in intracellular fluorescence intensity in both an acidic environment (pH 5) and the presence of DTT (4 mm ). Its photocytotoxicity against MCF‐7 cells also increased by about twofold upon preincubation with 4 mm of DTT. The activation of this compound was also demonstrated in nude mice bearing a HT29 human colorectal carcinoma. A significant increase in fluorescence intensity in the tumor was observed over 9 h after intratumoral injection.