Crowleylara8218

In vitro experiments showed that the NMCS-linker-PEG-PEI-GEM hybrid particle can induce synergistic therapeutic effects in FADU cells when exposed to the NIR light.Monoalkyl phosphates (MAPs) are one kind of important single-chain weak acid/salt type surfactants, but the understanding of their aggregation behavior in water is very limited due to their insolubility at room temperature. In the current work, the effect of guanidinium salts (GuSalts) on the solubility of sodium monododecylphosphate (SDP), a typical MAP, in water was determined at 25.0 °C, and the aggregation behavior of SDP in the GuSalt/water mixtures was investigated. The solubility of SDP is significantly improved by GuSalts including GuCl, GuSO4, GuSO3, GuPO4, and GuCO3 at 25.0 °C, resulting in an isotropic phase. SDP vesicles are spontaneously formed in the isotropic phase, with a critical vesicle concentration of ∼1.0 mM independent of the type of GuSalts. A "bridging dimer" mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of SDP vesicles. The SDP vesicles have a unilamellar structure with a size of ∼80 nm and an alkyl interdigitated degree of ∼25%, and exhibit size-selective permeability. Interestingly, a temperature-induced reversible transition between vesicles and α-gels was observed for the SDP/GuSalt/H2O systems when the SDP content is higher than 20 mM. The α-gels obtained are composed of vesicles and bilayer sheets, showing similar viscoelasticity to conventional gels, although their water content is as high as ∼98 wt%. The microviscosity of SDP vesicle membranes (ca. 35.79-49.34 mPa s at 25.0 °C) and the transition temperature between vesicles and α-gels (ca. 21.0-22.8 °C) are all dependent of the type of GuSalts. This work deepens the understanding of the aggregation behavior of MAPs and also provides valuable information for their practical applications.Combined photothermal therapy/chemotherapy by co-delivery of a photosensitizer (PS) and a chemotherapeutic drug has demonstrated great potential for cancer treatment. The intrinsic drawbacks of traditional drug delivery systems (DDSs), such as tedious synthetic procedures, side effects originated from the carrier materials, low loading efficiency, and uncontrolled drug release, however, have impaired their further advancement. On the other hand, enediyne antibiotics are highly cytotoxic toward cancer cells through the generation of lethal carbon radicals via thermal-induced cyclization, endowing them with great potential to achieve enhanced synergistic anticancer performance by incorporation with the photothermal effect of PS. To this end, a carrier-free and NIR/acid dual-responsive DDS was constructed for combined photothermal therapy/chemotherapy. The facile co-assembly of maleimide-based enediyne and PS IR820 was achieved in aqueous solution to give nanoparticles (EICN) with a hydrodynamic diameter of 90 nm and high stability. In vitro study confirmed the acid/NIR dual-responsive degradation and drug release, free radical generation and DNA-cleaving ability of EICN, which was accomplished by the corporation of enediyne and IR820 moieties. Further tests on HeLa cells verified the excellent synergistic anticancer performance of EICN including the improved cellular uptake, NIR-enhanced drug release, DNA damage and histone deacetylase inhibitor capacity. Overall, this carrier-free DDS with dual acid/NIR-responsivity would potentially provide new insights for the development of combined photothermal/chemotherapy.The slip and stick of soft permeable particles sliding near a smooth surface is determined by computing flow, pressure and shape of a particle pressed against a surface due to the osmotic pressure of the surrounding suspension and its translation at constant velocity parallel to the surface. We present a poro-elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory that accounts for the interplay of the viscous pressure force on the elastic deformation of the particle and the flow through the particle pores. At high particle velocities, the particles move along an elastohydrodynamic film of fluid causing the particles to slip on the surface. For finite particle permeability, there is a critical particle velocity determined by the permeability relative to the thickness of the film and a ratio of the viscous and elastic forces that cause a portion of the particle to contact the surface and stick. In this case the magnitude of pressure in the lubricated film is lower compared to their impermeable counterpart sliding against a smooth surface at the same speed. find more The particle pores offer an alternative route for the fluid in the film, reducing the lubrication pressure resulting in the particle contacting the surface. A universal function is deduced to predict this transition for a range of poro-elastohydrodynamic interactions. The drag force of the particle sliding along the surface up to the contact is also determined and found to follow a universal function. These results demonstrate the possibility of dynamic stick-slip transitions via control of particle properties instead of wall surface treatments.Silk fibroin (SF), derived from Bombyx mori, is a category of fibrous protein with outstanding potential for applications in the biomedical and biotechnological fields. In spite of its many advantageous properties, the exploration of SF as a versatile nanodrug precursor for tumor therapy has still been restricted in recent years. Herein, a multifunctional SF-derived nanoplatform was facilely developed via encapsulating the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) into MnO2-capped SF nanoparticles (NPs). SF@MnO2 nanocarriers were synthesized through a surface crystallization technique, using SF as a reductant and sacrificial template. Afterwards, Ce6 was covalently incorporated into the loose structure of the SF@MnO2 nanocarrier on the basis of adsorption to abundant peptide-binding sites. To modulate the tumor microenvironment (TME), SF@MnO2/Ce6 (SMC) NPs were capable of catalyzing the decomposition of H2O2 into O2, which can be converted into cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) during photodynamic therapy (PDT).