Oxygen vacancies in MnOx regulating reaction kinetics for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

MnO2 cathode materials have presented challenges due to their poor conductivity, unstable structure, and sluggish diffusion kinetics for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). In this study, a nanostructured MnOx cathode material was synthesized using an acid etching method, Which introduced abundant Mn(III) sites, resulting in the formation of numerous oxygen vacancies. Comprehensive characterizations revealed that these oxygen vacancies facilitated the reversible adsorption/desorption of Zn2+ ions and promoted efficient electron transfer. In addition, the designed mesoporous structure offered ample active sites and shortened the diffusion path for Zn2+ and H+ ions. Consequently, the nanosized MnOx cathode exhibited enhanced reaction kinetics, achieving a considerable reversible specific capacity of 388.7 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g and superior durability with 72.0% capacity retention over 2000 cycles at 3.0 A/g. The material delivered a maximum energy density of 639.7 Wh kg-1 at 159.94 W kg-1. Furthermore, a systematic analysis of the zinc storage mechanism was performed. This work demonstrates that engineering oxygen vacancies with nanostructure regulation provides valuable insights into optimizing MnO2 cathode materials for AZIBs.

[Real-time measurement of cell contractile force during activation of human hepatic stellate cell line LX-2].

The contractile force of hepatic stellate cells plays a very important role in liver damage, hepatitis and fibrosis. In this paper, a method based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin micropillar arrays is proposed to measure the contractile force of human hepatic stellate cell line LX-2, which enables dynamic measurement of the subcellular distribution of force magnitude and direction. First, thin micropillar arrays on glass bottom dish were fabricated using two-step casting process in order to meet the working distance requirement of 100× objective lens. After hydrophilic treatment and protein imprint, cells were seeded on the micropillar arrays. LX-2 cells, which were quiesced by growth in serum-free medium, were activated by adding fetal bovine serum (FBS). The deflections of the micropillars were achieved by image processing technique, and then the contractile force of cells exerted on the micropillars was calculated according to mechanical simulation results, and was analyzed under both quiescent and activated conditions. The experimental results show that the average traction force of quiescent cells is about 20 nN, while the contractile force of activated cells increased to 110 nN upon adding FBS. This method can quantify the contractile force of LX-2 cell on subcellular scale in both quiescent and activated states, which may benefit pathology study and drug screen for chronic liver diseases resulted from liver fibrosis.

Light-triggered release of drug conjugates for an efficient combination of chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy.

Herein, we present a series of light-triggered porphyrin-based polymeric drug conjugates PSDTD-m for combined chemo-photodynamic therapy of cancer. The controlled release of a drug through a ROS-cleavable linker combined with photodynamic therapy showed enhanced anticancer efficacy, proving the effectiveness of this light triggered smart nanocarrier platform for enhancing the therapy efficacy.

Phenylboronic Acid-Cross-Linked Nanoparticles with Improved Stability as Dual Acid-Responsive Drug Carriers.

Herein, a kind of dual acid-sensitive nanoparticles based on monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-imine-ß-cyclodextrin is constructed by a facile phenylboronic acid-cross-linked way. The data of dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscope reveal the cross-linked nanoparticles have improved stability. The cross-linked nanoparticles could easily self-assemble and load the anticancer drug at neutral pH condition. However, when the drug-loaded nanoparticles are delivered to extracellular tumor sites (pH ≈6.8), the surface of the nanoparticles would be amino positively charged and easily internalized by tumor cell due to the cleavage of the acid-labile benzoic-imine. Subsequently, with the acidity in subcellular compartments significantly increasing (such as the endosome pH ≈5.3), the loaded drug would fast release from the endocytosis carriers due to the hydrolysis of boronate ester. These features suggest that these dual acid-sensitive cross-linked nanoparticles not only possess excellent biocompatibility but also can efficiently load and deliver anticancer drug into tumor cells to enhance the inhibition of cellular proliferation, outlining a favorable platform as drug carriers.

Dual acid-responsive supramolecular nanoparticles as new anticancer drug delivery systems.

Considering the specific pH gradients of tumour microenvironments, a dual acid-responsive drug delivery system, which can respond to the tumor extracellular and intercellular pH stimuli, has been fabricated via simple host-guest recognition. Firstly, we synthesise 2,4,6-trimethoxybenzaldehyde modified dextran (Dex-TMBA) and mPEG-imine-ß-cyclodextrin (PIC), respectively. And then, through the host-guest recognition between the cyclodextrin (CD) of PIC and the benzene ring of Dex-TMBA, a kind of dual acid-responsive supramolecular drug delivery system can be fabricated. Under neutral pH conditions, anticancer drugs can be loaded by forming supramolecular nanoparticles via the host-guest recognition. While, at tumor extracellular pH (∼6.8), the acid-labile benzoic-imine of PIC cleaves and the nanoparticles are amino positively charged to facilitate cell internalization. Subsequently, due to the hydrolysis of acetal bonds in Dex-TMBA under significantly increased acidity in subcellular compartments such as the endosomes (∼5.3), the loaded doxorubicin releases from the endocytosed drug delivery. This dual acid-responsive nanoparticles can efficiently load and release drugs, acting as drug delivery systems for enhancing anticancer efficiency.

Hyperbranched PEG-based supramolecular nanoparticles for acid-responsive targeted drug delivery.

Herein, hyperbranched poly(ethylene glycol)-based supramolecular nanoparticles with pH-sensitive properties were designed and used for targeted drug delivery. Via host-guest recognition between benzimidazole anchored poly(ethylene glycol)-hyperbranched polyglycerol (PEG-HPG-BM) and folic acid modified CD (FA-CD), targeted supramolecular nanoparticles (TSNs) were fabricated. At neutral aqueous conditions TSNs could load the model drug DOX. While under intracellular acidic conditions the loaded-drug would be released due to the protonation of BM. This protonation allowed the supramolecular nanoparticles to expand or even disassemble, which showes the pH-dependent property. The introduction of the active targeting FA molecule and the specific interactions with the receptor of HeLa cells means that DOX-loaded TSNs show a significantly improved anticancer efficacy. In vitro drug release assays and intracellular experiments confirmed that TSNs had an obvious pH-sensitive property and remarkably improved anticancer effects, which hold great potential for further biomedical applications such as anticancer drug delivery.