[Preparation and characterization of co-loaded indocyanine green and elemene nano-emulsion in situ gel and its effect on proliferation of breast cancer MCF-7 cells].

This study aims to prepare co-loaded indocyanine green(ICG) and elemene(ELE) nano-emulsion(NE) in situ gel(ICG-ELE-NE-gel) and evaluate its physicochemical properties and antitumor activity in vitro. ICG-ELE-NE-gel was prepared by aqueous phase titration and cold solution methods, followed by characterization of the morphology, particle size, corrosion, and photothermal conversion characteristics. The human breast cancer MCF-7 cells were taken as the model, combined with 808 nm laser irradia-tion. Cell inhibition rate test and cell uptake test were performed. ICG-ELE-NE was spherical and uniform in size. The average particle size and Zeta potential were(85.61±0.35) nm and(-21.4±0.6) mV, respectively. The encapsulation efficiency and drug loading rate were 98.51%±0.39% and 10.96%±0.24%, respectively. ICG-ELE-NE-gel had a good photothermal conversion effect and good photothermal stability. The dissolution of ICG-ELE-NE-gel had both temperature and pH-responsive characteristics. Compared with free ELE, ICG-ELE-NE-gel combined with near-infrared light irradiation significantly enhanced the inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cells and could be uptaken in large amounts by MCF-7 cells. ICG-ELE-NE-gel was successfully prepared, and its antitumor activity was enhanced after 808 nm laser irradiation.

[Formulation optimization of emodin nanostructured lipid carriers by Box-Behnken response surface method and in vitro quality evaluation].

Emodin nanostructured lipid carriers(ED-NLC) were prepared and their quality was evaluated in vitro. Based on the results of single-factor experiments, the ED-NLC formulation was optimized by Box-Behnken response surface method with the dosages of emodin, isopropyl myristate and poloxamer 188 as factors and the nanoparticle size, encapsulation efficiency and drug loading as evaluation indexes. Then the evaluation was performed on the morphology, size and in vitro release of the nanoparticles prepared by emulsification-ultrasonic dispersion method in line with the optimal formulation, i.e., 3.27 mg emodin, 148.68 mg isopropyl myristate and 173.48 mg poloxamer 188. Under a transmission electron microscope(TEM), ED-NLC were spherical and their particle size distribution was uniform. The particle size of ED-NLC was(97.02±1.55) nm, the polymer dispersion index 0.21±0.01, the zeta potential(-38.96±0.65) mV, the encapsulation efficiency 90.41%±0.56% and the drug loading 1.55%±0.01%. The results of differential scanning calorimeter(DSC) indicated that emodin may be encapsulated into the nanostructured lipid carriers in molecular or amorphous form. In vitro drug release had obvious characteristics of slow release, which accorded with the first-order drug release equation. The fitting model of Box-Behnken response surface methodology was proved accurate and reliable. The optimal formulation-based ED-NLC featured concentrated particle size distribution and high encapsulation efficiency, which laid a foundation for the follow-up study of ED-NLC in vivo.

[Preparation and characterization of glycyrrhetinic acid-modified nano graphene oxide drug delivery system].

In this study,a nano drug delivery system GA-DTX-NGO which could be used for liver tumor photothermal and chemotherapy was prepared and characterized,with docetaxel(DTX) as model drug,glycyrrhetinic acid(GA) as the target molecule,and nano graphene oxide(NGO) as the photosensitizer. Firstly,GA-NGO nanocomposites were synthesized by the amidation reaction,and then GA-DTX-NGO was prepared by ultrasonic dispersion method. The encapsulation efficiency and drug loading ratio were determined by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) and ultracentrifugation; the morphology was observed by transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The photothermal conversion test was carried out by laser irradiation at 808 nm and the drug release test in vitro was performed using reverse dialysis. Finally,the effect of GA-DTX-NGO on SMMC-7721 liver tumor cells proliferation was determined by using MTT assay. The results showed that GA-DTX-NGO had good water dispersibility,and TEM results showed a lamellar structure with about 200 nm in diameter. The encapsulation efficiency and drug loading ratio of GA-DTX-NGO were(98. 89 ± 0. 07) % and(64. 74±0. 26) %,respectively. GA-DTX-NGO had strong photothermal conversion performance under 808 nm of laser irradiation. The drug release test in vitro results showed GA-DTX-NGO had obvious sustained-release effects and temperature-dependent release characteristics. The results of cell assay showed that GA-DTX-NGO could effectively inhibit the proliferation of SMMC 7721 cells in a concentration-and time-dependent manner,and the inhibitory effect was enhanced after combination with the near-infrared therapy. In conclusion,the preparation process of GA-DTX-NGO nano drug delivery system is feasible,which could provide some theoretical basis for further study of photothermal and chemotherapy on liver tumor.

Preparation and characterization of injectable Mitoxantrone poly (lactic acid)/fullerene implants for in vivo chemo-photodynamic therapy.

Fullerene (C60) L-phenylalanine derivative attached with poly (lactic acid) (C60-phe-PLA) was developed to prepare injectable Mitoxantrone (MTX) multifunctional implants. C60-phe-PLA was self-assembled to form microspheres consisting of a hydrophilic antitumor drug (MTX) and a hydrophobic block (C60) by dispersion-solvent diffusion method. The self-assembled microspheres showed sustained release pattern almost 15days in vitro release experiments. According to the tissue distribution of C57BL mice after intratumoral administration of the microspheres, the MTX mainly distributed in tumors, and rarely in heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney. Photodynamic antitumor efficacy of blank microsphere was realized. Microspheres afforded high antitumor efficacy without obvious toxic effects to normal organs, owing to its significantly increased MTX tumor retention time, low MTX levels in normal organs and strong photodynamic activity of PLA-phe-C60. These C60-phe-PLA microspheres may be promising for the efficacy with minimal side effects in future treatment of solid tumors.

Folic acid-conjugated TiO2-doped mesoporous carbonaceous nanocomposites loaded with Mitoxantrone HCl for chemo-photodynamic therapy.

Recently, porous carbons have showed great potential in many areas. In this study, TiO2-doped mesoporous carbonaceous (TiO2@C) nanoparticles were obtained by a simple one-pot hydrothermal treatment, folic acid (FA) was conjugated to TiO2@C through an amide bond, then Mitoxantrone HCl (MTX) was adsorbed onto TiO2@C-FA and a drug delivery system, TiO2@C-FA/MTX was obtained. TiO2@C-FA/MTX showed a much faster MTX release at pH 4.5 than at pH 6.0 and pH 7.4. Furthermore, compared with free MTX, this drug delivery system showed a dose-dependent cytotoxicity by varying the irradiance, and afforded higher antitumor efficacy in cultured PC3 cells in vitro. The ability of TiO2@C-FA/MTX to combine chemotherapy with photodynamic activity enhanced the cancer cell killing effect in vitro, demonstrating that TiO2@C-FA/MTX has a great potential for cancer therapy in the future.

5-Aminolevulinic acid-loaded fullerene nanoparticles for in vitro and in vivo photodynamic therapy.

This report explores some properties of 80-200 nm nanoparticles containing 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and fullerene (C60) for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Compared with ALA, the nanoparticles yielded more protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) formation in cells and tissues and to a significant improvement in antitumor efficacy in tumor-bearing mice. Maximum levels of PpIX were obtained 4 h after administration and selective PpIX formation in tumor was observed. These nanoparticles appear to be a useful vehicle for drug delivery purposes. In this study, a procedure for preparing fullerene nanoparticles containing ALA was developed. The product alone exhibited no detectable toxicity in the dark and was superior to ALA alone in promoting PpIX biosynthesis and PDT efficacy both in culture and in a murine tumor model. These results suggest that this procedure could be the basis for an improved PDT protocol for cancer control.

MREJ: MRE elasticity reconstruction on ImageJ.

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a promising method for health evaluation and disease diagnosis. It makes use of elastic waves as a virtual probe to quantify soft tissue elasticity. The wave actuator, imaging modality and elasticity interpreter are all essential components for an MRE system. Efforts have been made to develop more effective actuating mechanisms, imaging protocols and reconstructing algorithms. However, translating MRE wave images into soft tissue elasticity is a nontrivial issue for health professionals. This study contributes an open-source platform - MREJ - for MRE image processing and elasticity reconstruction. It is established on the widespread image-processing program ImageJ. Two algorithms for elasticity reconstruction were implemented with spatiotemporal directional filtering. The usability of the method is shown through virtual palpation on different phantoms and patients. Based on the results, we conclude that MREJ offers the MRE community a convenient and well-functioning program for image processing and elasticity interpretation.