Photodynamic activity and photoantimicrobial chemotherapy studies of ferrocene-substituted 2-thiobarbituric acid.

A ferrocene-substituted thiobarbituric acid (FT) has been synthesized to explore its photophysical properties and photodynamic and photoantimicrobial chemotherapy activities. FT has an intense metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) band at ca. 575 nm. The ferrocene moiety of FT undergoes photooxidation to form a ferrocenium species which in turn produces hydroxyl radical in an aqueous environment, which was confirmed via the bleaching reaction of p-nitrosodimethylaniline (RNO). FT exhibits efficient PDT activity against MCF-7 cancer cells with an IC50 value of 5.6 µM upon irradiation with 595 nm for 30 min with a Thorlabs M595L3 LED (240 mW cm-2). Photodynamic inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by FT shows significant activity with log reduction values of 6.62 and 6.16 respectively, under illumination for 60 min at 595 nm. These results demonstrate that ferrocene-substituted thiobarbituric acids merit further study for developing novel bioorganometallic PDT agents.

Ferrocene Functionalized Upconversion Nanoparticle Nanosystem with Efficient Near-Infrared-Light-Promoted Fenton-Like Reaction for Tumor Growth Suppression.

By taking advantage of the efficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between near-infrared (NIR)-responsive lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and Fenton reagent ferrocenyl compounds (Fc), a series of Fc-UCNPs was designed by functionalizing NaYF4:Yb,Tm nanoparticles with Fc1-Fc5 via surface-coordination chemistry. Fc-UCNP-Lipo nanosystems were then constructed by encapsulating Fc-UCNP inside liposomes for efficient delivery. Fc-UCNP can effectively release ·OH via a NIR-promoted Fenton-like reaction. In vitro and in vivo studies of Fc1-UCNP-Lipo confirmed the preferential accumulation in a tumor site followed by an enhanced uptake of cancer cells. After cellular internalization, the released Fc1-UCNP can effectively promote ·OH generation for tumor growth suppression. Such a Fc1-UCNP-Lipo nanosystem exhibits advantages such as easy fabrication, low drug dosage, and no ferrous ion release.

One Stone Two Birds: Zr-Fc Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheet for Synergistic Photothermal and Chemodynamic Cancer Therapy.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been identified as promising materials for the delivery of therapeutics to cure cancer owing to their intrinsic porous structure. However, in a majority of cases, MOFs act as only a delivery cargo for anticancer drugs while little attention has been focused on the utilization of their intriguing physical and chemical properties for potential anticancer purposes. Herein for the first time, an ultrathin (16.4 nm thick) ferrocene-based MOF (Zr-Fc MOF) nanosheet has been synthesized for synergistic photothermal therapy (PTT) and Fenton reaction-based chemodynamic (CDT) therapy to cure cancer without additional drugs. The Zr-Fc MOF nanosheet acts not only as an excellent photothermal agent with a prominent photothermal conversion efficiency of 53% at 808 nm but also as an efficient Fenton catalyst to promote the conversion of H2O2 into hydroxyl radical (•OH). As a consequence, an excellent therapeutic performance has been achieved in vitro as well as in vivo through this combinational effect. This work aims to construct an "all-in-one" MOF nanoplatform for PTT and CDT treatments without incorporating any additional therapeutics, which may launch a new era in the investigation of MOF-based synergistic therapy platforms for cancer therapy.

UV induced surface modification on improving the cytocompatibility of metallocene polyethylene.

Demand for medical implants is rising day by day as the world becomes the place for more diseased and older people. Accordingly, in this research, metallocene polyethylene (mPE), a commonly used polymer was treated with UV rays for improving its biocompatibility. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images confirmed the formation of crests and troughs, which depicts the improvement of surface roughness of mPE substrates caused by UV etching. Accordingly, the contact angle measurements revealed that the wettability of mPE-2.5 J/cm2 (68.09º) and mPE-5 J/cm2 (57.93º) samples were found to be increased compared to untreated mPE (86.84º) indicating better hydrophilicity. Further, the UV treated surface exhibited enhanced blood compatibility as determined in APTT (untreated mPE- 55.3 ± 2.5 s, mPE-2.5 J/cm2 - 76.7 ± 4.1 s and mPE-5 J/cm2 - 112.3 ± 2 s) and PT (untreated mPE - 24.7 ± 1.5 s, mPE- 2.5 J/cm2 - 34.3 ± 1.1 s and mPE-5 J/cm2 - 43 ± 2 s) assay. Moreover, the treated mPE-2.5 J/cm2 (4.88%) and mPE-5 J/cm2 (1.79%) showed decreased hemolytic percentage compared to untreated mPE (15.40%) indicating better safety to red blood cells. Interestingly, the changes in physicochemical properties of mPE are directly proportional to the dosage of the UV rays. UV modified mPE surfaces were found to be more compatible as identified through MTT assay, photomicrograph and SEM images of the seeded 3T3 cell population. Hence UV-modified surface of mPE may be successfully exploited for medical implants.

Ferrocene-catalyzed heterogeneous Fenton-like degradation mechanisms and pathways of antibiotics under simulated sunlight: A case study of sulfamethoxazole.

Readily-available and efficient catalyst is essential for activating oxidants to produce reactive species for deeply remediating water bodies contaminated by antibiotics. In this study, Ferrocene (Fc) was introduced to establish a heterogeneous photo-Fenton system for the degradation of sulfonamide antibiotics, taking sulfamethoxazole as a representative. Results showed that the removal of sulfamethoxazole was effective in Fc-catalyzed photo-Fenton system. Electron spin resonance and radical scavenging experiments verified that there was a photoindued electron transfer process from Fc to H2O2 and dissolved oxygen resulting in the formation of OH that was primarily responsible for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole. The reactions of OH with substructure model compounds of sulfamethoxazole unveiled that aniline moiety was the preferable reaction site of sulfamethoxazole, which was verified by the formation of hydroxylated product and the dimer of sulfamethoxazole in Fc-catalyzed photo-Fenton system. This heterogeneous photo-Fenton system displayed an effective degradation efficiency even in a complex water matrices, and Fc represented a long-term stability by using the catalyst for multiple cycles. These results demonstrate that Fc-catalyzed photo-Fenton oxidation may be an efficient approach for remediation of wastewater containing antibiotics.

UV induced surface modification on improving the cytocompatibility of metallocene polyethylene

ABSTRACT Demand for medical implants is rising day by day as the world becomes the place for more diseased and older people. Accordingly, in this research, metallocene polyethylene (mPE), a commonly used polymer was treated with UV rays for improving its biocompatibility. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images confirmed the formation of crests and troughs, which depicts the improvement of surface roughness of mPE substrates caused by UV etching. Accordingly, the contact angle measurements revealed that the wettability of mPE-2.5 J/cm2 (68.09º) and mPE-5 J/cm2 (57.93º) samples were found to be increased compared to untreated mPE (86.84º) indicating better hydrophilicity. Further, the UV treated surface exhibited enhanced blood compatibility as determined in APTT (untreated mPE- 55.3 ± 2.5 s, mPE-2.5 J/cm2 - 76.7 ± 4.1 s and mPE-5 J/cm2 - 112.3 ± 2 s) and PT (untreated mPE - 24.7 ± 1.5 s, mPE- 2.5 J/cm2 - 34.3 ± 1.1 s and mPE-5 J/cm2 - 43 ± 2 s) assay. Moreover, the treated mPE-2.5 J/cm2 (4.88%) and mPE-5 J/cm2 (1.79%) showed decreased hemolytic percentage compared to untreated mPE (15.40%) indicating better safety to red blood cells. Interestingly, the changes in physicochemical properties of mPE are directly proportional to the dosage of the UV rays. UV modified mPE surfaces were found to be more compatible as identified through MTT assay, photomicrograph and SEM images of the seeded 3T3 cell population. Hence UV-modified surface of mPE may be successfully exploited for medical implants.