Multifunctional System Polyaniline-Decorated ZIF-8 Nanoparticles as a New Chemo-Photothermal Platform for Cancer Therapy.

Polyaniline-decorated ZIF-8 nanoparticles (nPANI@nZIF-8) were easily synthesized and employed as a multifunctional system for the delivery of the antitumor drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Because of the storage ability of the network ZIF-8, 68% of the total amount of the 5-FU drug was released at pH 5.2. The system exhibits absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region and can be used in the photothermal therapy owing to the presence of nPANI, which has a strong NIR uptake. This absorption causes local hyperthermia by aiding in the diffusion of the drug molecules contained by the polymer into nPANI@nZIF-8/5-FU achieving a greater release of the 5-FU drug, about 80% activated by an NIR laser (λ = 980 nm). This hyperthermia reached about 70 °C (200 µL, 1 mg mL-1 nPANI@nZIF-8), which was directly proportional to the concentration of the material. Therefore, our work can aid in the construction of new chemo-photothermal platforms that may be employed in cancer therapy.

Zornioside, a dihydrochalcone C-glycoside, and other compounds from Zornia brasiliensis

ABSTRACT The secondary metabolites of the aerial parts of Zornia brasiliensis Vogel, Fabaceae, and the biological activity of one of these secondary metabolites were characterized in this study. A phytochemical investigation was performed using chromatographic techniques including analytical and preparative reverse-phase HPLC column sequences, which resulted in the isolation of fourteen compounds: one previously undescribed C-glycosylated dihydrochalcone (zornioside), one cyclitol (D-pinitol), one glycosylated megastigmane (roseoside) and eleven phenolic compounds: 7-methoxyflavanone, 7,4'-dimethoxyisoflavone, medicarpin, 2'-4'-dihydroxychalcone, onionin, isoorientin-3'-O-methyl ether, isovitexin, glycosylated (Z)-O-coumaric acid, glycosylated (E)-O-coumaric acid, dihydromelilotoside, and isoorientin. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined based on 1D and 2D-NMR, HRESIMS, IR and CD spectroscopic analyses. The cytotoxic activity of zornoside was assessed against tumor cell lines (MCF-7, HCC1954, T-47D, 4T1, HL60), and a non-tumor cell line (RAW264.7) using MTT assay. The compound zornioside was selectively cytotoxic for HL60 leukemia cells (IC50: 37.26 µM).