Spatially confined redox chemistry in periodic mesoporous hydridosilica-nanosilver grown in reducing nanopores.

Periodic mesoporous hydridosilica, PMHS, is shown for the first time to function as both a host and a mild reducing agent toward noble metal ions. In this archetypical study, PMHS microspheres react with aqueous Ag(I) solutions to form Ag(0) nanoparticles housed in different pore locations of the mesostructure. The dominant reductive nucleation and growth process involves SiH groups located within the pore walls and yields molecular scale Ag(0) nanoclusters trapped and stabilized in the pore walls of the PMHS microspheres that emit orange-red photoluminescence. Lesser processes initiated with pore surface SiH groups produce some larger spherical and worm-shaped Ag(0) nanoparticles within the pore voids and on the outer surfaces of the PMHS microspheres. The intrinsic reducing power demonstrated in this work for the pore walls of PMHS speaks well for a new genre of chemistry that benefits from the mesoscopic confinement of Si-H groups.

Periodic mesoporous hydridosilica--synthesis of an "impossible" material and its thermal transformation into brightly photoluminescent periodic mesoporous nanocrystal silicon-silica composite.

There has always been a fascination with "impossible" compounds, ones that do not break any rules of chemical bonding or valence but whose structures are unstable and do not exist. This instability can usually be rationalized in terms of chemical or physical restrictions associated with valence electron shells, multiple bonding, oxidation states, catenation, and the inert pair effect. In the pursuit of these "impossible" materials, appropriate conditions have sometimes been found to overcome these instabilities and synthesize missing compounds, yet for others these tricks have yet to be uncovered and the materials remain elusive. In the scientifically and technologically important field of periodic mesoporous silicas (PMS), one such "impossible" material is periodic mesoporous hydridosilica (meso-HSiO(1.5)). It is the archetype of a completely interrupted silica open framework material: its pore walls are comprised of a three-connected three-dimensional network that should be so thermodynamically unstable that any mesopores present would immediately collapse upon removal of the mesopore template. In this study we show that meso-HSiO(1.5) can be synthesized by template-directed self-assembly of HSi(OEt)(3) under aqueous acid-catalyzed conditions and after template extraction remains stable to 300 °C. Above this temperature, bond redistribution reactions initiate a metamorphic transformation which eventually yields periodic mesoporous nanocrystalline silicon-silica, meso-ncSi/SiO(2), a nanocomposite material in which brightly photoluminescent silicon nanocrystallites are embedded within a silica matrix throughout the mesostructure. The integration of the properties of silicon nanocrystallinity with silica mesoporosity provides a wealth of new opportunities for emerging nanotechnologies.

Surface study of collagen/poloxamine hydrogels by a 'deep freezing' ToF-SIMS approach.

In order to determine the presence of collagen molecules at the surface of a collagen-modified poloxamine hydrogel (a semi-interpenetrating network), the surface composition was studied using Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectra (ToF-SIMS). Collagen was added to the poloxamine hydrogel (poloxamine is a commercially available four-arm poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(propylene oxide) block copolymer, PEO/PPO) to promote the attachment of endothelial or liver cells. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of dry samples showed a sharp increase in the N content from 0.6% in a pure poloxamine hydrogel to 8.8% in the collagen-containing material. Afterwards, the surface was studied by a 'deep freezing' ToF-SIMS approach under progressive heating from -120 to -60 degrees C. The positive spectrum of collagen/poloxamine at -65 degrees C displayed distinct signals corresponding to different amino acid fragments such as CH4N+ (30 m/z, Gly), C3HN2+ (43 m/z, Arg), C2H6N+ (44 m/z, Ala) and C4H5N2+(81m/z, His) and others corresponding to the PEO and PPO blocks of poloxamine. In addition, the negative spectrum showed peaks at 26 m/z (CN-), 32 m/z (S-) and 42 m/z (CNO-) characteristic of fragments of the collagen molecule. Imaging experiments indicated the homogeneous distribution of the collagen on the surface. These results supported the use of ToF-SIMS for the surface characterization of hydrated hydrogels and confirmed the collagen presence as the means whereby cells attach to the modified poloxamine matrix.

A multifunctional polymeric nanotheranostic system delivers doxorubicin and imaging agents across the blood-brain barrier targeting brain metastases of breast cancer.

Metastatic brain cancers, in particular cancers with multiple lesions, are one of the most difficult malignancies to treat owing to their location and aggressiveness. Chemotherapy for brain metastases offers some hope. However, its efficacy is severely limited as most chemotherapeutic agents are incapable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) efficiently. Thus, a multifunctional nanotheranostic system based on poly(methacrylic acid)-polysorbate 80-grafted-starch was designed herein for the delivery of BBB-impermeable imaging and therapeutic agents to brain metastases of breast cancer. In vivo magnetic resonance imaging and confocal fluorescence microscopy were used to confirm extravasation of gadolinium and dye-loaded nanoparticles from intact brain microvessels in healthy mice. The targetability of doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded nanoparticles to intracranially established brain metastases of breast cancer was evaluated using whole body and ex vivo fluorescence imaging of the brain. Coexistence of nanoparticles and Dox in brain metastatic lesions was further confirmed by histological and microscopic examination of dissected brain tissue. Immuno-histochemical staining for caspase-3 and terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling for DNA fragmentation in tumor-bearing brain sections revealed that Dox-loaded nanoparticles selectively induced cancer cell apoptosis 24 h post-injection, while sparing normal brain cells from harm. Such effects were not observed in the mice treated with free Dox. Treatment with Dox-loaded nanoparticles significantly inhibited brain tumor growth compared to free Dox at the same dose as assessed by in vivo bioluminescence imaging of the brain metastases. These findings suggest that the multifunctional nanoparticles are promising for the treatment of brain metastases.

Enhancing drug delivery for boron neutron capture therapy of brain tumors with focused ultrasound.

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma is a notoriously difficult tumor to treat because of its relative sanctuary in the brain and infiltrative behavior. Therapies need to penetrate the CNS but avoid collateral tissue injury. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a treatment whereby a (10)B-containing drug preferentially accumulates in malignant cells and causes highly localized damage when exposed to epithermal neutron irradiation. Studies have suggested that (10)B-enriched L-4-boronophenylalanine-fructose (BPA-f) complex uptake can be improved by enhancing the permeability of the cerebrovasculature with osmotic agents. We investigated the use of MRI-guided focused ultrasound, in combination with injectable microbubbles, to noninvasively and focally augment the uptake of BPA-f. METHODS: With the use of a 9L gliosarcoma tumor model in Fisher 344 rats, the blood-brain and blood-tumor barriers were disrupted with pulsed ultrasound using a 558 kHz transducer and Definity microbubbles, and BPA-f (250 mg/kg) was delivered intravenously over 2 h. (10)B concentrations were estimated with imaging mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. RESULTS: The tumor to brain ratio of (10)B was 6.7 ± 0.5 with focused ultrasound and only 4.1 ± 0.4 in the control group (P < .01), corresponding to a mean tumor [(10)B] of 123 ± 25 ppm and 85 ± 29 ppm, respectively. (10)B uptake in infiltrating clusters treated with ultrasound was 0.86 ± 0.10 times the main tumor concentration, compared with only 0.29 ± 0.08 in controls. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound increases the accumulation of (10)B in the main tumor and infiltrating cells. These findings, in combination with the expanding clinical use of focused ultrasound, may offer improvements in BNCT and the treatment of glioblastoma.

Rhodium-catalyzed dehydrocoupling of fluorinated phosphine-borane adducts: synthesis, characterization, and properties of cyclic and polymeric phosphinoboranes with electron-withdrawing substituents at phosphorus.

The dehydrocoupling of the fluorinated secondary phosphine-borane adduct R2PH.BH3 (R = p-CF3C6H4) at 60 degrees C is catalyzed by the rhodium complex [{Rh(mu-Cl)(1,5-cod)}2] to give the four-membered chain R2PH-BH2-R2P-BH3. A mixture of the cyclic trimer [R2P-BH2]3 and tetramer [R2P-BH2]4 was obtained from the same reaction at a more elevated temperature of 100 degrees C. The analogous rhodium-catalyzed dehydrocoupling of the primary phosphine-borane adduct RPH2.BH3 at 60 degrees C gave the high molecular weight polyphosphinoborane polymer [RPH-BH2]n (Mw = 56,170, PDI = 1.67). The molecular weight was investigated by gel permeation chromatography and the compound characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Interestingly, the electron-withdrawing fluorinated aryl substituents have an important influence on the reactivity as the dehydrocoupling process occurred efficiently at the mildest temperatures observed for phosphine-borane adducts to date. Thin films of polymeric [RPH-BH2]n (R = p-CF3C6H4) have also been shown to function as effective negative-tone resists towards electron beam (e-beam) lithography (EBL). The resultant patterned bars were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS).