An injectable PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX hydrogel for combined chemodynamic and chemotherapy of tumors.

Nowadays, chemotherapy is a common clinical treatment for cancer, but it still faces many limitations and challenges. Therefore, the combination of chemotherapy and other treatments often enhances the effectiveness of treatments. Herein, an injectable hydrogel of PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX based on Cu2+, hydrophilic doxorubicin (DOX), and genetically engineered polypeptide PC10ARGD was prepared. First, Cu2+ was attached to the histidines in the PC10ARGD polypeptide by the coordination reaction to form PC10ARGD/Cu2+ hydrogel, then the PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX hydrogel was prepared by encapsulating the DOX into the PC10ARGD/Cu2+ hydrogel. The results of scanning electron microscopy showed that the PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX hydrogel displayed loose porous morphology. In vitro, reactive oxygen species production results showed that the PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX hydrogel could continuously produce ·OH in the presence of H2O2. In vitro MTT results showed that the PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX hydrogel had a good inhibitory effect on cell activity. Flow cytometry further confirmed the antitumor effect of the PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX hydrogel. In vivo experiment results showed that the tumor volume of mice treated with the PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX hydrogel was significantly inhibited compared with control groups, which was due to the combination of chemodynamic and chemotherapy. The results of body weight and blood analysis of mice showed that the PC10ARGD/Cu2+/DOX hydrogel possessed good biocompatibility.

A series of 3d-4f heterometallic three-dimensional coordination polymers: syntheses, structures and magnetic properties.

Seven lanthanide-cobalt heterometallic three-dimensional coordination polymers: {[Ln(3)Co(2)(BPDC)(5)(HBPDC)(H(2)O)(5)](ClO(4))(2)·mH(2)O}(n) (Ln = Eu (1, m = 10.25), Gd (2, m = 8), Tb (3, m = 9.5), Dy (4, m = 11), Ho (5, m = 10.5), Tm (6, m = 11), Lu (7, m = 10.25); BPDC = 5,5'-dicarboxylate-2,2'-dipyridine anion) were structurally and magnetically characterized. Compounds 1-7 crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Pbca, featuring a 3D sandwich framework. Magnetic properties of 2-6 have been investigated by using DC (direct current) and AC (alternating current) susceptibility measurements. Among these compounds, only compound 4 displays significant frequency dependence, albeit without reaching the characteristic maxima above 2 K, implying slow magnetic relaxation behavior in 4. After the application of a DC field, good peak shapes of AC signals were obtained and the energy barrier ΔE/k(B) = 62.89 K and the preexponential factor τ(0) = 6.16 × 10(-8) s. To our knowledge, 4 has the highest energy barrier in Ln-Co SMM systems hitherto.