Nanotechnology strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy threatening human health, and existing diagnostic and therapeutic techniques are facing great challenges. In the last decade or so, nanotechnology has been developed and improved for tumor diagnosis and treatment. For example, nano-intravenous injections have been approved for malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumors. This article provides a comprehensive review of the applications of nanotechnology in HCC in recent years: (I) in radiological imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fluorescence imaging (FMI) and multimodality imaging. (II) For diagnostic applications in HCC serum markers. (III) As embolic agents in transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or directly as therapeutic drugs. (IV) For application in photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy. (V) As carriers of chemotherapeutic drugs, targeted drugs, and natural plant drugs. (VI) For application in gene and immunotherapy. Compared with the traditional methods for diagnosis and treatment of HCC, nanoparticles have high sensitivity, reduce drug toxicity and have a long duration of action, and can also be combined with photothermal and photodynamic multimodal combination therapy. These summaries provide insights for the further development of nanotechnology applications in HCC.

Abatement of SO2-NOx binary gas mixtures using a ferruginous active absorbent: Part I. Synergistic effects and mechanism.

A novel ferruginous active absorbent, prepared by fly ash, industrial lime and the additive Fe(VI), was introduced for synchronous abatement of binary mixtures of SO2-NOx from simulated coal-fired flue gas. The synergistic action of various factors on the absorption of SO2 and NOx was investigated. The results show that a strong synergistic effect exists between Fe(VI) dose and reaction temperature for the desulfurization. It was observed that in the denitration process, the synergy of Fe(VI) dose and Ca/(S+N) had the most significant impact on the removal of NO, followed by the synergy of Fe(VI) and reaction temperature, and then the synergy of reaction temperature and flue gas humidity. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an accessory X-ray energy spectrometer (EDS) were used to observe the surface characteristics of the raw and spent absorbent as well as fly ash. A reaction mechanism was proposed based on chemical analysis of sulfur and nitrogen species concentrations in the spent absorbent. The Gibbs free energy, equilibrium constants and partial pressures of the SO2-NOx binary system were determined by thermodynamics.

Simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification from flue gas by Ferrate(VI).

An innovative semidry process has been developed to simultaneously remove NO and SO2 from flue gas. According to the conditions of the flue gas circulating fluidized bed (CFB) system, ferrate(VI) absorbent was prepared and added to humidified water, and the effects of the various influencing factors, such as ferrate(VI) concentration, humidified water pH, inlet flue gas temperature, residence time, molar ratio of Ca/(S+N), and concentrations of SO2 and NO on removal efficiencies of SO2 and NO were studied experimentally. Removal efficiencies of 96.1% for SO2 and 67.2% for NO were obtained, respectively, under the optimal experimental conditions, in which the concentration of ferrate(VI) was 0.03 M, the humidified water pH was 9.32, the inlet flue gas temperature was 130 °C, the residence time was 2.2 s, and the molar ratio of Ca/(S+N) was 1.2. In addition, the reaction mechanism of simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification using ferrate(VI) was proposed.