Exploring nanodiamonds: leveraging their dual capacities for anticancer photothermal therapy and temperature sensing.

Cancer has become a primary global health concern, which has prompted increased attention towards targeted therapeutic approaches like photothermal therapy (PTT). The unique optical and magnetic properties of nanodiamonds (NDs) have made them versatile nanomaterials with promising applications in biomedicine. This comprehensive review focuses on the potential of NDs as a multifaceted platform for anticancer therapy, mainly focusing on their dual functionality in PTT and temperature sensing. The review highlighted NDs' ability to enhance PTT through hybridization or modification, underscoring their adaptability in delivering small molecule reagents effectively. Furthermore, NDs, particularly fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) with negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers, enable precise temperature monitoring, enhancing PTT efficacy in anticancer treatment. Integrating FNDs into PTT holds promise for advancing therapeutic efficacy by providing valuable insights into localized temperature variations and cell death mechanisms. This review highlights new insights into cancer treatment strategies, showcasing the potential of NDs to revolutionize targeted therapeutics and improve patient outcomes.

Plasmonic nanostructure-enhanced Raman scattering for detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and spike protein variants.

Epidemiological control and public health monitoring during the outbreaks of infectious viral diseases rely on the ability to detect viral pathogens. Here we demonstrate a rapid, sensitive, and selective nanotechnology-enhanced severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection based on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) responses from the plasma-engineered, variant-specific antibody-functionalized silver microplasma-engineered nanoassemblies (AgMEN) interacting with the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins. The three-dimensional (3D) porous AgMEN with plasmonic-active nanostructures provide a high sensitivity to virus detection via the remarkable SERS signal collection. Moreover, the variant-specific antibody-functionalization on the SERS-active AgMEN enabled the high selectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 S variants, including wild-type, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron, under the simulated human saliva conditions. The exceptional ultrahigh sensitivity of our SERS biosensor was demonstrated via SARS-CoV-2 S and N proteins at the detection limit of 1 fg mL-1 and 0.1 pg mL-1, respectively. Our work demonstrates a versatile SERS-based detection platform can be applied for the ultrasensitive detection of virus variants, infectious diseases, and cancer biomarkers.

Efficient Design to Monitor the Site-specific Sustained Release of a Non-Emissive Anticancer Drug.

A pH-responsive smart nanocarrier with significant components was synthesized by conjugating the non-emissive anticancer drug methyl orange and polyethylene glycol derived folate moiety to the backbone of polynorbornene. Complete synthesis procedure and characterization methods of three monomers included in the work: norbornene-derived Chlorambucil (Monomer 1), norbornene grafted with polyethylene glycol, and folic acid (Monomer 2) and norbornene attached methyl orange (Monomer 3) connected to the norbornene backbone through ester linkage were clearly discussed. Finally, the random copolymer CHO PEG FOL METH was synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using Grubbs' second-generation catalyst. Advanced polymer chromatography (APC) was used to find the final polymer's molecular weight and polydispersity index (PDI). Dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were utilized to explore the prodrug's size and morphology. Release experiments of the anticancer drug, Chlorambucil and the coloring agent, methyl orange, were performed at different pH and time. Cell viability assay was carried out for determining the rate of survived cells, followed by the treatment of our final polymer named CHO PEG FOL METH.

Hyaluronic Acid Derived Hypoxia-Sensitive Nanocarrier for Tumor Targeted Drug Delivery.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is conjugated with BHQ3 moiety with azo bonds to prepare hypoxia-responsive polymer conjugate. Because of the amphiphilic nature, the polymer conjugate self-assembles to HA-BHQ3 nanoparticles (NPs). The anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) is loaded into the NPs. In the physiological environment, DOX is released slowly. In contrast, under hypoxic conditions, the azo bond in BHQ3 is cleaved, thus significantly enhancing the DOX release rate. For instance, after 24 h, 25% of DOX is released under normal conditions, while 74% of DOX is released under hypoxic conditions. In vitro cytotoxicity demonstrates higher toxicity in the hypoxic conditions. DOX@HA-BHQ3 NPs exhibit greater toxicity levels against 4T1 cells in hypoxic conditions. The fluorescent microscope images confirm the oxygen-dependent intracellular DOX release from the NPs. The in vivo biodistribution results suggest the tumor targetability of HA-BHQ3 NPs in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice.

Surface Functionalization of Poly(N-Vinylpyrrolidone) onto Poly(Dimethylsiloxane) for Anti-Biofilm Application.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) has been widely used in the field of microfluidics, optical systems, and sensors. However, the hydrophobic nature of PDMS leads to low surface wettability and biofouling problems due to the nonspecific proteins-hydrophobic surface interactions and cell/bacterial adhesion. In this work, the PDMS surface was first introduced with amino groups (PDMS-NH2) via KOH-catalyzed reaction with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The PDMS-NH2 was then grafted with poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) based on the self-adhesion reaction between the amino surface and catechol-functionalized PVP (CA-PLL-PVP). CA-PLL-PVP as a comb-polymer was synthesized by conjugating PVP-COOH along with caffeic acid to the ε-polylysine backbone. A significantly enhanced water wettability was observed with contact angles dropped from 116° to 14° after coating with CA-PLL-PVP. The coated surface demonstrated excellent antifouling performance that no appreciable Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm formation could be observed. This novel facile antifouling coating on PDMS surface may find greater biomedical applications to eliminate the potential adherence problems caused by natural biofouling.