Integrating g-C3N4 nanosheets with MOF-derived porous CoFe2O4 to form an S-scheme heterojunction for efficient pollutant degradation via the synergy of photocatalysis and peroxymonosulfate activation.

When confronted with wastewater that is characterized by complex composition, stable molecular structure, and high concentration, relying solely on photocatalytic technology proves inadequate in achieving satisfactory degradation results. Therefore, the integration of other highly efficient degradation techniques has emerged as a viable approach to address this challenge. Herein, a novel strategy was employed whereby the exfoliated g-C3N4 nanosheets (CNs) with exceptional photocatalytic performance, were intimately combined with porous rod-shaped cobalt ferrite (CFO) through a co-calcination process to form the composite CFO/CNs, which exhibited remarkable efficacy in the degradation of various organic pollutants through the combination of photocatalysis and Fenton-like process synergistically, exemplified by the representative case of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH, 200 mL, 50 mg/L). Specifically, under 1 mM of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and illumination conditions, 50 mg of 1CFO/9CNs achieved a TCH removal ratio of ∼90% after 60 min of treatment. Furthermore, this work comprehensively investigated the influence of various factors, including catalyst and PMS dosages, solution pH, and the presence of anions and humate, on the degradation efficiency of pollutants. Besides, quenching experiments and EPR tests confirmed the establishment of an S-scheme heterojunction between CNs and CFO, which facilitated the effective spatial separation of photoexcited charge carriers and preserved the potent redox potential of photogenerated electrons and holes. This work offers a valuable reference for the integration of photocatalysis with the PMS-based Fenton-like process.

Labeling of graphene oxide with [131I]AgI and its stability analysis.

To explore the new iodine labeling method of nanomaterials, graphene oxide (GO) was labeled by 131I with AgI nanoparticles. As a control, GO was also labeled by 131I with chloramine-T method. The stability of the two 131I labeling materials, viz. [131I]AgI-GO and [131I]I-GO was evaluated. The results show that [131I]AgI-GO is very stable in inorganic environment such as PBS and saline. However, it is not stable enough in serum. The instability of [131I]AgI-GO in serum can be attributed to the higher affinity of Ag to S of thiol group in cysteine than iodine ions and much more chance of interaction between thiol group and [131I]AgI nanoparticles on two-dimensional GO than in three-dimensional nanomaterials.

Anchoring black phosphorous quantum dots on Bi2WO6 porous hollow spheres: A novel 0D/3D S-scheme photocatalyst for efficient degradation of amoxicillin under visible light.

Reasonable regulation of the micro-morphology of material can significantly enhance the related performance. Herein, bismuth tungstate (Bi2WO6, simplified as BWO) porous hollow spheres with flower-like surface were prepared successfully, and this unique morphology endowed BWO with improved photocatalytic performance by reflecting and absorbing the light multiple times inside the cavity. To inhibit the rapid recombination of photogenerated e--h+ pairs within BWO itself, black phosphorous quantum dots (BPQDs) were anchored onto the nanosheets of BWO sphere closely by a facile self-assembly process, which will not shade the pores of BWO owing to the small size of BPQDs, but the BP nanosheets have the chance to do that. The band gap of BPQDs expanded much after exfoliation due to the quantum confinement effects, which matched the energy band of BWO well to form S-scheme heterojunction, achieving more efficient separation of photogenerated charges. As a result, the BPQDs/BWO exhibited attractive photocatalytic performance in the degradation of amoxicillin (AMX) and other antibiotics. Besides, the operation conditions were optimized, specifically, 94.5 % of AMX (20 mg/L, 200 mL) can be removed in 60 min when 50 mg of 2BPQDs/BWO was used as catalyst with solution pH = 11. Moreover, a possible degradation pathway of AMX was proposed based on the detected intermediates.

Comparison and Mechanism Study of Antibacterial Activity of Cationic and Neutral Oligo-Thiophene-Ethynylene.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a potential approach to resolve antibiotic resistance, and phenylene/thiophene-ethynylene oligomers have been widely studied as effective antibacterial reagents. Oligomers with thiophene moieties usually exhibit good antibacterial activity under light irradiation and dark conditions. In the previous study, we verified that neutral oligo-p-phenylene-ethynylenes (OPEs) exhibit better antibacterial activity than the corresponding cationic ones; however, whether this regular pattern also operates in other kinds of oligomers such as oligo-thiophene-ethynylene (OTE) is unknown. Also, the antibacterial activity comparison of OTEs bearing cyclic and acyclic amino groups will offer useful information to further understand the role of amino groups in the antibacterial process and guide the antibacterial reagent design as amino groups affect the antibacterial activity a lot. We synthesized four OTEs bearing neutral or cationic, cyclic, or acyclic amino groups and studied their antibacterial activity in detail. The experimental results indicated that the OTEs exhibited better antibacterial activity than the OPEs, the neutral OTEs exhibited better antibacterial activity in most cases, and OTEs bearing cyclic amino groups exhibited better antibacterial activity than those bearing acyclic ones in most cases. This study provides useful guidelines for further antibacterial reagent design and investigations.

Multimodality labeling of NGR-functionalized hyaluronan for tumor targeting and radiotherapy.

Hyaluronan (HA) is a negatively charged linear polysaccharide that can interact with cluster determinant 44 (CD44) overexpressed cancers. However, HA can also bind to excess substrates in the human body leading to the lower specificity of tumor targeting. Conjugation of other targeting group to HA could enhance the uptake by cancer cell comparing to that of native HA. In this study, we develop the multi-functionalized HA (177Lu-DOTA/Alexa647-HA100-N) for malignant tumor targeting. An asparagine-glycine-arginine (NGR) based peptide was selected for HA functionalization. The peptide is known to target CD13 receptor that is overexpressed in malignant tumors with abundant blood vessels, such as lung cancer. Furthermore, the fluorescent probe Alexa Fluor 647 for ex vivo/in vivo tracking and the radionuclide 177Lu for radioactive therapy were both labeled on the material. The functionalized HA could be bound by lung cancer cells and breast cancer cells. In vivo fluorescent imaging showed that the material could accumulate in the tumor site for more than 96 h. The 177Lu labeling of functionalized HA was stable for more 48 h at physiological conditions. The accumulation of 177Lu-DOTA/Alexa647-HA100-N in the tumor of lung cancer (NCI-H292) bearing mice was 1.91±0.97%ID/g, and it was about 17 times higher than the value in blood. Conclusion: The multimodality labeled functional HA was successfully prepared and could be fluorescent trackable ex vivo and in vivo. It showed high potential to be used for malignant cancer radiotherapy for its specific targeting property to tumors and radiotoxicity from the labeled 177Lu radionuclide.

Investigating Antibacterial Efficiency and Mechanism of Oligo-thiophenes under White Light and Specific Biocidal Activity against E. coli in Dark.

More strategies are required to develop better photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT). As oligo(phenylene-ethynylene) electrolytes (OPE), oligo(thiophene)s with primary amine as pendant groups (P-OT), and oligo(thiophene ethynylene) (OTE) exhibit excellent light-induced biocidal activity, we desire to converge the molecular design principles of these three kinds of antibacterial agents to combine their advantages to obtain high efficiency and economic biocides. Thus, four oligo(thiophene)s (OTs) were designed and synthesized in this study. The light-induced and dark antibacterial efficacy of the four OTs against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) were both evaluated. Notably, all the OTs present high biocidal efficacy in the broad spectrum at low (micromolar) concentrations after white-light irradiation. In particular, the low cell cytotoxicity of OTs exhibits their good biocompatibility. These results illustrate that the OTs could work as promising PDT biocides. Interestingly, OT-3 shows a strong and specific dark killing activity against E. coli. The higher biocidal efficacy of T-OTs compared with that of Q-OTs confirms the tertiary amine is a better pendant group for π-conjugated antibacterial agents against E. coli. Mechanistic investigation proves ROS is the necessary element for antibiosis under white light. The interacting efficacy of the OT to the cell membrane, involving synergistic effects between hydrophilic-hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic attractions, is also critical in the killing process. The membrane intercalating activity plays a more essential role, as indicated by the antibacterial activity of OTs. The results provide a unique insight into the relationship between molecular structure and antibacterial activities of this class of antibacterial agents.

Research Progress of Radiolabeled Asn-Gly-Arg (NGR) Peptides for Imaging and Therapy.

Asn-Gly-Arg (NGR) motifs have vasculature-homing properties via interactions with the aminopeptidase N (CD13) expressed on tumor neovasculature. Numerous NGR peptides with different molecular scaffolds have been exploited for targeted delivery of different compounds for imaging and therapy. When conjugated with NGR, complexes recognize the CD13 receptor expressed on the tumor vasculature, which improves the specificity to tumor and avoids systematic toxic reactions. Both preclinical and clinical studies performed with these products suggest that NGR-mediated vascular targeting is an effective strategy for delivering bioactive amounts of cytokines to tumor endothelial cells. For molecular imaging, radiolabeled peptides have been the most successful approach and have been translated into clinic. This review describes current data on radiolabeled tumor vasculature-homing NGR peptides for imaging and therapy.

Preliminary Studies of 177Lu-Diethylenetriamine Penta-Acetic Acid-Deoxyglucose in Hepatic Tumor-Bearing Mice.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the potential use of 177Lu-diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid-deoxyglucose (177Lu-DTPA-DG) as a radiopharmaceutical for hepatic tumor treatment. Methods: Lutetium-177 (177Lu) was labeled with DTPA-DG by adding 2 mCi 177LuCl3 to 0.05 mg DTPA-DG (pH 5-6) at room temperature for 1 h. The quality of the177Lu-DTPA-DG solutions was determined by thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. Cellular uptake studies with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), 177Lu-DTPA-DG and 177Lu-DTPA and a blocking study with 1.0 mg d-glucose were performed. Biodistribution, imaging, and radiotherapy studies of 177Lu-DTPA-DG were performed with the SMMC-7721 model. Results: 177Lu-DTPA-DG had a high radiochemical purity (>97%). The cellular uptake of 177Lu-DTPA-DG was much higher than that of the 177Lu-DTPA. The biodistribution of 177Lu-DTPA-DG demonstrated that the complex accumulated in the tumor with high tumor/blood and tumor/muscle ratios. The tumors in mice in the 177Lu-DTPA-DG group clearly displayed the high uptake of 177Lu-DTPA-DG. After radiotherapy with 177Lu-DTPA-DG, tumor growth decreased, and the overall survival was longer than that in the 177LuCl3 group (268.58 ± 17.96 mm3 vs. 507.43 ± 55.72 mm3, p = 0.002) and the normal saline group (268.58 ± 17.96 mm3 vs. 483.68 ± 27.51 mm3, p < 0.05). Conclusions: This preliminary study suggests that 177Lu-DTPA-DG has the potential to become a liver radiopharmaceutical agent and should be further investigated.

In vivo and in vitro evaluation of 177Lu-labeled DOTA-2-deoxy-D-glucose in mice. A novel radiopharmaceutical agent for cells imaging and therapy.

OBJECTIVE: Incorporation of lutetium-177 (177Lu) into suitable molecules that are implicated in cancer pathology represents a promising approach for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The goal of the present study was to develop a novel 177Lu labeled radiopharmaceutical agent for both radioimaging and targeted radionuclide therapy. ANIMALS AND METHODS: Given the synthetic versatility of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) ligand as a metal chelator and high demand of sugar molecules such as deoxyglucose (DG) in cancer cells, we carried out the radiosynthesis of a novel radiopharmaceutical agent, namely, 177Lu-DOTA-DG, and utilized it for imaging of cancer and also for the targeted radiation therapy of cancer tissues. RESULTS: In this study, we developed an efficient radiochemical synthesis of 177Lu-DOTA-DG and evaluated its pharmacological properties in vitro/in vivo. Our results showed DOTA-DG can be labeled with 177Lu with excellent radiochemical yield at 90oC in 30min. The resulting 177Lu-DOTA-DG exhibited high degree of stability without significant radiolysis up to 120h in human serum and phosphate buffer. Favorable pharmacokinetics profile was demonstrated by rapid blood clearance in 4T1 murine tumor mice and heterogeneous whole body biodistribution of 177Lu-DOTA-DG. Further, Comet assay experiments indicated that cancer cells treated with 177Lu-DOTA-DG showed significant higher degree of DNA damage compared to cells treated with 177Lu3+ or non-treated cells. CONCLUSION: This study showed that there is a great potential of using 177Lu-DOTA-DG as an imaging and therapeutic agent for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, this study provides valuable information for developing novel 177Lu-labeled radiopharmaceuticals.

miR181c promotes apoptosis and suppresses proliferation of metanephric mesenchyme cells by targeting Six2 in vitro.

Increasingly recognized importance has been assumed for microRNA (miRNA) in the regulation of the delicate balance of gene expression. In our study, we aimed to explore the regulation role of miR181c towards Six2 in metanephric mesenchyme (MM) cells. Bioinformatics analysis, luciferase assay and semi-quantitative real-time (RT) PCR, subsequently RT PCR, Western blotting, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine cell proliferation assay, Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry, were employed to verify the modulation function of miR181c on Six2 in the mK3 MM cell line that is one kind of MM cells. miR181c was predicted to bind the 3' untranslated region of Six2 by bioinformatics analysis, which was subsequently validated by the in vitro luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, transfection of miR181c mimic can decrease the expression of Six2 both in mRNA and protein levels in mK3 cells. Still, ectopic expression of miR181c inhibits the proliferation, promotes the apoptosis and even makes the nephron progenitor phenotype lose mK3 cells. These results revealed the ability of a single miRNA-miR181c to downregulate the expression of Six2, restrain the proliferation and promote the apoptosis that even makes the nephron progenitor phenotype lose MM cells, suggesting a potential role of miR181c during the kidney development.

MiR-181b targets Six2 and inhibits the proliferation of metanephric mesenchymal cells in vitro.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that down-regulate gene expression by binding to target mRNA for cleavage or translational repression, and play important regulatory roles in renal development. Despite increasing genes have been predicted to be miRNA targets by bioinformatic analysis during kidney development, few of them have been verified by experiment. The objective of our study is to identify the miRNAs targeting Six2, a critical transcription factor that maintains the mesenchymal progenitor pool via self-renewal (proliferation) during renal development. We initially analyzed the 3'UTR of Six2 and found 37 binding sites targeted by 50 putative miRNAs in the 3'UTR of Six2. Among the 50 miRNAs, miR-181b is the miRNAs predicted by the three used websites. In our study, the results of luciferase reporter assay, realtime-PCR and Western blot demonstrated that miR-181b directly targeted on the 3'UTR of Six2 and down-regulate the expression of Six2 at mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, EdU proliferation assay along with the Six2 rescue strategy showed that miR-181b suppresses the proliferation of metanephric mesenchymal by targeting Six2 in part. In our research, we concluded that by targeting the transcription factor gene Six2, miR-181b inhibits the proliferation of metanephric mesenchymal cells in vitro and might play an important role in the formation of nephrons.