Cyclodextrin Polymer-Loaded Micro-Ceramic Balls for Solid-Phase Extraction of Triazole Pesticides from Water.

A citric acid cross-linked ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) polymer was synthesized and loaded on micro-ceramic balls to fabricate the solid-phase adsorbents (P-MCB) for adsorption and extraction of triazole pesticides from water. The stability of ß-CD polymer and P-MCB was investigated in solutions with different pH values at different temperatures. The adsorption properties and the influence of kinetics, sorbent amount, pesticide concentration, and temperature on the adsorption capacity were evaluated. The results showed P-MCB had favorable adsorption of 15.98 mg/g flutriafol in 3.5 h. The equilibrium data followed the Freundlich equation, and the adsorption of flutriafol and diniconazole followed the second-order kinetics. The recovery rate of P-MCB for triazole pesticides in water was satisfactory, and the recovery rate was still 80.1%, even at the 10th cycle. The P-MCB had good stability, with a degradation rate of 0.2% ± 0.08 within 10 days, which could ensure extraction and recycling.

Guest-host doped strategy for constructing ultralong-lifetime near-infrared organic phosphorescence materials for bioimaging.

Organic near-infrared room temperature phosphorescence materials have unparalleled advantages in bioimaging due to their excellent penetrability. However, limited by the energy gap law, the near-infrared phosphorescence materials (>650 nm) are very rare, moreover, the phosphorescence lifetimes of these materials are very short. In this work, we have obtained organic room temperature phosphorescence materials with long wavelengths (600/657-681/732 nm) and long lifetimes (102-324 ms) for the first time through the guest-host doped strategy. The guest molecule has sufficient conjugation to reduce the lowest triplet energy level and the host assists the guest in exciton transfer and inhibits the non-radiative transition of guest excitons. These materials exhibit good tissue penetration in bioimaging. Thanks to the characteristic of long lifetime and long wavelength emissive phosphorescence materials, the tumor imaging in living mice with a signal to background ratio value as high as 43 is successfully realized. This work provides a practical solution for the construction of organic phosphorescence materials with both long wavelengths and long lifetimes.

Multifunctional properties of a star-shaped triphenylamine-benzene-1,3,5-tricarbohydrazide fluorescent molecule containing multiple flexible chains.

A star-shaped triphenylamine-benzene-1,3,5-tricarbohydrazide molecule with a twisted molecular conformation was found to display amazing multifunctional optical properties. The design of peripheral triphenylamine units and a central benzene connected with hydrazide groups leads to the formation of rare polymorphic properties in the presence of multiple flexible chains. Two polymorphs with different fluorescence colors exhibited bathochromic mechanofluorochromic activities with high contrast due to a crystalline-to-amorphous transition.

A Photocleavable Amphiphilic Prodrug Self-Assembled Nanoparticles with Effective Anticancer Activity In Vitro.

Accelerating degradation of prodrug is an effective strategy for improving the pharmacological action. A photocleavable amphiphilic prodrug of methotrexate-coumarin derivative-PEG conjugates (MTX-AMC-PEG) with photo-triggered breakage to release clinical drug under laser irradiation was fabricated and self-assembled into nanoparticles for chemotherapy. The nanoparticles exhibited good intracellular uptake and excellent photolysis release of MTX, which resulted in efficient anticancer activity in vitro with laser irradiation. This research provides a way to fabricate photocleavable prodrug nanoparticles with stimuli-triggered drug release behavior.

Effective combination therapy of percutaneous ethanol injection and chemotherapy based on injectable low molecular weight gels.

Percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) therapy was used in liver cancer treatment, however, the therapeutic ethanol in PEI easily flew away from injected solid tumours and hinder the treatment effect. In this paper, injectable supramolecular gels formed by self-assembly of low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) based on glycylglycine modified phenylboronic acid were prepared to localize ethanol and load chemotherapeutic drug for in situ synergistic therapy. The mechanism, morphology and rheological property of supramolecular gels were characterized by NMR, UV, SEM, etc. The rheological study revealed that the gels were formed in situ rapidly and recovered promptly once damaged. The gels were non-toxicity to both normal 3T3 fibroblasts cells and 4T1 breast cancer cells. Doxorubicin (DOX) hydrochloride and ethanol were encapsulated in the gels for the combination of chemotherapy and PEI therapy. The in vivo anticancer activity of the DOX-loaded gels was carried out in tumour bearing mice. The injected gels were coated around tumour tissues to lock ethanol, and DOX was released sustainingly from the gels to maintain effective concentration to induce the apoptosis of tumour cells. DOX-loaded gels and the ethanol exhibited excellent therapeutic efficacy and low side effects in local cancer therapy.

In situ injection of phenylboronic acid based low molecular weight gels for efficient chemotherapy.

Injectable low molecular weight gels (LMWGs) based on the derivatives of phenylboronic acid were prepared and used as substrates for efficient in situ chemotherapy. The gelators as well as LMWGs were characterized by (1)H NMR, UV-vis, FTIR, MS and SEM. Anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) was encapsulated in the gels. The rheological properties and rapid recovery capability of both blank and drug-loaded gels were tested. The LMWGs were non-toxic to both 3T3 fibroblasts and 4T1 breast cancer cells. The gels were formed rapidly after injected in vivo. The in vivo anticancer activities of DOX-loaded LMWGs were investigated in breast cancer bearing mice. The intratumoral injection of DOX loaded LMWGs with dose of 30 mg/kg revealed that the gels could coat around the tumor tissues to release DOX sustainingly and maintain effective DOX concentration for chemotherapy. The systemic toxicity of DOX was reduced significantly with the in situ administration of LMWGs formulations. The injectable LMWGs exhibited excellent therapeutic efficacy and low side effects in local chemotherapy.

Near infrared light responsive hybrid nanoparticles for synergistic therapy.

A near infrared (NIR) light responsive chromophore 7-(diethylamino)-4-(hydroxymethyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (DEACM) was synthesized and incorporated to ß-cyclodextrins with cRGD functionalized poly(ethylene glycol), the amphiphiles were coordinated with Au nanorods or nanoparticles to load anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) for fabricating hybrid nanoparticles. The π-π stacking interaction between DEACM and DOX was formed in the hybrid nanoparticles, which contributed to the high drug loading content. The Au nanorods or nanoparticles enhanced the photosolvolysis of DEACM under the irradiation of NIR with 808 nm wavelength and triggered the accelerated drug release from the nanoparticles. The drug loaded hybrid nanoparticles with NIR irradiation exhibited efficient inhibition effect on the proliferation of 4T1 breast cancer cells in vitro. The in vivo anticancer activity study on breast cancer bearing mice revealed that the hybrid nanoparticles containing Au nanorods exhibited excellent anticancer activity under the irradiation of 808 nm wavelength NIR with 800 mW.