ABSTRACT
Gd(3+)-aggregated gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) encapsulated by silica shell (Gd(3+)-A-AuNCs@SiO2NPs) were strategically designed and prepared. The as-prepared nanoparticles exhibit aggregation-enhanced fluorescence (AEF), with an intensity that is up to 3.8 times that of discrete AuNCs. The clusters served as novel nanoprobes for in vitro and in vivo multimodal (fluorescence, magnetic resonance, and computed X-ray tomography) cancer imaging.
Subject(s)
Gold , Metal Nanoparticles , Neoplasms/diagnosis , Silicon Dioxide , Animals , Cell Line, Tumor , Female , Fluorescence , Fluorescent Dyes/chemistry , Gold/chemistry , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry , Metal Nanoparticles/ultrastructure , Mice , Optical Imaging , Silicon Dioxide/chemistry , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Incorporating the agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical imaging, and therapy in one nanostructured matrix to construct multifunctional nanomedical platform has attracted great attention for simultaneous diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this work, a facile methodology is developed to construct a multifunctional anticancer drug nanocarrier by combining the special advantages of upconversion nanoparticles and mesoporous silica. ß-NaYF4 :Yb(3+) , Er(3+) @ß-NaGdF4 :Yb(3+) is chosen as it can provide the dual modality of upconversion luminescence and MRI. Then mesoporous silica is directly coated onto the upconversion nanoparticles to form discrete, monodisperse, highly uniform, and core-shell structured nanospheres (labeled as UCNPs@mSiO2 ), which are subsequently functionalized with hydrophilic polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to improve the colloidal stability and biocompatibility. The obtained multifunctional nanocomposites can be used as an anticancer drug delivery carrier and applied for imaging. The anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) is absorbed into UCNPs@mSiO2 -PEG nanospheres and released in a pH-sensitive pattern. In vitro cell cytotoxicity tests on cancer cells verify that the DOX-loaded UCNPs@mSiO2 -PEG has comparable cytotoxicity with free DOX at the same concentration of DOX. In addition, the T1 -weighted MRI that measures in aqueous solutions reveals that the contrast brightening increases with the concentration of Gd(3+) component. Upconversion luminescence images of UCNPs@mSiO2 -PEG uptaken by cells show green emission under 980 nm infrared laser excitation. Finally, the nanocomposites show low systematic toxicity and high in vivo antitumor therapy efficacy. These findings highlight the fascinating features of upconversion-mesoporous nanocomposites as multimodality imaging contrast agents and nanocarrier for drug molecules.
Subject(s)
Drug Delivery Systems , Nanostructures/chemistry , Animals , Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Agents/chemistry , Biocompatible Materials/chemistry , Cell Line, Tumor , Colloids/chemistry , Doxorubicin/administration & dosage , Gadolinium/chemistry , HeLa Cells , Humans , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Lasers , Luminescence , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Magnetics , Mice , Microscopy, Electron, Transmission , Nanomedicine , Nanospheres/chemistry , Polyethylene Glycols/chemistry , Polymers/chemistry , Silicon Dioxide/chemistry , X-Ray DiffractionABSTRACT
The objective of the present study was to investigate the incidence of and possible risk factors associated with sarcopenia among cancer patients. Patients with cancer were examined through the use of lumbar magnetic resonance imaging, and clinical data was collected between September and December, 2012, at Jilin Province Tumor Hospital (Changchun, China). The data was subsequently compared between patients with and without sarcopenia. Of the 113 treated cancer patients, 96 patients [39 males (L3 index, <52.4 cm2/m2) and 57 females (L3 index, <38.5 cm2/m2)] suffered from sarcopenia. Overall, the development of sarcopenia was not significantly associated with patient age or treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy (P>0.05). The frequency of treatment-associated complications did not differ significantly between patients with or without sarcopenia. However, males were more inclined to develop sarcopenia than females (P=0.02). Patients with sarcopenia had significantly less lymphocytes than patients without sarcopenia (P=0.03). This was confirmed through multiple logistic regression analyses (P=0.046), which also identified that patients with cancer with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score >2 had a significantly increased risk of developing sarcopenia. Finally, the serum albumin level in sarcopenia patients was 36.18±4.65 g/l, which was not significantly less than that of patients without sarcopenia (39.67±3.69 g/l; P=0.11). The incidence of sarcopenia among patients with cancer is high, particularly for males. Further research with larger sample sizes would be beneficial, with the aim of verifying the results obtained in the present study. During the treatment of patients with sarcopenia, precaution should continue to be taken to prevent associated complications, including infection, diarrhea and myelosuppression.