Stabilization of Copper-Based Biochips with Alumina for Biosensing Application.

Surface plasmon resonance devices typically rely on the use of gold-coated surfaces, but the use of more abundant metals is desirable for the long-term development of plasmonic biochips. As a substitute for gold, thin copper films have been deposited on glass coverslips by thermal evaporation. As expected, these films immersed in a water solution initially exhibit an intense plasmonic resonance comparable to gold. However, without protection, an angle-resolved optical analysis shows a rapid degradation of the copper, characterized by a continuous angular shift of the plasmonic resonance curve. We show that copper films protected with a thin layer of aluminum oxide of a few nanometers can limit the oxidation rate for a sufficient time to perform some standard measurements. As the process is simple and compatible with the current biochip production technique, such an approach could pave the way for the production of alternative and more sustainable biochips.

Clinical Study of a Q-Switched Neodymium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Laser with Different Parameters in the Treatment of Chloasma: A Randomized-Controlled Trial.

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy of a Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser with different parameters in the treatment of chloasma. Methods: In this study, 30 patients with chloasma, symmetrically distributed on the left and right sides of the face and who were treated with a Fayton Q-switched 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser, were recruited. The patients were randomly selected for the treatment of facial lesions on the left and right sides of the face using a spot diameter of 9 mm and an energy density of 0.8 J/cm2 on one side, and, on the opposite side, a spot diameter of 6 mm with an energy density of 1.2 J/cm2. The laser frequency was 5 Hz and treatment was conducted once every 7-10 days and repeated eight times as a course of treatment. At the end of the course of treatment, as well as 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment, front-facing images and 45° left- and right-side images were taken, respectively. The curative effect of the treatment was evaluated using the Melasma Area Severity Index (MASI) score. Results: The results of this study showed that the total effective rate of a Fayton Q-switched 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser in the treatment of chloasma was 60%. Conclusions: Using a Q-switched 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser represents a safe and effective approach for the treatment of chloasma. The therapeutic effects of the parameter sets, that is, a spot diameter of 9 mm and an energy density of 0.8 J/cm2, and a spot diameter of 6 mm with an energy density of 1.2 J/cm2, were similar. The treatment time and average effective times of the latter were relatively shortened. Clinical Trial Registration number researchregistry6799.

Biodegradable Polymer-Coated Multifunctional Graphene Quantum Dots for Light-Triggered Synergetic Therapy of Pancreatic Cancer.

In this work, we reported the synthesis of an engineered novel nanocarrier composed of biodegradable charged polyester vectors (BCPVs) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) for pancreatic cancer (MiaPaCa-2 cells) therapy applications. Such a nanocarrier was utilized to co-load doxorubicin (DOX) and small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA), resulting in the formation of GQD/DOX/BCPV/siRNA nanocomplexes. The resulting nanocomplexes have demonstrated high stability in physiologically mimicking media, excellent K-ras downregulation activity, and effective bioactivity inhibition for MiaPaCa-2 cells. More importantly, laser light was used to generate heat for the nanocomplexes via the photothermal effect to damage the cells, which was further employed to trigger the release of payloads from the nanocomplexes. Such triggered release function greatly enhanced the anticancer activity of the nanocomplexes. Preliminary colony formation study also suggested that GQD/DOX/BCPV/siRNA nanocomplexes are qualified carrier candidates in subsequent in vivo tests.

A Light-Driven Therapy of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Using Gold Nanorods-Based Nanocarriers for Co-Delivery of Doxorubicin and siRNA.

In this work, we report the engineering of polyelectrolyte polymers coated Gold nanorods (AuNRs)-based nanocarriers that are capable of co-delivering small interfering RNA (siRNA) and an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) to Panc-1 cancer cells for combination of both chemo- and siRNA-mediated mutant K-Ras gene silencing therapy. Superior anticancer efficacy was observed through synergistic combination of promoted siRNA and DOX release upon irradiating the nanoplex formulation with 665 nm light. Our antitumor study shows that the synergistic effect of AuNRs nanoplex formulation with 665 nm light treatment is able to inhibit the in vivo tumor volume growth rate by 90%. The antitumor effect is contributed from the inactivation of K-Ras gene and thereby causing a profound synthesis (S) phase arrest in treated Panc-1 cells. Our study shows that the percentage of Panc-1 cells treated by nanoplex formulation with S phase is determined to be 35% and it is 17% much higher than that of Panc-1 cells without any treatments. The developed nanotherapy formulation here, that combines chemotherapy, RNA silencing and NIR window light-mediated therapy, will be seen to be the next natural step to be taken in the clinical research for improving the therapeutic outcomes of the pancreatic adenocarcinoma treatment.