pH-responsive magnetic core-shell nanocomposites for drug delivery.

Polymer-modified nanoparticles, which can load anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX), showing the release in response to a specific trigger, have been paid much attention in cancer therapy. In our study, a pH-sensitive drug-delivery system consisting of Fe3O4@mSiO2 core-shell nanocomposite (about 65 nm) and a ß-thiopropionate-poly(ethylene glycol) "gatekeeper" (P2) has been successfully synthesized as a drug carrier (Fe3O4@mSiO2@P2). Because of the hydrolysis of the ß-thiopropionate linker under mildly acidic conditions, Fe3O4@mSiO2@P2 shows a pH-sensitive release performance based on the slight difference between a tumor (weakly acid) and normal tissue (weakly alkaline). And before reaching the tumor site, the drug-delivery system shows good drug retention. Notably, the nanocomposites are quickly taken up by HeLa cells due to their small particle size and the poly(ethylene glycol) modification, which is significant for increasing the drug efficiency as well as the cancer therapy of the drug vehicles. The excellent biocompatibility and selective release performance of the nanocomposites combined with the magnetic targeted ability are expected to be promising in the potential application of cancer treatment.

High-performance free-standing microbial fuel cell anode derived from Chinese date for enhanced electron transfer rates.

Traditional anode materials have disadvantages like low specific surface area and poor electrical conductivity. Herein, carbonized Chinese dates (CCD) were synthesized as microbial fuel cells (MFC) anodes. The obtained materials exhibited excellent biocompatibility with fast start-up (within one day) and charge transfer (Rct 4.0 Ω). Their porous structure allows efficient ion transport and microbial community succession, favorable for long-term operation. The biomass analysis shows that CCD anodes can load higher weight of biomass. High-throughput sequencing (16S rRNA) discovered that CCD anode can enrich Geobacter spp., with highest abundance of 73.4%, much higher than carbon felt (CF, 39.2%). Benefit from these properties, the MFC with CCD anodes possess a maximum power density of 12.17 W m-3 (1.62 times of commercial carbon felt). In all, the CCD anode exhibits high performance with low cost and easy fabrication, certificating it a promising candidate for an ideal MFC anode material.

Co2.67S4-Based Photothermal Membrane with High Mechanical Properties for Efficient Solar Water Evaporation and Photothermal Antibacterial Applications.

The lack of freshwater resources, or the freshwater crisis, is an important issue in the resource field. One potential green and sustainable method to solve this problem is to implement solar energy-driven water evaporation to collect freshwater. Capitalizing on the low cost, high production yield, and simplified fabrication process properties of nonstoichiometric Co2.67S4 nanoparticles, we strategically designed and synthesized a Co2.67S4-deposited Teflon (PTFE) membrane for realizing efficient solar water evaporation and photothermal antibacterial properties under light irradiation. Compared with previously reported cellulose acetate and poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes, the PTFE membrane displayed significantly enhanced mechanical properties. Additionally, a Co2.67S4-deposited PTFE membrane with a hydrophobic treatment (termed as the Final-PTFE membrane) exhibited excellent durability. The light-to-heat conversion efficiency (η) of water evaporation reached a value of 82% for our as-prepared Final-PTFE membrane under two sun irradiation conditions. Moreover, the antibacterial mechanism observed by scanning electron microscopy was attributed to the thermal effect, which damaged the cell wall of bacteria. Our work highlights the great potentials of the Final-PTFE membrane as a versatile system for implementing solar energy-driven photothermal water evaporation and water purification.

The synthesis of LA-Fe3O4@PDA-PEG-DOX for photothermal therapy-chemotherapy.

A facile methodology is presented to construct a multifunctional nanocomposite that integrates photothermal therapy and specific drug release into a single nanostructure. Firstly, magnetic Fe3O4@polydopamine core-shell nanoparticles (Fe3O4@PDA) were synthesized via a reversed-phase microemulsion approach. By varying the amount of DA, Fe3O4@PDA with a particle size of 28-38 nm can be obtained. To further ensure the monodispersity, biocompatibility and specific uptake, PEG and lactobionic acid (LA) were grafted onto Fe3O4@PDA (LA-Fe3O4@PDA-PEG), whose fast photothermal conversion is derived by the combination of Fe3O4 and PDA with high near infrared (NIR) absorption. Then, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) was adopted as the typical anticancer drug, which was loaded onto LA-Fe3O4@PDA-PEG via electrostatic and π-π stacking interaction. The release kinetics investigation further demonstrated the acid/heat-triggered DOX release. HepG2 cells (hepatocellular cell line) were used as the target cancer cells, and the fast uptake was due to the nanoparticle size and abundant asialoglycoprotein receptors on HepG2 cells. Besides, an external magnetic field also can improve the uptake, especially when the magnet is placed at the bottom of the cell disk. The enhanced specific cytotoxicity toward HepG2 cells was also ascribed to the synergistic effect of chemo- and photothermal therapy. Based on the novel properties, the LA-Fe3O4@PDA-PEG-DOX nanocomposite showed its potential application in hepatocyte therapy.

One-step method for the preparation of poly(methyl methacrylate) modified titanium-bioactive glass three-dimensional scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

A novel three-dimensional (3D) titanium (Ti)-doping meso-macroporous bioactive glasses (BGs)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composite was synthesised using PMMA and EO20PO70EO20 (P123) as the macroporous and mesoporous templates, respectively. Unlike the usual calcination method, the acid steam technique was used to improve the polycondensation of Ti-BGs, and then PMMA was partially extracted via chloroform to induce the macroporous structure. Simultaneously, the residual PMMA which remained in the wall enhanced the compressive strength to 2.4 MPa (0.3 MPa for pure BGs). It is a simple and green method to prepare the macro-mesoporous Ti-BGs/PMMA. The materials showed the 3D interconnected hierarchical structure (250 and 3.4 nm), making the fast inducing-hydroxyapatite growth and the controlled drug release. Besides mentioned above, the good antimicrobial property and biocompatible of the scaffold also ensure it is further of clinical use. Herein, the fabricated materials are expected to have potential application on bone tissue regeneration.

Preparation of spherical macroporous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) for bone tissue regeneration.

Spherical macroporous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) has been synthesised using an emulsion method. Polyvinyl alcohol and Pluronic F127 have been used as dispersing and porogen agent, respectively. The diameter of the spherical PLGA is about 20 µm and the pore size of the PLGA macroporous is about 2-2.5 µm observed by scanning electron microscopy. After immersing in simulated body fluid, the PLGA materials can induce the formation of hydroxyapatite (HAP) on their surface. The HAP-PLGA has been obtained and used as the host for drug release. Furthermore, the drug-loaded samples possess the various drug release performance by adjusting the thickness of the HAP layer. This highly satisfied composite material is expected to be promising in the applications in tissue regeneration engineering.

Fabrication of long-acting drug release property of hierarchical porous bioglasses/polylactic acid fibre scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

Hierarchical porous fibre scaffolds with mesoporous bioglasses (MBGs) and polylactic acid (PLA) were successfully fabricated by the electrospinning method. These compound scaffolds possess macropores with sizes of about 100 nm because of the solvent evaporation from the fibre and the mesoporous structure ( ∼4.0 nm) originated from MBGs. The biomineralisation ability was investigated in simulated body fluid. The fibre structure is beneficial for inducing the growth of hydroxyapatite. In addition, compared with pure MBGs, the materials (MP-1 and MP-2) exhibit a long-acting drug release process up to 140 h and the drug release process corresponds with the Fickian diffusion mechanism. With the special fibre morphology and the hierarchical porous structure, the MBGs/PLA fibre scaffolds are expected to have potential application for bone tissue repair and regeneration.

P(EO-co-LLA) functionalized Fe3O4@mSiO2 nanocomposites for thermo/pH responsive drug controlled release and hyperthermia.

The Fe3O4@mSiO2 nanocarrier that consisted of a magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticle core and a mesoporous silica (mSiO2) shell was synthesized. It shows a uniform sphere morphology about 65 nm in diameter. Considering the magnetic hyperthermia of Fe3O4 under an alternating magnetic field (AMF), a thermo-sensitive polymer, poly[(ethylene glycol)-co-(L-lactide)] (P(EO-co-LLA)), was used as "gatekeeper" coating outside Fe3O4@mSiO2 to regulate the drug release behavior. The design of the nanocarrier was expected to block off the pores at low temperature and to reopen them at high temperature reversibly. The obtained hybrid nanocomposites were capable of loading the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) and controlled drug release behavior trigged by the hyperthermia of Fe3O4 under AMF. Besides, the nanocarriers also show pH-sensitive drug release based on the slight differences between the tumor (weakly acid) and the normal tissue (weakly alkaline). What's more, the chemotherapy of DOX combined with magnetic hyperthermia can improve the cytotoxicity obviously. On the basis of the high stability and excellent controlled release performance, the multifunctional nanocarriers exhibit potential applications in targeted-control drug release and hyperthermia for cancer treatment.

One-pot synthesis of macro-mesoporous bioactive glasses/polylactic acid for bone tissue engineering.

The macro-mesoporous bioactive glasses/polylactic acid nanofibers were synthesized via electrospun method followed by acid treatment processing. It was identified to be an effective and simple synthetic strategy to form the uniform nanofibers about 350 nm in size. The non-ionic triblock copolymer, poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (P123), was used as the template for mesoporous structure (5 nm) and the macroporous structure about 10 µm in size derived from the overlapping of the nanofibers. Furthermore, the surface hydrophilic-hydrophobic property can be adjusted by varying the amount of mesoporous bioglass precursor (MBG-p). With the outstanding structure characters and the suitable hydrophilic property, these nanofiber composites show controlled drug release and the fast hydroxyapatite (HAP) mineralization performance. Herein, the novel materials are expected to have potential application for bone tissue engineering.

pH-responsive controlled-release system based on mesoporous bioglass materials capped with mineralized hydroxyapatite.

A controlled release system with pH-responsive ability has been presented. Mesoporous bioglass (MBG) was used as the drug carrier and a spontaneous mineralization method was adopted to cap the pores of the carrier with hydroxyapatite (HAp) and to restrict the drug release. It is a simple and green method to realize the ingenious pH-sensitive controlled release. The model drug, metformin hydrochloride (MH), was loaded simultaneously with the mineralization process. Due to the degradation of HAp at acid environments, the system shows well pH-sensitive drug release ability. The release kinetics can be easily adjusted by the mineralization time and the ion concentration of media. The system is recommended as a promising candidate as a pH-sensitive vehicle for drug controlled release to low pH tissues, such as inflammatory sites and tumors.

Synthesis of hierarchical porous bioactive glasses for bone tissue regeneration.

A novel hierarchical porous bioactive glasses were synthesised with cattail stem and triblock polyethylene oxide-propylene oxide block copolymer (P123) as macroporous template and mesoporous template, respectively. The structural and textural properties of materials were characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, energy dispersive spectrometer and vibrating sample magnetometer technique. The results reveal the bioglasses possess multilevel porous structure with the macroporous size about 50 µm and the mesopore with the diameter of 3.86 nm. Furthermore, metformin HCl was used as the model drug. The drug release kinetics and hydroxyapatite (HAP, (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2)) inducing-growth ability of the composites were studied, respectively. The system exhibits the fast HAP inducing-growth ability and long-term drug delivery, making them a good candidate for bone tissue regeneration.

Synthesis of magnetic, macro/mesoporous bioactive glasses based on coral skeleton for bone tissue engineering.

The magnetic and macro/mesoporous bioactive glasses scaffolds are synthesised successfully by the combination of coral and P123 as co-templates through an evaporation-induced self-assembly process. The prepared material can induce the precipitation of hydroxyapatite layers on their surface in SBF only within 12 h. At the same time, the material exhibited excellent super-paramagnetic and mechanical property. Furthermore, the biocompatible assessment confirmed that the obtained material presented the good biocompatibility and the enhanced adherence of HeLa cells. Herein, the novel materials are expected to have potential application for bone tissue engineering.

Hierarchical porous bioactive glasses/PLGA-magnetic SBA-15 for dual-drug release.

The hierarchical porous bioglass combined with magnetic SBA-15 was synthesized. The bioactive glass materials possess a hierarchical porous structure with the macroporous (50µm) and the mesoporous (3.86nm) structures derived from the plant template (cattail stem) and triblock polyethylene oxide-propylene oxide block copolymer (P123), respectively. Magnetic SBA-15 was synthesized by adopting the post assembly method using Fe(NO3)3 as iron source and ethylene glycol as reduction. After coating PLGA, PLGA-IBU-magnetic SBA-15 also possessed super-paramagnetism and the corresponding saturation magnetizations (Ms) could reach 2.6emug(-1). Metformin HCl (MH) and ibuprofen (IBU) were used as model drugs, and the drug release kinetics was studied. MH and IBU could release 60% and 85% from the sample respectively. The system shows excellent dual-drug controlled delivery performance and good bioactivity in vitro that leads to good potential application on bone regeneration.