Zn2+-interference and H2S-mediated gas therapy based on ZnS-tannic acid nanoparticles synergistic enhancement of cell apoptosis for specific treatment of prostate cancer.

Zn2+ and H2S are essential to maintain normal prostate function, and sometimes can evolve into weapons to attack and destroy prostate cancer (PCa) cells. Nevertheless, how to achieve the targeted and effective release of Zn2+ and H2S, and reverse the concentration distribution within PCa tumor cells still highly challenging. Herein, combined with these pathological characteristics of prostate, we proposed a tumor microenvironment (TME) responsive Zn2+-interference and H2S-mediated gas synergistic therapy strategy based on a nanoplatform of tannic acid (TA) modified zinc sulfide nanoparticles (ZnS@TA) for the specific treatment of PCa. Once the constructed pH-responsive ZnS@TA internalized by cancer cells, it would instantaneously decomposed in acidic TME, and explosively release excess Zn2+ and H2S exceeding the cell self-regulation threshold. Meanwhile, the in situ produced Zn2+ and H2S synergistic enhancement of cell apoptosis, which is evidenced to increase levels of Bax and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, release of Cytochrome c in cancer cells, contributing to inhibit the growth of tumor. Moreover, the TA in cooperation with Zn2+ specifically limits the migration and invasion of PCa cells. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that the Zn2+-interference in combination with H2S-mediated gas therapy achieves an excellent anti-tumor performance. Overall, this nanotheranostic synergistic therapy provides a promising direction for exploring new strategies for cancer treatment based on specific tumor pathological characteristics, and provides a new vision for promoting practical cancer therapy.

Reduced Intercalation Energy Barrier by Rich Structural Water in Spinel ZnMn2O4 for High-Rate Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries are considered promising next-generation systems for large-scale energy storage due to low cost, environmental friendliness, and high reversibility of the Zn anode. However, the interfacial charge-transfer resistance for the insertion of divalent Zn2+ into cathode materials is normally high, which limits the kinetics of Zn2+ transfer at the cathode/electrolyte interface. This study reveals the presence of rich structural water in spinel ZnMn2O4 (ZnMn2O4·0.94H2O, denoted as ZMO), synthesized by a scalable and low-temperature process, significantly overcoming the great interfacial charge-transfer resistance. ZMO exhibits excellent electrochemical performance toward Zn storage, that is, high capacity (230 and 101 mA h g-1 at 0.5 and 8 A g-1), high specific energy/specific power (329 W h kg-1/706 W kg-1 and 134 W h kg-1/11,160 W kg-1), and stable cycle retention (75% after 2000 cycles at 4 A g-1) can be achieved. On the contrary, the controlled sample ZMO-450 with deficient structural water, prepared by post-heat treatment of ZMO at 450 °C, demonstrates limited discharge capacity (45 and 15 mA h g-1 at 0.5 and 8 A g-1). As examined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, rich structural water in ZMO effectively reduces the activation energy barrier upon Zn2+ insertion, rendering fast interfacial kinetics for Zn storage. Benefiting from rich structural water in ZMO, the involvement of Zn2+ during the charge/discharge process exhibits good reversibility, as characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.