Subtractive Nanopore Engineered MXene Photonic Nanomedicine with Enhanced Capability of Photothermia and Drug Delivery for Synergistic Treatment of Osteosarcoma.

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials as drug carriers and photosensitizers have emerged as a promising antitumor strategy. However, our understanding of 2D antitumor nanomaterials is limited to intrinsic properties or additive modification of different materials. Subtractive structural engineering of 2D nanomaterials for better antitumor efficacy is largely overlooked. Here, subtractively engineered 2D MXenes with uniformly distributed nanopores are synthesized. The nanoporous defects endowed MXene with enhanced surface plasmon resonance effect for better optical absorbance performance and strong exciton-phonon coupling for higher photothermal conversion efficiency. In addition, porous structure improves the binding ability between drug and unsaturated bonds, thus promoting drug-loading capacity and reducing uncontrolled drug release. Furthermore, the porous structure provides adhesion sites for filopodia, thereby promoting the cellular internalization of the drug. Clinically, osteosarcoma is the most common bone malignancy routinely treated with doxorubicin-based chemotherapy. There have been no significant treatment advances in the past decade. As a proof-of-concept, nanoporous MXene loaded with doxorubicin is developed for treating human osteosarcoma cells. The porous MXene platform results in a higher amount of doxorubicin-loading, faster near-infrared (NIR)-controlled doxorubicin release, higher photothermal efficacy under NIR irradiation, and increased cell adhesion and internalization. This facile method pioneers a new paradigm for enhancing 2D material functions and is attractive for tumor treatment.

Emerging Porous Two-Dimensional Materials: Current Status, Existing Challenges, and Applications.

Two-Dimensional (2D) materials have attracted immense attention in recent years. These materials have found their applications in various fields, such as catalysis, adsorption, energy storage, and sensing, as they exhibit excellent physical, chemical, electronic, photonic, and biological properties. Recently, researchers have focused on constructing porous structures on 2D materials. Various strategies, such as chemical etching and template-based methods, for the development of surface pores are reported, and the porous 2D materials fabricated over the years are used to develop supercapacitors and energy storage devices. Moreover, the lattice structure of the 2D materials can be modulated during the construction of porous structures to develop 2D materials that can be used in various fields such as lattice defects in 2D nanomaterials for enhancing biomedical performances. This review focuses on the recently developed chemical etching, solvent thermal synthesis, microwave combustion, and template methods that are used to fabricate porous 2D materials. The application prospects of the porous 2D materials are summarized. Finally, the key scientific challenges associated with developing porous 2D materials are presented to provide a platform for developing porous 2D materials.

Activation of telomerase activity and telomere elongation of host cells by Theileria annulata infection.

Theileria annulata-transformed cells share many phenotypes with cancer cells, including uncontrolled proliferation, immortalization, and dissemination. Telomeres are DNA-protein complex at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes that function to maintain genome stability and cell replicative capacity. Telomere length maintenance is primarily dependent on telomerase activity. In up to 90% of human cancer cells, telomerase is reactivated through expression of its catalytic subunit TERT. However, the effect of T. annulata infection on telomere and telomerase activity in bovine cells has not yet been described. In the present study, we confirmed that telomere length and telomerase activity are upregulated after T. annulata infection in three types of cell lines. This change depends on the presence of parasites. After eliminating Theileria from cells with antitheilerial drug buparvaquone, telomerase activity and the expression level of bTERT were decreased. In addition, inhibition of bHSP90 by novobiocin led to decreased AKT phosphorylation levels and telomerase activity, indicating that the bHSP90-AKT complex is a potent factor modulates telomerase activity in T. annulata-infected cells.