Emergence of Quantum Dots as Innovative Tools for Early Diagnosis and Advanced Treatment of Breast Cancer.

Quantum dots (QDs) semiconducting nanomaterials, have garnered attention due to their distinctive properties, including small size, high luminescence, and biocompatibility. In the context of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), notorious for its resistance to conventional treatments, QDs exhibit promising potential for enhancing diagnostic imaging and providing targeted therapies. This review underscores recent advancements in the utilization of QDs in imaging techniques, such as fluorescence tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, aiming at the early and precise detection of tumors. Emphasis is placed on the significance of QD design, synthesis and functionalization processes as well as their use in innovative strategies for targeted drug delivery, capitalizing on their ability to selectively deliver therapeutic agents to cancer cells. As the research in this field advances rapidly, this review covers a classification of QDs according to their composition, the characterization techniques than can be used to determine their properties and, subsequently, emphasizes recent findings in the field of TNBC-targeting, highlighting the imperative need to address challenges, like potential toxicity or methodologies standardization. Collectively, the findings explored thus far suggest that QDs could pave the way for early diagnosis and effective therapy of TNBC, representing a significant stride toward precise and personalized strategies in treating TNBC.

Vanadocene-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles: platforms for the development of theranostic materials against breast cancer.

Nanoscale materials have demonstrated a very high potential in anticancer therapy by properly adjusting their functionalization and physicochemical properties. Herein, we report the synthesis of some novel vanadocene-loaded silica-based nanomaterials incorporating four different S-containing amino acids (penicillamine, methionine, captopril, and cysteine) and different fluorophores (rhodamine B, coumarin 343 or Alexa Fluor™ 647), which have been characterized by diverse solid-state spectroscopic techniques viz; FTIR, diffuse reflectance spectroscopies,13C and51V solid-state NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and TEM. The analysis of the biological activity of the novel vanadocene-based nanostructured silicas showed that the materials containing cysteine and captopril aminoacids demonstrated high cytotoxicity and selectivity against triple negative breast cancer cells, making them very promising antineoplastic drug candidates. According to the biological results it seems that vanadium activity is connected to its incorporation through the amino acid, resulting in synergy that increases the cytotoxic activity against cancer cells of the studied materials presumably by increasing cell internalization. The results presented herein hold significant potential for future developments in mesoporous silica-supported metallodrugs, which exhibit strong cytotoxicity while maintaining low metal loading. They also show potential for theranostic applications highlighted by the analysis of the optical properties of the studied systems after incorporating rhodamine B, coumarin 343 (possible)in vitroanticancer analysis, or Alexa Fluor™ 647 (in vivostudies of cancer models).

Donor-Acceptor-Donor 1H-Benzo[d]imidazole Derivatives as Optical Waveguides.

A new series of donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) structures derived from arylethynyl 1H-benzo[d]imidazole was synthesized and processed into single crystals with the goal of testing such crystals' ability to act as optical waveguides. Some crystals displayed luminescence in the 550-600 nm range and optical waveguiding behavior with optical loss coefficients around 10-2 dB/µm, which indicated a notable light transport. The crystalline structure, confirmed by X-ray diffraction, contains internal channels that are important for light propagation, as we previously reported. The combination of a 1D assembly, a single crystal structure, and notable light emission properties with low losses from self-absorption made 1H-benzo[d]imidazole derivatives appealing compounds for optical waveguide applications.

Azaindole grafted titanium dioxide for the photodegradation of pharmaceuticals under solar irradiation.

The application of metal-free organic molecules grafted titanium dioxide (TiO2) as photocatalysts for the degradation of pharmaceuticals under solar light has been scarcely studied. Herein, a novel photocatalyst was synthesized anchoring a bipolar electron-donor and -acceptor molecule based on azaindole derivative (AZA4) onto TiO2 aiming to improve the photoactivity under simulated solar irradiation. The TiO2-azaindole (TiO2-AZA4) was fully characterized, confirming that AZA4 was successfully grafted onto TiO2 and improving the light absorption. The grafted TiO2 was applied in the photodegradation of acetaminophen in water, showing a significantly better photocatalytic performance compared to that of pure TiO2 under both solar and visible irradiations. AZA4 grafting leads to the TiO2 band gap narrowing and favors the charge separation, thus improving the TiO2 photoactivity. The photocatalytic performance of TiO2-AZA4 was evaluated using different conditions such as photocatalyst dose or initial pH of the solution, and the radical species involved in the process were investigated. The high activity of TiO2-AZA4 was confirmed in the photodegradation of a mixture of pharmaceuticals, namely acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and antipyrine, further demonstrating its stability and catalytic performance in a novel continuous flow test under simulated solar irradiation, thus finding a new strategy to design solar-light driven photocatalysts for the degradation of pollutants in water.

Organic Semiconductor Micro/Nanocrystals for Laser Applications.

Organic semiconductor micro/nanocrystals (OSMCs) have attracted great attention due to their numerous advantages such us free grain boundaries, minimal defects and traps, molecular diversity, low cost, flexibility and solution processability. Due to all these characteristics, they are strong candidates for the next generation of electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of these OSMCs, discussing molecular packing, the methods to control crystallization and their applications to the area of organic solid-state lasers. Special emphasis is given to OSMC lasers which self-assemble into geometrically defined optical resonators owing to their attractive prospects for tuning/control of light emission properties through geometrical resonator design. The most recent developments together with novel strategies for light emission tuning and effective light extraction are presented.