Portable one-step effervescence tablet-based microextraction combined with smartphone digital image colorimetry: Toward field and rapid detection of trace nickel ion.

In this study, the one-step switchable hydrophilic solvent (SHS)-based effervescence tablet microextraction (ETME) was coupled with smartphone digital image colorimetry (SDIC) for the field detection of nickel ion (Ni2+) for the first time. Both extractant and CO2 were generated in situ when the novel SHS-based effervescence tablet was placed in the sample solution. The complexant 1-(2-pyridinylazo)-2-naphthaleno (PAN) dissolved from the effervescence tablet to form a stable complex with Ni2+, and the extractant was uniformly dispersed in the sample solution under the action of CO2 and fully in contact with Ni-PAN, which enabled efficient extraction of Ni2+. The color changes of the extraction phase were captured by smartphone, then a quantitative relationship between the concentrations of Ni2+ and color intensity of images captured using a smartphone was established by customized applet WASDIC, which realized quantitative analysis of Ni2+ in different samples. Under optimal conditions, the enhancement factor (EF) of the proposed method was 65.1, the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 1.69 and 5.64 µg L-1, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to the detection of trace Ni2+ in the environmental samples and natural medicines. And the applicability of the method for use in field analysis was validated.

Investigation of natural deep eutectic solvent for the extraction of crude polysaccharide from Polygonatum kingianum and influence of metal elements on its immunomodulatory effects.

In this study, natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) was used to extract Polygonatum kingianum crude polysaccharide (PKCP) and response surface methodology (RSM) was designed to optimize the extraction procedure. The immunomodulatory effect of PKCP and the influence of metal elements on its immunomodulatory effect were further discussed. The optimum conditions for PKCP extraction were obtained by RSM optimization: NADES were synthesized with a 1:2 choline chloride-glycerol molar ratio, then extracted at a liquid-solid ratio of 16.6 mL g-1 and water content of 31.2 % for 60 min at 60 °C. This method was used for the extraction of PKCP, and the extraction efficiency was 29.69 %, which was 2.5 times greater than the conventional method of water extraction. In the concentration range of 200-800 µg mL-1, PKCP could activate macrophages, promoting NO secretion and mRNA expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in a dose-dependent way. NO secretion and cytokine expression were not affected when the metal elements were spiked to the equivalent of the metal elements contained in Polygonatum kingianum. When the content of metal elements was higher, the secretion of NO and the gene expression of iNOS were both decreased, which may affect the immunomodulatory effect of Polygonatum kingianum.

Risk assessment and source identification of soil heavy metals: a case study of farmland soil along a river in the southeast of a mining area in Southwest China.

To investigate the heavy metals (HMs) contamination of surface farmland soil along the river in the southeast of a mining area in southwest China and identify the contamination sources, 54 topsoil samples were collected and the concentrations of seven elements (Zn, Ni, Pb, Cu, Hg, Cr, and Co) were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). The geo-accumulation index ([Formula: see text]) and comprehensive potential ecological risk index ([Formula: see text]) were used for analysis to determine the pollution degree of HMs and the risk level of the study area. Meanwhile, the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model was combined with a variety of statistical methods to determine the sources of HMs. To explore the influence of the river flowing through the mining area on the concentrations of HMs in the farmland soil, 15 water samples were collected and the concentrations of the above seven elements were determined. The results showed that the concentrations of Pb, Cu, and Zn in soil all exceeded the risk screening value, and Pb in soil of some sampling sites exceeded control value of "Agricultural Land Soil Pollution Risk Control Standard".[Formula: see text] showed that Pb was heavily contaminated, while Cu and Zn were moderately contaminated. RI showed that the study area was at moderate risk. PMF and various statistical methods showed that the main source of HMs was the industrial source. In the short term, the river flowing through the mine has no significant influence on the concentration of HMs in the soil. The results provide a reference for the local government to control contamination and identify the sources of HMs.

N6-methyladenosine methylation analysis of long noncoding RNAs and mRNAs in 5-FU-resistant colon cancer cells.

N6 methyladenosine (m6A), methylation at the sixth N atom of adenosine, is the most common and abundant modification in mammalian mRNAs and non-coding RNAs. Increasing evidence shows that the alteration of m6A modification level could regulate tumour proliferation, metastasis, self-renewal, and immune infiltration by regulating the related expression of tumour genes. However, the role of m6A modification in colorectal cancer (CRC) drug resistance is unclear. Here, MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq techniques were utilized to obtain mRNA, lncRNA expression, and their methylation profiles in 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)-resistant colon cancer HCT-15 cells and control cells. In addition, we performed detailed bioinformatics analysis as well as in vitro experiments of lncRNA to explore the function of lncRNA with differential m6A in CRC progression and drug resistance. In this study, we obtained the m6A methylomic landscape of CRC cells and resistance group cells by MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq. We identified 3698 differential m6A peaks, of which 2224 were hypermethylated, and 1474 were hypomethylated. Among the lncRNAs, 60 were hypermethylated, and 38 were hypomethylated. GO and KEGG analysis annotations showed significant enrichment of endocytosis and MAPK signalling pathways. Moreover, knockdown of lncRNA ADIRF-AS1 and AL139035.1 promoted CRC proliferation and invasive metastasis in vitro. lncRNA- mRNA network showed that ADIRF-AS1 and AL139035.1 May play a key role in regulating drug resistance formation. We provide the first m6A methylation profile in 5-FU resistance CRC cells and analyse the functions of differential m6A-modified mRNAs and lncRNAs. Our results indicated that differential m6A RNAs were significantly associated with MAPK signalling and endocytosis after induction of 5-FU resistance. Knockdown of LncRNA ADIRF-AS1 and AL139035.1 promotes CRC progression and might be critical in regulating drug resistance formation.

We outline the first m6A methylation profile of mRNA and lncRNA in CRC cells involved in 5-FU resistance.This study sought to identify the critical genes that produced 5-FU resistance by analysing the functions of differentially m6A-modified mRNAs and lncRNAs.

Insights into greenhouse gas emissions from a wastewater treatment plant in vulnerable water areas of China.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a significant anthropogenic source of greenhouse gas (GHG), but the quantitative assessment of GHG emissions from WWTPs in vulnerable water areas under stricter discharge limits remains unclear. Herein, depending on a case WWTP in southern China, we investigated the impacts of discharge standard improvement and key drivers of GHG emissions using daily operating data. We demonstrated that the stricter discharge limits increased the total GHG emission intensity by 18.2 %, with direct emissions increasing more than indirect GHG emissions. The GHG emissions were negatively correlated with water quantity, showing the scale effect, which became more pronounced after the discharge standard improvement. Increasing influent chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen concentrations significantly drove the variations in GHG emissions, which were accelerated under stricter discharge limits. This study provides insights into the evaluation of GHG emission from WWTPs in vulnerable water areas and carbon-neutral wastewater management policies.

Heavy metals distribution characteristics, source analysis, and risk evaluation of soils around mines, quarries, and other special areas in a region of northwestern Yunnan, China.

In this study, based on the assessment of soil heavy metals (HMs) pollution using relevant indices, a comprehensive approach combined network environ analysis (NEA), human health risk assessment (HHRA) method and positive definite matrix factor (PMF) model to quantify the risks among ecological communities in a special environment around mining area in northwest Yunnan, calculated the risk to human health caused by HMs in soil, and analyzed the pollution sources of HMs. The integrated risks for soil microorganisms, vegetations, herbivores, and carnivores were 2.336, 0.876, 0.114, and 0.082, respectively, indicating that soil microorganisms were the largest risk receptors. The total hazard indexes (HIT) for males, females, and children were 0.542, 0.591, and 1.970, respectively, revealing a relatively high and non-negligible non-carcinogenic risks (NCR) for children. The total cancer risks (TCR) for both females and children exceeded 1.00E-04, indicating that soil HMs posed carcinogenic risks (CR) to them. Comparatively, Pb was the high-risk metal, accounting for 53.76%, 57.90%, and 68.09% of HIT in males, females, and children, respectively. PMF analysis yielded five sources of pollution, F1 (industry), F2 (agriculture), F3 (domesticity), F4 (nature), and F5 (traffic).

Biomimetic Approach toward Kinetically Stable AIE-Gens under Physiological Conditions.

Many AIE-gens suffer from excessive hydrophobicity, and their kinetic stability in aqueous condition is not warranted. Here, we introduce phosphorylcholine, a zwitterionic group ubiquitously found in biological membranes, onto the tetraphenylethene core structure to yield AIE nanoparticles stable in both PBS buffer and cell culture. We also find that the AIE efficiency is critically reliant on the delicate balance between the hydrophilic phosphorylcholine and hydrophobic moieties.

Determination of lead in Gentiana rigescens and evaluation of the effect of lead exposure on the liver protection of the natural medicine.

In this work, ultrasound-assisted rapidly synergistic cloud point extraction (UARS-CPE) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) were combined to determine trace Pb in Gentiana rigescens Franch. ex Hemsl. (G. rigescens) samples. Under the optimal conditions, the enhancement factor (EF), limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ) and precision were 33, 0.11 µg L-1, 0.37 µg L-1 and 1.3%, respectively. This method was applied to the analysis of G. rigescens samples, and the outcomes were in good agreement with the results determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A mice model of immune liver injury induced by concanavalin A (ConA) was established, and the liver protection of G. rigescens and gentiopicroside (GPS) on it and the effects of various dosages of Pb exposure on its liver protection were studied. Pb at a dosage of 5 mg kg-1 had little effect on the liver protection of G. rigescens and GPS, while 25, 125 mg kg-1 dosages of Pb could significantly attenuate the liver protection of both. In addition, it aggravated the necrosis of hepatocytes and inflammatory cell infiltration, and these effects were dose-dependent.

Simultaneous determination of Co and Pb in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis by ICP-OES after GO-TiO2-DES-based dispersive micro solid phase extraction.

In this work, deep eutectic solvent (DES) was used to modify GO-TiO2 to synthesize new adsorption material GO-TiO2-DES nanocomposites. It was first used for dispersive micro solid phase extraction (DMSPE) and combined with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) for simultaneous determination of trace cobalt (Co) and lead (Pb) in natural medicine P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area were used to characterize. The results showed that GO-TiO2-DES nanocomposites were successfully prepared and had better adsorption effect on metal ions. The factors affecting the extraction and elution of Co and Pb were optimized, including the type of DES, pH, adsorption time, amount of adsorbent, adsorption temperature, and elution time. Under the optimum conditions, the enhancement factors (EFs) of Co and Pb were 31 and 28, the limits of detection (LODs) were 0.11 and 0.24 µg L-1, and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.36 and 0.82 µg L-1, respectively. The results of Co and Pb determined by the established method were in good agreement with those of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), which verified the accuracy and reliability of the method.

Functional Roles of Polymers in Room-Temperature Phosphorescent Materials: Modulation of Intersystem Crossing, Air Sensitivity and Biological Activity.

Organic room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials routinely incorporate polymeric components, which usually act as non-functional or "inert" media to protect excited-state phosphors from thermal and collisional quenching, but are lesser explored for other influences. Here, we report some exemplary "active roles" of polymer matrices played in organic RTP materials, including: 1) color modulation of total delayed emissions via balancing the population ratio between thermally-activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and RTP due to dielectric-dependent intersystem crossing; 2) altered air sensitivity of RTP materials by generating various surface morphologies such as nano-sized granules; 3) enhanced bacterial elimination for enhanced electrostatic interactions with negatively charged bio-membranes. These active roles demonstrated that the vast library of polymeric structures and functionalities can be married to organic phosphors to broaden new application horizons for RTP materials.

Overexpression of lncRNA TCLlnc1 in gastric cancer predicts postoperative distant recurrence and poor survival.

TCLlnc1 was characterized as a lncRNA with oncogenic roles in T cell lymphoma, whereas its role in other diseases is unknown. We then explored the involvement of TCLlnc1 in gastric cancer. Paired gastric cancer and nontumor tissues from 66 gastric cancer patients were used to extract total RNA samples, which were used to perform RT-qPCRs to determine the expression of TCLlnc1. Plasma samples from these 66 gastric cancer patients and 66 healthy controls were also used to detect circulating TCLlnc1. Correlations of TCLlnc1 in both plasma and tissue samples with patients' clinical data were analyzed by chi-square t -test. The diagnostic value of TCLlnc1 for early-stage gastric cancer was analyzed with the receiver operating characteristic curve. A 5-year follow-up study was performed to explore the prognostic value of TCLlnc1 for the survival of gastric cancer patients. TCLlnc1 expression in tissue was increased in gastric cancer. Plasma TCLlnc1 was also increased in gastric cancer. Plasma TCLlnc1 was closely correlated with TCLlnc1 in gastric cancer tissues, but not TCLlnc1 in nontumor tissues. TCLlnc1 in plasma was only correlated with tumor distant metastasis, but not other clinical data. TCLlnc1 in plasma showed promising diagnostic value for stage I and II gastric cancer. Increased accumulation of TCLlnc1 was closely correlated with distant recurrence and poor survival during a 5-year follow-up. Therefore, TCLlnc1 is overexpressed in gastric cancer predicts postoperative distant recurrence and poor survival.

Lipid-Head-Polymer-Tail Chimeric Vesicles.

Lipid nanovesicles (LNVs) and polymer nanovesicles (PNVs), also known as liposomes and polymersomes, are becoming increasingly vital in global health. However, the two major classes of nanovesicles both exhibit their own issues that significantly limit potential applications. Here, by covalently attaching a naturally occurring phosphate "lipid head" and a synthetic polylactide "polymer tail" via facile ring-opening polymerization on a 500 g scale, a type of "chimeric" nanovesicles (CNVs) can be easily produced. Compared to LNVs, the reported CNVs exhibit reduced permeability for small and large molecules; on the other hand, the CNVs are less hydrophobic and exhibit enhanced tolerance toward proteins in buffer solutions without the need for hydrophilic polymeric corona such as poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG), in contrast to conventional PNVs. The proof-of-concept in vitro delivery experiments using hydrophilic solutions of fluorescein-PEG, rhodamine-PEG, and anti-cancer drug doxorubicin demonstrate that these CNVs, as a structurally diverse class of nano-materials, are highly promising as alternative carriers for therapeutic molecules in translational nanomedicine.

Momordica. charantia-Derived Extracellular Vesicles-Like Nanovesicles Protect Cardiomyocytes Against Radiation Injury via Attenuating DNA Damage and Mitochondria Dysfunction.

Thoracic radiotherapy patients have higher risks of developing radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD). Ionizing radiation generates excessive reactive oxygens species (ROS) causing oxidative stress, while Momordica. charantia and its extract have antioxidant activity. Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) is emerging as novel therapeutic agent. Therefore, we explored the protective effects of Momordica. charantia-derived EVs-like nanovesicles (MCELNs) against RIHD. Using density gradient centrifugation, we successfully isolated MCELNs with similar shape, size, and markers as EVs. Confocal imaging revealed that rat cardiomyocytes H9C2 cells internalized PKH67 labeled MCELNs time-dependently. In vitro assay identified that MCELNs promoted cell proliferation, suppressed cell apoptosis, and alleviated the DNA damage in irradiated (16 Gy, X-ray) H9C2 cells. Moreover, elevated mitochondria ROS in irradiated H9C2 cells were scavenged by MCELNs, protecting mitochondria function with re-balanced mitochondria membrane potential. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of ROS-related proteins was recovered with increased ratios of p-AKT/AKT and p-ERK/ERK in MCELNs treated irradiated H9C2 cells. Last, intraperitoneal administration of MCELNs mitigated myocardial injury and fibrosis in a thoracic radiation mice model. Our data demonstrated the potential protective effects of MCELNs against RIHD. The MCELNs shed light on preventive regime development for radiation-related toxicity.

Enhanced autophagy promotes radiosensitivity by mediating Sirt1 downregulation in RM-1 prostate cancer cells.

Autophagy is a double-edged sword that affects tumor progression by promoting cell survival or death depending on different living contexts. The concrete mechanism by which autophagy modulates the efficacy of radiotherapy for prostate cancer (PC) remains unclear. We exposed RM-1 PC cells to X-ray and explored the role of autophagy in radiation injury. Our results showed increased apoptosis and autophagy levels in RM-1 cells after radiation. Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy by chloroquine significantly mitigated radiation-induced apoptosis, while the enhancement of autophagy by rapamycin aggravated apoptosis. Sirt1, a member of sirtuin family, deacetylates various transcription factors to trigger cell survival in response to radiation injury. We found that radiation led to Sirt1 downregulation, which was reversed by the inhibition of autophagy. On the contrary, enhanced autophagy further diminished protein level of Sirt1. Notably, overexpression of Sirt1 by plasmid significantly alleviated radiation-induced apoptosis, but silenced Sirt1 by siRNA further induced apoptosis, indicating the radioprotective effect of Sirt1 on RM-1 cells. In summary, our findings suggested that autophagy-mediated Sirt1 downregulation might be a promising therapeutic target for PC.

Towards Long-Term Photostability of Nickel Hydroxide/BiVO4 Photoanodes for Oxygen Evolution Catalysts via In†Situ Catalyst Tuning.

Increasing long-term photostability of BiVO4 photoelectrode is an important issue for solar water splitting. The NiOOH oxygen evolution catalyst (OEC) has fast water oxidation kinetics compared to the FeOOH OEC. However, it generally shows a lower photoresponse and poor stability because of the more substantial interface recombination at the NiOOH/BiVO4 junction. Herein, we utilize a plasma etching approach to reduce both interface/surface recombination at NiOOH/BiVO4 and NiOOH/electrolyte junctions. Further, adding Fe2+ into the borate buffer electrolyte alleviates the active but unstable character of etched-NiOOH/BiVO4 , leading to an outstanding oxygen evolution over 200 h. The improved charge transfer and photostability can be attributed to the active defects and a mixture of NiOOH/NiO/Ni in OEC induced by plasma etching. Metallic Ni acts as the ion source for the in situ generation of the NiFe OEC over long-term durability.

Exosomal long noncoding RNA lnc-GNAQ-6:1 may serve as a diagnostic marker for gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most aggressive cancers, with limited early diagnostic measures. Tumor-originated exosomal molecules are regarded as suitable candidates for non-invasive diagnosis. This study aimed to investigate the capacity of exosomal long noncoding RNA lnc-GNAQ-6:1 as a biomarker for early diagnosis of GC. METHODS: In this study, we collected sera from 43 patients with gastric cancer and 27 healthy subjects, then exosomes were isolated using commercial kits. Particle size analysis, Western bloting and protein-based exosomes quantification were conducted to identify the isolated exosomes and to evaluate its yield and purity. Expression levels of exosomal lnc-GNAQ-6:1 were detected by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). The serum concentrations of traditional biomarker (CA72-4, CEA, and CA19-9) were measured via a chemiluminescent detection system.The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under curve (AUC) were used to estimate the diagnostic capacity. Furthermore, we analyzed the potential relationship between serum exosomal lnc-GNAQ-6:1 expression and clinicopathological parameters of gastric cancer. RESULTS: The exosomes extracted in this study exhibited the typical exosome characteristics and purity. Patients with gastric cancer had the higher exosome yield than healthy volunteer. The results of qRT-PCR showed that compared with the healthy control, the expression of lnc-GNAQ-6:1 was significantly lower in the gastric cancer group. The area under the ROC curve is 0.732, which was higher than the diagnostic accuracy of CEA, CA 19-9 and CA72-4. However, the expression level of lnc-GNAQ-6:1 was not correlated with gender, age, tumor metastasis, serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), and carbohydrate antigen 72-4(CA72-4). CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated that serum exosomal lnc-GNAQ-6:1 is lowly expressed in patient with gastric cancer and might be evaluated in larger studies as a new diagnostic marker for gastric cancer.

Non-aqueous phase cold vapor generation and determination of trace cadmium by atomic fluorescence spectrometry.

Cold vapor generation (CVG) of cadmium was firstly accomplished in non-aqueous media by using solid reductant of potassium borohydride (KBH4) as a derivation reagent. The mixture of surfactant Triton X-114 micelle and octanol was innovatively used as the non-aqueous media for the CVG and atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) was used for the elemental determination. The analyte ions were firstly extracted into the non-aqueous media from the bulk aqueous phase of analyte/sample solution via a novelly established ultrasound-assisted rapidly synergistic cloud point extraction (UARS-CPE) process and then directly mixed with the solid redcutant KBH4 to generate volatile elemental state cadmium in a specially designed reactor, which was then rapidly transported to a commercial atomic fluorescence spectrometer for detection. Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) for cadmium was 0.004 µg L-1. Compared to conventional hydride generation (HG)-AFS, the efficiency of non-aqueous phase CVG and the analytical performance of the developed system was considerably improved.

Westward Spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H7N9) Virus among Humans, China.

We report infection of humans with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in Shaanxi, China, in May 2017. We obtained complete genomes for samples from 5 patients and from live poultry markets or farms in 4 cities. Results indicate that H7N9 is spreading westward from southern and eastern China.

Femtosecond-Laser-Based 3D Printing for Tissue Engineering and Cell Biology Applications.

Fabrication of 3D cell scaffolds has gained tremendous attention in recent years because of its applications in tissue engineering and cell biology applications. The success of tissue engineering or cell interactions mainly depends on the fabrication of well-defined microstructures, which ought to be biocompatible for cell proliferation. Femtosecond-laser-based 3D printing is one of the solution candidates that can be used to manufacture 3D tissue scaffolds through computer-aided design (CAD) which can be efficiently engineered to mimic the microenvironment of tissues. UV-based lithography has also been used for constructing the cellular scaffolds but the toxicity of UV light to the cells has prevented its application to the direct patterning of the cells in the scaffold. Although the mask-based lithography has provided a high resolution, it has only enabled 2D patterning not arbitrary 3D printing with design flexibility. Femtosecond-laser-based 3D printing is trending in the area of tissue engineering and cell biology applications due to the formation of well-defined micro- and submicrometer structures via visible and near-infrared (NIR) femtosecond laser pulses, followed by the fabrication of cell scaffold microstructures with a high precision. Laser direct writing and multiphoton polymerization are being used for fabricating the cell scaffolds, The implication of spatial light modulators in the interference lithography to generate the digital hologram will be the future prospective of mask-based lithography. Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEG-DA), ormocomp, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate (PETTA) have been fabricated through TPP to generate the cell scaffolds, whereas SU-8 was used to fabricate the microrobots for targeted drug delivery. Well-designed and precisely fabricated 3D cell scaffolds manufactured by femtosecond-laser-based 3D printing can be potentially used for studying cell migration, matrix invasion and nuclear stiffness to determine stage of cancer and will open broader horizons in the future in tissue engineering and biology applications.

Cooperative Nanoparticle System for Photothermal Tumor Treatment without Skin Damage.

How to ablate tumors without using skin-harmful high laser irradiance remains an ongoing challenge for photothermal therapy. Here, we achieve this with a cooperative nanosystem consisting of gold nanocage (AuNC) "activator" and a cationic mammalian-membrane-disruptive peptide, cTL, as photothermal antenna and anticancer agent, respectively. Specifically, this nanosystem is prepared by grafting cTL onto AuNC via a Au-S bond, followed by attachment of thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG) for stealth effects. Upon NIR irradiation at skin-permissible dosage, the resulting cTL/PEG-AuNC nanoparticle effectively ablates both irradiated and nonirradiated cancer cells, likely owing to cTL being responsively unleashed by intracellular thiols exposed to cTL/PEG-AuNC via membrane damage initiated by AuNC's photothermal effects and deteriorated by the as-released cTL. When administered systematically in a mouse model, cTL/PEG-AuNC populates tumors through their porous vessels and effectively destroys them without damaging skin.