Precise delivery of multi-stimulus-responsive nanocarriers based on interchangeable visual guidance.

Cancer treatment is imminent, and controlled drug carriers are an important development direction for future clinical chemotherapy. Visual guidance is a feasible means to achieve precise treatment, reduce toxicity and increase drug efficacy. However, the existing visual control methods are limited by imaging time-consuming, sensitivity and side effects. In addition, the ability of the carrier to respond to environmental stimuli in vivo is another difficulty that limits its application. Here, we propose a highly stimulus-responsive GC liposome with precise tracing and sensitive feedback capabilities. It combines magnetic resonance imaging and fluorescence imaging, and addresses the need for precise visualization by alternating imaging modalities. More importantly, GC liposomes are a carrier that can accumulate stimuli. In this paper, by tracking the fragmentation process of empty GC and drug-loaded D-GC liposomes, we confirm the synergistic effect between multiple stimuli, which can result in a more efficient drug release performance. Finally, in mice models we examined the GC liposome imaging approach and the D-GC + UV group guided by this visualization exhibited the highest tumor inhibition efficiency (6.85-fold). This study highlights the advantages of alternate visualization-guided and co-stimulation treatment strategies, and provides design ideas and potential materials for efficient and less toxic cancer treatments.

Selective Synthesis of Carbon Nanorings via Asymmetric Intramicellar Phase-Transition-Induced Tip-to-Tip Assembly.

The selective synthesis of energetically less favorable ring-shaped nanostructures by liquid phase synthetic chemistry is a huge challenge. Herein, we report a precise synthesis of carbon nanorings with a well-defined morphology and tunable thickness based on asymmetric intramicellar phase-transition-induced tip-to-tip assembly via mixing hydrophobic long-chain octadecanol and block copolymer F127. This orientational self-assembly depends on the hydrophobicity difference of the intermediate's surface, which triggers directional interactions that surpass the entropy cost of undesired connections and help assemble intermediates into defined ringlike structures. Based on a ringlike template, carbon nanorings with adjustable sizes can be attained by changing synthetic variables. More importantly, diverse units including crescentlike, podlike, and garlandlike nanostructures can also be created through controlling the kinetics of the self-assembly process. This discovery lays a solid foundation for the challenging construction of such a precise configuration on the nanoscale, which would not only promote fundamental studies but also pave the way for the development of advanced nanodevices with unique properties.

Thermoregulated Phase-Transition Synthesis of Two-Dimensional Carbon Nanoplates Rich in sp2 Carbon and Unimodal Ultramicropores for Kinetic Gas Separation.

The development of highly selective, chemically stable and moisture-resistant adsorbents is a key milestone for gas separation. Porous carbons featured with random orientation and cross-linking of turbostratic nanodomains usually have a wide distribution of micropores. Here we have developed a thermoregulated phase-transition-assisted synthesis of carbon nanoplates with more than 80 % sp2 carbon, unimodal ultramicropore and a controllable thickness. The thin structure allows oriented growth of carbon crystallites, and stacking of crystallites in nearly parallel orientation are responsible for the single size of the micropores. When used for gas separation from CH4 , carbon nanoplates exhibit high uptakes (5.2, 5.3 and 5.1 mmol g-1 ) and selectivities (7, 71 and 386) for CO2 , C2 H6 and C3 H8 under ambient conditions. The dynamic adsorption capacities are close to equilibrium uptakes of single components, further demonstrating superiority of carbon nanoplates in terms of selectivity and sorption kinetics.

[The mechanism and efficiency affecting factor of cationic liposome transfection].

Cationic liposome is a greatly promising gene carrier. In this paper, the structure trait of cationic liposome was briefly introduced, the mechanism of cationic liposomes mediated gene delivery and the main influencing factor of transfection efficiency in the transfection process were discussed chiefly.