Harnessing Nuclear Energy to Gold Nanoparticles for the Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy of Glioblastoma.

Nuclear fission reactions can release massive amounts of energy accompanied by neutrons and γ photons, which create a mixed radiation field and enable a series of reactions in nuclear reactors. This study demonstrates a one-pot/one-step approach to synthesizing radioactive gold nanoparticles (RGNP) without using radioactive precursors and reducing agents. Trivalent gold ions are reduced into gold nanoparticles (8.6-146 nm), and a particular portion of 197Au atoms is simultaneously converted to 198Au atoms, rendering the nanoparticles radioactive. We suggest that harnessing nuclear energy to gold nanoparticles is feasible in the interests of advancing nanotechnology for cancer therapy. A combination of RGNP applied through convection-enhanced delivery (CED) and temozolomide (TMZ) through oral administration demonstrates the synergistic effect in treating glioblastoma-bearing mice. The mean survival for RGNP/TMZ treatment was 68.9 ± 9.7 days compared to that for standalone RGNP (38.4 ± 2.2 days) or TMZ (42.8 ± 2.5 days) therapies. Based on the verification of bioluminescence images, positron emission tomography, and immunohistochemistry inspection, the combination treatment can inhibit the proliferation of glioblastoma, highlighting the niche of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) attributed to RGNP and TMZ.

Introducing Postmetalation Metal-Organic Framework to Control Perovskite Crystal Growth for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

A novel lead-containing metal-organic framework (Pb-MOF) is synthesized through postmetalation of MOF-525. Postmetalation renders lead ions bound with the organic linker of MOF-525, which can serve as nucleation points to promote perovskite crystallization. The introduction of lead postmetalated MOF-525 (Pb-MOF) as a scaffold layer between compact TiO2 (c-TiO2) layer and perovskite layer promotes perovskite crystal growth in enlarging crystal grain size with better crystallinity, hence decreasing defect sites in the perovskite layer. Postmetalation of MOF-525 with lead ions allows MAPbI3 to form a solid crystal structure to facilitate the charge separation between electron transport layer (ETL) and light-harvesting layer so as to resolve the issue of possible vacancies present in MOFs. As a result, the champion perovskite solar cell (PSC) with the introduction of Pb-MOF exhibits a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.87% and better stability (86% PCE retention after 40 days), outperforming the pristine PSC (16.85% PCE, with 52% retention after 40 days) and MOF-525-introduced PSC (18.61% PCE, with 76% retention after 40 days).

Imaging of regional metabolic activity by (18)F-FDG/PET in rats with transient cerebral ischemia.

Changes in regional metabolic activities induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) can influence patient outcome. Our aim was to demonstrate in a rat model that (18)F-FDG with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is a quantitative, reproducible approach for identifying acute and sub-acute metabolic variations in infarct regions. We found that imaging with (18)F-FDG/PET enabled detection and quantification of ischemia-induced metabolic deficits and provided a sensitive and reliable means of assessing cerebral ischemic lesions compared with conventional neurological scoring systems in rodents.