Multifunctional Flavonoid-Silica Nanohydrogel Enables Simultaneous Inhibition of Tumor Recurrence and Bacterial Infection in Post-Surgical Treatment.

A strategy to synthesize water-soluble and fluorescent flavonoid-silica nanocomposites (FSiNCs) simultaneously featuring anti-tumor and anti-bacterial abilities is developed. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the therapeutic effects of FSiNCs are associated with the selective accumulation of reactive oxide species in both tumor and bacteria cells. Following that, the resultant FSiNCs are incorporated with thrombin and fibrinogen, being sprayed onto the tumor surgical wound site to in situ form fibrin gel (FSiNCs@Fibrin). Remarkably, such FSiNCs@Fibrin results in an ≈18-fold reduction in intratumoral bacteria numbers and ≈12-fold decrease in tumor regrowth compared to equivalent free flavonoid-loaded gel.

One-pot synthesis of silicon based nanoparticles with incorporated phthalocyanine for long-term bioimaging and photo-dynamic therapy of tumors.

Combining the merits of delivery vectors with drug molecules is one of the key directions for development of efficient cancer monitoring and treatment techniques. In this work, a novel type of silicon based composite nanoparticles (NPs) with incorporated hydrophobic phthalocyanine molecules (Pc) was synthesized via a facile one-pot method. The as-synthesized Pc@Si NPs, with a small size of 4.2 ± 0.8 nm, have excellent dispersibility in water and good biocompatibility with cells, in addition to favorable photoluminescence and robust photostability even in cells. Moreover, the Pc@Si NPs show significant in vitro cancer cell killing and in vivo tumor inhibiting abilities upon near-infrared light exposure, due to the photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect of Pc. This work develops an efficient fluorescent PDT drug carrier; moreover, the facile one-pot synthesis strategy may be used generally to prepare silicon-based composite NPs incorporated with diverse hydrophobic drugs/diagnostic molecules for a wide range of biomedical applications.

One-Dimensional Fluorescent Silicon Nanorods Featuring Ultrahigh Photostability, Favorable Biocompatibility, and Excitation Wavelength-Dependent Emission Spectra.

We herein report a kind of one-dimensional biocompatible fluorescent silicon nanorods (SiNRs) with tunable lengths ranging ∼100-250 nm, which can be facilely prepared through one-pot microwave synthesis. In addition to the strong fluorescence (quantum yield value: ∼15%) and negligible toxicity, the resultant SiNRs exhibit excitation wavelength-dependent photoluminescence whose maximum emission wavelength ranges from ∼450 to ∼600 nm under serial excitation wavelengths from 390 to 560 nm, providing feasibility for multicolor biological imaging. More significantly, the SiNRs are ultrahighly photostable, preserving strong and nearly unchanged fluorescence under 400 min high-power UV irradiation, which is in sharp contrast to severe fluorescence quenching of organic dyes (e.g., FITC) or II-VI quantum dots (QDs) (e.g., CdTe QDs and CdSe/ZnS QDs) within 15 or 160 min UV treatment under the same experiment conditions, respectively. Taking advantage of these attractive merits, we further exploit the SiNRs as a novel type of color converters for the construction of white light-emitting diodes (LED), which is the first proof-of-concept demonstration of LED device fabricated using the one-dimensional fluorescent silicon nanostructures.

Linking Subcellular Disturbance to Physiological Behavior and Toxicity Induced by Quantum Dots in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The wide-ranging applications of fluorescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have triggered increasing concerns about their biosafety. Most QD-related toxicity studies focus on the subcellular processes in cultured cells or global physiological effects on whole animals. However, it is unclear how QDs affect subcellular processes in living organisms, or how the subcellular disturbance contributes to the overall toxicity. Here the behavior and toxicity of QDs of three different sizes in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) are systematically investigated at both the systemic and the subcellular level. Specifically, clear size-dependent distribution and toxicity of the QDs in the digestive tract are observed. Short-term exposure of QDs leads to acute toxicity on C. elegans, yet incurring no lasting, irreversible damage. In contrast, chronic exposure of QDs severely inhibits development and shortens lifespan. Subcellular analysis reveals that endocytosis and nutrition storage are disrupted by QDs, which likely accounts for the severe deterioration in growth and longevity. This work reveals that QDs invasion disrupts key subcellular processes in living organisms, and may cause permanent damage to the tissues and organs over long-term retention. The findings provide invaluable information for safety evaluations of QD-based applications and offer new opportunities for design of novel nontoxic nanoprobes.

Biomimetic Preparation and Dual-Color Bioimaging of Fluorescent Silicon Nanoparticles.

Fluorescent silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs), as the most important zero-dimensional silicon nanostructures, hold high promise for long-awaited silicon-based optic applications. There currently remain major challenges for the green, inexpensive, and mass production of fluorescent SiNPs, resulting in difficulties in sufficiently exploiting the properties of these remarkable materials. Here, we show that fluorescent small-sized (∼3.8 nm) SiNPs can be produced through biomimetic synthesis in rapid (10 min), low-cost, and environmentally benign manners. The as-prepared SiNPs simultaneously feature bright fluorescence (quantum yield (QY), ∼15-20%), narrow emission spectral width (full width at half-maximum (fwhm), ∼30 nm), and nontoxicity, making them as high-quality fluorescent probes for biological imaging in vitro and in vivo.

[Effects of exogenous attapulgite addition on water conservation function of reclaimed soils in a semi-arid mining area]. / å¤–æºå‡¹å‡¸æ£’åœŸæ·»åŠ å¯¹åŠå¹²æ—±çŸ¿åŒºå¤åž¦åœŸå£¤æ°´åˆ†æ¶µå »åŠŸèƒ½çš„å½±å“.

Large-scale mining has greatly damaged vegetation and caused ecological degradation in the semi-arid area in China. It is urgent to restore the vegetation to solve the deteriorating ecological and environmental problems in mining area. How to reclaim soils for effectively storing and utilizing precipitation is the primary issue for vegetation restoration in the area. In this study, we proposed to take the mixture of attapulgite clay and local sandy soils as covering materials to improve the weak water conservation function of soils in mining areas, and studied the effects of the addition of attapulgite clay on soil infiltration, drainage and water storage sampled from the Shenmu mining area. The results showed that, with increasing application rates of attapulgite clay, the cumulated infiltration volumes decreased by 4.8%-37.4%, the infiltration rates dropped by 6.4%-46.3%, the wetting front advance rates decreased by 9.8%-116.9%, the saturated hydraulic conductivities decreased by 14.3%-59.5%, the drained water volumes reduced by 0.3%-4.3% for 24 hours and by 0.3%-2.5% for 72 hours, and the maximum soil water storages increased by 1.6%-22.4%. The maximum effect of attapulgite clay peaked at the application rate of 150 t·hm-2. Considering the economic cost, the optimum application rate should be 30-150 t·hm-2. The results syste-matically revealed the mechanism of reclaiming mining soils with attapulgite clay to restore the function of water conservation, and demonstrated that attapulgite clay is an effective material for soil reclamation in the semi-arid mining area, which can provide references for soil reclamation and ecological restoration in the semi-arid mining area.

Controllable silicon nanostructures featuring stable fluorescence and intrinsic in vitro and in vivo anti-cancer activity.

In this manuscript, we demonstrate that the in situ growth of fluorescent silicon (Si) nanomaterials is stimulated when organosilicane molecules interact with different green teas, producing multifunctional Si nanomaterials with controllable zero- (e.g., nanoparticles), two- (e.g., nanosheets), and three- (e.g., nanospheres) dimensional nanostructures. Such green tea-originated Si nanomaterials (GTSN) exhibit strong fluorescence (quantum yield: ∼19-30%) coupled with ultrahigh photostability, as well as intrinsic anti-cancer activity with high specificity (e.g., the GTSN can accurately kill various cancer cells, rather than normal cells). Taking advantage of these unique merits, we further performed systematic in vitro and in vivo experiments to interrogate the mechanism of the green tea- and GTSN-related cancer prevention. Typically, we found that the GTSN entered the cell nuclei and induced cell apoptosis/death of cancer cells. The prepared GTSN were observed in vivo to accumulate in the tumour tissues after 14-d post-injection, leading to an efficient inhibition of tumour growth. Our results open new avenues for designing novel multifunctional and side-effect-free Si nanomaterials with controllable structures.

Distinct autophagy-inducing abilities of similar-sized nanoparticles in cell culture and live C. elegans.

Nanomaterial-induced autophagy has raised increasing concerns. A variety of nanomaterials, conventional or recently emerged, have the capability of inducing autophagy. As a consequence, it is becoming a popular belief that induction of autophagy is a common response of cells upon exposure to nanoscale materials. In order to clarify whether the "nanoscale" size is the determining factor for the nanomaterials to induce autophagy, we utilized in vitro cultured cells and an in vivo Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model to systemically investigate the autophagy-inducing ability of nanomaterials. We selected four types of representative nanomaterials with similar sizes, namely silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs), CdTe quantum dots (QDs), carbon dots (CDs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). We demonstrated that, unlike most other nanomaterials tested, no autophagosome formation was detected in cultured cells or in live C. elegans with SiNP treatment. The expression of autophagy-related genes and the lipidation of LGG-1/LC3 in cells and C. elegans also remained unchanged after the treatment of SiNPs. In addition, the ability of the nanomaterials to induce autophagy appeared to correlate with those to incur subcellular organelle damage. Together, our studies demonstrate that SiNPs do not induce autophagy in vitro or in vivo in the selected model organisms and cell lines, thus clarifying that the "nanoscale" size is not the determining factor for the nanomaterials to induce autophagy. The results also suggest that the autophagy-inducing ability of most nanomaterials could be merely a reflection of their detrimental effect on cellular structures.

In situ rapid growth of fluorescent silicon nanoparticles at room temperature and under atmospheric pressure.

Herein, we demonstrate that at room temperature (20-25 °C) and under atmospheric pressure, small-sized (∼3.1 nm) SiNPs can be rapidly formed in aqueous phase within 60 min, with high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of ∼50%. This approach is readily scalable and could potentially be used to produce high-quality SiNPs at an industrial level.

Plant-derived fluorescent silicon nanoparticles featuring excitation wavelength-dependent fluorescence spectra for anti-counterfeiting applications.

By using gramineae plants as natural and accessible reaction precursors, we herein introduce a green synthetic strategy, which is efficacious for the facile production of crystalline, excitation-wavelength-dependent fluorescent and small-sized silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs). We further explore the prepared SiNPs as a novel kind of fluorescent label for anti-counterfeiting applications.

Impact of fluorescent silicon nanoparticles on circulating hemolymph and hematopoiesis in an invertebrate model organism.

Silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) have attractive potential applications in biological and medical fields, and yet their impact on animals is still controversial, and there have been no reports of their effects on hematopoiesis. In this study, the effects of SiNPs on hemocytes and hematopoiesis were investigated by administering SiNPs via a vascular injection into an invertebrate model, the silkworm. Our results show that the ability of SiNPs to enter different types of circulating hemocytes and their impact on those hemocytes differed significantly. Rapid accumulation of SiNPs was observed in granulocytes, oenocytoids, and spherulocytes, which have immune functions in the circulating hemolymph, whereas SiNPs did not easily enter prohemocytes, which can differentiate into granulocytes, oenocytoids, and spherulocytes and replenish them. The SiNPs that entered the hemocytes initiated autophagy and apoptosis via the lysosomal/mitochondrial pathway. High-dose SiNPs weakly stimulated lysosomal activity in hematopoietic organs, but did not lead to a significant increase in reactive oxygen species or severe autophagy or apoptosis in the organ tissues. We suggest that the damage caused by high-dose SiNPs to hematopoiesis is self-healing, because few SiNPs entered the hematopoietic stem cells in the circulating hemolymph, so the damage to the hematopoietic tissues was limited.

A real-time documentation and mechanistic investigation of quantum dots-induced autophagy in live Caenorhabditis elegans.

Autophagy is a highly important intracellular process for the degradation of endogenous or foreign contents in the cytoplasm. Though nanomaterials-induced autophagy has been extensively studied, real-time information about the autophagic process induced by nanomaterials in live organisms remains unknown. Here by using Caenorhabditis elegans as the model organism and fluorescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) as a representative nanomaterial, we systematically investigated the phenomenon of QDs-induced autophagy in live organisms. Our results demonstrated that the internalized QDs trigger a complete autophagic process in C. elegans intestinal cells. Further investigations revealed that this QD-induced autophagy in C. elegans is neither a response to released heavy metal ions by the QDs, nor an attempt to engulf exogenous QD materials, but a defensive strategy of the organism to clear and recycle damaged endosomes. Of particular significance, for the first time, we presented real-time tracking of autophagosomes formation in live organisms, providing detailed temporal-spatial information of this process. This study may help us better understand the relationship between nanomaterials and autophagy in vivo, and provide invaluable information for safety evaluation and bio-application of nanomaterials.