Co-reporter:Wenyan Yin, Xinghua Dong, Jie Yu, Jun Pan, Zhiyi Yao, Zhanjun Gu, and Yuliang Zhao
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces June 28, 2017 Volume 9(Issue 25) pp:21362-21362
Publication Date(Web):June 1, 2017
DOI:10.1021/acsami.7b04185
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a two-dimensional (2D) graphene-like material that is gaining great attention because of its potential application in various fields. Here, we reported a self-assembled nanocomposite consisted of MoS2 nanosheets and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methyl-4-pyridinio)porphyrintetra(p-toluenesulfonate) (TMPyP), named MoS2@TMPyP. This nanocomposite can be used as a sensing probe for low cost, rapid, selective detection of cadmium (Cd2+) ions. It is found that a new Soret band at 442 nm in UV–vis absorption spectra represented the coordination of Cd2+ ions into TMPyP of the MoS2@TMPyP. The coordination rates between TMPyP and Cd2+ ions is greatly accelerated from 72 h to 20 min with the assistance of MoS2, which is 200 times faster than in the absence of MoS2. The limit of detection (LOD) of the Cd2+ is as low as 7.2 × 10–8 mol/L. The binding behavior between the cationic TMPyP and MoS2 nanosheets was corroborated by molecular dynamics simulation and various control experiments. The results demonstrated that electrostatic interaction was the main force for driving TMPyP enriching around the MoS2 surface, resulting in an accelerated complexation of Cd2+ and TMPyP. Moreover, MoS2@TMPyP nanocomposite can also be used for removing of Cd2+ in water. The removal efficiency (RF) of the MoS2@TMPyP can reach to 91% for high concentrations of Cd2+. This work provides a new insight into detection and removal of Cd2+ ions in water.Keywords: MoS2 nanosheets; optical detection; porphyrin; self-assembly; theoretical calculation;
Co-reporter:Dayu Sun;Linji Gong;Jing Xie;Xiao He;Siyu Chen;Luodan A;Qiyou Li;Haiwei Xu
RSC Advances (2011-Present) 2017 vol. 7(Issue 75) pp:47552-47564
Publication Date(Web):2017/10/06
DOI:10.1039/C7RA09512K
Neural stem cells are characterized by self-renewal and multipotency, and a capacity to regenerate in response to brain injury or neurodegenerative disease. Silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) are novel materials, which enable the delivery of specific payloads to stem cells; for example, genes or proteins, to enable cell-fate manipulation, or tracer materials, to enable in vivo tracing. However, little is known about the dose-dependent cytotoxicity of SiO2 NPs, and how exposure to SiO2 NPs changes mRNA expression profiles in neural stem cells. In this study, a mouse C17.2 neural stem cell line was treated with 90 nm monodisperse fluorescein isothiocyanate-SiO2 NPs at 0, 100, 200 and 400 μg mL−1 for 48 hours. Internalization of SiO2 NPs was observed in C17.2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. SiO2 NP exposure induced apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation in the C17.2 cell line at dosage levels of 200 μg mL−1 and above. Microscopically, mitochondrial swelling and cristae fracture were observed. Furthermore, next generation RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) indicated that high-dose SiO2 NP exposure specifically inhibited transcription of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) genes, including GSTM1, GSTM7 and GSTT1. These results suggest that application of high-dose SiO2 NPs to the nervous system may cause neurotoxicity, induce apoptosis and reduce neural stem cell proliferation by inhibiting GST gene expression.
Co-reporter:Xiao Zhang, Zhao Guo, Jing Liu, Gan Tian, ... Zhanjun Gu
Science Bulletin 2017 Volume 62, Issue 14(Volume 62, Issue 14) pp:
Publication Date(Web):30 July 2017
DOI:10.1016/j.scib.2017.06.010
Near infrared (NIR) light-driven nitric oxide (NO) release nano-platform based on upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and light sensitive NO precursor Roussin’s black salt (RBS) was fabricated to generate NO upon 808 nm irradiation. The application of 808 nm laser as the excitation source could achieve better penetration depth and avoid overheating problem. The combination of UCNPs and RBS could realize the on-demand release of NO at desired time and location by simply controlling the output of NIR laser. Cellular uptake results showed that more nanoparticles were internalized in cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) rather than non-CSCs. Therefore, a synergistic cancer therapy strategy to eradicate both CSCs and non-CSCs simultaneously was developed. Traditional chemo-drug could inhibit non-CSCs but has low killing efficiency in CSCs. However, we found that the combination of NO and chemotherapy could efficiently inhibit CSCs in bulk cells, including inhibiting mammosphere formation ability, decreasing CD44+/CD24− subpopulation and reducing tumorigenic ability. The mechanism studies confirmed that NO could not only induce apoptosis but also increase drug sensitivity by declining drug efflux in CSCs. This UCNPs-based platform may provide a new combinatorial strategy of NO and chemotherapy to improve cancer treatment.Download high-res image (63KB)Download full-size image
Co-reporter:Jie Yu;Wenyan Yin;Tao Peng;Ya-nan Chang;Yan Zu;Juan Li;Xiao He;Xiaoyan Ma;Yuliang Zhao
Nanoscale (2009-Present) 2017 vol. 9(Issue 13) pp:4497-4507
Publication Date(Web):2017/03/30
DOI:10.1039/C7NR00078B
Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have drawn much attention in biomedicine, and the clinical translation of UCNPs is closely related to their toxicity and metabolism in vivo. In this study, we chose polyethyleneimine modified NaYF4:Yb,Er upconversion nanoparticles (abbreviated as PEI@UCNPs) to systematically study the biodistribution in mice using intravenous (i.v.), intraperitoneal (i.p.), and intragastric (i.g.) administration. The i.p. injected PEI@UCNPs exhibited obvious accumulation in the spleen within 30 days. Comparably, PEI@UCNPs via i.g. administration exhibited an accumulation that decreased with time in various body tissues and were found mainly in the ileum and cecum but were rather low in concentration in the other examined organs. For the i.v. injected group, the UCNPs exhibited an obvious clearance from the body within 30 days and the accumulation in the spleen gradually decreased. Furthermore, 64Cu labeled PEI@UCNPs were i.v. injected for real-time photon emission computed tomography (PET) imaging to further confirm the biodistribution in mice. Afterward, the excretion routes of the PEI@UCNPs were evaluated. For i.p. injected groups, the UCNPs were slowly and partly excreted via feces and urine for 30 days, and a large number of the UCNPs were steadily excreted via feces for the i.v. group, suggesting that the UCNPs via i.v. injection can be potentially used for imaging and therapy studies in vivo. However, for the i.g. administrated group, most of the UCNPs were excreted through feces within 48 h. Hematology, body weight, and biochemical analysis were used to further quantify the potential toxicity of the UCNPs, and results indicated that there was no over toxicity of the UCNPs in mice at the tested period. This work suggests that the clearance and excretion capabilities of PEI@UCNPs are particularly dependent on their administration routes.
Co-reporter:Jiangfeng Du;Xiaopeng Zheng;Yuan Yong;Jie Yu;Xinghua Dong;Chenyang Zhang;Ruyi Zhou;Bai Li;Liang Yan;Chunying Chen;Yuliang Zhao
Nanoscale (2009-Present) 2017 vol. 9(Issue 24) pp:8229-8239
Publication Date(Web):2017/06/22
DOI:10.1039/C7NR02213A
Integrating radiation therapy with high-depth photothermal therapy in the second near-infrared (NIR) window is highly required for efficient treatment of deep-seated tumor cells. Here, we constructed a multifunctional nano-theranostic with bimetallic chalcogenide nanocrystals (NCs) functionalized with amphiphilic D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS-Cu3BiS3). Benefiting from the strong absorbance of both X-ray and NIR light in the second NIR window, TPGS-Cu3BiS3 CNs can not only deposit more radiation dose to trigger enhanced radiation damage in vivo, but also conduct photo-induced hyperthermia for thermal ablation in the second NIR window and effective improvement of tumor oxygenation to overcome the hypoxia-associated radio-resistance of tumors. Moreover, copper ions on the surface of TPGS-Cu3BiS3 NCs are capable of catalyzing the Fenton-like and Haber–Weiss reactions to produce highly reactive hydroxyl radicals, leading to the increase in the level of oxygen radicals and further enhance cancer cell destruction. Apart from their therapeutic application, by means of X-ray computer tomography imaging as well as multispectral optoacoustic tomography imaging, TPGS-Cu3BiS3 NCs also have the potential as a nano-theranostic to offer remarkable therapeutic outcome for deep-seated tumor cells in imaging-guided synergistically enhanced radiation therapy.
Co-reporter:Linji Gong;Liang Yan;Ruyi Zhou;Jiani Xie;Wei Wu
Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2017 vol. 5(Issue 10) pp:1873-1895
Publication Date(Web):2017/03/08
DOI:10.1039/C7TB00195A
As demonstrated by preclinical and clinical studies, it is often difficult to eradicate tumors, particularly those that are deep-located, with photothermal therapy (PTT) alone because of the intrinsic drawbacks of optical therapy. To increase the therapeutic effect of PTT and reduce its significant side-effects, a new direction involving the combination of PTT with other therapeutic techniques is highly desirable. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), the typical ultrathin 2D layer nanomaterials, have gained tremendous interest in many different fields including biomedicine, due to their novel physicochemical properties. Benefitting from their intrinsic near-infrared absorbance properties and extremely large specific surface areas, many efforts are being devoted to fabricating 2D TMDC-based multifunctional nanoplatforms for combining PTT with other therapeutics in order to realize 2D TMDC-assisted combination therapy and thus achieve excellent anti-tumor therapeutic efficacy. In addition, various inorganic nanoparticles and fluorescent probes can be attached to the surface of 2D TMDCs to obtain nanocomposites with versatile optical and/or magnetic properties that are useful for multi-modal imaging and imaging-guided cancer therapy. In this review, we mainly summarize the latest advances in the utilization of 2D TMDCs for PTT combination cancer therapy, including PTT/photodynamic therapy, PTT/chemotherapy, PTT/radiotherapy, PTT/gene therapy, and imaging-guided cancer combination therapy, as well as the evaluation of their behaviors and toxicology both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we address the principle for the design of 2D TMDC-assisted photothermal combination theranostics and the future prospects and challenges of using 2D TMDC-based nanomaterials for theranostic applications.
Co-reporter:Zhao Guo;Shuang Zhu;Yuan Yong;Xiao Zhang;Xinghua Dong;Jiangfeng Du;Jiani Xie;Qing Wang;Yuliang Zhao
Advanced Materials 2017 Volume 29(Issue 44) pp:
Publication Date(Web):2017/11/01
DOI:10.1002/adma.201704136
AbstractDeveloping an effective theranostic nanoplatform remains a great challenge for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Here, BiOI@Bi2S3@BSA (bovine serum albumin) semiconductor heterojunction nanoparticles (SHNPs) for triple-combination radio/photodynamic/photothermal cancer therapy and multimodal computed tomography/photoacoustic (CT/PA) bioimaging are reported. On the one hand, SHNPs possess strong X-ray attenuation capability since they contain high-Z elements, and thus they are anticipated to be a very competent candidate as radio-sensitizing materials for radiotherapy enhancement. On the other hand, as a semiconductor, the as-prepared SHNPs offer an extra approach for reactive oxygen species generation based on electron–hole pair under the irradiation of X-ray through the photodynamic therapy process. This X-ray excited photodynamic therapy obviously has better penetration depth in bio-tissue. What's more, the SHNPs also possess well photothermal conversion efficiency for photothermal therapy, because Bi2S3 is a thin band semiconductor with strong near-infrared absorption that can cause local overheat. In vivo tumor ablation studies show that synergistic radio/photodynamic/photothermal therapy achieves more significant therapeutic effect than any single treatment. In addition, with the strong X-ray attenuation and high near-infrared absorption, the as-obtained SHNPs can also be applied as a multimodal contrast agent in CT/PA imaging.
Co-reporter:Jiangfeng Du;Liang Yan;Yuan Yong;Xuan Yi;Xiao Zhang;Jing Liu;Renfei Wu;Cuicui Ge;Chunying Chen;Yuliang Zhao
Advanced Materials 2017 Volume 29(Issue 34) pp:
Publication Date(Web):2017/09/01
DOI:10.1002/adma.201701268
The development of a new generation of nanoscaled radiosensitizers that can not only enhance radiosensitization of tumor tissues, but also increase radioresistance of healthy tissue is highly desirable, but remains a great challenge. Here, this paper reports a new versatile theranostics based on poly(vinylpyrollidone)- and selenocysteine-modified Bi2Se3 nanoparicles (PVP-Bi2Se3@Sec NPs) for simultaneously enhancing radiotherapeutic effects and reducing the side-effects of radiation. The as-prepared nanoparticles exhibit significantly enhanced free-radical generation upon X-ray radiation, and remarkable photothermal effects under 808 nm NIR laser irradiation because of their strong X-ray attenuation ability and high NIR absorption capability. Moreover, these PVP-Bi2Se3@Sec NPs are biodegradable. In vivo, part of selenium can be released from NPs and enter the blood circulation system, which can enhance the immune function and reduce the side-effects of radiation in the whole body. As a consequence, improved superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities, promoted secretion of cytokines, increased number of white blood cell, and reduced marrow DNA suppression are found after radiation treatment in vivo. Moreover, there is no significant in vitro and in vivo toxicity of PVP-Bi2Se3@Sec NPs during the treatment, which demonstrates that PVP-Bi2Se3@Sec NPs have good biocompatibility.
Co-reporter:Bing Xu, Xiao Zhang, Wenjuan Huang, Yijun Yang, Ying Ma, Zhanjun Gu, Tianyou Zhai and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2016 vol. 4(Issue 16) pp:2776-2784
Publication Date(Web):22 Mar 2016
DOI:10.1039/C6TB00542J
Better tissue penetration and lower overheating problems mean 808 nm near-infrared laser excited upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have potential in bioapplications. Dumbbell-like structured NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaNdF4:Yb nanoparticles are fabricated in this work and applied in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The epitaxial growth along the c axis attributed to the large structure mismatch of NaNdF4versus NaYF4 has been demonstrated to play a key role in the growth of the dumbbell structure. Due to better space separation in this structure, energy back-transfer from Er3+ to Nd3+ is prohibited partially, and the optimized Nd3+ doping concentration is up to 90% for a high UC emission intensity. PDT effects of these dumbbell-like structured UCNPs upon 808 nm laser irradiation were examined and compared with isotropic NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaYF4:Nd0.2 core–shell and NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaYF4:Nd0.2@NaYF4 core–shell–shell UCNPs. The results show that the dumbbell-like UCNPs are most effective in generating singlet oxygen (1O2) and killing cancer cells in PDT though their UC emission intensity is lower than that of the core–shell–shell UCNPs. This research presents a simple yet valid strategy to balance the UCL efficiency and FRET efficiency, which may lead to better PDT therapeutic effect for cancer therapy.
Co-reporter:Xinghua Dong;Wenyan Yin;Jie Yu;Ruixia Dou;Tao Bao;Xiao Zhang;Liang Yan;Yuan Yong;Chunjian Su;Qing Wang;Yuliang Zhao
Advanced Healthcare Materials 2016 Volume 5( Issue 13) pp:1627-1637
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/adhm.201600287
Near-infrared-(NIR)-light-triggered photothermal nanocarriers have attracted much attention for the construction of more smart and effective therapeutic platforms in nanomedicine. Here, a multifunctional drug carrier based on a low cost, natural, and biocompatible material, bamboo charcoal nanoparticles (BCNPs), which are prepared by the pyrolysis of bamboo followed by physical grinding and ultrasonication is reported. The as-prepared BCNPs with porous structure possess not only large surface areas for drug loading but also an efficient photothermal effect, making them become both a suitable drug carrier and photothermal agent for cancer therapy. After loading doxorubicin (DOX) into the BCNPs, the resulting DOX–BCNPs enhance drug potency and more importantly can overcome the drug resistance of DOX in a MCF-7 cancer cell model by significantly increasing cellular uptake while remarkably decreasing drug efflux. The in vivo synergistic effect of combining chemotherapy and photothermal therapy in this drug delivery system is also demonstrated. In addition, the BCNPs enhance optoacoustic imaging contrast due to their high NIR absorbance. Collectively, it is demonstrated that the BCNP drug delivery system constitutes a promising and effective nanocarrier for simultaneous bioimaging and chemo-photothermal synergistic therapy of cancer.
Co-reporter:Zhen Du, Ruixia Dou, Mian Zu, Xueying Liu, Wenyan Yin, Yuliang Zhao, Jingbo Chen, Liang Yan and Zhanjun Gu
Biomaterials Science 2016 vol. 4(Issue 6) pp:938-942
Publication Date(Web):25 Apr 2016
DOI:10.1039/C6BM00074F
By using polyethylenimine molecules as the linker, L-cysteine was immobilized onto graphene nanosheets, endowing the biocompatible L-cysteine-functionalized graphene film with the ability for catalytic decomposition of exogenous or endogenous donors to generate nitric oxide, and thus inhibiting the platelet activation and aggregation and reducing platelet adhesion.
Co-reporter:Wenyan Yin, Jie Yu, Fengting Lv, Liang Yan, Li Rong Zheng, Zhanjun GuYuliang Zhao
ACS Nano 2016 Volume 10(Issue 12) pp:
Publication Date(Web):November 16, 2016
DOI:10.1021/acsnano.6b05810
We have developed a biocompatible antibacterial system based on polyethylene glycol functionalized molybdenum disulfide nanoflowers (PEG-MoS2 NFs). The PEG-MoS2 NFs have high near-infrared (NIR) absorption and peroxidase-like activity, which can efficiently catalyze decomposition of low concentration of H2O2 to generate hydroxyl radicals (·OH). The conversion of H2O2 into ·OH can avoid the toxicity of high concentration of H2O2 and the ·OH has higher antibacterial activity, making resistant bacteria more vulnerable and wounds more easily cured. The PEG-MoS2 NFs combine the catalysis with NIR photothermal effect, providing a rapid and effective killing outcome in vitro for Gram-negative ampicillin resistant Escherichia coli (Ampr E. coli) and Gram-positive endospore-forming Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) as compared to catalytic treatment or photothermal therapy (PTT) alone. Wound healing results indicate that the synergy antibacterial system could be conveniently used for wound disinfection in vivo. Interestingly, glutathione (GSH) oxidation can be accelerated due to the 808 nm irradiation induced hyperthermia at the presence of PEG-MoS2 NFs proved by X-ray near-edge absorption spectra and X-ray spectroscopy. The accelerated GSH oxidation can result in bacterial death more easily. A mechanism based on ·OH-enhanced PTT is proposed to explain the antibacterial process.Keywords: MoS2; peroxidase-like activity; photothermal therapy; wound disinfection;
Co-reporter:Zhanjun Gu, Gan Tian, Yuan Yong, Yuliang Zhao
Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine 2016 Volume 12(Issue 2) pp:458
Publication Date(Web):February 2016
DOI:10.1016/j.nano.2015.12.034
Co-reporter:Gan Tian;Xiao Zhang;Yuliang Zhao
Advanced Materials 2015 Volume 27( Issue 47) pp:7692-7712
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/adma.201503280
Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have the ability to generate ultraviolet or visible emissions under continuous-wave near-infrared (NIR) excitation. Utilizing this special luminescence property, UCNPs are approved as a new generation of contrast agents in optical imaging with deep tissue-penetration ability and high signal-to-noise ratio. The integration of UCNPs with other functional moieties can endow them with highly enriched functionalities for imaging-guided cancer therapy, which makes composites based on UCNPs emerge as a new class of theranostic agents in biomedicine. Here, recent progress in combined cancer therapy using functional nanocomposites based on UCNPs is reviewed. Combined therapy referring to the co-delivery of two or more therapeutic agents or a combination of different treatments is becoming more popular in clinical treatment of cancer because it generates synergistic anti-cancer effects, reduces individual drug-related toxicity and suppresses multi-drug resistance through different mechanisms of action. Here, the recent advances of combined therapy contributed by UCNPs-based nanocomposites on two main branches are reviewed: i) photodynamic therapy and ii) chemotherapy, which are the two most widely adopted therapies of UCNPs-based composites. The future prospects and challenges in this emerging field will be also discussed.
Co-reporter:Xiao Zhang;Gan Tian;Wenyan Yin;Liming Wang;Xiaopeng Zheng;Liang Yan;Jinxia Li;Haoran Su;Chunying Chen;Yuliang Zhao
Advanced Functional Materials 2015 Volume 25( Issue 20) pp:3049-3056
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/adfm.201404402
NaYbF4:Tm@NaYF4:Yb/Er upconversion nanoparticles are synthesized and then integrated with light-sensitive nitric oxide (NO) donors (Roussin's black salt) to construct a novel near-infrared (NIR)-triggered on-demand NO delivery platform. This nanocompound can absorb 980 nm NIR photons, convert them into higher energy photons and then transfer the energy to the NO donors, resulting in an efficient release of NO. By manipulating the output power of the 980-nm NIR light, NO-concentration-dependent biological effects for cancer therapy can be fine-tuned, which is investigated and confirmed in vitro. High concentrations of NO can directly kill cancer cells and low concentrations of NO can act as a potent P-glycoprotein (P-gp) modulator to overcome multi-drug resistance (MDR) if combined with chemotherapy.
Co-reporter:Xiaopeng Zheng, Junxin Shi, Yang Bu, Gan Tian, Xiao Zhang, Wenyan Yin, Bifen Gao, Zhiyong Yang, Zhongbo Hu, Xiangfeng Liu, Liang Yan, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Nanoscale 2015 vol. 7(Issue 29) pp:12581-12591
Publication Date(Web):19 Jun 2015
DOI:10.1039/C5NR03068D
Non-invasive and real-time imaging of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is particularly desirable for research and clinical studies of patients with symptoms arising from gastrointestinal diseases. Here, we designed and fabricated silica-coated bismuth sulfide nanorods (Bi2S3@SiO2 NRs) for a non-invasive spatial-temporally imaging of the GI tract. The Bi2S3 NRs were synthesized by a facile solvothermal method and then coated with a SiO2 layer to improve their biocompatibility and stability in the harsh environments of the GI tract, such as the stomach and the small intestine. Due to their strong X-ray- and near infrared-absorption abilities, we demonstrate that, following oral administration in mice, the Bi2S3@SiO2 NRs can be used as a dual-modal contrast agent for the real-time and non-invasive visualization of NRs distribution and the GI tract via both X-ray computed tomography (CT) and photoacoustic tomography (PAT) techniques. Importantly, integration of PAT with CT provides complementary information on anatomical details with high spatial resolution. In addition, we use Caenorhabditis Elegans (C. Elegans) as a simple model organism to investigate the biological response of Bi2S3@SiO2 NRs by oral administration. The results indicate that these NRs can pass through the GI tract of C. Elegans without inducing notable toxicological effects. The above results suggest that Bi2S3@SiO2 NRs pave an alternative way for the fabrication of multi-modal contrast agents which integrate CT and PAT modalities for a direct and non-invasive visualization of the GI tract with low toxicity.
Co-reporter:Liang Yan;Ya-Nan Chang;Wenyan Yin;Gan Tian;Liangjun Zhou;Zhongbo Hu;Gengmei Xing;Yuliang Zhao
Advanced Engineering Materials 2015 Volume 17( Issue 4) pp:523-531
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/adem.201400237
Filler of inorganic nanocrystals is an efficient way to greatly enhance the functional performance of graphene-based nanocomposites or to create new properties of graphene materials. However, it remains a challenge because the fabrication of such nanocomposites may decline or even lose the functional properties of the constituents during the hybridization process. In this work, a new class of multifunctional nanocomposites incorporating Fe3O4 magnetic nanocrystals (MNCs) and NaYF4:Yb,Er upconversion nanocrystals (UCNCs) within graphene oxide (GO) matrix are created based on the co-assembly of the preformed nanocrystals and graphene. These new graphene nanocomposites distinctively exhibit both the favorable photoluminescence of UCNC and magnetic property of MNC building blocks. Moreover, the graphene nanocomposites exhibit enhanced mechanical properties, good biocompatibility, as well as high electrical conductivity after thermal annealing. Compared with the pure GO film, the maximum tensile strength (102.8 MPa) and modulus (10.9 GPa) of the graphene nanocomposite increase by ca. 119 and 160%, respectively. The luminescent, magnetic, and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites can be fine-tuned by changing the graphene-to-nanocrystal ratios. These results enable to fabricate multi-targeting and multi-treating tools and lighting devices.
Co-reporter:Yuan Yong, Xiaju Cheng, Tao Bao, Mian Zu, Liang Yan, Wenyan Yin, Cuicui Ge, Dongliang Wang, Zhanjun Gu, and Yuliang Zhao
ACS Nano 2015 Volume 9(Issue 12) pp:12451
Publication Date(Web):October 23, 2015
DOI:10.1021/acsnano.5b05825
Designing a multifunctional nanomedicine for integration of precise diagnosis and effective treatment of tumors is desirable but remains a great challenge. Here, we report a multifunctional nanomedicine based on WS2 quantum dots (QDs), which was prepared by a facile and “green” method through physical grinding and ultrasonication. The as-obtained WS2 QDs with small size (3 nm) possess not only significant X-ray computed tomography (CT)/photoaccoustic (PA) imaging signal enhancement but also remarkable photothermal therapy (PTT)/radiotherapy (RT) synergistic effect for tumor treatment. With CT/PA imaging and the synergistic effect between PTT and RT, the tumor could be accurately positioned and thoroughly eradicated in vivo after intravenous injection of WS2 QDs. Moreover, hematoxylin and eosin staining, blood hematology, and biochemistry analysis revealed no noticeable toxicity of WS2 QDs in vitro and in vivo, which confirmed that WS2 QDs possess good biocompatibility. This multifunctional nanoparticle could play an important role in facilitating simultaneously multimodal imaging and synergistic therapy between PTT and RT to achieve better therapeutic efficacy.Keywords: photoaccoustic imaging; photothermal therapy; radiotherapy therapy; synergistic therapy; WS2 quantum dots; X-ray computed tomography;
Co-reporter:Jing Liu, Xiaopeng Zheng, Liang Yan, Liangjun Zhou, Gan Tian, Wenyan Yin, Liming Wang, Ying Liu, Zhongbo Hu, Zhanjun Gu, Chunying Chen, and Yuliang Zhao
ACS Nano 2015 Volume 9(Issue 1) pp:696
Publication Date(Web):January 5, 2015
DOI:10.1021/nn506137n
Here, we present a precision cancer nanomedicine based on Bi2S3 nanorods (NRs) designed specifically for multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT)/X-ray computed tomography (CT)-guided photothermal therapy (PTT). The as-prepared Bi2S3 NRs possess ideal photothermal effect and contrast enhancement in MSOT/CT bimodal imaging. These features make them simultaneously act as “satellite” and “precision targeted weapon” for the visual guide to destruction of tumors in vivo, realizing effective tumor destruction and metastasis inhibition after intravenous injection. In addition, toxicity screening confirms that Bi2S3 NRs have well biocompatibility. This triple-modality-nanoparticle approach enables simultaneously precise cancer therapy and therapeutic monitoring.Keywords: Bi2S3 nanorods; multispectral optoacoustic tomography; photothermal therapy; thin bandgap semiconductor; X-ray computed tomography;
Co-reporter:Yeteng Zhong;Gan Tian;Yijun Yang;Lin Gu;Yuliang Zhao;Ying Ma;Jiannian Yao
Advanced Materials 2014 Volume 26( Issue 18) pp:2831-2837
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/adma.201304903
Co-reporter:Gan Tian, Wenyan Yin, Junjiang Jin, Xiao Zhang, Gengmei Xing, Shoujian Li, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2014 vol. 2(Issue 10) pp:1379-1389
Publication Date(Web):02 Dec 2013
DOI:10.1039/C3TB21394C
Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are ideal building blocks for fabricating multifunctional theranostic agents for simultaneous diagnosis and therapy. We develop multifunctional nanoparticles based on NaGdF4:Yb/Er@NaGdF4 core–shell UCNPs, which are not only endowed with upconversion luminescence (UCL), magnetic resonance (MR) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging ability, but also could be applied as nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery. We systematically investigate their upconversion luminescent, magnetic and X-ray attenuation properties. Importantly, for the first time, we report the controlled loading and delivery of a mixture of chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs, camptothecin (CPT) and doxorubicin (DOX), through UCNPs-based nanocarriers considering that the combined use of two or more drugs usually exhibits much better therapeutic efficacy than that of a single drug. By conjugating nanoparticles with folic acid (FA), which targets folate receptors over expressed on various types of cancer cells, we further demonstrate targeted tri-modal UCL/MR/CT cell imaging and drug delivery with UCNPs. Our results suggest the as-prepared nanocomposites are highly versatile and could potentially be used for simultaneous imaging and therapeutic applications.
Co-reporter:Xiaopeng Zheng, Liangjun Zhou, Yang Bu, Wenyan Yin, Zhongbo Hu, Meng Li, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2014 vol. 2(Issue 38) pp:6508-6516
Publication Date(Web):20 Aug 2014
DOI:10.1039/C4TB00880D
The combined use nanotechnology and medical technologies holds great promise for the development and improvement of various theranostic media. Here, based on a facile hydrothermal method, polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalized YbPO4:Er up-conversion porous nanospheres (UCPSs) were fabricated, which combined the capabilities of up-conversion luminescence (UCL)/X-ray computed tomography (CT) bimodal imaging and drug delivery. The resulting hydrophilic PEI functionalized YbPO4:Er UCPSs (PEI-UCPSs) showed uniform morphology and high crystallinity. Moreover, PEI-UCPSs possessed high drug loading capacity because of their large specific surface area, which was confirmed by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) experiment. Cellular experiments indicated that the PEI-UCPSs had low cytotoxicity and confirmed the performance of the pH-mediated cancer targeting of PEI-UCPSs@DOX. Importantly, because of the ideal UCL property and high CT contrast both in vitro and in vivo, YbPO4:Er PEI-UCPSs could be used as an optical probe and a contrast agent for optical and CT imaging, forming a promising platform for simultaneous bioimaging and drug delivery.
Co-reporter:Yuan Yong, Liangjun Zhou, Zhanjun Gu, Liang Yan, Gan Tian, Xiaopeng Zheng, Xiaodong Liu, Xiao Zhang, Junxin Shi, Wenshu Cong, Wenyan Yin and Yuliang Zhao
Nanoscale 2014 vol. 6(Issue 17) pp:10394-10403
Publication Date(Web):16 Jun 2014
DOI:10.1039/C4NR02453B
We have developed a simple and efficient strategy to fabricate WS2 nanosheets with low toxicity and good water solubility via a liquid exfoliation method by using H2SO4 intercalation and ultrasonication. The as-prepared WS2 nanosheets were employed not only as an NIR absorbing agent for photothermal therapy (PTT) but also as a photosensitizer (PS) carrier for photodynamic therapy (PDT) due to their sheet like structure that offers large surface area to load PS molecules. Moreover, singlet-oxygen generation of the PSs–WS2 complex could be finely controlled by NIR irradiation that could manipulate the PSs release behavior from WS2 nanosheets. The synergistic anti-tumor effect of WS2 nanosheets mediated PDT–PTT was also evaluated carefully and the results clearly showed that the efficacy of combined PDT–PTT treatment of cancer cells is significantly higher than those of PDT-only and PTT-only treatment, indicating enhanced efficiency of the combined therapeutic system. In addition, the WS2 could be used as a computed tomography (CT) contrast agent for bio-imaging since W atoms have strong X-ray attenuation ability, making them a multifunctional theranostic platform for simultaneous imaging-guided diagnosis and therapy.
Co-reporter:Xiaodong Liu, Liang Yan, Wenyan Yin, Liangjun Zhou, Gan Tian, Junxin Shi, Zhiyong Yang, Debao Xiao, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2014 vol. 2(Issue 31) pp:12296-12303
Publication Date(Web):23 Apr 2014
DOI:10.1039/C4TA00753K
A β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) functionalized magnetic graphene hybrid (mGO-β-CD) has been prepared and its application as an adsorbent for the removal of organic dyes has been investigated. Magnetic graphene hybrids (mGOs) were first synthesized via a chemical precipitation method, and then β-CDs were applied to further functionalize the resultant mGO hybrid. The results demonstrate that the as-prepared mGO-β-CD hybrid exhibits greatly enhanced adsorption performance in water. Acid fuchsin and Rhodamine 6G, the typical dye pollutants, can be effectively removed from their solutions by the mGO-β-CD hybrid. The maximum adsorption capability of the mGO-β-CD hybrid is several times, even hundreds of times higher than that of the reported carbonaceous materials. Moreover, ca. 90% of the dye removal efficiency can be retained after six adsorption–desorption cycles. In addition, the mGO-β-CD hybrid exhibits negligible toxicity toward the normal cells. Conclusively, the resultant mGO-β-CD hybrid proves to be a magnetically separable, efficient and non-toxic adsorbent for dye removal.
Co-reporter:Liang Yan, Ya-Nan Chang, Wenyan Yin, Gan Tian, Liangjun Zhou, Xiaodong Liu, Gengmei Xing, Lina Zhao, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Biomaterials Science 2014 vol. 2(Issue 10) pp:1412-1418
Publication Date(Web):04 Jul 2014
DOI:10.1039/C4BM00143E
Graphene oxide (GO) has been proven to be a highly efficient long-range quencher for various fluorescence processes, which intrinsically work through a photophysical mechanism similar to that of singlet oxygen generation (SOG). Under our hypothesis that GO may be capable of quenching the SOG process, here we design and synthesize a novel nanocomplex consisting of GO, a photosensitizer and an aptamer. We demonstrate that GO is an ideal SOG controller, which can reversibly quench and recover SOG depending on the interaction intensity between GO and a photosensitizer. Additionally, it can simultaneously act as a carrier for the efficient loading and delivery of the photosensitizers to cancer cells. Thus, during the delivery process, SOG of the nanocomplex can be completely inhibited by the quenching capacity of the GO even though there is light present; however, when the nanocomplex enters into cancer cells where target molecules are present, SOG is triggered by a target binding event and singlet oxygen is reversibly released from the nanocomplex, ultimately inducing significant cell death in the presence of light. This proof-of-concept study provides a new chemical strategy for creating a highly selective photodynamic therapy with low toxicity, using hydrophilic GO-based systems.
Co-reporter:Xiaodong Liu, Xiao Zhang, Gan Tian, Wenyan Yin, Liang Yan, Longfei Ruan, Zhiyong Yang, Debao Xiao and Zhanjun Gu
CrystEngComm 2014 vol. 16(Issue 25) pp:5650-5661
Publication Date(Web):13 Mar 2014
DOI:10.1039/C4CE00231H
Hexagonal-phase NaYF4 nanocrystals with good uniformity and monodispersity have been successfully obtained through a thermal decomposition of rare-earth oleate complexes. By co-doping upconverters (Yb/Er, Yb/Tm or Yb/Ho) or downconverters (Eu or Ce/Tb), multicolor upconversion (UC) luminescence under 980 nm laser excitation or downconversion luminescence under UV irradiation could be obtained. For the first time, we systematically investigate the effects of various parameters including reaction temperature, time, NaF to rare-earth ions ratio and oleic acid concentration on the size, morphology, phase purity and UC emission properties using Yb/Er co-doped NaYF4 UC nanoparticles as a typical example. The results demonstrated that this strategy is a simple yet efficient route for fabrication of UCNPs with good uniformity and monodispersity, and enriches the synthetic routes for production of high quality hexagonal-phase NaYF4 nanocrystals. In addition, a mesoporous silica layer was coated onto the hydrophobic NaYF4:Yb/Er nanoparticles, converting them into hydrophilic ones, which then could be used as a potential luminescent probe for cell imaging and a promising nanocarrier for therapeutic drug delivery, making them a multifunctional platform for simultaneous imaging and therapy.
Co-reporter:Wenyan Yin, Liang Yan, Jie Yu, Gan Tian, Liangjun Zhou, Xiaopeng Zheng, Xiao Zhang, Yuan Yong, Juan Li, Zhanjun Gu, and Yuliang Zhao
ACS Nano 2014 Volume 8(Issue 7) pp:6922
Publication Date(Web):June 6, 2014
DOI:10.1021/nn501647j
We report here a simple, high-yield yet low-cost approach to design single-layer MoS2 nanosheets with controllable size via an improved oleum treatment exfoliation process. By decorating MoS2 nanosheets with chitosan, these functionalized MoS2 nanosheets have been developed as a chemotherapeutic drug nanocarrier for near-infrared (NIR) photothermal-triggered drug delivery, facilitating the combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy into one system for cancer therapy. Loaded doxorubicin could be controllably released upon the photothermal effect induced by 808 nm NIR laser irradiation. In vitro and in vivo tumor ablation studies demonstrate a better synergistic therapeutic effect of the combined treatment, compared with either chemotherapy or photothermal therapy alone. Finally, MoS2 nanosheets can also be used as a promising contrast agent in X-ray computed tomography imaging due to the obvious X-ray absorption ability of Mo. As a result, the high-throughput oleum treatment exfoliation process could be extended for fabricating other 2D nanomaterials, and the NIR-triggered drug release strategy was encouraging for simultaneous imaging-guided cancer theranostic application.Keywords: exfoliation strategy; high-throughput; NIR-triggered drug delivery; oleum treatment; single-layer MoS2 nanosheets
Co-reporter:Liangjun Zhou, Xiaopeng Zheng, Zhanjun Gu, Wenyan Yin, Xiao Zhang, Longfei Ruan, Yanbo Yang, Zhongbo Hu, Yuliang Zhao
Biomaterials 2014 35(26) pp: 7666-7678
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.05.051
Co-reporter:Shan Jin, Liangjun Zhou, Zhanjun Gu, Gan Tian, Liang Yan, Wenlu Ren, Wenyan Yin, Xiaodong Liu, Xiao Zhang, Zhongbo Hu and Yuliang Zhao
Nanoscale 2013 vol. 5(Issue 23) pp:11910-11918
Publication Date(Web):20 Sep 2013
DOI:10.1039/C3NR03515H
The utilization of up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) for photodynamic therapy (PDT) has gained significant interest due to their unique ability to convert near infrared light to UV/visible light. Previous work mainly focused on the fabrication of green and red emitting UCNPs to load photosensitizers (PSs) for PDT. In this work, we firstly developed a new multifunctional nanoplatform combining blue-emitting UCNPs with blue-light excited PS (hypocrellin A, HA) as a NIR photosensitizing nanoplatform for PDT of cancer cells. Tween 20 coated NaYbF4:Tm, Gd@NaGdF4 UCNPs (Tween 20-UCNPs) with strong blue up-conversion luminescence and good water dispersibility were prepared for use as PS carriers. The blue emission band matched well with the efficient absorption band of HA, thereby facilitating the resonance energy transfer from UCNPs to HA and then activating HA to produce singlet oxygen (1O2). The in vitro study showed that these Tween 20-UCNPs@HA complexes could efficiently produce 1O2 to kill cancer cells under 980 nm NIR excitation. Moreover, these Gd3+ and Yb3+ containing nanoparticles also exhibited positive contrast effects in both T1 weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) imaging, making them become a multifunctional platform for simultaneous PDT and bio-imaging.
Co-reporter:Liang Yan, Ya-Nan Chang, Lina Zhao, Zhanjun Gu, Xiaoxiao Liu, Gan Tian, Liangjun Zhou, Wenlu Ren, Shan Jin, Wenyan Yin, Huaiqiu Chang, Gengmei Xing, Xingfa Gao, Yuliang Zhao
Carbon 2013 Volume 57() pp:120-129
Publication Date(Web):June 2013
DOI:10.1016/j.carbon.2013.01.042
In order to produce water-dispersible nanocrystals, including upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) which are the new generation fluorophores and magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4), a polyethylenimine-modified graphene oxide (PEI-GO) was used as a nanocarrier of nanocrystals, and PEI-GO-nanocrystal hybrids were prepared by transferring hydrophobic nanocrystals from an organic phase to water. Nanocrystals were anchored onto the hydrophobic plane of PEI-GO, which was confirmed by atomic force microscopy and electron microscopy. Molecular dynamics simulation further showed that hydrophobic interaction between PEI-GO and oleic acid molecules coated on the surface of the nanocrystals was the major driving force in the transfer process. The resulting hybrids had high stability in both water and physiological solutions, and combined the functionalities of the nanocrystals and PEI-GO, such as luminescence, superparamagnetism and drug delivery capability. Through π–π stacking interaction between PEI-GO-UCNP and an aromatic drug, PEI-GO-UCNP was able to load a water-insoluble anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX), with a superior loading capacity of 100 wt.%. In addition, PEI-GO-UCNP did not exhibit toxicity on the human endothelial cells and PEI-GO-UCNP-DOX showed a high potency of killing cancer cells in vitro.
Co-reporter:Gan Tian;Liangjun Zhou;Wenyan Yin;Xiaoxiao Liu;Liang Yan;Shan Jin;Wenlu Ren;Gengmei Xing;Shoujian Li;Yuliang Zhao
Advanced Materials 2012 Volume 24( Issue 9) pp:1226-1231
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/adma.201104741
Co-reporter:Wenyan Yin, Liangjun Zhou, Zhanjun Gu, Gan Tian, Shan Jin, Liang Yan, Xiaoxiao Liu, Gengmei Xing, Wenlu Ren, Feng Liu, Zhengwei Pan and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2012 vol. 22(Issue 14) pp:6974-6981
Publication Date(Web):29 Feb 2012
DOI:10.1039/C2JM16152D
Lanthanide ion doped GdVO4 upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been synthesized via a simple hydrothermal process assisted with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The PVP had great effects on the morphology and luminescent intensity of the final products. Multicolor upconversion emissions such as orange, yellow, green and blue light can be generated by simply changing the codopant compositions or concentrations in these nanoparticles. A thin layer of silica was coated onto the surface of GdVO4 UCNPs to form a core/shell structure in order to improve their biocompatibility. The applications of the low-toxicity, silica-coated GdVO4 UCNPs as bio-tag for cell labeling and in vivo animal imaging were reported. In addition, the GdVO4 nanoparticles showed high contrast T1-enhancing modality due to the presence of Gd3+ ions on the particle surface. Hence, this newly developed multicolor GdVO4 UCNPs, which can be added into the upconversion nanomaterials family, could be used as a promising nanoprobe for dual-modality with optical bioimaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Co-reporter:Zhenzhen Xu, Qing Liao, Yishi Wu, Wenlu Ren, Wei Li, Libing Liu, Shu Wang, Zhanjun Gu, Haoli Zhang and Hongbing Fu
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2012 vol. 22(Issue 34) pp:17737-17743
Publication Date(Web):04 Jul 2012
DOI:10.1039/C2JM33081D
Many two-photon absorption (TPA) organic dyes are water insoluble and suffer from strong fluorescence quenching in aqueous media due to the self-aggregation effect. This seriously limits their applications as two-photon fluorescence (TPF) probes in bio-imaging. By employing a reprecipitation method, we prepared ultrabright water-miscible organic nanoparticles (ONPs) of 1,4-dimethoxy-2,5-di[4′-(cyano)styryl]benzene (COPV). The single-crystal structure reveals that the cooperation between π–π stacking and hydrogen-bonding interactions drives COPV molecules into a brickwork arrangement of J-aggregates, in which the coherent excitation delocalization reaches 2–3 molecules. Due to the superradiance of J-aggregates, COPV ONPs are highly emissive in aqueous media with a quantum yield >0.4; meanwhile, their TPA cross-section is greatly enhanced, probably due to exciton–vibration coupling. As TPF probes, COPV J-aggregate ONPs are 3–4 orders of magnitude brighter than conventional fluorescent dyes and an order of magnitude brighter than quantum dots. Moreover, these ONPs exhibit no obvious cytotoxicity at concentrations as high as 100 μg mL−1. Our results demonstrate that ultrabright J-aggregate ONPs of COPV provide a new strategy to construct efficient TPF nano-probes for bio-imaging.
Co-reporter:Liangjun Zhou, Wenyan Yin, Wenlu Ren, Zhanjun Gu, Wei Li, Shan Jin, Liang Yan, Gan Tian, Zhongbo Hu and Yuliang Zhao
New Journal of Chemistry 2012 vol. 36(Issue 12) pp:2599-2606
Publication Date(Web):18 Sep 2012
DOI:10.1039/C2NJ40431A
Gadolinium carbonate (Gd2O(CO3)2·H2O) nanoparticles (NPs) with different diameters (from 280 nm to 10 nm) were obtained through a simple hydrothermal process by adding different volumes of glycerol. These Gd2O(CO3)2·H2O NPs were further coated with a thin layer of silica containing fluorescent dye (fluorescein isothiocyanate, FITC), and the possibility of using these NPs for optical imaging was demonstrated. In addition, due to the presence of Gd3+ ions on the surface of the NPs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of Gd2O(CO3)2·H2O NPs with different diameters was also reported in detail. Considering the effect of NPs' size on their biocompatibility and MRI properties, our research results indicated that the Gd2O(CO3)2·H2O NPs of 50 nm showed the highest cytotoxicity and the maximum uptake by cells, and the MRI properties of Gd2O(CO3)2·H2O@silica–FITC NPs are also size-dependent. Therefore, these NPs exhibit bifunctionality for both optical imaging and MRI, making them potentially applicable in the biomedical field.
Co-reporter:Wenyan Yin;Dr. Lina Zhao;Liangjun Zhou ;Dr. Zhanjun Gu;Xiaoxiao Liu;Gan Tian ;Shan Jin ;Liang Yan;Wenlu Ren; Gengmei Xing; Yuliang Zhao
Chemistry - A European Journal 2012 Volume 18( Issue 30) pp:9239-9245
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1002/chem.201201053
Abstract
Under 980 nm near-infrared (NIR) excitation, upconversion luminescent (UCL) emission of GdF3:Yb,Er upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) synthesized by a simple and green hydrothermal process can be tuned from yellow to red by varying the concentration of dopant Li+ ions. A possible mechanism for enhanced red upconverted radiation is proposed. A layer of silica was coated onto the surface of GdF3:Yb,Er,Li UCNPs to improve their biocompatibility. The silica-coated GdF3:Yb,Er,Li UCNPs show great advantages in cell labeling and in vivo optical imaging. Moreover, GdF3 UCNPs also exhibited a positive contrast effect in T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These results suggest that the GdF3 UCNPs could act as dual-modality biolabels for optical imaging and MRI.
Co-reporter:Gan Tian ; Zhanjun Gu ; Xiaoxiao Liu ; Liangjun Zhou ; Wenyan Yin ; Liang Yan ; Shan Jin ; Wenlu Ren ; Gengmei Xing ; Shoujian Li ;Yuliang Zhao
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2011 Volume 115(Issue 48) pp:23790-23796
Publication Date(Web):October 31, 2011
DOI:10.1021/jp209055t
Rare-earth (RE)-doped gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) hollow nanospheres have been successfully prepared on a large scale via a template-directed method using hydrothermal carbon spheres as sacrificed templates. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope images reveal that these hollow-structured nanospheres have the mesoporous shells that are composed of a large amount of uniform nanoparticles. By doping the RE ions (Yb/Er) into the Gd2O3 host matrix, these NPs emitted bright multicolored upconversion emissions that can be fine-tuned from green to red by adjusting the codoped Yb/Er ratio under 980 nm NIR laser excitation. The possibility of using these upconversion nanoparticles for optical imaging in vivo has been demonstrated. It was also shown that these Gd2O3 nanospheres brightened the T1-weighted images and enhanced the r1 relaxivity of water protons, which suggested that they could act as T1 contrast agents for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Moreover, these hollow spheres can be used as drug delivery host carriers, and drug storage/release properties were investigated using ibuprofen as the model drug. As a result, the so-prepared nanoscaled Gd2O3 hollow spheres bearing upconversion luminescence, MR imaging, and drug delivery capabilities could be potentially employed for simultaneous MR/fluorescent imaging and therapeutic applications.
Co-reporter:Tao Bao, Wenyan Yin, Xiaopeng Zheng, Xiao Zhang, Jie Yu, Xinghua Dong, Yuan Yong, Fuping Gao, Liang Yan, Zhanjun Gu, Yuliang Zhao
Biomaterials (January 2016) Volume 76() pp:11-24
Publication Date(Web):January 2016
DOI:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.10.048
Engineering design of plasmonic nanomaterials as on-demand theranostic nanoagents with imaging, drug carrier, and photothermal therapy (PTT) functions have profound impact on treatment of cancer. Here, a facile ‘one-pot’ template-free hydrothermal route was firstly developed for synthesis of plasmonic oxygen deficiency molybdenum oxide hollow nanospheres functionalized by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-MoO3–x HNSs). The as-prepared PEG-MoO3–x HNSs not only have good biocompatibility but also exhibit obvious localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region. Especially, due to its intrinsic mesoporous properties and effective photothermal conversion efficiency upon 808-nm NIR laser irradiation, the PEG-MoO3–x HNSs can be applied as a pH/NIR laser dual-responsive camptothecin (CPT) drug delivery nanoplatform for chemotherapy as well as PTT to cancer cells. A remarkably improved synergistic therapeutic effect to pancreatic (PANC-1) tumor-bearing mice was obtained compared to the result of chemotherapy or PTT alone. Apart from its application for drug delivery, the PEG-MoO3–x HNSs can also be employed as an effective contrast nanoagent for photoacoustic (PAT) imaging because of its high NIR absorption, making it promising as a theranostic nanoagent for PAT imaging-guided chemo-photothermal combinational cancer therapy in the nanomedicine field.Plasmonic PEGylated MoO3–x hollow nanospheres (HNSs) with sub-100 nm were engineering designed by a facile one-pot hydrothermal process as an effective camptothecin (CPT) drug nanocarrier and a near-infrared (NIR) photothermal nanoagent for synergetic chemo-photothermal therapy based on the mesoporous structure and the high NIR phothothermal conversion efficiency. The PEG-MoO3–x HNSs has proven to be a promising candidate as a novel, single theranostic nanoagent for photoacoustic (PAT) imaging-guided chemo-photothermal therapy of cancer.
Co-reporter:Tao Bao, Wenyan Yin, Xiaopeng Zheng, Xiao Zhang, Jie Yu, Xinghua Dong, Yuan Yong, Fuping Gao, Liang Yan, Zhanjun Gu, Yuliang Zhao
Biomaterials (January 2016) Volume 76() pp:11-24
Publication Date(Web):January 2016
DOI:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.10.048
Co-reporter:Shuang Zhu, Zhanjun Gu
Science Bulletin (28 February 2017) Volume 62(Issue 4) pp:229-230
Publication Date(Web):28 February 2017
DOI:10.1016/j.scib.2017.01.013
Co-reporter:Linji Gong, Liang Yan, Ruyi Zhou, Jiani Xie, Wei Wu and Zhanjun Gu
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2017 - vol. 5(Issue 10) pp:NaN1895-1895
Publication Date(Web):2017/02/07
DOI:10.1039/C7TB00195A
As demonstrated by preclinical and clinical studies, it is often difficult to eradicate tumors, particularly those that are deep-located, with photothermal therapy (PTT) alone because of the intrinsic drawbacks of optical therapy. To increase the therapeutic effect of PTT and reduce its significant side-effects, a new direction involving the combination of PTT with other therapeutic techniques is highly desirable. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), the typical ultrathin 2D layer nanomaterials, have gained tremendous interest in many different fields including biomedicine, due to their novel physicochemical properties. Benefitting from their intrinsic near-infrared absorbance properties and extremely large specific surface areas, many efforts are being devoted to fabricating 2D TMDC-based multifunctional nanoplatforms for combining PTT with other therapeutics in order to realize 2D TMDC-assisted combination therapy and thus achieve excellent anti-tumor therapeutic efficacy. In addition, various inorganic nanoparticles and fluorescent probes can be attached to the surface of 2D TMDCs to obtain nanocomposites with versatile optical and/or magnetic properties that are useful for multi-modal imaging and imaging-guided cancer therapy. In this review, we mainly summarize the latest advances in the utilization of 2D TMDCs for PTT combination cancer therapy, including PTT/photodynamic therapy, PTT/chemotherapy, PTT/radiotherapy, PTT/gene therapy, and imaging-guided cancer combination therapy, as well as the evaluation of their behaviors and toxicology both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we address the principle for the design of 2D TMDC-assisted photothermal combination theranostics and the future prospects and challenges of using 2D TMDC-based nanomaterials for theranostic applications.
Co-reporter:Bing Xu, Xiao Zhang, Wenjuan Huang, Yijun Yang, Ying Ma, Zhanjun Gu, Tianyou Zhai and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2016 - vol. 4(Issue 16) pp:NaN2784-2784
Publication Date(Web):2016/03/22
DOI:10.1039/C6TB00542J
Better tissue penetration and lower overheating problems mean 808 nm near-infrared laser excited upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have potential in bioapplications. Dumbbell-like structured NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaNdF4:Yb nanoparticles are fabricated in this work and applied in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The epitaxial growth along the c axis attributed to the large structure mismatch of NaNdF4versus NaYF4 has been demonstrated to play a key role in the growth of the dumbbell structure. Due to better space separation in this structure, energy back-transfer from Er3+ to Nd3+ is prohibited partially, and the optimized Nd3+ doping concentration is up to 90% for a high UC emission intensity. PDT effects of these dumbbell-like structured UCNPs upon 808 nm laser irradiation were examined and compared with isotropic NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaYF4:Nd0.2 core–shell and NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaYF4:Nd0.2@NaYF4 core–shell–shell UCNPs. The results show that the dumbbell-like UCNPs are most effective in generating singlet oxygen (1O2) and killing cancer cells in PDT though their UC emission intensity is lower than that of the core–shell–shell UCNPs. This research presents a simple yet valid strategy to balance the UCL efficiency and FRET efficiency, which may lead to better PDT therapeutic effect for cancer therapy.
Co-reporter:Xiaopeng Zheng, Liangjun Zhou, Yang Bu, Wenyan Yin, Zhongbo Hu, Meng Li, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2014 - vol. 2(Issue 38) pp:NaN6516-6516
Publication Date(Web):2014/08/20
DOI:10.1039/C4TB00880D
The combined use nanotechnology and medical technologies holds great promise for the development and improvement of various theranostic media. Here, based on a facile hydrothermal method, polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalized YbPO4:Er up-conversion porous nanospheres (UCPSs) were fabricated, which combined the capabilities of up-conversion luminescence (UCL)/X-ray computed tomography (CT) bimodal imaging and drug delivery. The resulting hydrophilic PEI functionalized YbPO4:Er UCPSs (PEI-UCPSs) showed uniform morphology and high crystallinity. Moreover, PEI-UCPSs possessed high drug loading capacity because of their large specific surface area, which was confirmed by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) experiment. Cellular experiments indicated that the PEI-UCPSs had low cytotoxicity and confirmed the performance of the pH-mediated cancer targeting of PEI-UCPSs@DOX. Importantly, because of the ideal UCL property and high CT contrast both in vitro and in vivo, YbPO4:Er PEI-UCPSs could be used as an optical probe and a contrast agent for optical and CT imaging, forming a promising platform for simultaneous bioimaging and drug delivery.
Co-reporter:Zhen Du, Ruixia Dou, Mian Zu, Xueying Liu, Wenyan Yin, Yuliang Zhao, Jingbo Chen, Liang Yan and Zhanjun Gu
Biomaterials Science (2013-Present) 2016 - vol. 4(Issue 6) pp:NaN942-942
Publication Date(Web):2016/04/25
DOI:10.1039/C6BM00074F
By using polyethylenimine molecules as the linker, L-cysteine was immobilized onto graphene nanosheets, endowing the biocompatible L-cysteine-functionalized graphene film with the ability for catalytic decomposition of exogenous or endogenous donors to generate nitric oxide, and thus inhibiting the platelet activation and aggregation and reducing platelet adhesion.
Co-reporter:Zhenzhen Xu, Qing Liao, Yishi Wu, Wenlu Ren, Wei Li, Libing Liu, Shu Wang, Zhanjun Gu, Haoli Zhang and Hongbing Fu
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2012 - vol. 22(Issue 34) pp:
Publication Date(Web):
DOI:10.1039/C2JM33081D
Co-reporter:Wenyan Yin;Liangjun Zhou;Gan Tian;Shan Jin;Liang Yan;Xiaoxiao Liu;Gengmei Xing;Wenlu Ren;Feng Liu;Zhengwei Pan;Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2012 - vol. 22(Issue 14) pp:NaN6981-6981
Publication Date(Web):2012/03/13
DOI:10.1039/C2JM16152D
Lanthanide ion doped GdVO4 upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been synthesized via a simple hydrothermal process assisted with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The PVP had great effects on the morphology and luminescent intensity of the final products. Multicolor upconversion emissions such as orange, yellow, green and blue light can be generated by simply changing the codopant compositions or concentrations in these nanoparticles. A thin layer of silica was coated onto the surface of GdVO4 UCNPs to form a core/shell structure in order to improve their biocompatibility. The applications of the low-toxicity, silica-coated GdVO4 UCNPs as bio-tag for cell labeling and in vivo animal imaging were reported. In addition, the GdVO4 nanoparticles showed high contrast T1-enhancing modality due to the presence of Gd3+ ions on the particle surface. Hence, this newly developed multicolor GdVO4 UCNPs, which can be added into the upconversion nanomaterials family, could be used as a promising nanoprobe for dual-modality with optical bioimaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Co-reporter:Liang Yan, Ya-Nan Chang, Wenyan Yin, Gan Tian, Liangjun Zhou, Xiaodong Liu, Gengmei Xing, Lina Zhao, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Biomaterials Science (2013-Present) 2014 - vol. 2(Issue 10) pp:NaN1418-1418
Publication Date(Web):2014/07/04
DOI:10.1039/C4BM00143E
Graphene oxide (GO) has been proven to be a highly efficient long-range quencher for various fluorescence processes, which intrinsically work through a photophysical mechanism similar to that of singlet oxygen generation (SOG). Under our hypothesis that GO may be capable of quenching the SOG process, here we design and synthesize a novel nanocomplex consisting of GO, a photosensitizer and an aptamer. We demonstrate that GO is an ideal SOG controller, which can reversibly quench and recover SOG depending on the interaction intensity between GO and a photosensitizer. Additionally, it can simultaneously act as a carrier for the efficient loading and delivery of the photosensitizers to cancer cells. Thus, during the delivery process, SOG of the nanocomplex can be completely inhibited by the quenching capacity of the GO even though there is light present; however, when the nanocomplex enters into cancer cells where target molecules are present, SOG is triggered by a target binding event and singlet oxygen is reversibly released from the nanocomplex, ultimately inducing significant cell death in the presence of light. This proof-of-concept study provides a new chemical strategy for creating a highly selective photodynamic therapy with low toxicity, using hydrophilic GO-based systems.
Co-reporter:Xiaodong Liu, Liang Yan, Wenyan Yin, Liangjun Zhou, Gan Tian, Junxin Shi, Zhiyong Yang, Debao Xiao, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2014 - vol. 2(Issue 31) pp:NaN12303-12303
Publication Date(Web):2014/04/23
DOI:10.1039/C4TA00753K
A β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) functionalized magnetic graphene hybrid (mGO-β-CD) has been prepared and its application as an adsorbent for the removal of organic dyes has been investigated. Magnetic graphene hybrids (mGOs) were first synthesized via a chemical precipitation method, and then β-CDs were applied to further functionalize the resultant mGO hybrid. The results demonstrate that the as-prepared mGO-β-CD hybrid exhibits greatly enhanced adsorption performance in water. Acid fuchsin and Rhodamine 6G, the typical dye pollutants, can be effectively removed from their solutions by the mGO-β-CD hybrid. The maximum adsorption capability of the mGO-β-CD hybrid is several times, even hundreds of times higher than that of the reported carbonaceous materials. Moreover, ca. 90% of the dye removal efficiency can be retained after six adsorption–desorption cycles. In addition, the mGO-β-CD hybrid exhibits negligible toxicity toward the normal cells. Conclusively, the resultant mGO-β-CD hybrid proves to be a magnetically separable, efficient and non-toxic adsorbent for dye removal.
Co-reporter:Gan Tian, Wenyan Yin, Junjiang Jin, Xiao Zhang, Gengmei Xing, Shoujian Li, Zhanjun Gu and Yuliang Zhao
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2014 - vol. 2(Issue 10) pp:NaN1389-1389
Publication Date(Web):2013/12/02
DOI:10.1039/C3TB21394C
Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are ideal building blocks for fabricating multifunctional theranostic agents for simultaneous diagnosis and therapy. We develop multifunctional nanoparticles based on NaGdF4:Yb/Er@NaGdF4 core–shell UCNPs, which are not only endowed with upconversion luminescence (UCL), magnetic resonance (MR) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging ability, but also could be applied as nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery. We systematically investigate their upconversion luminescent, magnetic and X-ray attenuation properties. Importantly, for the first time, we report the controlled loading and delivery of a mixture of chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs, camptothecin (CPT) and doxorubicin (DOX), through UCNPs-based nanocarriers considering that the combined use of two or more drugs usually exhibits much better therapeutic efficacy than that of a single drug. By conjugating nanoparticles with folic acid (FA), which targets folate receptors over expressed on various types of cancer cells, we further demonstrate targeted tri-modal UCL/MR/CT cell imaging and drug delivery with UCNPs. Our results suggest the as-prepared nanocomposites are highly versatile and could potentially be used for simultaneous imaging and therapeutic applications.
