Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Lei Chang, Ye Cheng, Yu Cai, Qiwu Shi, Kefan Chen, Wanxia Huang
Summary: Carbon-doped modification significantly promoted the light absorption and photothermal conversion properties of ?-Ti3O5, indicating its potential applications in solar energy utilization and photothermal therapy.
Article
Polymer Science
Cheng Liu, Guang Chen, Ze Zhang, Yezi You
Summary: By introducing a new component to construct an in-plane heterostructure, the conjugated structure of polymeric carbon nitride is successfully expanded, leading to an ultrawide absorption range and significantly improved photothermal conversion performance. This work demonstrates good potential for synergistic photothermal and chemotherapy applications.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jinbo Zhang, Lingpu Zhang, Jianmei Guo, Bingzheng Yu, Yingjie Yu, Chaoyong Liu
Summary: Chemo-photodynamic combination therapy is a promising cancer treatment strategy, but its effectiveness is limited by low selectivity and penetration of therapeutic agents. PEGylation is effective in improving stability and circulation time of nanoparticles, but it decreases cellular uptake efficiency. Therefore, we developed a smart nano-drug delivery system with PEG deshielding and charge reversal triggered by external light irradiation, which enhances tumor selectivity and penetration and combines photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy for improved tumor treatment effects.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chaofan Zhang, Baohua Yuan, Ying Liang, Lixia Yang, Liangjiu Bai, Huawei Yang, Donglei Wei, Feng Wang, Qingyao Wang, Wenxiang Wang, Hou Chen
Summary: Solar steam generation using carbonized loofah as an effective photothermal material was demonstrated in this study, achieving high water evaporation rate and photothermal conversion efficiency under sunlight. The enhancement of light trapping capability was achieved through in situ chemical vapor deposition to create a composite of carbon nanofiber decorated carbonized loofah.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Nan Yang, Changyu Cao, Hui Li, Ying Hong, Yu Cai, Xuejiao Song, Wenjun Wang, Xiaozhou Mou, Xiaochen Dong
Summary: Photothermal therapy (PTT) has gained considerable attention in cancer treatment for its unique features, and polymer-based photothermal agents (PTAs) have been widely employed in cancer diagnosis and PTT due to their competitive advantages, including customizable designs, controllable synthesis, excellent biocompatibility, negligible cytotoxicity, satisfactory photostability, and desirable photothermal effects.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Nan Yang, Changyu Cao, Hui Li, Ying Hong, Yu Cai, Xuejiao Song, Wenjun Wang, Xiaozhou Mou, Xiaochen Dong
Summary: Scientists have made significant efforts in cancer control, with photothermal therapy (PTT) emerging as a promising treatment method. Polymer-based PTAs play a crucial role in cancer diagnosis and therapy, offering various advantages in terms of design, synthesis, biocompatibility, and therapeutic effects.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yawen Zhang, Ke Zhang, Hongna Yang, Yijie Hao, Jinzha Zhang, Wenbo Zhao, Shirong Zhang, Shenglin Ma, Chun Mao
Summary: Drug-loaded nanomotors with deep penetration were developed to improve the therapeutic effect of ferroptosis on tumors. The nanomotors were constructed by co-loading hemin and ferrocene on the surface of bowl-shaped polydopamine nanoparticles. They exhibited good biocompatibility, high light to heat conversion efficiency, and deep tumor permeability. Under the catalysis of H2O2 overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment, the loaded reagents increased the concentration of toxic •OH, triggering a ferroptosis effect.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
X. F. Zhang, X. Zhang, Z. G. Qu, J. Q. Pu, Q. Wang
Summary: This study proposes a nanofluidic osmotic energy conversion device that utilizes sustainable solar energy as a heat source and enhances the temperature through the addition of a photothermal conversion structure. Experimental results show that this device can increase the solution temperature and improve the power density. The research also found that the elevated solution temperature can enhance the ion flux, leading to an increase in osmotic power generation.
Article
Thermodynamics
Ruijin Fan, Nianben Zheng, Zhiqiang Sun
Summary: Carbon foams derived from melamine foams through direct carbonization exhibit promising properties for phase change composites. The optimal carbonization temperature and time were determined to be 350 degrees C and 5 min, respectively, resulting in excellent photothermal conversion performance. The study showed that a critical carbonization temperature of approximately 350 degrees C led to improved light absorption capability of the synthesized carbon foams.
ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qizhao Shao, Yu Luo, Meifang Cao, Xueqing Qiu, Dafeng Zheng
Summary: This study enhanced the photothermal conversion efficiency of lignin by modifying it with an iodocyclohexane activation strategy, as well as synthesized a biomass aerogel evaporator with superior evaporation performance and resistance to salt and acid.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dahai Zhu, Li Cai, Zhuyu Sun, Ai Zhang, Paul Heroux, Hyunjung Kim, Wei Yu, Yanan Liu
Summary: A photothermal catalyst with full-spectrum absorption capability was synthesized, resulting in enhanced degradation of tetracycline. By improving the photothermal conversion efficiency, the efficiency of photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants was increased.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Qixing Luo, Pei Liu, Lin Fu, Yuhao Hu, Linsen Yang, Weiwei Wu, Xiang-Yu Kong, Lei Jiang, Liping Wen
Summary: In this study, a cellulose nanofiber (CNF) membrane with an ultrathin layer of low-dimensional carbon materials (LDCMs) was fabricated for photothermal-enhanced osmotic energy conversion. The output power density of the osmotic energy generator significantly increased under light irradiation.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhen Zhang, Zipeng Xing, Ke Wang, Tianzhi Cheng, Zhenzi Li, Wei Zhou
Summary: The Bi2S3@Ag2S heterojunction supported on carbon fiber cloth can be self-floated on water surface, shows enhanced full spectrum absorption, and improves the photocatalytic-photothermal performance.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jian Wang, Xingxing Gao, Yajun Wang, Shaoyan Wang, Zhiwen Xie, Binzheng Yang, Zhiguo Zhang, Zhuang Yang, Lei Kang, Wenqing Yao
Summary: In this study, C@MnO@TiO2 composites with integrated core-double-shell structures were designed and fabricated for efficient toluene oxidation through photothermal catalysis. The optimal Mn/Ti molar ratio of 0.4 showed higher photothermal catalytic activity, highlighting the importance of controlled coating thickness and surface properties in enhancing catalytic performance.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Tiankun Hui, Jianye Fu, Bingxin Zheng, Chenchen Fu, Baocai Zhao, Tianqi Zhang, Yifan Zhang, Chen Wang, Liangmin Yu, Yunlong Yang, Bin Yue, Meng Qiu
Summary: This study presents a subtractively engineered 2D MXene with uniformly distributed nanopores for enhanced antitumor efficacy. The nanoporous defects provide enhanced surface plasmon resonance and strong exciton-phonon coupling, leading to improved optical absorbance and photothermal conversion efficiency. The porous structure also enhances drug loading capacity and cellular internalization. In the treatment of osteosarcoma, the nanoporous MXene platform achieves higher drug loading, faster controlled drug release, increased photothermal efficacy, and enhanced cell adhesion and internalization.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guanyou Lin, Richard A. Revia, Miqin Zhang
Summary: Cancer is a genetic disease caused by the accumulation of gene mutations in a cellular subpopulation, and gene therapy has shown potential to be the ultimate solution for treating cancer. Utilizing nanoscale inorganic carriers for delivering nucleic acids has demonstrated promising results in small-animal models, providing effective and safe treatment for oncological diseases.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Zachary R. Stephen, Miqin Zhang
Summary: Immunotherapy has shown success in certain cancers, and combinational approaches with hyperthermia therapy are being explored to enhance its effectiveness. Nanoparticle-based hyperthermia increases tumor immunogenicity and permeability, particularly effective in solid tumors.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Xiaojie Lin, Ching Ting Tsao, Masayuki Kyomoto, Miqin Zhang
Summary: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic disease in the elderly population, with current clinical treatments limited to symptom relief. Injectable natural polymer hydrogels are considered highly promising for controlled drug delivery.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guanyou Lin, Jianxi Huang, Mengyuan Zhang, Shanshan Chen, Miqin Zhang
Summary: This study reports the development of a novel nanoparticle formulation (NP-Chi-xPEI) that can safely and effectively deliver DNA into breast cancer cells for successful transfection. The NP-Chi-xPEI nanoparticle shows high transfection efficiency and low cytotoxicity, making it a potential reliable vehicle for DNA delivery to breast cancer cells.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Peter A. Chiarelli, Richard A. Revia, Zachary R. Stephen, Kui Wang, Forrest M. Kievit, Jordan Sandhu, Meenakshi Upreti, Seokhwan Chung, Richard G. Ellenbogen, Miqin Zhang
Summary: This study introduces a tumor-targeted nanoparticle that enhances the effectiveness of radiation therapy on a selective cellular basis, improving the treatment outcomes for GBM.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Zhiyong Wei, Qingxin Mu, Hui Wang, Guanyou Lin, Miqin Zhang
Summary: The assessment of biodegradability of nanomaterials is crucial for understanding interactions with biological systems and determining potential applications. A study on carbon-based biconcave nanodisks (CBBNs) reveals significant degradation in biological systems, making them suitable for biomedical use.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Richard A. Revia, Brandon Wagner, Matthew James, Miqin Zhang
Summary: Cells cultured in three-dimensional scaffolds exhibit a phenotype more similar to in vivo cells, and natural polymers are suitable materials for creating such scaffolds for high-throughput drug screening. However, the high viscosity of natural polymer solutions poses a challenge for dispensing. In this study, an automated scaffold dispensing system was developed using pneumatic control and programming software, allowing for the even distribution of high-viscosity polymer solutions.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Seokhwan Chung, Yutaro Sugimoto, Jianxi Huang, Miqin Zhang
Summary: This study demonstrates the use of peptide-functionalized nanoparticles to deliver siRNA to sensitize glioma cells to drugs and achieve efficient gene silencing.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Seokhwan Chung, Chan Mi Lee, Miqin Zhang
Summary: This review highlights recent progress in the development of nanoparticle-based mRNA delivery systems for the treatment of various liver diseases. Specifically, it focuses on the enhanced cellular uptake and endosomal escape achieved through the use of these nanoparticles. The potential applications of this technology in treating liver cancer and hepatotropic infectious diseases are discussed.
NANOSCALE HORIZONS
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guanyou Lin, Miqin Zhang
Summary: The potential of theranostic nanoparticles in tumor treatment is widely recognized due to their ability to integrate multifaceted functionalities into a single nanosystem. These nanoparticles typically consist of an inorganic core for imaging and therapeutic functions, bioinert coatings for improved biocompatibility, controlled drug-loading-release modules, and targeting ligands for specific cell uptake. The design and assembly of these functionalities require sophisticated molecular design and precise execution. Ligand chemistry plays a decisive role in translating theoretical designs into functionalized theranostic nanoparticles. This Account reviews the properties and utilities of capping ligands, drug-loading ligands, and targeting ligands in theranostic nanoparticles.
ACCOUNTS OF CHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuanzhang Tang, Yang Zhou, Guanyou Lin, Miqin Zhang
Summary: Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) cultured in 3D matrices can benefit from improved cell penetration and pluripotency maintenance by modifying the scaffold with hiPSCs conditioned medium (CM). This study demonstrates that CM treatment promotes uniform cell adhesion and distribution, enhances pluripotency markers, and upregulates genes associated with pluripotency. The results highlight the importance of CM treated scaffolds in maintaining the primitive and undifferentiated phenotype of hiPSCs in 3D matrices.
MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Yang Zhou, Gillian Pereira, Yuanzhang Tang, Matthew James, Miqin Zhang
Summary: Natural polymer-based porous scaffolds with tunable pore size have been developed as three-dimensional tumor models for high-throughput screening of cancer therapeutics. The CHA scaffold-based platform showed potential for mimicking the in vivo malignancy and revealed the influence of pore size on cell growth kinetics, tumor spheroid morphology, gene expression and drug response. The CHA scaffold-based HTS platform demonstrated comparable performance with commercial tissue culture plates and may provide an improved alternative for future cancer study and drug discovery.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jianxi Huang, Guanyou Lin, Taylor Juenke, Seokhwan Chung, Nicholas Lai, Tianxin Zhang, Tianyi Zhang, Miqin Zhang
Summary: This study introduces a novel approach using iron oxide nanoparticles for safe and efficient mRNA delivery to hard-to-transfect cancer cells. The developed nanoparticles showed enhanced cellular internalization of mRNA, easy mRNA release, and minimal cytotoxicity, suggesting great promise for mRNA therapy against hard-to-transfect cancers.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Yoshiki Ando, Fei-Chien Chang, Matthew James, Yang Zhou, Miqin Zhang
Summary: In this study, three-dimensional chitosan scaffolds are developed as microcarriers for the prolonged expansion of human neural stem cells (hNSCs) in bioreactors. The chitosan scaffolds exhibit desirable microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties, allowing for hNSC expansion in dynamic conditions for up to three weeks. This microcarrier approach has the potential for mass production of hNSCs in a three-dimensional setting.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Ariane Erickson, Peter A. Chiarelli, Jianxi Huang, Sheeny Lan Levengood, Miqin Zhang
Summary: Nanofibers synthesized by electrospinning have great clinical potential in cancer research and treatment, serving as a biomimetic tumor microenvironment model, a drug release platform, and a cancer diagnostic tool. This review provides an overview of nanofiber design and fabrication techniques, discussing the impact of nanofiber properties on their functionality, as well as current and foreseeable barriers to their clinical translation in oncology.
NANOSCALE HORIZONS
(2022)