Nanomaterials with cancer‐imaging and therapeutic properties have emerged as the principal focus of nanotheranostics. The past decade has experienced a significant increase in research in the design, ...formulation, and preclinical and clinical trials of theranostic nanosystems. However, current theranostic nanoformulations have yet to be approved by the FDA for clinical use. Consequently, the present review focuses on the importance of the careful examination of the in vivo preclinical status of specific nanotheranostic materials as a prerequisite for their clinical translation. The scope of coverage is structured according to all of the major organic, inorganic, 2D, and hybrid nanotheranostic materials and their in vivo preclinical status. The therapeutic advantages and limitations of these materials in animal models are considered and the various strategies to enhance the biocompatibility of theranostic nanoparticles are summarized.
The present review summarizes the in vivo preclinical status of various organic, inorganic, 2D, and hybrid nanomaterials employed in cancer theranostics. Performance outcomes of these systems in animal models and the limitations and challenges for their clinical translation are discussed. Strategies to enhance the biocompatibility of theranostic nanoparticles also are discussed.
Although ether‐based electrolytes have been extensively applied in anode evaluation of batteries, anodic instability arising from solvent oxidability is always a tremendous obstacle to matching with ...high‐voltage cathodes. Herein, by rational design for solvation configuration, the fully coordinated ether‐based electrolyte with strong resistance against oxidation is reported, which remains anodically stable with high‐voltage Na3V2(PO4)2O2F (NVPF) cathode under 4.5 V (versus Na+/Na) protected by an effective interphase. The assembled graphite//NVPF full cells display superior rate performance and unprecedented cycling stability. Beyond that, the constructed full cells coupling the high‐voltage NVPF cathode with hard carbon anode exhibit outstanding electrochemical performances in terms of high average output voltage up to 3.72 V, long‐term cycle life (such as 95 % capacity retention after 700 cycles) and high energy density (247 Wh kg−1). In short, the optimized ether‐based electrolyte enriches systematic options, the ability to maintain oxidative stability and compatibility with various anodes, exhibiting attractive prospects for application.
By rational design of the solvation configuration, a cation–solvent fully coordinated ether‐based electrolyte with strong oxidation resistance up to 4.5 V (versus Na+/Na) was developed and applied in graphite//NVPF and LHC//NVPF full cells which showed superior rate performance and unprecedented cycling stability.
As promising cathode for sodium‐ion batteries, Na+ Superionic Conductor (NASICON)‐type materials have attracted attention owing to their excellent structural stability, superior ionic conductivity, ...and small volume expansion. However, the vanadium‐based NASICON‐type cathode with the biotoxicity and exorbitant price of V element and the iron‐based cathode with low mean working voltage as well as the intrinsic poor electronic conductivity of polyanionic compounds hinder their practical applications. Herein, a double‐carbon‐layer decorated heterogeneous composite, Na3V2(PO4)3‐Na3Fe2(PO4)(P2O7) (NVFPP/C/G), is successfully prepared for addressing these limitations. Due to their synergistic effect, NVFPP/C/G exhibits excellent electrochemical performance in half‐cell system and superior full‐cell performance when matched with hard carbon anode. Furthermore, the phase composition, electrode kinetics, and phase transition are confirmed by combined analyses of slow scanning power X‐ray diffraction, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry with various scan rates, galvanostatic intermittent titration technique, ex situ X‐ray photoelectron spectra, and in situ X‐ray diffraction. This study portends a promising strategy to utilize composite structure engineering for developing advanced polyanionic cathodes.
A double‐carbon‐layer decorated heterogeneous Na3V2(PO4)3‐Na3Fe2(PO4)(P2O7) composite is proposed as cathode for sodium‐ion batteries. Due to the synergistic effect, it exhibits excellent electrochemical performance in half‐cell system and superior full‐cell performance. The heterogeneous composite structure engineering strategy provides a new approach to design high‐performance polyanionic cathodes for batteries.
Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have great potential for large‐scale energy storage. Cellulose is an attractive material for sustainable separators, but some key issues still exist affecting its ...application. Herein, a cellulose‐based composite separator (CP@PPC) was prepared by immersion curing of cellulose‐based separators (CP) with poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC). With the assistance of PPC, the CP@PPC separator is able to operate the cell stably at high voltages (up to 4.95 V). The “pore‐hopping” ion transport mechanism in CP@PPC opens up extra Na+ migration paths, resulting in a high Na+ transference number (0.613). The separator can also tolerate folding, bending and extreme temperature under certain circumstances. Full cells with CP@PPC reveal one‐up capacity retention (96.97 %) at 2C after 500 cycles compared to cells with CP. The mechanism highlights the merits of electrolyte analogs in separator modification, making a rational design for durable devices in advanced energy storage systems.
Immersion curing of a cellulose‐based separator (CP) with poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) results in a cellulose‐based composite separator (CP@PPC) for sodium‐ion batteries. The “pore‐hopping” ion transport mechanism in CP@PPC allows a high Na+ transference number. PPC enhances the mechanical properties of the separator and the battery thermal safety, further promotes ion transport and improves the overall performance of the battery.
After application in electric vehicles, spent LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries are typically decommissioned. Traditional recycling methods face economic and environmental constraints. Therefore, direct ...regeneration has emerged as a promising alternative. However, irreversible phase changes can significantly hinder the efficiency of the regeneration process owing to structural degradation. Moreover, improper storage and treatment practices can lead to metamorphism, further complicating the regeneration process. In this study, a sustainable recovery method is proposed for the electrochemical repair of LFP batteries. A ligand‐chain Zn‐complex (ZnDEA) is utilized as a structural regulator, with its ─NH─ group alternatingly facilitating the binding of preferential transition metal ions (Fe3+ during charging and Zn2+ during discharging). This dynamic coordination ability helps to modulate volume changes within the recovered LFP framework. Consequently, the recovered LFP framework can store more Li‐ions, enhance phase transition reversibility between LFP and FePO4 (FP), modify the initial Coulombic efficiency, and reduce polarization voltage differences. The recovered LFP cells exhibit excellent capacity retention of 96.30% after 1500 cycles at 2 C. The ligand chain repair mechanism promotes structural evolution to facilitate ion migration, providing valuable insights into the targeted ion compensation for environmentally friendly recycling in practical applications.
The introduction of the ligand chain within the Zn complex dynamically modulates the variational structure, enlarging the main framework of LFP and expediting the de‐intercalation of Li+. This process revitalizes the composition, structure, and electrochemical performance of LFP, restoring them to levels comparable to that of newly produced LFP even under severe degradation conditions during the operation of regenerated batteries.
During multivalent ions insertion processes, intense electrostatic interaction between charge carriers and host makes the high‐performance reversible Al3+ storage remains an elusive target. On ...account of the strong electrostatic repulsion and poor robustness, Prussian Blue analogues (PBAs) suffer severely from the inevitable and large strain and phase change during reversible Al3+ insertion. Herein, we demonstrate an entropy‐driven strategy to realize ultralong life aqueous Al‐ion batteries (AIBs) based on medium entropy PBAs (ME‐PBAs) host. By multiple redox active centers introduction, the intrinsic poor conductivity can be enhanced simultaneously, resulting in outstanding capabilities of electrochemical Al3+ storage. Meanwhile, the co‐occupation at metal sites in PBA frameworks can also increase the M−N bond intensity, which is beneficial for constraining the phase change during consecutive Al3+ reversible insertion, to realize an extended lifespan over 10,000 cycles. Based on the calculation at different operation states, the fluctuation of ME‐PBA lattice parameters is only 1.2 %. Assembled with MoO3 anodes, the full cells can also deliver outstanding electrochemical properties. The findings highlight that, the entropy regulation strategy could uncover the isochronous constraint on both strain and phase transition for long‐term reversible Al3+ storage, providing a promising design for advanced electrode materials for aqueous multivalent ions batteries.
The successful implementation of an entropy‐regulation approach is proposed by using PBAs as cathode for aqueous AIBs, resulting in excellent electrochemical performance. As‐designed medium‐entropy cathode could deliver a high capacity for reversible Al3+ storage, which is attributed to the activation of numerous redox centres and low strain, further enabling ultra‐high rates of ion storage and an exceptionally long lifespan.
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) regulates many critical functions in human normal and malignant tissues, such as differentiation, proliferation, survival, angiogenesis and ...immune function. Constitutive activation of STAT3 is implicated in a wide range of human cancers. As such, STAT3 has been studied as a tumour therapeutic target. This review aimed principally to summarise the updated research on STAT3 inhibition studies and their therapeutic potential in solid tumours. Recent literature associated with STAT3 inhibition was reviewed through PubMed and Medline database, followed by critical comparison and analysis. Constitutive activation of STAT3 has been identified as abnormal and oncogenic. The pathway of STAT3 activation and signal transduction identifies 3 approaches for inhibition: modulating upstream positive or negative regulators, regulating RNA (DN-STAT3, anti-sense RNA, siRNA and microRNA) or targeting STAT3 protein at different domains. The last approach using small molecule STAT3 inhibitors has been the most examined so far with both preclinical and clinical studies. Targeting STAT3 using a specific inhibitor may be a useful cancer treatment approach, with the potential for a broad clinical impact.
Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have gradually become one of the most promising energy storage techniques in the current era of post‐lithium‐ion batteries. For anodes, transitional metal selenides (TMSe) ...based materials are welcomed choices , owing to relatively higher specific capacities and enriched redox active sites. Nevertheless, current bottlenecks are blamed for their poor intrinsic electronic conductivities, and uncontrollable volume expansion during redox reactions. Given that, an interfacial‐confined isochronous conversion strategy is proposed, to prepare orthorhombic/cubic biphasic TMSe heterostructure, namely CuSe/Cu3VSe4, through using MXene as the precursor, followed by Cu/Se dual anchorage. As‐designed biphasic TMSe heterostructure endows unique hierarchical structure, which contains adequate insertion sites and diffusion spacing for Na ions, besides, the surficial pseudocapacitive storage behaviors can be also proceeded like 2D MXene. By further investigation on electronic structure, the theoretical calculations indicate that biphasic CuSe/Cu3VSe4 anode exhibits well‐enhanced properties, with smaller bandgap and thus greatly improves intrinsic poor conductivities. In addition, the dual redox centers can enhance the electrochemical Na ions storage abilities. As a result, the as‐designed biphasic TMSe anode can deliver a reversible specific capacity of 576.8 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, favorable Na affinity, and reduced diffusion barriers. This work discloses a synchronous solution toward demerits in conductivities and lifespan, which is inspiring for TMSe‐based anode development in SIBs systems.
An interfacial‐confined isochronous conversion strategy is conducted to prepare a hierarchical biphasic selenide, by choosing metallic conductive V2CTx MXene as the precursor. As‐designed biphasic selenide exhibits excellent electronic conductivity and abundant active sites for Na ions. Besides, the carbonaceous matrix can serve as a stable buffer layer to alleviate the volume expansion of selenides during battery operation.
The therapeutic effectiveness of anticancer drugs, including nanomedicines, can be enhanced with active receptor‐targeting strategies. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is an important cancer ...biomarker, constitutively expressed in sarcoma patients of different histological types. The present work reports materials and in vitro biomedical analyses of silanized (passive delivery) and/or EGF‐functionalized (active delivery) ceria nanorods exhibiting highly defective catalytically active surfaces. The EGFR‐targeting efficiency of nanoceria was confirmed by receptor‐binding studies. Increased cytotoxicity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were observed for EGF‐functionalized nanoceria owing to enhanced cellular uptake by HT‐1080 fibrosarcoma cells. The uptake was confirmed by TEM and confocal microscopy. Silanized nanoceria demonstrated negligible/minimal cytotoxicity toward healthy MRC‐5 cells at 24 and 48 h, whereas this was significant at 72 h owing to a nanoceria accumulation effect. In contrast, considerable cytotoxicity toward the cancer cells was exhibited at all three times points. The ROS generation and associated cytotoxicity were moderated by the equilibrium between catalysis by ceria, generation of cell debris, and blockage of active sites. EGFR‐targeting is shown to enhance the uptake levels of nanoceria by cancer cells, subsequently enhancing the overall anticancer activity and therapeutic performance of ceria.
Overview of fabrication, functionalization, and modes of delivery of nanoceria.
Due to the widespread employment of carbon materials in novel dual‐ion batteries (DIBs) with high energy density, they possess the potential for large‐scale energy storage and are inexpensive and ...environmentally friendly. However, drawbacks such as Al current collector corrosion and significant self‐weight, as well as lithium metal abuse and poor deposition reversibility, impair the energy density and cycle performance of lithium–graphite DIBs (Li−G DIBs), severely limiting their application potential. Therefore, an integrated electrode structure design was proposed. That is, the flexible graphite and single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) composite cathode (GSC), which is light‐weight and self‐supporting, and the self‐supporting lithium metal anode, which is loaded on the flexible carbon cloth (CC) derived from waste mask (Li@CC), were prepared. Not only were the impacts of current collector corrosion and active material exfoliation avoided on the electrochemical performance, but the areal loading of Li metal was also regulated and its reversibility of deposition enhanced. At a current density of 200 mA g−1, the constructed Li@CC//GSC full cell could release a specific capacity of 100.5 mAh g−1, and the capacity retention rate after 300 cycles was greater than 80 %. Moreover, the fabricated flexible Li@CC//GSC full cell is not only recyclable and produces less environmental pollution but also has potential applications in wearable devices.
Wear the change: Adopting an integrated electrode structure design improves the practicality of lithium–graphite dual‐ion batteries, and the prepared Li@carbon cloth//graphite and single‐walled carbon nanotubes composite full cell has the potential to be applied in the wearable field.