Cancer‐targeted nanotechnology is experiencing the trend of finding new materials with multiple functions for imaging and therapeutic applications. With the rapid development of the related fields, ...there exists a large number of reports regarding theranostic nanomedicine, decreasing the gap between cancer diagnosis and treatment with minimized separate comprehensions. In order to present an overview on the cancer‐targeted nanotheranostics, we first describe their essential building blocks, including platforms, therapeutic agents and imaging agents, and then the recently rapidly developed multimodal theranostic systems. Finally we discuss the major challenges and the perspectives of future development of nanotheranostics toward clinical translations and personalized nanomedicine.
Essential segments of theranostic nanomedicine are reviewed, including platforms, therapeutic options and imaging modalities, and then examples of typical nanotheranostic systems, with a particular focus on recently developed multimodal theranostics for optimal cancer therapy. Finally, the major challenges and possible future directions in the field are discussed.
Incorporation of graphene oxide into cellulose acetate nanofibrous scaffolds resulted in enhanced biomineralization and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.
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•GO-CA ...nanofibrous scaffolds with ECM mimicking structure to regulate hMSCs growth.•Incorporation of the GO for accelerated biomineralization.•Biomineralized GO-CA scaffolds on inducing osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs.
For bone tissue engineering, it requires that the scaffolds have excellent biocompatibility, proper mechanical and osteoinductive properties. Electrospun nanofibers with extracellular matrices mimicking structure have proven to be good scaffolds for bone tissue repairing. Hybrid nanofibers in particular, endow the nanofibers with specific and multiple functionalities, and therefore have attracted increasing interests in the recent years. In this study, we fabricated graphene oxide (GO)-incorporated cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibrous scaffolds by electrospinning technique for enhancement of biomineralization and osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The results displayed the average fiber diameter was decreased from 595 to 285nm with the presence of GO from 0 to 1wt%. Furthermore, with incorporation of GO, the Young’s modulus of the nanofibers increased in a dose-dependent manner. More importantly, the incorporation of GO led to significantly enhanced adhesion and proliferation of hMSCs on the scaffolds, mainly due to the good biocompatibility and extracellular matrices mimicking structure of the hybrid nanofibers. Exposure of the nanofibers to the simulated body fluid revealed that the biomineralization was improved significantly with the doping of GO in the nanofibers, possibly owing to the more nucleation sites for calcium phosphate provided by GO. The accelerated biomineralization on the GO-CA nanofibers resulted in a markedly increase in the activity of biomineralization-relevant alkaline phosphatase, and thus induced osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. The current work demonstrated that the GO-CA nanofibrous scaffolds may find potential applications in bone tissue engineering and other regenerative medicine fields.
Malignant tumor incidences have been rapidly rising recently and are becoming a serious threat to human health. Herein, a multifunctional cancer targeted theranostic nanoplatform is developed by in ...situ growth of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles on carbon nanoparticles, and then loaded with fluorescent dye indocyanine green (ICG@MCNPs). The loading of ICG on the nanoplatform significantly improves its photostability, and hence facilitates long-term near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging and efficient photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumor. The in vivo NIRF imaging reveals that ICG@MCNPs can be targeted to the tumor site. Moreover, in vivo magnetic resonance imaging also confirmed the efficient accumulation of ICG@MCNPs in the tumor site. Inspiringly, the subsequent PTT of tumor-bearing mice is achieved, as evidenced by the complete ablation of the tumor and the recovery of the physiological indexes to normal levels. Benefitting from its low-cost, simple preparation, and excellent dual-modal imaging and therapy, the ICG@MCNPs-based theranostic nanoplatform holds great promise in tumor-targeted nanomedicine.
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•Graphene based materials have been widely applied in biomedicine.•Surface modification of graphene based materials is very important.•Graphene based materials can be used as ...multifunctional agents for tumor therapy.•Graphene based theranostic nanoplatforms have drawn great attention during recent years.
The rise of graphene has driven great revolution in various fields, e. g. electronics, device, energy, etc., owing to the well-researched understanding of its physical and chemical properties. In the very recent decade, scientists have poured significant efforts to explore the biological functions of graphene and expand its biomedical applications, including drug delivery, tumor therapy, and theranostics. Encouraged by the inspiring research results and promising contributions of graphene to biomedicine field, herein, we systematically summarize the recent advance of graphene for biomedical application. In this review, we introduce the development of graphene in biomedicine, from drug delivery, tumor therapy, to theranostics. We also demonstrate the surface engineering and multifunctional modification of graphene, and further present the active role of rational decoration in drug delivery, therapy, and theranostic application. In detail, we summarize the surface engineering, active-targeting modification, stimuli-responsive decoration, and their application in anticancer drugs delivery, multiple therapeutic approach, dual-model imaging guided therapy. On the basis of the systematic summary, in the final, we further present the development tendency of graphene in biomedicine, aiming to provide some valuable guidelines for further research.
Traditional deltamethrin (DM) formulations (e.g., emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powders, etc.) have significant disadvantages of poor water dispersion stability, burst release, weak leaf ...affinity, short duration, poor efficacy, and high environmental toxicity. A nanomaterial-based pesticide delivery system (PDS) has provided effective strategies for green preparation and synergism of pesticide formulations. In this article, we developed carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS)-modified graphene oxide (GO) as a vector for DM and constructed a pH-responsive PDS for Culex pipiens pallens control. GO-CMCS possesses excellent pesticide loading performance for DM (loading rate 87.76%). After being loading on GO-CMCS, the GO-CMCS-DM has a significantly improved dispersion stability in water. The GO-CMCS-DM exhibits pH-responsive controlled release performance, which can sustain the release of DM into the medium, maintaining an effective long-term concentration. Additionally, the leaf adhesion of GO-CMCS-DM is better than that for free DM, which can improve the pesticide utilization. Therefore, GO-CMCS-DM has a prolonged persistent period and sustained activity against Culex pipiens pallens. Considering the industrialization potential of GO, we believe that GO will play an important role in the pest control and antiepidemic fields.
Environmentally friendly pesticide delivery systems have drawn extensive attention in recent years, and they show great promise in sustainable development of agriculture. We herein report a ...multifunctional nanoplatform, carboxymethyl chitosan modified carbon nanoparticles (CMC@CNP), as the carrier for emamectin benzoate (EB, a widely used insecticide), and investigate its sustainable antipest activity. EB was loaded on CMC@CNP nanocarrier via simple physisorption process, with a high loading ratio of 55.56%. The EB@CMC@CNP nanoformulation showed improved solubility and dispersion stability in aqueous solution, which is of vital importance to its practical application. Different from free EB, EB@CMC@CNP exhibited pH-responsive controlled release performance, leading to sustained and steady EB release and prolonged persistence time. In addition, the significantly enhanced anti-UV property of EB@CMC@CNP further ensured its antipest activity. Therefore, EB@CMC@CNP exhibited superior pest control performance than free EB. In consideration of its low cost, easy preparation, free of organic solution, and enhanced bioactivity, we expect, CMC@CNP will have a brilliant future in pest control and green agriculture.
The stimuli responsive pesticide delivery system (PDS) has drawn increasing attention in recent years, a system which can effectively improve the utilization of pesticides. In the current research, ...we report a pH responsive PDS by using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) modified Zr-based metal organic frameworks (UiO-66-NH2) as the nanocarrier for acetamiprid (ATP). UiO-66-NH2-CMC possesses a large surface area and abundant pores, which can effectively load ATP, and the loading rate is as high as 90.79%. Compared with free ATP, the ATP@UiO-66-NH2-CMC nanopesticide exhibits pH responsive controlled release behavior, and the pesticide can sustained release to the medium. In addition, it also shows improved leaf affinity, which makes it easier to wet the leaf surface and improve the utilization of pesticide. Therefore, ATP@UiO-66-NH2-CMC displays better antipest activity against aphids than free ATP does. Meanwhile, ATP@UiO-66-NH2-CMC shows no negative effects on the germination and growth of maize, showing good biosafety. Moreover, the ATP@UiO-66-NH2-CMC nanopesticide does not contain any toxic organic solvents or additives. Therefore, we hope that it can be a suitable candidate for plant protection and sustainable agriculture.
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In recent years, stimuli-responsive controlled-release pesticide formulations have drawn extensive as they show huge potential in the practical application of agriculture. Herein, a ...multifunctional composite nanocarrier was prepared by our group, Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) modified graphene oxide (PNIPAm-GO), this is a temperature-responsive release pesticide formulation that can regulate pesticide release based on the temperature change. Lambda-cyhalothrin (LC) was loaded on PNIPAm-GO nanocomposite carrier via a simple physisorption process and LC@PNIPAm-GO exhibited temperature-responsive controlled release performance leading to release of LC at a specified temperature and extended its persisted release time. In addition, the LC@PNIPAm-GO controlled-release pesticide formulations showed both good water solubility and dispersion stability while its anti-UV property. Furthermore, we also assessed the biological safety of LC@PNIPAm-GO and proved that PNIPAm-GO is non-toxic. The study of this temperature-responsive pesticide formulation has promoted the development of intelligent pesticide formulations to great extent.
Dye-containing wastewater is one of the major issues in water contamination, and its treatment remains a serious problem due to the low concentrations of dyes in polluted natural water and high cost ...for purification. Herein, we report the application of graphene oxides (GO) in the decontamination of ppm levels of methylene blue (MB) in an aqueous solution. During the dye removal process, GO adsorbs MB molecules viastrong interactions including pi - pi stacking and electrostatic attraction, and facilitates the precipitation of GO/MB complexes, which can be readily removed from the solution. The adsorption progress follows the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters indicate that the adsorption progress is a spontaneous progress. By using our strategy, a dye removal rate as high as 95% has been achieved with a final dye concentration of only 0.25 ppm. In addition, 82% of the dye can be recycled through ethanol extraction from the collected GO/MB complexes. All the results demonstrate that GO nanosheets can effectively remove and recover ppm levels of cationic dye pollutants, represented by MB, showing the promising application of GO in ultra-low concentration dye containing wastewater treatment.
