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Archive for the ‘Hot articles’ Category

June HOT Articles

02 Jul 2020

Every month we update our RSC Advances HOT Article Collection. This rolling collection features all of the articles selected by our reviewers and handling editors as HOT in the last 6 months. Don’t forget to come back next month to check out our latest HOT articles.

We hope you enjoy reading and as always, all of our articles are open access so you can easily share your favourites online and with your colleagues.

Check out the full collection!

Browse our June HOT articles below:

Directly writing flexible temperature sensor with graphene nanoribbons for disposable healthcare devices
Xue Gong, Long Zhang, Yinan Huang, Shuguang Wang, Gebo Pan and Liqiang Li
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 22222-22229
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02815K, Paper

A novel artificial intelligence protocol to investigate potential leads for Parkinson’s disease
Zhi-Dong Chen, Lu Zhao, Hsin-Yi Chen, Jia-Ning Gong, Xu Chen and Calvin Yu-Chian Chen
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 22939-22958
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA04028B, Paper

A Zn^II complex of ornidazole with decreased nitro radical anions that is still highly active on Entamoeba histolytica
Promita Nandy, Soumen Singha, Neha Banyal, Sanjay Kumar, Kasturi Mukhopadhyay and Saurabh Das
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 23286-23296
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02597F, Paper

Gas phase methanol synthesis with Raman spectroscopy for gas composition monitoring
Pavel Maksimov, Arto Laari, Vesa Ruuskanen, Tuomas Koiranen and Jero Ahola
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 23690-23701
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA04455E, Paper

Optimizing the optical and biological properties of 6-(1H-benzimidazole)-2-naphthalenol as a fluorescent probe for the detection of thiophenols: a theoretical study
Przemysław Krawczyk
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 24374-24385
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA04835F, Paper

One-pot method for the synthesis of 1-aryl-2-aminoalkanol derivatives from the corresponding amides or nitriles
Jan Otevrel, David Svestka and Pavel Bobal
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 25029-25045
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA04359A, Paper

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May HOT Articles

02 Jun 2020

We hope you enjoy reading and as always, all of our articles are open access so you can easily share your favourites online and with your colleagues.

Check out the full collection!

Browse our May HOT articles below:

Selenium modulates cadmium-induced ultrastructural and metabolic changes in cucumber seedlings
Hongyan Sun, Xiaoyun Wang, Huimin Li, Jiahui Bi, Jia Yu, Xianjun Liu, Huanxin Zhou and Zhijiang Rong
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 17892-17905
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02866E, Paper

A phenol phosphorescent microsensor of mesoporous molecularly imprinted polymers
Xiaodong Lv and Peng Gao
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 17906-17913
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02834G, Paper

Fluoxetine scaffold to design tandem molecular antioxidants and green catalysts
Giovanni Ribaudo, Marco Bortoli, Alberto Ongaro, Erika Oselladore, Alessandra Gianoncelli, Giuseppe Zagotto and Laura Orian
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 18583-18593
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA03509B, Paper

A gradient screening approach for retired lithium-ion batteries based on X-ray computed tomography images
Aihua Ran, Shuxiao Chen, Siwei Zhang, Siyang Liu, Zihao Zhou, Pengbo Nie, Kun Qian, Lu Fang, Shi-Xi Zhao, Baohua Li, Feiyu Kang, Xiang Zhou, Hongbin Sun, Xuan Zhang and Guodan Wei
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 19117-19123
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA03602A, Paper

Selective production of bio-based aromatics by aerobic oxidation of native soft wood lignin in tetrabutylammonium hydroxide
Takashi Hosoya, Kohei Yamamoto, Hisashi Miyafuji and Tatsuhiko Yamada
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 19199-19210
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA03420G, Paper

New, inexpensive and simple 3D printable device for nephelometric and fluorimetric determination based on smartphone sensing
Ezequiel Vidal, Anabela S. Lorenzetti, Miguel Ángel Aguirre, Antonio Canals and Claudia E. Domini
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 19713-19719
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02975K, Paper

Dust removal from a hydrophobic surface by rolling fizzy water droplets
Bekir Sami Yilbas, Ghassan Hassan, Hussain Al-Qahtani, Saeed Bahatab, Ahmet Z. Sahin, Abdullah Al-Sharafi and Abba Abdulhamid Abubakar
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 19811-19821
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA03215H, Paper

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April HOT Articles

13 May 2020

We hope you enjoy reading and as always, all of our articles are open access so you can easily share your favourites online and with your colleagues.

Check out the full collection!

Browse our April HOT articles below:

Synthesis of highly substituted tetrahydroquinolines using ethyl cyanoacetate via aza-Michael–Michael addition
Arunan Palanimuthu, Chinpiao Chen and Gene-Hsian Lee
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 13591-13600
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA01264E, Paper

Strategic design to create HER2-targeting proteins with target-binding peptides immobilized on a fibronectin type III domain scaffold
Wanaporn Yimchuen, Tetsuya Kadonosono, Yumi Ota, Shinichi Sato, Maika Kitazawa, Tadashi Shiozawa, Takahiro Kuchimaru, Masumi Taki, Yuji Ito, Hiroyuki Nakamura and Shinae Kizaka-Kondoh
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 15154-15162
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA00427H, Paper

A simple and cost-effective approach to fabricate tunable length polymeric microneedle patches for controllable transdermal drug delivery
Yongli Chen, Yiwen Xian, Andrew J. Carrier, Brian Youden, Mark Servos, Shufen Cui, Tiangang Luan, Sujing Lin and Xu Zhang
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 15541-15546
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA01382J, Paper

Photocurrent generation by a photosystem I-NiO photocathode for a p-type biophotovoltaic tandem cell
Yuya Takekuma, Nobuhiro Ikeda, Keisuke Kawakami, Nobuo Kamiya, Mamoru Nangoc and Morio Nagata
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 15734-15739
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA01793K, Paper

Identification of novel bacterial urease inhibitors through molecular shape and structure based virtual screening approaches
Muhammad Imran, Saba Waqar, Koji Ogata, Mahmood Ahmed, Zobia Noreen, Sundus Javed, Nazia Bibi, Habib Bokhari, Asma Amjad and Muhammad Muddassar
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 16061-16070
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02363A, Paper

Butein, isoliquiritigenin, and scopoletin attenuate neurodegeneration via antioxidant enzymes and SIRT1/ADAM10 signaling pathway
Naw Hser Gay, Wilasinee Suwanjang, Waralee Ruankham, Napat Songtawee, Prapimpun Wongchitrat, Virapong Prachayasittikul, Supaluk Prachayasittikul and Kamonrat Phopin
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 16593-16606
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA06056A, Paper

Cyclization step of noradrenaline and adrenaline autoxidation: a quantum chemical study
Nejc Umek
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 16650-16658
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02713H, Paper

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RSC Advances HOT articles – a feature interview with Shanshan Li

08 Jan 2020

Meet the Author
We are very pleased to introduce Shanshan Li, co-author of the paper ‘Characterization of co-metabolic biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether by a Acinetobacter sp. strain‘ with Dan Wang, Dan Du, Keke Qian and Wei Yan. Her article has been very well received and handpicked by our reviewers and handling editors as one of our HOT articles. Shanshan was kind enough to tell us more about the work that went into this article and what he hopes to achieve in the future. You can find out more about Shanshan and her article below and find more HOT articles in our online collection.

Shanshan Li works at the Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University.

Could you briefly explain the focus of your article to the non-specialist (in one or two sentences only) and why it is of current interest?
The article focused on characterization the co-metabolic of MTBE by a single strain Acinetobacter sp. SL3, which possesses the ability to degrade MTBE when grown on n-alkane (C₅-C₈) substrates.

With the widespread use of MTBE, its contamination has aroused great public concern, so the development of effective technology to eliminate MTBE contamination is necessary. A newly isolated Acinetobacter sp. SL3, possesses the ability to continuous degrade MTBE co-metabolically, and it is significant to investigate the useful properties of the strain for the bioremediation.

How big an impact could your results potentially have?
The results of this paper revealed the useful properties of Acinetobacter sp. SL3 for the bioremediation of MTBE via co-metabolism and provided a basis for the further development of new MTBE elimination technologies.

Could you explain the motivation behind this study?
We found that the single strain Acinetobacter sp. SL3. can degrade MTBE via co-metabolism efficiently, and the research may be applied to new MTBE elimination technologies.

In your opinion, what are the key design considerations for your study?
The key design consideration is the kinetic characteristic of MTBE co-metabolism associated with the potential pathway for the co-metabolism of MTBE by Acinetobacter sp. SL3 on n-octane.

In your article you mention that the findings can be used for the development of new MTBE elimination technologies. Please could you expand on this?
MTBE is used as an effective gasoline oxygenate because of its favorable properties. It is likely that MTBE contamination occur along with gasoline. The results of this article revealed that the higher MTBE degradation rate is observed with longer n-alkanes by Acinetobacter sp. SL3. The research may contribute to new ideas about eliminating MTBE polluted water or soil that are adjacent to gas stations.

Which part of the work towards this paper proved to be most challenging?
The most challenging section of this paper is to propose the potential pathway for the co-metabolism of MTBE by n-octane-grown cells of Acinetobacter sp. SL3.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?
I am most excited about this aspect of this work is propose the potential MTBE degradation pathway by Acinetobacter sp. SL3 grown on n-octane based on a series of experimental proofs.

What is the next step? What work is planned?
On the basis of summing up, our next work is able to concentrate on the elimination of TBA to increase MTBE degradation rate in a fixed system with time, and further verify the proposed pathway for the co-metabolism of MTBE by n-octane-grown cells of Acinetobacter sp. SL3.

Characterization of co-metabolic biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether by a Acinetobacter sp. strain
Shanshan Li, Dan Wang, Dan Du, Keke Qian and Wei Yan
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 38962-38972
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA09507A, Paper

RSC Advances Royal Society of Chemistry

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International Open Access Week 2019

24 Oct 2019

In celebration of International Open Access Week, we have collected a selection of our recent reviewer-recommended HOT articles.

As always, these articles are free to read and download. Happy reading!

International Open Access Week 2019

An anode catalyst support for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: application of organically modified titanium and silicon dioxide
Marek Malinowski, Agnieszka Iwan, Agnieszka Hreniak and Igor Tazbir
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 24428-24439
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA04862F, Paper
Subject Area: Energy

Thermostability of protein nanocages: the effect of natural extra peptide on the exterior surface
Xiaorong Zhang, Jiachen Zang, Hai Chen, Kai Zhou, Tuo Zhang, Chenyan Lv and Guanghua Zhao
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 24777-24782
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA04785A, Paper
Subject Area: Biological

Enabling chloride salts for thermal energy storage: implications of salt purity
J. Matthew Kurley, Phillip W. Halstenberg, Abbey McAlister, Stephen Raiman, Sheng Dai and Richard T. Mayes
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 25602-25608
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA03133B, Paper
Subject Area: Energy

Asymmetric retro-[1,4]-Brook rearrangement of 3-silyl allyloxysilanes via chirality transfer from silicon to carbon
Ya Wu, Hua Chen, Wenyu Yang, Yu Fan, Lu Gao, Zhishan Su, Changwei Hu and Zhenlei Song
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 26209-26213
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA05482K, Paper
Subject Area: Organic

Spermidine enhanced resistance of Chlorella to high levels of CO2 and light intensity for improving photosynthetic growth rate
Xiangdong Zhang, Jun Cheng, Hongxiang Lu, Feifei Chu, Junchen Xu, Xuebin Wang and Kefa Cen
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 26495-26502
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA05152J, Paper
Subject Area: Biological

Tannic acid-based nanopesticides coating with highly improved foliage adhesion to enhance foliar retention
Manli Yu, Changjiao Sun, Yumiao Xue, Chang Liu, Dewen Qiu, Bo Cui, Yan Zhang, Haixin Cui and Zhanghua Zeng
RSC Adv.,2019, 9, 27096-27104
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA05843E, Paper
Subject Area: Nanoscience

Activation of atomically precise silver clusters on carbon supports for styrene oxidation reactions
Kazeem O. Sulaiman, V. Sudheeshkumar and Robert W. J. Scott
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 28019-28027
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA05566E, Paper
Subject Area: Catalysis

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids quantified in soil and water using UPLC-MS/MS
Jawameer R. Hama and Bjarne W. Strobel
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 30350-30357
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA05301H, Paper
Subject Area: Environmental

Asymmetric supercapacitors with excellent rate performance by integrating Co(OH)F nanorods and layered Ti3C2Tx paper
Si Chen, Xuejiao Zhou, Xinzhi Ma, Lu Li, Panpan Sun and Mingyi Zhang
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 30957-30963
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA06393E, Paper
Subject Area: Energy

Anti-tumor effect of volatile oil from Houttuynia cordata Thunb. on HepG2 cells and HepG2 tumor-bearing mice
Linsong Yang, Weiwei Ji, Hui Zhong, Luyao Wang, Xiaolin Zhu and Jie Zhu
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 31517-31526
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA06024C, Paper
Subject Area: Biological

The role of surface copper content on biofilm formation by drinking water bacteria
I. B. Gomes, L. C. Simões and M. Simões
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 32184-32196
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA05880J, Paper
Subject Area: Biological

Mono and co-immobilization of imidazolium ionic liquids on silica: effects of the substituted groups on the adsorption behavior of 2,4-dinitrophenol
Zhike Wang, Honglian Ge, Xueyuan Wang, Cunling Ye and Shunli Fan
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 32425-32434
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA07635B, Paper
Subject Area: Environmental

Paper-based microfluidic devices based on 3D network polymer hydrogel for the determination of glucose in human whole blood
Rong-Yu He, Hsin-Yi Tseng, Hsia-An Lee, Yu-Ci Liu, Igor O. Koshevoy, Sheng-Wei Pan and Mei-Lin Ho
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 32367-32374
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA04278D, Paper
Subject Area: Analytical

Dual-mode US/MRI nanoparticles delivering siRNA and Pt(iv) for ovarian cancer treatment
Yanhua Zhang, Hui Huang, Hao Fu, Meng Zhao, Zhihua Wu, Yang Dong, He Li, Yourong Duan and Ying Sun
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 33302-33309
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA03681D, Paper
Subject Area: Chemical Biology and Medicinal

A protocol for size separation of nanographenes
Ikuya Matsumoto, Ryo Sekiya and Takeharu Haino
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 33843-33846
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA07528C, Paper
Subject Area: Materials

Long non-coding RNA PCAT1 facilitates cell growth in multiple myeloma through an MTDH-mediated AKT/β-catenin signaling pathway by sponging miR-363-3p
Ying Chen, Jinxia Hao, Jing Zhao, Ye Liu, Yuan Li, Juan Ren and Wei Wang
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 33834-33842
DOI: 10.1039/C9RA06188F, Paper
Subject Area: Biological
RSC Advances Royal Society of Chemistry

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A closer look at clean dishes: detection of domestic detergent residues with LIBS technology

05 Jun 2017

Dish detergents help keep our dishes clean; however, the long term health effects of detergent residues on tableware and cookware is yet to be discussed publicly. Studies suggest that certain household detergents may be linked with disturbances in hormone regulation in humans.

As a first step in uncovering the role of domestic dish detergent in affecting health, a research team comprising scientists from China Agricultural University, China Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture, and Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, have developed a method to detect detergent residue rapidly and in real-time, i.e., the process does not involve dissolving, preparing, or conditioning the residue prior to detection.

This method is based on a process called Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). Detergent residues are first vaporized by a high-power laser, leading to the generation of vaporized plasma. At the end of the laser pulse, these atoms and ions spontaneously return from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. This energy decay is associated with the emission of optical radiation of specific wavelengths. The emitted radiation is collected and channeled toward a spectrometer, which converts wavelength information into readable numbers that scientists can record and analyze.

Although the LIBS technology has existed for several years, and is used routinely by researchers in the field, this study let by Zhao an colleagues is the first to use this method to measure household detergents.

Graphical abstract for C7RA04304J

Analogous to how a sensor at a grocery store is programmed to recognize barcodes printed on different items, the scientists used the numbers generated by the spectrometer to generate ‘signatures’ to help them recognize the different detergents used in the study. Using this method, the team found that detergent detection in real-time can be more flexible, used with tableware of different shapes, used to measure trace amounts of detergent, compatible with dry and wet dishes, and safe on tableware.

To demonstrate the utility of the method to real world applications, the team conducted a series of timed dish washes and residue analyses. Their results suggest that a 16-minute rinse removes detergent residues. They also suggest that this information will be useful in designing and programming commercial dishwashers.

This study may someday inspire public health advocates to take a closer look at the prevalence of dish residues in public and household settings. When this day arrives, LIBS technology for residue detection may be pivotal in conducting studies to better understand the relationship between dish residues and overall wellbeing.

Read the full article here:

Detection of domestic detergent residues on porcelain tableware using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy
Xiande Zhao, Daming Dong, Yang Lic and Chunjiang Zhao
RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 28689-28695 (Open Access)

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Within The Heart: Regenerating Diseased Heart Valve Leaflets

05 Jan 2017

Hair and nails grow back, but heart valves cannot regenerate naturally. This fact is being challenged by a team of scientists who have developed a method that could someday regrow defective heart valves.

Valvular interstitial cells (VIC), the most prevalent cells in the heart valve, are developmentally locked in a state of quiescence, preventing their division within the body. In people suffering from inflammation-induced or inborn heart valve defects, damaged valves have to be replaced surgically with either mechanical (made with artificial polymers) or bioprosthetic (made with heart tissue) valves.

People with artificial valves are required to take blood thinners for extended periods and make significant changes to their lifestyle. In addition, artificial valves in younger patients do not grow and remodel with time, causing additional complications during adulthood. These issues are further compounded by an estimate suggesting that over 850,000 patients will require heart valve transplants by the year 2050.

Soumen Jana and colleagues at the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, USA approached this problem from a different angle. Relying on studies showing that VICs can be isolated from heart valves and grown in a laboratory setting, the team developed a nanofibrous membrane-based scaffolding structure to support the growth of VICs. Similar to the cross-cross patterns formed by ropes in a hammock, their polycaprolactone polymer scaffold comprises randomly oriented nanofibers (~457 nm in diameter) to form a cradle within which VICs from defective valves can be grown.

Within the body, VICs are arranged as monolayer sheets, forming a veneer on the outer surfaces of heart valve leaflets. They form this complex structure by depositing collagen – a cellular cementing protein that allows cells to interlock like a cobblestone path to form a sheet-like structure. The researchers reasoned that by artificially simulating conditions ideal for VIC growth within the body, they could create VIC sheets in the laboratory and examine their similarity to naturally occurring VICs in heart valve leaflets.

The study found that VICs from healthy valves showed greater levels of cell division on the scaffold compared to VICs from defective valves. Interestingly, the scaffold induced collagen deposition from VICs obtained from both healthy and defective valves. The study also looked at a series of genes and proteins important in VIC growth. Patient derived VICs grown on nanofibrous scaffolds deposited appropriate amounts of cementing proteins necessary for leaflet regeneration.

Clinical trials aimed at regenerating heart valves with chemical drugs and DNA modifying methods are under way. In their study, Jana and colleagues suggest VIC regeneration as a novel idea. They also engineer a scaffold that supports VIC growth, demonstrate its practicality and highlight its ability to be translated into a clinically impactful technology.

Read the full article here:

Regeneration ability of valvular interstitial cells from diseased heart valve leaflets
Soumen Jana, Rebecca Hennessy, Federico Franchi, Melissa Young, Ryan Hennessya and Amir Lerman

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A hydrogel-based trojan horse for antitumor therapy

04 Nov 2016

Paclitaxel (PTX) is among the most widely used chemotherapeutic agents in clinical settings. The drug imposes its anticancer effect by preventing cell division. Cancer cells learn to resist PTX over time by various mechanisms including creating alterations in the protein targeted by PTX and rewiring of cell survival pathways to evade cell death.

Clinicians combine PTX with suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) to suppress cancer drug resistance and improve treatment outcome. The benefits of combination therapy include improved accumulation of the drug at cancer sites, the ability to trigger cell death by complementary or synergistic mechanisms and longer retention of the drug within patients. Given the strong rationale for combination therapies, Shu and colleagues at the Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Key Laboratory on Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology, China developed a novel peptide hydrogel which encapsulates PTX and SAHA within a single co-delivery nano-carrier.

Graphical Abstract for C6RA19917H The researchers loaded PTX and SAHA onto the same nano-carrier in the following sequence: (1) an amino acid-based self assembling hydrogel precursor (Nap) was prepared, (2) PTX was conjugated to the self assembling hydrogel to form a pro-drug and (3) the pro-drug was allowed to encapsulate SAHA, forming the final drug (Nap-PTX-SAHA). The researchers subsequently characterized the mechanical features of their novel drug delivery system and tested it using a mouse model of liver cancer.

The study found that the Nap-PTX-SAHA hydrogels could be injected at room temperature into test mice, suggesting that no specialized equipment or storage conditions were necessary to administer the drug. The study also found that SAHA is released more readily than PTX from Nap-PTX-SAHA hydrogels. This could mean that cancer cells will be exposed to the two chemotherapy agents at different times, allowing for a one-two punch based tumor killing strategy.

When administered to tumor-bearing mice, the Nap-PTX-SAHA regimen was found to decrease tumor volume up to 2-fold compared to mice treated traditionally with PTX or SAHA alone. Interestingly, the researchers also noted that Nap-PTX-SAHA was associated with fewer side effects, as evidenced by normal eating behavior and weight in test mice. Interestingly, Nap-PTX-SAHA was absorbed lesser in non-target organs such as the heart, spleen and kidneys.

On the basis of these promising preclinical studies, the authors propose that Nap-PTX-SAHA represents a promising candidate for clinical trials in the years to come.

Read the full article here:

Effects of paclitaxel (PTX) prodrug-based self-assembly peptide hydrogels combined with suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) for PTX-resistant cancer and synergistic antitumor therapy

Chang Shu, Eboka Majolene B. Sabi-mouka, Wen Yang, Zhongyang Lib and Li Ding

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Micelles meet transplantation medicine: How a novel nanoparticle based immune cell blocker might benefit human organ transplantation

13 Oct 2016

Organ transplantation saves lives. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, U.S Department of Health and Human Services, over 22,000 organs transplantation surgeries have been conducted between January and September 2016.

Ischemia Reperfusion Injury (IRI) is a well characterized cardiac transplantation-related complication wherein the host tissue (graft), deprived of blood supply for prolonged periods, undergoes damage when blood supply is restored post-implantation. Immune cells at the interface of the graft and recipient tissue mediate damage by releasing inflammation-promoting chemicals and free radicals.

In a study led by Nadig and colleagues at the Department of Surgery, Division of Transplant, Medical University of South Carolina, USA, researchers first acknowledge the central role played by endothelial cells (EC) in promoting IRI-associated tissue damage and subsequently developed a novel pH-sensitive, immunosuppressive drug-loaded, targeted micelle nanoparticle to curb the damaging effects of ECs. The team choose rapamycin as their immunosuppressive drug of choice given its dual roles in limiting cytotoxic immune cell functions and in protecting tissues that make up blood vessels.

While treating patients with immunosuppressive drugs prior to surgery is currently a standard practice, a major drawback of this approach is that these drugs prevent immune system activity throughout the body, placing patients at risk for diseases including diabetes and cancer. As an initial step in addressing this limitation, Nadig et al. coated the micelles with cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartate moieties, which specifically bind to and integrin protein (the alpha v beta 3 receptor protein) present almost exclusively on ECs. As a finishing touch, the team attached fluorescent chemical compounds to allow for tracking and visualization in their studies.

Graphical abstract of "Immunosuppressive nano-therapeutic micelles downregulate endothelial cell inflammation and immunogenicity" Their studies showed that the rapamycin-loaded nanoparticles were stable and biocompatible when tested in human endothelial cells. Further, the rapamycin release could be controlled by adjusting the pH values lower than 7 or higher than 8. The study found that the micelles were being taken up by cells within 6h after incubation. The study also demonstrates the specificity of the micelles by showing that what the cells were pre-treated with an integrin inhibitor, they were less likely to take up the micelles.

To demonstrate the clinical utility of their idea, the researchers exposed human endothelial cell cultures to hydrogen peroxide to mimic IRI-like conditions. The cells responded by increasing their production of inflammation-promoting chemicals. Importantly, the rapamycin-loaded nanoparticle micelles significantly curbed this response. Nadig et al. propose that the ultimate goal is to incorporate this technology into organ storage media to minimize the harmful effects of IRI.

Read the full article here:

Immunosuppressive nano-therapeutic micelles downregulate endothelial cell inflammation and immunogenicity

Satish N. Nadig, Suraj K. Dixit, Natalie Levey, Scott Esckilsen, Kayla Miller, William Dennis, Carl Atkinson and Ann-Marie Broome

RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 43552-43562

DOI: 10.1039/C5RA04057D

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The heat is on: cancer-drug loaded nanoparticles for photothermal therapy

06 May 2016

Photothermal therapy is an emerging area of cancer treatment. Here, a photothermal agents, often nanoparticles (NPs) with a resonance peak in the 700-1200nm range, are delivered to the tumor site and are subsequently activated by light in the Near Infrared (NIR) range. As a consequence, tumor cells are thermally ablated.

In a study led by Xiaolin Li and colleagues at the Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication and Changzheng Hospital in China, scientists used SiO2@Au core-shell NPs chemically conjugated via PEGylation to graphene oxide (GO) in conjunction with a chemotherapeutic agent to target prostate cancer cells in vitro. Using the chemotherapeutic agent Docetaxel (Dtxl), which is among the leading front line treatments for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer, the team demonstrated that Dtxl-loaded SiO2@Au@GO NPs, when activated with light in the NIR range, significantly curbed the survival of DU145 prostate cancer cells.

While SiO2@Au core-shell NPs have been used previously by other research groups to study their ability to remove tumors, Li’s team fabricated SiO2@Au@GO NPs to take advantage of their relatively low cost, large specific surface area, and efficient loading and delivery of water-soluble aromatic drug molecules. This one-two punch strategy was realized via a double shell, multifunctional approach: the inner core SiO2@Au NPs served as a photothermal inducer to bring about cellular cytotoxicity; the outer GO NPs carried the antitumor drug, Dtxl. The study found that exposing DU145 cells to the NPs alone for 24h did not result in overt cell death, suggesting that the NPs have a good safety profile. Importantly, the study showed that when NP-treated cell cultures were irradiated with a 780nm NIR laser, there was a significant decline in viable cells over a 24h period.

The study demonstrates that Dtxl-loaded SiO2@Au@GO NPs could be manufactured and potentially used an an antitumor agent for the treatment of prostate cancer. Moreover, these findings illuminate the untapped potential of NP-based photothermal agents as adjuvant agents in oncology clinical trials in the near future.

Read the full article here:

Docetaxel-loaded SiO2@Au@GO core-shell nanoparticles for chemo-photothermal therapy of cancer cells

Xiaolin Li, Zhi Yang, Nantao Hu, Liying Zhang, Yafei Zhang and Lei Yin

DOI: 10.1039/C6RA03886G

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The heat is on: cancer-drug loaded nanoparticles for photothermal therapy

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