Recent Technological and Intellectual Property Trends in Antibody-Drug Conjugate Research.

Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapy, an advanced therapeutic technology comprising antibodies, chemical linkers, and cytotoxic payloads, addresses the limitations of traditional chemotherapy. This study explores key elements of ADC therapy, focusing on antibody development, linker design, and cytotoxic payload delivery. The global rise in cancer incidence has driven increased investment in anticancer agents, resulting in significant growth in the ADC therapy market. Over the past two decades, notable progress has been made, with approvals for 14 ADC treatments targeting various cancers by 2022. Diverse ADC therapies for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors have emerged, with numerous candidates currently undergoing clinical trials. Recent years have seen a noteworthy increase in ADC therapy clinical trials, marked by the initiation of numerous new therapies in 2022. Research and development, coupled with patent applications, have intensified, notably from major companies like Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY, USA), AbbVie Pharmaceuticals Inc. (USA), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Tarrytown, NY, USA), and Seagen Inc. (Bothell, WA, USA). While ADC therapy holds great promise in anticancer treatment, challenges persist, including premature payload release and immune-related side effects. Ongoing research and innovation are crucial for advancing ADC therapy. Future developments may include novel conjugation methods, stable linker designs, efficient payload delivery technologies, and integration with nanotechnology, driving the evolution of ADC therapy in anticancer treatment.

Highly Dispersed Pt-Incorporated Mesoporous Fe2O3 for Low-Level Sensing of Formaldehyde Gas.

Highly dispersed Pt-incorporated mesoporous Fe2O3 (Pt/m-Fe2O3) of 4 µm size is prepared through a simple hydrothermal reaction and thermal decomposition procedures. Furthermore, the formaldehyde gas-sensing properties of Pt/m-Fe2O3 are investigated. Compared with our previous mesoporous Fe2O3-based gas sensors, a gas sensor based on 0.2% Pt/m-Fe2O3 shows improved gas response by over 90% in detecting low-level formaldehyde gas at 50 ppb concentration, an enhanced selectivity of formaldehyde gas, and a lower degradation of sensing performance in high-humidity environments. Additionally, the gas sensor exhibits similar properties as the previous sensor, such as operating temperature (275 °C) and long-term stability. The enhancement in formaldehyde gas-sensing performance is attributed to the attractive catalytic chemical sensitization of highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles in the mesoporous Fe2O3 microcube architecture.

Dexamethasone-Loaded Radially Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Sustained Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Radially mesoporous silica nanoparticles (RMSNs) with protonated amine functionality are proposed to be a dexamethasone (Dex) carrier that could achieve a sustained anti-inflammatory effect in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). High-capacity loading and a sustained release of target drugs were achieved by radially oriented mesopores and surface functionality. The maximum loading efficiency was confirmed to be about 76 wt%, which is about two times greater than that of representative mesopores silica, SBA-15. In addition, Dex-loaded RMSNs allow a sustained-release profile with about 92% of the loaded Dex for 100 h in vitro, resulting in 2.3-fold better delivery efficiency of Dex than that of the SBA-15 over the same period. In vivo evaluation of the inhibitory effects on inflammation in a RA disease rat model showed that, compared with the control groups, the group treated with Dex-loaded RMSNs sustained significant anti-inflammatory effects and recovery of cartilage over a period of 8 weeks. The in vivo effects were confirmed via micro-computed tomography, bone mineral density measurements, and modified Mankin scoring. The proposed Dex-loaded RMSNs prolonged the life of the in vivo concentrations of therapeutic agents and maximized their effect, which should encourage its application.

pH- and temperature-responsive radially porous silica nanoparticles with high-capacity drug loading for controlled drug delivery.

The design of smart and functional nanocarriers for drug delivery systems that use a variety of organic and inorganic materials has led to the development of nanomedicines with improved therapeutic efficiency and reduced side effects. In this study, a pH- and temperature-responsive, controlled-release system with a high capacity for drug loading was developed based on radially porous silica nanoparticles composed of functionalized ligands and polymer encapsulation. This drug delivery system uses radially oriented mesoporous silica nanoparticles as the drug carrier, and control of the surface chemistry of those nanocarriers allows high-capacity loading efficiency of target drugs and stimuli-responsive release kinetics governed by pH and temperature. The delivery of ibuprofen was chosen to test this system, and a maximum loading efficiency of ca. 270 wt% was established, which was 3 times greater than that in previous studies for silica nanoparticles such as SBA-15, MCA-41, and MCM-48. In addition, the pH- and temperature-responsive release of ibuprofen was achieved when the surface of the nanocarriers was treated by pH-responsive amine functionalization and a temperature-responsive surface coating of agarose gel. Finally, cytotoxicity testing using the fibroblast cells showed that the developed silica nanocarriers have no toxicity on the cells, which should allow these nanocarriers to be applied as a nanomedicine in drug delivery systems.

Enhancing the evanescent field in TiO2/Au hybrid thin films creates a highly sensitive room-temperature formaldehyde gas biosensor.

Discovery of the relationship between disease and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained in respiratory gas in human bodies has led to the development of analytical methods and detection systems that can be used for diagnosis. Recent studies, however, have encountered problems using these diagnostic tools when operation temperatures are too high and the detection range of the gas concentration falls beyond the limits of diagnosis criteria. In this study, we propose a highly sensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor that is based on an enhanced evanescent wave technique and can be operated at room temperature (RT) for the detection of formaldehyde. The detection system relies on an improved Kretschmann configuration with an enhanced signal transducer algorithm and a novel microfluidic gas channel that can accomplish highly sensitive quantification using ligand-modified TiO2/Au hybrid thin film as a RT-operated sensing interface. The detection of formaldehyde was chosen to test this concept, because formaldehyde is a known breast cancer biomarker that exists in human exhalation. When the interface of our sensing system was exposed to formaldehyde, the interaction between the ligand and the analyte produced changes in the SPR profiles of the gold thin film. The linear range of the detection system was 0.2-1.8 ppm with limit of detection at 0.2 ppm. The diagnostic criteria suggest this method could be applied to biological monitoring and diagnostics.

Novel color filters for the correction of red-green color vision deficiency based on the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Au nanoparticles.

Color filters are promising tools for the correction of color vision deficiency because a medical cure of this physiological deficiency is unattainable. After the introduction of organic-dye based color filters, however, no appreciable progress has been made. In this study, gold nanoparticle-based plasmonic color filter devices, that is, EyEye-lens and EyEye-film, were developed for the correction of color vision deficiency. The EyEye-lens was prepared by a simple immobilizing technique, and the EyEye-film was readily synthesized through a one-pot method. These color filter devices are based on tunable localized surface plasmon resonance in the visible and near-infrared spectral range. Plasmonic nanoparticles embedded in the color filter provide a specific spectral color range for the correction of color vision deficiency. Careful color vision tests using an Ishihara plate were performed on subjects with red-green color deficiency. Statistical analysis of the color vision tests revealed that the EyEye-lens and EyEye-film have similar or better performance in the correction of red-green color deficiency than a commercial ChromaGen lens. The newly developed color filter devices should be considered as alternative personalized color filter devices for practical applications.

Sensitive Detection of Formaldehyde Gas Using Modified Dandelion-Like SiO2/Au Film and Surface Plasmon Resonance System.

To address the demands for the sensitive and real-time detection of formaldehyde gas at ambient temperature, a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing system based on modified dandelion-like SiO2 nanoparticles/Au thin film is developed. The sensing system relies on modified SiO2 nanoparticles having radially arranged mesopores on the Au thin film, providing well-distributed and specific binding sites for formaldehyde and amplifying the sensing SPR signal. The linear range for the quantification is 0.2∼1.5 ppm with a limit of detection at 0.2 ppm. The regulation level of formaldehyde exposure suggests that the developed sensing system could be suitable to the real-time environmental and workplace monitoring.

A combined top-down/bottom-up approach to structuring multi-sensing zones on a thin film and the application to SPR sensors.

The development of a thin film with well-defined metallic micro/nanostructures, diverse surface functionalities, and superior electronic/optical properties has been a great challenge to researchers seeking an efficient method for the detection of various analytes in chemical and biological sensing applications. Herein, we report a facile and effective approach to the fabrication of an ordered gold island pattern on a glass substrate with contrasted chemical functionalities, which can provide spatially separated sensing zones for multi-detection. In the proposed method, the combination between the micro/nano-imprint lithography and sequential self-assembly approaches exhibited synergistic effects that allowed well-defined structuring and easy surface functionalization in separated sensing zones. Via imprint lithography, the uniform gold islands/glass structure was successfully fabricated from a readily available gold-coated glass film. In addition, a sequential self-assembling strategy and specific chemical-substrate interactions, such as thiol-gold and silane-glass, enabled the surfaces of gold islands and exposed portions of the glass substrate with contrasting chemical functionalities-SH-functionalized gold islands and NH2-functionalized glass substrate. A proof-of-concept experiment for the multi-detection of heavy metal ions (Hg(2+) and Cu(2+)) in an aqueous media was also successfully conducted using the dual-functionalized gold islands/glass structure and surface plasmon resonance measurements. The SH groups on the gold islands and the NH2 groups on the glass substrate functioned as spatially separated and selective receptors for Hg(2+) and Cu(2+) ions, respectively. Therefore, both the detection and quantification of Hg(2+) and Cu(2+) ions could be achieved using a single sensing substrate.

Effects of catalyst pore structure and acid properties on the dehydration of glycerol.

Hierarchical porous catalysts have recently attracted increasing interest because of the enhanced accessibility to active sites on such materials. In this context, previously reported hierarchically mesoporous ASN and ASPN materials are evaluated by applying them to the dehydration of glycerol, and demonstrate excellent catalytic performance. In addition, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of pore structures and the acid properties on the reaction through comparative studies with microporous HZSM-5 and mesoporous AlMCM-41 is provided.

Sensitive and selective analysis of a wide concentration range of IGFBP7 using a surface plasmon resonance biosensor.

A sensitive method for selectively detecting insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) over a wide range of concentrations based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensing techniques is described. IGFBP7 has been shown to regulate cell proliferation, cell adhesion, cellular senescence, apoptosis, and angiogenesis in several different cancer cell lines. Since the concentration of IGFBP7 can vary widely in the body, determining the precise concentration of IGFBP7 over a wide range of concentrations is important, since it serves as an inducible biomarker for both disease diagnosis and subsequent therapy. The SPR sensing method is based on the selective interaction of IGFBP7 with specific anti-IGFBP7 proteins on a gold thin film, which was covalently bound to the Fc-binding domain of protein G on a mixed self-assembled monolayer composed of DSNHS (S2(CH2)11COO(CH2)2COO-(N-hydroxysuccinimide)) and mercaptoundecanol, and effect of this on changes in the SPR profiles. The limit of detection (LOD) of the SPR biosensor was determined to be 10 ng/ml, which is a reasonable LOD value for biomedical applications. The response is essentially linear in the concentration range of 10-300 ng/ml. The SPR biosensor also shows specificity for IGFBP7 compared to that for biologically relevant interleukin (IL) derivatives including IL4, IL23, IL29, and IFG1. These molecules are also present along with IGFBP7 in the cell culture medium and have the potential to interfere with the analysis. Finally, the level secretion of IGFBP7 from cancer cells detected by the SPR biosensor showed a good correlation with a commercial kit using an IGFBP7 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The findings reported herein indicate that the SPR biosensor for IGFBP7 would be applicable in a wide variety of biomedical fields.

A facile approach for the preparation of tunable acid nano-catalysts with a hierarchically mesoporous structure.

A facile and efficient approach to prepare hierarchically and radially mesoporous nano-catalysts with tunable acidic properties has been successfully developed. The nanospheres show excellent catalytic performance for the acid catalysed reactions, i.e. cracking of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene and hydrolysis of sucrose.

Mesoporous siliconiobium phosphate as a pure Brønsted acid catalyst with excellent performance for the dehydration of glycerol to acrolein.

The development of solid acid catalysts that contain a high density of Brønsted acid sites with suitable acidity, as well as a long lifetime, is one of great challenges for the efficient dehydration of glycerol to acrolein. Herein, we report on a mesoporous siliconiobium phosphate (NbPSi-0.5) composite, which is a promising solid Brønsted acid that is a potential candidate for such a high-performance catalyst. A variety of characterization results confirm that NbPSi-0.5 contains nearly pure Brønsted acid sites and has well-defined large mesopores. In addition, NbPSi-0.5 contains a similar amount of acid sites and exhibits weaker acidity than that of the highly acidic niobium phosphate and HZSM-5 zeolite. NbPSi-0.5 is quite stable and has a high activity for the dehydration of glycerol. The stability of NbPSi-0.5 is about three times higher than that of the reported catalyst. The significantly enhanced catalytic performance of NbPSi-0.5 can be attributed to 1) nearly pure Brønsted acidity, which suppresses side reactions that lead to coke formation; 2) a significant reduction of pore blocking due to the mesopores; and 3) a decrease in the amount and oxidation temperature of coke.