Analysis of Left Atrial Function after Percutaneous Intramyocardial Septal Radiofrequency Ablation in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

INTRODUCTION: The main goal of our research was to explore the effect of percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation (PIMSRA) on left atrial (LA) phasic function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). METHODS: The study included 13 patients who underwent PIMSRA at our hospital. The function of LA including reservoir, conduit, and booster pump was analyzed and compared before and 6 months after PIMSRA in HCM patients. LA reservoir function parameters contain maximal LA volume, minimal LA volume (LAV min), LA ejection fraction (LAEF), LA expansion index (LAEI), and reservoir strain; LA conduit function includes LA volume before atrial systole, LA passive volume, LA passive ejection fraction, and conduit strain; LA booster function involves LA booster volume, LA active ejection fraction, and LA contraction strain. Additionally, 20 healthy controls were selected to compare the LA function of HCM patients. RESULTS: The preoperative LA reservoir and conduit function in HCM patients were significantly impaired compared with the control group, while the change in booster pump function was not obvious. HCM patients at 6 months after PIMSRA had remarkably enhanced reservoir and conduit functions which were manifested by lower LAV min, higher LAEF, LAEI, reservoir, and conduit strain than before the operation, and the differences among these parameters between patients after PIMSRA and the healthy control group were not significant. However, with regard to LA contraction function, there was no significant improvement at 6 months after PIMSRA compared with before operation. CONCLUSION: PIMSRA is effective in the amelioration of LA reservoir and conduit function in patients with HCM but not in a marked improvement of LA contraction function in these individuals in short term.

Two-dimensional silicene photodynamic tumor-targeting nanomedicine.

Since the innovative development of photosensitizers (PSs) is pivotal prerequisite for the successful clinical translation of photodynamic therapy (PDT), the unresolved challenges of classical PSs such as photobleaching, poor bioavailability, lack of tumor selectivity encourage the exploitation of new-generation PSs. In this work, we develop silicene nanosheets with unparalleled physiochemical nature and intriguing biocompatibility as the distinct two-dimensional (2D) nanoscale photosensitizer based on the mechanism of wet-chemical synthetic approach to achieve effective PDT-based tumor nanotherapy. The generation capacities of singlet oxygen (1O2) in different atmospheres have been systematically explored in depth. Furthermore, the conjunction of c (RGDyC) onto 2D silicene nanosheets (denoted as SRGD) endows the SRGD nanomedicines with specific targeting properties to α v ß 3 integrin-overexpressed cancer cells, accomplishing in vivo and in vitro potent tumor growth inhibition efficiency. More notably, the excellent light absorption capacity of 2D silicene enables the tumor-specific photoacoustic imaging for potentiating the therapeutic guidance and monitoring. This paradigm can inspire the future design and applications of 2D silicene-based cancer-theranostic nanoplatform in biology and medicine.

Potentiated cytosolic drug delivery and photonic hyperthermia by 2D free-standing silicene nanosheets for tumor nanomedicine.

Silicene, as an emerging two-dimensional (2D) silicon allotrope, mainly serves in the field of electronics and energy devices but multidisciplinary studies on 2D silicene have been rarely carried out, especially the potential translational biomedical practice. In this study, we explore a high-performance photonic drug-delivery nanoplatform based on 2D ultrathin silicene nanosheets (DOX@silicene-BSA NSs) regarding effective chemotherapeutic drug loading (capacity amount of w/w%: 137.0%) while highlighting the potentiated cytosolic drug-delivery efficiency (spatiotemporally pH-/NIR-triggered drug-release) and NIR-II-activated photonic hyperthermia (η = 19.7%) performance, thus, enabling the potential synergistic chemotherapeutic and phototherapeutic outcomes. The cellular endocytotic mechanism of these nanosheets in cancer cells has been comprehensively studied and provides an essential understanding of the nano-bio interactions of silicene-based nanosheets or other emerging 2D nanostructures. Prominent suppression of tumor growth was achieved by synergistic chemotherapy and photonic hyperthermia with negligible adverse effects and expected degradability, thus addressing the several fundamental barriers of oncology-related nanotherapies. This work highlights silicene, which integrates the merits of high specific surface area endowed with 2D topology, intrinsic responsiveness toward physical/chemical stimuli, and biomedical necessity of biodegradation and biosafety, as a promising next-generation omnipotent alternative to subrogate traditional silicon-based biomaterials and non-biocompatible nanoagents in clinical translation nanomedicine.

Two-dimensional silicene composite nanosheets enable exogenous/endogenous-responsive and synergistic hyperthermia-augmented catalytic tumor theranostics.

Silicene as an emerging two-dimensional material (2DM) spurs the broad research interests due to its prominent electronic and physical properties, however, still lacking in exploitation for the biological and medical practices. Herein, we constructed a 2D silicene-based theranostic nanoplatform, MnOx@silicene-BSA (MS-BSA), with tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive and synergistic hyperthermia-augmented catalytic activity when irradiated by near infrared-II (NIR-II) laser because of the high photothermal-conversion efficiency of 2D silicene matrix. Such MS-BSA nanosheets possess the capability to react with glutathione (GSH) to generate Mn2+ and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) under acidity/reducing TME condition. With the presence/assistance of HCO3-, the released Mn2+ exhibited sensitive catalytic activity towards endogenous H2O2via Fenton-like reaction, enabling the generation of highly toxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH), which finally led to the enhanced nanocatalytic therapeutic efficacy followed by exogenous NIR-II laser exposure, originating from hyperthermia-augmented catalytic activity. Especially, these MS-BSA nanosheets accumulated into the tumor region to enable superb contrast enhancement of TME-responsive T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and photoacoustic imaging (PAI), and high-efficient in vivo synergistic tumor eradication. Therefore, such an intelligent photothermal-enhanced catalytic theranostic nanoplatform could realize the exogenous/endogenous-responsive and cooperative hyperthermia-augmented tumor treatment and accurate tumor positioning/monitoring.