Mn2+ /Ir3+ -Doped and CaCO3 -Covered Prussian Blue Nanoparticles with Indocyanine Green Encapsulation for Tumor Microenvironment Modulation and Image-Guided Synergistic Cancer Therapy.

The development of smart theranostic nanoplatforms has gained great interest in effective cancer treatment against the complex tumor microenvironment (TME), including weak acidity, hypoxia, and glutathione (GSH) overexpression. Herein, a TME-responsive nanoplatform named PMICApt /ICG, based on PB:Mn&Ir@CaCO3 Aptamer /ICG, is designed for the competent synergistic photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT) under the guidance of photothermal and magnetic resonance imaging. The nanoplatform's aptamer modification targeting the transferrin receptor and the epithelial cell adhesion molecule on breast cancer cells, and the acid degradable CaCO3 shell allow for effective tumor accumulation and TME-responsive payload release in situ. The nanoplatform also exhibits excellent PDT properties due to its ability to generate O2 and consume antioxidant GSH in tumors. Additionally, the synergistic therapy is achieved by a single wavelength of near-infrared laser. RNA sequencing is performed to identify differentially expressed genes, which show that the expressions of proliferation and migration-associated genes are inhibited, while the apoptosis and immune response gene expressions are upregulated after the synergistic treatments. This multifunctional nanoplatform that responds to the TME to realize the on-demand payload release and enhance PDT induced by TME modulation holds great promise for clinical applications in tumor therapy.

A comparison study of test organism species and methodologies for combined toxicity assay of copper ions and zinc ions.

The general toxicity assays for evaluating the risk of aquatic environment were commonly based on single-species test organism models. Thus, the lack and conflict of the different responses among species had hindered researchers to assess the real toxicity of a target toxicant. Therefore, the difference between the test species and their corresponding methodologies was investigated in this work and three species, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (a fish), were chosen as the test organism for typical prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and vertebrates, respectively. More specifically, we investigated (i) the individual and combined toxicity of Cu2+ and Zn2+ by the three test organisms; (ii) the different evaluation manners for the test organisms, including IC50 and toxic unit (TU) model for microorganisms by respiratory toxicity assay and enzyme-substrate assay, while survival time for fish; and (iii) the states of test organism, including suspended and immobilized states for microorganisms. The combined effects, including synergistic (Vt < Vp), antagonistic (Vt > Vp) and additive effects for the three species, were complex as that they were usually dose-dependent and could be changed by the different evaluation manners. The present work was useful for enriching of the associated theory and the insights from this work could open the way for further practical risk assessments.