Machine Learning-Inspired Molecular Design, Divergent Syntheses, and X-ray Analyses of Dithienobenzothiazole-Based Semiconductors Controlled by S•••N and S•••S Interactions.

Inspired by the previous machine-learning study that the number of hydrogen-bonding acceptor (NHBA) is important index for the hole mobility of organic semiconductors, seven dithienobenzothiazole (DBT) derivatives 1a-g (NHBA = 5) were designed and synthesized by one-step functionalization from a common precursor. X-ray single-crystal structural analyses confirmed that the molecular arrangements of 1b (the diethyl and ethylthienyl derivative) and 1c (the di(n-propyl) and n-propylthienyl derivative) in the crystal are classified into brickwork structures with multidirectional intermolecular charge-transfer integrals, as a result of incorporation of multiple hydrogen-bond acceptors. The solution-processed top-gate bottom-contact devices of 1b and 1c had hole mobilities of 0.16 and 0.029 cm2 V-1s-1, respectively.

Turbulence Activates Platelet Biogenesis to Enable Clinical Scale Ex Vivo Production.

The ex vivo generation of platelets from human-induced pluripotent cells (hiPSCs) is expected to compensate donor-dependent transfusion systems. However, manufacturing the clinically required number of platelets remains unachieved due to the low platelet release from hiPSC-derived megakaryocytes (hiPSC-MKs). Here, we report turbulence as a physical regulator in thrombopoiesis in vivo and its application to turbulence-controllable bioreactors. The identification of turbulent energy as a determinant parameter allowed scale-up to 8 L for the generation of 100 billion-order platelets from hiPSC-MKs, which satisfies clinical requirements. Turbulent flow promoted the release from megakaryocytes of IGFBP2, MIF, and Nardilysin to facilitate platelet shedding. hiPSC-platelets showed properties of bona fide human platelets, including circulation and hemostasis capacities upon transfusion in two animal models. This study provides a concept in which a coordinated physico-chemical mechanism promotes platelet biogenesis and an innovative strategy for ex vivo platelet manufacturing.

Hexaphyrin as a Potential Theranostic Dye for Photothermal Therapy and 19 F Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Two features of meso-Aryl-substituted expanded porphyrins suggest suitability as theranostic agents. They have excellent absorption in near infrared (NIR) region, and they offer the possibility of introduction of multiple fluorine atoms at structurally equivalent positions. Here, hexaphyrin (hexa) was synthesized from 2,6-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4-formyl benzoate and pyrrole and evaluated as a novel expanded porphyrin with the above features. Under NIR illumination hexa showed intense photothermal and weak photodynamic effects, which were most likely due to its low excited states, close to singlet oxygen. The sustained photothermal effect caused ablation of cancer cells more effectively than the photodynamic effect of indocyanine green (a clinical dye). In addition, hexa showed potential for use in the visualization of tumors by 19 F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), because of the multiple fluorine atoms. Our results strongly support the utility of expanded porphyrins as theranostic agents in both photothermal therapy and 19 F MRI.

Polymer-coated pH-responsive high-density lipoproteins.

Intracellular drug delivery by nanoparticles is often hampered by their endosomal entrapment followed by their degradation in the lysosomal compartment and/or exocytosis. Here, we show that internalization and endosomal escape of cargoes in a cationized natural nanocarrier, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), can be controlled in a pH-dependent manner through stable complexation with a membranolytic anionic block polymer. A genetically and chemically cationized form of HDL (catHDL) is prepared for the first time by both genetic fusion with YGRKKRRQRRR peptide and incorporation of 1,2-dioleoyloxy-3-(trimethylammonium)propane. Upon addition of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (PA), catHDL yields inhibition of internalization at neutral pH and its subsequent recovery at mildly acidic pH. catHDL forms a stable discoidal-shape complex with PA (catHDL/PA) (ca. 50 nm in diameter), even in the presence of serum. Significant enhancement of endosomal escape of a catHDL component is observed after a 1-h treatment of human cancer cells with catHDL/PA. Doxorubicin and curcumin, fluorescent anti-cancer drugs, encapsulated into catHDL/PA are also translocated outside of endosomes, compared with that into catHDL, and their cytotoxicities are enhanced inside the cells. These data suggest that catHDL/PA may have a potential benefit to improve the cellular delivery and endosomal escape of therapeutics under mildly acidic conditions such as in tumor tissues.

Structural and functional changes in high-density lipoprotein induced by chemical modification.

Reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (rHDL), a natural nanoparticle consisting of apolipoprotein A-I and phospholipids, was modified with a hydrophobic fluorescent dye before (pre-rHDL) and after (post-rHDL) reconstitution. Pre-rHDL particles had a similar size to unmodified rHDL, but post-rHDL particles were significantly larger and their avidity for a HDL receptor was 2.6 times of that shown by pre-rHDL.

Exclusive photothermal heat generation by a gadolinium bis(naphthalocyanine) complex and inclusion into modified high-density lipoprotein nanocarriers for therapeutic applications.

A hydrophobic gadolinium bis(naphthalocyanine) sandwich complex (GdSand) possessing several absorbances across visible and infrared wavelengths (up to 2500 nm) was solubilized in aqueous solution by uptake into a nascent mutant high-density lipoprotein (HDL) nanocarrier. The HDL nanocarrier was additionally functionalized with a trans-activator of transcription peptide sequence to promote efficient cell penetration of the drug delivery system (cpHDL). The dye-loaded nanocarrier (GdSand@cpHDL) exhibited photothermal heat generation properties upon irradiation with near-infrared (NIR) laser light, with controllable heat generation abilities as a function of the incident laser light power. Comparison of the photothermal behavior of the dyes GdSand and the well-explored molecular photothermal agent indocyanine green (ICG) in the cpHDL nanocarrier (i.e., ICG@cpHDL) revealed two significant advantages of GdSand@cpHDL: (1) the ability to maintain elevated temperatures upon light absorption for extended periods of time, with a reduced degree of self-destruction of the dye, and (2) exclusive photothermal heat generation with no detectable singlet oxygen production leading to improved integrity of the cpHDL nanocarrier after irradiation. Finally, GdSand@cpHDL was successfully subjected to an in vitro study against NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells, demonstrating the proof-of-principle utility of lanthanide sandwich complexes in photothermal therapeutic applications.