Liquid-Metal Core-Shell Particles Coated with Folate and Phospholipids for Targeted Drug Delivery and Photothermal Treatment of Cancer Cells.

Recently, several methods have been used for cancer treatment. Among them, chemotherapy is generally used, but general anticancer drugs may affect normal cells and tissues, causing various side effects. To reduce the side effects and increase the efficacy of anticancer drugs, a folate-based liquid-metal drug nanodelivery system was used to target the folate receptor, which is highly expressed in cancer cells. A phospholipid-based surface coating was formed on the surface of liquid-metal nanoparticles to increase their stability, and doxorubicin was loaded as a drug delivery system. Folate on the lipid shell surface increased the efficiency of targeting cancer cells. The photothermal properties of liquid metal were confirmed by near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. After treating cancerous and normal cells with liquid-metal particles and NIR irradiation, the particles were specifically bound to cancer cells for drug uptake, confirming photothermal therapy as a drug delivery system that is expected to induce cancer cell death through comprehensive effects such as vascular embolization in addition to targeting cancer cells.

Sensitive and specific capture of polystyrene and polypropylene microplastics using engineered peptide biosensors.

Owing to increased environmental pollution, active research regarding microplastics circulating in the ocean has attracted significant interest in recent times. Microplastics accumulate in the bodies of living organisms and adversely affect them. In this study, a new method for the rapid detection of microplastics using peptides was proposed. Among the various types of plastics distributed in the ocean, polystyrene and polypropylene were selected. The binding affinity of the hydrophobic peptides suitable for each type of plastic was evaluated. The binding affinities of peptides were confirmed in unoxidized plastics and plasma-oxidized plastics in deionised or 3.5% saline water. Also, the detection of microplastics in small animals' intestine extracts were possible with the reported peptide biosensors. We expect plastic-binding peptides to be used in sensors to increase the detection efficiency of microplastics and potentially help separate microplastics from seawater.

Pre/post-natal exposure to microplastic as a potential risk factor for autism spectrum disorder.

In common with the increase in environmental pollution in the past 10 years, there has also been a recent increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this regard, we hypothesized that exposure to microplastics is a potential risk factor for ASD. To evaluate the validity of this hypothesis, we initially examined the accumulation of polyethylene (PE) in the brains of mice and then assessed the behavioral effects using mouse models at different life stages, namely, prenatal, post-weaning, puberty, and adult models. Based on typical behavioral assessments of autistic traits in the model mice, we established that ASD-like traits were induced in mice after PE feeding. In addition, we examined the induction of ASD-like traits in response to microplastic exposure using positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, microarray, and microbiome analysis. We believe these findings provide evidence in microplastics as a potential risk factor for ASD.

Peptide Specific Nanoplastic Detection Based on Sandwich Typed Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance.

Recently, various waste microplastics sensors have been introduced in response to environmental and biological hazards posed by waste microplastics. In particular, the detrimental effects of nano-sized plastics or nanoplastics have been reported to be severe. Moreover, there have been many difficulties for sensing microplastics due to the limited methodologies for selectively recognizing nanoplastics. In this study, a customized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) based localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) system having bio-mimicked peptide probes toward the nanoplastics was demonstrated. The specific determination through the oligo-peptide recognition was accomplished by chemical conjugation both on the LSPR chip's 40~50 nm Au NPs and sandwiched 5 nm Au NPs, respectively. The peptide probe could selectively bind to polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics in the forms of fragmented debris by cryo-grinding. A simple UV-Vis spectrophotometer was used to identify the LSPR sensing by primarily measuring the absorbance change and shift of absorption peak. The sandwich-binding could increase the LSPR detection sensitivity up to 60% due to consecutive plasmonic effects. In addition, microwave-boiled DI water inside of a styrofoam container was tested for putative PS nanoplastics resource as a real accessible sample. The LSPR system could be a novel protocol overcoming the limitations from conventional nanoplastic detection.