Diet Quality Among Children.

This cross-sectional study uses data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the USDA's Food Patterns Equivalents Database from 2005 to 2020 to assess temporal changes in diet quality among US children aged 12 to 23 months.

High luminescent N,S,P co-doped carbon dots for the fluorescence sensing of extreme acidity and folic acid.

Carbon dots are popular luminescent materials because of their excellent fluorescence properties, but the low quantum yield limits their application. Heteroatom doping is a more convenient and popular approach to increase the quantum yield of carbon dots. Here, novel N,S,P heteroatom co-doped carbon dots (N,S,P-CDs) were synthesized by a simple one-step hydrothermal method using m-phenylenediamine, L-cysteine and phosphoric acid as raw materials. The as-prepared N,S,P-CDs showed excellent photoluminescence properties with a fluorescence quantum yield of up to 41%, which greatly encourages their application in fluorescence sensing. The N,S,P-CDs exhibited good fluorescence stability under salt solution, xenon lamp irradiation and ultraviolet lamp irradiation except for a high sensitivity to extreme acidity. The fluorescence intensity of the N,S,P-CDs can be decreased by as much as 85% when the pH of the solution changes from 2.50 to 4.75, that is, a small fluctuation in pH can cause an intense response of the fluorescence of the N,S,P-CDs. Therefore, an excellent fluorescence sensing platform for accurately monitoring the pH of extreme acidity has been constructed. In addition, the N,S,P-CDs can be applied for quantitative detection of folic acid based on the strong quenching effect of folic acid on the fluorescence of the N,S,P-CDs. Good linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 4.85-82.45 µM, with a detection limit of 0.148 µM. The constructed sensing platform was used for the determination of folic acid in actual samples of orange juice, oatmeal and tablets with satisfactory results.

Folic acid-maltodextrin polymer coated magnetic graphene oxide as a NIR-responsive nano-drug delivery system for chemo-photothermal synergistic inhibition of tumor cells.

The combination of chemo-photothermal therapy with high efficiency and fewer side effects has a good application prospect in cancer treatment. It is of great significance to construct a nano-drug delivery system with cancer cell targeting, high drug loading and excellent photothermal conversion efficiency. Therefore, a novel nano-drug carrier MGO-MDP-FA was successfully constructed by coating folic acid-grafted maltodextrin polymers (MDP-FA) on the surface of Fe3O4-modified graphene oxide (MGO). The nano-drug carrier combined the cancer cell targeting of FA and the magnetic targeting of MGO. A large amount of anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded by π-π interaction, hydrogen bond interaction and hydrophobic interaction, with the maximum loading amount and loading capacity of 657.9 mg g-1 and 39.68 wt%, respectively. Based on the excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of MGO, MGO-MDP-FA showed good thermal ablation effect of tumor cells in vitro under NIR irradiation. In addition, MGO-MDP-FA@DOX showed excellent chemo-photothermal synergistic tumor inhibition in vitro (tumor cell killing rate reached 80%). In conclusion, the novel nano-drug delivery system MGO-MDP-FA constructed in this paper provides a promising nano-platform for chemo-photothermal synergistic treatment of cancer.

A benzimidazole-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for the accurate and rapid monitoring of lysosomal pH in cell autophagy and anticounterfeiting.

The change in lysosomal pH is an important physiological indicator in the process of cell autophagy. Herein, a ratiometric fluorescent probe, 4-(2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)vinyl)-N,N-dimethylaniline (BD), has been synthesized and applied for lysosomal pH detection and cell autophagy imaging. In this probe, the imidazole group and dimethylamino group possess excellent lysosomal targeting ability and the benzimidazole moiety acts as a proton reaction site. BD reveals an obvious ratiometric fluorescence emission with an ideal pKa value of 4.73 and a linear response in the range of 4.06-5.20, which is considered useful for the quantitative detection and imaging of lysosomal pH change. Meanwhile, BD exhibits a larger Stokes shift, good selectivity, strong photostability, good reversibility and good biocompatibility, which makes BD capable of being applied to complex biological environments. Ratiometric fluorescence imaging studies show that BD can selectively monitor the pH in the lysosomes of live cells, and even real-time dynamic monitoring of cell autophagy can be conducted. Moreover, BD also shows excellent application potential in the field of anticounterfeiting.

ß-Cyclodextrin-cholic acid-hyaluronic acid polymer coated Fe3O4-graphene oxide nanohybrids as local chemo-photothermal synergistic agents for enhanced liver tumor therapy.

Synergistic photochemical therapy with high performance and weak side effects is of great importance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment, therefore ingenious construct of nano-based therapy agents with accurate drug delivery and high photothermal conversion efficiency is of critical to the cancer therapy. Herein, an organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterial (MGO@CD-CA-HA) has been constructed successfully by coating the ß-cyclodextrin-cholic acid-hyaluronic acid polymer (CD-CA-HA) onto the Fe3O4-graphene oxide (MGO). The MGO@CD-CA-HA revealed satisfactory multiple-targeted features including the cholic acid supplied hepatic-target, CD44-receptor target of hyaluronic acid and magnetic target of Fe3O4. Meanwhile, the hydrophobic antitumor drug camptothecin (CPT) was easily loaded by MGO@CD-CA-HA to form the MGO@CD-CA-HA/CPT nanocomposite, and the maximum theoretical adsorption capacity can reach 847.4 mg/g. Based on the facile photothermal response of MGO, the near-infrared radiation (808 nm) induced local hyperthermia was directly generated the apoptosis of tumor cells while triggered the release of CPT. Comparing with other kinds of cancer cells and normal hepatocyte cells, this PCT system provides a significant inhibitory effect for the liver cancer cells in vitro. Furthermore, the synergistic photochemical therapy presented the strong antitumor effect (the tumor inhibition rate > 90 %) in vivo. Thus, this study provided a promising multiple-targeted nanocarrier for chemo-photothermal combination therapy of liver cancer.

Folic acid and deoxycholic acid derivative modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles for efficient pH-dependent drug release and multi-targeting against liver cancer cells.

The novel nano-drug carrier (FDCA-FA-MNPs) was constructed by grafting formyl deoxycholic acid (FDCA) and folic acid (FA) on the surface of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), possessing the advantages of superparamagnetism, good stability, low cytotoxicity and good blood compatibility. The hydrophobic anti-cancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) was successfully loaded onto FDCA-FA-MNPs through supramolecular interactions (hydrogen bond between FDCA and drug and hydrophobic interaction and π-π stacking between drug and drug). The drug loading amount and drug loading capacity were 509.1 mg g-1 and 33.73 wt%, respectively. In addition, drug release had a pH responsive and controllable release performance, the release rate at pH 5.3 (45.6%) was four times that at pH 7.4 (11.5%), and the tumor microenvironment was favorable for drug release. More importantly, the novel nano-drug carrier combined the hepatocellular targeting of FDCA, the cancer cell targeting of FA, and the magnetic targeting of Fe3O4, showing excellent cancer-killing efficiency (78%) in vitro. Therefore, the nano-drug carrier synthesized in this paper has potential practical application value in the targeted therapy of liver cancer.

ApoE-modified liposomes mediate the antitumour effect of survivin promoter-driven HSVtk in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent malignant tumour with high global morbidity and mortality associated with its multiple aetiologies, poor prognosis, resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs and high rate of recurrence. Here, we evaluated a gene therapy strategy that targets HCC using the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSVtk/GCV) suicide gene system in HCC cell lines and in an in vivo human HCC xenograft mouse model. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-modified liposomes were used for targeted gene delivery to the tumour tissue, and the survivin promoter was used to drive HSVtk expression in HCC cells. Our results showed that the survivin promoter was specifically activated in tumour cells, and HSVtk was expressed selectively in tumour cells. In combination with GCV treatment, HSVtk expression resulted in the inhibition of HCC cell proliferation via enhanced apoptosis. In addition, tail vein injection of ApoE-HSVtk significantly suppressed the growth of xenograft tumours through an apoptosis-dependent pathway and extended the survival time of tumour-bearing mice. In summary, this study illustrates an effective cancer-specific gene therapy strategy for HCC that can be further developed for future clinical trials.

Golgi membrane protein GP73 modified-liposome mediates the antitumor effect of survivin promoter-driven HSVtk in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide, and there is currently no effective therapeutic strategy in clinical practice. Gene therapy has great potential for decreasing tumor-induced mortality but has been clinically limited because of the lack of tumor-specific targets and insufficient gene transfer. The study of targeted transport of therapeutic genes in HCC treatment seems to be very important. In this study, we evaluated a gene therapy approach targeting HCC using the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSVtk/GCV) suicide gene system in HCC cell lines and in an in vivo human HCC xenograft mouse model. GP73-modified liposomes targeted gene delivery to the tumor tissue, and the survivin promoter drove HSVtk expression in the HCC cells. Our results showed that the survivin promoter was specifically activated in tumor cells and HSVtk was expressed selectively in tumor cells. Combined with GCV treatment, HSVtk expression resulted in suppression of HCC cell proliferation via enhancing apoptosis. Moreover, tail vein injection of GP73-HSVtk significantly suppressed the growth of xenograft tumors through an apoptosis-dependent pathway and extended the survival of tumor-bearing mice without damaging the mice liver functions. Taken together, this study demonstrates an effective cancer-specific gene therapy strategy using the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSVtk/GCV) suicide gene system for HCC that can be further developed for future clinical trials.