Calcium carbonate nanoparticles tumor delivery for combined chemo-photodynamic therapy: Comparison of local and systemic administration.

The use of nanoparticles (NPs) as delivery vehicles for multiple drugs is an intensively developing area. However, the success of NPs' accumulation in the tumor area for efficient tumor treatment has been recently questioned. Distribution of NPs in a laboratory animal is mainly related to the administration route of NPs and their physicochemical parameters, which significantly affect the delivery efficiency. In this work, we aim to compare the therapeutic efficiency and side effects of the delivery of multiple therapeutic agents with NPs by both intravenous and intratumoral injections. For this, we systematically developed universal nanosized carriers based on calcium carbonate (CaCO3) NPs (< 100 nm) that were co-loaded with a photosensitizer (Chlorin e6, Ce6) and chemotherapeutic agent (doxorubicin, Dox) for combined chemo- and photodynamic therapy (PDT) of B16-F10 melanoma tumors. By performing intratumoral or intravenous injections of NPs, we observed different biodistribution profiles and tumor accumulation efficiencies. In particular, after intratumoral administration of NPs, they mostly remained in the tumors (> 97%); while for intravenous injection, the tumor accumulation of NPs was determined to be 8.67-12.4 ID/g%. Although the delivery efficiency of NPs (presented in ID/g%) in the tumor differs, we have developed an effective strategy for tumor inhibition based on combined chemo- and PDT by both intratumoral and intravenous injections of NPs. Notably, after the combined chemo- and PDT treatment with Ce6/Dox@CaCO3 NPs, all B16-F10 melanoma tumors in mice shrank substantially, by approximately 94% for intratumoral injection and 71% for intravenous injection, which are higher values compared to mono-therapy. In addition, the CaCO3 NPs showed negligible in vivo toxicity towards major organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen. Thus, this work demonstrates a successful approach for the enhancement of NPs' efficiency in combined anti-tumor therapy.

Laser-Activated Second Harmonic Generation in Flexible Membrane with Si Nanowires.

Nonlinear silicon photonics has a high compatibility with CMOS technology and therefore is particularly attractive for various purposes and applications. Second harmonic generation (SHG) in silicon nanowires (NWs) is widely studied for its high sensitivity to structural changes, low-cost fabrication, and efficient tunability of photonic properties. In this study, we report a fabrication and SHG study of Si nanowire/siloxane flexible membranes. The proposed highly transparent flexible membranes revealed a strong nonlinear response, which was enhanced via activation by an infrared laser beam. The vertical arrays of several nanometer-thin Si NWs effectively generate the SH signal after being exposed to femtosecond infrared laser irradiation in the spectral range of 800-1020 nm. The stable enhancement of SHG induced by laser exposure can be attributed to the functional modifications of the Si NW surface, which can be used for the development of efficient nonlinear platforms based on silicon. This study delivers a valuable contribution to the advancement of optical devices based on silicon and presents novel design and fabrication methods for infrared converters.