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Chang YH, Chiang WH, Ilhami FB, Tsai CY, Huang SY, Cheng CC. Water-soluble graphene quantum dot-based polymer nanoparticles with internal donor/acceptor heterojunctions for efficient and selective detection of cancer cells. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 637:389-398. [PMID: 36716663 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Revised: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
We present a new, insightful donor-acceptor (D-A) energy transfer-based strategy for the preparation and development of water-soluble multifunctional pH-responsive heterojunction nanoparticles. Hydrophilic tertiary amine-grafted polythiophene (WPT) as a donor and blue fluorescent graphene quantum dots (GQD) as an acceptor spontaneously form co-assembled nanoparticles that function as a highly pH-sensitive and efficient biosensor appropriate for the detection of cancer cells. These WPT/GQD nanoparticles exhibit a number of unique physical characteristics-such as broad-range, tunable GQD-loading contents and particle sizes, extremely low cytotoxicity in normal and cancer cells, and highly sensitive pH-responsiveness and rapid acid-triggered fluorescent behavior under aqueous acidic conditions. We show these features are conferred by self-aggregation of the GQD within the nanoparticles and subsequent aggregation-induced fluorescence of GQD after disassembly of the nanoparticles and dissociation of the D-A interactions under acidic conditions. Importantly, in vitro fluorescence imaging experiments clearly demonstrated the WPT/GQD nanoparticles were gradually taken up into normal and cancer cells in vitro. Selective formation of GQD aggregates subsequently occurred in the acidic microenvironment of the cancer cells and the interior of the cancer cells exhibited strong blue fluorescence; these phenomena did not occur in normal cells. In contrast, pristine WPT and GQD did not exhibit cellular microenvironment-triggered fluorescence transitions in cancer or normal cell lines. Therefore, this newly discovered water-soluble heterojunction system may represent a strongly fluorescent highly pH-sensitive bioprobe for rapid detection of cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Hsuan Chang
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Hung Chiang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Fasih Bintang Ilhami
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan; Department of Natural Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya 60231, Indonesia
| | - Cheng-Yu Tsai
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Sin-Yu Huang
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Chia Cheng
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan; Advanced Membrane Materials Research Center, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.
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Kitano K, Ishihara K, Yusa SI. Preparation of a thermo-responsive drug carrier consisting of a biocompatible triblock copolymer and fullerene. J Mater Chem B 2021; 10:2551-2560. [PMID: 34860236 DOI: 10.1039/d1tb02183d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
A triblock copolymer (PEG-b-PUEM-b-PMPC; EUM) comprising poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), thermo-responsive poly(2-ureidoethyl methacrylate) (PUEM), and poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC) blocks was synthesized via controlled radical polymerization. PEG and PMPC blocks exhibit hydrophilicity and biocompatibility. The PUEM block exhibits an upper critical solution temperature (UCST). PMPC can dissolve hydrophobic fullerenes in water to form a complex by grinding PMPC and fullerene powders. Fullerene-C70 (C70) and EUM were ground in a mortar and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was added to synthesize a water-soluble complex (C70/EUM). C70/EUM has a core-shell-corona structure, whose core is a complex of C70 and PMPC, the shell is PUEM, and corona is PEG. The maximum C70 concentration dissolved in PBS was 0.313 g L-1 at an EUM concentration of 2 g L-1. The C70/EUM hydrodynamic radius (Rh) was 34 nm in PBS at 10 °C, which increased due to the PUEM block's UCST phase transition with increasing temperature, and Rh attained a constant value of 38 nm above 36 °C. An anticancer drug, doxorubicin, was encapsulated in the PUEM shell by hydrophobic interactions in C70/EUM at room temperature, which can be released by heating. The generation of singlet oxygen (1O2) from C70/EUM upon visible-light irradiation was confirmed using the singlet oxygen sensor green indicator. Water-soluble C70/EUM may be used as a carrier that releases encapsulated drugs when heated and as a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kohei Kitano
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Hyogo, 2167 Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo 671-2280, Japan.
| | - Kazuhiko Ishihara
- Department of Materials Engineering and Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichi Yusa
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Hyogo, 2167 Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo 671-2280, Japan.
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Domínguez SE, Kohn B, Ääritalo T, Damlin P, Scheler U, Kvarnström C. Cationic polythiophene-anionic fullerene pair in water and water-dioxane: studies on hydrogen bonding capabilities, kinetic and thermodynamic properties. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:21013-21028. [PMID: 34522930 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp05748g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Despite the vast array of solution- and solid-state bio-analytical, bioelectronic and optoelectronic applications of cationic polythiophenes (CPTs), the number of studies focused on the role of hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) between these and other molecules is scarce, regardless of whether H-bonding is expected to play an important role in several such applications. Also, despite the advantages of using cosolvents to systematically examine the molecular interactions, there are no such studies for CPTs to our knowledge. This work presents a steady-state UV-vis/fluorescence spectroscopic, kinetic and thermodynamic study on the H-bonding interactions between a water-soluble, cationic-anionic (isothiouronium-tetraphosphonate), polythiophene-fullerene donor-acceptor pair with two-point, charge-assisted H-bonding (CAHB) capabilities, tuned using water or a 1,4-dioxane-water mixture (W-DI). Both solvents generate photoinduced electron transfer (PET), fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), spontaneous binding, H-bonding, ground-state complexing via multiple site binding, formation of micelle-like aggregates and equivalence points at a similar concentration of the quencher. However, in comparison with water, W-DI promotes less-ordered, less packed micellar aggregates, due to hydrophobic desolvation of the H-bond and larger solvent displacement during the PT1-4Fo complexation. This would decrease the extent of charge-transfer and the size of the sphere-of-quenching, mainly by displacements or rotations of the H-bonds, instead of elongations, together with a possible larger extent of diffusion-controlled static quenching. At [4Fo] larger than the equivalence point the micelles formed in water do not have available binding sites due to a tighter aggregation, causing a decrease in the quenching efficiency, while the micelles formed in W-DI start showing larger quenching efficiencies, possibly due to an increase in entropy that overcomes the desolvation of the H-bonding. These results could be useful when analyzing outputs from systems including CPTs with H-bonding capabilities, operating in (or casted from) solvents with clear differences in polarity and/or H-bonding capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio E Domínguez
- Department of Chemistry, Turku University Centre for Materials and Surfaces (MatSurf), Vatselankatu 2, FI-20014 Turku, Finland.
| | - Benjamin Kohn
- Leibniz-Institut für, University of Turku, D-01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Timo Ääritalo
- Department of Chemistry, Turku University Centre for Materials and Surfaces (MatSurf), Vatselankatu 2, FI-20014 Turku, Finland.
| | - Pia Damlin
- Department of Chemistry, Turku University Centre for Materials and Surfaces (MatSurf), Vatselankatu 2, FI-20014 Turku, Finland.
| | - Ulrich Scheler
- Leibniz-Institut für, University of Turku, D-01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Carita Kvarnström
- Department of Chemistry, Turku University Centre for Materials and Surfaces (MatSurf), Vatselankatu 2, FI-20014 Turku, Finland.
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Park JH, Kim HJ, Kim TH, Kim HG, Seo B, Lim CS, Ko WB. Synthesis of a zeolitic imidazolate hybrid nanocomposite and its effects on the physical property changes in the cured epoxy compositions. APPLIED NANOSCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13204-021-01803-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Cheng CC, Lai YC, Shieh YT, Chang YH, Lee AW, Chen JK, Lee DJ, Lai JY. CO 2-Responsive Water-Soluble Conjugated Polymers for In Vitro and In Vivo Biological Imaging. Biomacromolecules 2020; 21:5282-5291. [PMID: 33155800 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Water-soluble conjugated polymers (WCPs) composed of a hydrophobic polythiophene main chain with hydrophilic tertiary amine side-chains can directly self-assemble into sphere-like nano-objects in an aqueous solution due to phase separation between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments of the polymeric structure. Due to the presence of gas-responsive tertiary amine moieties in the spherical structure, the resulting polymers rapidly and reversibly tune their structural features, surface charge, and fluorescence performance in response to alternating carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2) bubbling, which leads to significantly enhanced fluorescence and surface charge switching properties and a stable cycle of on and off switching response. In vitro studies confirmed that the CO2-treated polymers exhibited extremely low cytotoxicity and enhanced cellular uptake ability in normal and tumor cells, and thus possess significantly improved fluorescence stability, distribution, and endocytic uptake efficiency within cellular organisms compared to the pristine polymer. More importantly, in vivo assays demonstrated that the CO2-treated polymers displayed excellent biocompatibility and high fluorescence enhancement in living zebrafish, whereas the fluorescence intensity and stability of zebrafish incubated with the pristine polymer decreased linearly over time. Thus, these CO2 and N2-responsive WCPs could potentially be applied as multifunctional fluorescent probes for in vivo biological imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chih-Chia Cheng
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.,Advanced Membrane Materials Research Center, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - You-Cheng Lai
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Yeong-Tarng Shieh
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 81148, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Hsuan Chang
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Ai-Wei Lee
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.,Cardiovascular Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.,Taipei Heart Institute, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Jem-Kun Chen
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Duu-Jong Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.,Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Juin-Yih Lai
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.,Advanced Membrane Materials Research Center, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.,R&D Center for Membrane Technology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chungli, Taoyuan 32043, Taiwan
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El Jaouhari A, Wang Y, Zhang B, Liu X, Zhu J. Effect of surface properties on the electrochemical response of cynarin by electro-synthesized functionalized-polybithiophene/MWCNT/GNP. MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING. C, MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 2020; 114:111067. [PMID: 32994030 DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2020.111067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Cynarin is one of the biologically active functional components present a wide range of pharmacological applications. Herein, we reported the fabrication and surface properties investigation of a new highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for the detection of cynarin. The electrochemical sensors were fabricated in several steps; the first being the synthesis of bi-thiophene derivatives-based monomers 3,3'-bithiophen (M1); 2-methoxy-5-carbaldehyde-[3,3'-bithiophene] (M2) and 2-((2-methoxy-[3,3'-bithiophen]-5-yl)methylene)malononitrile) (M3) followed by electrochemical polymerization on a glassy carbon electrode after which multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and gold nanoparticles (GNP's) were electrodeposited layer-by-layer on the polymer coating to obtain multilayer electrochemical sensors. The morphological properties of the formed polymers were evaluated using SEM analysis and the apparent contact angles to preview the changes in surface properties after the functionalization of monomers and therefore their effects on the detection of cynarin. Analytical parameters such as the accumulation time and pH of the PBS solution which influence the sensitivity of the electrochemical sensors were optimized. Under the optimal conditions the GCE/P3/MWCNT/GNP's showed a wide range of analyte concentrations (1 to 100 μM and 0.01 to 1 μM) and detection limit of 0.0095 using pulse differential voltammetry. In addition, the electrochemical sensors showed good reproducibility, stability and selectivity and they were used successfully for the determination of cynarin in real solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdelhadi El Jaouhari
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Medicinal Plants Utilization, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Yong Wang
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Medicinal Plants Utilization, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Bowen Zhang
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Medicinal Plants Utilization, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Xiuhua Liu
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Medicinal Plants Utilization, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
| | - Jinhua Zhu
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Medicinal Plants Utilization, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
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Canton-Vitoria R, Istif E, Hernández-Ferrer J, Urriolabeitía E, Benito AM, Maser WK, Tagmatarchis N. Integrating Water-Soluble Polythiophene with Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides for Managing Photoinduced Processes. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:5947-5956. [PMID: 30666865 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b18435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) attract increased attention for the development of donor-acceptor materials enabling improved light harvesting and optoelectronic applications. The development of novel donor-acceptor nanoensembles consisting of poly(3-thiophene sodium acetate) and ammonium functionalized MoS2 and WS2 was accomplished, while photoelectrochemical cells were fabricated and examined. Attractive interactions between the negatively charged carboxylate anion on the polythiophene backbone and the positively charged ammonium moieties on the TMDs enabled in a controlled way and in aqueous dispersions the electrostatic association of two species, evidenced upon titration experiments. A progressive quenching of the characteristic fluorescence emission of the polythiophene derivative at 555 nm revealed photoinduced intraensemble energy and/or electron transfer from the polymer to the conduction band of the two TMDs. Photoelectrochemical assays further confirmed the establishment of photoinduced charge-transfer processes in thin films, with distinct responses for the MoS2- and WS2-based systems. The MoS2-based ensemble exhibited enhanced photoanodic currents offering additional channels for hole transfer to the solution, whereas the WS2-based one displayed increased photocathodic currents providing supplementary pathways of electron transfer to the solution. Moreover, scan direction depending on photoanodic and photocathodic currents suggested the existence of yet unexploited photoinduced memory effects. These findings highlight the value of electrostatic interactions for the creation of novel donor-acceptor TMD-based ensembles and their relevance for managing the performance of photoelectrochemical and optoelectronic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben Canton-Vitoria
- Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute , National Hellenic Research Foundation , 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue , 11635 Athens , Greece
| | - Emin Istif
- Instituto de Carboquímica (ICB-CSIC) , C/Miguel Luesma Castán 4 , E-50018 Zaragoza , Spain
| | | | - Esteban Urriolabeitía
- Instituto de Síntesis Quimica y Catálisis Homogénea (ISQCH) , CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza , C/Pedro Cerbuna 12 , E-50009 Zaragoza , Spain
| | - Ana M Benito
- Instituto de Carboquímica (ICB-CSIC) , C/Miguel Luesma Castán 4 , E-50018 Zaragoza , Spain
| | - Wolfgang K Maser
- Instituto de Carboquímica (ICB-CSIC) , C/Miguel Luesma Castán 4 , E-50018 Zaragoza , Spain
| | - Nikos Tagmatarchis
- Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute , National Hellenic Research Foundation , 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue , 11635 Athens , Greece
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