Smart nanogels for cancer treatment from the perspective of functional groups

Introduction: Cancer remains a significant health challenge, with chemotherapy being a critical treatment modality. However, traditional chemotherapy faces limitations due to non-specificity and toxicity. Nanogels, as advanced drug carriers, offer potential for targeted and controlled drug release, improving therapeutic efficacy and reducing side effects. Methods: This review summarizes the latest developments in nanogel-based chemotherapy drug delivery systems, focusing on the role of functional groups in drug loading and the design of smart hydrogels with controlled release mechanisms. We discuss the preparation methods of various nanogels based on different functional groups and their application in cancer treatment. Results: Nanogels composed of natural and synthetic polymers, such as chitosan, alginate, and polyacrylic acid, have been developed for chemotherapy drug delivery. Functional groups like carboxyl, disulfide, and hydroxyl groups play crucial roles in drug encapsulation and release. Smart hydrogels have been engineered to respond to tumor microenvironmental cues, such as pH, redox potential, temperature, and external stimuli like light and ultrasound, enabling targeted drug release. Discussion: The use of functional groups in nanogel preparation allows for the creation of multifunctional nanogels with high drug loading capacity, controllable release, and good targeting. These nanogels have shown promising results in preclinical studies, with enhanced antitumor effects and reduced systemic toxicity compared to traditional chemotherapy. Conclusion: The development of smart nanogels with functional group-mediated drug delivery and controlled release strategies represents a promising direction in cancer therapy. These systems offer the potential for improved patient outcomes by enhancing drug targeting and minimizing adverse effects. Further research is needed to optimize nanogel design, evaluate their safety and efficacy in clinical trials, and explore their potential for personalized medicine.

Water-Induced Phase Separation for Anti-Swelling Hydrogel Adhesives in Underwater Soft Electronics

The development of hydrogel-based underwater electronics has gained significant attention due to their flexibility and portability compared to conventional rigid devices. However, common hydrogels face challenges such as swelling and poor underwater adhesion, limiting their practicality in water environments. Here, a water-induced phase separation strategy to fabricate hydrogels with enhanced anti-swelling properties and underwater adhesion is presented. By leveraging the contrasting affinity of different polymer chains to water, a phase-separated structure with rich hydrophobic and dilute hydrophilic polymer phases is achieved. This dual-phase structure, meticulously characterized from the macroscopic to the nanoscale, confers the hydrogel network with augmented retractive elastic forces and facilitates efficient water drainage at the gel-substrate interface. As a result, the hydrogel exhibits remarkable swelling resistance and long-lasting adhesion to diverse substrates. Additionally, the integration of carboxylic multiwalled carbon nanotubes into the hydrogel system preserves its anti-swelling and adhesion properties while imparting superior conductivity. The conductive phase-separated hydrogel exhibited great potential in diverse underwater applications, including sensing, communication, and energy harvesting. This study elucidates a facile strategy for designing anti-swelling underwater adhesives by leveraging the ambient solvent effect, which is expected to offer some insights for the development of next-generation adhesive soft materials tailored for aqueous environments.

Analysis of COVID-19 outbreak in Hubei province based on Tencent's location big data

Rapid urbanization has gradually strengthened the spatial links between cities, which greatly aggravates the possibility of the spread of an epidemic. Traditional methods lack the early and accurate detection of epidemics. This study took the Hubei province as the study area and used Tencent's location big data to study the spread of COVID-19. Using ArcGIS as a platform, the urban relation intensity, urban centrality, overlay analysis, and correlation analysis were used to measure and analyze the population mobility data of 17 cities in Hubei province. The results showed that there was high similarity in the spatial distribution of urban relation intensity, urban centrality, and the number of infected people, all indicating the spatial distribution characteristics of "one large and two small" distributions with Wuhan as the core and Huanggang and Xiaogan as the two wings. The urban centrality of Wuhan was four times higher than that of Huanggang and Xiaogan, and the urban relation intensity of Wuhan with Huanggang and Xiaogan was also the second highest in the Hubei province. Meanwhile, in the analysis of the number of infected persons, it was found that the number of infected persons in Wuhan was approximately two times that of these two cities. Through correlation analysis of the urban relation intensity, urban centrality, and the number of infected people, it was found that there was an extremely significant positive correlation among the urban relation intensity, urban centrality, and the number of infected people, with an R² of 0.976 and 0.938, respectively. Based on Tencent's location big data, this study conducted the epidemic spread research for "epidemic spatial risk classification and prevention and control level selection" to make up for the shortcomings in epidemic risk analysis and judgment. This could provide a reference for city managers to effectively coordinate existing resources, formulate policy, and control the epidemic.

Are the epidemic prevention facilities effective? How cities should choose epidemic prevention facilities: Taking Wuhan as an example

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the limitations of urban public health emergency response capabilities. Taking Wuhan as an example, this study used breakpoint regression, kernel density analysis, overlay analysis, and accessibility analysis from Stata and ArcGIS, and divided epidemic prevention facilities into the basic epidemic prevention facilities (hospitals), and the emergency epidemic prevention facilities (mobile cabin hospitals) for further analysis. The results showed that over 70% of the basic epidemic prevention facilities in Wuhan were located in high density population areas. On the contrary, most of the emergency epidemic prevention facilities were located in low density population areas. The local treatment effect of the implementation of the emergency epidemic prevention facility policy is about 1, indicating that there was a significant impact of emergency epidemic prevention facilities on outbreak control, which passed the bandwidth test. What’s more, the analysis of the accessibility of residential points revealed that more than 67.3% of people from the residential points could arrive at the epidemic prevention facilities within 15 min, and only 0.1% of them took more than 20 min to arrive. Therefore, the epidemic prevention facilities can effectively curb the spread of the epidemic, and people from residential areas can quickly get there. This study summarized the spatial characteristics of epidemic prevention facilities in Wuhan and analyzed the importance of them, thus providing a new perspective for future research on upgrading the city’s comprehensive disaster prevention system.

Regulable Mixed-Solvent-Induced Phase Separation in Hydrogels for Information Encryption

The rapid progress of information technology is accompanied by plenty of information embezzlement and forgery, but developing advanced encryption technologies to ensure information security remains challenging. Phase separation commonly leads to a dramatic change in the transmittance of hydrophilic polymer networks, which is a potential method for information security but is often neglected. Here, taking the polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogel system as a typical example, facilely adjustable information encryption and decryption via its regulable phase separation process in ethanol/water mixed solvent, are reported. By controlling the osmotic pressure of the external and internal environment, it is demonstrated that the diffusion coefficient during deswelling and reswelling, as well as the corresponding change of transmittance of the gel, can be well controlled. Relatively high osmotic pressure leads to rapid phase separation of the initial gel but slow phase remixing of the phase-separated gel, opening the opportunity of applying the gel as a reversible information encryption device. As proof-of-concept demonstrations, several stable and reversible information encryption and decryption systems by making use of the phase separation process of the gels are designed, which are expected to inspire the development of next-generation soft devices for information technology.

Significant Roles of Ions in Enhancing and Functionalizing Anisotropic Hydrogels

Salt ions are multifunctional in living beings, in contrast to their limited efficiency in abiotic materials. Achieving the versatility of salt ions in synthetic materials is promising yet demanding. Here, we report that multivalent metallic ions can act multiple crucial roles in a polyacrylamide/sodium alginate (PAAm/SA) composite hydrogel system, inducing a quadruple effect that toughens and functionalizes the originally weak gel. Fixation of anisotropic structures (effect I), mechanical enhancement (effect II), conductivity improvement (effect III), as well as antifreezing and moisture retention properties (effect IV) simultaneously emerge in the gel, all of which are enabled by the ion effect. The resulting tough hydrogels exhibit excellent comprehensive properties that rival existing state-of-the-art hydrogels, promising a wide range of potential applications. As proof-of-concept demonstrations, extremely durable hydrogel-based soft electronic devices are developed, which operate stably even in harsh environments. We also prove that the ion effect can be induced by other multivalent metallic ions. This work highlights the versatility of salt ions in nonliving materials, providing a simple but enlightening idea for the development of all-around soft materials.

Highly Deformable, Conductive Double-Network Hydrogel Electrolytes for Durable and Flexible Supercapacitors

Developing flexible energy storage devices with the ability to retain capacitance under extreme deformation is promising but remains challenging. Here, we report the development of a durable supercapacitor with remarkable capacitance retention under mechanical deformation by utilizing a physical double-network (DN) hydrogel as an electrolyte. The first network is hydrophobically associating polyacrylamide cross-linked by nanoparticles, and the second network is Zn²⁺ cross-linked alginate. Through soaking such a DN hydrogel into a high concentration of ZnSO₄ solution, a highly deformable electrolyte with good conductivity is fabricated, which also shows adhesion to diverse surfaces. Directly attaching the hydrogel electrolyte to two pieces of an active carbon cloth facilely produces a flexible supercapacitor with a high specific capacitance and theoretical energy density. Remarkable capacitance retention under tension, compression, and bending is observed for the supercapacitor, which can also maintain above 87% of the initial capacitance after 4000 charge-discharge cycles. This study provides a simple way to fabricate hydrogel electrolytes for deformable yet durable supercapacitors, which is expected to inspire the development of next-generation flexible energy storage devices.

Shape-Stable Hydrated Salts/Polyacrylamide Phase-Change Organohydrogels for Smart Temperature Management

Flexible and environmentally friendly phase-change materials (PCMs) with appropriate phase transition temperatures display great potential in the regulation of environmental temperature. Here, we synthesized a series of room-temperature-use phase-change organohydrogels (PCOHs) comprising phase-change hydrated salts (disodium phosphate dodecahydrate, DPDH) and polyacrylamide (PAM) glycerol hydrogels through a facile photoinitiated one-step in situ polymerization procedure. Incorporating the environmentally friendly cost-effective DPDH hydrated salts PCMs into antidrying three-dimensional (3D) networks of the PAM organohydrogel can overcome the solid rigidity and melting leakage to achieve flexibility for wearable temperature management devices. The microstructures and physical interactions among the components of the PCOHs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), which demonstrate that the DPDH were uniformly loaded in the networks of the PAM. Phase-change storage and thermal properties of the PCOHs were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and the PCOHs show high energy transition efficiency and shape stability during the long-term storage and thermal cycling. Dynamic rheology and compression tests demonstrate that PCOHs can withstand a certain stress and display flexibility performance even above the melting temperature of DPDH. We also described the smart temperature management capability and the potential application of the PCOHs. This investigation offers a facile method to construct a skin-friendly flexible phase-change glycerol hydrogel and provides an alternative to the traditional melt impregnation or microencapsulation method to prepare phase-change energy storage composites.

Preparation of silver nanoparticles by solid-state redox route from hydroxyethyl cellulose for antibacterial strain sensor hydrogel

As a smart wearable sensor device, the mildew of the biocompatible hydrogel limits its application. In this paper, silver nanoparticles were prepared by solid-state reduction of hydroxyethyl cellulose and compounded into a chemically cross-linked hydrogel as an antibacterial, flexible strain sensor. Because the high surface energy of silver nanoparticles can quench free radicals, we designed three initiators to synthesize hydrogels: ammonium persulfate (APS), 2,2'-Azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) and 2,2'-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AIBA). Impressively, silver nanoparticles composite hydrogel could only be successfully fabricated and triggered by the AIBN. The mechanical property of the composite hydrogel (0.12 MPa at 704.33 % strain) was significantly improved because of dynamic crosslinking point by HEC. Finally, the composite hydrogels are applied to the field of antibacterial strain sensor and the highest Gauge Factor (GF) reached 4.07. This article proposes a novel, green and simple strategy for preparing silver nanoparticles and compounding them into a hydrogel system for antibacterial strain sensor.

Transparent Stretchable Dual-Network Ionogel with Temperature Tolerance for High-Performance Flexible Strain Sensors

A stretchable transparent double network ionogel composed of physically cross-linked poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-co-HFP)) and chemically cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butylmethacrylate) (P(MMA-co-BMA)) elastomer networks within [EMIM][TFSI] ionic liquid was fabricated through a facile one-pot thermal polymerization. The dual-network (DN) ionogel presents good mechanical performance (failure tensile stress 2.31 MPa, strain 307%) with a high loading of ionic liquid (70 wt %) for achieving required ionic conductivity (>0.1 S/m at room temperature). The transparent chemical cross-linked P(MMA-co-BMA) elastomer network endows high transparency (>93%) and high stretchability to the DN ionogel. The DN ionogel maintains good toughness, elasticity, and transparency in a wide temperature range (-40 to 80 °C) for the application in a harsh environment. In addition, the sensitivity of the DN ionogel to the change of environment temperature and deformation was detected and described. The practical potential of the DN ionogel in flexible electronic devices is further revealed by fabricating DN ionogel strain sensors to detect the movement of different human limbs including the bending of the finger, wrist, and elbow as well as the slight throat jitter during the swallowing and vocalization, showing fast response, high sensitivity, and good repeatability.

High-Strength, Self-Healable, Temperature-Sensitive, MXene-Containing Composite Hydrogel as a Smart Compression Sensor

As a new two-dimensional material similar to graphene, MXene has attracted extensive attention in the field of electrochemical materials such as supercapacitors because of its excellent mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. What is better than graphene is that the few-layer MXene material obtained by proper treatment has good water dispersibility and can be used as an ideal nanomaterial to enhance the conductivity of hydrogels. However, the articles about the few-layer MXene material used in the preparation of composite hydrogels are rare. In this paper, MXene was synthesized by Yury mild method. Poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogel and physical cross-linking hydrogel were used as the matrix to prepare composite hydrogels with temperature sensitivity and stress-sensing properties. The composite hydrogels exhibited excellent mechanical properties: it could be stretched to over 14 times the original length and achieved a 0.4 MPa tensile strength while showing good self-healing ability, which was of great significance for the practical application of hydrogels. The conductivity of the composite hydrogel was 1.092 S/m, which was about 15 times that of the control hydrogel without MXene. The potential of the composite hydrogel as a smart compression sensor was also verified by the conductivity tests.

Healing, flexible, high thermal sensitive dual-network ionic conductive hydrogels for 3D linear temperature sensor

A temperature sensor based on muti-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composite polyacrylamide/Fe³⁺-polyacrylic acid (PAM/Fe³⁺-PAA) double network (DN) hydrogels that combines flexibility, thermal sensitivity and self-healing ability is fabricated through in situ polymerization and maceration. Due to the excellent thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes, the temperature sensitivity of the DN hydrogels are improved and therefore can be exploited as a novel channel material for a temperature sensor. This temperature sensor can be stretched from 0 to 750% strain with the sensitivity as high as 9.4%/°Cat extreme 200% strain. Importantly, the DN hydrogels have excellent self-healing properties that it can still be stretched after cutting and healing. Similarly, the electrical and thermal sensing properties of the DN hydrogels can be self-healed analogous to the self-healing capability of human skin. In addition, DN hydrogels have high stability for bending and torsion, which can avoid errors caused by deformation in the temperature measurement. In order to attaching on nonplanar curvilinear surfaces for practical temperature detection, we designed a linear-shaped hydrogels temperature sensor, which can improve the accuracy by wrapping the surface of the measured object completely in a way that eliminates the influence of air in the holes, enabling it to be potentially integrated in soft robots to grasp real-world information for guiding their actions.

Core-Shell and Zigzag Nanostructures from a Thin Film Silicon-Containing Conformationally Asymmetric Triblock Terpolymer

The self-assembly of multiblock copolymers generates diverse hierarchical nanostructures and greatly extends the range of microdomain geometries beyond those produced by diblock copolymers. We report the synthesis of a conformationally asymmetric ABC triblock terpolymer in which the end blocks are a mesogen-jacketed liquid crystalline polymer and poly(dimethylsiloxane), respectively, and its self-assembly under mixed solvent vapor annealing forms a range of sphere, cylinder, and perforated lamellar core-shell morphologies, as well as stacked multilevel structures. Sub-7 nm diameter SiO_x nanopatterns were generated by selective plasma etching of the small volume fraction Si-containing core block giving a line/space ratio of ∼1:4. Moreover, the conformational asymmetry of this terpolymer leads to zigzag cylinders on a flat substrate and stable cylinder alignment transverse to template sidewalls within lithographically patterned trenches.

Self-assembly of a silicon-containing side-chain liquid crystalline block copolymer in bulk and in thin films: kinetic pathway of a cylinder to sphere transition

The self-assembly of a high-χ silicon-containing side-chain liquid crystalline block copolymer (LC BCP) in bulk and in thin films is reported, and the structural transition process from the hexagonally packed cylinder (HEX) to the body-centered cubic structure (BCC) in thin films was examined by both reciprocal and real space experimental methods. The block copolymer, poly(dimethylsiloxane-b-11-(4'-cyanobiphenyl-4-yloxy)undecylmethacrylate) (PDMS-b-P(4CNB11C)MA) with a molecular weight of 19.5 kg mol-1 and a volume fraction of PDMS 27% self-assembled in bulk into a hierarchical nanostructure of sub-20 nm HEX cylinders of PDMS with the P(4CNB11C)MA block exhibiting a smectic LC phase with a 1.61 nm period. The structure remained HEX as the P(4CNB11C)MA block transformed to an isotropic phase at ∼120 °C. In the thin films, the PDMS cylindrical microdomains were oriented in layers parallel to the substrate surface. The LC block formed a smectic LC phase which transformed to an isotropic phase at ∼120 °C, and the microphase-separated nanostructure transformed from HEX to BCC spheres at ∼160 °C. The hierarchical structure as well as the dynamic structural transition of the thin films were characterized using in situ grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering. The transient morphologies from the HEX to BCC structure in thin films were captured by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, and the transition pathway was described.

Stable, Strain-Sensitive Conductive Hydrogel with Antifreezing Capability, Remoldability, and Reusability

Conductive hydrogels have important potential in biosensors, bioactuators, and health recording electrodes, but they are often troubled by sensitivity, operating temperature range, and whether they can be recycled or not. In this paper, conductive hydrogels poly(vinyl alcohol)/glycerol/polyaniline (PGA) were prepared by organic combination of low-cost poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), polyaniline (PANi), and glycerin. First, the effects of PVA, glycerol, and aniline/phytic acid solution concentration on the mechanical properties, electrical properties, and frost resistance of the PGA gel were discussed. Second, the interaction energies of PVA, PANi, phytic acid, glycerol, and water molecules were analyzed by Materials Studio. Then, a simple biosensor fabricated using the PGA gel realized the detection of the conventional motion signal of the human body. The conductive gel has high sensitivity (GF = 2.14), fast response time (230 ms), and can be circulated several times (∼540 cycles). Furthermore, the PGA conductive gel can maintain good electrical conductivity (0.32 S/m) and mechanical properties even at -20 °C. Also, the gel can be recovered by injection heating, cooling, and cyclic freeze-thaw three-step method. It is believed that the PGA conductive gel would be used as a novel multifunctional material at subzero temperatures in various fields, such as flexible electrode, sensors, and wearable devices.

Abstract P3-10-13: Bilateral breast cancer in China: A 10-year single-center retrospective study

BACKGROUD: Women with unilateral breast cancer are at increased risk for developing contralateral disease. The objective of the single-center retrospective study was to evaluate the incidence of bilateral breast cancer (BBC) and to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics for BBC in China.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of 3924 female patients with breast cancer consecutively treated at the department of Breast Oncology in the Peking University Cancer Hospital between 2006 and 2016. BBC was categorized as synchronous (within 6 months) or metachronous bilateral breast cancer (after 6 months of a first tumor). Patients with BBC were identified according to the criteria described by Chaudary et al. Patients with stage IV first breast cancer, and those who were found to have distant metastases between the first and second primary breast cancer were excluded. Analyses of demographic, clinicopathologic, and treatment characteristics were done between sBBC and mBBC.

RESULTS: The incidence of BBC in our population was 3.2% (127 of 3924). Of those, 2.5 % ( 99 of 3924) were metachronous bilateral breast cancer ( mBBC ), and 0.71 % (28 of 3924) were synchronous bilateral breast cancer ( sBBC ). The overall median age of the patients at first diagnosis was 45 years (range, 27-81 years). The age of onset of the first mBBC was significantly younger than that of sBBC ( p = 0.027). In mBBC subgroups, the median time interval between first and second tumors was 68 months (range, 7-342 months), and 80.8% of the second tumor were diagnosed within 10 years of the diagnosis of the first tumor. A positive family history of breast cancer was found in 25% of sBBC and 9.1% of mBBC ( p = 0.025). In ER-negative first tumor of mBBC, 56.1% of the second tumor were ER-positive. Mastectomy was the commonest surgery performed in these patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirmed the necessity of screening contralateral breast at the diagnosis of unilateral breast cancer and following-up for Chinese patients with breast cancer.

Citation Format: Li H, Jiang H, Zhang R, Shao B, Yan Y, Ran R, Di L. Bilateral breast cancer in China: A 10-year single-center retrospective study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-10-13.

Abstract P2-02-06: Biomarker analysis by next generation circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing in patients with advanced breast cancer

Background: Next-generation sequencing is of increasing interest to identify specific targets for both drug development and treatment. The study of metastatic cancer is complicated by lack of tissue and the potential for change in biology over treatment. We evaluated ctDNA in patients with advanced breast cancer to explore the relationship between specific DNA mutations and prognosis as well as therapeutic decision making.

Methods:Peripheral blood was collected in EDTA at the time of diagnosis of advanced disease. Samples were sent to Geneplus-Beijing for sequencing. Indexed Illumina libraries were prepared from germline and circulating DNA using the KAPA Library Preparation Kit; the capture probe was designed based on genomic regions selected with 1021 genes, covering the most frequently mutated genes and exons in solid tumors. Clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome data were collected. We analyzed progression free survival (PFS) from first-line therapy and overall survival (OS), endpoints were correlated with observed gene mutations.

Results: 54 patients were enrolled; 27 (50%) HER2+, 22 (41%) hormone receptor + (HR+)/HER2-, and 5 (9%) triple negative (TNBC). Median age was 48 (range 26-74). The median follow-up was 8 years (range 12-180 months). First-line therapy included chemotherapy with trastuzumab for HER2+ disease, chemotherapy with endocrine maintenance (17) or endocrine therapy alone (5) for HR+/HER2- disease, and chemotherapy for TNBC. Mutations were found in TP53, PIK3CA, PIK3CA 3140 A>G(p.H1047R) and ERBB (including ERBB1-4), at 40.7%, 35.2%, 20.4% and 25.9%, respectively. In univariate analysis, patients with tumor mutations in TP53 had a shorter OS (median 64 vs 121 months, p=0.006). The PIK3CA 3140 A>G mutation was more frequent in HER2+ (7/27, 25.9%) than HR+/HER2- (4/22 (18.2%) or TNBC (0/5), and was associated with shorter median PFS in HER2+ disease (mutant vs. wild type: 4 (range 2-9) vs. 8 (range 2-22) months, p=0.006). The frequency of ERBB mutation was similar in HER2- 7/27(25.9%) (p=0.707) or HER2+ 7/27(25.9%) disease (p=0.066); there was no significant impact on PFS in any subset. Multivariate analysis for HER2+ disease including age, ER, Ki67, TP53, PIK3CA, PIK3CA 3140 A>G and ERBB), demonstrated that the PIK3CA 3140 A>G mutation was the only factor associated with shorter PFS (p=0.025); further analysis by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the PIK3CA 3140 A>G mutation and the mutation in PIK3CA 3140 A>G and ERBB combination pathway had a large area under the curve (AUC), with AUC of 0.789, and 0.734 respectively.

Conclusions: Using NGS in ctDNA, we found that the PIK3CA 3140A>G mutation was more frequent in HER2+ disease, and was the only mutation associated with shorter PFS on multivariate analysis. The presence of a TP53 mutation was associated with worse OS. Evaluation of ctDNA is feasible in a general breast cancer population and has prognostic impact; further correlation of these findings with tumor samples is ongoing.

Citation Format: Li H, Wang J, Rugo HS, Zhang Y, Yang L, Liu X, Shao B, Xu Y, Yang L, Zhang R, Ran R, Chang L. Biomarker analysis by next generation circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing in patients with advanced breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-02-06.

A novel self-assembled hybrid organogel of polypeptide-based block copolymers with inclusion of polypeptide-functionalized graphene

Self-assembled hybrid organogels of polypeptide-based BCPs with incorporation of functionalized graphene were generated, and showed enhanced mechanical performance for the potential nanomaterials application.

Self-healable, tough and highly stretchable hydrophobic association/ionic dual physically cross-linked hydrogels

In this work, we describe a novel method for the production of tough and highly stretchable hydrogels with self-healing behavior, tensile strength of 150–300 kPa and stretch at break of 2400–2800%.

The metabolic responses of HepG2 cells to the exposure of mycotoxin deoxynivalenol

As the number of reported deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination incidents increased steadily over the past decades, there has been a widespread interest in understanding the cellular mechanisms of the toxicological effects of DON using in vitro systems and omics technologies. The present investigation was conducted to understand the metabolomic changes in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) exposed to 10 μM DON for short term (4 h) and long term (12 h) periods, using a non-targeted metabolomics approach. Our results revealed a remarkable metabolic shift from short term to long term exposure to DON in HepG2 cells. Our metabolomics data also confirmed the role of DON induced oxidative stress in DON toxicity. Coupled with pattern recognition and pathway analysis, effects of DON on redox homeostasis, energy balance, lipid metabolism, and potential toxicological mechanisms were discussed, which would facilitate further studies on the risk assessment of the dietary mycotoxin DON.

Inspired by nonenveloped viruses escaping from endo-lysosomes: a pH-sensitive polyurethane micelle for effective intracellular trafficking

A multifunctional drug delivery system (DDS) for cancer therapy still faces great challenges due to multiple physiological barriers encountered in vivo. To increase the efficacy of current cancer treatment a new anticancer DDS mimicking the response of nonenveloped viruses, triggered by acidic pH to escape endo-lysosomes, is developed. Such a smart DDS is self-assembled from biodegradable pH-sensitive polyurethane containing hydrazone bonds in the backbone, named pHPM. The pHPM exhibits excellent micellization characteristics and high loading capacity for hydrophobic chemotherapeutic drugs. The responses of the pHPM in acidic media, undergoing charge conversion and hydrophobic core exposure, resulting from the detachment of the hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) shell, are similar to the behavior of a nonenveloped virus when trapped in acidic endo-lysosomes. Moreover, the degradation mechanism was verified by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The endo-lysosomal membrane rupture induced by these transformed micelles is clearly observed by transmission electron microscopy. Consequently, excellent antitumor activity is confirmed both in vitro and in vivo. The results verify that the pHPM could be a promising new drug delivery tool for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

Preparation and properties of polyacrylamide/polyvinyl alcohol physical double network hydrogel

A novel physical double network hydrogel (PDN gel) composed of physically cross-linked PVA and hydrophobically associated polyacrylamide (HAPAM) has been successfully prepared by one-pot in situ polymerization and subsequent freeze–thaw cycling.

Extraordinary boundary morphologies of large-scale ordered domains of spheres in thin films of a narrowly dispersed diblock copolymer via thermodynamic control

Long-range ordering of body centered cubic (BCC) spheres and various extraordinary morphologies at the boundaries of the adjacent orderly oriented domains are observed in thermally annealed thin films of a series of specific narrowly dispersed diblock copolymers, poly(dimethylsiloxane)-b-poly{2,5-bis[(4-butoxyphenyl)oxycarbonylstyrene} (PDMS-b-PBPCS, DB). The series of asymmetrical DB block copolymers (BCPs) with volume fractions of PDMS (f(PDMS)'s) from 10% to 23% self-assemble into thermodynamically stable body centered cubic (BCC) nanostructures in bulk at ambient temperature after thermal annealing. The thin films of these BCPs with a relatively large film thickness on a carbon-film coated substrate are annealed in a vacuum at 180 °C for 3 days and are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For all thin films of these BCPs, micrometer-scale domains with a rectangular unit cell similar to the projection of the BCC lattice along the [110] direction to the substrate are observed. And the XPS results indicate that the surface layers of the thin films are composed of both PDMS and PBPCS blocks. For the thin films of the BCPs with f(PDMS) values of 10% and 13%, the neighboring [110]-oriented BCC domains match well with each other, and the boundaries are defect-free. For the thin film of the BCP with a f(PDMS) value of 23%, the PDMS spheres in the [110]-oriented BCC domains in the TEM micrograph are overlapped with each other, and interesting morphologies including defect-free interfaces, interfaces with line defects, and domains with defects and local ordering are observed at the boundaries of the neighboring [110]-oriented domains.

A free radical assisted strategy for preparing functionalized carbon nanotubes as a highly efficient nucleating agent for poly(l-lactide)

Schematic illumination of the fabrication of the CNT-OEG via free radical polymerization.

Robust dual physically cross-linked hydrogels with unique self-reinforcing behavior and improved dye adsorption capacity

Schematic illumination of the self-reinforcement of DPC gels achieved by self-healing and remolding.

Covalent modification of graphene as a 2D nanofiller for enhanced mechanical performance of poly(glutamate) hybrid gels

Covalently functionalized graphene via grafting of poly(glutamate) as interfacial adhesive junctions may show sustainable potential in more robust polypeptide hybrid organogels.

Enhanced tumor accumulation and cellular uptake of liposomes modified with ether-bond linked cholesterol derivatives

Novel liposomal formulations based on cholesterol modification had been designed previously by our lab, but we found them with a poor stability and short half-life, especially in blood circulation. The results might be attributed to the hydrolysis of ester linked cholesterol derivatives by esterase in plasma. Thus, in this study, we newly synthesized ether-linked cholesterol derivatives and compared them to other preparations. A comparison with the substrate cholesterol-PEG2000-maleimide showed that ether-linked cholesterol-PEG2000-maleimide could relatively maintain integrity in serum, with only a small mottle emerging on TLC (thin-layer chromatography) plates through the experiment. Then a cell-penetrating peptide TAT was attached to the distal end of CHO-PEG2000 to prepare liposomes and to further evaluate the two cholesterol derivatives. Optimized liposomes (65:35, lipid/cholesterol, molar ratio) composed of 3% CHO-PEG2000 and 3% CHO-PEG2000-TAT showed good stability in 50%FBS (fetal bovine serum). In vitro experiments showed that as incubation time prolonged, ether-linked-TAT LIP showed a 3.67-fold higher uptake amount than ester-linked-TAT LIP. In vivo, ether-linked-TAT LIP accumulated better in tumors and had a 40% higher cellular uptake amount. Altogether, we could conclude that our newly ether-linked cholesterol derivatives possessed better stability especially in blood circulation which led to increased tumor cellular uptake in vitro and in vivo. Our study may offer a better way in cholesterol modification to prepare functionalized liposomes.