Single-sized N-functionality graphene quantum dot in tunable dual-modality near infrared-I/II illumination detection and photodynamic therapy under multiphoton nonlinear excitation

Doping sorted graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with heteroatoms and functionalizing them with amino acid could improve their radiative recombination and two-photon properties-including their excitation-wavelength-independent photoluminescence from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared-I (NIR-I) region, absorption, quantum yield, absolute cross section, lifetime, and radiative-to-nonradiative decay ratio-under two-photon excitation (TPE) at a low excitation energy and short photoexcitation duration, as determined using a self-made optical microscopy system with a femtosecond Ti-sapphire laser. Four types of sorted GQDs were investigated: undoped GQDs, nitrogen-doped GQDs (N-GQDs), amino-functionalized GQDs (amino-GQDs), and N-doped and amino-functionalized GQDs (amino-N-GQDs). Among them, the sorted amino-N-GQDs are effective as a two-photon photosensitizer and generate the highest quantity of reactive oxygen species for the elimination of multidrug-resistant cancer cells through two-photon photodynamic therapy (PDT). Larger amino-N-GQDs result in a greater number of C-N and N-functionalities, leading to a superior photochemical effect and more favorable intrinsic luminescence properties, making the dots effective contrast agents for tracking and localizing cancer cells during in-depth bioimaging in a three-dimensional biological environment under TPE in the NIR-II region. Overall, this study highlights the potential of large amino-N-GQDs as a material for future application to dual-modality two-photon PDT and biomedical imaging.

Charge Carrier Dynamics of CsPbBr3/g-C3N4 Nanoheterostructures in Visible-Light-Driven CO2-to-CO Conversion

The photon energy-dependent selectivity of photocatalytic CO₂-to-CO conversion by CsPbBr₃ nanocrystals (NCs) and CsPbBr₃/g-C₃N₄ nanoheterostructures (NHSs) was demonstrated for the first time. The surficial capping ligands of CsPbBr₃ NCs would adsorb CO₂, resulting in the carboxyl intermediate to process the CO₂-to-CO conversion via carbene pathways. The type-II energy band structure at the heterojunction of CsPbBr₃/g-C₃N₄ NHSs would separate the charge carriers, promoting the efficiency in photocatalytic CO₂-to-CO conversion. The electron consumption rate of CO₂-to-CO conversion for CsPbBr₃/g-C₃N₄ NHSs was found to intensively depend on the rate constant of interfacial hole transfer from CsPbBr₃ to g-C₃N₄. An in situ transient absorption spectroscopy investigation revealed that the half-life time of photoexcited electrons in optimized CsPbBr₃/g-C₃N₄ NHS was extended two times more than that in the CsPbBr₃ NCs, resulting in the higher probability of charge carriers to carry out the CO₂-to-CO conversion. The current work presents important and novel insights of semiconductor NHSs for solar energy-driven CO₂ conversion.

Two-Step Process of a Crystal Facet-Modulated BiVO4 Photoanode for Efficiency Improvement in Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Evolution

The photoactivity of nanoporous bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄, BVO) photoanodes that were fabricated by a two-step process (electrodeposition and then thermal conversion) in photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen (H₂) evolution can be enhanced about 1.44-fold by improving the constitutive ratio of (111̅), (061), and (242̅) crystal facets. The PEC characterization was carried out to investigate the factors altering the performance, which revealed that the crystal facet modulation could improve the photoactivity of the BVO photoanodes. In addition, the orientation-controlled BVO thin-film electrodes are introduced as evidence that the present crystal facet modulation is the positive effect for BVO photoanodes in PEC. The investigation of energy band structures and interfacial charge carrier dynamics of the BVO photoanodes reveals that the crystal facet modulation could result in a shorter lifetime of charge carrier recombination and larger band bending at the interface between BVO and electrolytes. This outcome could improve the charge separation and charge transfer efficiencies of BVO photoanodes, promoting the efficiency of PEC H₂ evolution. Moreover, this crystal facet modulation can combine with co-catalyst decoration to further improve the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of BVO photoanodes in PEC. This study presents a potential strategy to promote the PEC activity by crystal facet modulation and important insights into the interfacial charge transfer properties of semiconductor photoelectrodes for the application in solar fuel generation.

Effects of Interfacial Oxidative Layer Removal on Charge Carrier Recombination Dynamics in InP/ZnSexS1-x Core/Shell Quantum Dots

Red-light-emitting InP/ZnSe_xS_1-x core/shell quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by one-pot synthesis with optimal hydrogen fluoride (HF) treatment. Most of the surficial oxidative species could be removed, and the dangling bonds would be passivated by Zn ions for the InP cores during HF treatment, which would be beneficial to the subsequent ZnSe_xS_1-x shell coating. Three-dimensional time-resolved photoluminescence spectra of the QD samples were analyzed by singular value decomposition global fitting to determine the radiative and nonradiative lifetimes of charge carriers. A proposed model illustrated that the charge carriers in the InP/ZnSe_xS_1-x QDs with interfacial oxidative layer removal would evidently recombine through radiative pathways, mainly from the conduction band to the valence band (lifetime, 33 ns) and partially from the trap states (lifetime, 150 ns). This work offers the important physical insight into the charge carrier dynamics of low-toxicity QDs which have the desired optical properties for optoelectronic applications.

Two-Photon Photoexcited Photodynamic Therapy and Contrast Agent with Antimicrobial Graphene Quantum Dots

A graphene quantum dot (GQD) used as the photosensitizer with high two-photon absorption in the near-infrared region, a large absolute cross section of two-photon excitation (TPE), strong two-photon luminescence, and impressive two-photon stability could be used for dual modality two-photon photodynamic therapy (PDT) and two-photon bioimaging with an ultrashot pulse laser (or defined as TPE). In this study, a GQD efficiently generated reactive oxygen species coupled with TPE, which highly increased the effective PDT ability of both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, with ultralow energy and an extremely short photoexcitation time generated by TPE. Because of its two-photon properties, a GQD could serve as a promising two-photon contrast agent for observing specimens in depth in three-dimensional biological environments while simultaneously proceeding with PDT action to eliminate bacteria, particularly in multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. This procedure would provide an efficient alternative approach to easily cope with MDR bacteria.

Graphene quantum dots conjugated with polymers for two-photon properties under two-photon excitation

Few studies have investigated the two-photon properties of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and GQD-conjugated polymers. The results of the present study revealed that conjugated polymers containing nitrogen and sulfur atoms caused higher quantum confinement of emissive energy to be trapped on the surface of nanomaterials, resulting in a high-photoluminescence quantum yield and notable two-photon properties. Additionally, the nanomaterials generated no reactive oxygen species-dependent oxidative stress on cells and served as promising two-photon contrast probes.

Role of lipocalin 2 and its complex with matrix metalloproteinase-9 in oral cancer

OBJECTIVES

Recent evidence demonstrated that lipocalin (LCN)2 is induced in many types of human cancer, while the detection of its complex with matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 is correlated with the cancer disease status. We attempted to evaluate plasma expressions of LCN2, MMP-9, and their complex (LCN2/MMP-9) during the diagnostic work-up of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and investigated their correlations with disease progression.

METHODS

In total, 195 patients with OSCC and 81 healthy controls were recruited. Expression levels of LCN2, MMP-9, and LCN2/MMP-9 were determined with immunoenzymatic assays.

RESULTS

Patients with OSCC exhibited significantly higher levels of LCN2, MMP-9, and LCN2/MMP-9 compared with healthy controls (LCN2: P < 0.001; MMP-9: P < 0.001; LCN2/MMP-9: P < 0.01). Plasma levels of LCN2, MMP-9, and LCN2/MMP-9 in patients with OSCC were significantly correlated with each other and were associated with more-advanced clinical stages (P < 0.05) and/or a larger tumor size (P < 0.05), but were not associated with positive lymph-node metastasis or distal metastasis.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that plasma levels of LCN2 and the LCN2/MMP-9 complex may be useful in non-invasively monitoring OSCC progression, while supporting their potential role as biomarkers of oral cancer disease status.

Influence of surface plasmon resonance on the emission intermittency of photoluminescence from gold nano-sea-urchins

The effect of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) on the blinking emission of photoluminescence from noble metal nanostructures still requires further investigation in quantum mechanics and limits their applications. We investigate one photon luminescent emission intermittency of noble metal nanostructures with differently sized sea-urchin-shaped nanoparticles, known as nano-sea-urchins (NSUs). The probability of the "on" process in one photon luminescent emission intermittency of NSUs increases due to the strong electric field of SPR. This mechanism is explained by the reaction potential threshold model we propose here. Furthermore, the ameliorated photoluminescence of NSUs is strong enough to excite waterweed bioluminescence and can act as an in vivo bio-light emitting device, which has potential applications in cytotoxicity, bio-imaging and bio-labeling.

Topoisomerase 2α plays a pivotal role in the tumor biology of stage IV thymic neoplasia

BACKGROUND

Microsatellite studies in histologic types B3 and C thymic neoplasia detected gains on chromosome 17q, which contains the Her-2/neu and its juxtaposed topoisomerase 2alpha (T2alpha) genes. The study aimed to evaluate their impact on tumor biology and survival of advanced thymic neoplasia patients.

METHODS

From 1991 to 2005, 36 consecutive stage IV thymic carcinoma patients were treated, 18 men and 18 women, aged 11 to 84 years. There were 22 thymic carcinoma, 13 type B3, and 1 type B2 thymoma. Patients received treatment consisting of surgical resection, combination chemotherapy with the CAP (cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin, cisplatin) regimen, or radiation therapy potentiated by high-dose weekly 5-fluorouracil infusion. Permutations of these 3 treatment modalities were prescribed as necessary.

RESULTS

T2alpha gene amplification was detected in 4 of 14 thymic carcinoma and 1 of 15 type B3 thymoma. Three thymic carcinoma patients had Her-2/neu coamplification and these 3 patients had rapidly growing tumor and extensive disease at initial diagnosis. CAP was prescribed in 28 patients and 20 patients responded (response rate, 71.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 52.8% to 85%); all responders overexpressed (> or = 10% nuclei positive) the T2alpha protein, whereas 4 nonresponders had very low expression. T2alpha overexpression predicts CAP response, and its absence predicts resistance (P = .001). Overall survival was significantly prolonged if the tumor was resectable (P = .001), of type B3 histology (P = .0039), and had no Her-2 gene amplification (P = .0081).

CONCLUSION

T2alpha and Her-2/neu genes play a pivotal role in the tumor biology, CAP response, and survival of advanced thymic neoplasia patients.

Flavone inhibition of tumor growth via apoptosis in vitro and in vivo

Colorectal carcinoma is a human malignant tumor, which is very resistant to currently available methods of treatment. Therefore, developing an effective agent with anti-colorectal carcinoma activity is important. In the present study, 8 structurally related flavones including flavone, 3-OH flavone, 5-OH flavone, 7-OH flavone, quercetin, kaempferol, quercetin, and morin were used to study their effects on colorectal carcinoma cells (HT29, COLO205, COLO320-HSR). Results of MTT assay indicated that flavone shows the most potent cytoxic effect among them on these three cell types. The cytotoxicity induced by flavone is mediated by inducing the occurrence of apoptosis characterized by the appearance of DNA ladders, apoptotic bodies and hypodiploid cells. Activation of caspase 3 protein procession and enzyme activity with inducing cleavage of caspase 3 substrates PARP was identified in flavone-treated cells, and an inhibitory peptide Ac-DEVD-FMK for caspase 3, but not Ac-YVAD-FMK for caspase 1, attenuates the cytotoxic effect of flavone in COLO205 and HT29 cells. Elevation of p21 but no p53 protein was observed in flavone-treated cells. Increasing intracellular peroxide level was detected in flavone-treated cells by DCHF-DA assay, and antioxidants such as tiron, catalase, SOD, PDTC, but not DPI, suppress flavone-induced cytotoxic effect. In vivo anti-tumor study indicates that flavone exhibits ability to inhibit tumor formation elicited by s.c. injection of COLO205 cells in nude mice, and apoptotic cells and an increase in p21, but not p53, protein were observed in tumor tissues derived from flavone-treated group. Additionally, flavone induced apoptosis in primary colon carcinoma cells COLO205-X with appearance of DNA ladders, caspase 3 protein procession, PARP protein cleavage, and an increase in p21 (not p53) protein. These data provide evidence to suggest that flavone is an effective agent to induce apoptosis in colorectal carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo; activation of caspase 3, ROS production, and increasing p21 protein are involved.

Chromosomal integration dependent induction of junB by growth factors requires multiple flanking evolutionarily conserved sequences

The junB locus contains nine flanking evolutionarily conserved sequences (FECS) that share 72% to 91% sequence identity between human and mouse. These FECS encompass the same regions of flanking DNA necessary for maximal mitogenic induction of junB. Most of the cis elements reported to date that affect junB regulation also reside within FECS. These observations suggest that the persistence of FECS through evolution reflects a necessary role in junB transcriptional regulation. In this report, we identify specific regulatory cis elements within junB FECS II and III and provide a quantitative analysis of the contribution made by these sequences to junB induction. These cis elements include a Serum Response Element (SRE), two Ets sites previously unrecognized as contributing to junB expression, and two novel Ets-linked motifs (ELMs). In general, mutating any single element significantly impairs junB induction. Moreover, the same mutations alter the structure of junB 5' flanking DNA within chromatin. Collectively, these results suggest that multiple proteins bound within FECS confederate to form a functional promoter complex, the activity of which is dependent upon a specific chromatin architecture.

The structure of the transitional and aganglionic zones of Auerbach's plexus in patients with Hirschsprung's disease: a computer-assisted three-dimensional reconstruction study

Intestines resected from two patients with Hirschsprung's disease, both aged 6 months, were submitted to serial sectioning and three-dimensional reconstruction to visualize the overall structure of Auerbach's plexus and correlate its changes with functional abnormalities. Reconstruction was made possible by using a graphics computer system. In normal intestines taken from an autopsy case, both large and small, the plexus was shown extending along the intermuscular septum as a regular network. But in the large intestine, the density of the network was apparently higher and the individual bundles thicker than in the small intestines. This neural network was absent in the aganglionic zone in Hirschsprung's disease, as expected, where only hypertrophic extrinsic nerves were running in the septum. The "transitional zone" of Hirschsprung's disease was clearly definable as an area extending over a certain length, where the network meshes grow more irregular and the bundles taper more, toward the aganglionic zone. This finding was considered to be of profound significance in the design of a surgical strategy to prevent postoperative bowel dysfunction. In determining the range of resection, one must consider not only the presence or absence of nerve cells but also the grade of plexus hypoplasia.

Complex genetic organization of junB: multiple blocks of flanking evolutionarily conserved sequence at the murine and human junB loci

A comparison of the murine and human junB loci reveals nine regions of distal 5'- and 3'-flanking DNA that exhibit greater than 72% sequence identity. A large fraction (over 50%) of the junB locus is contained in these flanking evolutionarily conserved sequences (FECS), which may be required for effecting the proper transcriptional regulation of this gene. Comparative sequence analyses involving kilobases of distal flanking DNAs have been performed for only a small number of vertebrate genes. The available data and the results presented here suggest that FECS may emerge as common yet important functional components of genes, a hypothesis with significant implications for characterizing genes involved in human disease.

Two-point rectal mucosal biopsy for selection of surgical treatment of Hirschsprung's disease

A two-point rectal mucosal biopsy (utilizing a histochemical study), namely biopsies at sites 5 to 10 mm and 30 to 50 mm oral to the dentate line, was developed to differentiate patients who can be treated adequately by rectal myectomy without colostomy and those who require other definitive surgery for Hirschsprung's disease. The examinations were performed in 28 patients suspected having a short aganglionic rectum. Ganglion cells were demonstrated by upper biopsy in four of 13 neonates, six of nine infants, and three of six children. These cases were successfully treated by rectal myectomy. The two-point rectal mucosal biopsy is useful not only for making definitive diagnosis but also for the selection of the surgical treatment for patients with Hirschsprung's disease.