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Aurora kinase B (AURKB) is an attractive and potential molecular target for cervical cancer therapy. To date, a variety of AURKB inhibitors are developed to suppress cervical tumors. Nevertheless, direct use of these small molecule inhibitors may cause severe side effects to patients, limiting their further clinical applications. Herein, a rationally designed hydrogelator Nap‐Phe‐Phe‐Arg‐Arg‐Lys‐Ser‐OH (S) is employed to co‐assemble AZD1152‐HQPA (AZD, an AURKB inhibitor) to develop an AURKB‐responsive hydrogel Gel S/AZD for enhanced cervical tumor suppression. Upon AURKB activation, hydrogelator S in Gel S/AZD evolves into its hydrophilic phosphate Nap‐Phe‐Phe‐Arg‐Arg‐Lys‐Ser(H2PO3)‐OH (Sp), triggering the disassembly of Gel S/AZD to release AZD in a sustained manner. Cell assays reveal that AURKB‐responsive release of AZD from Gel S/AZD potently induces the growth arrest and apoptosis of cervical cancer cells by downregulating the expression level of AURKB downstream protein phospho‐histone H3 (pH3). In vivo studies demonstrate that compared with free AZD, Gel S/AZD shows a superior tumor suppressive effect in orthotropic cervical tumor models. It is envisioned that the Gel S/AZD might be applied in clinic cervical cancer treatment in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, using in situ self‐assembly‐induced fluorescence quenching (i.e., intermolecular quenching denoted herein) of a photothermal agent (PTA) to enhance its photothermal efficiency has proven to be a successful photothermal therapy (PTT) strategy. But to the best of current knowledge, using simultaneous intra‐ and intermolecular fluorescence quenching of a PTA to additionally increase its photothermal efficacy has not been reported. Herein, employing a click condensation reaction and a rationally designed PTA Biotin‐Cystamine‐Cys‐Lys(Cypate)‐CBT (1), a "smart" strategy is developed of intracellular simultaneous intra‐ and intermolecular fluorescence quenching and applied it to largely increase the photothermal efficacy of the agent both in vitro and in vivo. After being internalized by biotin receptor‐overexpressing cancer cells, 1 is reduced by intracellular glutathione to initiate a CBT‐Cys condensation reaction (intramolecular quenching) and self‐assembly (intermolecular quenching) to form the nanoparticles 1‐NPs (simultaneous intra‐ and intermolecular fluorescence quenching). Experimental results indicate that 1‐NPs have higher fluorescence quenching efficiency than the control PTAs [Thiazole‐Lys(Cypate)‐Benzothiazole]2 (1‐Dimer, intramolecular quenching), and nanoparticles of Cystamine‐Cys(Fmoc)‐Lys(Cypate)‐CBT (1‐Fmoc‐NPs, intermolecular quenching). It is envisioned that, by replacing the biotin group on 1 with other targeting warheads, the "smart" strategy is ready to increase the photothermal therapeutic efficiency of their corresponding diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For cancer diagnosis, 1H magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is advantageous in sensitivity but lacks selectivity. Endogenous 19F MRI signal in humans is barely detectable and thus 19F MRI has very high selectivity. A combination of 1H and 19F MRI is ideal for precise tumor imaging but a protease‐controlled strategy of simultaneous T21H MRI enhancement and 19F MRI "Turn‐On" has not been reported. Here, used is a click condensation reaction to rationally project a dual‐functional fluorine probe 4‐(trifluoromethyl)benzoic acid (TFMB)‐Arg‐Val‐Arg‐Arg‐Cys(StBu)‐Lys‐CBT (1), which is further utilized to functionalize Fe3O4 nanoparticle (IONP) to achieve IONP@1. As such, the IONP aggregation can be activated by furin addition, thereby enhancing the T21H MRI signal and switching the 19F NMR/MRI signal "On". Using this strategy, IONP@1 is successfully applied to detect the activity of the furin enzyme with "Turn‐On" 19F NMR/MRI and T21H MRI signals are enhanced. Moreover, IONP@1 is also applied for precise dual‐mode (1H and 19F) MR imaging of tumors in zebrafish under 14.1 T. The current approach, therefore, provides a feasible and robust means to reconcile the dilemma between selectivity and sensitivity of conventional MRI probes. More importantly, it is envisioned that, by substituting the TFMB moiety in 1 with a perfluorinated compound, this "smart" method could be of potential use for precise 1H MR and 19F MR imaging of tumor in mouse or in bigger rodents in near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction to a scientific article titled "Enzyme-Mediated Tumor Starvation and Phototherapy Enhance Mild-Temperature Photothermal Therapy." The correction addresses two mistakes found in Figure 3e and Figure 4g of the article. The errors were related to duplicate areas in the images and mislabeling of pictures during the image typesetting process. The correction does not impact the conclusions of the paper. The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused and provide the corrected figures in the document. [Extracted from the article]