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Water pollution from industrial wastewater and oil spills, which threat marine lives and mankind continually have turned into one of the most severe challenges in worldwide due to the fast development of global industrialization and human activities. Various water‐treatment methods have been developed to solve the problems. However, these processes are often complicated and costly, making them fail to address the complicate water environment. Herein, a visible light‐responsive Au‐BiOCl/TiO2/PAN composite membrane with hydrophilic surface was prepared by combing electrospinning with solvothermal method. The composite membranes can efficiently separate emulsions with the highest flux of 50.16 L m−2 h−1 and oil/water mixtures (the highest flux was 4777.07 L m−2 h−1 bar−1). Moreover, the membranes can rapidly degrade antibiotics with an excellent degradation rate (95.70% in 60 min) under the visible light. Additionally, they can simultaneously degrade organic dye and separate oil/water emulsions under a gravity condition. It is expected that composite membranes will be an attractive candidate for complex wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanomaterials are increasingly being employed for biomedical applications, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of their degradation behavior and potential toxicity in the biological environment. This study utilizes a continuous flow system to simulate the biologically relevant degradation conditions and investigate the effects of pH, protein, redox species, and chelation ligand on the degradation of iron oxide nanoparticles. The morphology, aggregation state, and relaxivity of iron oxide nanoparticles after degradation are systematically characterized. The results reveal that the iron oxide nanoparticles degrade at a significantly higher rate under the acidic environment. Moreover, incubation with bovine serum albumin enhances the stability and decreases the dissolution rate of iron oxide nanoparticles. In contrast, glutathione accelerates the degradation of iron oxide nanoparticles, while the presence of sodium citrate leads to the fastest degradation. This study reveals that iron oxide nanoparticles undergo degradation through various mechanisms in different biological microenvironments. Furthermore, the dissolution and aggregation of iron oxide nanoparticles during degradation significantly impact their relaxivity, which has implications for their efficacy as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents in vivo. The results provide valuable insights for assessing biosafety and bridge the gap between fundamental research and clinical applications of iron oxide nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing advanced electrochemical energy storage and conversion (ESC) technologies based on renewable clean energy can alleviate severe global environmental pollution and energy crisis. The efficient preparation of functional electrode materials via a simple, green, and safe synthesis process is the key to the commercial feasibility of these ESC systems. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) with easy‐tunable solvent properties and recyclable features have emerged as novel solvent systems for designing and synthesizing various functional powder materials for ESC devices. In this paper, the application of DESs in the synthesis of energy‐related functional powder materials is systematically reviewed. After briefly introducing the classification and synthesis of DESs, their critical roles in synthesizing powder materials are discussed. Then, the recent advances of DES‐derived powder materials in ESC, including batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and water splitting, are described in detail from the perspective of preparation‐structure‐activity. Finally, some challenges and development directions of the DESs‐mediated synthesis of powder materials with high electrochemical performance for ESC applications are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of supercapacitor materials with both high mass loading and high areal capacity is a major strategy to overcome relatively low energy density of supercapacitors. Herein, NiCo‐layered double hydroxide (NiCo‐LDH)/NiCoOOH composite films with both ultrahigh mass loading and high areal capacity are prepared by a two‐step cyclic voltammetry method. The films consist of NiCo‐LDH/NiCoOOH microspheres assembled with ultrafine nanosheets with highly ordered pore distribution from macropores to micropores and abundant defect active sites, which are conducive to the transport of electrolyte ions, increasing the reaction kinetics, and greatly improving the utilization of active material. The optimal film with hierarchical microstructure featuring an ultrahigh mass loading of 80 mg cm−2 not only exhibits a state‐of‐the‐art high areal capacity of 14.7 mAh cm−2, but also shows a record‐high energy density of 10.7 mWh cm−2 , as well as presents remarkable mechanical stabilityand superior capacity retention of 99% after 20000 galvanostatic charge‐discharge cycles. Moreover, by combining the experimental analysis and theoretical calculations, the mechanism of preferential conversion of the NiCo‐LDH in the subtle defect region to NiCoOOH by electrochemistry and the synergistic effect in electrochemical energy storage of the NiCo‐LDH and NiCoOOH phases is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) is used as a locoregional therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to delay the progression of HCC. Thus far, various kinds of radioactive microspheres with different materials and radionuclides have been developed to be utilized in SIRT, but they remain unsatisfactory in some ways. Herein, using a facile method, phosphonated silica microspheres (PSMs) are prepared and further radiolabeled with 177Lu in a rapid and effective manner. The results suggest that the radiolabeling efficiency is higher than 99%, and the specific activity of the product is 10 kBq per microsphere. 177Lu‐PSM exhibits outstanding in vivo radiolabeling stability, excellent antitumor activity, and single‐photon‐emission computed tomography–computed tomography (SPECT/CT) imaging capability. In addition, it is shown that PSM can be produced in large quantities at a relatively low cost. The results indicate that 177Lu‐PSM might hold considerable potential for translation to clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), a by‐product of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and cellular metabolism, is vital for cellular survival, proliferation, damage, and senescence. In recent years, studies have shown that ROS levels and redox status in adipose tissue are strongly associated with obesity and metabolic diseases. Although it was previously considered that excessive production of ROS and impairment of antioxidant capability leads to oxidative stress and potentially contributes to increased adiposity, it has become increasingly evident that an adequate amount of ROS is vital for adipocyte differentiation and thermogenesis. In this review, by providing a systematic overview of the recent understanding of the key factors of redox systems, endogenous mechanisms for redox homeostasis, advanced techniques for dynamic redox monitoring, as well as exogenous stimuli for redox production in adipose tissues and obesity, the importance of redox biology in metabolic health is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously, electronic straightedges with a length of 1 m were widely used to measure the longitudinal profiles of rail joints. However, owing to the lack of an efficient measurement device, rail joints with 3‐m wavelengths are seldom studied. In this study, a rail measurement trolley based on the chord‐reference method was developed with a measurement wavelength of up to 3 m. A field measurement was performed on a 53‐km metro line, and the waveforms of 4340 rail joints were obtained. First, to visualize the distribution of the dataset and to find out the common features, t‐distributed stochastic neighbor embedding dimensionality reduction was applied to the rail joint dataset, and each rail joint waveform was mapped to a point in a two‐dimensional space. Second, K‐means was applied to the rail joint dataset, and six categories of rail joints were obtained. The results indicated that there are two types of rail joints: M‐type and W‐type, accounting for 18.41% and 76.08% of the total number of joints, respectively, and the remainder are bolted rail joints. Third, to better evaluate rail joint status, the concept of rail joint triangle (RJT) is proposed, and five shape‐based features of a rail joint in 3‐m wavelength are defined. Finally, using RJT distribution analysis, we observed that the shape‐based features provide more essential information about a rail joint, such as symmetry, asymmetry, M‐type, or W‐type, compared with conventional indexes such as the quality index. Notably, compared with the waveform of a rail joint at 1 m, a 3‐m waveform provides significantly more essential information, which can be meaningful for future research on the dynamic impact of rail joints, as well as profile grinding around rail joints. To help other researchers follow our research, our dataset is available on Mendeley Data (RWJ‐3 m dataset). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise detection of early osteolytic metastases is crucial for their treatment but remains challenging in the clinic because of the limited sensitivity and specificity of traditional imaging techniques. Although fluorescence imaging offers attractive features for the diagnosis of osteolytic metastases, it is hampered by limited penetration depth. To address this issue, a fluoro‐photoacoustic dual‐modality imaging probe comprising a near‐infrared dye caged by a cathepsin K (CTSK)‐cleavable peptide sequence on one side and functionalized with osteophilic alendronate through a polyethylene glycol linker on the other side is reported. Through systematic in vitro and in vivo experiments, it is demonstrated that in response to CTSK, the probe generated both near‐infrared fluorescent and photoacoustic signals from bone metastatic regions, thus offering a potential strategy for detecting deep‐seated early osteolytic metastases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing smart molecular probes for assisting surgeons to precisely detect cancerous tissues and to completely remove all of them during the surgery is urgently required. Conventional fluorescent probes allow for tumor detection but with limited signal‐to‐noise ratio. Herein, an aminopeptidase N/CD13 (APN)‐activated chemiluminescent probe (APN‐ACLP) is reported for sensitive imaging and precise resection of malignant tumors. The APN‐ACLP probe is based on acryl‐substituted phenoxy‐dioxetane that is coupled with an APN‐cleavable substrate via a self‐immolative linker. Upon activation by APN through specific hydrolysis reaction, APN‐ACLP generates spontaneously chemiluminescence signal, which offers a possibility to sensitively search tumors by simply spraying APN‐ACLP on the suspicious sites. Animal imaging studies reveal that a sufficient signal contrast between the cancerous tissues and the normal counterparts can be achieved within 5 min, which can allow for rapid detection and surgical resection of tumors, particularly tiny metastatic lesions in mice model, under the guidance of chemiluminescence imaging, well manifesting its potential for image‐guided surgery of malignant tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a research hotspot, the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents has attracted great attention over the past decades for improving the accuracy of diagnosis. Ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles with core diameter smaller than 5.0 nm are expected to become a next generation of contrast agents owing to their excellent MRI performance, long blood circulation time upon proper surface modification, renal clearance capacity, and remarkable biosafety profile. On top of these merits, USPIO nanoparticles are used for developing not only T1 contrast agents, but also T2/T1 switchable contrast agents via assembly/disassembly approaches. In recent years, as a new type of contrast agents, USPIO nanoparticles have shown considerable applications in the diagnosis of various diseases such as vascular pathological changes and inflammations apart from malignant tumors. In this review, we are focusing on the state‐of‐the‐art developments and the latest applications of USPIO nanoparticles as MRI contrast agents to discuss their advantages and future prospects. This article is categorized under:Diagnostic Tools > In Vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoxia is considered as a key microenvironmental feature of solid tumors. Luminescent transition metal complexes particularly those based on iridium and ruthenium have shown remarkable potentials for constructing sensitive oxygen‐sensing probes due to their unique oxygen quenching pathway. However, the low aqueous solubility of these complexes largely retards their sensing applications in biological media. Moreover, it remains difficult so far to use the existing complexes typically possessing only one luminescent domain to quantitatively detect the intratumoral hypoxia degree. Herein, an Ir(III) complex showing red emissions is designed and synthesized, and innovatively encapsulated within a hydrophobic pocket of Cyanine7‐modified cyclodextrin. The Ir(III) complex enables the oxygen detection, while the cyclodextrin is used not only for improving the water solubility and suppressing the luminescence quenching effect of the surrounding aqueous media, but also for carrying Cyanine7 to establish a ratiometric oxygen fluorescence probe. 2D nuclear magnetic resonance is carried out to confirm the host–guest structure. The oxygen‐responsive ability of the resulting ratiometric probe is evaluated through in vitro cell and multicellular experiments. Further animal studies about tumor oxygen level mapping demonstrate that the probe can be successfully used for quantitatively visualizing tumor hypoxia in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies reveal that malignant tumors feature uneven distributions of some key biomarkers across the entire tumorous region. Nevertheless, only very limited progress has been made towards non‐invasive and quantitative detection of tumor‐specific biomarkers in vivo, especially with clinically compatible imaging modalities. Reported here is an Fe3O4 nanoparticle‐based glutathione (GSH) responsive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probe that can form particle aggregates within tumors in vivo to give rise to strong GSH concentration dependent interlocked relaxivities. A quantitative correlation between the interlocked MRI signals and local GSH concentration was established, and further applied for mapping the heterogeneous distribution of GSH within an intracranial tumor (2.4 mm × 1.6 mm) in vivo. This methodology will offer a practical route for quantitatively mapping tumor‐specific biomarkers in vivo with unlimited detection depth, which largely challenges optical‐imaging‐based approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil–water separation is an urgent issue due to the frequently occurred oil leakages and increasing discharge of oily wastewater. The pollutional and wastewater can not only damage the environment, but endanger human health. Owing to the small particle size of the oil contamination, it is still a challenge for the separation of oil–water emulsion. In this study, we developed a facile strategy to prepare a hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone/polyacrylonitrile (PVP/PAN) nanofibrous membrane for oil–water mixture and emulsion separation. The lowest water contact angle on the membrane surface can achieve 16.7°, thus the membranes can effectively resist the oil contamination on them. Moreover, the membrane can efficiently separate oil–water mixtures and emulsion by gravity. In addition, it can separate oil–water mixtures in harsh conditions (pH = 1 and 14). Membranes prepared in this work would hold a great potential in the practical use of water treatment and environmental industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging‐guided cancer therapy (IGCT) is rapidly emerging as a powerful precision cancer theranostic paradigm, as it can offer both diagnostic information and therapeutic benefits. But it relies on advanced theranostic agents that are largely constructed on top of nanomaterials. Conventionally, such theranostic agents are constructed by integrating different functional units, which will unnecessarily increase the size of the multi‐functional agents and inevitably encounter unwanted disassociation of the functional units in vivo, leading to false diagnosis and poor therapeutic efficacy. In this review, we highlight the state‐of‐the‐art progresses in biomedical applications of nanomaterials possessing built‐in functions suitable for cancer theranostic applications, particularly those who can convert near‐infrared (NIR) light into heat or radicals, as phototherapy holds remarkable promise for high‐precision cancer therapy. In addition, phototherapy can naturally be combined with photoacoustic imaging for realizing imaging‐guided therapy. In this context, the interactions between NIR and nanomaterials are classified and outlined. Then, different approaches for boosting imaging sensitivity and therapeutic efficacy, by improving the utilization of NIR light through different mechanisms, are discussed. Through examples on delineation and treatment of tumors in vivo, the opportunities and benefits of the theranostic nanoprobes for IGCT are highlighted. Moreover, the current challenges and future perspectives regarding both fundamental studies and clinical translation of the NIR‐mediated cancer theranostic agents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exogenous FeIII can be used for cancer magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and potentially for cancer treatment by a ferroptosis pathway or photothermal ablation. To achieve this, effective and accurate delivery of FeIII to cancerous sites is critical, requiring a balance of release kinetics of Fe3+ in tumorous and normal tissues. A nanoprobe is described consisting of upconversion luminescence (UCL) nanoparticles as a core and a coordinatively unsaturated FeIII‐containing Fe3+/gallic acid complex as a shell. Owing to the introduction of an unsaturated coordination structure, FeIII in the nanoprobe can be released only in the tumor microenvironment in response to the lightly acidic pH. The multiple UCLs are used for quantitatively visualizing the release of Fe3+ in vivo, whilst the release resultant serves as a photothermal agent. This nanoprobe exhibited ligand‐free tumor targeting ability, activatable MR imaging performance, and efficacious therapeutic effects against tumors in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Biomechanical properties can be used as biomarkers to diagnose tumors, monitor tumor development, and evaluate treatment efficacy. The purpose of this preliminary study is to characterize the biomechanical environment of two typical liver tumors, hemangiomas (HEMs) and hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), and to investigate the potential of using strain metrics as biomarkers for tumor diagnosis, based on a limited clinical dataset. Methods: Magnetic resonance (MR) tagging was used to quantify the motion and deformation of the two types of liver tumors. Displacements of the tumors arising from a heartbeat were measured over one cardiac cycle. Local biomechanical conditions of the tumors were characterized by estimating two principal strains (ε1 and ε2) and an octahedral shear strain (εsoct) of the tumor and its peripheral region. Biomechanical conditions of the tumors were compared with those of the arbitrarily selected regions from healthy volunteers. Results: We observed that the HCCs had significantly smaller strain values compared to their peripheral tissues. However, the HEMs did not have significantly different strains from those of the peripheral tissues, and were similar to healthy liver regions. The sensitivity of using ε1, ε2, and εsoct to diagnose HCC were all 1, while the sensitivity of using ε1, ε2, and εsoct to diagnose HEM were 0.67, 0.17, and 0.67, respectively. Conclusions: Lagrangian strain metrics provide insight into the biomechanical conditions of certain liver tumors in the human body and may provide another perspective for tumor characterization and diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Ultrasound ( US) imaging has been widely used in breast tumor diagnosis and treatment intervention. Automatic delineation of the tumor is a crucial first step, especially for the computer-aided diagnosis ( CAD) and US-guided breast procedure. However, the intrinsic properties of US images such as low contrast and blurry boundaries pose challenges to the automatic segmentation of the breast tumor. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose a segmentation algorithm that can contour the breast tumor in US images. Methods To utilize the neighbor information of each pixel, a Hausdorff distance based fuzzy c-means ( FCM) method was adopted. The size of the neighbor region was adaptively updated by comparing the mutual information between them. The objective function of the clustering process was updated by a combination of Euclid distance and the adaptively calculated Hausdorff distance. Segmentation results were evaluated by comparing with three experts' manual segmentations. The results were also compared with a kernel-induced distance based FCM with spatial constraints, the method without adaptive region selection, and conventional FCM. Results Results from segmenting 30 patient images showed the adaptive method had a value of sensitivity, specificity, Jaccard similarity, and Dice coefficient of 93.60 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of ultrasmall single-component omnipotent nanotheranostic agents integrated with multimodal imaging and multiple therapeutic functions becomes more and more practically relevant but challenging. In this article, sub 10 nm Bi2S3 biocompatible particles are prepared through a bovine serum albumin (BSA)-mediated biomineralization process under ambient aqueous conditions. Owing to the ultrasmall size and colloidal stability, the resulting nanoparticles (NPs) present outstanding blood circulation behavior and excellent tumor targeting ability. Toward theranostic applications, the biosafety profile is carefully investigated. In addition, photothermal conversion is characterized for both photoacoustic imaging and photothermal treatment of cancers. Upon radiolabeling, the performance of the resulting particles for SPECT/CT imaging in vivo is also carried out. Additionally, different combinations of treatments are applied for evaluating the performance of the as-prepared Bi2S3 NPs in photothermal- and radiotherapy of tumors. Due to the remarkable photothermal conversion efficiency and large X-ray attenuation coefficient, the implanted tumors are completely eradicated through combined therapies, which highlights the potential of BSA-capped Bi2S3 NPs as a novel multifunctional nanotheranostic agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self-assembly method of layer-by-layer deposition of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes is used to insert J-aggregates of the dye tetrachloro-diethyl-disulfobutyl-benzimido-carbocyanine (TDBC) into thin polymeric films. The J-aggregates are characterized by a narrow absorption- and fluorescence band with its maximum at 590 nm, which is red-shifted with respect to the monomeric transition at 515 nm. The dyes are either coadsorbed with the polyelectrolytes poly(allylamine hydrochloride (PAH) and poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS), or alternately deposited with the precursor of poly(phenylene vinylene) (pre-PPV). The optical properties of the aggregates are not changed significantly by the deposition process. The pre-PPV/ TDBC films are heated under vacuum to convert the PPV to its conjugated form. The resulting films can be used for the fabrication of light-emitting devices. The optical properties such as fluorescence and electroluminescence are dominated by the J-aggregates. The excitation energy of PPV is transferred to the dye aggregates with an efficiency of 100%. The electroluminescence is not very stable and shows a very slow turn-on time. However, the combination of self-assembled PPV/TDBC layers with a spin-coated film of PPV results in stable electroluminescence emission under ambient conditions. In this case, light is emitted from both species, the PPV and the J-aggregates, whereas the ratio of the two intensities strongly depends on temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemodynamic Therapy: Boosting H2O2-Guided Chemodynamic Therapy of Cancer by Enhancing Reaction Kinetics through Versatile Biomimetic Fenton Nanocatalysts and the Second Near-Infrared Light Irradiation (Adv. Funct. Keywords: biomimetic nanoparticles; H2O2-guided chemodynamic therapy; NIR-II-enhanced Fenton reaction; reaction kinetics; tumor Biomimetic nanoparticles, H2O2-guided chemodynamic therapy, NIR-II-enhanced Fenton reaction, reaction kinetics, tumor. [Extracted from the article]