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Background: The photodynamic therapy (PDT) showed promising potential in treating tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). The Food and Drug Administration approved Verteporfin (Ver) is a powerful alternative in this field for its penetrating power and high production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, its applications in the treatment of TSCC are still rare., Methods: Ver was loaded onto Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles, followed by the modification with RGD peptide as the ligand. The nanostructured was named as RPV. In vitro assessments were conducted to evaluate the cytotoxicity of RPV through the Live/Dead assay analysis and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Using the reactive oxygen species assay kit, the potential for inducing targeted tumor cell death upon laser irradiation by promoting ROS production was investigated. In vivo experiments involved with the biological distribution of RPV, the administration with RPV followed by laser irradiation, and the measurement of the tumor volumes. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to detect the Ki-67 expression, and apoptosis induced by RPV-treated group. Systemic toxicity was evaluated through hematoxylin-eosin staining and blood routine analysis. Real-time monitoring was employed to track RPV accumulation at tumor sites., Results: The in vitro assessments demonstrated the low cytotoxicity of RPV and indicated its potential for targeted killing TSCC cells under laser irradiation. In vivo experiments revealed significant tumor growth inhibition with RPV treatment and laser irradiation. Immunohistochemical analysis showed a notable decrease in Ki-67 expression, suggesting the effective suppression of cell proliferation, and TUNEL assay indicated the increased apoptosis in the RPV-treated group. Pathological examination and blood routine analysis revealed no significant systemic toxicity. Real-time monitoring exhibited selective accumulation of RPV at tumor sites., Conclusion: The findings collectively suggest that RPV holds promise as a safe and effective therapeutic strategy for TSCC, offering a combination of targeted drug delivery with photodynamic therapy., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Yu et al.)

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising strategy for oral cancer treatment. Verteporfin is a powerful photosensitizer and widely used in the treatment of macular degeneration. However, rare work has reported its potential in the treatment of oral cancer., Methods: In this study, we introduce an innovative approach of nano-photosensitizer based on Verteporfin, which was prepared by utilizing macrophage membrane to coat Verteporfin-loaded zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8) for effective photodynamic therapy against oral cancer. Nanoparticle characteristics were assessed including size, zeta potential, and PDI. Cellular uptake studies were conducted using CAL-27 cells. Furthermore, inhibitory effects in both in vitro and in vivo settings were observed, ensuring biosafety. Assessment of anticancer efficacy involved tumor volume measurement, histological analyses, and immunohistochemical staining., Results: In vitro experiments indicated that the nano-photosensitizer showed efficient cellular uptake in the oral cancer cells. Upon the laser irradiation, the nano-photosensitizer induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to cancer cell apoptosis. The in vivo experiments indicated that the coating with cell membranes enhanced the circulation time of nano-photosensitizer. Moreover, the specificity of the nano-photosensitizer to the cancer cells was also improved by the cell membrane-camouflaged structure in the tumor-bearing mouse model, which inhibited the tumor growth significantly by the photodynamic effect in the presence of laser irradiation., Conclusion: Overall, our findings demonstrate the potential of macrophage membrane-coated ZIF-8-based nanoparticles loaded with Verteporfin for effective photodynamic therapy in oral cancer treatment. This nano-system holds promise for synergistic cancer therapy by combining the cytotoxic effects of PDT with the activation of the immune system, providing a novel therapeutic strategy for combating cancer., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2023 Yu et al.)

Mitochondrial damage is one of the primary causes of neuronal cell death in Parkinson's disease (PD). In PD patients, the mitochondrial damage can be repaired or irreversible. Therefore, mitochondrial damage repair becomes a promising strategy for PD treatment. In this research, hyaluronic acid nanoparticles (HA-NPs) of different molecular weights are used to protect the mitochondria and salvage the mild and limited damage in mitochondria. The HA-NPs with 2190 k Dalton (kDa) HA can improve the mitochondrial function of SH-SY5Y cells and PTEN induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) knockout mouse embryo fibroblast (MEF) cells. In cases of irreversible damage, NPs with ubiquitin specific peptidase 30 (USP30) siRNA are used to promote mitophagy. Meanwhile, by adding PINK1 antibodies, the NPs can selectively target the irreversibly damaged mitochondria, preventing the excessive clearance of healthy mitochondria., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Periodontitis is an infectious oral disease, which leads to the destruction of periodontal tissues and tooth loss. Although the treatment of periodontitis has improved recently, the effective treatment of periodontitis and the periodontitis-affected periodontal tissues is still a challenge. Therefore, it is urgent to explore new therapeutic strategies for periodontitis. Natural products show anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and bone protective effects to periodontitis and most of these natural products are safe and cost-effective. Among these, the plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PELNs), a type of natural nanocarriers repleted with lipids, proteins, RNAs, and other active molecules, show the ability to enter mammalian cells and regulate cellular activities. Reports from the literature indicate the great potential of PELNs in the regulation of immune functions, inflammation, microbiome, and tissue regeneration. Moreover, PELNs can also be used as drug carriers to enhance drug stability and cellular uptake in vivo . Since regulation of immune function, inflammation, microbiome, and tissue regeneration are the key phenomena usually targeted during periodontitis treatment, the PELNs hold the promising potential for periodontitis treatment. This review summarizes the recent advances in PELNs-related research that are related to the treatment of periodontitis and regeneration of periodontitis-destructed tissues and the underlying mechanisms. We also discuss the existing challenges and prospects of the application of PELNs-based therapeutic approaches for periodontitis treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Yu, Zhu, Zeng, Xu, Cheng, Ouyang, Chen, Pathak, Wu and Yu.)

Decellularization of tissues can significantly improve regenerative medicine and tissue engineering by producing natural, less immunogenic, three-dimensional, acellular matrices with high biological activity for transplantation. Decellularized matrices retain specific critical components of native tissues such as stem cell niche, various growth factors, and the ability to regenerate in vivo. However, recellularization and functionalization of these matrices remain limited, highlighting the need to improve the characteristics of decellularized matrices. Incorporating nanoparticles into decellularized tissues can overcome these limitations because nanoparticles possess unique properties such as multifunctionality and can modify the surface of decellularized matrices with additional growth factors, which can be loaded onto the nanoparticles. Therefore, in this minireview, we highlight the various approaches used to improve decellularized matrices with incorporation of nanoparticles and the challenges present in these applications.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with Protein-G have been a model system to be used in different antibodies binding study. It is highly desirable to use a substrate-free biosensing system to detect antibodies binding in real-time. In this paper, we developed and applied a MNPs and search-coils integrated detection system, which is not only sensitive to the hydrodynamic volume of MNPs but also sensitive to the environment of MNPs, such as viscosity and temperature of the solution. We demonstrated that the viscosity effect influenced the amplitudes and phases of the 3rd (fH±2fL) and 5th (fH±4fL) harmonics for the mixed frequency testing scheme. The binding between antibodies and Protein-G on MNPs increased hydrodynamic volume of particles, as a result, it also changed the amplitudes and phases of harmonics, which are the object signals we need to analyze. We demonstrated that the viscosity of antibody solution is lower than that of MNP solution, and the antibody binding effect could be shielded by the viscosity effect to certain extent.

Magnetic Fe nanoparticles were fabricated using a magnetron-sputtering-based gas-phase condensation method, and they have an average size of 20 nm. The Fe nanoparticles were modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane, and were subsequently activated by glutaraldehyde, and then amino modified DNA oligomers were loaded on glutaraldehyde activated Fe nanoparticles. Their surface was investigated and confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The concentrations of 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane and glutaraldehyde play important roles for subsequent DNA immobilization, and their optimal concentrations are 0.5 vol% and 5.0 wt%, respectively. The loading level of DNA oligomers on Fe nanoparticles was quantitatively evaluated. We found that the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant can significantly increase the DNA loading level and the highest loading value reached to 47 mol DNA/mol Fe nanoparticles. The DNA-Fe complexes can be selectively hybridized to the DNA functionalized surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Dual NC hydrogel with homogeneous SiO 2 @TiO 2 core-shell nanoparticle was fabricated. • Interaction of SiO 2 @TiO 2 NPs and polymers enhanced fluorescent stability. • Fluorescence and toughness were adjusted by the shell thickness of SiO 2 @TiO 2 NPs. • Dual crosslinking and dual nanocomposite contributed to high mechanical property. Abstract A tough and fluorescent NC hydrogel was fabricated by introduction of SiO 2 @TiO 2 core-shell structure nanoparticles (NPs) into polyacrylamide (PAAm)/Laponite nanocomposite (NC) hydrogel. The photoluminescent and mechanical properties of the resultant PAAm/Laponite/SiO 2 @TiO 2 dual NC hydrogel were explored with respect to the shell thickness of SiO 2 @TiO 2. The dual NC hydrogel emitted stable and bright blue photoluminescence (PL), when radiated at 350 nm. The emission wavelength was slightly shifted from 423 to 428 nm with the increasing of the shell thickness due to the surface interaction of SiO 2 @TiO 2 NPs and polymers. Besides, the compressive strength and compressive fracture energy of the PAAm/Laponite/SiO 2 @TiO 2 dual NC hydrogels were 7535.8 kPa and 5740.3 J/m2 which increased by 19 and 21%, respectively, relative to the MLS@T 0 dual NC hydrogel. The tensile strength was 207.2 kPa at a strain of 730%. The dual crosslinking of SiO 2 @TiO 2 NPs and Laponite, as well as the dual nanocomposite structure were responsible for the enhanced mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]