Photodynamic
therapy (PDT) is a clinical cancer treatment modality
based on the induction of therapeutic reactive oxygen species (ROS),
which can trigger immunogenic cell death (ICD). With the aim of simultaneously
improving both PDT-mediated intracellular ROS production and ICD levels,
we designed a serum albumin (SA)-coated boehmite (“B”;
aluminum hydroxide oxide) organic–inorganic scaffold that could
be loaded with chlorin e6 (Ce6), a photosensitizer, and a honey bee
venom melittin (MLT) peptide, denoted Ce6/MLT@SAB. Ce6/MLT@SAB was
anchored by a boehmite nanorod structure and exhibited particle size
of approximately 180 nm. Ce6/MLT@SAB could significantly reduce hemolysis
relative to that of free MLT, while providing MLT-enhanced PDT antitumor
effects in vitro. Compared with Ce6@SAB, Ce6/MLT@SAB
improved Ce6 penetration of cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, thereby providing enhanced intracellular
ROS generation with 660 nm light treatment. Following phototreatment,
Ce6/MLT@SAB-treated cells displayed significantly improved levels
of ICD and abilities to activate dendritic cells. In the absence of
laser irradiation, multidose injection of Ce6/MLT@SAB could delay
the growth of subcutaneous murine tumors by more than 60%, compared
to controls. When combined with laser irradiation, a single injection
and phototreatment with Ce6/MLT@SAB eradicated one-third of subcutaneous
tumors in treated mice. The addition of an immune checkpoint blockade
to Ce6/MLT@SAB phototreatment further augmented antitumor effects,
generating increased numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in tumors with concomitant reduction of myeloid-derived
suppressor cells.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have achieved unprecedented power conversion efficiency improvements, and further development is stepping to industrialization. In terms of industrial manufacturing, simplifying the solar cell structure is critical in both fabrication process design and cost control. Due to the bipolar charge transport nature of perovskites, the elimination of the charge carrier transport layer is possible. Herein, EMIMPF6 ionic liquid is incorporated into the perovskite film to modulate the energy‐level alignment and the charge transfer kinetics, demonstrating a high‐performance electron transport layer‐free (ETL‐free) PSC. The integrated EMIMPF6 assisted the internal charge collection and favored the interfacial charge transfer from perovskite to FTO substrate, contributing to the high performance of ETL‐free PSCs. The ETL‐free PSCs showed a conversion efficiency of 16.2%, which is comparable with its conventional counterpart. This work provides a solution to simplify the PSC structure and would have an impact on designing a scalable manufacturing process for PSCs.
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