Three-dimensional hierarchically porous carbon-CNT-graphene ternary all-carbon foams (3D-HPCFs) with 3D macro- and mesoporous structures, a high specific surface area (1286 m(2) g(-1)), large bimodal mesopores (5.1 and 2.7 nm), and excellent conductivity have been fabricated through multicomponent surface self-assembly of graphene oxide (GO)-dispersed pristine CNTs (GOCs) supported on a commercial sponge. The commercial sponge with a 3D interconnected macroporous framework not only is used as a support for GOCs and subsequently multicomponent self-assembly but also serves as a 3D scaffold to buffer electrolytes to reduce ion transport resistance and ion diffusion distance, while the GO acts as "surfactant" to directly disperse pristine CNTs, preserving the excellent electronic structure of pristine CNTs, and the CNTs also prevent the aggregation of graphene as well as improve the whole conductivity. Benefiting from the aforementioned characteristics, the 3D-HPCFs-based supercapacitors show outstanding specific capacitance, high rate capability, and excellent cycling stability, making them potentially promising for high-performance energy storage devices.

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The design of tumor-targeting, intracellular protease-activatable near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) nanoprobes is broadly interesting but remains challenging. In this work, we report the rational design of a NIR probe Cys(StBu)-Lys(Biotin)-Lys-Lys(Cy5.5)-CBT (1) to facilely prepare the self-quenched nanoparticles 1-NPs for tumor-targeted imaging in vitro and in vivo. The biotinylated 1-NPs could be actively uptaken by biotin receptor-overexpressing tumor cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis. Upon intracellular proteolytic cleavage, 1-NPs were disassembled to yield the small molecular probe Lys(Cy5.5)-Luciferin-Lys(Biotin)-Lys-OH (1-D-cleaved), accompanied by fluorescence "Turn-On". With this NIRF "Turn-On" property, 1-NPs were successfully applied for tumor-targeted imaging. We envision that our nanoparticles could be applied for fluorescence-guided tumor surgery in the near future.

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Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) is overexpressed in a wide variety of solid tumors, serving as a well-characterized target for tumor imaging or therapy. In this work, we developed a GRP78-responsive radiotracer (DOTA-68Ga)-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser-Phe-Ser-Ile-Ile-His-Thr-Pro-Ile-Leu-Pro-Leu-Gly-Gly-Cys ([68Ga]­SP94) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) micro-PET imaging. DOTA-SP94 was synthesized by solid phase synthesis and then radiolabeled with 68GaCl3 with >99% radiochemical purity. The expression levels of GRP78 in HepG2 cells were confirmed by Western blotting. In vitro and in vivo study of [68Ga]­SP94 showed high stability and high uptake in GRP78-overexpressing HepG2 cells and tumor, fast clearance, and low nontarget uptake. Micro-PET images showed excellent tumor accumulation of [68Ga]­SP94 in the HepG2-implanted nude mice tumor model. Additionally, the radiotracer uptake in HepG2 tumors can be blocked by unlabeled DOTA-SP94, suggesting that the tracer uptake by HCC was receptor-mediated. We envision that our radiotracer can be used for noninvasive imaging of HCC and is worthy of further clinical investigations.