War against cancer constantly requires new affinity tools to selectively detect, localize, and quantify biomarkers for diagnosis or prognosis. Herein, carbon nanodots (CDs), an emerging class of fluorescent nanomaterials, coupled with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), are employed as a biocompatible optical imaging tool for probing cancer biomarkers. First, N-doped CDs were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis using starch as carbon source and l-tryptophan as nitrogen atom provider to achieve a high quantum yield of 25.1 ± 2%. The CDs have a typical size of ∼3.2 nm and produce an intense fluorescence at 450 nm upon excitation with UV light. A MIP shell for specific recognition of glucuronic acid (GlcA) was then synthesized around the CDs, using the emission of the CDs as an internal light source for photopolymerization. GlcA is a substructure (epitope) of hyaluronan, a biomarker for certain cancers. The biotargeting and bioimaging of hyaluronan on fixated human cervical cancer cells using CD core-MIP shell nanocomposites is demonstrated. Human keratinocytes were used as noncancerous reference cells and indeed, less staining was observed by the CD-MIP.
Conceptually new one-pot photoinduced
sequential click reactions
were implemented to yield novel block copolymers with the ability
for cell adhesion. Poly(ε-caprolcatone) possessing clickable
functional groups at the chain ends, namely α-alkynyl-ω-alkenyl-poly(ε-caprolactone)
(A-PCL-MA), was prepared by ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone
using propargyl alcohol in the presence of stannous octoate at 110
°C followed by esterification with methacrylic acid. Azide-functional
poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-N3) was prepared independently
by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) followed by an azidation
process using sodium azide. Finally, A-PCL-MA was reacted with PMMA-N3 and N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) in
a one-pot process through photoinduced sequential click reactions
to furnish desired bioactive block copolymer (PMMA-b-PCL-NAC). A matrix for cell adhesion was then prepared from the
yielded block copolymer PMMA-b-PCL-NAC and cell proliferation
on the matrix was measured. Cells from the Vero cell line (African
green monkey kidney epithelial) were incubated on the matrix, and
after 48 h, they showed greater cell proliferation than the commercially
available cell culture plates used as comparison.
Ag‐nanoparticle‐containing hydrogels were successfully prepared by in situ reduction of silver nitrate in the presence of citrate molecules as stabilizing agent during photoinduced copolymerization of AAm and BAAm. Swelling‐deswelling behavior and thermal properties of the synthesized hydrogels were investigated. The interior morphology of the gels exhibit continuity, which is a common feature for hydrogel networks. Antimicrobial activities of the hydrogels were also investigated against pathogenic E. coli O157:H7, S. aureus, and non‐pathogenic E. coli K‐12, which are model microorganisms for testing bactericidal properties. The hydrogels containing well‐dispersed Ag NPs showed significant antibacterial activity.magnified image
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