The level of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) plays a critical role in tumor metastasis and personalized therapy, but it is challenging for highly efficient capture and detection of CTCs because of the extremely low concentration in peripheral blood. Herein, we report near-infrared fluorescent AgS nanodot-based signal amplification combing with immune-magnetic spheres (IMNs) for highly efficient magnetic capture and ultrasensitive fluorescence labeling of CTCs. The near-infrared fluorescent AgS nanoprobe has been successfully constructed through hybridization chain reactions using aptamer-modified AgS nanodots, which can extremely improve the imaging sensitivity and reduce background signal of blood samples. Moreover, the antiepithelial-cell-adhesion-molecule (EpCAM) antibody-labeled magnetic nanospheres have been used for highly capture rare tumor cells in whole blood. The near-infrared nanoprobe with signal amplification and IMNs platform exhibits excellent performance in efficient capture and detection of CTCs, which shows great potential in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

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in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).We report herein the design, synthesis, and in vitro anti-tumor activities of a series of 1,2,3-triazoletetraethylene glycol tethered heteronuclear bis-Schiff base derivatives of isatin. Our results indicated that all the synthesized bis-Schiff bases except 9e showed considerable in vitro anticancer activities against HepG2, Hela, HCT-116, A549, and MCF-7 human cancer cell lines with IC 50 in a range of 9.79-48.75 μM and were more potent than etoposide against Hela, HCT-116, and A549 cell lines. In particular, the most potent bis-Schiff base 9g (IC 50 : 9.79-29.64 μg/mL) was highly active against the five cancer cell lines tested, could act as a lead for further optimization.

Protein nanoparticles (NPs), biocompatible and biodegradable, can be easily surface modified. In particular, amphiphilic proteins act as "surfactants" that help form microparticles while undergoing molecular chain rearrangement. These NPs have been successfully used as drug delivery systems, improving bioavailability and reducing the toxic effects of drug molecules. The use of regenerated silk protein (RSF) with m-acrylamidophenylboronic acid (APBA) composites as drug carriers for loading anti-inflammatory herbal extracts was reported. Firstly, a simple and rapid method was used to prepare silk protein/polyphenylboronic acid nanospheres, in brief, RSF solution and a certain amount of initiator were added to APBA solution, and the pH was adjusted by NaOH, and the polymerization was initiated by heating at 90 ℃ under nitrogen protection with stirring at 500 r/min. After 2 h of reaction, a milky solution was obtained, which formed silk protein/benzeneboronic acid nanospheres with hydrophobic interior and hydrophilic surface. The drug-loaded silk protein/polyphenylboronic acid nanospheres with an average size of 550 to 600 nm were prepared by mixing with the drug solution after dialysis and stirring at room temperature for 12 h to load the drug by adsorption. By the same method, drug-loaded albumin/polyphenylboronic acid microspheres and collagen/polyphenylboronic acid microspheres with sizes around 260 nm and 100 nm, respectively, could be prepared. The results observed by scanning and projection electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering showed that the drug-loaded silk protein/polyphenylboronic acid nanomicrospheres displayed regular spherical shape indicating smoothness and good dispersion with no obvious aggregation. The highest drug loading rate was about 13.4%, and the encapsulation rate was over 90%. Also, such drug-loaded nanospheres could achieve controlled release for about seven days and their slow release behavior was pH-responsive, with faster drug release in buffer solution at pH＝5.5 than in buffer solution at pH＝7.4. In addition, the synergistic interaction of the silk protein/polyphenylboronic acid nanomicrospheres with the subject drug improved its free radical scavenging rate and scavenging efficiency, which was superior to that of the direct drug delivery group. Thus, three protein/polyphenylboronic acid nanomicrospheres with different sizes, electrical properties and drug release rates may be adaptable to a wide range of intravenous and subcutaneous or intraperitoneal drug delivery needs and have great potential for clinical applications.