Plasma treatment in Ar gas on few layer graphene sheets (FLGSs), synthesized by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition, has been performed for enhancing their field emission properties. The plasma etching treatment for 3 min on the FLGSs, forming an extremely sharp edge, decreases the turn-on electric field from 3.91 to 2.23 V µm−1, and increases the maximum emission current density, drawn at a field of 4.4 V µm−1, from 33 to 1330 µA cm−2. It is expected that plasma treatment provides an efficient way to improve the field emission properties of FLGSs.

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) take the advantage of monoclonal antibodies to selectively deliver highly potent cytotoxic drugs to tumor cells, which have become a powerful measure for cancer treatment in recent years. To develop a more effective therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive cancer, we explored a novel ADCs composed of anti-HER2 scFv–HSA fusion antibodies conjugates with a potent cytotoxic drug DM1. The resulting ADCs, T-SA1–DM1 and T-SA2–DM1 (drug-to-antibody ratio in the range of 3.2–3.5) displayed efficient inhibition in the growth of HER2-positive tumor cell lines and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration on SKBR-3 and SKOV3 cells were both at the nanomolar levels in vitro. In HER2-positive human ovarian cancer xenograft models, T-SA1–DM1 and T-SA2–DM1 also showed remarkable antitumor activity. Importantly, three out of six mice exhibited complete remission without regrowth in the high-dose group of T-SA1–DM1. On the basis of the analysis of luminescence imaging, anti-HER2 scFv–HSA fusion antibodies, especially T-SA1, showed strong and rapid tumor tissue penetrability and distribution compared with trastuzumab. Collectively, the novel type of ADCs is effective and selective targeting to HER2-positive cancer, and may be a promising antitumor drug candidate for further studies.

In this article, a green and controllable method was introduced to reduce graphene oxide (GO) via a hydrothermal deoxygenation process. The reduced graphene oxide (RGO) obtained was characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X‐ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, et al. The reduction degree as well as residual chemical components can be adjusted by changing the reaction time and pH conditions. Both GO and RGO were applied as SERS substrates, and their SERS activities were studied and compared. The mechanism on SERS enhancement of GO and RGOs was discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

DDR1 has been identified as a cancer‐associated receptor tyrosine kinase that is highly expressed in several malignancies relative to normal tissues. Clinically approved multi‐kinase inhibitors, such as nilotinib, inhibit DDR1‐mediated tumor growth in xenograft models, suggesting DDR1 might be a potential target for cancer treatments. Here, we employed an antibody‐based strategy with a novel anti‐DDR1 antibody‐drug conjugate (ADC) for colon carcinoma treatment. We developed T 4 H 11 ‐DM4, an ADC targeting DDR1 which carries the tubulin inhibitor payload DM4. Immunohistochemical analysis of a tissue microarray containing 100 colon cancer specimens revealed that DDR1 was highly expressed in 81% of tumor tissues. Meanwhile, high expression of DDR1 was associated with poor survival in patients. In vitro , T 4 H 11 ‐DM4 exhibited potent anti‐proliferative activity with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) values in the nanomolar range in a panel of colon cancer cell lines. In vivo , the antitumor efficacy of T 4 H 11 ‐DM4 was evaluated in three colon cancer cell lines expressing different levels of DDR1. T 4 H 11 ‐DM4 achieved complete tumor regression at doses of 5 and 10 mg·kg −1 in HT‐29 and HCT116 tumor models. Moreover, a correlation between in vivo efficacy of T 4 H 11 ‐DM4 and the levels of DDR1 expression on the cell surface was observed. Tumor cell proliferation was caused by the induction of mitotic arrest, indicating that the antitumor effect in vivo was mediated by DM4. In addition, T 4 H 11 ‐DM4 was efficacious in oxaliplatin‐resistant colon cancer models. In exploratory safety studies, T 4 H 11 ‐DM4 exhibited no overt toxicities when multi‐doses were administered at 10 mg·kg −1 into BALB/c nude mice or when a single dose up to 50 mg·kg −1 was administered into BALB/c mice. Overall, our findings highlight the potential of DDR1‐targeted ADC and may facilitate the development of a new effective therapeutic strategy for colon cancer.

CD25 is the alpha‐chain of the heterotrimer IL‐2 receptor. CD25 is expressed on the surface of both immune and non‐immune cells with different frequencies. For cancers, CD25 is expressed at high levels in many types of hematological malignancies, but at low levels in most solid tumors. CD25 is also highly expressed in activated circulating immune cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs). Infiltration of Tregs in the tumor microenvironment can lead to an imbalanced ratio of effector T cells (Teffs) and Tregs, which is associated with the progression of cancers. A rescued Teff/Treg cell ratio indicates an efficient anti‐tumor response to immunotherapy. CD25 as a potential target for the depletion of Tregs is critical in developing new immunotherapeutic strategies. Few articles have summarized the relationships between CD25 and tumors, or the recent progress of drugs targeting CD25. In this paper, we will discuss the structures of IL‐2 and IL‐2R, the biological function of CD25 and its important role in tumor therapy. In addition, the latest research on drugs targeting CD25 has been summarized, providing guidance for future drug development.