Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been considered as a promising and noninvasive strategy for clinical cancer treatment. Nonetheless, building a smart “off–on” theranostic PDT platform to spatiotemporally control the generation of reactive oxygen species in the PDT treatment still remains challenging. Here, we have rationally developed photoswitching upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) with orthogonal emissive properties in response to two distinct near-infrared (NIR) emissions at 808 and 980 nm, i.e., red emission with 980 nm excitation and green emission with 808 nm excitation. Unlike traditional photoswitching UCNPs, these specially designed core–shell–shell structured UCNPs do not require complicated multilayer doping as their red and green upconversion luminescence both originate from the same activator Er3+ ions in the core structure. As a proof of concept, we have demonstrated the capability of these orthogonal emissive UCNPs for imaging-guided PDT in a real-time manner, where the red emission excited by 980 nm light is used to trigger PDT and the green emission with 808 nm excitation is to diagnose and monitor the therapeutic treatment. Our study suggests that such specially designed UCNPs with orthogonal emissions hold great promise for NIR light-targeted and imaging-guided therapy under precisely spatiotemporal control.

Black hairy tongue (BHT) is characterized by a discolored, hairy tongue. We herein report two cases of BHT associated with antibacterial agents and review previous cases. In Case 1, a 17-year-old girl with a central neurocytoma was administered intravenous piperacillin–tazobactam for postoperative infection, and BHT developed 12 days later. Her symptoms resolved 8 days after she discontinued the piperacillin–tazobactam and brushed her tongue three times daily. In Case 2, a 65-year-old man was administered intravenous piperacillin–tazobactam and levofloxacin to treat multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and BHT developed 15 days later. The piperacillin–tazobactam was discontinued and the patient brushed his tongue, and the discoloration gradually subsided thereafter. However, the BHT reappeared after linezolid treatment. The patient had adverse drug reactions to both the piperacillin–tazobactam and linezolid treatments. The BHT might have been related to antibiotic use in both cases. We identified 19 cases of antibiotic-related BHT in a literature search, but none were related to piperacillin–tazobactam use. In all cases, symptoms resolved after discontinuation of the drug and brushing of the tongue. BHT may be a rare adverse effect of antibiotics. Treatment strategies include removal of the causative agents, mechanical debridement, and good oral hygiene.

The formation of lithium dendrites is recognized as the worst problem for lithium metal batteries.

No abstract