Despite the dominance of lead-based piezoelectric materials with ultrahigh electric-field-induced strain in actuating applications, seeking eco-friendly substitutes with an equivalent performance remains an urgent demand. Here, a strategy of regulating the irreversible non-180° domain via phase engineering is introduced to optimize the available strain (the difference between the maximum strain and the remnant strain in a unipolar strain curve) in the lead-free potassium–sodium niobate-based piezoelectric ceramics. In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Rayleigh analysis reveal the contribution of the non-180° domain to available strain in the tetragonal–orthorhombic–rhombohedral phase boundary. The reducing orthorhombic phase and increasing rhombohedral/tetragonal phase accompanied by the reduced irreversible non-180° domain are obtained with increasing doping of Sb5+, resulting in an enlarged available strain due to the significantly lowered remnant strain. This optimization is mainly attributed to the reduced irreversible non-180° domain wall motion and the increased lattice distortion, which are beneficial to decrease extrinsic contribution and enhance intrinsic contribution. The mesoscopic structure of miniaturized nanosized domain with facilitated domain switching also contributes to the enhancement of available strain due to the improved random field and decreased energy barrier. The study will shed light on the design of lead-free high-performance piezoelectric ceramics for actuator applications.
1 February 2024 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Complete removal of all tumor tissue with a wide surgical margin is essential for the treatment of osteosarcoma (OS). However, it's difficult, sometimes impossible, to achieve due to the invisible small satellite lesions and blurry tumor boundaries. Besides, intraoperative frozen‐section analysis of resection margins of OS is often restricted by the hard tissues around OS, which makes it impossible to know whether a negative margin is achieved. Any unresected small tumor residuals will lead to local recurrence and worse prognosis. Herein, based on the high expression of B7H3 in OS, a targeted probe B7H3‐IRDye800CW is synthesized by conjugating anti‐B7H3 antibody and IRDye800CW. B7H3‐IRDye800CW can accurately label OS areas after intravenous administration, thereby helping surgeons identify and resect residual OS lesions (<2 mm) and lung metastatic lesions. The tumor‐background ratio reaches 4.42 ± 1.77 at day 3. After incubating fresh human OS specimen with B7H3‐IRDye800CW, it can specifically label the OS area and even the microinvasion area (confirmed by hematoxylin‐eosin [HE] staining). The probe labeled area is consistent with the tumor area shown by magnetic resonance imaging and complete HE staining of the specimen. In summary, B7H3‐IRDye800CW has translational potential in intraoperative resection guidance and rapid pathological diagnosis of OS.
Despite recent developments worldwide in the therapeutic care of osteosarcoma (OS), the ongoing challenges in overcoming limitations and side effects of chemotherapy drugs warrant new strategies to improve overall patient survival. Spurred by rapid progress in biomedicine, nanobiotechnology, and materials chemistry, chemotherapeutic drug delivery in treatment of OS has become possible in recent years. Here, we review recent advances in the design of drug delivery system, especially for chemotherapeutic drugs in OS, and discuss the relative merits in trials along with future therapeutic options. These advances may pave the way for novel therapies requisite for patients with OS.
2 April 2024 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces