Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been widely studied and applied in the field of tumor diagnosis and treatment because of their special fundamental properties. In order to make AuNPs more suitable for tumor diagnosis and treatment, their natural properties and the interrelationships between these properties should be systematically and profoundly understood. The natural properties of AuNPs were discussed from two aspects: physical and chemical. Among the physical properties of AuNPs, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), radioactivity and high X-ray absorption coefficient are widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of tumors. As an advantage over many other nanoparticles in chemicals, AuNPs can form stable chemical bonds with S-and N-containing groups. This allows AuNPs to attach to a wide variety of organic ligands or polymers with a specific function. These surface modifications endow AuNPs with outstanding biocompatibility, targeting and drug delivery capabilities. In this review, we systematically summarized the physicochemical properties of AuNPs and their intrinsic relationships. Then the latest research advancements and the developments of basic research and clinical trials using these properties are summarized. Further, the difficulties to be overcome and possible solutions in the process from basic laboratory research to clinical application are discussed. Finally, the possibility of applying the results to clinical trials was estimated. We hope to provide a reference for peer researchers to better utilize the excellent physicochemical properties of gold nanoparticles in oncotherapy.

Biomineralization is a process in which organic matter and inorganic matter combine with each other under the regulation of living organisms. Because of the biomineralization-induced super survivability and retentivity, biomineralization has attracted special attention from biologists, archaeologists, chemists, and materials scientists for its tracer and transformation effect in rock evolution study and nanomaterials synthesis. However, controlling the biomineralization process in vitro as precisely as intricate biology systems still remains a challenge. In this review, the regulating roles of temperature, pH, and organics in biominerals forming process were reviewed. The artificially introducing and utilization of biomineralization, the bio-inspired synthesis of nanomaterials, in biomedical fields was further discussed, mainly in five potential fields: drug and cell-therapy engineering, cancer/tumor target engineering, bone tissue engineering, and other advanced biomedical engineering. This review might help other interdisciplinary researchers to bionic-manufacture biominerals in molecular-level for developing more applications of biomineralization.

Piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning have drawn increasing levels of attention in the fields of flexible sensors and nanogenerators. However, the directional dependence of piezoelectricity of electrospun nanofibers remains elusive. In this study, the piezoelectric performances of individual nanofibers are characterized by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), while the effects of annealing on β-phase crystallinities are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The experimental results reveal that the as-spun P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers form higher content of β-phase compared with spin-coated films, and the content of β-phase increases by annealing. The annealed P(VDF-TrFE) nanofiber exhibits distinct vertical polarization switching characteristics. The high piezoelectric output in the thickness direction and low piezoelectric output in the longitudinal direction of the nanofiber mats further confirm that the preferential dipole orientation of electrospun P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers is normal to the surface of the substrate. Highly aligned P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers show directional strain sensing ability due to the piezoelectric and mechanical anisotropy.