In this study, we developed the cancer treatment through the combination of chemotherapy and thermotherapy using doxorubicin-loaded magnetic liposomes. The citric acid-coated magnetic nanoparticles (CAMNP,ca.10 nm) and doxorubicin were encapsulated into the liposome (HSPC/DSPE/cholesterol = 12.5:1:8.25) by rotary evaporation and ultrasonication process. The resultant magnetic liposomes (ca.90 to 130 nm) were subject to characterization including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer, and fluorescence microscope.In vitrocytotoxicity of the drug carrier platform was investigated through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay using L-929 cells, as the mammalian cell model.In vitrocytotoxicity and hyperthermia (inductive heating) studies were evaluated against colorectal cancer (CT-26 cells) with high-frequency magnetic field (HFMF) exposure. MTT assay revealed that these drug carriers exhibited no cytotoxicity against L-929 cells, suggesting excellent biocompatibility. When the magnetic liposomes with 1 μM doxorubicin was used to treat CT-26 cells in combination with HFMF exposure, approximately 56% cells were killed and found to be more effective than either hyperthermia or chemotherapy treatment individually. Therefore, these results show that the synergistic effects between chemotherapy (drug-controlled release) and hyperthermia increase the capability to kill cancer cells.

We are presenting our recent research results about the Ni-NiO nanoparticles on poly-(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)-modified graphene sheet (Ni-NiO/PDDA-G) nanocomposites prepared by the hydrothermal method at 90°C for 24 h. The Ni-NiO nanoparticles on PDDA-modified graphene sheets are measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern for exploring the structural evidence to apply in the electrochemical catalysts. The size of Ni-NiO nanoparticles is around 5 nm based on TEM observations. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show the Ni in the (012), (110), (110), (200), and (220) crystalline orientations, respectively. Moreover, the crystalline peaks of NiO are found in (111) and (220). The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) result represents the loading content of the Ni metal which is about 34.82 wt%. The electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis/X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ESCA/XPS) reveals the Ni⁰ to Ni^II ratio in metal phase. The electrochemical studies with Ni-NiO/PDDA-G in 0.5 M aqueous H₂SO₄ were studied for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).

Less targeted and limited solubility of hydrophobic-based drug are one of the serious obstacles in drug delivery system. Thus, new strategies to enhance the solubility of hydrophobic drug and controlled release behaviors would be developed. Herein, curcumin, a model of hydrophobic drug, has been loaded into PEGylated magnetic liposomes as a drug carrier platform for drug controlled release system. Inductive magnetic heating (hyperthermia)-stimulated drug release, in vitro cellular cytotoxicity assay of curcumin-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes and cellular internalization-induced by magnetic guidance would be investigated. The resultant of drug carriers could disperse homogeneously in aqueous solution, showing a superparamagnetic characteristic and could inductive magnetic heating with external high-frequency magnetic field (HFMF). In vitro curcumin release studies confirmed that the drug carriers exhibited no significant release at 37 °C, whereas exhibited rapid releasing at 45 °C. However, it would display enormous (three times higher) curcumin releasing under the HFMF exposure, compared with that without HFMF exposure at 45 °C. In vitro cytotoxicity test shows that curcumin-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes could efficiently kill MCF-7 cells in parallel with increasing curcumin concentration. Fluorescence microscopy observed that these drug carriers could internalize efficiently into the cellular compartment of MCF-7 cells. Thus, it would be anticipated that the novel hydrophobic drug-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes in combination with inductive magnetic heating are promising to apply in the combination of chemotherapy and thermotherapy for cancer therapy.

This paper describes the preparation of nanoarrays composed of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs: 20–50 nm) for use as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. The AgNPs were grown on porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates by electrochemical plating, and the inter-channel gap of AAO channels is between 10 and 20 nm. The size and interparticle gap of silver particles were adjusted in order to achieve optimal SERS signals and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The fluctuation of SERS intensity is about 10–20% when measuring adenine solutions, showing a great reproducible SERS sensing. The nanoparticle arrays offer a large potential for practical applications as shown by the SERS-based quantitative detection and differentiation of adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), guanine (G), β-carotene, and malachite green. The respective detection limits are <1 ppb for adenine and <0.63 ppm for β-carotene and malachite green, respectively. Uniform and reproducible Raman enhancement enabled by Ag nanoparticle array embedded in anodic aluminum oxide differentiates and helps quantify DNA canonical nucleobases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine).