An-Ni Wang

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) have potential for various cancer treatments. However, they are still bound by the demands of Fenton reaction conditions such as oxygen dependence, inherent defects in common standard photosensitizers (PSs), and the continuous availability of laser sources. Herein, we designed Ce₃NbO₇/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposites (NCs) and investigated their ability to evaluate the performance of PTT/CDT synergistically to enhance cancer treatment. The activation of Ce₃NbO₇/g-C₃N₄ NCs in the tumor microenvironment (TME) causes the generation of cytotoxic ROS via the Fenton reaction. Additionally, the g-C₃N₄ in NCs absorbs NIR, generating hyperthermia in the TME. The photothermal conversion efficiency (ƞ) of the Ce₃NbO₇/g-C₃N₄ NCs was found to be 49.5%. A photocatalytic reaction with PTT-enhanced Fenton reagents, without consuming additional photothermal agents (PTA) or Fenton reagents, generates the hydroxyl radical (OH•) primarily by direct electron transfer in the TME. Almost 68% of cells experienced programmed cell death due to the combinational effect (PTT/CDT), making it an efficient and biocompatible therapy. Furthermore, this work provides a basis for developing numerous innovative materials that can be used to treat cancer, overcome general limitations, and enhance ROS production under single-wavelength (808 nm) laser irradiation.

Polyelectrolyte multilayer assembly is one of the most widely applied biomaterial coatings for applications from surface modification, drug delivery, tissue engineering to biomimetic extracellular environment. In this research, we propose a simple layer-wise spin coating technique to prepare chitosan/poly-γ-glutamic acid (C/PGA) polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) on two different biomedical metals, 316L stainless steel (316LSS) and titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V). The multilayer coating was fabricated using oppositely charged chitosan and poly--glutamic acid to deposit a total of 10, 20, or 30 multilayered films. Afterward, tetracycline was loaded by soaking the coated metals for 12 hours. The microstructure, mechanical properties, biocompatibility and drug release rate were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurement, MG63 cell viability and inhibition of Escherichia coli (E. coli) growth. Lastly, MG63 cell attachment was detected by fluorescence microscopy after staining with Hoechst 33258. This coating technique can prepare a layer of 2.2–6.9 m C/PGA PEMs favoring cell attachment and growth. Moreover, tetracycline was released from C/PGA PEMs and inhibited the growth of E. coli. The results suggest that C/PGA PEMs provide a useful platform for modulating the micro-environment for better cell adhesion and antibiotic delivery, which hold great potential for surface modification and drug loading for biomimetic materials.

As IC technology advances to 16/14 nm and beyond, FinFET architecture with advantage of excellent leakage performance becomes main stream in IC industry. However, it also brings big challenges for integration and processes due to its very aggressive structure and profile, CD shrinkage, shadow effect and gap-fill difficulty. In this work, atomic layer deposition (ALD) metal films, including TaN, TiN (TiSiN), TiAl and CVD W, were studied for replacement metal gate application. Challenges of step coverage & gap-fill, loading effect and tunable range of work function will be discussed and addressed. Thickness of high K capping layer (TiN or TaN), work function metal (TiN & TiAl), W barrier layer (TiN) all show strong effect on N/P MOS device Vt, and more than 300 mv tunable range of work function can be achieved. Besides, higher Al : Ti ratio process, interfacial special treatment between TiAl & W barrier TiN and different W process can lower down NMOS Vt. At the last, ALD and CVD process ensure good gap-fill performance when CD opening is larger than 5nm (aspect ratio is about 20:1).

In this study, a biosensor, based on a glucose oxidase (GO_x) immobilized, carbon-coated tin sulfide (SnS) assembled on a glass carbon electrode (GCE) was developed, and its direct electrochemistry was investigated. The carbon coated SnS (C-SnS) nanoparticle was prepared through a simple two-step process, using hydrothermal and chemical vapor deposition methods. The large reactive surface area and unique electrical potential of C-SnS could offer a favorable microenvironment for facilitating electron transfer between enzymes and the electrode surface. The structure and sensor ability of the proposed GO_x/C-SnS electrode were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and cyclic voltammetry study (CV).

Nowadays glucose detection is of great importance in the fields of biological, environmental, and clinical analyzes. In this research, we report a zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod powder surface-coated with carbon material for non-enzymatic glucose sensor applications through a hydrothermal process and chemical vapor deposition method. A series of tests, including crystallinity analysis, microstructure observation, and electrochemical property investigations were carried out. For the cyclic voltammetric (CV) glucose detection, the low detection limit of 1 mM with a linear range from 0.1 mM to 10 mM was attained. The sensitivity was 2.97 μA/cm²mM, which is the most optimized ever reported. With such good analytical performance from a simple process, it is believed that the nanocomposites composed of ZnO nanorod powder surface-coated with carbon material are promising for the development of cost-effective non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose biosensors with high sensitivity.