Shenghui Li

A novel mitochondria-targeted near-infrared fluorescent probe Mito-TZW was designed to detect viscosity changes in liver ischemia-reperfusion cells, tissues and in vivo models.

An upconverting nanotheranostic agent UCNP-CA_E-FDU/NO₂ activated by hypoxia combined with NIR irradiation for monitoring hypoxia and FDU released, and inhibition of tumour growth.

A series of novel 9-fluoro-6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinoxaline derivatives as antitumor agents were synthesized and studied. The designed compounds feature positive charges both at the 11-N position of the aromatic scaffold and the side-chain alkylamino group. The corresponding in vitro antitumor activities were evaluated against MCF-7, HeLa and A549 cancer cell lines and the DNA binding properties of these compounds were characterized by UV-vis, fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy as well as thermal denaturation. The obtained results indicate that the dicationic quaternary ammonium salt derivatives of 9-fluoro-6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinoxaline may serve as intercalators with increased DNA binding affinity. Furthermore, both the incorporation of fluorine, and alkyl amino side chains and the introduction of a positive charge at the 11-N position of the aromatic scaffold was shown to be responsible for their antitumor activity and improved DNA binding ability. Taken in concert, these findings may be valuable in the understanding of the antitumor effect of these compounds and may further provide important information for the future optimization of the DNA binding properties of this drug type.

The present study aimed to characterize the glucan from C. mollissima Blume fruits and its selenium derivative, then investigate their antitumor activity in vitro. A glucan, designated as CPA, was firstly isolated from the fruits of C. mollissima Blume. Structure analysis indicated that CPA was a linear 1,6-α-D-glucan with the average molecular weight about 2.0 × 10³ kDa. The selenylation modification derivative of CPA (sCPA), exhibited a stronger antiproliferative effect on tumor cells than CPA in vitro. CPA and sCPA could induce HeLa cells apoptosis and decrease mitochondrial membrane potential. sCPA could also arrest HeLa cells in S phase, promote reactive oxygen species generation and activate caspase-3 activity in HeLa cells. These results manifest that CPA and sCPA inhibit the proliferation of HeLa cells via different mechanisms, which is meaningful for their potential use as antitumor drugs.