We developed two-step solution-phase reactions to form hybrid materials of Mn3O4 nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets for lithium ion battery applications. Mn3O4 nanoparticles grown selectively on RGO sheets over free particle growth in solution allowed for the electrically insulating Mn3O4 nanoparticles wired up to a current collector through the underlying conducting graphene network. The Mn3O4 nanoparticles formed on RGO show a high specific capacity up to ~900mAh/g near its theoretical capacity with good rate capability and cycling stability, owing to the intimate interactions between the graphene substrates and the Mn3O4 nanoparticles grown atop. The Mn3O4/RGO hybrid could be a promising candidate material for high-capacity, low-cost, and environmentally friendly anode for lithium ion batteries. Our growth-on-graphene approach should offer a new technique for design and synthesis of battery electrodes based on highly insulating materials.

Mn3O4-Graphene Hybrid as a High Capacity Anode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries

Phototherapy such as photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy in cancer treatment has been developed quickly over the past few years for its noninvasive nature and high efficiency. However, there are still many drawbacks in phototherapy that prevent it from clinical applications. Thus, scientists have designed different systems to overcome the issues associated with phototherapy, including enhancing the targeting ability of phototherapy, low-temperature photothermal therapy, replacing near-infrared light with other excitation sources, and so on. This article discusses the problems and shortcomings encountered in the development of phototherapy and highlights possible solutions to address them so that phototherapy may become a useful cancer treatment approach in clinical practice. This article aims to give a brief summary about current research advancements in phototherapy research and provides a quick guideline toward future developments in the field.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/advs.202002504

Solutions to the Drawbacks of Photothermal and Photodynamic Cancer Therapy

Photothermal applications based on graphene and its derivatives: A state-of-the-art review

Carbon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth. In addition to the well-known crystallographic modifications such as graphite and diamond, other allotropic carbon modifications such as graphene-based nanomaterials and carbon nanotubes have recently come to the fore. These carbon nanomaterials can be designed to help deliver or target drugs more efficiently and to innovate therapeutic approaches, especially for cancer treatment, but also for the development of new diagnostic agents for malignancies and are expected to help combine molecular imaging for diagnosis with therapies. This paper summarizes the latest designed drug delivery nanosystems based on graphene, graphene quantum dots, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes, mainly for anticancer therapy.

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/5/1059/pdf

Advances in Drug Delivery Nanosystems Using Graphene-Based Materials and Carbon Nanotubes.

A review on advances in graphene-derivative/polysaccharide bionanocomposites: Therapeutics, pharmacogenomics and toxicity.

Integrated photoacoustic and ultrasound (PAUS) imaging is a potential imaging method that provides simultaneous in vivo functional, and anatomical information. Several PAUS scanner systems have already been reported, but they are limited to fixed scanning range, low scanning speed, bulky size, unsustainable for long-term use. Here, we report a low-cost fast dual photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging system (F-PAUSM) based on custom-made slider-crank and ball-screw mechanisms. This custom-slider-crank mechanism is versatile in terms of changing the scanning range corresponding to a suitable B-scan frame rate for difference scanning areas. F-PAUSM allows us to stably capture wide scanning ranges of 10, 18, and 26 mm corresponding to maximum B-scan frame rates of 30, 26, and 18 Hz, respectively. To demonstrate the capability of the F-PAUSM system, a dragonfly wing, nude mouse ear, and human fingertip are imaged successfully. Furthermore, the numerical analysis is conducted to estimate the fatigue life of the custom-made mechanical parts, then demonstrate that the F-PAUSM system can operate stably for long time in nominal operating conditions. These results demonstrate the potential applications of the F-PAUSM system in biomedical imaging. 

Development of fast photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging system based on slider-crank scanner for small animals and humans study

Computer-aided diagnosis using dermoscopy images is a promising technique for improving the efficiency of facial skin disorder diagnosis and treatment. Hence, in this study, we propose a low-level laser therapy (LLLT) system with a deep neural network and medical internet of things (MIoT) assistance. The main contributions of this study are to (1) provide a comprehensive hardware and software design for an automatic phototherapy system, (2) propose a modified-U2Net deep learning model for facial dermatological disorder segmentation, and (3) develop a synthetic data generation process for the proposed models to address the issue of the limited and imbalanced dataset. Finally, a MIoT-assisted LLLT platform for remote healthcare monitoring and management is proposed. The trained U2-Net model achieved a better performance on untrained dataset than other recent models, with an average Accuracy of 97.5%, Jaccard index of 74.7%, and Dice coefficient of 80.6%. The experimental results demonstrated that our proposed LLLT system can accurately segment facial skin diseases and automatically apply for phototherapy. The integration of artificial intelligence and MIoT-based healthcare platforms is a significant step toward the development of medical assistant tools in the near future.

Smart Low Level Laser Therapy System for Automatic Facial Dermatological Disorder Diagnosis

Recently, various nanomaterials based on hydroxyapatite (HAp) have been developed for bioimaging applications. In particular, HAp doped with rare-earth elements has attracted significant attention, owing to its enhanced bioactivity and imaging properties. In this study, the wet precipitation method was used to synthesize HAp codoped with Yb and Gd. The synthesized Ybx-Gdx-HAp nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized via various techniques to analyze the crystal phase, functional groups, thermal characteristics, and particularly, the larger surface area. The IR783 fluorescence dye and a folic acid (FA) receptor were conjugated with the synthesized Ybx-Gdx-HAp NPs to develop an effective imaging contrast agent. The developed FA/IR783/Yb-Gd-HAp nanomaterial exhibited improved contrast, sensitivity, and tumor-specific properties, as demonstrated by using the customized LUX 4.0 fluorescence imaging system. An in vitro cytotoxicity study was performed to verify the biocompatibility of the synthesized NPs using MTT assay and fluorescence staining. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) was also applied to determine the photosensitizer properties of the synthesized Ybx-Gdx-HAp NPs. Further, reactive oxygen species generation was confirmed by Prussian blue decay and a 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate study. Moreover, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were used to evaluate the efficiency of Ybx-Gdx-HAp NP-supported PDT.

Cao Duong Ly

Papers

Development of fast photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging system based on slider-crank scanner for small animals and humans study

Smart Low Level Laser Therapy System for Automatic Facial Dermatological Disorder Diagnosis

Yb-Gd Codoped Hydroxyapatite as a Potential Contrast Agent for Tumor-Targeted Biomedical Applications.