Application of atomic force microscopy in cancer research

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) allows for nanometer-scale investigation of cells and molecules. Recent advances have enabled its application in cancer research and diagnosis. The physicochemical properties of live cells undergo changes when their physiological conditions are altered. These physicochemical properties can therefore reflect complex physiological processes occurring in cells. When cells are in the process of carcinogenesis and stimulated by external stimuli, their morphology, elasticity, and adhesion properties may change. AFM can perform surface imaging and ultrastructural observation of live cells with atomic resolution under near-physiological conditions, collecting force spectroscopy information which allows for the study of the mechanical properties of cells. For this reason, AFM has potential to be used as a tool for high resolution research into the ultrastructure and mechanical properties of tumor cells. This review describes the working principle, working mode, and technical points of atomic force microscopy, and reviews the applications and prospects of atomic force microscopy in cancer research

Role of the tumor microenvironment in PD-L1/PD-1-mediated tumor immune escape

Tumor immune escape is an important strategy of tumor survival. There are many mechanisms of tumor immune escape, including immunosuppression, which has become a research hotspot in recent years. The programmed death ligand-1/programmed death-1 (PD-L1/PD-1) signaling pathway is an important component of tumor immunosuppression, which can inhibit the activation of T lymphocytes and enhance the immune tolerance of tumor cells, thereby achieving tumor immune escape. Therefore, targeting the PD-L1/PD-1 pathway is an attractive strategy for cancer treatment; however, the therapeutic effectiveness of PD-L1/PD-1 remains poor. This situation requires gaining a deeper understanding of the complex and varied molecular mechanisms and factors driving the expression and activation of the PD-L1/PD-1 signaling pathway. In this review, we summarize the regulation mechanisms of the PD-L1/PD-1 signaling pathway in the tumor microenvironment and their roles in mediating tumor escape. Overall, the evidence accumulated to date suggests that induction of PD-L1 by inflammatory factors in the tumor microenvironment may be one of the most important factors affecting the therapeutic efficiency of PD-L1/PD-1 blocking

Ge-Core/a-Si-Shell Nanowire-Based Field-Effect Transistor for Sensitive Terahertz Detection

Although terahertz technology has demonstrated strong potential for various applications, detectors operating in the terahertz region are yet to be fully established. Numerous designs have been proposed for sensitive terahertz detection, with a nanowire-based field-effect transistor (FET) being one of the most promising candidates. In this study, we use a Ge-core/a-Si-shell nanowire coupled to a bow-tie antenna to fabricate a FET structure for terahertz detection. We achieved high responsivity and low noise equivalent power (NEP) upon irradiation at 1.63 THz. The proposed sensitive terahertz detector will further promote the development of terahertz technology in fields such as spectroscopic analysis and imaging