Latest ArticlesDrug loading capacity is very important in the construction of targeted drug delivery systems (TDDSs) for the improvement of drug delivery efficiency. However, the drug-loading capacity of most nanomaterials is non-idealistic, and developing the high drug-loading TDDSs is still a critical challenge. In this work, an ultrahigh loading system (denoted as HMPB2) was prepared via J-aggregation of an aza-boron dipyrromethene derivative (Bod) by using hollow MnO2 modified with glucosamine pillar[5]arene as a carrier, which was demonstrated to have typical J-aggregate absorption of Bod, specific cancer cells targeting ability, negligible dark cytotoxicity, and potent phototoxicity. This work provides a successful example to construct an ultrahigh drug-loading system via J-aggregation for targeted delivery.
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with inherent porosity and suspended acidic groups are promising proton conducting materials in water or aqua-ammonia media. Herein we report a new lanthanide phosphonate, namely, Dy2(amp2H2)2(mal)(H2O)2·5H2O (MDAF-6). It possesses a 3D open-framework structure, and shows a high NH3 adsorption capacity of 142.4 cm3/g at P/P0 = 0.98 at 298 K due to acid-base interaction. Interestingly, the proton conductivity of MDAF-6-NH3 is enhanced by five orders of magnitude compared to MDAF-6 after 8.5 h exposure in saturated NH3-H2O vapor, indicating the importance of coexistent conjugate acid-base pairs of H3O+-H2O and NH4+-NH3 in promoting proton conduction. Magnetic studies of MDAF-6 revealed slow magnetization relaxation under zero dc field, characteristic of single-molecule magnet behavior. This work provides not only a new multifunctional MOF material, but also a new strategy to improve proton conduction in aqua-ammonia medium.
Mitochondrial damage is closely related to the occurrence of many diseases. However, accurate monitoring and reporting of mitochondrial damage are not easy. Here, we developed a small molecule fluorescent probe named CB-Cl, which has splendid spectral properties (large Stokes shift, strong affinity for RNA, etc.) and excellent targeting ability to intracellular mitochondria. After mitochondria were damaged by external stimuli, CB-Cl would light up the nucleolus as a signal reporter. The cascade imaging of mitochondria and nucleolus using CB-Cl can monitor and visualize the mitochondrial status in living cells in real-time. Based on the above advantages, the probe CB-Cl has reference significance for the related research of mitochondrial damage and the prevention and treatment of related diseases.
Carbon dots (CDs) have attracted considerable attention as a new type of fluorescent carbon nanomaterial because of their excellent optical properties, biocompatibility, and high electrical conductivity. Research on CDs has been conducted for nearly two decades and has focused on numerous precursors, various synthesis conditions and properties and applications of CDs. Biomass is critical in the green development of CDs because of its low cost, environmental friendliness, and sustainable properties. This review focuses on the advantages and applications of biomass-derived CDs. In addition, the challenges of photobleaching, toxicity, and stability of biomass-based CDs are discussed in detail. Lastly, the prospects and challenges of biomass-derived CDs are highlighted.
We have synthesized two copper nanoclusters (NCs) with a protection of the same ligand diphenylphosphino-2-pyridine (C17H14NP, dppy for short), formulated as Cu4(dppy)4Cl2 and Cu21(dppy)10, respectively. The former one bears a distorted tetrahedron Cu4 core with its six edges fully protected by chlorine and dppy ligands, while the latter presents a symmetric Cu21 core on which ten dppy molecules function as monolayer protection via well-organized monodentate or bidentate coordination. Interestingly, the Cu4(dppy)4Cl2 cluster exhibits a strong yellow emission at ~577 nm, while Cu21(dppy)10 displays dual emissions in purple (~368 nm) and green (~516 nm) regions respectively. In combination with TD-DFT calculations, we demonstrate the origin of altered emissions and unique stability of the two copper nanoclusters pertaining to the ligand coordination and metallic superatomic states.
Nucleophilic phosphine and amine catalyst-switched chemodivergent [4 + 1] and [3 + 3] annulations of allenyl imides and β,γ-enones have been developed, furnishing highly substituted 2-cyclopentenone and 2-pyranone derivatives in moderate to excellent yields. Two plausible reaction mechanisms involving two different ketene intermediates have been proposed to explain the observed chemoselectivity. Moreover, by virtue of the α,β-enone substructure of the [4 + 1] adducts, 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile imines has been studied in one-pot to provide various fused pyrazoline derivatives.
Increasing environmental pollution and shortage of conventional fossil fuels have made it urgent to develop renewable and clean energy sources. Electrocatalytic water splitting, with its abundant raw materials, simple process, and zero carbon emission, is considered one of the most promising processes for producing carbon-neutral hydrogen which has excellent energy conversion efficiency and high gravimetric energy density. Among them, oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts are critical to decreasing the intrinsic reaction energy barrier and boosting the hydrogen evolution efficiency. Therefore, it is imperative to develop and design low-cost, highly active, and stable OER and HER electrocatalysts to lower the overpotential and drive the electrocatalytic reactions. Transition metal sulfides, especially iron-based sulfides, have attracted extensive exploration by researchers as a result of its high abundance in the Earth's crust and near-metallic conductivity. Consequently, in this review, we systematically and comprehensively summarize the progress in the application of iron-based sulfides and their composites as OER and HER electrocatalysts in electrocatalysis. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the special relationships among their composition, structure, and electrocatalytic performance are presented. Finally, this review points out the challenges and future prospects of iron-based sulfides in practical applications for designing and fabricating more promising iron-based sulfide OER and HER electrocatalysts. We believe that iron-based sulfide materials will have a wide range of application prospects as OER and HER electrocatalysts in the future.
Hospital sewage contains various harmful pharmaceutical contaminants (e.g., antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents, and painkillers) and pathogens (e.g., bacteria, viruses, and parasites), whose direct discharge into the environment will induce diseases and pose a powerful threat to human health and safety, and environmental ecology. In recent years, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), particularly photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and ozone catalysis have been developed as widespread and effective techniques for hospital sewage treatments. However, there is a lack of systematic comparison and review of the prior studies on hospital sewage treatment using AOPs systems. This review elaborates on the mechanisms, removal efficiencies, and advantages/disadvantages of these AOPs systems for hospital wastewater decontamination and disinfection. Meanwhile, some novel and potential technologies such as photo-electrocatalysis, electro-peroxone, Fenton/Fenton-like, and piezoelectric catalysis are also included and summarized. Moreover, we further summarize and compare the capacity of these AOPs to treat the actual hospital wastewater under the impact of the water matrix and pH, and estimate the economic cost of these technologies for practical application. Finally, the future development directions of AOPs for hospital wastewater decontamination and disinfection have been prospected. Overall, this study provides a comparison and overview of these AOP systems in an attempt to raise extensive concerns about hospital wastewater decontamination and disinfection technologies and guide researchers to discover the future directions of technologies optimization, which would be a crucial step forward in the field of hospital sewage treatment.
A new strategy to induce vesicle fusion has been developed by employing pillar[5]arene derivatives that were channel-like and were prepared by appending side chains onto pillar[5]arenes backbones. The channels feature with hydrophilic negatively and positively charged groups at both ends and hydrophobic Trp residues at the outer surface, which endows the channels with amphiphilicity. The zwitterionic amphiphilic channels could spontaneously incorporate into the bilayer membranes of lipid vesicles to induce vesicle fusion driven by the electrostatic interactions between negatively charged and positively charged groups.
Pillar[n]arenes are a novel class of macrocyclic hosts reported by Ogoshi and co-workers in 2008. Because of their rigid pillar structures, interesting host–guest properties and ease of modifications, pillar[n]arenes have been developed rapidly in the field of functional materials and biomedicine. The modifications of pillar[n]arenes at different positions can give them varied characteristics. Functional groups can be introduced into one position of pillar[n]arenes without changing host–guest properties of pillar[n]arenes. A series of pillar[n]arene dimers, trimers, tetramers and metallacycles can be constructed by mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes. In this review, two synthetic methods of mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes are summarized and structures containing mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes are described. Furthermore, the applications of mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes in different fields (e.g., supramolecular polymers, sensors, molecular machines, catalysis, biological applications and light-harvesting systems) are also introduced. Hopefully, this article will be useful for researchers studying pillar[n]arenes, especially the mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes.
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