Latest ArticlesGraphene oxide (GO), as a metal-free and readily available carbocatalyst, has been extensively applied in catalytic organic transformations. This minireview aims to give an overview of the progress on the application of native GO as a catalyst for various organic transformations in the past decade (mainly from 2011 to 2020).
Aggregation-induced emission enhancement and aggregation-induced chirality inversion are two individual phenomena for the enantiomerically pure organic dyes in the aggregates. Herein we reported for the first time that these two interesting phenomena could be observed simultaneously in the aggregated states of enantiomerically pure S/R-1, 1′-binaphthol annulated perylene diimides, in which two perylene diimides moieties were bridged by S/R-1, 1′-binaphthol (BINOL) at the bay positions. Owing to the rotatable C2 axes between two naphthol annulated perylene diimides moieties, both of them display intrinsic behaviors of aggregation-induced emission enhancements. At the same time, due to the steric hindrances in the imide and methoxy positions, the neighboring two π-systems of these two unique polycyclic aromatic imides in poor solvents are preferable to adopt a cross-stacking mode and thus form helical X-aggregates of opposite chirality (M/P) with chirality inversion characteristics in their circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence spectroscopic studies.
Gold nanorods (AuNRs), as relatively common materials used in biomedical areas, have been synthesized by means of many methods. However, the conventional seed-mediated method is limited by complex operations and low yield. Besides, for further applications of AuNRs, well monodispersed AuNRs and tunable longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) remain to be improved. Herein, we report a one-pot method for synthesizing AuNRs without seeding agents. In this method, we use phenols as reducing agents and hydrochloric acid and nitric acid are used to regulate the pH of the growth solution. AuNRs with the longest LSPR peak position reaching 1340 nm are prepared. Furthermore, by systematically optimizing concentrations of the reagents involved in the growth solution, different aspect ratios of AuNRs are synthesized. The facile synthesis, controllability aspect ratio, and long LSPR peak make our method promising for wider applications of AuNRs.
Self-assembly is a powerful approach in molecular engineering for biomedical applications, in particular for creating self-assembling prodrugs. Here, we report a self-assembling prodrug of the anticancer drug gemcitabine (Gem) based on amphiphilic dendrimer approach. The prodrug reported in this study demonstrates high drug loading (40%) and robust ability to self-assemble into small nanomicelles, which increase the metabolic stability of Gem and enable entry into cells via endocytosis, hence bypassing transport-mediated uptake. In addition, this prodrug nanosystem exhibited an effective pH- and enzyme-responsive release of Gem, resulting in enhanced anticancer activity and reduced toxicity. Harboring advantageous features of both prodrug- and nanotechnology-based drug delivery, this self-assembling Gem prodrug nanosystem constitutes a promising anticancer candidate. This study also offers new perspectives of the amphiphilic dendrimer nanoplatforms for the development of self-assembling prodrugs.
A novel class of chiral spiro-fused bisoxazoline ligands possessing a deep chiral pocket was prepared. The developed ligands have been employed in the nickel-catalyzed highly enantioselective Michael-type Friedel-Crafts reaction, affording the products bearing a trifluoromethylated all-carbon quaternary stereocenter with moderate to excellent yields (up to 99%) and good to excellent enantioselectivies (up to > 99.9% ee). Moreover, a proposed model of chiral pocket revealed that the attack of indole from the Re-face of β-CF3-β-disubstituted nitroalkene was favorable.
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), as a novel class of functional polymers, exhibit versatile applications due to their crystalline porous structures and conjugated skeletons. However, synthesis of COFs with high crystallinity still faces great challenges, especially for scale-up preparation. Herein we report a two-step solvothermal process to improve crystallinity of COFs. The first step focuses on polycondensation of monomers with no need for optimizing crystallization conditions. In the second step, appropriate solvothermal conditions are used to facilitate crystallization of the COFs through defects correction and structural repairing. Furthermore, this strategy could also be applicable to scale-up synthesis of high quality COFs, which lays a foundation for their practical applications.
Among the large energy storage batteries, the sodium ion batteries (SIBs) are attracted huge interest due to the fact of its abundant raw materials and low cost, and has become the most promising secondary battery. Tunnel-type sodium manganese oxides (TMOs) are industrialized cathode materials because of their simple synthesis method and proficient electrochemical performance. Na0.44MnO2 (NMO) is considered the best candidate material for all tunnel-type structural materials. In this paper, the research progress in charge and discharge of cathode materials for tunnel-type structural SIBs is reviewed, the redox mechanism and all sorts of synthesis methods and different coating methods lead to different morphology and electrochemical properties of materials and the classification of electrolytes and non-aqueous electrolytes. The development and utility of aqueous solutions are discussed, and the mechanism is analyzed. Summarized the cationic potential of the transition metal oxide for tunnel structure, plays a vital role in predicting and designing the cathode material of this structure. In addition, the future opportunities and challenges for such tunnel-type SIBs in this field are described in detail.
A linear supramolecular polymer with controllable features based on twisted cucurbit[14]uril (tQ[14]) and cucurbit[8]uril (Q[8]) was firstly fabricated via an effective self-sorting strategy. Herein we designed a monomer, 1-butyl-1′-(naphthalen- 2-ylmethyl)-4, 4′-bipyridinium bromide (BNB), that contains bipyridyl, aliphatic butyl and aromatic naphthyl groups, simultaneously. Two host molecules, tQ[14] and Q[8] were employed to develop an effective strategy for constructing a linear supramolecular polymer with controllable features. The alkyl groups on both sides of BNB could insert into the two cavities of tQ[14], the naphthyl part of BNB via π-π stacking in Q[8] cavity, serving as the driving force for supramolecular polymerization. Through self-sorting of the monomer, tQ[14] and Q[8], led to the formation of the linear supramolecular polymer. Depolymerization could be achieved by addition of adamantane hydrochloride (AH) which driven two BNB guest molecules out of the Q[8] cavity. This self-sorting strategy has great potential, not only for designing supramolecular polymer materials with different controllable structures through introduction of multiple functional groups, but also for broadening the application of twisted cucurbit[14]uril in supramolecular chemistry.
Droplet-based microfluidics enables the generation of uniform microdroplets at picoliter or nanoliter scale with high frequency (~kHz) under precise control. The droplets can function as bioreactors for versatile chemical/biological study and analysis. Taking advantage of the discrete compartment with a confined volume, (1) isolation and manipulation of a single cell, (2) improvement of in-droplet effective concentrations, (3) elimination of heterogeneous population effects, (4) diminution of contamination risks can be achieved, making it a powerful tool for rapid, sensitive, and high-throughput detection and analysis of bacteria, even for rare or unculturable strains in conventional methods. This mini-review will focus on the generation and manipulation of micro-droplets and bacteria detection and analysis carried out by droplet-based microfluidics. Finally, applications with high potential of droplet-based bacteria analysis are briefly introduced. Due to the advantages of rapid, sensitive, high throughput, and compatibility with rare and unculturable bacteria in conventional methods, droplet-based microfluidics has tremendous potential of providing novel solutions for biological medicine, microbiological engineering, environmental ecology, etc.
To test the hypothesis that the microviscosity changes of Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) can be a useful indicator of ferroptosis promoted by ER Stresses (ERS), a new ER targeting viscosity rotor, L-Vis-1 was developed and applied in the quantitation of viscosity by FLIM imaging in live cells. The FLIM imaging exhibited an excellent resolution almost as good as the corresponding confocal imaging, more significantly, during ferroptosis processes promoted by different types of ERS, the viscosity increases were clearly monitored by FLIM of L-Vis-1 within ER, which has not been demonstrated before.
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