Latest ArticlesAphamines A–C (1–3), three pairs of acyclic diterpene dimer enantiomers with an unprecedent ploymerization pattern, were discovered from Aphanamixis polystachya by NMR-guided isolation and chiral resolution. The elucidation of their novel carbon skeletons was achieved based on spectroscopic analysis, exciton chirality, and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD). Plausible Claisen rearrangement, 5-exo-trig cyclization, and reduction reactions may play important roles in the polymeric biosynthesis pathway. Compounds 1 and 3 showed inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production (IC50: 6.71–15.36 μmol/L) and reduced the expression of iNOS in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages.
The catalysts of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) Al2O3-supported core-shell structured Pt@MnOx nanoparticles (3DOM-Pt@MnOx/Al2O3) were successfully prepared by the gas bubbling-assisted membrane reduction-precipitation (GBMR/P) method. Pt@MnOx core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) are highly dispersed on the inner surface of 3DOM-Al2O3 support. Pt@MnOx/3DOM-Al2O3 catalysts, which combine both advantages of high-efficiency soot-catalyst contact by 3DOM-Al2O3 structure and the abundant active sites by the optimized Pt-MnOx interface, exhibit high catalytic activities for soot combustion, and the catalytic activities are strongly dependent on the thickness of MnOx shell. Among the catalysts, 3DOM-Pt@MnOx/Al2O3-1 catalyst with optimized Pt-MnOx interface shows the highest catalytic activity for soot combustion, i.e., its values of T50 and Sm are 351 ℃ and 98.6%, respectively. The highest density of Pt-MnOx active sites for adsorption-activation of gaseous O2 is responsible for enhancing catalytic activity for soot combustion. Pt@MnOx/3DOM-Al2O3 catalysts are promising to practical applications for the emission reduction of soot particles.
The σ-bond activation by main group element has received enormous attention from theoretical and experimental chemists. Here, the reaction of C–X (X=Cl, Br, Ⅰ) bonds in benzyl and allyl halides with a pincer-type phosphorus(Ⅲ) species was reported. A series of structurally robust phosphorus(Ⅴ) compounds were formed via the formal oxidative addition reactions of C–X bonds to the phosphorus(Ⅲ) center. Density functional theory calculations show that the nucleophilic addition process is more favorable than the direct oxidative addition mechanism. Isomerization of bent structures of phosphorus(Ⅲ) compound to poorly nucleophilic compounds to undergo further C–X bond activation can be rationalized by frontier molecule orbital analysis. This study not only provides a deep understanding of the reactivity of phosphorus(Ⅲ) species but also demonstrates a potential of main group elements for the small-molecule activation.
Herein, we utilized nucleic acids induced peptide co-assembly strategy to develop novel nucleic acids induced peptide-based AIE (NIP-AIE) nanoparticles. Strong fluorescent of AIE could be observed when a little amount of nucleic acids was added into the peptide solution, and the intensity could be regulated by the concentration of nucleic acids. This AIE nanoparticle with good biocompatibility could achieve fast cell imaging. It is also proved that the fluorescence intensity of AIE decreased with time, which indicates that the reducible cross-linkers of Wpc peptide by GSH and nanoparticles gradually disintegrate in cell. Based on the different of AIE fluorescence signals which regulated by the formation and disintegration of nanoparticles, this AIE system is expected to be used for real-time monitoring of drug release from peptide-based nano carriers in vivo or in vitro, and may provide a new platform for the construction of other organic AIE nanoparticles.
An efficient PET-based probe, in which the ferrocene quencher and the naphthalimide fluorophore are linked by a disulfide bond, has been developed. This probe can be activated by GSH with fluorescence a turn-on response for blocking the PET process. In addition, it was successfully applied for distinguishing cancer cells from normal cells
This device is aimed at ensuring that the sample is uniformly and equivalently reacted with the antibody on the NC membrane in each test when the microfluidic liquid system is introduced to the chip. In this study, the developed microfluidic chip can avoid the presence of the sample and conjugate pads in the chip, while the precision of the chromatography system can be greatly improved using the same particles, NC membrane and antibody alongside the traditional strip. The results, taking the detection of cTnI as an example, revealed that the coefficient of variation (CV) is controlled within 4%, while the maximum record of the contrast chromatographic reagent strip can reach 15%. Additionally, the detection sensitivity can maintain the same order of magnitudes with that of the traditional chromatographic strip. With the results, the determination correlation of the developed microfluidic chip has been greatly improved. In addition, the CV of the chip in this study is greatly improved in comparison with that of the traditional strip. The biggest improvement lies in the mixing between the sample and the microspheres, indicating that this is a new approach to improve the CV of the traditional strip.
It is always highly pursued to develop efficient and durable catalysts for catalytic applications. Herein, intermetallic PdBi aerogels with tunable activity were prepared successfully via a surfactant-free spontaneous gelation process. The prepared PdBi aerogels have a three-dimensional high porous structure and plentiful active sites pervaded on the ultrathin interlinked nanowires network. These unique structures, as well as the synergistic effect between Pd and Bi, can accelerate mass and electron transfer, and improve the atom utilization ratio of Pd atoms to promote the catalytic efficiency. As a proof-of-concept application, the optimized Pd2Bi1 aerogels exhibit 4.2 and 6.2 times higher catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and methylene blue (MB) than those of commercial Pd/C, respectively. With the introduction of non-noble metal of Bi, the cost of the resulted PdBi aerogels can be dropped significantly while the catalytic capability of PdBi aerogel will be improved sharply. This strategy will bring good hints to rationally design fine catalysts for various applications.
Nanowires (NWs) and self-assemble nanostructures made of chalcogenide semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) are of great interests to the fundamental studies and practical applications. In this study, we reported a seeded-mediated growth of AgInS2 NWs and their intriguing self-assembly nanostructures with fingerprint-like shape. The key to the formation and self-assembly of AgInS2 NWs was the presence of In-S species that was a type of molecular metal chalcogenide complexes, serving as specific inorganic ligands for the growth of NWs and cross-linker molecules for the self-assembly of fingerprint-like nanostructures. Systematic studies were carried out to investigate the reaction factors, including the thermodynamics, amount and type of In precursors, and 1-dodecanethiol usage, to the success of the desired products.
Near-infrared (NIR) small molecular organic dyes as photothermal agents for cancer photothermal therapy (PTT) have attracted considerable research attention. Herein, two donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) structured NIR dyes, BBTT and SeBTT, are rationally designed, where the only difference is one heteroatom within the acceptor unit varying from sulfur to selenium (Se). More importantly, SeBTT NPs exhibit stronger NIR absorbance and higher photothermal conversion efficiency (PTCE ≈ 65.3%). In vivo experiments illustrate that SeBTT NPs can be utilized as a high contrast photoacoustic imaging (PAI) agent, and succeed in tumor suppression without noticeable damage to main organs under NIR photoirradiation. This study presents an effective molecular heteroatom surgery strategy to regulate the photothermal properties of NIR small molecules for enhanced PAI and PTT.
Organosilicon compounds play an important role in the fields of materials science, pharmacy, and organic synthesis. The development of effective approaches for the preparation of these compounds have also become a research focus in organic synthesis. In recent years, free radical synthesis of organosilicons has been vigorously developed, which generally has the advantages of milder synthesis conditions, higher yields and selectivity, and free of precious metal catalysts compared with traditional strategies. This article reviews research progresses in the synthesis of organosilicon compounds by free radical pathways since 2016. In most cases, the radical silylation is achieved based on the reaction of silyl radicals, which are triggered by four routes including peroxide, transition-metal-induced peroxide decomposition, alkali, photocatalysis. The alkyl radicals can also initiate the radical silylation for the generation of C(sp3)Si bonds.