Latest ArticlesAptamer is an oligonucleotide chain with specific binding ability to protein and other targets, which is widely used in many fields. Because of its ability to screen the premise of unknown targets, it can be used to discover some novel tumor markers, i.e., membrane proteins that are specifically highly expressed on the surface of tumor cells. Tumor markers can be used in many fields such as early diagnosis and treatment, and a new type of tumor marker proved to be effective can significantly improve the therapeutic effect of such tumors. However, further characterization of newly acquired membrane proteins is essential for their clinical use as tumor markers. This review first briefly introduced the process of obtaining novel tumor markers from nucleic acid aptamers. Next, the commonly used protein characterization methods could be used as a technical means to identify membrane protein targets corresponding to tumor cell aptamers, to clarify the principles, advantages and disadvantages of various means, and to analyze the most suitable situations for various experimental methods. Finally, the outlook was made and the characterization methods that should be used in such experiments were summarized.
Single atom catalysts (SACs) with isolated metal atoms dispersed on supports exhibit distinctive performances for electrocatalysis reactions. The designable realization of well-dispersed single metal atoms is still a great challenge owing to their ease of aggregation. Here, Mo single atomic sites (Mo-N3C) combined with some ultrasmall Mo2C/MoN clusters (Mo-SA/Mo2C-MoN-Cs, mean diameter < 2 nm) on nitrogen-doped porous carbon were synthesized via a simple pyrolysis of bimetallic Zn/Mo metal-organic frameworks. X-ray absorption near edge spectra (XANES) in combination with various characterizations show that most of Mo species in sample exist in the form of single sites and the exact structure is Mo-N3C. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation further shows that as the number of N-coordination in the Mo-NxC moieties increases, the positive charge of Mo atoms increases. The single Mo atoms in Mo-N3C have the best capability of N2 adsorption, which may serve as main active sites for further electrochemical N2 reduction.
Hollow nanostructures have attracted increasing research interest in hydrogen evolution reaction owing to their unique structural features. Herein, Ni–Co mixed metal phosphide hollow and porous polyhedrons was successfully composited (expressed as NiCoP). Benefiting from the synergistic effects of ZIF-67 by doping Ni elements and the well-defined hollow and porous structure, the as-synthesized NiCoP hollow and porous polyhedrons exhibit better electrochemical properties and mechanical stability for hydrogen evolution reaction over a pH-universal range, with a small Tafel slopes of 72, 101, 176 mV/dec, and a low overpotential of 82, 102, 261 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm2 in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4, 1 mol/L KOH and 1 mol/L phosphate buffer solution (PBS). This general strategy can also be applied to fabricate other hollow cobalt-based phosphides and MOFs-derived materials for HER.
The designed synthesis of chiral covalent organic frameworks (COFs) featuring intriguing properties is fairly scant and remains a daunting synthetic challenge. Here we develop a de novo synthesis of an enantiomeric pair of 2D hydroxyl-functionalized hydrazone-linked chiral COFs, (S)- and (R)-HthBta-OH COFs, using enantiopure 2, 5-bis(2-hydroxypropoxy)terephthalohydrazide (Hth) as monomers. The formation process of hydroxyl-functionalized chiral COFs was monitored using rigorous time-dependent PXRD, vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) studies. Remarkably, VCD spectra indicated a unique chiral signal inversion from the positive Cotton effect of (S)-Hth monomer to the negative Cotton effect of (S)-HthBta-OH COF, which has never been reported in chiral COFs. Moreover, two unprecedented carboxyl-functionalized chiral COFs, (S)- and (R)-HthBta-COOH, were constructed by a post-synthetic modification of the corresponding hydroxyl chiral COFs with succinic anhydride. Notably, carboxyl-functionalized COFs retained homochirality and crystallinity without linker racemization and structural collapse after the chemical modification due to the chemically robust nature of pristine hydrazone-linked chiral COFs.
A wide variety of molecular probes have been developed for real-time analysis, but most of organic fluorophores possess small Stokes shifts and self-absorption or inner filter effect that could not be avoided. In this study, a new dicyanoisophorone-based derivative (E)-O-(4-(2-(3-(dicyanomethylene)-5, 5-dimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)vinyl)phenyl)diphenylphosphinothioate (λex = 405 nm, λem = 551 nm, denoted as ICM-S) with strong push-pull electron effect has been afforded and it exhibits red shift for absorption from 407 nm to 426 nm with distinct color change from pale yellow to deep yellow upon exposure to Hg2+. Moreover, an easily distinguishable fluorescence color change follows the route from green, yellow to red in the presence of Hg2+ over the range of 0-90 μmol/L (detection limit = 137 nmol/L) can be observed by the naked eye under a UV lamp irradiation. Chlorodiphenylphosphine and sublimed-sulfur are incorporated as responsive sites and P-O bond has been cleaved upon the addition of mercury ions. During the recognition process, such dicyanoisophorone dye (ICM-S) has been evolved to 2-(3-(4-hydroxystyryl)-5, 5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enylidene) malononitrile (ICM OH). Clear evidences in the chemical processes can be identified via single crystal X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic analysis, photophysical studies and titration experiments. With the aim of exploring its potential in biological systems, its in vitro responses to Hg2+ have been evaluated in 293 Tcells and the effectiveness in zebrafish model has also been verified.
Fe3O4 is considered as a promising electrode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its low cost and high theoretical capacity (928 mAh/g). Nevertheless, the huge volume expansion and poor conductivity seriously hamper its practical applications. In this study, we use a facile hydrothermal reaction together with a post heat treatment to construct the three-dimensional heterostructured composite (Fe3O4/rGO) inwhich reduced graphene oxide sheets wraped the Fe3O4 submicron cubes as the conductive network. The electric conduction and electrode kinetics of lithium ion insertion/ extraction reaction of the composite is enhanced due to the assist of conductive rGO, and thus the Li-storage performance is obviously improved. The composite exhibits a reversible charge capacity of 772.1 mAh/g at the current density of 0.1 A/g, and the capacity retention reaches 70.3% after 400 cycles at 0.5 A/g, demonstrating obviously higher specific capacity and rate capability over the Fe3O4 submicron cubes without rGO, and much superior cycling stability to the parent Fe2O3 submicron cubes without rGO. On the other hand, as a synergic conductive carbon support, the flexible rGO plays an important role in buffering the large volume change during the repeated discharge/charge cycling.
Despite the promising prospect of small interfering RNA (siRNA) for the treatment of diverse diseases, it remains challenging to develop novel delivery materials to desired tissues and cells. In this study, a novel iron oxyhydroxide (FeOOH) nanoparticle (NP) whose surface was modified with branched polyether-imide (PEI) was developed to deliver siRNA into the cancer cells. It was demonstrated that PEI-FeOOH (PFeOOH) efficiently complexed siRNA, mediated effective cellular uptake and endosomal escape, thereby triggering robust gene silencing in vitro. In addition, PFeOOH/siRNA formulation loading with anti-RRM2 siRNA effectively inhibited the growth of tumor tissues, and exhibited excellent safety profiles in vivo. Therefore, this study conceptually provided a FeOOH-based nucleic acid delivery vesicle which can potentially use to achieve diagnosis and therapy simultaneously.
g-C3N4 have been widely used in the fields of photocatalytic hydrogen production, photocatalytic degradation of dyes and oxidative degradation of toxic gases due to their excellent performance. It has attracted extensive attention in recent years due to its highly efficient photocatalytic capacity of hydrogen generation, water oxidation, carbon dioxide reduction and degradation of organic pollutants. Because of the abundant carbon and nitrogen composition of the earth, large-scale production and industrial applications of this material are possible. The modification of this material makes its performance more excellent so that this new material can obtain a steady stream of vitality. These outstanding works have become important materials and milestones on the road to mankind's photocatalytic hydrogen production. This review will begin with the basic idea of designing, synthesizing and improving g-C3N4 based photocatalytic materials, and introduce the latest development of g-C3N4 photocatalysts in hydrogen production from four aspects of controlling the carbon/nitrogen ratio, morphology, element doping and heterojunction structure of g-C3N4 materials.
SnO2 is considered a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, the poor electrical conductivity and dramatic volume variation during charge/discharge cycling is a major limitation in its practical applicability. Here we propose a simple one-pot spray pyrolysis process to construct unique pomegranate-like SnO2/rGO/Se spheres. The ideal structural configuration of these architectures was effective in alleviating the large volume variation of SnO2, besides facilitating rapid electron transfer, allowing the devised anode to exhibit superior sodium storage performances in terms of capacity (506.7 mAh/g at 30 mA/g), cycle performance (397 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 50 mA/g) and rate capability (188.9 mAh/g at an ultrahigh current density of 10 A/g). The experimental evidence confirms the practical workability of p-SnO2/rGO/Se spheres in SIBs.
Highly efficient Co3O4/TiO2 monolithic catalysts with enhanced stability were in-situ grown on Ti mesh for CO oxidation, which could completely oxidize CO at 120 ℃. The comprehensive catalytic performance is competitive to some noble metal catalysts and conventional Co3O4 powder catalysts, which holds great potential toward industrial applications. Meanwhile, the in-situ synthesis strategy of Co3O4/TiO2 monolithic catalysts on flexible mesh substrate in this work can be extended to the development of a variety of oxide-based monolithic catalysts towards diverse catalysis applications.
No. 86 Xueyuan South Road, Haidian District, Beijing
010-62199257
qkjq@cast.org.cn
Copyright © 2025 China Association for Science and Technology. All rights reserved. For all open access content, the relevant licensing terms apply.
Sponsored by the Office of the Leading Group for Cybersecurity and Informatization of CAST, and supported by Science and Technology Review Publishing House
