Latest ArticlesWith the emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis strains, there is an urgent need to develop novel drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis. The respiratory chain is a promising target for the development of new antimycobacterial agents, and a growing number of compounds have been reported and some have entered clinical trials. In this review, we summarize the main features and the electron transfer process of the mycobacterial respiratory chain, and the recent progress in the search for new small molecule inhibitors targeting the three main potential targets in the respiratory chain of Mycrobacterium tuberculosis. Our emphasis is on the optimization strategy of QcrB inhibitors and the challenges of developing QcrB inhibitors as antituberculosis drugs due to the alternate bd-type oxidase oxidative compensation pathway are discussed.
Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO2ER) into formate is a desirable route to achieve efficient transformation of CO2 to value-added chemicals, however, it still suffers from limited catalytic activity and poor selectivity. Herein, we develop a hybrid electrocatalyst composed of bismuth and bismuth oxide nanoparticles (NPs) supported on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (Bi/Bi2O3/NrGO) nanosheets prepared by a combined hydrothermal with calcination treatment. Thanks to the combination of undercoordinated sites and strong synergistic effect between Bi and Bi2O3, Bi/Bi2O3/NrGO-700 hybrid displays a promoted CO2ER catalytic performance and selectivity for formate production, as featured by a small onset potential of -0.5 V, a high current density of -18 mA/cm2, the maximum Faradaic efficiency of 85% at -0.9 V, and a low Tafel slope of 166 mV/dec. Experimental results reveal that the higher CO2ER performance of Bi/Bi2O3/NrGO-700 than that of Bi NPs supported on NrGO (Bi/NrGO) can be due to the partial reduction of Bi2O3 NPs into Bi, which significantly increases undercoordinated active sites on Bi NPs surface, thus boosting its CO2ER performance. Furthermore, a two-electrode device with Ir/C anode and Bi/Bi2O3/NrGO-700 cathode could be integrated with two alkaline batteries or a planar solar cell to achieve highly active water splitting and CO2ER.
Recent days, aggregatable nanoparticles, which can specifically respond to certain stimulus, have shown great potential in tumor-targeted drug delivery with prolonged retention and deeper penetration. In this review, we summarize recent advances in design of aggregatable nanoparticles by different stimuli. Internal (pH and enzyme) and external (light, temperature and ROS) stimuli are introduced for a comprehensive description. Moreover, the aggregated nanoparticles usually exhibit photothermal, photoacoustic, PET and enhanced MRI contrast, which is also described. In the end, we discuss about the potential applications and challenges for the future clinical translation.
Highly active and stable magnetic copper catalysts were successfully achieved by magnetic induced Stöber method and subsequent hydrothermal reaction with copper ions in alkaline condition. The high content of Cu2+ as well as the unique structures of hierarchical copper silicate in the as-prepared catalysts endowed their outstanding catalytic performance. Efficient decarboxylative A3-coupling of α-keto acid, amine and alkyne was realized with the low Fe3O4@CuSiO3 loading. A range of propargylamines were produced in good to excellent yields under solvent-free condition. Moreover, the catalyst can be easily separated from the final organic product with an external magnet. Also, this kind of catalyst could be recycled up to six times while maintaining its activity.
Two-dimensional (2D) heterostructural Ni2P/rGO is successfully fabricated by in-situ phosphating selfassembled NiO/rGO composites and shows the enhanced electrochemical performances. In this design, the rGO sheets effectively reduce the lattice strain created during the phase transformation from NiO to Ni2P, thereby maintaining ultrathin nanostructures of Ni2P. The resulting Ni2P/rGO layered heterostructure gives the composite plenty of pores or channels, good electrical conductivity and well-exposed active sites. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation further demonstrates that the Fermi energy level and electron localize of near Ni atoms in Ni2P is higher than that of NiO, which endow Ni2P with faster and more reversible redox reactivity in dynamic. Benefiting from their structural and compositional merits, the as-synthesized Ni2P/rGO exhibits high specific discharge capacity and excellent rate performance. Furthermore, a hybrid supercapacitor built with Ni2P/rGO and activated carbon shows a high specific energy of 38. 6 Wh/kg at specific power of 375 W/kg.
Semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) have the potentials to open promising applications that differ from those of conventional inorganic ones, such as see-through power windows with both energy generation and heat insulation functions. However, to achieve so, there remain significant challenges, especially for balancing critical parameters, such as power conversion efficiency (PCE), average visible transparency (AVT) and low energy infrared photon radiation rejection (IRR) to realize the full potentials of ST-OSCs. Herein, we demonstrate the new design of ST-OSCs through the rational integration of organic materials, transparent electrode and infrared photon reflector in one device. With the assistance of optical simulation, new ST-OSCs with precise layout exhibit state-of-art performance, with near 30% AVT and PCE of 7.3%, as well as an excellent IRR of over 93% (780-2500 nm), representing one of best multifunctional ST-OSCs with promising perspective for window application.
Described here is the first example of Cu(0)-catalyzed intramolecular decarbonylative rearrangements of readily available N-aryl isatins assisted by solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) under air atmosphere and additive-free conditions leading to various biologically important acridones in good to excellent yields. This novel transformation is proposed to go through a sequential DMSO-aided Cu insertion into the amide C—N bond, CO extrusion, Cu migration, reductive elimination and DMSO-aided proton migration processes, involving multiple types of bond cleavage and formation in a single chemical step.
Mg2+ in MgAl-layered double hydroxides nanoparticles was substituted with different divalent transition metal ions (MAl-LDHs, M:Mg2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Co2+, and Mn2+) via a facile method to be used as antibacterial agents. The phase structural and morphological characterizations of MAl-LDHs were investigated by XRD, FTIR spectroscopy and TEM. The results have shown that all of MAl-LDHs had typical layered structures except MnAl-LDH which contained Mn3O4 phases. Particular morphology of MnAl-LDH with ellipsoids, spherical and rod-like structure and CuAl-LDH with rod-like shape existed. IC50 (the concentrations providing 50% antibacterial activity) values of CuAl-LDH, NiAl-LDH, CoAl-LDH, and MnAl-LDH in broth dilution tests were ~800-1500 μg/mL. Dosages of CuAl-LDH, CoAl-LDH, and MnAl-LDH with >10 mm inhibition zone in disk diffusion tests were ~150-300 μg/disk. Antibacterial mechanism of MAl-LDHs may be attributed to the synergistic factors including effected surroundings, surface interactions, morphology of particles, ROS and metal ions. The results indicate a facile method to synthesis LDHs based effective antibacterial agents with the potential application in the area of water treatment and antibacterial coating.
Transcatheter hepatic artery chemoembolization (TACE) is a universal treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that inhibits tumor growth by cutting off the blood supply and provides chemotherapeutics locally to the tumor. The strategy of combining TACE formulation with image-guided ablation holds tremendous potential, but patient tolerance and undesired toxicity/immunosuppression remains a challenge. The application of nanotechnology in TACE opens new doors for the treatment of HCC. Strikingly, nanomaterials or nano-drugs dispersed in the TACE formulation can effectively improve the delivery efficiency of drugs by achieving both controlled and continuous release. In addition, the utilization of multifunctional nanoparticles can provide guidance and monitoring for various advanced imaging methods for TACE treatment, and can realize the combination therapy of thermal ablation, microwave ablation, in situ radiotherapy, and other therapies, greatly expanding the therapeutic strategies available for HCC treatment. Here, the current exploration of nanotechnology in TACE of HCC is briefly summarized and the challenges of TACE with nanoformulations for clinical translation are comprehensively discussed.
A novel amphiphilic cationic block copolymer polylysine-b-polyphenylalanine (PLL-b-PPhe) was synthesized and self-assembled into micelles in aqueous solution, then shielded with poly(glutamic acid) (marked as PG/PLL-b-PPhe) to codeliver gene and drug for combination cancer therapy. Here, doxorubicin (DOX) was selected to be loaded into PLL-b-PPhe micelles and the drug loading efficiency was 8.0%. The drug release studies revealed that the PLL-b-PPhe micelles were pH sensitive and the released DOX could reach to 53.0%, 65.0%, 72.0% at pH 7.4, 6.8 and 5.0, respectively. In order to reduce positive charge and cytotoxicity of PLL-b-PPhe micelles, PG was used as shelding, simultaneously condensed with Bcl2 siRNA to form gene carrier system. Compared with PEI, PG/PLL-b-PPhe had excellent gene transfection efficiency, especially when the molar ratio of PLL to PPhe was 30:60 and the mixed mass ratio of PLL-b-PPhe to gene was 5:1. More importantly, DOX and Bcl2 siRNA gene codelivery system displayed remarkable cytotoxicity against B16F10 cells. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and flow cytometry were used to characterize endocytosis of the codelivery system, and confirmed that both DOX and Bcl2 siRNA had been endocytosed into B16F10 cells. The above results indicated that gene and drug codelivery was a promising strategy in future cancer therapy.
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