Latest ArticlesBoth of carbon dioxide (CO2) and near-infrared (NIR) light as triggers for non-invasive remotely control are attracting wide attentions due to their good biocompatibility and easy operation. Here, CO2/NIR light dual controlled nanoparticles are proposed to remotely regulate the unzipping of dsDNA by using imidazole functionalized conjugated polymer nanoparticles (imidazole-CPNs). The dsDNA successfully coats on the shell of imidazole-CPNs to form imidazole-CPNs/dsDNA assembly due to intensively electrostatic interaction triggered by CO2. Furthermore, the unzipping process of dsDNA is remotely controlled by NIR light based on the photothermal effect, and it can be readily monitored by the fluorescence intensity of ethidium bromide (EB) and CD spectra of dsDNA. Thus, dual stimulation responsive imidazole-CPNs effectively control dsDNA unzipping under CO2 stimulus and NIR light, promising a new direction in the biological applications of DNA, such as the treatments of diseases caused by gene duplication abnormality.
An electrochemical sensor for doxycycline hyclate (DC) detection with high sensitivity and good selectivity is reported. The sensor was fabricated by electro-polymerization of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in the presence of DC onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (MWCNTs/GCE). The MWCNTs can significantly increase the current response of the sensor, leading to enhanced sensitivity. The MIPs provide selective recognition sites for DC detection. The experimental parameters, such as the polymer monomer concentration, supporting electrolyte pH, the time for electro-polymerization and the incubation time of the sensor with DC were optimized. Under optimized experimental conditions, the sensor displayed a linear range of 0.05 μmol/L-0.5 μmol/L towards DC detection, with the detection limit of 1.3×10-2 μmol/L. The sensor was successfully applied for recovery test of DC in human serum samples.
The synthesis and stimuli-responsiveness of a diphenyl cyclopropenone (DPCP)-centered poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) are presented. DPCP-centered PMA could release carbon monoxide (CO) upon UV light in a switched on-and-off manner. The CO-releasing process can be reported by the variations in photoluminescence spectra. In addition, DPCP moiety covalently embedded in the crosslinked polyurethane could also release CO under UV light. Of special, DPCP-centered PMA in solution was selectively dissociated at the phenol ester bond under the ultrasound, and a force-induced hydrolyzation reaction was revealed by D2O exchanging 1H NMR spectra. The kinetic study reveals that small quantity of water could enhance the chain scission rate. This work provides a DPCP-centered polymer for sitespecific CO-releasing and chain dissociation.
Nonviral vectors have been attracting more attention for several advantages in gene delivery and the development of nonviral gene carriers with high delivery efficiency and low cytotoxicity has long been a key project. Starburst polyamidoamine dendrimers are a class of synthetic polymers with unique structural and physical characteristics. However, when they are used as gene carrier, the gene transfection efficiency is not satisfactory. Herein, a novel thioketal-core polyamidoamine dendrimer (i.e., ROS-PAMAM) was synthesized and characterized. Compared to ethylenediamine-core dendrimers or widely used cationic polymers of polyetherimide, ROS-PAMAM showed lower cytotoxicity. Moreover, ROS-PAMAM demonstrated reactive oxygen species responsive characteristics, which can facilitate the release of siRNA in the tumor microenvironment. In vitro gene transfection experiments based on A549 cells confirmed that siRNA/ROS-PAMAM exhibits high gene transfection efficiency. It is concluded that ROS-PAMAM shows great potential as a generalizable vehicle for gene therapy applications.
Fabrication of biocompatible core-shell microcapsules in a controllable and scalable manner remains an important but challenging task. Here, we develop a one-step microfluidic approach for the highthroughput production of biocompatible microcapsules, which utilizes single emulsions as templates and controls the precipitation of biocompatible polymer at the water/oil interface. The facile method enables the loading of various oils in the core and the enhancement of polymer shell strength by polyelectrolyte coating. The resulting microcapsules have the advantages of controllability, scalability, biocompatibility, high encapsulation efficiency and high loading capacity. The core-shell microcapsules are ideal delivery vehicles for programmable active release and various controlled release mechanisms are demonstrated, including burst release by vigorous shaking, pH-triggered release for targeted intestinal release and sustained release of perfume over a long period of time. The utility of our technique paves the way for practical applications of core-shell microcapsules.
Aromatic carboxylic acid self-assembly has been a hot research field for many scientists due to its strong coordination ability and flexible coordination mode. The hydrogen bond formed between aromatic carboxylic acids is a strong intermolecular force and has directionality and saturation, which plays a very important role in the self-assembly and regulation of aromatic carboxylic acids. In this review, we introduce surface organization formed by aromatic carboxylic acids with the aid of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). These two-dimensional structures include molecular templates, host-guest systems, and photo-isomerization structures. We also emphasize the thermodynamics and dynamics, which are important research topics of current and future study.
Recently, the development of new electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has received intensive attention. As an important family of inorganic materials, mixed Mo-based transition metal oxides system is focused as anode materials. In the present work, a simple route has been adopted for the synthesis of layered-flake-like β-SnMoO4 Nano-assemblies, which have been explored as potential anode materials for the first time in lithium-ion battery (LIB). Overall, the current reports on metal molybdate as anode materials are still rarely. As the anode material for LIBs, it was observed that the fabricated anode is capable of delivering a steady state capacity of almost 400 mAh/g up to 300 cycles under the influence of 200 mA/g current density. Further, the anode material is suitable for use as a rated capacity anode because of its high current density tolerance. The present study can be further extended for the generation of a wide variety of other novel materials for multidisciplinary energy related applications.
We have synthesized a series of compounds based on a piperidyl benzimidazole carboxamide structure, and tested their PARP-1 inhibitory activity, as well as cellular inhibitory activity. Some of them show great potency as PARP-1 inhibitors and antitumor activity, which are valuable for further research. In addition, the predicted ADME properties and proposed binding mode with PARP-1 of the compounds were obtained via computational simulation.
Direct conversion of methane (CH4) to methanol (DMTM) is a promising, but very challenging process for the utilization of abundant CH4 as a low carbon resource. In this context, Cu loaded zeolites, mordenite (MOR) in particular, were recognized as the most effective system to perform DMTM. In this work, different Cu salts were used to exchange with MOR, by which the effect of counter ions on the catalytic performance towards DMTM was investigated. The prepared catalysts were characterized and evaluated systematically. It was found that the counter ions affected the speciation of Cu sites, probably due to their capability in extraction of protons from MOR and the influence on the hydrolysis state of the Cu2+ in aqueous solution. These behaviors adjusted the association between Cu2+ and the exchangeable protons in MOR. As a result, varied DMTM performance was observed. Among the used Cu salts, Cu(CH3COO)2 exchanged MOR showed the highest performance, achieving stable CH3OH yield of 117±28 μmol/g in 5 consecutive cycles, these values are among the highest for Cu loaded MOR zeolites in open publications.
It is urgent to find a technology accurately to better diagnose and treat to brain tumor. Eu-doped Gd2O3 nanorods (Eu-Gd2O3 NRs) with paramagnetic and fluorescent properties were conjugated with doxorubicin (Dox) and chlorotoxin (CTX) via PEGylation, hydrazone bond and sulfur bond (named as CTXNRs-Dox), and these NRs could release more Dox in lower pH environment. The results of cell experiments indicated that CTX-NRs-Dox had obvious targeting and toxic effects on U251 cells, as well as good fluorescence imaging behavior. The orthotopic glioma-transplanted mice models were constructed via the intracranial injection of glioma cells (U87MG). The result of experiments after the tail-vein injection of the prepared NRs suggested that CTX-NRs-Dox could target to brain tumors via the long-time blood circulation, leading to their obvious contrast enhancement of MR imaging of the intracranial tumor and their significant inhibitory effect on the growth and metastasis of brain tumors. A mechanism of synergistic effect of CTX-NRs-Dox on targeting and inhabiting the brain tumor was proposed. Our research suggested that CTX-NRs-Dox had potential application prospect in the detection and treatment of glioma.
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