Latest ArticlesEfficient catalytic system with low energy consumption exhibits increasing importance due to the upcoming energy crisis. Given this situation, it should be an admirable strategy for reducing energy input by effectively utilizing incident solar energy as a heat source during catalytic reactions. Herein, aza-fused π-conjugated microporous polymer (aza-CMP) with broad light absorption and high photothermal conversion efficiency was synthesized and utilized as a support for bimetallic AuPd nanocatalysts in light-driven benzyl alcohol oxidation. The AuPd nanoparticles anchored on aza-CMP (aza-CMP/AuxPdy) exhibited excellent catalytic performance for benzyl alcohol oxidation under 50 mW/cm2 light irradiation. The improved catalytic performance by the aza-CMP/AuxPdy is attributed to the unique photothermal effect induced by aza-CMP, which can promote the catalytic benzyl alcohol oxidation occurring at AuPd. This work presents a novel approach to effectively utilize solar energy for conventional catalytic reactions through photothermal effect.
The rapid transmission of vaccinia virus (VACV) in vivo is thought to be closely related to the cell migration induced by it. Cell migration involved in dynamic changes of cell-substrate adhesion and actin cytoskeleton organization, which can influence by the micro/nano-scale topographic structures that cells are naturally exposed to via contact guidance. However, migration behaviors of VACV-infected cells exposed to topographic cues are still unknown. Herein, we designed an open chip with microgrooved poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) substrate to explore the topography roles in VACV-induced cell migration. Differed from the random cell migration observed in traditional scratch assay on planar substrate, VACV-infected cells had a tendency to persistently migrate along the axis parallel to microgroove with increased velocity. Moreover, infected cells exhibited a dominant elongated protrusion aligned to the micro-grating axis compare to the shorter lamella extended in any direction on smooth substrate. Interestingly, the Golgi complex preferred to relocate behind the nucleus confined within the micro-grating axis in majority of infected migratory cells. The directional polarization of cells embodied in protrusion formation and Golgi reorientation was responsible for the directionally persistent migration behaviors induced by VACV on microgrooved substrate. Infected cells response to substrate topography, causing the actin-filled stretched protrusion containing numerous virions and accelerated movement is likely to facilitate direct and rapid spread of VACV. This work opens a window for us to understand the migration behaviors of infected cells in vivo, and also provides a cue for revealing the relationship between virus-induced cell migration and virus rapid spread.
In order to optimize mass transportation and exchange, nature creates hierarchically porous networks which are composed of multi-level branches. Although bottom-up templating methods have succeeded in fabrication of these kinds of hierarchically porous networks, the templates have to be assembled/ packed in advance, therefore, driving the fabrication process too complex. In this report, we presented that the hierarchically porous networks could be fabricated through migration of templates, which was similar to formation of rivers. During thermal pyrolysis of Prussian blue cages, the in situly generated iron oxides nanoparticles diffused and aggregated together to grow larger, and eventually moved outside from the porous carbons. The moving routes of the iron oxides became hierarchical channels in the obtained carbon cages. By using the porous carbon cages as electrode for Na-ion battery, a pseudocapacitor-type ion storage was investigated.
Three new rare cyclopiane diterpenes (1-3), together with thirteen known compounds (4-16), were isolated and identified from a sea sediment-derived fungus Penicillium sp. TJ403-2. The planar and relative structures of compounds 1-3 were elucidated by HRESIMS, one- and two-dimensional NMR analyses, and their absolute configurations were further established by X-ray crystallography experiment. Compounds 1-3 were evaluated for the antiinflammatory activity against LPS-induced NO production, and compound 1 showed notable inhibitory potency with an IC50 value of 2.19±0.25 μmol/L, which was three fold lower than the positive control indomethacin (IC50=8.76±0.92 μmol/L). Further Western blot and immunofluorescence experiments demonstrated its mechanism of action to be that 1 inhibited the NF-ΚB-activated pathway, highlighting it as a promising starting point for the development of new antiinflammatory agents.
A coumarinocoumarin-based fluorescent probe, JCCA, was developed for the detection of N2H4. JCCA exhibited a fast turn-on fluorescence enhancement in response to N2H4 with good selectivity, sensitivity and a detection limit of 7.4 nmol/L. Significantly, JCCA displayed a good capability for visualizing N2H4 in living cells and zebra fish.
Cysteine chemistry provides a low cost and convenient way for site-specific protein modification. However, recombinant expression of disulfide bonding containing protein with unpaired cysteine is technically challenging and the resulting protein often suffers from significantly reduced yield and activity. Here we used genetic code expansion technique to introduce a surface exposed self-paired dithiol functional group into proteins, which can be selectively reduced to afford active thiols. Two compounds containing self-paired disulfides were synthesized, and their genetic incorporations were validated using green fluorescent proteins (GFP). The compatibility of these self-paired di-thiols with natural disulfide bond was demonstrated using antibody fragment to afford site-specifically labeled antibody. This work provides another valuable building block into the chemical tool-box for site-specific labeling of proteins containing internal disulfides.
Polymeric carbon nitride (CN) semiconductor by thermal condensation of N-rich precursors has attracted much attention for its capability ranging from photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical energy conversion to biosensing. However, the influence of condensation process on the final structure of CN was rarely studied, making the condensation kinetic far from be fully optimized. Herein, we report the preparation of CN by a simple condensation kinetics modulation using a faster ramping rate during the polymerization process. The modified condensation recipe was even simpler than the conventional one, but led to an improved photocatalytic H2 evolution up to 3 times without any additional chemicals or other complements. Detailed mechanism studies revealed the increase of crystallinity and surface area due to the rapid condensation played the key roles. This work would offer a more facile and effective way to prepare bulk CN for large-scale industrial applications of bulk CN with higher photocatalytic actives for sustainable energy, environmental and biosensing.
In clinical cancer research, it is quite promising to develop multimodal synergistic therapeutic strategies. Photodynamic and photothermal synergistic therapy is a very desirable multimodal therapy strategy. Herein, we report a facile and simple method to construct a nanotherapeutic agent for photodynamic and photothermal therapy. This nanotherapeutic agent (ZnO@Ce6-PDA) is composed of a ZnO nanoparticle core, an interlayer of photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) and an outer layer of polydopamine (PDA). Due to the existence of Ce6, the ZnO@Ce6-PDA can efficiently generate singlet oxygen (1O2) under 660 nm laser irradiation. Moreover, the ZnO@Ce6-PDA can serve as a photothermal agent, because of the excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of the PDA coating layer in the presence of 780 nm laser. Experiment results demonstrated that the designed nanotherapeutic agent had outstanding phototoxicity upon the combination of laser irradiation at 660 and 780 nm. Thus, our work proves that the ZnO@Ce6-PDA is a promising photodynamic/photothermal dual-modal nanotherapeutic agent for enhanced cancer therapy.
In this manuscript, we first report an ultrasensitive detection assay of microRNA by combing asymmetric polymerase chain reaction (A-PCR) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology. Using A-PCR obtained an extended single strand to form LAMP stem-loop structure under isothermal amplification conditions. We used miRNAs as a loop primer probe in LAMP reaction and completed its ultrasensitive and rapid detection. The established method furnished a fast, specific and efficient detection of target miRNA with a detection limit as low as 10 amol/L in 90 min.
Supramolecular polymers constructed by orthogonal self-assembly based on multiple hydrogen bonding and macrocyclic host-guest interactions have received increasing attention due to their elegant structures, outstanding properties, and potential applications. Hydrogen bonding endows these supramolecular polymers with good adaptability and reversibility, while macrocyclic host-guest interactions give them good selectivity and versatile stimuli-responsiveness. Therefore, functional supramolecular polymers fabricated by these two highly specific, noninterfering interactions in an orthogonal way have shown wide applications in the fields of molecular machines, electronics, soft materials, etc. In this review, we discuss the recent advances of functional supramolecular polymers fabricated by orthogonal self-assembly based on multiple hydrogen bonding and host-guest interactions. In particular, we focus on crown ether- and pillar[n]arene-based supramolecular polymers due to their compatibility with multiple hydrogen bonds in organic solution. The fabrication strategies, interesting properties, and potential applications of these advanced supramolecular materials are mainly concerned.
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