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.
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.
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.
Series of azobenzene-bridged pillar[5]arene-based [3]rotaxanes with different alkyl chain length of guest molecules were constructed by threading-endcapping method with alkylenetriazole as axile and tetrahydrochromene as endcapping group. The encapsulation of pillar[5]arenes were proved by high-resolution mass, 1H NMR and NOESY spectra. The photo-responsive property were examined by irradiation of the synthesized [3]rotaxanes with 365 nm and blue light LED, which caused trans to cis and cis to trans isomerization, respectively. Irradiation of corresponding model guest compounds without pillar[5]arene encapsulation resulted in near completely trans to cis and cis to trans isomerization, indicating the existence of pillar[5]arenes is the determining factor for the comprised photo isomerization efficiency.
Traditional matrix does not allow matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) to analyze volatile compounds, because volatile analytes may vaporize during the sample preparation process or in the high vacuum circumstance of ion source. Herein, we reported a Co and N doped porous carbon material (Co-NC) which were synthesized by pyrolysis of a Schiff base coordination compound. Co-NC could simultaneously act as adsorbent of volatile compounds and as matrix of MALDI MS, to provide the capability of MALDI MS to analyze volatile compounds. As adsorbent, Co-NC could strongly adsorb and enrich the volatile compounds in perfume and herbs, and hold them even in the high vacuum circumstance. On the other hand, Co-NC could absorb the energy of the laser, and then transfer the energy to the analyte for desorption and ionization of analyte in both negative and positive ionization modes. Additionally, the background interferences were avoided in the low-mass region (< 500 Da) when using Co-NC as matrix, overcoming the challenges of MALDI MS analysis of small molecule compounds. In summary, Co-NC as matrix tremendously extended the application of MALDI MS.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as a chronic autoimmune disease, damages the bone and cartilage of patients, and even leads to disability. Therefore, the diagnosis and treatment of RA is particularly important. However, due to the complexity of RA, it is difficult to make effective early diagnosis of RA, which is detrimental to RA treatment. Besides, long-term intake of anti-RA drugs can also cause damage to patients' organs. The emergence of nanotechnology provides the new train of thoughts for the diagnosis and treatment of RA. And the combination of diagnosis and therapy is an ideal method to solve the problem of disease management of RA patients. In this review, we summarize the mechanism and microenvironment of RA, discuss the commonly used diagnostic techniques and therapeutic drugs for RA, and review their advantages and disadvantages. New nanotherapy strategies such as drug-carrying nanoparticles, PTT, PDT are listed, and their applications in RA treatment are also summarized. In addition, multimodal imaging, combined therapy and responsive diagnosis and treatment are also summarized as important contents. At last, we also review typical nanocarriers that can be used in the integration of diagnosis and therapy, and discussed their potential applications in RA theranostics.
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.
The strategy of adopting cheap precursors or abundant resources, which can be obtained directly from nature, is a simple and excellent method of introducing accessible research into environmentally friendly development. Moreover, this is also an urgent requirement for the sustainable development of green technology. Herein, we introduce a simplistic and expandable method to prepare metal-free biomass-derived nitrogen self-doped porous activation carbon (N-PAC) with large specific surface area (SBET = 1300.58 m2/g). Moreover, the manufactural electrocatalysts exhibit prominent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance in all PH values. As compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst, the N-PAC/800 with a positive onset potential at 10 mA/cm2 (0.93 V), half-wave potential (0.87 V), and limiting current (6.34 mA/cm2) bring to light excellent catalytic stability, selectivity, and much-enhanced methanol tolerance. Furthermore, the prepared electrocatalysts possess considerable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance with a less onset potential of 0.218 V (acidic medium) and 0.271 V (alkaline medium) respectively, which can show similar catalytic activity across the whole pH range. Such bifunctional electrocatalyst, with excellent electrocatalytic properties, resource-rich, low cost, and environmental-friendly, hold a promising application in energy conversion and reserve.
Corneal neovascularization (CNV) can induce severe visual impairment and even blindness. Current treatments have limited efficacy and some undesirable side effects. Phototherapy (PT) is a modern medical technique in CNV treatment and worth further improvement. Nanotechnology has various advantages and nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery also contributes to CNV elimination. Phototherapy combined with functional nanoparticles featuring photoacoustic imaging contrast properties can accomplish accurate and safe inhibition of CNV, thus is promising in clinical application.
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.
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