Latest ArticlesSelective separation of amino acids and proteins is crucial in various areas of research, including proteomics, protein structure and function studies, protein purification and drug development, and biosensing and biodetection. A nanocomposite film is formed by combining layer-by-layer self-assembled gold nanospheres (AuNPs) driven by cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) film. Due to the host-guest interactions, the selective transmission of L-tryptophan in the nanocomposite film is confirmed by the current-voltage measurements using a picoammeter. Furthermore, by adjusting the particle size of AuNPs to increase channel size, lysozyme containing multiple tryptophan residues can selectively pass through the nanocomposite film, indicating the high versatility and adaptability of the nanocomposite film. This study will provide a new direction for the selective separation of amino acids and proteins.
Multiple switchable physical channels within one material or device, encompassing optical, electrical, thermal, and mechanical pathways, can enable multifunctionality in mechanical-thermal-opto-electronic applications. Achieving integrated encryption and enhanced performance in storage and sensing presents a formidable challenge in the synthesis and functionality of new materials. In an effort to overcome the complexities associated with these multiple physical functions, this study investigates the large-size crystal of DPACdCl4 (DPA = diisopropylammonium), revealing significant features in rare multi-channel switches. This compound demonstrates the ability to switch between "OFF/0" and "ON/1" states in the mechanical-thermal-opto-electronic channels. Consequently, DPACdCl4 possesses four switchable physical channels, characterized by a higher phase transition temperature of 440.7 K and a competitive piezoelectric coefficient of 46 pC/N. Furthermore, solid-state NMR analysis indicates that thermally activated molecular vibrations significantly contribute to its multifunctional switching capabilities.
The first-ever synthesis of the unknown furo[2′,3′:4,5]pyrimido[1,2-b]indazole skeleton was demonstrated based on the undiscovered tetra-functionalization of enaminones, with simple substrates and reaction conditions. The key to realizing this process lies in the multiple trapping of the in situ generated ketenimine cation by the 3-aminoindazole, which results in the formation of four new chemical bonds and two new rings in one pot. Moreover, the products of this new reaction were found to exhibit aggregation-induced emission (AIE) without modification.
Vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) can destroy tumor vasculature and lead to tumor ischemia and hypoxia, resulting in tumor necrosis. However, VDAs are easy to induce the upregulation of genes that are associated with cancer cell drug resistance and angiogenesis in tumor cells. Hypoxia-activated chemotherapy will be an ideal supplement to VDAs therapy since it can help to fully utilize the ischemia and hypoxia induced by VDAs to realize a synergistic antitumor therapeutic outcome. Here, we design a liposome whose surface is modified with a tumor-homing peptide Cys-Arg-Glu-Lys-Ala (CREKA, which can specifically target tumor vessels and stroma) and whose aqueous cavity and lipid bilayer are loaded by a hypoxia-activatable drug banoxantrone dihydrochloride (AQ4N) and a VDA combretastatin A4 (CA4), respectively. CA4 can selectively target vascular endothelial cells and destroy the tumor blood vessels, which will cause the rapid inhibition of blood flow in tumor and enhance the hypoxia in the tumor region. As a consequence, AQ4N can exert its boosted cytotoxicity under the enhanced hypoxic environment. The as-prepared liposome with a uniform particle size exhibits good stability and high cancer cell killing efficacy in vitro. In addition, in vivo experiments confirm the excellent tumor-targeting/accumulation, tumor vasculature-damaging, and tumor inhibition effects of the liposome. This work develops a liposomal which can achieve safe and effective tumor suppression without external stimulus excitation by only single injection, and is expected to benefit the future development of effective antitumor liposomal drugs.
High-efficient rubber antioxidants for enhanced heat resistance without compromising mechanical properties remain an enormous and long-term challenge for the rubber industry. Herein, we employed the in-situ growth of Ce-doped Co-metal-organic framework (CeCo-MOF) in dendritic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (DMONs@CeCo-MOF, denoted as DCCM) to prepare a novel antioxidant that exhibit outstanding thermal stability. Dendritic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (DMONs) effectively alleviated the incompatibility of CeCo-MOF in the polymer matrix, and the effective scavenging of free radicals was attributed to the various oxidation states of metal ions in CeCo-MOF. Surprising, by adding only 0.5 phr (parts per hundred of rubber) of DMONs@CeCo-MOF to silicone rubber, (SR), the retention rate of tensile strength increased from 37.3% to 61.6% after aging 72 h at 250 ℃, and the retention rate of elongation at break of DCCM/SR1 composites reached 68%, which was 5.43 times of SR. The strategy of anchoring MOFs on the surface of silica also provides a viable method for preparing effective compound functionalized rubber antioxidant.
Despite ongoing advancements in cancer treatment, the emergence of primary and acquired resistance poses a significant challenge for both traditional chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade therapies. The demand for targeted therapeutics for multidrug-resistant cancer is more important than ever. Peptides, as emerging alternatives to current anticancer drugs, offer exquisite versatility in facilitating the design of novel oncology drugs, with the core superiorities of good biocompatibility and a low tendency to induce drug resistance. This review comprehensively introduces the pharmacological mechanisms of peptide-based drugs and strategies for overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancers, including inducing cell membrane lysis, targeting organelles, activating anticancer immune responses, enhancing drug uptake, targeting ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, and targeting B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) family proteins. Additionally, the current clinical applications of representative peptides in combating MDR cancers and their potential directions for medicinal chemistry research have been thoroughly discussed. This review offers essential insights into the novel treatment approaches for MDR cancers and highlights the trends and perspectives in this field.
The metal ion batteries have gained widespread attention for wearable electronics due to their competitive energy density and long cycling life. Exploring the advanced anode materials is significant for next generation energy storage systems. However, severe electrode volume changes and sluggish redox kinetics are the critical problems for lithium/potassium ion batteries (LIBs/PIBs) towards large-scale applications. Herein, we prepare a novel anode material, which consists of reduced graphene oxide wrapping one-dimensional (1D) N-doped porous carbon nanotube with cobalt phosphoselenide (CoPSe) nanoparticles embedded inside them (rGO@CoPSe/NC). Benefited from the dual carbon decorations and ultrafine nanoparticles structure, it achieves a reversible capacity of 245 mAh/g at 5 A/g after 2000 cycles for LIBs and 215 mAh/g at 1 A/g after 500 cycles for PIBs. The pseudocapacitance and GITT measurements are used to investigate the electrochemical kinetics of rGO@CoPSe/NC for LIBs. In addition, the lithium ion full cell also shows good electrochemical performance when paired with high capacity LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode. This work provides a feasible electrode design strategy for high-efficiency metal ion batteries based on multidimensional nanoarchitecture engineering and composition tailoring.
The preparation, functionalization, and investigations in host-guest properties of high-level pillararene macrocycles have long been a big challenge because of the lack of efficient synthetic methods. Herein, a novel type of pillararene derivative, namely desymmetrized pillar[8]arene (DP[8]A), has been successfully synthesized via a facile two-step strategy with high yield. Compared with its pillar[8]arene counterpart, DP[8]A is composed of four alkoxy-substituted benzene units and four bare benzene rings. Single crystal analysis has been performed in order to unveil the molecular conformation and packing mode of DP[8]A, which indicated that DP[8]A possesses a unique chair-like structure and much smaller steric hindrance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and electrostatic potential map suggested the inhomogeneous electronic distribution in the DP[8]A cavity. Water-soluble carboxylate-modified DP[8]A, that is, CDP[8]A, was also prepared to investigate the host-guest properties in aqueous solution with methyl viologen (MV), where the binding constant and morphologies of the formed host-guest complexes have been studied. In all, this new version of eight-membered pillararene derivative might potentially serve as a powerful macrocycle candidate for further applications in supramolecular chemistry.
All-solid-state Li batteries (ASSLBs) using solid electrolytes (SEs) have gained significant attention in recent years considering the safety issue and their high energy density. Despite these advantages, the commercialization of ASSLBs still faces challenges regarding the electrolyte/electrodes interfaces and growth of Li dendrites. Elemental doping is an effective and direct method to enhance the performance of SEs. Here, we report an Al-F co-doping strategy to improve the overall properties including ion conductivity, high voltage stability, and cathode and anode compatibility. Particularly, the Al-F co-doping enables the formation of a thin Li-Al alloy layer and fluoride interphases, thereby constructing a relatively stable interface and promoting uniform Li deposition. The similar merits of Al-F co-doping are also revealed in the Li-argyrodite series. ASSLBs assembled with these optimized electrolytes gain good electrochemical performance, demonstrating the universality of Al-F co-doping towards advanced SEs.
Gastric Carcinoma (GC) is a highly fatal malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. Its elevated mortality rates are primarily due to its proclivity for late-stage metastasis. Exploring the metabolic interactions between tumor microenvironment and the systemic bloodstream could help to clearly understand the mechanisms and identify precise biomarkers of tumor growth, proliferation, and metastasis. In this study, an integrative approach that combines plasma metabolomics with mass spectrometry imaging of tumor tissue was developed to investigate the global metabolic landscape of GC tumorigenesis and metastasis. The results showed that the oxidized glutathione to glutathione ratio (GSSH/GSH) became increased in non-distal metastatic GC (M0), which means an accumulation of oxidative stress in tumor tissues. Furthermore, it was found that the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as 9,10-EpOMe, 9-HOTrE, etc., were accelerated in both plasma and tumor tissues of distal metastatic GC (M1). These changes were further confirmed the potential effect of CYP2E1 and GGT1 in metastatic potential of GC by mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Collectively, our findings reveal the integrated multidimensional metabolomics approach is a clinical useful method to unravel the blood-tumor metabolic crosstalk, illuminate reprogrammed metabolic networks, and provide reliable circulating biomarkers.
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