Latest ArticlesElectrocatalytic 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.
Sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) is identified as the functional receptor for HBV entry, which is responsible for upregulated HBV transcription in the HBV life cycle. Besides, NTCP is also implicated in the progression of HBV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Thereby, NTCP-targeting entry inhibitors are proposed to suppress HBV infection and replication in HBV-induced hepatoma therapy. Herein, we integrated in silico screening and chemical synthesis to obtain a small-molecule NTCP inhibitor B7, which exhibited moderate anti-proliferative activities against HepG2 cells and anti-HBV activity in vitro. Additionally, CETSA assay, molecular docking, and MD simulation validated that B7 could bind to NTCP. Furthermore, western blot analysis demonstrated that B7 induced apoptosis with an increased expression of Bax and caspase 3 cleaving as well as a decreasing expression of Bcl-2 in HepG2 cells. Taken together, our study identified B7 as a novel NTCP inhibitor with anti-proliferation activities which might provide a new opportunity for HCC therapy.
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.
The removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in sulfur-mediated bioprocesses, e.g., sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)-mediated process and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB)-mediated process, was examined for the first time. The results showed that the SRB-mediated process had more efficient CIP removal than that in SOB-mediated process. Adsorption was the primary removal pathway of CIP in SRB-mediated process and SOB-mediated process with the specific adsorption removal rate of 131.4±1.1 μg/g-SS/d and 30.1±1.4 μg/g-SS/d, respectively, at influent CIP concentration of 500 μg/L. In addition, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) also played an important role on CIP migration and removal in both types of sludge. Further study was conducted to specify the different adsorption of CIP in these two sludge systems from the perspective of sludge properties. The results indicated that there are more potential adsorption sites exist on the SRB-mediated sludge for CIP adsorption than SOB-mediated sludge since the higher protein (PN) content and more kinds of aromatic amino acid substances in EPS, more negative zeta-potential and stronger and more numbers of functional groups in SRB-mediated sludge compared to SOB-mediated sludge. The findings of this study provide insights into the sludge properties affecting CIP removal in sulfur-mediated bioprocesses, and are of guiding significance to employ sulfur-mediated biological systems for treating CIP-containing wastewaters.
Exploring 3D hybrid nanocarbons encapsulated with metal nanoparticles (NPs) are recently considered as emerging catalysts for boosting CO2 electroreduction reaction (CRR) under practical and economic limits. Herein, we report a one-step pyrolysis strategy for fabricating N-doped carbon nanotube (CNT)-encapsulated Ni NPs assembled on the surface of graphene (N/NiNPs@CNT/G) to efficiently convert CO2 into CO. In such 3D hybrid, the particle size of Ni NPs that coated by five graphitic carbon layers is less than 100 nm, and the amount of N dopants introduced into graphene with countable CNTs is determined to 7.27 at%. Thanks to unique CNT-encapsulated Ni NPs structure and N dopants, the achieved N/NiNPs@CNT/G hybrid displays an exceptional CRR activity with a high Faradaic efficiency of 97.7% and large CO partial current density of 7.9 mA/cm2 at -0.7 V, which outperforms those reported metallic NPs loaded carbon based CRR electrocatalysts. Further, a low Tafel slope of 134 mV/dec, a turnover frequency of 387.3 CO/h at -0.9 V, and tiny performance losses during long-term CRR operation are observed on N/NiNPs@CNT/G. Experimental observations illustrate that the Ni NPs encapsulated by carbon layers along with N dopants are of great importance in the conversion of CO2 into CO with high current density.
Nanocomposite hydrogels based on carbon dots (CDs) and polymers have emerged as new materials with integrated properties of individual components, leading to their important applications in the field of soft nanomaterials. This perspective highlights recent advances in the development of nanocomposite hydrogels from CDs and polymers. We review the preparation methods of nanocomposite hydrogels based on CDs and polymers, and emerging applications of these nanocomposite hydrogels such as environmental remediation, energy storage, sensing, drug delivery and bioimaging. We conclude with the discussion of new research directions in the development of new type of nanocomposite hydrogels based on CDs and polymers.
Porous materials play an important role in chemical catalysis, separation and other industrial applications. High-efficiency preparation of porous materials has become an active research area. Conventional synthesis of porous materials has been dominated by one-pot solution processing conditions carried out by bulk mixing under conventional electric heating via hydrothermal, solvothermal or ionothermal reactions where high temperatures and pressures are the standard. Continuous flow synthesis has many key advantages in terms of efficient mass and heat transfer, precise control of residence times, improved opportunities for automation and feedback control of synthesis, scaling-up reactions and improved safety parameters compared to above mentioned conventional batch scale synthetic methods. In this review, continuous flow synthesis of various crystalline porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), porous organic cages and zeolites is discussed. Combination of microfluidic methods with other techniques are also shown including various heating ways and various methods of substrate adding.
Graphene is a two-dimensional nanomaterial with huge surface area, high carrier mobility and high mechanical strength. Because of its great potential in nanotechnology and environmental protection, it has attracted much attention in environmental and energy fields since its discovery in 2004. Although graphene is a star material, many reviews have introduced its use in terms of energy, the research progress in the field of environment, especially water pollution control, has been rarely reported. Here, we review exhaustively the research progress of graphene-based materials in environmental pollution remediation in the past ten years. Firstly, the advantages and classification of graphene were introduced. Secondly, the research progress and main achievements of graphene and its composites in the fields of photocatalytic degradation, pollutant adsorption and water treatment were emphatically described, and the mechanism of action in the above fields was summarized. Finally, we discuss the problems existing in the preparation and summarize the application of graphene in the environment.
The present review not only devotes on the environmental consequences of plastic bag wastes and other industrial wastes observable in the landfills, in the oceans or elsewhere but also gives a new insight idea on conversion of them into worth material, carbon, for the best electrochemical supercapacitor. Transformation of plastic wastes into high-value materials is the incentive for plastic recycling, end-of-life handling case for plastic bag wastes in practice quite limited. The plastic recycling waste for reuse saves energy compared with manufacturing virgin materials. Herein, we identified several synthetic methods to convert plastic waste and other industrial wastes into carbon material for supercapacitor. Different kinds of carbon materials, including nanofiber, nanotube, graphene, mesoporous carbon, etc., have been derived from plastic waste, and thus give a superior potential for transforming trash into a "gold capacitor". Finally, conclusions and future trends of high-voltage supercapacitors were made as well as the easy and mass production of high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. Our work offers a promising sustainable approach to handle plastic bags, waste, and other industrial wastes and provides a new avenue in supercapacitor applications and other areas.
Effective detection of cellular microenvironments and understanding of physiological activities in living cells remain a considerable challenge. In recent years, fluorescence (or Förster) resonance energy transfer (FRET) technology has emerged as a valuable method for real-time imaging of intracellular environment with high sensitivity, specificity and spatial resolution. Particularly, polymer-based imaging systems show enhanced stability, improved biodistribution, increased dye payloads, and amplified signal/noise ratio compared with small molecular sensors. This review summarizes the recent progress in FRET-based polymeric systems for probing the physiological environments in cells.
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