Latest ArticlesDendrite growth of zinc (Zn) anode at high current density severely affects the fast-charging performance of aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs). While interfacial modification strategies can optimize Zn performance, challenges such as complicated preparation processes, excessive layer thicknesses, and high voltage hysteresis should be addressed. Herein, we utilize a cost-effective liquid fluorosiloxane, (3,3,3-trifluoropropyl)trimethoxysilane, for scalable modification of Zn foil via drop-casting at room temperature, resulting in an ultra-thin interphase layer of only 20 nm. The Si-O-Zn bonds formed between fluorosiloxane and Zn ensure interfacial stability, and the Si-O-Si bonds between fluorosiloxane molecules help to homogenize the electric field distribution. Additionally, the abundant highly electronegative fluorine atoms on the anode surface act as zincophilic sites, promoting the uniform deposition of Zn2+. Thus, the modified Zn foil (SiFO-Zn) exhibits excellent dendrite suppression, reduced voltage hysteresis, and prolonged cycle life at ultra-high current density (40 mA/cm2), achieving a cumulative areal capacity of 12.9 Ah/cm2. Further, the full cell assembled with 10 µm-thick SiFO-Zn anode and MnO2 cathode achieves 2600 cycles at 5 A/g with minimal capacity degradation, and a large-size (22.5 cm−2) pouch cell powers the light-emitting diode even after reverse bending, demonstrating the potential of AZMBs for fast-charging flexible devices.
The anti-oxidative characteristic and immunosuppressive microenvironment contribute to a high resistance of tumor to many treatments. In this work, a glutathione (GSH)-responsive metal-coordinated oxidative stress amplifier (designated as CuPA) is fabricated to suppress tumor growth through elevating the cellular level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and eliminating M2 macrophages. Among which, cooper ion (Cu2+) is capable of coordinating with thioredoxin (Trx) inhibitor of PX-12 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) inhibitor of AS1517499 with the assistance of distearoyl phosphoethanolamine-PEG2000 (DSPE-PEG2000), which can extensively increase the stability to enhance drug delivery in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, CuPA can upregulate intracellular ROS to cause tumor cell death through restraining Trx and degrading GSH. Also, CuPA-mediated STAT6 inhibition results in the elimination of M2 macrophage to reverse the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Finally, the elevated oxidative stress and increased immune activation amplify the synergistic antitumor effect without causing obvious side effect. This work provides a new sight for synergistic tumor suppression through chemo-immunotherapy in consideration of the complex resistant tumor microenvironment.
The prototype material, Li1.23Ru0.41Ni0.36O2, is proposed to gain the deep and comprehensive understanding of chemical and structural changes of the novel layered/rocksalt intergrown cathodes. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectra and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering reveal that both cationic and anionic redox evolves in the charge compensation process of the intergrown material, while synchrotron-based extended X-ray fine structure spectra and in situ X-ray diffraction measurements demonstrates that the intergrown material undergoes minimal local- and long-range structural variations at deep de/lithiation. This work highlights the great potential of the intergrown structure to inspire the design of advanced cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.
Human β-galactosidase (β-gal) is recognized as a crucial biomarker for evaluating senescence at the cellular and tissue levels in humans. However, tools to precisely track the endogenous β-gal are still limited. Herein, we present two novel self-calibrating β-gal probes 7a and 7b which were constructed on a unique green/red dual-emissive fluorescence platform. The two probes inherently exhibited a stable green fluorescence signal impervious to β-gal activity, serving as a reliable internal reference. They also displayed a progressively diminishing red fluorescence signal with the increasing of β-gal expression levels. The dual behavior endows them with self-calibration capacity and then renders excellently selective and sensitive for precisely monitoring β-gal activity. Notably, compared with E. coli β-gal, the two probes are more effectively response to A. oryzae β-gal homologous to human β-gal, indicating their unique species-selectivity. Furthermore, 7a was validated for its effectiveness in determining senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) expression in senescent NRK-52E and HepG2 cells, underscoring its practical applicability in senescence research.
The usage of flexible ligands in constructing MOF materials (FL-MOFs) has been widely studied due to its numerous advantages, including the structural diversity, polynuclear MOFs, transmitting magnetic exchanges, enantioselective separation, asymmetric catalysis, etc. However, the field still faces challenges in deeply understanding the effect of ligand configuration on the properties of these materials. Here, we employ a flexible aggregation-induced emission ligand (4,4′-((1E, 1′E)-anthracene-9,10-diylbis(ethene-2,1-diyl))dibenzoic acid) with great mechanical stability to construct FL-MOFs to lock the ligand configuration to explore the pressure-induced evolution of the ligand with coordination restriction, involving changes in fluorescence and intermolecular interaction. In-situ high-pressure fluorescence, Raman, and FT-IR experiments have revealed that the intermolecular interaction of AIE-Mn-MOF with configuration restriction increased more rapidly than that of free AIE-L. This discovery offers valuable insights for synthesizing MOF materials with exceptional mechanical stability and significantly advances our understanding of the impact of coordination restriction in FL-MOFs on their response to external stimuli.
Colorectal cancer is a common cancer worldwide. Traditional chemotherapeutic drugs often face limitations such as poor aqueous solubility and high systemic toxicity, which can lead to adverse side effects and limited therapeutic efficacy. In this study, a library of one kind of biodegradable and biocompatible polymer, leucine based-poly(ester amide)s (Leu-PEAs) was developed and utilized as drug carrier. The structure of Leu-PEAs can be tuned to alter their physicochemical properties, enhancing drug loading capacity and delivery efficiency. Leu-PEAs can self-assemble into nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation and load paclitaxel (PTX) with the diameter of ~108 nm and PTX loading capacity of ~8.5%. PTX-loaded Leu-PEAs nanoparticles (PTX@Leu-PEAs) demonstrated significant inhibition of CT26 cell growth in vitro. In vivo, these nanoparticles exhibited prolonged tumor accumulation and antitumor effects, with no observed toxicity to normal organs. Furthermore, blank Leu-PEAs nanoparticles also showed antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo, which may be attributed to the activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway by leucine. Consequently, this biocompatible Leu-PEAs nano-drug delivery system shows potential as a promising strategy for colorectal cancer treatment, warranting further investigation.
In view of widespread existence and toxicity, removal and detection of bisphenols is imperative to assess environmental risks and reduce harm to human health. Although many techniques have been reported, constructing fast and sensitive method remains a challenge. Herein, porous poly(divinylbenzene) polymer was synthesized in-situ on the Fe3O4 particles by means of distillation-precipitation polymerization and functioned as sorbents to extract bisphenols. Employing Fe3O4@poly(divinylbenzene) as sorbent, a magnetic solid-phase extraction coupling with liquid chromatography was developed to detect trace bisphenols in water. This method presented low detection limits (0.01–0.03 ng/mL), high enrichment ability (enrichment factor, 327–343), and good reproducibility. Moreover, the method showed satisfactory recoveries in the detection of lake water (80.60%-116.2%) and egg sample (75.17%-120.0%). Impressively, Fe3O4@PDVB has excellent adsorption capacity, which can realize rapid kinetic adsorption of bisphenols with equilibrium time all less than 10 s. The maximum adsorption capacities reached 1074.8, 1049.7, 1299.1 and 1329.5 mg/g for bisphenol F, bisphenol A, bisphenol B and bisphenol AF with Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption mechanism of Fe3O4@PDVB to bisphenols was investigated and demonstrated that hydrophobic interactions played a key role, together with assistance of stacking interactions and hydrogen interactions. Overall, this work provides a promising sorbent material with ultra-fast and large adsorption capacities for extraction of bisphenols from water.
Graphene-like materials and metal-organic framework (MOF) materials hold significant promise for advanced energy systems. However, the accumulation of two-dimensional (2D) material and the low conductivity of MOF have seriously affected their practical application. The universal method for synthesizing homogeneous nitrogen-doped graphene-like carbon/metal-organic framework (N-GLC/MOF) composites, including N-GLC/MOF-74, N-GLC/ZIF-8, N-GLC/Cu-BTC, and N-GLC/FeCo-PBA was presented. Thanks to the synergistic effect of the two components, the N-GLC/MOF-74 composite exhibits a specific capacitance of 470.18 F/g at 1 A/g and maintains a coulombic efficiency of 95.04% at 5 A/g over 5500 cycles. Our work lays a solid foundation for the design and synthesis of N-GLC-based composites. We anticipate that this research will furnish valuable insights for the advancement of N-GLC/MOF composites, with a primary focus on enhancing supercapacitor performance.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment modality owing to its high spatiotemporal selectivity and noninvasive nature. However, conventional photosensitizers (PSs) used in PDT are responsive only to visible light, which makes them unsuitable for tissue penetration. In this study, we propose a PS based on hot band absorption (HBA), which can be triggered by anti-Stokes light at 808 nm via a one-photon process. The introduction of selenium (Se) into pentamethine cyanine (Secy5) not only facilitates intersystem crossing for reactive oxygen species (ROS) production but also enhances HBA efficiency, thereby prolonging the excitation wavelength. In addition, Secy5 demonstrates excellent biocompatibility, unlike its I-substituted counterpart (Icy5), and produces not only 1O2 but also O2•−, making it a desirable candidate for treating hypoxic solid tumors. According to the results of in vivo and in vitro experiments, Secy5 can efficiently inhibit cancer cell growth via anti-Stokes activation processes, thereby providing a novel approach to design anti-Stokes excitation PSs for anticancer treatment.
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