Highly Efficient Ir(III)-Coumarin Photo-Redox Catalyst for Synergetic Multi-Mode Cancer Photo-Therapy

Four photo-catalysts of the general formula [Ir(CO6/ppy)₂(L)]Cl where CO6=coumarin 6 ( Ir1 – Ir3 ), ppy=2-phenylpyridine ( Ir4 ), L=4′-(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridine ( Ir1 ), 4′-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridine ( Ir2 and Ir4 ), and 4-([2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridin]-4′-yl)-N,N-dimethylaniline ( Ir3 ) were synthesized and characterized. These photostable photo-catalysts ( Ir1 – Ir3 ) showed strong visible light absorption between 400–550 nm. Upon light irradiation (465 and 525 nm), Ir1 – Ir3 generated singlet oxygen and induced rapidly photo-catalytic oxidation of cellular coenzymes NAD(P)H. Ir1 – Ir3 showed time-dependent cellular uptake with excellent intracellular retention efficiency. Upon green light irradiation (525 nm), Ir2 provided a much higher photo-index (PI=793) than the clinically used photosensitizer, 5-aminolevulinicacid (5-ALA, PI>30) against HeLa cancer cells. The observed necro-apoptotic anticancer activity of Ir2 was due to the Ir2 triggered photo-induced intracellular redox imbalance (by NAD(P)H oxidation and ROS generation) and change in the mitochondrial membrane potential. Remarkably, Ir2 showed in vivo photo-induced catalytic anticancer activity in mouse models.     

Effect of temperature on the interactions between cellulose and lignin via molecular dynamics simulations

Cellulose - Heating is essential in various biomass pre-treatments and thermal conversion processes. It is of practical significance to study the characteristics of cellulose-lignin and...     

MWCNTs/hydroxypropyl cellulose/polyethylene glycol-based shape-stabilized phase change materials

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is widely used as phase change materials (PCMs). However, the leakage and low thermal conductivity issues restrict its...     

Optimal Scheduling Algorithms of System Chip Power Density Based on Network on Chip

Russian Physics Journal - The improvement of chip integration leads to the increase of power density of system chips, which leads to the overheating of system chips. When dispatching the power...     

The effect of scintillator materials on the fast neutron multiplicity measurement

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - To analyze the effect of scintillator detectors on the fast neutron multiplicity, this paper uses Geant4 and Matlab to simulate and study three...     

Multifunctional fibrous wound dressings for refractory wound healing

Refractory wounds have always been an important issue to healthcare systems, whose healing process is always delayed by multiple factors, including bacterial infections, chronic inflammation, and excessive exudates, etc. Employing multifunctional wound dressings is recognized as an effective strategy to deal with refractory wounds, which has yielded promising outcomes in recent years. Among these advanced wound dressings, fibrous dressings have gained growing attention due to their unique merits. Such wound dressings have demonstrated great potential in delivering theranostic agents, such as antibacterial agents, anti-inflammatory drugs, growth factors, and diagnostic probes, etc., for the purposes of accelerating wound healing. This paper reviews the development of multifunctional fibrous dressings and their applications in treating refractory wounds. The construction approaches of novel fibrous dressing with capabilities of antibacterial, anti-inflammation, exudate management and diagnosis were also introduced. Furthermore, the existing problems and challenges are also discussed briefly.     

一种新型双吡啶悬臂Mn(Ⅱ)配合物的合成、晶体结构及DNA结合能力研究

通过3,3′-((乙烷-1,2-二基双(2-甲基吡啶杂氮二基)双(亚甲基))双(2-羟基-5-甲基苯甲醛)与2-羟基-1,3-丙二胺的缩合反应得到一种具有双吡啶悬臂的双核锰配合物。通过X射线单晶衍射确定了该配合物结构,结果显示其分子式为[Mn₂(C₃₇H₄₃N₆O₆)]·(ClO₄)₂。该配合物属于单斜晶系,P2₁/c空间群,晶胞参数为:a=1.096 50(19) nm, b=1.419 5(3) nm, c=3.109 4(5) nm, β=108.153(5)°。进一步分析表明两个二价锰离子分别与(N_amine)₂(N_imine)₂O₃和(N_imine)₂O₄体系配位,它们与配位原子形成的几何构型分别是十面体和扭曲的八面体。两个中心锰离子距离为0.331 6 nm,由酚氧原子和醋酸根共同桥联。另外,本文也利用伏安法和黏度法对该配合物与小牛胸腺DNA的结合能力进行研究,实验结果表明它们之间的结合方式为弱的插入作用。     

Systematic Modulation of Thiol Functionalities in Inexpensive Porous Polymers for Effective Mercury Removal

Through accumulation, mercury contamination in aquatic systems still poses serious health risks despite the strict regulations on drinking water and industrial discharge. One effective strategy against this is adsorptive removal, in which a suitably functionalized porous material is added to water treatment protocols. Thiol (SH) group-grafted structures perform commendably; however, insufficient attention is paid to the cost, scalability, and reusability or how the arrangement of sulfur atoms could affect the Hg^II binding strength. We used an inexpensive and scalable porous covalent organic polymer (COP-130) to systematically introduce thiol functional groups with precise chain lengths and sulfur content. Thiol-functionalized COP-130 demonstrates enhanced wettability and excellent Hg^II uptake of up to 936 mg g⁻¹, with fast kinetics and exceptionally high selectivity. These Hg adsorbents are easily regenerated with HCl and can be used at least six times without loss of capacity even after treatment with strong acid, a rare performance in the domain of Hg-removal research.     

Electrochemically Determining Electronic Structure of ZnO Quantum Dots with Different Surface Ligands

The electronic structure of quantum dots (QDs) including band edges and possible trap states is an important physical property for optoelectronic applications. The reliable determination of the energy levels of QDs remains a big challenge. Herein we employ cyclic voltammetry (CV) to determine the energy levels of three types of ZnO QDs with different surface ligands. Coupled with spectroscopic techniques, it is found that the onset potential of the first reductive wave is likely related to the conduction band edges while the first oxidative wave originates from the trap states. The determined specific energy levels in CV further demonstrates that the ZnO QDs without surface ligands mainly have oxygen interstitial defects whilst the ZnO QDs covered with ligands contain oxygen vacancies. The present electrochemical method offers a powerful and effective way to determine the energy levels of wide bandgap ZnO QDs, which will boost their device performance.