Atomically Dispersed Iron Regulating Electronic Structure of Iron Atom Clusters for Electrocatalytic H2O2 Production and Biomass Upgrading

The integration of highly active single atoms (SAs) and atom clusters (ACs) into an electrocatalyst is critically important for high-efficiency two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e⁻ ORR) to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Here we report a tandem impregnation-pyrolysis-etching strategy to fabricate the oxygen-coordinated Fe SAs and ACs anchored on bacterial cellulose-derived carbon (BCC) (FeSAs/ACs-BCC). As the electrocatalyst, FeSAs/ACs-BCC exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity and selectivity toward 2e⁻ ORR, affording an onset potential of 0.78 V (vs. RHE) and a high H₂O₂ selectivity of 96.5 % in 0.1 M KOH. In a flow cell reactor, the FeSAs/ACs-BCC also achieves high-efficiency H₂O₂ production with a yield rate of 12.51±0.18 mol g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹ and a faradaic efficiency of 89.4 %±1.3 % at 150 mA cm⁻². Additionally, the feasibility of coupling the produced H₂O₂ and electro-Fenton process for the valorization of ethylene glycol was explored in detail. The theoretical calculations uncover that the oxygen-coordinated Fe SAs effectively regulate the electronic structure of Fe ACs which are the 2e⁻ ORR active sites, resulting in the optimal binding strength of *OOH intermediate for high-efficiency H₂O₂ production.     

Photosynthetic Fixation of CO2 in Alkenes by Heterogeneous Photoredox Catalysis with Visible Light

Light-driven fixation of CO₂ in organics has emerged as an appealing alternative for the synthesis of value-added fine chemicals. Challenges remain in the transformation of CO₂ as well as product selectivity due to its thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness. Here we develop a boron carbonitride (BCN) with the abundant terminal B/N defects around the mesoporous walls, which essentially enhances surface active sites as well as charge transfer kinetics, boosting the overall rate of CO₂ adsorption and activation. In this protocol, anti-Markovnikov hydrocarboxylation of alkenes with CO₂ to an extended carbon chain is achieved with good functional group tolerance and specific regioselectivity under visible-light irradiation. The mechanistic studies demonstrate the formation of CO₂ radical anion intermediate on defective boron carbonitride, leading to the anti-Markovnikov carboxylation. Gram-scale reaction, late-stage carboxylation of natural products and synthesis of anti-diabetic GPR40 agonists reveal the utility of this method. This study sheds new insight on the design and application of metal-free semiconductors for the conversion of CO₂ in an atom-economic and sustainable manner.     

One-Pot Synthesis of N-Benzyl/Allyl-N-phenyl-2-benzothiazolamines from 1-(2-Iodophenyl)-3-phenylthioureas and Benzyl/Allyl Halides

A facile method for the copper-catalyzed synthesis of N-benzyl-N-phenyl-2-benzothiazolamines was explored. In the presence of CuI, N-phenylbenzothiazolamines was in situ generated from substituted 1-(2-iodophenyl)-3-phenylthioureas, which susequently underwent coupling with benzyl/allyl halides to give the desired N-benzyl/allyl-N-phenyl-2-benzothiazolamines fluently in a one-pot manner. The protocol features easy performance, easily available materials, good yield and broad substrates scope, showing potential synthetic value for the preparation of a variety of biologically or pharmaceutically active compounds.     

Fluorous Tagged Peptides for Intracellular Delivery and Biomedical Imaging

Fluorous tagged peptides have shown promising features for biomedical applications such as drug delivery and multimodal imaging. The bioconjugation of fluoroalkyl ligands onto cargo peptides greatly enhances their proteolytic stability and membrane penetration via a proposed “fluorine effect”. The tagged peptides also efficiently deliver other biomolecules such as DNA and siRNA into cells via a co-assembly strategy. The fluoroalkyl chains on peptides with antifouling properties enable efficient gene delivery in the presence of serum proteins. Besides intracellular biomolecule delivery, the amphiphilic peptides can be used to stabilized perfluorocarbon-filled microbubbles for ultrasound imaging. The fluorine nucleus on fluoroalkyls provides intrinsic probes for background-free magnetic resonance imaging. Labeling of fluorous tags with radionuclide ¹⁸F also allows tracing the biodistribution of peptides via positron emission tomography imaging. This mini-review will discuss properties and mechanism of the fluorous tagged peptides in these applications.     

Human Albumin-Based Hydrogels for Their Potential Xeno-Free Microneedle Applications

Nowadays, hydrogels-based microneedles (MNs) have attracted a great interest owing to their outstanding qualities for biomedical applications. For the fabrication of hydrogels-based microneedles as tissue engineering scaffolds and drug delivery carriers, various biomaterials have been tested. They are required to feature tunable physiochemical properties, biodegradability, biocompatibility, nonimmunogenicity, high drug loading capacity, and sustained drug release. Among biomaterials, human proteins are the most ideal biomaterials for fabrication of hydrogels-based MNs; however, they are mechanically weak and poorly processible. To the best of the knowledge, there are no reports of xeno-free human protein-based MNs so far. Here, human albumin-based hydrogels and microneedles for tissue engineering and drug delivery by using relatively new processible human serum albumin methacryloyl (HSAMA) are engineered. The resultant HSAMA hydrogels display tunable mechanical properties, biodegradability, and good biocompatibility. Moreover, the xeno-free HSAMA microneedles display a sustained drug release profile and significant mechanical strength to penetrate the model skin. In vitro, they also show good biocompatibility and anticancer efficacy. Sustainable processible human albumin-based biomaterials may be employed as a xeno-free platform in vivo for tissue engineering and drug delivery in clinical trials in the future.     

高效液相色谱法同时快速检测腌腊肉制品中20种非法添加合成色素

采用亚3μm色谱柱建立了同时快速检测腌腊肉制品中20种非法添加合成色素的高效液相色谱法。样品经石油醚脱脂、乙醇-氨水-水(7∶2∶1)提取、钨酸钠溶液沉淀蛋白,采用Agilent Poroshell 120 EC C18(50 mm×4.6 mm,2.7μm)色谱柱以甲醇-0.02 mol/L乙酸铵(p H 5.5)为流动相梯度洗脱,二极管阵列检测器检测,外标法定量。结果表明,待测物可在17 min内实现完全分离。20种成分的质量浓度在0.15~20.0 mg/L范围内与峰面积呈线性关系,相关系数(r)大于0.998,方法的回收率为70.3%~107.9%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为0.5%~3.1%,检出限为0.1~0.2 mg/kg。与传统5μm色谱柱ACE C18(250 mm×4.6 mm,5μm)相比,本方法节约了62%的分析时间,并能在常规HPLC系统内使用,具有广阔的应用前景。     

氢化物发生–原子吸收光谱法测定铅粉中痕量砷、锑

建立氢化物发生–原子吸收光谱法联用测定铅粉中痕量砷、锑的方法。试样用稀硝酸溶解,用5%抗坏血酸溶液作为砷(Ⅴ)、锑(Ⅴ)的预还原剂,5%的硫脲溶液作为其它元素的掩蔽剂,选用1%硼氢化钠溶液作为还原剂,氢化物反应在10%盐酸介质中进行。在优化的试验条件下,砷、锑的质量浓度在0~20 ng/m L范围内与吸光度线性相关,相关系数r2分别为砷0.999 6,锑0.993 8,方法的检出限分别为砷0.40 ng/m L,锑0.75 ng/m L。砷、锑测定结果的相对标准偏差分别为4.96%,6.27%(n=6),铅粉样品加标回收率分别为砷87.6%,锑79.3%。该方法准确可靠,可用于测定铅粉中痕量砷、锑。     

新型低共熔溶剂的制备、表征及物性研究

以氯化1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑鎓([Bmim]Cl)和二元羧酸为原料,由不同摩尔比混合制备了一类新型低共熔溶剂,采用红外光谱对[Bmim]Cl和二元羧酸之间的作用进行了分析。分别测定了其粘度、电导率、密度、折射率等物理性质,并研究了温度、二元羧酸结构和摩尔比对这些物理性质的影响。结果表明,新型低共熔溶剂的粘度随温度的升高而降低,电导率随温度的升高而增加。温度对两者的影响可以采用VTF方程进行精确地拟合。新型低共熔溶剂的密度随温度的升高而呈线性下降。对新型低共熔溶剂的过量摩尔体积进行计算的结果表明,过量摩尔体积均为正值,二元羧酸对过量摩尔体积的贡献远大于[BMIM]Cl,而结构特性的贡献多于物理作用。折射率和密度随二元羧酸碳数的变化趋势基本相似。