Recent advances in microbial fuel cell-based toxicity biosensors: Strategies for enhanced toxicity response

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been extensively studied as self-powered toxicity biosensors; however, their applications are limited by the relatively poor toxicity responses. The toxicity responses are known to be related to the factors such as the resistance of species to toxicants, the bioavailability of toxicants and the type of sensing elements. Accordingly, some strategies have already been proposed to enhance the toxicity responses in the past several years, including the external resistance tuning, quorum sensing effect, shear stress control, nutrient level control, electrode material choice, sensing element choice, and cell configuration design. This work introduces and discusses these strategies, and the suggestion for future work is also provided finally.     

一步法高通量可控制备生物相容水/水微囊及其响应释放

生物相容水/水微囊在药物递送、 医学治疗等领域具有重要应用. 本文通过设计同轴微流控器件, 结合数值模拟优化和流动阻力分析, 实现一步法高通量可控制备大小均匀、 尺寸可控、 壁厚可调、 生物相容的水/水微囊. 采用实验研究和数值模拟相结合的方式, 研究了微流控器件结构、 内相流速、 外相流速、 外相/空气界面张力、 内相/外相界面张力、 内相黏度和外相黏度等参数对水/水微囊直径和壁厚的调控规律. 通过微通道流动阻力分析, 设计多通道平行放大微流控器件, 实现尺寸均匀可控水/水微囊的高通量制备. 验证了生物相容水/水微囊作为活性物质的理想载体, 可以通过改变pH或溶解囊壁释放载体, 进而实现活性物质的pH响应释放, 为其实际应用奠定了基础.     

Study on the nanoscale current of ZnO film by photoassisted peak force tunnel atomic force: A novel technique for UV detection

ZnO film-based ultraviolet (UV) detector was fabricated by photoassisted peak force tunnel atomic force (PFTUNA) on fluorine tin oxide (FTO) substrate. The PFTUNA current in dark and in UV light was ~0.1 and 2.0 nA, respectively. The UV sensitivity (photocurrent/dark current) is more than 20. The response time and the recovery time are ~0.12 and 0.32 s, respectively. The UV sensing mechanism is that the holes will transport to the ZnO surface to capture the adsorbed oxygen ions to weaken the depletion layer under UV illumination. The PFTUNA current between the tip and the ZnO film is consistent with the Richardson–Schottky (RS) thermionic emission model.     

Synthesis and Antibacterial Activity of Selenium-functionalized Poly(ε-caprolactone)

A selenium-functionalizedε-caprolactone was synthesized by introducing a phenyl selenide group at the 7-position.A polymer was obtained through the ring-opening polymerization of this monomer in a base/thiourea binary organocatalytic system.A living polymerization process was achieved under mild conditions.The resulting polymers had a controlled molecular weight with a narrow molecular weight distributions and high end-group fidelity.Random copolymers could be obtained by copolymerizing this monomer withε-caprolactone.The thermal degradation temperature of the obtained copolymers decreased with the increasing molar ratio of selenide functionalized monomer in copolymers,while the glass transition temperature increased.In addition,the phenyl selenide side group could be further modified to a polyselenonium salt,which resulted in a polymer with good antibacterial properties.The survival rate of E.coli and S.aureus was only 9%with a polymer concentration of 62.5μg/mL.     

Ni基乙烷脱氢催化剂的性能及其改进

过渡金属Ni是地球上储量丰富的金属元素, 在加氢脱硫、重整制氢等催化领域应用非常广泛, 但是关于Ni基催化剂在烷烃脱氢方面的研究较少; 因此, 本工作采用不同的方法, 制备了三种结构的Ni基负载催化剂, 即尖晶石分解型、浸渍型和钙钛矿析出型, 并在700 ℃、C₂H₆-N₂气氛中和50 mL•min^-1气体流速下, 探索了它们的乙烷脱氢性能. 结果表明: 尖晶石分解型催化剂Ni_1-xCu_xCr₂O₄还原后在Cr₂O₃表面形成Ni-Cu合金颗粒, 能有效钝化Ni的C—C键断裂活性, 提高乙烯的选择性. Ni含量过高时, Ni不能有效地分散而形成大的金属团簇, 造成乙烷过度裂解, 乙烯选择性较低. 浸渍负载型催化剂Ni_xM_y/Al₂O₃ (M为Cu或Ag) 比表面积大, 表面活性位点分散, 但活性金属与载体结合力弱, 在高温下不稳定; Cu或Ag与Ni形成合金, 可有效提高乙烯选择性, Ag较Cu的效果更佳. 钙钛矿析出型催化剂LaCr_1-xNi_xO₃(LCNi-100x)在还原气氛中析出均匀细小的Ni颗粒, 其与基体结合力强, 抗积碳性能和稳定性较高; 含15% Ni的LCNi-15还原后(R-LCNi-15)表现出最好的催化性能, 乙烯产率最高(24%), 同时具有较好的抗积碳性能和稳定性以及氧化再生性.     

A novel approach to synthesize dichlorobenzonitriles by selective ammoxidation

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Dichlorobenzonitriles are important organic intermediates for the production of many fine chemicals and are produced most economically and environment-friendly...     

三唑环修饰的苯并菲二羧酸酯和酰亚胺: 合成、液晶及凝胶性

在盘状液晶分子外围柔性链中引入功能不同的基团, 是设计和合成具有良好液晶性能化合物的常用策略. 本工作从苯并菲2,3-二甲酸和酸酐出发, 通过亲核取代和点击反应, 分别合成了两类三唑环修饰的苯并菲二羧酸酯和苯并菲酰亚胺化合物. 热重分析仪(TGA)测试表明, 新制备的主要中间产物与目标化合物失重为5%时的温度在274~389 ℃之间, 均表现出良好的热稳定性. 我们通过差示扫描量热法(DSC)、偏光显微镜(POM)和变温X射线衍射(XRD)实验对这些化合物的热力学行为和介晶性进行了研究. 除三唑环修饰的酯3a和3b无液晶性外, 主要中间产物(2和5)与三唑环修饰的酰亚胺产物(6a和6b)均有一个六方柱状液晶相. 此外, 制备的以三唑为桥联基团的酰亚胺二聚体10为室温液晶, 具有173 ℃的液晶范围. XRD证实了该二聚体中存在有序度不同的两种柱状液晶相(Col_h1和Col_h2). 另外, 由于三唑环的引入, 三唑环修饰的酯类和酰亚胺两类化合物在某些有机溶剂中都能形成有机凝胶. 其中, 二聚体10在1,2-二氯乙烷和1,4-二氧六环中表现出优异的凝胶能力, 其临界凝胶浓度(CGC)可低至1 mg/mL. 相比之下, 不含三唑环的中间产物2和5则不能形成凝胶, 表明三唑环之间的偶极-偶极作用和液晶刚性核π-π堆积的协同作用对于超分子凝胶的形成起着重要的作用. 因此, 同时表现出液晶和凝胶性质的三唑环修饰的苯并菲2,3-二酰亚胺分子具有成为一种多功能材料的潜在应用价值.     

A Mesoionic Diselenolene Anion and the Corresponding Radical Dianion

Dichalcogenolenes are archetypal redox non-innocent ligands with numerous applications. Herein, a diselenolene ligand with fundamentally different electronic properties is described. A mesoionic diselenolene was prepared by selenation of a C2-protected imidazolium salt. This ligand is diamagnetic, which is in contrast to the paramagnetic nature of standard dichalcogenolene monoanions. The new ligand is also redox-active, as demonstrated by isolation of a stable diselenolene radical dianion. The unique electronic properties of the new ligand give rise to unusual coordination chemistry. Thus, preparation of a hexacoordinate aluminum tris(diselenolene) complex and a Lewis acidic aluminate complex with two ligand-centered unpaired electrons was achieved.     

Two New CPA-Type Indole Alkaloids from the Tobacco-Derived Fungus Aspergillus versicolor and the Anti-TMV Activity

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - Two new CPA-type indole alkaloids (1 and 2) were isolated from the fungus Aspergillus versicolor. Their structures were determined by means of HR-ESI-MS and...     

A poly-dopamine based metal-organic framework coating of the type PDA-MIL-53(Fe) for ultrasound-assisted solid-phase microextraction of polychlorinated biphenyls prior to their determination by GC-MS

The authors describe an ultrasonic-assisted headspace method for solid phase micro-extraction (UA-HS-SPME) of 7 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with codes PCB28, PCB52, PCB101, PCB118, PCB138, PCB153 and PCB180. The coating is based on a poly-dopamine metal-organic framework [PDA-MIL-53(Fe)] on a stainless steel wire. The coating can be prepared and evenly deposited on the stainless fiber by dipping the PDA fiber into a solution of MIL-53(Fe). The assay is also environmentally friendly because water is used as the solvent. The effects of extraction time, addition of salts, pH value and power of ultrasonic power were optimized. The coating is found to possess a high selectivity and adsorption capacity for PCBs compared to commercial SPME fibers such as the divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane fibers. Following desorption, the PCBs were quantified by GC-MS. The detection limits are between 50 and 90 pg?g^?1 of PCBs in soil. The fibers can be easily prepared, and the batch-to-batch reproducibility (RDS) is <10% (for n = 6). The fibers are inexpensive, re-usable and can be easily manipulated, and particularly well suited for screening polychlorinated biphenyls in soil.

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Graphical abstract Schematic of the preparation of an extraction fiber using stainless steel wire as substrate, PDA as adhesive, and MIL-53(Fe) as the adsorbent. It was applied to the extraction of PCBs from soil. The fiber is durable and inexpensive.