Enantioselective Diels–Alder reactions with left-handed G-quadruplex DNA-based catalysts

Since the discovery of left-handed G-quadruplex (L-G4) structure formed by natural DNA, there has been a growing interest in its potential functions. This study utilised it to catalyse enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions, considering its different optical rotation compared to an ordinary G4. It was determined that when L-G4 was used with a combination of copper(II) ions, there was a good enantioselectivity (?52% ee) without further addition of ligands. When further consideration was given by adding G4 ligands, G4 was further stabilised, even obtaining a better enantioselectivity (up to ?80% ee). Moreover, when using ligands that have regulatory effects on G4, the ee value can be adjusted. In this work, a minimal left-handed G4 was reported. A follow-up study was also conducted, which recovers that the minimal left-handed G4 remains its catalytic effect and enantioselectivity, but is not so effective as the former case. This indicates that a complete G4 structure is relatively conducive to chiral catalysis.     

In situ vaccination and gene-mediated PD-L1 blockade for enhanced tumor immunotherapy

Despite of the promising achievements of immune checkpoints blockade therapy (ICB) in the clinic, which was often limited by low objective responses and severe side effects. Herein, we explored a synergistic strategy to combine in situ vaccination and gene-mediated anti-PD therapy, which was generated by unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) and pshPD-L1 gene co-delivery. PEI worked as the delivery carrier to co-deliver the CpG and pshPD-L1 genes, the formed PDC (PEI/DNA/CpG) nanoparticles were further shielded by aldehyde modified polyethylene glycol (OHC-PEG-CHO) via pH responsive Schiff base reaction for OHC-PEG-CHO-PEI/DNA/CpG nanoparticles (P(PDC) NPs) preparation. All steps could be finished within 30 min. Such simple nanoparticles achieved the synergistic antitumor efficacy in B16F10 tumor-bearing mice, and the amplified T cell responses, together with enhanced NK cells infiltration were observed after the combined treatments. In addition, the pH responsive delivery system reduced the side effects triggered by anti-PD therapy. The facile and effective combination strategy we presented here might provide a novel treatment for tumor inhibition.     

CO2 and photo-controlled reversible conversion of supramolecular assemblies based on water soluble pillar[5]arene and coumarin-containing guest

In this communication,a new supramolecualr amphiphile was successfully constructed based on water soluble pillar[5]arene and a unique guest which contain a CO₂ responsive tertiary amine unit and a UV responsive coumarin group.When guest molecule 1 dispersed in water,it self-assembled into sheet-like structures.Upon bubbling CO₂,1 transformed into 1 H due to the tertiary amine unit was protonated,accompany the nano-sheets transformed into vesicles.Further irradiation of 1 H with 365 nm light for 3 h,the coumarin group reacted with each other to form bola-type amphiphie 2 H.In this case,vesicles collapsed and re-assembled into nano-tubes.However,when addition of WPS into the solution of 1 H,the vesicles transformed into micelles,this is due to the formation of supramolecular amphiphile WP5&1 H.Upon irradiation of WP5&1 H with 365 nm light for 3 h,nano-ribbons observed instead of micelles in the solution.Notably,nanotubes from 2 H could also transform into nano-ribbons after adding WPS.The selfassembly process and the resultant assemblies were characterized by TEM,SEM,DLS,SAXS and NMR technologies.Due to both CO₂ and light are "green" for living organisms,we anticipated our system can offer the possibilities in "on demand" drug absorption and release.     

Microplasma electrochemistry (MIPEC) strategy for accelerating the synthesis of metal organic frameworks at room temperature

Metal organic frameworks(MOFs) are a kind of promising materials in many applications,while the fast and controllable synthesis of MOFs is still challenging.Here,taking HKUST-1 as illustration,a microplasma electrochemistry(MIPEC) strategy was developed to accelerate the synthesis process of MOFs with micro-plasma acting as cathode.Treating the HKUST-1 precursor solution with micro-plasma cathode could not only transfer the electrons into the solution leading to the deprotonation effect,but also generate radical species to trigger and accelerate the nucleation and growth of MOFs at the plasmaliquid interface.Thus,uniform and nanosize MOFs could be prepared within minutes.The obtained MOFs show similar excellent uranium adsorption properties compared with those obtained by other method,with a highly adsorption capability of uranium with 550 mg/g in minutes.The novel MIPEC strategy developed in this work provides an alternative for controllable synthesis of MOFs,and especially has potential application in accelerating traditional organic synthesis.     

Ruthenium nanoclusters anchored on cobalt phosphide hollow microspheres by green phosphating process for full water splitting in acidic electrolyte

Transition metal phosphide(TMP) based electrocatalysts possessing special crystal and electronic structures attract broad attention in the field of electrocatalysis.Immense effort is made to optimize TMP catalysts aiming to satisfy the electrochemical catalysis performance.In this work,an environmentally friendly in situ green phosphating strategy and spatial limiting effect of the RuCo precursor is employed to fabricate the ruthenium nanoclusters anchored on cobalt phosphide hollow microspheres(Ru NCs/Co₂P HMs).The obtained Ru NCs/Co₂P HMs electrocatalysts exhibit high hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) activity at wide pH ranges,which require an overpotential of 77 mV to achieve the current density of 10 mA/cm² in 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄ and 118 mV in 1.0 mol/L KOH.Besides,the multifunctional Ru NCs/Co₂P HMs exhibit good oxygen evolution reaction(OER) activity with an overpotential of 197 mV to reach the current density of 10 mA/cm² in 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄,which is below that of the commercial RuO₂ electrocatalyst(248 mV).A two-electrode electrolyzer is assembled as well,in acid electrolyte,it achieves a current density of 10 mA/cm² at a voltage of 1.53 V,which is superior to that of the benchmark of precious metal-based electrolyzer(1.58 V).     

Circumvent PEGylation dilemma by implementing matrix metalloproteinase-responsive chemistry for promoted tumor gene therapy

Surface modification by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEGylation) has been acknowledged as a powerful strategy in minimizing non-specific reactions for biomedical devices. Once applied into manufacture of drug/gene delivery systems, PEGylation has demonstrated to significantly improve their biocompatibility and stealthiness in physiological environment. Nonetheless, reluctant cell membrane affinities thus cellular uptake efficiencies owing to PEGylation brought up further issues that are imperative to be resolved. Pertain to this PEGylation dilemma, we attempted to introduce peptide (GPLGVRG) linkage between block copolymer of PEG-poly{N'-[N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl]aspartamide} PAsp(DET), wherein the cationic PAsp(DET) could self-assemble with pDNA into nanoscaled complex core. Noteworthy was the peptide linkage whose amino acids sequence could be specifically recognized and degraded by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) (overexpressed in extracellular milieu of tumors). Therefore, our subsequent studies validated facile detachment of PEGylation from the aforementioned polyplex micelles upon treatment of MMPs, which elicited improved cytomembrane affinities and cellular uptake efficiencies. In addition, promoted escape from endosome entrapment was also confirmed through direct endosome membrane destabilization by PAsp(DET), which was further elucidated to be attributable to dePEGylation as well as elevated charged density of PAsp(DET) in acidic endosomes. These benefits from dePEGylation eventually contributed to promoted gene expression at the affected cells and potent tumor growth suppression based on anti-angiogenic approach. Therefore, our developed strategy has provided a facile approach in overcoming the dilemma of PEGylation, which could be informative in design of drug/gene delivery systems.     

用于宽谱带发射白色发光二极管的黄色荧光粉Sr8MgAl(PO4)7∶xEu2+的制备及发光性能

通过高温固相反应合成了一系列宽谱带发射黄色荧光粉Sr_8MgAl(PO_4)_7∶x Eu~(2+)(SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)),并对其物质结构、发光性能及其在白色发光二极管(WLED)领域的应用进行了探究。X射线衍射(XRD)测试结果表明,SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)系列荧光粉具有单斜结构和C2/m空间群,激活剂Eu~(2+)离子能够很好地进入SMAP基质中并占据Sr~(2+)离子的晶格位点。漫反射光谱分析显示SMAP基质属于宽带隙材料,带隙宽度为3.60 e V。此外,SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)具有较宽的激发范围(280～500 nm),对应于Eu~(2+)离子的4f~7→4f~65d~1跃迁;在380 nm近紫外光激发下,呈现出450～800 nm的多发光中心的非对称黄光发射,发射峰位于590 nm处。基于高斯多峰拟合结果,得到3个发光中心,分别位于528、600和680 nm。最后,将已制备的黄色荧光粉SMAP∶0.05Eu~(2+)与商业化蓝粉Ba Mg Al_(10)O_(17)∶Eu~(2+)混合涂覆到400 nm芯片上制得色温较好(3 344 K)、显色指数较高(90.1)的WLED。     

Nanotechnology for diagnosis and therapy of rheumatoid arthritis: Evolution towards theranostic approaches

Rheumatoid arthritis(RA),as a chronic autoimmune disease,damages the bone and cartilage of patients,and even leads to disability.Therefore,the diagnosis and treatment of RA is particularly important.However,due to the complexity of RA,it is difficult to make effective early diagnosis of RA,which is detrimental to RA treatment.Besides,long-term intake of anti-RA drugs can also cause damage to patients' organs.The emergence of nanotechnology provides the new train of thoughts for the diagnosis and treatment of RA.And the combination of diagnosis and therapy is an ideal method to solve the problem of disease management of RA patients.In this review,we summarize the mechanism and microenvironment of RA,discuss the commonly used diagnostic techniques and therapeutic drugs for RA,and review their advantages and disadvantages.New nanotherapy strategies such as drug-carrying nanoparticles,PTT,PDT are listed,and their applications in RA treatment are also summarized.In addition,multimodal imaging,combined therapy and responsive diagnosis and treatment are also summarized as important contents.At last,we also review typical nanocarriers that can be used in the integration of diagnosis and therapy,and discussed their potential applications in RA theranostics.     

Rapid and label-free classification of pathogens based on light scattering,reduced power spectral features and support vector machine

The rapid identification of pathogens is crucial in controlling the food quality and safety. The proposed system for the rapid and label-free identification of pathogens is based on the principle of laser scattering from the bacterial microbes. The clinical prototype consists of three parts: the laser beam, photodetectors, and the data acquisition system. The bacterial testing sample was mixed with 10 mL distilled water and placed inside the machine chamber. When the bacterial microbes pass by the laser beam, the scattering of light occurs due to variation in size, shape, and morphology. Due to this reason, different types of pathogens show their unique light scattering patterns. The photo-detectors were arranged at the surroundings of the sample at different angles to collect the scattered light. The photodetectors convert the scattered light intensity into a voltage waveform. The waveform features were acquired by using the power spectral characteristics, and the dimensionality of extracted features was reduced by applying minimal-redundancy-maximal-relevance criterion (mRMR). A support vector machine (SVM) classifier was developed by training the selected power spectral features for the classification of three different bacterial microbes. The resulting average identification accuracies of E. faecalis,E. coli and S. aureus were 99%, 87%, and 94%, respectively. The overall experimental results yield a higher accuracy of 93.6%, indicating that the proposed device has the potential for label-free identification of pathogens with simplicity, rapidity, and cost-effectiveness.     

纳米晶枝CuAu 合金催化剂对二氧化碳电催化还原性能的研究

利用可再生清洁能源将CO₂转化为CO和其他小分子是合成含碳燃料的可观方法之一。间歇性可再生能源存储的重要策略之一是将二氧化碳进行电化学还原。选择具有高活性和稳定性的电催化剂对于电化学还原CO₂至关重要。在这项研究中,我们使用简单的电沉积方法合成了具有纳米晶枝状结构的CuAu合金电极。各项表征显示原子比约为1:1的CuAu纳米枝晶对CO₂的电化学还原具有出色的催化活性。合成的主要产物是H₂和CO,这是合成气体是合成天然气,氨和甲醇合成的中间体。电化学阻抗谱（EIS）测量表明,相对于Cu和Au电沉积催化剂,CuAu纳米晶枝状催化剂具有相对低的电荷转移阻力。CuAu纳米枝晶催化剂是一种具有潜在的转化CO₂为合成气体的高活性电催化剂。