Tantalum Nitride Nanosheets for Photoacoustic Imaging-Guided Photothermal Cancer Therapy

In this study, the synthesis of TaN nanosheets and their application in theranostic agents is reported. After coating polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the TaN nanosheets, the as-synthesized PEG-modified TaN nanosheets (TaN-PEG) show good stability and biocompatibility. Because of their high absorbance in the near-IR region, TaN-PEG can be utilized as photoacoustic imaging contrast agents for tumor imaging. Moreover, TaN-PEG has significant photothermal conversion performance, exhibiting effective laser-induced tumor ablation capability. The TaN-PEG possessing excellent photoacoustic contrast effect and photothermal properties thus have great promise in theranostic applications, especially imaging-guided cancer treatment.     

Control of a multigroup COVID-19 model with immunity: treatment and test elimination

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper introduces a multigroup COVID-19 model with immunity, in which the total population of each group is partitioned into five compartments, that is, susceptible,...     

基于气体浓度定量的嗅觉刺激器优化设计

现有的基于磁共振测量的嗅觉刺激器，通过调节嗅剂液体浓度的方法可以实现不同浓度的嗅觉刺激，但随着实验进行，受到嗅剂挥发以及实验环境（温度、湿度、气流量）变化的影响，很难确保输送至鼻腔的嗅剂气体浓度的稳定性，进而影响实验结果的准确性．本研究对本实验室前期开发的嗅觉刺激装置进行改进，实现了气体浓度精确定量．改进后的嗅觉刺激器主要分为三个部分：控制系统、反馈系统和气路系统．控制系统主要实现气路系统的送气控制和嗅剂气体浓度调节；反馈系统则负责对气体浓度进行测量；气路系统则在原有基础上添加活性炭装置，降低无关因素干扰．装置改进之后，不同气路切换时间为75.2 ms，比原装置减少了1 s，有效提高刺激精度．实验结果显示，气体浓度调节前，300 s内乙醇、吡啶、乙酸戊酯嗅剂气体浓度分别下降6.7%、71.4%、79.2%，嗅剂气体浓度短时间内发生较大改变．加入气体浓度调节功能后，当气体浓度下降至目标浓度的90%时，可通过调节气泵电压改变嗅剂气流与空气气流比例，从而调节嗅剂气体浓度至目标值，其中吡啶、乙酸戊酯用时13 s．     

Fully Chemical Recyclable Poly(γ-butyrolactone)-based Copolymers with Tunable Structures and Properties

Chinese Journal of Polymer Science - The emerging chemical recyclable polymers, such as poly(γ-butyrolactone) (PGBL) and poly((R)-3,4-trans six-membered ring-fused GBL) (P((R)-M)), provide a...     

From differential equation solvers to accelerated first-order methods for convex optimization

Mathematical Programming - Convergence analysis of accelerated first-order methods for convex optimization problems are developed from the point of view of ordinary differential equation solvers. A...     

新型多孔材料用作色谱手性固定相

手性固定相是色谱法分离分析手性化合物的关键。近年来,随着材料科学的迅速发展,越来越多的新型手性材料被作为色谱固定相用于手性分离分析。本文综述了近5年来液相色谱、气相色谱和毛细管电色谱领域的新型手性固定相的研究进展,重点总结了基于手性多孔材料的新型手性固定相研究,最后对手性固定相的研究进行了总结与展望。     

Highly Stable Univalent Copper of a Cu@Al/SBA-15 Nanocomposite Catalyzes the Synthesis of Fluorescent Aminobenzotriazoles Derivatives

With the development of green chemistry, it is still a challenge to maintain the unstable valence state of the metal in heterogeneous catalysts and realize new catalytic synthesis methods. In this paper, it is reported that an univalent copper nanocomposite (Cu@Al/SBA-15) can efficiently catalyze the formation of novel amino-containing benzotriazoles with great fluorescence properties in a new synthetic strategy. Subsequently, its application is further verified by an acylation reaction to produce a series of novel benzotriazoles derivatives with high yield. It is worth noting that the Cu@Al/SBA-15 nanocomposites not only enable the reaction completed with high yield in a short time, but can also be recycled many times without a significant reduction in activity, and the leaching of copper and aluminum species in reaction system is negligible. Finally, the detailed and feasible reaction mechanism is also provided.     

Topical application of zein-silk sericin nanoparticles loaded with curcumin for improved therapy of dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is characterized by leukocyte migration into the skin dermis and typically driven by excessive chemokine production at the site of inflammation. Conventional topical formulations such as gels, creams, and ointments are insufficient for this treatment because of low penetration of drug molecules into the targeted skin tissues. Herein, using a simple, green, sustainable strategy, we have developed novel primary zein nanoparticles embedded in curcumin (Cur) and coated with silk sericin (ZHSCs) for the topical delivery of Cur to penetrate into the dermis and exercise anti-dermatitis effects on the lesion with minimal side-effects. Transdermal delivery experiments and porcine skin fluorescence imaging indicated that ZHSCs facilitate the penetration of Cur across the epidermis layer of skin to reach deep-seated sites. Notably, ZHSCs = 1:0.25 (zein-to-silk sericin mass ratios of 1:0.25) markedly elevated the skin permeability and cumulative turnover of Cur transferred, which were provided a greater than a 3.8-fold increase relative to free Cur. The special nanoparticles of ZHS = 1:0.25 possessed the deepest localization depth and experience a transition of the particle structure and core-shell separation after penetrating into the dermis of skin. In a cell model of dermatitis induced by tumor necrosis factor α/interferon γ co-stimulation, compared with free Cur, Cur-loaded ZHS nanoparticles down-regulated the generation of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in keratinocytes through suppression of the nuclear translocation of NF-κBp65 and hence exerted an anti-dermatitis effect. This strategy may provide new avenues and direction for the demanding issues of valid topical delivery systems.     

Bicomponent Cocatalyst Decoration on Flux-assisted CaTaO2N Single Crystals for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction under Visible Light

Cubic-like CaTaO₂N photocatalysts with high crystallinity and uniform particle size were successfully prepared by the flux-assisted nitridation method. The growth of CaTaO₂N single crystals under different synthesis conditions was systematically investigated to understand the effects of the crystallinity and optical property on photocatalytic performance of CO₂ reduction. Moreover, the modification of CaTaO₂N single crystals with core-shell Ni−Ag bicomponent cocatalyst by two-step decoration process gave a 2.4 times higher amount of CO evolution than the deposition of sole Ag cocatalyst, because of the synergistic effects of bicomponent cocatalyst on the interfacial electron transfer and surface catalytic process. This study provides a valuable way to construct high-crystalline photocatalysts with effective bicomponent cocatalyst for visible-light-driven CO₂ reduction with H₂O.