Spectrum–effect relationship of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Laportea bulbifera based on multivariate statistical analysis

Laportea bulbifera, named Hong He Ma in Chinese, is a Chinese herbal medicine commonly used by the Miao nationality of China. In this study, 43 batches of L. bulbifera were collected from different origins in China. Ethanol, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether were used to prepare different extracts of the plant. UHPLC technique was used to establish the fingerprints, whereas DPPH assay and RAW264.7 inflammatory cell models were used to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, respectively. Moreover, the spectrum–effect relationship between relative peak area of common peaks and efficacy value was set up by multivariate statistical analysis. Furthermore, 10 batches were selected randomly for validation of those models. The results showed that ethyl acetate and petroleum ether extracts possess excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, respectively. Peaks A₆ and A₇ demonstrated the greatest antioxidant activity, while peak A₁₇ showed the strongest anti-inflammatory activity. After a verified experiment, the result was obtained and illustrated that the spectrum–effect relationship which we established could reliably infer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds of the Chinese herbal medicine.     

Superparamagnetic Composite Nanobeads Anchored with Molecular Glues for Ultrasensitive Label-free Proteomics

Mass spectrometry has emerged as a mainstream technique for label-free proteomics. However, proteomic coverage for trace samples is constrained by adsorption loss during repeated elution at sample pretreatment. Here, we demonstrated superparamagnetic composite nanoparticles functionalized with molecular glues (MGs) to enrich proteins in trace human biofluid. We showed high protein binding (>95 %) and recovery (≈90 %) rates by anchor-nanoparticles. We further proposed a Streamlined Workflow based on Anchor-nanoparticles for Proteomics (SWAP) method that enabled unbiased protein capture, protein digestion and pure peptides elution in one single tube. We demonstrated SWAP to quantify over 2500 protein groups with 100 HEK 293T cells. We adopted SWAP to profile proteomics with trace aqueous humor samples from cataract (n=15) and wet age-related macular degeneration (n=8) patients, and quantified ≈1400 proteins from 5 μL aqueous humor. SWAP simplifies sample preparation steps, minimizes adsorption loss and improves protein coverage for label-free proteomics with previous trace samples.     

Enhancement of SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/BiPO<Subscript>4</Subscript> heterostructure for simulated organic wastewater degradation under UV light irradiation

A novel SrTiO₃/BiPO₄ heterostructure with different amounts of SrTiO₃ have been successfully prepared through the hydrothermal process. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by degrading the methylene blue dye solution under UV light. Results showed that the samples displayed excellent photocatalytic degradation efficiency due to the highly efficient suppression of the recombination of electron–hole pairs. A possible mechanism of SrTiO₃/BiPO₄ heterojunctions was discussed. The research indicated that the as-prepared SrTiO₃/BiPO₄ heterogeneous photocatalyst can be used as an effective material for degrading industrial organic wastewater.     

原位透射电镜研究正交相五氧化二铌纳米片的电化学储钠机制

由于正交相五氧化二铌(T-Nb₂O₅)为ReO₃型层状结构,锂、钠离子可以在其(001)平面快速脱嵌,而在[001]方向的传输一般较难。本研究通过原位透射电子显微镜(Transmission Electron Microscope,TEM)方法研究钠在T-Nb₂O₅纳米片(001)面内及[001]方向的钠离子电化学嵌入行为,发现由于纳米片晶体存在大量的位错和畴界,钠离子可通过这些缺陷穿越(001)面扩散,并进而在深层的(001)面内快速扩散。同时,本研究还发现刚合成的T-Nb₂O₅纳米片在[001]方向上存在调制结构,存在交替分布的压应变和张应变区域,而钠离子的嵌入可以调节这些应变分布。     

A new method for preparing TiO2 catalyst honeycombs without sintering

Composite catalyst honeycombs without sintering were prepared via kneading, mulling, extrusion molding, and solidifying at room temperature with the magnesite oxychloride gels modified by nano-rice husk ash (RHA) as a solidifying agent. The effects of nano-RHA and composite water-resistant agents on the water resistance of magnesite materials were studied. The solidification of the modified magnesite gels on TiO₂ catalyst honeycombs was analyzed. The experiments show that the proportional addition of nano-RHA markedly increases the water resistance of magnesite materials without reducing the bending strength, and the softening coefficient increases from 0.29 to 0.78. With further addiition of the complex water-resistant agents, the softening coefficient increases from 0.78 to 0.97. The optimal mass ratio of MgO in the solidifying agent to TiO₂ is 4:1, and the bending strength of unsintered catalyst honeycombs is 11.46 MPa. The desulfurization rate and denitration rate of this composite catalyst honeycomb on simulation smoke was 97 and 65 %, respectively, in 3 h.     

Novel chiral thiazoline‐containing N―O ligands in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes: substituent effect on the enantioselectivity

Several novel chiral thiazoline primary and tertiary alcohols were easily synthesized from commercially available l ‐cysteine in three steps and with high yield. These ligands were subsequently applied to the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc (Et₂Zn) to various aldehydes. Products with S configuration were obtained when thiazoline‐containing tertiary alcohol ligands were used as catalysts. The primary alcohol induced corresponding products with R configuration in 68% enantiomeric excess, which was a higher value relative to other N―O ligands possessing a primary alcohol unit in the literature. Furthermore, a plausible transition state model was proposed to explain the observed enantioselectivities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of carbon dots with a tunable photoluminescence and their applications for the detection of acetone and hydrogen peroxide

Carbon dots(CDs) with multi-color emissive properties and a high photoluminescent quantum yield(PLQY) have attracted great attention recently due to their potential applications in chemical,environmental,biological and photo-electronic fields.Solvent-dependent effect in photoluminescence provides a facial and effective approach to tune the emission of CDs.In this study,green emissive nitrogen-doped carbon dots(N-CDs) are synthesized from p-hydroquinone and ethylenediamine through a simple hydrothermal method.The as-prepared N-CDs possess a robust excitation-independent green luminescence and a high PLQY of up to 15.9%.Further spectroscopic characterization indicates that the high PLQY is achieved by the balance of nitrogen doping states and the surface passivation extent in CDs.The N-CDs also exhibit solvent-dependent multi-color emissive property and distinct PLQY in different solvents(the maximum can reach up to 25.3%).Furthermore,the as-prepared N-CDs are applied as fluorescence probes to detect acetone and H2O2 in water.This method has exhibited a low detection limit of acetone(less than 0.1 %) and a quick and linear response to the H_2O_2 with the concentration from 0 to 120 μmol/L.This work broadens the knowledge of applying CDs as probes in the bio and chemical sensing fields.