Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Euphorbia milii leaf constituents: Characterization and improved photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye under natural sunlight

A facile biosynthesis route was followed to prepare zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Euphorbia milii (E. milii) leaf constituents. The SEM images exhibited presence of spherical ZnO NPs and the corresponding TEM images disclosed monodisperse nature of the ZnO NPs with diameter ranges between 12 and 20 nm. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis revealed that the ZnO NPs have specific surface area of 20.46 m²/g with pore diameter of 2 nm–10 nm and pore volume of 0.908 cm³/g. The EDAX spectrum exemplified the existence of Zn and O elements and non-appearance of impurities that confirmed pristine nature of the ZnO NPs. The XRD pattern indicated crystalline peaks corresponding to hexagonal wurtzite structured ZnO with an average crystallite size of 16.11 nm. The FTIR spectrum displayed strong absorption bands at 512 and 534 cm^?1 related to ZnO. The photocatalytic action of ZnO NPs exhibited noteworthy degradation of methylene blue dye under natural sunlight illumination. The maximum degradation efficiency achieved was 98.17% at an illumination period of 50 min. The reusability study proved considerable photostability of the ZnO NPs during photocatalytic experiments. These findings suggest that the E. milii leaf constituents can be utilized as suitable biological source to synthesis ZnO NPs for photocatalytic applications.     

Injectable Micromotor@Hydrogel System for Antibacterial Therapy

The drug delivery system based on nano/micromotors has become a research hot spot in recent years. However, naked micromotors may be ruptured or passivated under the complex biological environment, which will result in the leakage of drugs in advance or limited self-propulsion performance. Herein, an injectable micromotor@hydrogel drug delivery system to protect micromotors from the external environment is proposed. The micromotors were prepared through layer-by-layer assembly technology. The asymmetric decomposition of hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by the locally distributed platinum nanoparticles enabled efficient propulsion of the micromotors in low concentration of hydrogen peroxide. In order to protect micromotors, they were loaded into the Schiff base hydrogel. The micromotor@hydrogel system can be injected directly into the lesion to release micromotors in response to the environment, reducing external influence on micromotors and improving the sustained-release effect. Erythromycin (Ery) loaded into the micromotors and the micromotor@hydrogel system demonstrated excellent antibacterial effect. Micromotors released from the hydrogel underwent enhanced diffusion in the surroundings of bacteria without addition of exogenous hydrogen peroxide, which was manifested by their appearance in edge of the inhibition zone. The proposed micromotor@hydrogel drug delivery system offers a new strategy for the treatment of bacterial infections.     

Solvent- and Substrate-Induced Chiroptical Inversion in Amphiphilic,Biocompatible Glycoconjugate Supramolecules: Shape-Persistent Gelation,Self-Healing,and Antibacterial Activity

We have shown solvent- and substrate-dependent chiral inversion of a few glycoconjugate supramolecules. (Z)-F-Gluco, in which d -glucosamine has been attached chemically to Cbz-protected l -phenylalanine at the C terminus, forms a self-healing hydrogel through intertwining of the nanofibers wherein the gelators undergo lamellar packing in the β-sheet secondary structures with a single chiral handedness. Dihybrid (Z)-F-gluco nanocomposite gel was prepared by in-situ formation of silver nanoparticles AgNPs in the gel; this enhances the mechanical properties of the composite gel through physical crosslinking without altering the packing pattern. In contrast, (Z)-L-gluco bearing an l -leucine moiety does not form a hydrogel but an organogel. Interestingly, the chiral handedness of the aggregates of (Z)-L-gluco can be reversed by choosing suitable solvents. In addition to self-healing behavior, (Z)-L-gluco gel revealed shape persistency. Further, (Z)-F-gluco hydrogel is benign, nontoxic, non-immunogenic, and non-allergenic in animal cells. AgNP-loaded (Z)-F-gluco hydrogel showed antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.     

两个基于2,5-二甲氧基对苯二甲酸和咪唑衍生物的超分子钴配位聚合物的结构及光催化反应

本文以咪唑衍生物为配体,通过水热合成法与钴离子制备出两个配位聚合物:{[Co(DTA)(1,4-DIB)(H₂O)]·H₂O}_n(1)和[Co(DTA)(1,3-BMIB)]_n(2)(1,4-DIB=1,4-二(1H-咪唑-1-基)苯; 1,3-BMIB=1,3-二(4-甲基-1H-咪唑-1-基)苯;H₂DTA=2,5-二甲氧基对苯二甲酸)。利用X射线单晶衍射、粉末衍射、热失重、元素分析、红外光谱以及固体紫外-可见光谱等对两个配合物进行了表征。结构分析证实配合物1和2是通过二维结构堆积成的三维超分子化合物。粉末衍射测试则显示两个配合物在水中有很好的稳定性。固体紫外-可见光谱显示两个配合物属半导体材料,对紫外-可见光有很强的吸收作用。在光催化实验中,配合物1和2可加快亚甲基蓝的降解速度。     

Polymeric Carbon Nitride-based Single Atom Photocatalysts for CO2 Reduction to C1 Products

Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ fuels is considered to be an important way for alleviating increasingly serious energy crisis and environmental pollution. Due to the environment-friendly, simple preparation, easy formation of highly-stable metal-nitrogen(M-N_x) coordination bonds, and suitable band structure, polymeric carbon nitride-based single-atom catalysts(C₃N₄-based SACs) are expected to become a potential for CO₂ reduction under visible-light irradiation. In this review, we summarize the recent advancement on C₃N₄-based SACs for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ products, including the reaction mechanism for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ products, the structure and synthesis methods of C₃N₄-based SACs and their applications toward photocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction(CO₂RR) for C₁ production. The current challenges and future opportunities of C₃N₄-based SACs for photoreduction of CO₂ are also discussed.     

Synthesis and in vitro antifungal activity of selenium-containing chitin derivatives

Mild and ‘green’ ultrasound-assisted reaction of chitin with 3-(chloromethyl)[1,2,4]selenadiazolo[4,5-a]pyridin-4-ium bromide in water affords novel selenium-containing cationic chitin derivatives. The thus obtained chitin derivatives are water soluble and are characterized by high in vitro antifungal activity comparable with conventional antifungal drug Amphotericin B.     

对氯苯甲酸构筑的铜(Ⅱ)配合物的合成、HSA结合及细胞毒性

本文合成了配合物[Cu(pcba)₂·(phen)(H₂O)] (pcba =对氯苯甲酸,phen = 1,10-邻菲罗啉),该配合物属于三斜晶系,P1空间群,晶胞参数为a=0.790 98(2) nm,b=1.072 40(4) nm,c=1.487 19(6) nm,α=100.613(3)°,β=95.239(3)°,γ=108.334(3)°,Z=2,D_c=1.638 g·cm^-3,F(000)=582,最终结构残差因子R₁=0.035 9,wR₂=0.089 1。采用紫外及荧光研究了配合物和人血清蛋白(HSA)的相互作用方式。结果表明,配合物静态猝灭HSA荧光,可求得配合物与HSA的猝灭常数K_sv=2.35×10⁵ L·mol^-1,猝灭速率常数K_q=2.35×10¹³ L·mol^-1·s^-1,结合常数为K_a=2.14×10¹³ L·mol^-1,结合位点n=2.37。同时,研究了配合物对胃癌细胞A549、宫颈癌细胞Hela和肝癌细胞HepG2的抗增殖能力。     

Optimisation of the ultrasound-assisted extraction of betalains and polyphenols from Amaranthus hypochondriacus var. Nutrisol

The present study optimised the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of bioactive compounds from Amaranthus hypochondriacus var. Nutrisol. Influence of temperature (25.86–54.14 °C) and ultrasonic power densities (UPD) (76.01–273.99 mW/mL) on total betalains (BT), betacyanins (BC), betaxanthins (BX), total polyphenols (TP), antioxidant activity (AA), colour parameters (L*, a*, and b*), amaranthine (A), and isoamaranthine (IA) were evaluated using response surface methodology. Moreover, betalain extraction kinetics and mass transfer coefficients (K_La) were determined for each experimental condition. BT, BC, BX, TP, AA, b*, K_La, and A were significantly affected (p < 0.05) by temperature extraction and UPD, whereas L*, a*, and IA were only affected (p < 0.05) by temperature. All response models were significantly validated with regression coefficients (R²) ranging from 87.46 to 99.29%. BT, A, IA, and K_La in UAE were 1.38, 1.65, 1.50, and 29.93 times higher than determined using conventional extraction, respectively. Optimal UAE conditions were obtained at 41.80 °C and 188.84 mW/mL using the desired function methodology. Under these conditions, the experimental values for BC, BX, BT, TP, AA, L*, a*, b*, K_La, A, and IA were closely related to the predicted values, indicating the suitability of the developed quadratic models. This study proposes a simple and efficient UAE method to obtain betalains and polyphenols with high antioxidant activity, which can be used in several applications within the food industry.     

Artematrovirenolides A—D and Artematrolides S—Z,Sesquiterpenoid Dimers with Cytotoxicity against Three Hepatoma Cell Lines from Artemisia atrovirens

Inspired by the intriguing structures and remarkable activities of sesquiterpenoid dimers,12 new sesquiterpenoid dimers,artematrovirenolides A—D(1—4)and artematrolides S—Z(8—12),were isolated from the EtOAc fraction of Artemisia atrovirens through a bioactivity-guided approach.Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data and absolute configuration was assigned based on single crystal X-ray diffraction data and ECD calculations.Structurally,all compounds are presumably formed via[4+2]cycloaddition involving three connecting model.Compounds 1—4 are four novel hetero-dimeric[4+2]Diels-Alder adducts dimerized from a rotundane-type unit and a guaiane-type monomer,and compounds 5—12 are eight new homo-dimeric[4+2]adducts derived from two guaianolide moieties.A putative biosynthetic pathway for compounds 1—4 was also proposed.Compounds 4,6,7,and 10 demonstrated moderate cytotoxicity against HepG2,SMMC-7721,and Huh7 cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 9.3 to 62.3μmol/L.Interestingly,compounds 5 and 11 manifested cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 13.6 and 12.8(HepG2),18.5 and 13.1(SMMC-7721),and 16.5 and 19.4μmol/L(Huh7),respectively,which were equivalent to the positive control,sorafenib.This investigation suggests that compounds 5 and 11 might be considered as potent antihepatoma candidates and deserve further structural modification and mechanism study.