One-pot photoreduction to prepare NIR-absorbing plasmonic gold nanoparticles tethered by amphiphilic polypeptide copolymer for synergistic photothermal-chemotherapy

We developed one-pot photoreduction strategy to fabricate the NIR-absorbing plasmonic PLC-b-PEO@Au NPs. It possessed strong NIR absorption at 700-1100 nm, an ultrahigh photothermal conversion efficiency of 62.1%, and good photostability.     

Selective cyclodimerization of epichlorohydrin to dioxane derivatives over MOFs

Glycerol can be converted to valuable products such as epichlorohydrin which is an important intermediate applied in various industries. For example, dioxane derivatives, which are important pharmaceuticals, can be obtained from epichlorohydrin. In the present study, ZIF-8, ZIF-67, MIL-100, and UiO-66 were applied for the direct cyclodimerization of epichlorohydrin. These MOFs were selected because they were already applied as active catalysts in ring opening of epoxides. Among them, ZIF-8 showed the highest activity and selectivity in the absence of any solvent or co-catalyst. Using ZIF-8 as a catalyst, the cyclodimer product (1,4-dioxane 2,5-bis-chloromethyl) was obtained in a yield of about 70% which was significantly superior to previous homo or heterogeneous catalysts for this reaction. Due to ZIF-8 structure and the proposed mechanism, the cyclodimerization reaction catalyzed either by the defects in the structure and/or on the surface. Furthermore, acidic-basic characteristics were also in play. The NH₃ and CO₂ temperature-programed desorption technique were utilized to identify the active sites and thereby reaction mechanism. Moreover, because of similar properties of ZIF-8 to zeolites, the activity of commercial ZSM-5 for the same reaction was also investigated in this work.     

ZIF-8 Nanoparticles Evoke Pyroptosis for High-Efficiency Cancer Immunotherapy

Although zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) has been applied in various tumor therapies, the intrinsic immunogenicity remains unclear. Here, we initiatively discover that ZIF-8 nanoparticles (NPs) can intrinsically induce pyroptosis by a caspase-1/gasdermin D (GSDMD)-dependent pathway. The pyroptotic cell death is accompanied by necrosis and immunogenic cell death (ICD) simultaneously for efficient in situ immunity initiation. Meanwhile, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP), a mitochondrial depolarizing agent, is successfully loaded into ZIF-8 NPs and found to further enhance the pyroptosis process. Collectively, the obtained Pluronic F127-modified CCCP-incorporated ZIF-8 NPs (^F127ZIF-8_CCCP NPs) activate antitumor immunity and reprogram immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), realizing high-efficiency tumor growth inhibition. This work will facilitate biomedicine applications of ZIF-8 and provide good inspiration for pyroptosis-induced cancer therapy.     

ZIF-8 derived nano-SnO2@ZnO as anode for Zn/Ni secondary batteries

SnO₂@ZnO was synthesized by a new method involving the immobilization of Sn onto zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) followed by calcination. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized as 20–30 nm spherical ZnO particles uniformly dotted with SnO₂. When SnO₂@ZnO were used as anode material for Zn/Ni batteries, the average specific capacity was approximately 600 mAh g^− 1 and remained stable after 150 cycles at a rate of 1 C.     

Sapota fruit latex mediated synthesis of Ag,Cu mono and bimetallic nanoparticles and their in vitro toxicity studies

Ag, Cu metallic and bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) with diverse compositions were efficiently synthesized using the fruit latex of Achras sapota Linn. Spectroscopic and cyclic voltammetry results suggested that reduction of Ag was assisted by ascorbic acid, reducing sugars and other phenolic compounds present in the latex. However, the reduction of Cu and alloy NPs required additional ascorbic acid. Comparative in vitro toxicity of as synthesized nanoparticle solution was assessed in 3T3L1 cells using MTT assay and fluorescent microscopy. A minimal impact was observed on cell viability and morphology during 72 h. This demonstrates great potential for use in biomedical applications such as cellular imaging or photothermal therapy.     

Green synthesis of plant-stabilized Au nanoparticles for the treatment of gastric carcinoma

In this study, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were green synthesized using plant extract. The obtained nanoparticles (Au NPs) were characterized by advanced physical and chemical techniques like TEM, FTIR, UV–vis, SEM, XRD and EDX. SEM image displayed the quasi-spherical shaped nanoparticles of mean diameter 20–50 nm. All the particles were of uniform shape and texture. From the XRD pattern, four distinct diffraction peaks at 38.2°, 44.2°, 64.7° and 77.4° are indexed as (1 1 1), (2 0 0), (2 2 0) and (3 1 1) planes of fcc metallic gold. The in vitro cytotoxic and anti-gastric carcinoma effects of biologically synthesized Au NPs against cancer cell lines were assessed. The IC₅₀ of the Au NPs were 192, 149, 76 and 85 µg/mL against NCI-N87, MKN45, GC1401 and GC1436 gastric cancer cell lines. The anti-gastric carcinoma properties of the Au NPs could significantly remove the cancer cell lines in a time and concentration-dependent manner. So, the findings of the recent research show that biologically synthesized Au NPs might be used to cure cancer.     

Decomposition of p-nonylphenols in water and elimination of their estrogen activities by 60Co γ-ray irradiation

Concentration of p-nonylphenols (NPs) in water at 1 μmol dm⁻³ was decreased exponentially with absorbed dose when NPs were irradiated by ⁶⁰Co γ-rays. Two products having molecular weight of 236, presumably OH adducts of NPs, were detected by LC–MS analyses. The elimination of estrogen activity of aqueous NPs solution including such irradiation products at 5000 Gy (J kg⁻¹) was confirmed by the yeast two-hybrid assay. These results should expand the application of ionizing radiation to the treatment of NPs.     

NIR light-induced tumor phototherapy using ICG delivery system based on platelet-membrane-camouflaged hollow bismuth selenide nanoparticles

Near-infrared (NIR) light-triggered photothermal therapy (PTT) is a promising treatment strategy for treating cancer. The combination of nanotechnology and NIR has been widely applied. However, the therapeutic efficacy of the drug-delivery system depends on their ability to avoid phagocytosis of endothelial system, cross the biological barriers, prolong circulation life, localize and rapidly release the therapeutic at target sites. In this work, we designed a platelet membrane (PM)-camouflaged hollow mesoporous bismuth selenide nanoparticles (BS NPs) loading with indocyanine green (ICG) (PM@BS-ICG NPs) to achieve the above advantages. PM-coating has active tumor-targeting ability which could prevent drug leakage and provide drug long circulation, causing drug delivery systems to accumulate in tumor sites effectively. Moreover, as a type of the photothermal sensitizers, BS NPs are used as the inner cores to improve ICG stability and are served as scaffolds to enhance the hardness of this drug delivery system. For one hand, the thermal vibration of BS NPs under NIR laser irradiation causes tumor inhibition through hyperthermia. For another hand, this hyperthermia process could damage PM and let ICG rapid release from PM@BS-ICG NPs. The in vitro and in vivo results showed that this biomimetic nano-drug delivery system exhibits obvious antitumor activity which has good application prospect.     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of fexofenadine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparation using silver nanoparticles

A novel sensitive fluorimetric method was investigated for the assay of fexofenadine hydrochloride (FEX) using silver nanoparticles (NPs) as a fluorescence probe. The NPs, which were prepared by chemical reduction of silver nitrate with sodium borohydride (reducing agent) in aqueous solution (without organic stabilizers) were water soluble, stable and had narrow emission band. The addition of drug to NPs solution caused considerable quenching of the emission band of silver NPs, which was likely due to the complexation of the drug to silver NPs. Under the optimum conditions, the quenched fluorescence (FL) intensity was linear with the concentration of FEX in the range of 1 × 10^?7 to 2.5 × 10^?5 mol L^?1 (0.9985) with a detection limit of 1.2 × 10^?8 mol L^?1. The quenching mechanism of the studied drug on the emission band of silver NPs was explained by Stern–Volmer law. The developed method was applied to FEX determination in a pharmaceutical formulation (allegra tablets) and biological fluids (human serum and urine).     

Phytogenic fabrication of iron oxide nanoparticles and evaluation of their in vitro antibacterial and cytotoxic activity

Several metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) have been found to be toxic and are known to exert adverse health outcomes with irreversible side effects. This highlights the need to discover effective, stable, and biocompatible therapeutic components using natural sources. Here, a hexane extract of Nigella sativa seeds was used to synthesize iron oxide NPs (NS-IONPs) embedded with N. sativa phytoconstituents. The extract acted as a reducing agent that restricted the size of the NS-IONPs to 5–6 nm, signifying the potential to be cleared through the renal system. The fabricated NS-IONPs had a prominent effect on pathogenic gram-negative bacteria, E. coli (19.3 mm) and Salmonella typhi (14.2 mm) and lung cancer cells (lowest IC₅₀ of 18.75 µg/mL) mainly by binding to the phospholipid components of the cell membrane. This resulted in cell shrinkage and further inhibited cell growth. Transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed that the mechanisms of cellular NP uptake varied depending on the cell type. Accumulation of NS-IONPs inside the cell increased BAX expression and arrested the cells at the G0/G1 phase, thereby conspicuously extending the G0 phase to initiate necrosis. Thus, these finding suggest that the synthesized NS-IONPs exhibited high antibacterial activity and effective cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines A549 and HCT116 compared to IONPs. The innovation of the current study is that the biogenic fabrication of IONPs is simple and cost effective results in stable nanomaterial, NS-IONPs with potential antibacterial and anticancer activity, which can be explored furthermore for various biomedical applications.     

ZIF-8原位负载Pd纳米粒子及其在Suzuki-Miyaura反应中的应用(英文)

将PdCl2与ZIF-8的反应原料ZnO和2-甲基咪唑按照一定的比例,采用机械化学法原位将Pd2+负载在ZIF-8上(Pd2+/ZIF-8)。然后用NaBH4将Pd2+/ZIF-8进行还原,得到均匀分散的Pd纳米颗粒(Pd/ZIF-8)。通过XRD、N2吸附、透射电镜、ICP-AES、XPS等对Pd/ZIF-8的结构、形貌、价态等进行了表征。结果表明用机械化学法原位制备的Pd/ZIF-8具有分散均匀、容易大量制备的优点。该催化剂不仅能高效催化Suzuki-Miyaura交叉偶联反应,并且能够多次循环利用。     

Co1-xS embedded in porous carbon derived from metal organic framework as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Here, we report a two-step conversion method to fabricate a composite of Co_1-xS embedded in porous carbon framework (Co_1-xS@C) derived from metal organic frameworks (MOFs). The as-prepared porous dodecahedron Co_1-xS@C composite catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER).     

Arrayed CNx NT–RuO2 nanocomposites directly grown on Ti-buffered Si substrate for supercapacitor applications

Significant enhancement in supercapacitor performance has been achieved via a new RuO₂ nanocomposite materials prepared by direct ruthenium sputtering on arrayed multi-walled carbon nanotubes supported by Ti-buffered Si wafer. XPS, HRTEM and SAED analyses reveal that as-prepared nanoparticles have a crystalline Ru metal core with RuO₂ oxide coating. The nanocomposites convert to RuO₂–CN_x NTs with subsequent electrochemical cycling. At present, well-dispersed and strongly adhered RuO₂ NPs have been densely populated on CN_x NTs to obtain the overall specific capacitance (1380 F/g-RuO₂), charging–discharging rate (up to 600 mV/s) and operation stability (5000 cycles). Thus, RuO₂–CN_x NTs nanocomposites would make a promising candidate for use in next-generation high efficiency miniaturized supercapacitors directly fabricated on Si substrate.     

Ag NPs decked GO composite as a competent and reusable catalyst for ‘ON WATER’ chemoselective synthesis of pyrano[2,3-c:6,5-c′]dipyrazol]-2-ones

We have synthesized and characterized Ag NPs decked GO composite and studied its role as reusable catalyst for the ‘ON WATER’ chemoselective synthesis of pyranodipyrazolones via the reaction of different carbonyl compounds with 3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one. This method illustrates significant selectivity for pyranodipyrazolones over arylmethylene bispyrazolols and arylmethylenepyrazolones. Synergistic effect of heterogenic nature of water with reactants and Ag NPs/GO had profuse outcome on reaction as indicated by high TOF (18.03 × 10^?5 mol g^?1 min^?1). Furthermore, catalyst was recycled for 7-times without significant loss of activity.     

The FTIR spectra of substituted tetraoxa[8]circulenes and their assignments based on DFT calculations

The FTIR spectrum of symmetrical derivative of the tetraoxa[8]circulene, named para-dinaphthyleno-2,3,10,11-tetraundecyldiphenylenotetrafuran (p-2B2N4R, R = n-C₁₁H₂₃) has been recorded and interpreted using density functional theory (DFT) calculations for the model compounds p-2B2N4R (R = H, C₂H₅). The unsubstituted tetraoxa[8]circulene, namely para-dinaphthylenodiphenylenotetrafuran (p-2B2N) and para-dinaphthyleno-2,3,10,11-tetraethyldiphenylenotetrafuran (p-2B2N4R, R = C₂H₅) belong to the D_2h and D₂ symmetry point groups, respectively. The equilibrium molecular geometry, harmonic vibrational frequencies and infrared intensities have been calculated utilizing the DFT/B3LYP method with the 6–31G(d) basis set using the symmetry constraints. Comparison of the calculated vibrational spectra with the experimental data provides a reliable assignment of the observed bands in the FTIR spectra. The results of quantum-chemical calculations provide a complete interpretation of vibrational modes based on a good agreement with all details of the experimental spectra.     

P-type silicon nanowire-based nano-floating gate memory with Au nanoparticles embedded in Al2O3 gate layers

P-type Si nanowire (NW)-based nano-floating gate memory (NFGM) with Au nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in Al₂O₃ gate layers is characterized in this study. The electrical characteristics of a representative p-type Si NW-based NFGM exhibit a counterclockwise hysteresis loop indicating the trapping and detrapping of electrons in the Au NP nodes of the NFGM device. The threshold voltage shift of the device is 5.4 V and the device has good retention over a lapse of time of 5 × 10⁴ s. On the other hand, the p-type Si NW-based top-gate device without any Au NPs does not exhibit any significant threshold voltage shift. This observation reveals that the memory behavior of the p-type Si NW-based NFGM is due to the trapping and detrapping of charge carriers in the Au NPs.     

Fabrication of irregular-layer-free and diameter-tunable Ni–Ti–O nanopores by anodization of NiTi alloy

Ni–Ti–O nanopores (NPs) free of irregular surface layers and with tunable diameters are prepared by anodizing NiTi alloy in glycerol containing H₂O and NaCl. In an electrolyte composed of glycerol, 10 vol% H₂O and 0.6 M NaCl, NPs with diameters between 23 and 39 nm can be produced at anodization voltages between 20 and 80 V. In this electrolyte system, the irregular oxide layer on the surface can be completely removed chemically and/or mechanically during anodization. The resulting Ni–Ti–O NPs with tunable diameters should prove useful, for example, in energy, environmental and biomedical applications.     

Reactive poly（divinyl benzene-co-maleic anhydride） nanoparticles：Preparation and characterization

Polymeric nanoparticles（NPs）have drawn great interest in the past few years due to their potential applications in the felds of biomedical and optical technologies.However,it is still a challenge to prepare functional polymeric NPs,especially for particle diameters smaller than 50 nm.In this work,we demonstrate a one-pot method to fabricate reactive poly（divinyl benzene-co-maleic anhydride）NPs（PDVBMAH NPs）through a self-stable precipitation polymerization process.The size and morphology of these PDVBMAH NPs were characterized in detail by scanning electronic microscopy,and their chemical structure was determined by IR.The results showed that these NPs were highly cross-linked and their diameter was about 30 nm with narrow distribution.Additionally,the DVB and MAH endow the NPs with reactive surface anhydride and pendant vinyl groups,and these particles could be further functionalized through reaction of these groups.A plausible pathway was proposed for the formation of PDVBMAH NPs.     

Molar heat capacity and thermodynamic properties of 1-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride [C8H8O3]

The molar heat capacity C_p,m of 1-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride was measured in the temperature range from T=(80 to 360) K with a small sample automated adiabatic calorimeter. The melting point T_m, the molar enthalpy Δ_fusH_m and the entropy Δ_fusS_m of fusion for the compound were determined to be (343.46 ± 0.24) K, (11.88 ± 0.02) kJ · mol⁻¹ and (34.60 ± 0.06) J · K⁻¹ · mol⁻¹, respectively. The thermodynamic functions [H_(T)−H_(298.15)] and [S_(T)−S_(298.15)] were derived in the temperature range from T=(80 to 360) K with temperature interval of 5 K. The mass fraction purity of the sample used in the adiabatic calorimetric study was determined to be 0.9928 by using the fractional melting technique. The thermal stability of the compound was investigated by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric (TG) technique, and the process of the mass-loss of the sample was due to the evaporation, instead of its thermal decomposition.