A novel fluorescent probe for formaldehyde based-on monomer-excimer conversion and its imaging in live cells

A novel fluorescent probe was developed for formaldehyde, which can be synthesized by one-step Buchwald–Hartwig reaction. When hydrazino-group of probe reacted with formaldehyde, hydrophobic reaction product aggregates into nanoparticles and results in the blue fluorescence due to the monomer-excimer effect. With enough sensitivity, high selectivity, good stability in physiological pH range and excellent biocompatibility, this probe can image formaldehyde in living cells.     

Sensitive and selective fluorescence detection of aqueous uranyl ions using water-soluble CdTe quantum dots

Herein we report a fluorescent method for sensitive and selective detection of uranyl ions using CdTe quantum dots functionalized with mercaptopropionic acid, which the fluorescence of the quantum dots could be quantitatively quenched through electron transfer mechanism. The detection limit of the method was estimated to be 4 nM, less than the maximum allowed content of 130 nM for uranyl in drinking water defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Furthermore, the probe was successfully applied in detection of uranyl ions in real samples, demonstrating its potential practical applications for monitoring of uranyl ions in environment.     

A novel and convenient preparation of antibacterial polyacrylonitrile nanofibers via post-modification using nitrile click chemistry and electrospinning

An efficient, novel and convenient method for the synthesis of modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with antibacterial property is reported. The modification of PAN was prepared by a nitrile click chemistry reaction with sodium azide (NaN₃) and silver nitrate (AgNO₃) as catalyst to yield antibacterial polymeric materials with 5-vinyltetrazole units. The results showed that 5-vinyltetrazole units had coordinated with silver ion (Ag⁺). Through the electrostatic spinning technology, the post-modification PAN nanofibers (PAN–Ag⁺ nanofibers) were prepared and the fibers were tested for their antimicrobial properties by the bacterial infection experiment. Afterwards, the antibacterial and stable performance of different proportions of silver ions in PAN nanofibers has been compared. The PAN–Ag⁺ nanofibers are characterized for mechanical and thermomechanical properties, structural analysis, appearance characteristics, as well as the antibacterial properties. And the nanofibers exhibit marvelous chemical stability according to the thermogravimetric analysis. When at 800 °C, the PAN decomposed about 60%, while the decomposition of the PAN–Ag⁺s was 40%. Based on the bacterial infection experiment, PAN–Ag⁺ nanofibers’ antibacterial properties were stronger with the increase of silver ions, such as the number of bacteria clone was smaller and the bacteriostatic ring was larger. Hence, with combination of silver ions, the final polymers show strong antimicrobial properties.     

一种新的肉桂酸类化合物的脱羧/甲基化反应

近年来,脱羧反应得到了广泛而深入的研究.肉桂酸类化合物的脱羧串联反应也得到了较多的关注.这类反应一般包括两个过程,自由基加成和羧基的脱去,从而在苯环的侧链引入各种各样的官能团.我们在研究过程中发现,在碳酸钾作为碱,过氧叔丁醇作为氧化剂,以二甲基亚砜（DMSO）/水作为混合溶剂条件下（体积比为1：1）,肉桂酸类衍生物能够转化成苯丙酮类化合物.通过对反应机理的研究,产物中的甲基来自于过氧叔丁醇,反应经过自由基加成和进一步脱羧得到产物.该反应特点是没有用过渡金属盐作为催化剂,并且是在水相中反应,因此符合绿色化学的发展要求.     

5-二乙胺基-2-(吡啶-2’-亚氨甲基)苯酚的合成及其对Zn2+的识别

本文利用2-氨基吡啶与4-二乙胺基水杨醛反应合成了5-二乙胺基-2-(吡啶-2’-亚氨甲基)苯酚(探针L),对其结构进行了表征。在DMSO/Tris(6:4, v/v, pH =7.4)溶液中,探针L高选择性荧光“关-开”识别Zn₂₊,在365 nm紫外灯照射下,由无荧光变成蓝色荧光。实验表明,探针L与Zn₂₊的结合比为1:1,结合常数为2.6×10₃ L. mol_-1,检测限为 9.39×10_-7mol/L,pH适用范围为7-11,并可检测水样中的Zn₂₊。     

Structural Characterization and In Vitro Antitumor Activity of a Novel Exopolysaccharide from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lachnum</Emphasis> YM130

Exopolysaccharide of Lachnum YM130 (LEP) was purified by diethylaminoethyl cellulose 52 and Sepharose CL-6B column chromatography. LEP-2a was identified to be a homogeneous component with an average molecular weight of 1.31?×?10⁶ Da, which was consisted of mannose and galactose in a molar ratio of 3.8:1.0. The structure of LEP-2a was characterized by methylation analysis, FT-IR analysis, and NMR analysis. Results indicated that LEP-2a was a galactomannan with a backbone, composed of 1,2-linked-α-D-Manp, 1,2,6-linked-α-D-Manp, 1,3,4-linked-α-D-Manp, and 1,3-linked-β-D-Galp, which was substituted at O-2, O-3, O-4, and O-6 by branches. In vitro antitumor activity assay proved that LEP-2a could significantly enhance the inhibitory effectiveness of 5-FU on Hela cells at the concentrations of 100, 200, 300, and 400 μg/mL. The above results suggested that LEP-2a could be seen as a potential source for developing novel antineoplastic agents.     

Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Palladium‐Catalyzed Dearomative [3+2] Cycloaddition of 3‐Nitroindoles

Diastereo‐ and enantioselective cycloaddition of 3‐nitroindoles with vinyl aziridine was realized under Pd‐catalysis using commercially available Walphos as the ligand, affording pyrroloindolines in high yields with high diastereo‐ and enantioselectivities. The reaction can be scaled up to a gram scale and the reaction products are easily converted to amino pyrroloindoline and other pyrroloindoline derivatives.     

An Unconventional Polymerization Route to Hydrophilic Fluorescent Organic Nanoparticles for Multicolor Cellular Bioimaging

We demonstrated an unconventional polymerization route to synthesize hydrophilic fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FONs) for multicolor cellular bioimaging in this contribution. The route benefits from our unexpected discovery of a rapid polymerization reaction between 1,6‐hexanediol dipropiolate and 2,4,6‐triazide‐1,3,5‐triazine under the catalysis of N,N,N′,N′′,N′′‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA). Interestingly, the 2,4,6‐triazide‐1,3,5‐triazine and PMDETA system can also induce rapid free radical polymerization at room temperature. The as‐prepared FONs exhibited promising water solubility and stability with an average diameter of 20 nm. The excitation wavelength‐dependent fluorescent properties endow the FONs with blue, yellow, and red fluorescent emission under UV, blue, and green excitation, respectively. The cytotoxicity of FONs was investigated by using a Cell Counting Kit (CCK‐8) assay, which indicated good biocompatiblity. More importantly, the cell uptake experiment verified the FONs were excellent fluorescent nanoprobes for multicolor cellular bioimaging. Therefore, this unconventional route provides a novel fabrication strategy of highly hydrophilic FONs for biomedical applications.     

A Universal Organic Cathode for Ultrafast Lithium and Multivalent Metal Batteries

Low‐cost multivalent battery chemistries (Mg²⁺, Al³⁺) have been extensively investigated for large‐scale energy storage applications. However, their commercialization is plagued by the poor power density and cycle life of cathodes. A universal polyimides@CNT (PI@CNT) cathode is now presented that can reversibly store various cations with different valences (Li⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺) at an extremely fast rate. The ion‐coordination charge storage mechanism of PI@CNT is systemically investigated. Full cells using PI@CNT cathodes and corresponding metal anodes exhibit long cycle life (>10000 cycles), fast kinetics (>20 C), and wide operating temperature range (?40 to 50 °C), making the low‐cost industrial polyimides universal cathodes for different multivalent metal batteries. The stable ion‐coordinated mechanism opens a new foundation for the development of high‐energy and high‐power multivalent batteries.     

Real‐Time Probing of Nanowire Assembly Kinetics at the Air–Water Interface by In Situ Synchrotron X‐Ray Scattering

Although many assembly strategies have been used to successfully construct well‐aligned nanowire (NW) assemblies, the understanding of their assembly kinetics has remained elusive, which restricts the development of NW‐based device and circuit fabrication. Now a versatile strategy that combines interfacial assembly and synchrotron‐based grazing‐incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering (GISAXS) is presented to track the assembly evolution of the NWs in real time. During the interface assembly process, the randomly dispersed NWs gradually aggregate to form small ordered NW‐blocks and finally are constructed into well‐defined NW monolayer driven by the conformation entropy. The NW assembly mechanism can be well revealed by the thermodynamic analysis and large‐scale molecular dynamics theoretical evaluation. These findings point to new opportunities for understanding NW assembly kinetics and manipulating NW assembled structures by bottom‐up strategy.