Artificial Genetic Sets Composed of Size‐Expanded Base Pairs

We describe in this Minireview the synthesis, properties, and applications of artificial genetic sets built from base pairs that are larger than the natural Watson–Crick architecture. Such designed systems are being explored by several research groups to investigate basic chemical questions regarding the functions of the genetic information storage systems and thus of the origin and evolution of life. For example, is the terrestrial DNA structure the only viable one, or can other architectures function as well? Working outside the constraints of purine–pyrimidine geometry provides more chemical flexibility in design, and the added size confers useful properties such as high binding affinity and helix stability as well as fluorescence. These features are useful for the investigation of fundamental biochemical questions as well as in the development of new biotechnological, biomedical, and nanostructural tools and methods.     

Chemical Constituents of the Roots of Phlomis betonicoides and Their Anti-Rotavirus Activity

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - Two new isobenzofuranone derivatives (1 and 2) together with six known compounds (3–8) were isolated from the roots of Phlomis betonicoides, a highly sweet...     

Nanocomposite Hydrogel of Pd@ZIF-8 and Laponite®: Size-Selective Hydrogenation Catalyst under Mild Conditions

The composite hydrogel of a nanoscale metal–organic framework (NMOF) and nanoclay has emerged as a new soft-material with advanced properties and applications. Herein, we report a facile synthesis of a hydrogel nanocomposite by charge-assisted self-assembly of Pd@ZIF-8 nanoparticles with Laponite^® nanoclay which coat the surface of Pd@ZIF-8 nanoparticles. Such surface coating significantly enhanced the thermal stability of the ZIF-8 compared to the pristine framework. Further, the Pd@ZIF-8+LP hydrogel nanocomposite shows better size-selective catalytic hydrogenation of olefins than Pd@ZIF-8 nanoparticles based on selective diffusion of the substrate.     

Waste Cleaning Waste: Combining Alginate with Biowaste-Derived Substances in Hydrogels and Films for Water Cleanup

Biowaste-derived substances isolated from green compost (BBS-GC) are environmentally friendly reactants similar to humic substances, which contain multiple functionalities, that are suitable for adsorbing different kinds of pollutants in wastewater. Herein, sodium alginate (derived from brown algae) cross-linked with both Ca²⁺ ions and BBS-GC in the form of hydrogels and dried films are proposed as green, easy-to-form, and handleable materials for tertiary water treatments. The results show that both hydrogels and films are mechanically stable and can effectively remove differently charged dyes through an adsorption mechanism that can be described by the Freundlich model. BBS-GC-containing gels always performed better than samples prepared without BBS-GC, revealing that such unconventional materials can integrate waste valorization and water decontamination, potentially providing social and environmental benefits.     

Infrared Responsive Choline Phosphate Lipids for Synergistic Cancer Therapy

Choline phosphate lipids have been designed and developed as new-generation zwitterionic nanocarriers with excellent biocompatibility and bioorthogonality to provide a more programmable performance for cancer therapy. However, there is a lack of spatiotemporal and reversible control for drug release at target tumor cells, which can lead to severe adverse effects to normal tissue and discounted treatment outcome. Here, light-inducible Lip-cRGDfk/ICG/Dox liposomes were developed for synergistic cancer therapy. ICG can effectively convert light energy into selective heating in a local environment upon laser irradiation, thus inducing thermal ablation of tumor cells, and further reversibly trigger the spatiotemporal release of anticancer drugs (Dox) at tumor cells due to the conformation transformation of CP lipids to synergistically kill tumor cells. That Lip-cRGDfk/ICG/Dox exhibited a significant improvement for breast cancer therapy in vitro and in vivo is also demonstrated, thus it can serve as an efficient platform to noninvasively and spatiotemporally control the activation of cytotoxicity at tumor cells for precision cancer therapy.