Highly Efficient Ir(III)-Coumarin Photo-Redox Catalyst for Synergetic Multi-Mode Cancer Photo-Therapy

Four photo-catalysts of the general formula [Ir(CO6/ppy)₂(L)]Cl where CO6=coumarin 6 ( Ir1 – Ir3 ), ppy=2-phenylpyridine ( Ir4 ), L=4′-(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridine ( Ir1 ), 4′-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridine ( Ir2 and Ir4 ), and 4-([2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridin]-4′-yl)-N,N-dimethylaniline ( Ir3 ) were synthesized and characterized. These photostable photo-catalysts ( Ir1 – Ir3 ) showed strong visible light absorption between 400–550 nm. Upon light irradiation (465 and 525 nm), Ir1 – Ir3 generated singlet oxygen and induced rapidly photo-catalytic oxidation of cellular coenzymes NAD(P)H. Ir1 – Ir3 showed time-dependent cellular uptake with excellent intracellular retention efficiency. Upon green light irradiation (525 nm), Ir2 provided a much higher photo-index (PI=793) than the clinically used photosensitizer, 5-aminolevulinicacid (5-ALA, PI>30) against HeLa cancer cells. The observed necro-apoptotic anticancer activity of Ir2 was due to the Ir2 triggered photo-induced intracellular redox imbalance (by NAD(P)H oxidation and ROS generation) and change in the mitochondrial membrane potential. Remarkably, Ir2 showed in vivo photo-induced catalytic anticancer activity in mouse models.     

Monitoring the Thiol/Thiophenol Molecule-Modulated Plasmon-Mediated Silver Oxidation with Dark-Field Optical Microscopy

Surface plasmon can trigger or accelerate many photochemical reactions, especially useful in energy and environmental industries. Recently, molecular adsorption has proven effective in modulating plasmon-mediated photochemistry, however the realized chemical reactions are limited and the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Herein, by using in situ dark-field optical microscopy, the plasmon-mediated oxidative etching of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), a typical hot-hole-driven reaction, is monitored continuously and quantitatively. The presence of thiol or thiophenol molecules is found essential in the silver oxidation. In addition, the rate of silver oxidation is modulated by the choice of different thiol or thiophenol molecules. Compared with the molecules having electron donating groups, the ones having electron accepting groups accelerate the silver oxidation dramatically. The thiol/thiophenol modulation is attributed to the modulation of the charge separation between the Ag NPs and the adsorbed thiol or thiophenol molecules. This work demonstrates the great potential of molecular adsorption in modulating the plasmon-mediated photochemistry, which will pave a new way for developing highly efficient plasmonic photocatalysts.     

Site Occupancies,Electron–Vibration Interaction and Energy Transfer of CaMgSi2O6: Eu2+, Mn2+ Phosphors for Potential Temperature-Sensing and Anti-counterfeiting Applications

Eu²⁺-, Mn²⁺- and Eu²⁺−Mn²⁺-doped CaMgSi₂O₆ phosphors have been prepared by a high-temperature solid-state reaction. Systematic investigation of the concentration- and temperature-dependent luminescence of Mn²⁺ showed that Mn²⁺ ions occupy two distinct sites in CaMgSi₂O₆. Electron–vibration interaction (EVI) analyses of Mn²⁺ ions revealed Huang–Rhys factors of 4.73 and 2.82 as well as effective phonon energies of 313 and 383 cm⁻¹ for the two sites. Eu²⁺−Mn²⁺ energy transfer is also discussed, and its efficiency is estimated by lifetime and luminescence spectra. The different thermal quenching behaviours of Eu²⁺ and Mn²⁺, the distinct emission colours of Eu²⁺ (blue, band peak at ∼451 nm) and Mn²⁺ (yellow–red range, band peaks at ∼583 and 693 nm) endow the co-doped samples with potential applications in luminescence thermometry and temperature-/excitation wavelength-responsive dual anti-counterfeiting.     

3D bioprinted cancer cells are more tolerant to serum starvation than 2D cells due to autophagy

Cancer is a global issue and a serious threat to human health, one approach to treatment is starvation therapy. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinted tumor tissue models have been developed; however, whether 3D bioprinted models are good for in vitro study of starvation therapy is unclear. In this study, we studied the state of cells with serum-free medium in both 3D bioprinted scaffold and 2D cell cultures and found that 3D bioprinted cancer cells (3D cells) were more tolerant to serum starvation than 2D cells in terms of cell viability, cell proliferation, and M2 macrophage polarization. Moreover, the ratio of LC3II/I, an index of autophagy, increased much more in 3D cells, and 3D cells showed more autophagosomes than 2D cells after serum starvation, which indicated that the autophagy levels were higher in 3D cells. These results suggested that 3D cells are more tolerant to serum starvation than 2D cells, and autophagy may play an important role in this process.     

Effect of Irradiation Absorbed Dose and Organic Solvent on the Grafting Rate of PVDF-g-PHEMA through Gamma-ray Irradiation in a Homogenous Solution

High Energy Chemistry - Modification of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) by radiation grafting is a research hotspot in recent years. In this study, the monomer 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was...     

钙钛矿太阳能电池的商业化进展与挑战

钙钛矿太阳电池是一项颠覆性的光伏技术,具有能量转化效率高、生产成本低、制备工艺简单等优势。当前,钙钛矿太阳能电池的认证效率已达25.7%,但其面临着严重的商业化瓶颈,如稳定性差、模组效率相对低、铅毒性等,且这些问题相互关联。本文简述了钙钛矿太阳能电池的工作原理和器件结构,并归纳总结了在解决钙钛矿太阳能电池稳定性、封装和模组化等商业化瓶颈问题方面的主要研究进展。最后,本文提出了钙钛矿光伏商业化进程中值得关注的解决措施。     

New Insights on Potentiometric Immunosensor at Carbon Fiber Microelectrode for Alpha-Fetoprotein in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Herein, we investigated the analytical features of potentiometric immunosensors for detection of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in hepatocellular carcinoma at different electrodes, such as carbon fiber microelectrode (CFME) and carbon-disk electrode (CDE), respectively. To construct such an immunosensor, anti-AFP capture antibodies were first conjugated covalently onto the activated electrodes through typical carbodiimide coupling. Thereafter, one-step immunoreaction protocol was successfully introduced to develop a new potentiometric immunoassay upon addition of AFP. Accompanying the antigen-antibody reaction, the surface charges of the modified electrodes were changed for the readout of electric potential. Results indicated that the linear range of CDE-based immunosensor was 0.1–100 ng mL⁻¹ AFP, whereas the assay sensitivity by using CFME could be further increased to 3.2 pg mL⁻¹ with the linear range from 0.01 to 500 ng mL⁻¹ AFP. Meanwhile, CFME-based immunosensor showed high sensitivity, good reproducibility and specificity, and could be utilized for the analysis of human serum specimens with consistent results relative to commercialized ELISA kit.     

Elastic-inertial separation of microparticle in a gradually contracted microchannel

Separation of microparticle in viscoelastic fluid is highly required in the field of biology and clinical medicine. For instance, the separation of the target cell from blood is an important prerequisite step for the drug screening and design. The microfluidic device is an efficient way to achieve the separation of the microparticle in the viscoelastic fluid. However, the existing microfluidic methods often have some limitations, including the requirement of the long channel length, the labeling process, and the low throughput. In this work, based on the elastic-inertial effect in the viscoelastic fluid, a new separation method is proposed where a gradually contracted microchannel is designed to efficiently adjust the forces exerted on the particle, eventually achieving the high-efficiency separation of different sized particles in a short channel length and at a high throughput. In addition, the separation of WBCs and RBCs is also validated in the present device. The effect of the flow rate, the fluid property, and the channel geometry on the particle separation is systematically investigated by the experiment. With the advantage of small footprint, simple structure, high throughput, and high efficiency, the present microfluidic device could be utilized in the biological and clinical fields, such as the cell analysis and disease diagnosis.     

High-performance liquid chromatography quantitative analysis of ephedrine alkaloids in Ephedrae Herba on a perfluorooctyl stationary phase

Ephedrae Herba is one of the most commonly used herbal medicines, and it has been shown that most of the clinical efficacy for cold and asthma is exerted by its alkaloidal components. A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed using a perfluorooctyl column for the simultaneous determination of five alkaloids (norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and methylephedrine) in Ephedrae Herba. The mobile phase comprising acetonitrile and 15 mM ammonium trifluoroacetate was used to elute the targets in isocratic elution mode. The method was validated for linearity (R² > 0.999), repeatability, intraday and interday precision, recoveries with trueness (93.87–110.99%), limits of detection (5.35–5.76 µg/mL), and limits of quantification (20 µg/mL). The quantitative results revealed that the developed method was precise and accurate. Then it was successfully applied to determine the difference in the contents of three batches of Ephedrae Herba from three pharmaceutical companies.     

Enhanced stability designs of cell membrane chromatography for screening drug leads

Cell membrane chromatography is an effective method for screening bioactive components acting on specific receptors in complex systems, which maintains the biological activity of the membrane receptors and improves screening efficiency. However, traditional cell membrane chromatography suffers from poor stability, resulting in a limited life span and low reproducibility, greatly limiting the application of this method. To address this problem, cyanuric chloride-decorated silica gel was used for the covalent immobilization of the cell membranes. Cyanuric chloride reacts with amino groups on the cell membranes and membrane receptors to form covalent bonds. In this way, the cell membranes are not easy to fall off. The column life of the cyanuric chloride-decorated epidermal growth factor receptor/cell membrane chromatography column was extended to more than 8 days, whereas the column life of the normal cell membrane chromatography column dropped sharply in the first 3 days. A cyanuric chloride-decorated epidermal growth factor receptor/cell membrane chromatography online HPLC-IT-TOF-MSn system was applied for screening drug leads from Trifolium pratense L. One potential drug lead, formononetin, which acts on the epidermal growth factor receptor, was screened. Our strategy of covalently immobilizing cell membrane receptors also improved the stability of cell membrane chromatography.