CRISPR-Cas12a System for Biosensing and Gene Regulation

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is a promising technology in the biological world. As one of the CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins, Cas12a is an RNA-guided nuclease in the type V CRISPR-Cas system, which has been a robust tool for gene editing. In addition, due to the discovery of target-binding-induced indiscriminate single-stranded DNase activity of Cas12a, CRISPR-Cas12a also exhibits great promise in biosensing. This minireview not only gives a brief introduction to the mechanism of CRISPR-Cas12a but also highlights the recent developments and applications in biosensing and gene regulation. Finally, future prospects of the CRISPR-Cas12a system are also discussed. We expect this minireview will inspire innovative work on the CRISPR-Cas12a system by making full use of its features and advantages.     

Synthesis and Pyrolysis of Fullerenol-stabilized Pt Nanocolloids as a unique Approach to Pt-doped Carbon

An aqueous colloidal dispersion of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) stabilized by fullerenol C₆₀(OH)₁₂ (Pt:C₆₀(OH)₁₂) was successfully synthesized via liquid-phase chemical reduction. The subsequent pyrolysis of Pt:C₆₀(OH)₁₂ at different temperatures was conducted to afford Pt-doped carbon with different chemical compositions (Pt:C60ⁿ). X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy and thermogravimetric measurements revealed that the thus-prepared nanocomposite consists of Pt NPs and high valent Pt-C₆₀(OH)₁₂ complex. One distinct feature of C₆₀(OH)₁₂ matrix as catalyst support is the suppression of size growth of Pt NPs during the pyrolysis up to 300 °C. Electrochemical experiments using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were performed to find that Pt:C60³⁰⁰ (pyrolyzed at 300 °C) exhibited higher activity than others, that was attributed to the π-extended feature of the as-obtained carbon.     

Asymmetric Catalytic Approach to Multilayer 3D Chirality

The first asymmetric catalytic approach to multilayer 3D chirality has been achieved by using Suzuki-Miyaura cross-couplings. New chiral catalysts were designed and screened under various catalytic systems that proved chiral amide-phosphines to be more efficient ligands than other candidates. The multilayer 3D framework was unambiguously determined by X-ray structural analysis showing a parallel pattern of three layers consisting of top, middle and bottom aromatic rings. The X-ray structure of a catalyst complex, dichloride complex of Pd-phosphine amide, was obtained revealing an interesting asymmetric environment nearby the Pd metal center. Three rings of multilayer 3D products can be readily changed by varying aromatic ring-anchored starting materials. The resulting multilayer products displayed strong luminescence under UV irradiation and strong aggregation-induced emission (AIE). In the future, this work would benefit not only the field of asymmetric synthesis but also materials science, in particular polarized organic electronics, optoelectronics and photovoltaics.     

Complex new materials from simple chemistry: Combining an amino‐substituted polysiloxane and carboxylic acids

Changes in rheological, adhesive, and swelling properties of quaternary salts, made by adding one of eight mono‐ or six α,ω‐alkanedioic acids (the latter with two to six or nine carbon atoms) to 6‐7PSil (a polysiloxane with 6%–7% of the monomer units contain a 3‐aminopropyl group) have been correlated with the salt structures. The simple acid‐base chemistry initiates drastic changes in the bulk properties of the materials that depend on the amount and type of the added acid. Thus, the quaternized forms of the 6‐7PSil have significantly enhanced viscoelastic and adhesive properties compared to those of the initial polysiloxane, and they can swell selectively liquids based on their polarity. Also, interpenetrating networks have been made in situ by photopolymerization of salts with vinylic carboxylic acids. DFT calculations on model systems consisting of dimethylammonium α,ω‐alkanedioate salts with two to six carbon atoms provide insights into the interactions responsible for the unexpected dependence of the properties of the 6‐7PSil salts on the chain lengths of the diacids. The potential for applying the methodologies described here to systems with other amino‐substituted polymers and other acid types is noted. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 3851–3861     

Fabrication of Electrospun PVDF Nanofibers with Higher Content of Polar β Phase and Smaller Diameter by Adding a Small Amount of Dioctadecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride

In this work,the effect of dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride(DDAC,a kind of alkyl ammonium salt) on polar β phase content and the diameter of electrospun PVDF nanofibers was investigated for the first time.Our experimental results show that the diameter of the electrospun PVDF nanofiber could be largely reduced and the content of polar β phase also become dominant immediately by just adding a little amount of DDAC.When the mass fraction of DDAC reached 4%,the content of polar β phase increased by about 39.1% compared with PVDF nanofibers without DDAC.Besides,the crystallinity of PVDF nanofibers also increased with the addition of DDAC.Based on the results,the possible mechanism of cooperative effect between electrospinning and DDAC on fiber diameter and formation of β phase in PVDF was discussed.     

火焰原子吸收分光光度法测定维血康颗粒中总铁

建立火焰原子吸收分光光度法测定维血康颗粒中总铁的含量,火焰类型选择空气–乙炔,测定波长为248.3 nm,测定时间为4.0 s,燃气流量为0.9 L/min,以氘灯作为背景校正。铁的质量浓度在2.4~28.8μg/mL范围内与吸光度呈良好的线性,线性相关系数r~2=0.999 8。6次测定结果的相对标准偏差小于1.0%,样品加样回收率为93.89%,方法检出限为0.011 3μg/mL。该方法具有准确度高,稳定性、重复性好等优点,可用于维血康颗粒中总铁含量的测定。     

Synthesis of ZnO Photocatalysts Using Various Surfactants

Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry A - Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructured materials have received significant attention because of their unique physicochemical and electronic properties. In...     

Catalytic Performance of Graphite Oxide Supported Au Nanoparticles in Aerobic Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol: Support Effect

Various Au/GO catalysts were prepared by depositing Au nanoparticles on thermally- and chemically-treated graphite oxide (GO) supports using a sol-immobilization method. The surface chemistry and structure of GO supports were characterized by a series of analytical techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, temperature-programmed desorption and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that thermal and chemical treatments have large influence on the presence of surface oxygenated groups and the crystalline structure of GO supports. A strong support effect was observed on the catalytic activity of Au/GO catalysts in the liquid phase aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Compared to the amount and the type of surface oxygen functional groups, the ordered structure of GO supports may play a more important role in determining the catalytic performance of Au/GO catalysts.     

光合释氧机理的ABEEM/MM/MD和BS-DFT理论研究

建立了S₂态光合释氧络合物（OEC）的原子-键电负性均衡模型（ABEEMσπ）的电荷参数,并使用ABEEM/MM/MD可极化力场的分子动力学模拟和对称性破损的DFT研究了光合作用制造氧气的微观机制.HF/STO-3G（采用此基组的原因请见引用文献）水平下的电荷拟合结果证明了ABEEMσπ模型计算电荷分布的合理性和高效性.MD模拟显示,S₂态Mn₄CaO₅的双向异构化过程伴随Ca上的水分子W3转移至Mn1（III）/Mn4（III）,它很可能作为底物水之一,与O5在S₄态结合产生O₂.基于此,考察了全自旋态下两种异构体形式中O－O键形成的自由基耦合机理.BS-DFT计算结果表明,开立方结构的释氧活性大大优于闭立方结构,金属锰和氧自由基的自旋耦合方式也是反应性的决定性因素,同时,OEC的结构灵活性对于S态循环和光合水分解至关重要.