Nanoengineering of Stimuli‐Responsive Protein‐Based Biomimetic Protocells as Versatile Drug Delivery Tools

We present a general strategy to nanoengineer protein‐based colloidal spheres (biomimetic protocells) as versatile delivery carriers with stimuli responsiveness by the electrostatic assembly of binary components (proteins and polypeptides) in association with intermolecular disulfide cross‐linking. The size of the colloidal spheres, ranging from nanoscale to microscale, is readily tuned through parameters like protein and polypeptide concentration, the ratio between both, pH, and so on. Moreover, such colloidal spheres show versatile encapsulation of various guest molecules including small organic molecules and biomacromolecules. The pH and redox dual‐responsiveness facilitates the rapid release of the payload in an acidic and reductant‐enriched ambient such as in lysosomes. Thus, nanoengineering of protein‐based biomimetic protocells opens a new alternative avenue for developing delivery vehicles with multifunctional properties towards a range of therapeutic and diagnostic applications.     

Porphyrin/Ionic-Liquid Co-assembly Polymorphism Controlled by Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation

Understanding and controlling multicomponent co-assembly is of primary importance in different fields, such as materials fabrication, pharmaceutical polymorphism, and supramolecular polymerization, but these aspects have been a long-standing challenge. Herein, we discover that liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) into ion-cluster-rich and ion-cluster-poor liquid phases is the first step prior to co-assembly nucleation based on a model system of water-soluble porphyrin and ionic liquids. The LLPS-formed droplets serve as the nucleation precursors, which determine the resulting structures and properties of co-assemblies. Co-assembly polymorphism and tunable supramolecular phase transition behaviors can be achieved by regulating the intermolecular interactions at the LLPS stage. These findings elucidate the key role of LLPS in multicomponent co-assembly evolution and enable it to be an effective strategy to control co-assembly polymorphism as well as supramolecular phase transitions.     

Kinetic model of atomic and molecular emissions in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of organic compounds

A kinetic model previously developed to predict the relative intensities of atomic emission lines in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy has been extended to include processes related to CN and C₂ molecular emissions. Simulations with this model were performed to predict the relative excited-state populations. The results from the simulations are compared with experimentally determined excited-state populations from 1,064 nm laser irradiation of organic residues on aluminum foil. The model reasonably predicts the relative intensity of the molecular emissions. Significantly, the model reproduces the vastly different temporal profiles of the atomic and molecular emissions. The latter are found to extend to much longer times after the laser pulse, and this appears to be due to the increasing concentration of the molecules versus time. From the simulations, the important processes affecting the CN and C₂ concentrations are identified.     

Multifractal analysis of heartbeat dynamics during meditation training

We investigate the multifractality of heartbeat dynamics during Chinese CHI meditation in healthy young adults. The results show that the range of multifractal singularity spectrum of heartbeat interval time series during meditation is significantly narrower than those in the pre-meditation state of the same subject, which indicates that during meditation the heartbeat becomes regular and the degree of multifractality decreases.     

Self-assembly syntheses and crystal structures of triorganotin(IV) pyridinecarboxylate: 1D polymers and a 42-membered macrocycle

A series of new triorganotin(IV) pyridinecarboxylates with 6-hydroxynicotinic acid (6-OH-3-nicH), 5-hydroxynicotinic acid (5-OH-3-nicH) and 2-hydroxyisonicotinic acid (2-OH-4-isonicH) of the types: [R₃Sn (6-OH-3-nic)·L]_n (I) (R = Ph, L = Ph·EtOH, 1; R = Bn, L = H₂O·EtOH, 2; R = Me, L = 0, 3; R = n-Bu, L = 0, 4), [R₃Sn (5-OH-3-nic)]_n (II) (R = Ph, 5; R = Bn, 6; R = Me, 7; R = n-Bu, 8), [R₃Sn (2-OH-4-isonic·L)]_n (III) (R = Bn, 9, L = MeOH; R = Me, L = 0, 10; R = Ph, 11, L = 0.5EtOH) have been synthesized. All the complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, TGA, IR and NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn) spectroscopy analyses. Among them, except for complexes 5 and 6, all complexes were also characterized by X-ray crystallography diffraction analysis. Crystal structures show that complexes 1-10 adopt 1D infinite chain structures which are generated by the bidentate O, O or N, O and the five-coordinated tin centers. Significant O-H?O, and N-H?O intermolecular hydrogen bonds stabilize these structures. Complex 11 is a 42-membered macrocycle containing six tin atoms, and forms a 2D network by intermolecular N-H?O hydrogen.     

Polyvinylpyrrolidone stabilized-Ru nanoclusters loaded onto reduced graphene oxide as high active catalyst for hydrogen evolution

Ruthenium/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (Ru/rGO NCs) were synthesized via an electrostatic self-assembly approach. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) stabilized and positively charged metallic ruthenium nanoclusters about 1.2 nm were synthesized and uniformly loaded onto negatively charged graphene oxide (GO) sheets via strong electrostatic interactions. The as-prepared Ru/rGO NCs exhibited superior performance in catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) to generate H₂. The hydrogen generation rate was up to 14.87 L H₂ min^?1 g_cat ^?1 at 318 K with relatively low activation energy of 38.12 kJ mol^?1. Kinetics study confirmed that the hydrolysis of NaBH₄ was first order with respect to concentration of catalysts. Besides, the conversion of NaBH₄ remained at 97% and catalytic activity retained more than 70% after 5 reaction cycles at room temperature. These results suggested that the Ru/rGO NCs have a promising prospect in the field of clean energy.

Open image in new window

Graphical abstract ?

     

Compatibility study of oxide and olivine cathode materials with lithium aluminum titanium phosphate

The compatibility of the solid electrolyte Li_1.5Al_0.5Ti_1.5(PO₄)₃ (LATP) with the cathode materials LiCoO₂, LiMn₂O₄, LiCoPO₄, LiFePO₄, and LiMn_0.5Fe_0.5PO₄ was investigated in a co-sintering study. Mixtures of LATP and the different cathode materials were sintered at various temperatures and subsequently analyzed by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy. Oxide cathode materials display a rapid decomposition reaction with the electrolyte material even at temperatures as low as 500 °C, while olivine cathode materials are much more stable. The oxide cathode materials tend to decompose to lithium-free compounds, leaving lithium to form Li₃PO₄ and other metal phosphates. In contrast, the olivine cathode materials decompose to mixed phosphates, which can, in part, still be electrochemically active. Among the olivine cathode materials, LiFePO₄ demonstrated the most promising results. No secondary phases were detected by X-ray diffraction after sintering a LATP/LiFePO₄ mixture at temperatures as high as 700 °C. Electron microscopy revealed a small secondary phase probably consisting of Li₂FeTi(PO₄)₃, which is ionically conductive and should be electrochemically active as well.     

三能级原子与双模场多光子相互作用的量子动力学性质

研究三能级原子与双模场多光子相互作用过程中,原子能级占据几率的量子动力学行为。显然,本文的结果与单光子跃迁过程中的结果完全不同。