Numerical study of dielectrophoresis-modified inertial migration for overlapping sized cell separation

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been proven to have significant prognostic, diagnostic, and clinical values in early-stage cancer detection and treatment. The efficient separation of CTCs from peripheral blood can ensure intact and viable CTCs and can, thus, give proper genetic characterization and drug innovation. In this study, continuous and high-throughput separation of MDA-231 CTCs from overlapping sized white blood cells (WBCs) is achieved by modifying inertial cell focusing with dielectrophoresis (DEP) in a single-stage microfluidic platform by numeric simulation. The DEP is enabled by embedding interdigitated electrodes with alternating field control on a serpentine microchannel to avoid creating two-stage separation. Rather than using the electrokinetic migration of cells which slows down the throughput, the system leverages the inertial microfluidic flow to achieve high-speed continuous separation. The cell migration and cell positioning characteristics are quantified through coupled physics analyses to evaluate the effects of the applied voltages and Reynolds numbers (Re) on the separation performance. The results indicate that the introduction of DEP successfully migrates WBCs away from CTCs and that separation of MDA-231 CTCs from similar sized WBCs at a high Re of 100 can be achieved with a low voltage of magnitude 4 ×10⁶ V/m. Additionally, the viability of MDA-231 CTCs is expected to be sustained after separation due to the short-term DEP exposure. The developed technique could be exploited to design active microchips for high-throughput separation of mixed cell beads despite their significant size overlap, using DEP-modified inertial focusing controlled simply by adjusting the applied external field.     

A Ti3C2TX/Pt–Pd based amperometric biosensor for sensitive cancer biomarker detection

The detection of cancer biomarkers is of great significance for the early screening of cancer. Detecting the content of sarcosine in blood or urine has been considered to provide a basis for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. However, it still lacks simple, high-precision and wide-ranging sarcosine detection methods. In this work, a Ti₃C₂T_X/Pt–Pd nanocomposite with high stability and excellent electrochemical performance has been synthesized by a facile one-step alcohol reduction and then used on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with sarcosine oxidase (SO_x) to form a sarcosine biosensor (GCE/Ti₃C₂T_X/Pt–Pd/SO_x). The prominent electrocatalytic activity and biocompatibility of Ti₃C₂T_X/Pt–Pd enable the SO_x to be highly active and sensitive to sarcosine. Under the optimized conditions, the prepared biosensor has a wide linear detection range to sarcosine from 1 to 1000 µM with a low limit of detection of 0.16 µM (S/N = 3) and a sensitivity of 84.1 µA/mM cm². Besides, the reliable response in serum samples shows its potential in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer. More importantly, the successful construction and application of the amperometric biosensor based on Ti₃C₂T_X/Pt–Pd will provide a meaningful reference for detecting other cancer biomarkers.     

Aluminum fluoride-18-labelled indocyanine green as a potential PET imaging agent for hepatic function reserve

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - This study evaluated the potential of Al18F-labelled restrained complexing agent (RESCA)-ICG to assess hepatic function reserve on PET/CT imaging....     

基于扩散强化的Pickering界面生物催化系统构建及CO2矿化过程研究

CO₂的有效利用有助于解决环境和生态问题.碳酸酐酶(CA)等酶分子可精准活化CO₂分子以降低反应能垒,为CO₂的高效和高选择性转化提供了一种有前景的途径.然而,酶离开生物体后易失活,且难以重复利用.目前,包埋型固定化酶是常用且有效的提高酶稳定性与回用率的方法之一,但载体的存在会造成反应物CO₂内扩散阻力增加,降低反应活性.此外,CO₂酶促转化是一个气-液-固三相反应过程,反应体系中CO₂的外扩散性能也需要加强.金属有机骨架(MOFs),特别是咪唑酯骨架(ZIFs),常被用作酶固定化的载体.ZIFs的拓扑结构可被设计成不同形貌,进而通过ZIFs的结构工程来加强分子向其中的内扩散.Pickering乳液是指以固体颗粒代替常规表面活性剂而稳定的乳液.当固体颗粒具有催化活性时,催化剂颗粒会扩大液-液-固或气-液-固三相接触面积,从而有效协调反应物在不同相中的扩散时间.如果酶被用作这些颗粒的活性中心,所制备的Pickering乳液也可能具备类似的特性,可加强底物分子向酶的外扩散.本文选择两种具有不同结构的ZIFs(ZIF-L和ZIF-8),原位包埋CA后形成CA@ZIFs颗粒以稳定Pickeirng乳液.ZIF-L和CA@ZIF-L颗粒显示出独特的二维层状堆叠结构.ZIF-8和CA@ZIF-8颗粒呈棱角清晰的十二面体结构.与CA@ZIF-8颗粒相比,CA@ZIF-L颗粒显示出更大的孔径和更宽的孔径分布,这有助于CO₂从CA@ZIF-L颗粒表面扩散至酶活性中心.利用酶活测试来研究内扩散是否通过结构工程得到了加强,发现CA@ZIF-L颗粒的活性比CA@ZIF-8颗粒高22.3%,推测这是由于CA@ZIF-L颗粒特殊的十字花状结构会缩短CO₂从颗粒表面扩散至酶活性中心的距离.同时,十字花状结构可暴露更多的酶活性位点(CA@ZIF-L颗粒的暴露面积是CA@ZIF-8颗粒的~8倍),从而提升了反应物浓度并显示出更高的催化活性.本文还设计了吸附实验来进一步验证上述假设,发现BSA@ZIF-L颗粒对香豆素的吸附率远高于BSA@ZIF-8颗粒,说明与ZIF-8相比,酶包埋于ZIF-L具有更强的捕获小分子的能力,表明CO₂分子向CA@ZIF-L的扩散速度更快,即CA@ZIF-L的十字花状结构可强化系统的内扩散过程.进一步比较了PIBS和游离多酶体系的催化活性,将CO₂通入每个系统,在反应前20 min,PIBS的pH值下降速度比游离体系快得多,说明PIBS通过在气相和液相间构建更大的界面,缩短了CO₂向CA的扩散距离,从而提高了催化效率,促进了CO₂转化.上述假设也通过扩散动力学的计算得到了验证.为进一步研究PIBS的CO₂矿化能力,本文开展了CaCO₃矿化反应,发现PIBS的CaCO₃产量远高于游离多酶体系,表明构建的PIBS在强化内外扩散方面具有显著优势.最后,评估了PIBS在工业应用中的性能,由CA@ZIF-L和CA@ZIF-8颗粒构建的PIBS显示出较好的可回收性,在第8个循环后,PIBS仍可保持8.9 mg/5 min的CaCO₃产量.综上,PIBS可为CO₂的酶促转化和框架提供一个新方法和新平台.     

固态氧化物电解池中碳-分子电化学转化为可再生燃料

近年来,随着社会环保意识的迅速提高以及对可再生能源利用能力的大幅增强,以燃料电池和电解池为代表的电化学技术已经逐渐在能源的存储、转化和利用方面发挥着不可或缺的独特作用.其中,固态氧化物电解池经过多年的发展,在装置成本和工作效率上取得了长足的进步,在储能转化方面具有重要的潜力.与此同时,伴随着《巴黎协定》签订以来各国的“碳中和”路线图逐渐出台,利用相对廉价易得的可再生电能,将二氧化碳(CO₂)和甲烷(CH₄)等碳-(C1)分子电解转化为高附加值的可再生燃料(如水煤气、乙烯等),对于碳中和目标的实现具有重要的意义.因此,C1分子电化学转化的研究成为了当下重点关注的研究领域,许多重要的研究成果和技术进步在过去几年中不断涌现.固态氧化物电解池作为一种代表性的C1分子电解和转化平台,也日渐引起相关领域研究人员的关注和兴趣.与传统的C1分子催化转化方法相比,基于固态氧化物电解池的电解转化技术具有两个重要优点:高能量转换效率与体系抗中毒能力.这两个特性作为体系稳健性的基石,保障了C1分子转化为可再生燃料的反应过程的长期可持续性.本文首先简要回顾了固态氧化物电解池的前沿技术与发展,并从电解池系统分类、反应体系的特征和反应体系发展的前景与挑战这三个方面,简要介绍了近年来基于固态氧化物电解池体系的C1分子电化学转化的代表性工作.CO₂与CH₄作为廉价易得的C1分子的代表,其转化因其反应分子惰性及反应过程不可控性而广受研究者关注,本文重点关注了在固态氧化物电解池中CO₂,CO₂/H₂O和CH₄三个体系的电化学反应过程和近期研究进展,希望可为相关研究人员未来设计更合适的催化剂和构建更优的电解池结构提供有益的参考.本文还针对目前固态氧化物电解池体系在C1分子转化领域所面临的挑战,提出了未来的一些可能的研究方向,以期助力研究者在不远的将来实现C1分子电解生产可再生燃料的实用化.     

Secondary Metabolites of Clinacanthus nutans

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

Secondary Metabolites of Elaeagnus thunbergii

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

A New Ketone Derivative from Victoria amazonica

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - A new ketone, vicamazone (4-(2-butoxyethoxy)-4-methylpentan-2-one) (1), was isolated from the leaves of Victoria amazonica (Nymphaeaceae). The structure of the new...     

Seco-Abietanoids from Cryptomeria japonica and Their Inhibitory Activity Toward Xanthine Oxidase

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - A new seco-abietanoid, 12-methoxy-7-oxo-6,7-secoabieta-8,11,13-trien-6-oic acid (1), and a known seco-abietanoid,12-hydroxy-6,7-secoabieta-8,11,13-triene-6,7-dial...     

A Novel Biphenyl Derivative from Cinnamomum insulari-montanum

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - A novel biphenyl derivative, insularione (3,3′,4,4′,6-pentahydroxy-3,4-dihydro-[1,1′-biphenyl]-2,5-dione) (1), was isolated from the stems of...