Inhibition of NADP(H) supply by highly active phosphatase-like ceria nanozymes to boost oxidative stress and ferroptosis

Ceria (CeO₂) with phosphatase-like activity is widely recognized as one of the promising nanozymes. In general, shrinkage of the sizes of CeO₂ can generate large active surface areas for dephosphorylation reactions. However, synthesizing CeO₂ with an ultra-small structure while retaining its surface activity and avoiding its aggregation for use in non-redox biological applications has been a continuous challenge. Herein, a phosphatase-mimicking nanozyme CeO₂ with ultra-small, excellent dispersibility, and accessibility, and largely exposed {111} facet was synthesized via a facile one-pot approach. In contrast to previous reports, which focus on enhancing the ·OH-induced cellular damage by peroxidase- or oxidase-like activity of CeO₂, the present work demonstrates the phosphatase-like activity of CeO₂ for boosting ferroptosis by disrupting cellular homeostasis. Cancer cells require high levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP(H)) to enhance GSH synthesis and resist to ferroptosis. By virtue of the phosphatase-like activity, the obtained CeO₂ could sustainably dephosphorylate NADP(H) and effectively inhibit the intracellular biosynthesis of GSH. Our results showed that using CeO₂ as a phosphatase-mimicking nanozyme to deplete NADP(H) and its synthetic precursor glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) could attenuate the repair mechanisms under oxidative stress via indirectly inhibiting the supply of intracellular GSH and enhancing the occurrence of ferroptosis. The finding offers new insights into the regulation of ferroptosis by high-efficiency non-redox nanozymes, which could pave the way for the development of phosphatase-mimicking nanozymes.     

Ultrafast synthesis of near-infrared-emitting aqueous CdTe/CdS quantum dots with high fluorescence

The traditional aqueous route to synthesis CdTe/CdS Core/shell (c/s) quantum dots (QDs) via decomposition of Cd-thiol complexes is usually time consuming. Herein, an ultrafast and facile aqueous synthetic approach under atmospheric pressure for CdTe/CdS c/s QDs with emission from the green to the near-infrared window (535–820 nm) is reported. With purified CdTe core QDs diluted in solution of Cd-3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) complexes, CdTe/CdS c/s QDs with emission wavelengths at 700 and 800 nm can be obtained within 20- and 45-min refluxing under the optimized experimental conditions, respectively. This is the most rapid way to prepare CdTe/CdS c/s QDs in aqueous phase, and the obtained QDs were highly luminescent without postsynthesis treatment. The influences of various experimental factors, including Cd²⁺ concentration, MPA-to-Cd ratio, pH value, and dilution ratio on the growth rate and luminescent properties of the obtained CdTe/CdS c/s QDs, have been taken into consideration. The three processes “purification-dilution-addition” ensure the synthesis environment with high pH value and low core concentration and have a marked impact on the rapid synthesis rate and the resulting high fluorescence of CdTe/CdS c/s QDs.     

Selection of hydrogel electrolytes for flexible zinc–air batteries

Flexible zinc–air batteries attract more attention due to their high energy density, safety, environmental protection, and low cost. However, the traditional aqueous electrolyte has the disadvantages of leakage and water evaporation, which cannot meet application demand of flexible zinc–air batteries. Hydrogels possessing good conductivity and mechanical properties become a candidate as the electrolytes of flexible zinc–air batteries. In this work, advances in aspects of conductivity, mechanical toughness, environmental adaptability, and interfacial compatibility of hydrogel electrolytes for flexible zinc–air batteries are investigated. First, the additives to improve conductivity of hydrogel electrolytes are summarized. Second, the measures to enhance the mechanical properties of hydrogels are taken by way of structure optimization and composition modification. Third, the environmental adaptability of hydrogel electrolytes is listed in terms of temperature, humidity, and air composition. Fourth, the compatibility of electrolyte–electrode interface is discussed from physical properties of hydrogels. Finally, the prospect for development and application of hydrogels is put forward.     

Sustainable Route for Synthesizing Aluminosilicate EU-1 Zeolite

Developing sustainable routes for the synthesis of zeolites is still a vital and challenging task in zeolite scientific community. One of the typical examples is sustainable synthesis of aluminosilicate EU-1 zeolite, which is not very efficient and environmental-unfriendly under hydrothermal condition due to the use of a large amount of water as solvent. Herein, we report a sustainable synthesis route for aluminosilicate EU-1 zeolite without the use of solvent for the first time. The physicochemical properties of the obtained EU-1 zeolite are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), N₂ sorption, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis, and solid nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which show the product has high crystallinity, uniform morphology, large BET surface area, and four-coordinated aluminum species. Moreover, the impact of synthesis conditions is investigated in detail. The sustainable synthesis of aluminosilicate EU-1 zeolite under solvent-free     

Detecting functional connectivity in the resting brain: a comparison between ICA and CCA

Independent component analysis (ICA) and cross-correlation analysis (CCA) are general tools for detecting resting-state functional connectivity. In this study, we jointly evaluated these two approaches based on simulated data and in vivo functional magnetic resonance imaging data acquired from 10 resting healthy subjects. The influence of the number of independent components (maps) on the results of ICA was investigated. The influence of the selection of the seeds on the results of CCA was also examined. Our results reveal that significant differences between these two approaches exist. The performance of ICA is superior as compared with that of CCA; in addition, the performance of ICA is not significantly affected by structured noise over a relatively large range. The results of ICA could be affected by the number of independent components if this number is too small, however. Converting the spatially independent maps of ICA into z maps for thresholding tends to overestimate the false-positive rate. However, the overestimation is not very severe and may be acceptable in most cases. The results of CCA are dependent on seeds location. Seeds selected based on different criteria will significantly affect connectivity maps.     

酰胺连接的共价有机骨架的制备及其在水中高效光催化性能

光催化是将太阳能转换为化学能的绿色可持续发展途径,有望解决日益严重的能源危机和环境污染问题.在光催化过程中,半导体材料作为光催化剂,负责可见光的捕获、光生载流子的生成和传输以及氧化还原反应,在整个光催化系统中起着决定性的作用.共价有机骨架材料(COFs)是一类新兴的半导体光催化剂,已被证明在可见光诱导的水分解、二氧化碳还原、有机转化反应和水中污染物降解方面具有应用前景.然而,大部分COFs是通过可逆反应构筑的,在水中及苛刻条件下的稳定性差.因此,提升基于COFs的光催化剂在水相中的光催化活性和循环稳定性仍然面临巨大挑战.本文提出了一种新策略,即通过实现多重协同效应,设计和开发2D-COFs作为在水中的高效非均相光催化剂.通过后合成策略将亚胺键连接的2D-COFs氧化,制备了两种具有丰富三嗪结构单元的以酰胺键连接的2D-COFs(命名为COF-JLU18和COF-JLU19).结果表明,COF-JLU18和COF-JLU19具有高比表面积和孔体积,其比表面积分别为1156和541 m2/g;COF-JLU19具有比相似拓扑结构的亚胺COF-JLU17更好的水蒸气吸附性能.此外,COF-JLU19表现出了极高的化学稳定性,在水中、盐酸和氢氧化钠溶液中浸泡两天,其结构和结晶性均没有发生明显变化.由此可见,酰胺键不仅可以增加材料骨架的亲水性,还能够提高COFs对水的稳定性.本文制备的酰胺键连接的COF-JLU19材料,在光降解罗丹明B水溶液(RhB)反应中可以获得高达0.69 min?1的光降解速率常数,活性明显优于其他光催化剂,如C3N4等.COF-JLU19具有较好的催化活性主要归因于以下两方面:一方面,良好的亲水性和固有孔隙率之间的协同效应可以增强COFs在水中对染料的吸附能力,使其光催化活性得到有效提升;另一方面,高的结晶度和优秀的稳定性使酰胺键连接的COFs在多相光催化中实现稳定循环利用.为了扩展COFs的应用前景,本文还制备了一种基于酰胺键连接COFs的静电纺丝膜,在以太阳光为光源的光降解罗丹明B水溶液实验中表现出较高的光催化活性和重复使用性.综上,本文提出的多重协同效应为基于COFs的高效光催化剂的设计提供了一种有效策略.     

A ratiometric near-infrared naphthalimide-based fluorescent probe with high sensitivity for detecting Fe2+ in vivo

Iron is one of the essential trace elements in the human body. It plays an important role in human biology and pathology. Deregulation of iron levels in cells is associated with disease development. In this work, we synthesized a novel near-infrared intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) based ratiometric fluorescent probe to detect Fe²⁺, by using naphthalimide and indole moieties as building blocks. Our work showed that the radiometric probe has excellent selectivity, sensitivity and rapid response. Moreover, we could successfully perform real-time monitoring of Fe²⁺ in HeLa cells and C. elegans.     

Characterization and performance of cobalt-free perovskite-type La0.6Ba0.4Fe0.8Ni0.2O3 − δ cathode material for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Ionics - A novel cobalt-free perovskite La0.6Ba0.4Fe0.8Ni0.2O3 − δ (LBFN) powder was synthesized using a combustion method. The phase composition, electrical conductivity, thermal...