A New Near-Infrared Neutral pH Fluorescent Probe for Monitoring Minor pH Changes and its Application in Imaging of HepG2 Cells

A new near-neutral pH near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe utilizing a fluorophore–receptor molecular framework that can modulate the fluorescence emission intensity through a fast photoinduced electron transfer process was developed. Our strategy was to choose tricarbocyanine (Cy), a NIR fluorescent dye with high extinction coefficients, as a fluorophore, and N-methylpiperazine (MP) as a receptor. The pH titration indicated that MP-Cy can monitor the minor physiological pH fluctuations with a pKa of ～7.10 near physiological pH, which is valuable for intracellular pH researches. The probe responds linearly and rapidly to minor pH fluctuations within the range of 3.05–7.10 and exhibits strong dependence on pH changes. As expected, the real-time imaging of cellular pH and the detection of pH in situ was achieved successfully in living HepG2 cells by this probe. It is shown that the probe effectively avoids the influence of autofluorescence and native cellular species in biological systems and meanwhile exhibits high sensitivity, good photostability, and excellent cell membrane permeability.     

Preparation and drug delivery study of electrospun hollow PES ultrafine fibers with a multilayer wall

The focus of this work was the preparation of hollow ultrafine fibers with a multilayer wall via coaxial electrospinning technology in one step and then studied their drug delivery properties. In this paper, by choosing a suitable dilute hydrophilic polymer solution as the core solution, polyethersulfone (PES) hollow ultrafine fibers with two different layers wall (porous structure layer and dense smooth layer) were formed during coaxial electrospinning process in one step. They showed good drug delivery capacity when curcumin was used as the model drug. There were much larger delivery amounts, more stable release rate, and higher utilization rate of PES hollow ultrafine fibers with a multilayer wall to curcumin than that of PES porous ultrafine fibers. Compared with porous ultrafine fibers, hollow ultrafine fibers with two different layers wall were more suitable to be used as drug delivery materials. Besides, between the two hollow ultrafine fibers with two different layers wall mentioned in this paper, there was much better drug delivery capacity for the hollow fibers produced with the core solution of PVA/DMSO. These results showed that PES hollow ultrafine fibers with two different layers wall have the potential to be used as the drug delivery materials.     

Validation of a Reference Gene (BdFIM) for Quantifying Transgene Copy Numbers in Brachypodium distachyon by Real-Time PCR

Brachypodium distachyon has been proposed as a new model system for gramineous plants with a sequenced genome and an efficient transformation system. Many transgenic B. distachyon plants have been generated in recent years. To develop a reliable fast method for detecting transgenic B. distachyon and quantifying its transgene copy numbers, a species-specific reference gene is of great priority to be validated both in qualitative PCR and quantitative real-time PCR detection. In this study, we first proved that the BdFIM (B. distachyon fimbrin-like protein) gene is a suitable reference gene in qualitative PCR and quantitative real-time PCR for B. distachyon. Fourteen different B. distachyon varieties were tested by both qualitative and quantitative PCRs, and identical amplification products of BdFIM were obtained with all of them, while no amplification products were observed with samples from 14 other plant species, suggesting that BdFIM gene was specific to B. distachyon. The results of Southern blot analysis revealed that the BdFIM gene was low copy number in seven tested B. distachyon varieties. In conclusion, the BdFIM gene can be used as a reference gene, since it had species specificity, low heterogeneity, and low copy number among the tested B. distachyon varieties. Furthermore, the copy number of inserted sequences from transgenic B. distachyon obtained by real-time PCR methods and Southern blot confirmed that the BdFIM gene was an applicable reference gene in B. distachyon.     

纤连蛋白在石墨烯修饰二氧化钛表面吸附的计算机模拟

采用全原子分子动力学模拟方法研究了纤连蛋白(FN)在金红石表面、23%石墨烯覆盖率的金红石表面、92%石墨烯覆盖率的金红石表面、石墨表面的吸附行为.模拟结果表明:FN在金红石表面吸附不稳定.通过石墨烯修饰二氧化钛表面可降低金红石表面的亲水性;当表面含有石墨烯层时,FN都将稳定地吸附在表面上.在23%石墨烯覆盖率的金红石表面上,FN的特异性识别位点朝向溶液而有利于整合素识别.DSSP分析结果显示在40 ns的分子动力学模拟过程中,FN的七个β-折叠结构在所有体系中均没有发生太大变化.由于有石墨烯层存在,表面附近水分子层密度减小.FN的表面吸附能随着表面石墨烯覆盖率的增加而增大.石墨烯修饰能加强二氧化钛表面对蛋白质的吸附.本工作可以为移植体修饰生物材料设计与开发提供参考.     

A new perspective for effect of S and Cu on the photocatalytic activity of S,Cu-codoped nano-TiO2 under visible light irradiation

Sulfur and copper codoped TiO₂ nanoparticles were prepared by sol-hydrothermal process. And the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectra analysis, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer Emmett Teller analysis, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectra and X-ray fluorescence analysis. It was found that the S, Cu-codoped TiO₂ became amorphous with the increase of Cu content, and copper on the surface of TiO₂ existed in the oxidation state of Cu(II) while S in the form of S⁶⁺ species. And the codoped particles had higher surface area, smaller particle size, stronger spectral response in visible region compared with pure TiO₂. The effects of doping amount in a wide range, catalyst dosage, and recycle on the photocatalytic activity of the codoped catalysts were investigated with Acid Orange 7 as the model compound under visible light illumination (λ > 447 nm). The results showed that S (2.0 %), Cu (5.0 %) codoped TiO₂ had the highest visible light photocatalytic activity and good reusability performance. The kinetic study showed that this photocatalytic process coincided with the Langmuir–Hinshelwood pseudo first order reaction model.     

Machine-Driven Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Glycopeptide

Historically, researchers have put considerable effort into developing automation systems to prepare natural biopolymers such as peptides and oligonucleotides. The availability of such mature systems has significantly advanced the development of natural science. Over the past twenty years, breakthroughs in automated synthesis of oligosaccharides have also been achieved. A machine-driven platform for glycopeptide synthesis by a reconstructed peptide synthesizer is described. The designed platform is based on the use of an amine-functionalized silica resin to facilitate the chemical synthesis of peptides in organic solvent as well as the enzymatic synthesis of glycan epitopes in the aqueous phase in a single reaction vessel. Both syntheses were performed by a peptide synthesizer in a semiautomated manner.     

Electrochemical Phase Evolution of Metal-Based Pre-Catalysts for High-Rate Polysulfide Conversion

In situ evolution of electrocatalysts is of paramount importance in defining catalytic reactions. Catalysts for aprotic electrochemistry such as lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries are the cornerstone to enhance intrinsically sluggish reaction kinetics but the true active phases are often controversial. Herein, we reveal the electrochemical phase evolution of metal-based pre-catalysts (Co₄N) in working Li-S batteries that renders highly active electrocatalysts (CoS_x). Electrochemical cycling induces the transformation from single-crystalline Co₄N to polycrystalline CoS_x that are rich in active sites. This transformation propels all-phase polysulfide-involving reactions. Consequently, Co₄N enables stable operation of high-rate (10 C, 16.7 mA cm⁻²) and electrolyte-starved (4.7 μL mg_S⁻¹) Li-S batteries. The general concept of electrochemically induced sulfurization is verified by thermodynamic energetics for most of low-valence metal compounds.     

Molten-Salt-Assisted Synthesis of Bismuth Nanosheets for Long-term Continuous Electrocatalytic Conversion of CO2 to Formate

Two-dimensional (2D) monometallic pnictogens (antimony or Sb, and bismuth or Bi) nanosheets demonstrate potential in a variety of fields, including quantum devices, catalysis, biomedicine and energy, because of their unique physical, chemical, electronic and optical properties. However, the development of general and high-efficiency preparative routes toward high-quality pnictogen nanosheets is challenging. A general method involving a molten-salt-assisted aluminothermic reduction process is reported for the synthesis of Sb and Bi nanosheets in high yields (>90 %). Electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction was investigated on the Bi nanosheets, and high catalytic selectively to formate was demonstrated with a considerable current density at a low overpotential and an impressive stability. Bi nanosheets continuously convert CO₂ into formate in a flow cell operating for one month, with a yield rate of 787.5 mmol cm⁻² h⁻¹. Theoretical results suggest that the edge sites of Bi are far more active than the terrace sites.     

An Endo-Selective Epoxide-Opening Cascade for the Fast Assembly of the Polycyclic Core Structure of Marine Ladder Polyethers

The rapid synthesis of marine ladder polyethers from polyepoxide precursors (in analogy with the biosynthetic pathway hypothesized by Nakanishi) is hampered by the fact that the exo-selective epoxide-opening cyclization cascade that gives THF-type polyethers is preferred over the endo-selective cascade that gives the desired products. We found that perfluoro-tert-butanol (PFTB) cooperating with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM]BF₄) can promote endo-selective epoxide-opening cyclization reactions of trisubstituted epoxy alcohols. Starting from readily accessible homochiral polyepoxy alcohols with a methyl group at all the endo-cyclization sites, we were able to construct polyethers up to five consecutive fused 6-, 7-, and/or 8-membered rings in one step. Notably, molecules with the 7/7/6/6 and 7/7/6/7/6 polyether frameworks of hemibrevetoxin B and brevenal, respectively, could be synthesized in 40 % and 17 % chemical yields.     

J-Aggregate-Based FRET Monitoring of Drug Release from Polymer Nanoparticles with High Drug Loading

Understanding drug-release kinetics is critical for the development of drug-loaded nanoparticles. We developed a J-aggregate-based Förster-resonance energy-transfer (FRET) method to investigate the release of novel high-drug-loading (50 wt %) nanoparticles in comparison with low-drug-loading (0.5 wt %) nanoparticles. Single-dye-loaded nanoparticles form J-aggregates because of the high dye-loading (50 wt %), resulting in a large red-shift (≈110 nm) in the fluorescence spectrum. Dual-dye-loaded nanoparticles with high dye-loading using FRET pairs exhibited not only FRET but also a J-aggregate red-shift (116 nm). Using this J-aggregate-based FRET method, dye-core–polymer-shell nanoparticles showed two release processes intracellularly: the dissolution of the dye aggregates into dye molecules and the release of the dye molecules from the polymer shell. Also, the high-dye-loading nanoparticles (50 wt %) exhibited a slow release kinetics in serum and relatively quick release in cells, demonstrating their great potential in drug delivery.