Monitoring intracellular pH fluctuation with an excited-state intramolecular proton transfer-based ratiometric fluorescent sensor

Intracellular pH is a key parameter related to various biological and pathological processes. In this study, a ratiometric pH fluorescent sensor ABTT was developed harnessing the amino-type excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. Relying on whether the ESIPT proceeds normally or not, ABTT exhibited the yellow fluorescence in acidic media, or cyan fluorescence in basic condition. According to the variation, ABTT behaved as a promising sensor which possessed fast and reversible response to pH change without interference from the biological substances, and exported a steady ratiometric signal (I₄₇₈/I₅₄₆). Moreover, due to the ESIPT effect, large Stokes shift and high quantum yield were also exhibited in ABTT. Furthermore, ABTT was applied for monitoring the pH changes in living cells and visualizing the pH fluctuations under oxidative stress successfully. These results elucidated great potential of ABTT in understanding pH-dependent physiological and pathological processes.     

面向产出的高分子化学课程教学大纲的构建*

基于工程教育认证的核心理念,制定了面向产出的高分子化学课程教学大纲。与传统课程教学大纲不同,本大纲的课程目标是使学生具备推演、阐述、分析和研究高分子材料领域复杂工程问题的能力,体现以学生为中心、面向产出和持续改进的理念。课程教学内容既包含知识点又包含能力要求,强调课程知识点与学生能力达成的支撑关系。在课程考核部分,提出了分目标模块化的考核方法和评分标准,满足了工程认证可衡量、易操作的考核要求。     

Urea Detection of Electrochemical Transistor Sensors based on Polyanline (PANI)/MWCNT/Cotton Yarns

A cotton yarn biosensor based on electrochemical transistor functionalized with MWCNT and PANI was developed for the detection of urea. The transistors based on PANI/MWCNT/cotton yarns under optimized MWCNT concentration has been obtained, which exhibited high on/off current ratio, fast response time, and good operational stability. A transistor-based urea sensor was prepared from PANI/MWCNT/cotton yarns, which could monitor urea in the 1 nM–1 mM linear range with the correlation coefficient of 0.9716. Furthermore, the sensor showed superior reproducibility and high specificity. The practical applications of the proposed sensor were also confirmed. These results indicate the flexible transistor can be used as an efficient platform for biological detection in body fluids.     

Preparation of modified multi‐walled carbon nanotubes as a reinforcement for epoxy shape‐memory polymer composites

Effectively improving the mechanical properties and thermal resistance of epoxy shape‐memory polymers (ESMPs) without affecting their shape‐memory performance is necessary to expand these polymers in practical applications. In this article, modified multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared and used as efficient reinforcement for enhancing the comprehensive properties of ESMPs. Increases of nearly 289% to 444% for impact strength and 112% to 184% for tensile force were obtained by adding only 0.1 to 1 wt% epoxy‐modified MWCNTs. The addition of unmodified and carboxyl‐modified MWCNTs was also investigated but showed less impact on the mechanical properties of the ESMPs than epoxy‐modified MWCNTs. Thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) showed that less than 1 wt% modified MWCNTs can enhance the heat resistance of ESMPs greatly. Although the shape recovery time for composite materials increased upon adding the MWCNTs, the entire recovery time was still less than 1 minute, and the shape recovery rate was relatively high, nearly 100%.     

Large Nonlinear Optical Activity of a Near-infrared-absorbing Bithiophene-based Polymer with a Head-to-head Linkage

Although the production of near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing organic polymers with an excellent nonlinear optical (NLO) response is vital for various optoelectronic devices and photodynamic therapy, the molecular design and relevant photophysical investigation still remain challenging. In this work, large NLO activity is observed for an NIR-absorbing bithiophene-based polymer with a unique head-to-head linkage in the NIR region. The saturable absorption coefficient and modulation depth of the polymer are determined as ∼−3.5×10⁵ cm GW⁻¹ and ∼32.43%, respectively. Notably, the polymer exhibits an intrinsic nonlinear refraction index up to ∼−9.36 cm² GW⁻¹, which is six orders of magnitude larger than that of CS₂. The maximum molar-mass normalized two-photon absorption cross-section (σ₂/M) of this polymer can be up to ∼14 GM at 1200 nm. Femtosecond transient absorption measurements reveal significant spectral overlap between the 2PA and excited state absorption in the 1000–1400 nm wavelength range and an efficient triplet quantum yield of ∼36.7%. The results of this study imply that this NIR-absorbing polymer is promising for relevant applications.     

Blue emission from InGaN/GaN hexagonal pyramid structures

Cathodoluminescence (CL) from InGaN grown on GaN hexagonal pyramid structures has been investigated. The facet structure can be controlled by the growth temperature and reactor pressure. GaN pyramid structures surrounded with facets were grown at 1020 C at a pressure of 500 Torr by low-pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (LP-MOVPE). The indium mole fraction in the InGaN film depends on the facet structure. The thickness of the InGaN and the peak wavelength and intensity of the CL from the InGaN gradually increased from the bottom to the top of the facets.     

Solvent and pH Effects on the Fluorescence of 7-(Dimethylamino)-2-Fluorenesulfonate

A novel water-soluble solvatochromic molecule, 7-(dimethylamino)-2-fluorenesulfonate (2,7-DAFS), was prepared by a three-step reaction from 2-nitrofluorene in good overall yield. The pH and solvent effects on the UV-VIS absorption and fluorescence spectra of 2,7-DAFS have been studied. Protonation of the dimethylamino group switches the absorption from intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) to π → π* transition. The ground state pKa value of 2,7-DAFS was determined as 4.51. The fluorescence spectrum of the excited basic form, *(DAFS), shows a structureless single band with a large Stokes shift, whereas that of the acidic form, *(⁺HDAFS), exhibits a structured band with a small Stokes shift. The emission intensities of the basic and acidic forms versus pH/Ho plots show stretched sigmoidal curves and indicate that (1) the rate of deprotonation of *(⁺HDAFS) is comparable to the fluorescence decay of the species, and (2) the efficient proton-induced quenching of *(DAFS) fluorescence occurs. The pKa* was estimated as −1.7 from the fluorescence titration curve. The fluorescence maximum of *(DAFS) is blue-shifted as the polarity of solvent decreases. However, no clear dependency of the emission intensity and spectral half width, and thus fluorescence quantum yield, on the solvent polarity was revealed. It appears that the fluorescence sensitivity of 2,7-DAFS is 15 ∼ 25 times greater than the sensitivity of a widely utilized fluorescent probe, 5-(dimethylamino)-1-naphthalenesulfonate. This higher sensitivity, together with the ease of derivatization, would provide the fluorene-based fluorescent molecules significant advantages for a variety of applications.     

Fluorescent Probe ABM for Screening Gastrointestinal Patient’s Immune State

The fluorescent probe-aminoderivative of benzanthrone, ABM (developed at Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia) was used to characterize the membranes of lymphocytes of cancer patients: 46 patients with gastrointestinal diseases, 13 patients having different primary localizations with massive metastases and intoxication. Patients were divided into three groups: (1) with decreased fluorescence intensity, (2) normal fluorescence intensity, (3) increased fluorescence intensity. The lymphocytes distribution among subsets differed between groups, in correspondence to the level of florescence intensity. Surgical treatment affected the main immunological parameters and elevated the functional activity of lymphocytes. In the advanced tumors group, fluorescence intensity correlates with the survival rate. Results suggest that determination of lymphocytes functional activity by ABM can aid evaluation of the immune status in cancer patients.     

A Fe<Superscript>3+</Superscript>/Hg<Superscript>2+</Superscript>-Selective Anthracene-Based Fluorescent PET Sensor with Tridentate Ionophore of Amide/β-Amino Alcohol

A new anthracene-based fluorescent PET sensor 1 with a tridentate ionophore of amide/β-amino alcohol displays very good selectivity and sensitivity for Fe³⁺ (K _a = 1.6 × 10³ M⁻¹) and Hg²⁺ (K _a = 2.1 × 10³ M⁻¹) in CH₃CN–H₂O (3:7, v/v) with detection limit of 1 μM. More fluorescence enhancement was observed when 1 selectively detected Fe³⁺ or Hg²⁺ in CH₃CN and its detection limit was up to 0.03 μM.     

表面活性剂及水溶性功能高分子的NMR研究

核磁共振（NMR）技术是研究表面活性剂在溶液中聚集状态的一种非常有用的工具,本文运用多种NMR技术研究了几种不同类型表面活性剂及水溶性功能高分子在水溶液中的聚集行为： 1. 季铵盐型双子表面活性剂16-4-16的聚集行为季铵盐型双子表面活性剂N,N′-双(十六烷基二甲基)-α,ω-丁烷溴化铵(16-4-16)分子中联接基团及靠近离子头的质子位于胶束的壳层, 运动受到一定限制. 而距离离子头较远的烷烃链位于胶束的内部,运动相对自由. 与对应的单链表面活性剂十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)相比,16-4-16形成的胶束堆积更为紧密. 通过NOESY谱中交叉峰强度的定量计算,认为16-4-16在胶束中分子以上下交错排列的方式形成球形聚集体.  2. 脱氧胆酸钠与十六烷基三甲基溴化铵的相互作用在脱氧胆酸钠(NaDC)溶液中,NaDC质子H3与其他质子不同,其横向弛豫时间(T₂)表现为双指数衰减,表明此质子可能存在两种不同的状态. 实验证明,其它胆酸盐的H3的横向弛豫也呈现双指数衰减. 因此推测在胆酸盐的稀溶液中,3-OH质子和羰基氧之间有可能存在氢键作用,形成了头尾相连的分子对结构.  在NaDC和CTAB的混合溶液中,两者形成1∶1的混合胶束. 用NOESY和ROESY研究混合胶束的结构,显示CTAB的离子头位于NaDC的羧酸基团附近. 这可能是正负离子之间的静电性相互作用的结果.  3. 丙烯酰胺/丙烯酸模板共聚物的微结构研究了不同pH值条件下,丙烯酰胺和丙烯酸共聚物分子在水溶液中的聚集形态. 在酸性溶液中,分子内的氢键致使聚集体形成较为紧密的堆积,侧链的苯氧基团运动受阻;随着溶液pH值的增大,丙烯酸电离产生的阴离子使得分子间的静电斥力增大,分子链变得伸展,分子间的氢键作用导致了聚集体体积变大. 当溶液呈强碱性,丙烯酸完全电离,氢键作用力被破坏,分子呈现自由伸展的状态,侧链的苯氧基团运动相对自由.