Exonuclease-assisted multicolor aptasensor for visual detection of ochratoxin A based on G-quadruplex-hemin DNAzyme-mediated etching of gold nanorod

Microchimica Acta - The authors report on a microneedle-based amperometric nonenzymatic glucose sensor for painless and continuous monitoring of glucose. It consists of 3 × 5 sharp...     

Recent advances of organometallic complexes in emerging photovoltaics

Organometallic complexes (OMCs) consisting of organic and metal active moieties have shown immense potential for application in solar cells. The diverse structure, rich porosity, and unique charge centers of OMCs enable them to be functional in solar cells. In this review, we introduced four types of OMCs, such as crown organometallic complexes, β-diketone metal complexes, cyclometallic complexes, and main chain metal-containing polymers, providing an in-depth analysis of the structure-performance relationship. OMCs could serve as active or interlayer materials in a variety of solar cell systems such as organic solar cells, perovskite solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells, especially some metals to improve the photoelectric performance of the device as dopants. In the end, perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of OMCs are given.     

AVERAGE ONESIDED WIDTHS OF SOBOLEV AND BESOV CLASSES

The article concerns the average onesided widths of the Sobolev and Besov classes and the classes of functions with bounded moduli of smoothness. The weak asymptotic results are obtained for the corresponding quantities.     

Rational design of the nanowall photoelectrode for efficient solar water splitting

The alternate dielectric component is introduced into a nanowall skeleton for the first time. As a photoelectrode, this novel model can optimize the process of photon absorption, charge separation/migration and surface reaction, resulting in superior photoelectrochemical performance.     

A Flexible Rechargeable Zinc–Air Battery with Excellent Low-Temperature Adaptability

Flexible zinc–air batteries (ZAB) are a promising battery candidate for emerging flexible electronic devices, but the catalysis-based working principle and unique semi-opened structure pose a severe challenge to their overall performance at cold temperature. Herein, we report the first flexible rechargeable ZAB with excellent low-temperature adaptability, based on the innovation of an efficient electrocatalyst to offset the electrochemical performance shrinkage caused by decreased temperature and a highly conductive hydrogel with a polarized terminal group to render the anti-freezing property. The fabricated ZABs show excellent electrochemical performances that outperform those of many aqueous ZABs at room temperature. They also deliver a high capacity of 691 mAh g⁻¹ and an energy density of 798 Wh kg⁻¹ at −20 °C (92.7 % and 87.2 % retention of the room temperature counterparts, respectively), together with excellent flexibility and reverting capability.     

Overproduction,Purification and Characterization of Adenylate Deaminase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus oryzae</Emphasis>

Adenylate deaminase (AMPD, EC 3.5.4.6) is an aminohydrolase that widely used in the food and medicine industries. In this study, the gene encoding Aspergillus oryzae AMPD was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Induction with 0.75 mM isopropyl β-d-l-thiogalactopyranoside resulted in an enzyme activity of 1773.9 U/mL. Recombinant AMPD was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity using nickel affinity chromatography, and its molecular weight was calculated as 78.6 kDa. Purified AMPD exhibited maximal activity at 35 °C, pH 6.0 and 30 mM K⁺, with apparent K _m and V _max values of 2.7 × 10^?4 M and 77.5 μmol/mg/min under these conditions. HPLC revealed that recombinant AMPD could effectively catalyse the synthesis of inosine-5′-monophosphate (IMP) with minimal by-products, indicating high specificity and suggesting that it could prove useful for IMP production.     

一种同时分辨识别Zn2+和F-离子的双功能探针

由8-甲酰基-7-羟基香豆素与碳酰肼经一步缩合反应可制得探针1。研究发现,探针1对Zn²⁺和F^-离子均呈现荧光增强和比率比色的高灵敏和高选择性响应,检出限低至10^-8 mol·L^-1。通过光谱、ITC、¹H NMR滴定及质谱分析,详细地研究了探针与离子形成的配合物性质。在不同的介质中,探针不仅同时表现出对金属阳离子Zn²⁺和对阴离子F^-的识别,而且吸收和发射波长均有显著的差异：1-Zn²⁺配合物的最大吸收波长为360 nm,而1-F^-配合物为400 nm;1-Zn²⁺配合物的荧光激发和发射波长分别为360和454 nm,而1-F^-配合物分别为400和475 nm。此外,探针1还能应用于活体PC3细胞中Zn²⁺的荧光成像。     

Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/rice husk-based maco-/mesoporous carbon bone nanocomposite as superior high-rate anode for lithium ion battery

Rice husks (RHs), a kind of biowastes, are firstly hydrothermally pretreated by HCl aqueous solution to achieve promising macropores, facilitating subsequently impregnating ferric nitrate and urea aqueous solution, the precursor of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. A Fe₃O₄/rice husk-based maco-/mesoporous carbon bone nanocomposite is finally prepared by the high-temperature hydrothermal treatment of the precursor-impregnated pretreated RHs at 600 °C followed by NaOH aqueous solution treatment for dissolving silica and producing mesopores. The macro-/mesopores are able to provide rapid lithium ion-transferring channels and accommodate the volumetric changes of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles during cycling as well. Besides, the macro-/mesoporous carbon bone can offer rapid electron-transferring channels through directly fluxing electrons between Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and carbon bone. As a result, this nanocomposite delivers a high initial reversible capacity of 918 mAh g^?1 at 0.2 A g^?1 and a reversible capacity of 681 mAh g^?1 remained after 200 cycles at 1.0 A g^?1. The reversible capacities at high current densities of 5.0 and 10.0 A g^?1 still remain at high values of 463 and 221 mAh g^?1, respectively.     

Size‐Controlled Construction of Magnetic Nanoparticle Clusters Using DNA‐Binding Zinc Finger Protein

Nanoparticle clusters (NPCs) have attracted significant interest owing to their unique characteristics arising from their collective individual properties. Nonetheless, the construction of NPCs in a structurally well‐defined and size‐controllable manner remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate a strategy to construct size‐controlled NPCs using the DNA‐binding zinc finger (ZnF) protein. Biotinylated ZnF was conjugated to DNA templates with different lengths, followed by incubation with neutravidin‐conjugated nanoparticles. The sequence specificity of ZnF and programmable DNA templates enabled a size‐controlled construction of NPCs, resulting in a homogeneous size distribution. We demonstrated the utility of magnetic NPCs by showing a three‐fold increase in the spin–spin relaxivity in MRI compared with Feridex. Furthermore, folate‐conjugated magnetic NPCs exhibited a specific targeting ability for HeLa cells. The present approach can be applicable to other nanoparticles, finding wide applications in many areas such as disease diagnosis, imaging, and delivery of drugs and genes.