Facile synthesis of water-soluble silver nanoclusters for the photocatalytic degradation of dyes by multivariate optimization approach.

In this study, silver nanoclusters protected by the natural tripeptide ligand (GSH@Ag NCs) were constructed for photocatalytic dye degradation. The ultrasmall GSH@Ag NCs were found to exhibit a remarkably high degradation capability. Aqueous solutions of the hazardous organic dye Erythrosine B (Ery.

Conserved and divergent chaperoning effects of Hsp60/10 chaperonins on protein folding landscapes.

The GroEL/ES chaperonin cavity surface charge properties, especially the negative charges, play an important role in its capacity to assist intracavity protein folding. Remarkably, the larger fraction of GroEL/ES negative charges are not conserved among different bacterial species, resulting in a large variation in negative-charge density in the GroEL/ES cavity across prokaryotes. Intriguingly, eukaryotic GroEL/ES homologs have the lowest negative-charge density in the chaperonin cavity.

Single-Atom Gadolinium Anchored on Graphene Quantum Dots as a Magnetic Resonance Signal Amplifier.

A single-atom metal doped on carbonaceous nanomaterials has attracted increasing attention due to its potential applications as high-performance catalysts. However, few studies focus on the applications of such nanomaterials as nanotheranostics for simultaneous bioimaging and cancer therapy. Herein, it is pioneeringly demonstrated that the single-atom Gd anchored onto graphene quantum dots (SAGd-GQDs), with dendrite-like morphology, was successfully prepared.

Protocol for Spontaneous and Chaperonin-assisted Refolding of a Slow-folding Mutant of GFP, sGFP.

Understanding the folding pathway of any protein is of utmost importance for deciphering the folding problems under adverse conditions. We can obtain important information about the folding pathway by monitoring the folding of any protein from its unfolded state. It is usually very difficult to monitor the folding process in real time as the process is generally very fast, and we need a suitable read out.

GROEL/ES Buffers Entropic Traps in Folding Pathway during Evolution of a Model Substrate.

The folding landscape of proteins can change during evolution with the accumulation of mutations that may introduce entropic or enthalpic barriers in the protein folding pathway, making it a possible substrate of molecular chaperones in vivo. Can the nature of such physical barriers of folding dictate the feasibility of chaperone-assistance? To address this, we have simulated the evolutionary step to chaperone-dependence keeping GroEL/ES as the target chaperone and GFP as a model protein in an unbiased screen. We find that the mutation conferring GroEL/ES dependence in vivo and in vitro encode an entropic trap in the folding pathway rescued by the chaperonin.

Sn complexation with sulfonated-carbon dots in pursuit of enhanced fluorescence and singlet oxygen quantum yield.

Here we report a novel strategy to crosslink the surface of sulfonated-carbon dots (S-CDs) by complexing SnCl with sulfonate groups (-SO) on the CDs in aqueous solution. The S-CDs show an average photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield of 21% and a mean diameter of 3.8 nm.

Fluorine-containing graphene quantum dots with a high singlet oxygen generation applied for photodynamic therapy.

Recently, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have been extensively studied in biomedical areas such as bio-imaging, bio-sensing and photothermal therapy due to their superior optical and physiochemical properties compared to traditional organic biomarkers. Application of GQDs in photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been explored since 2014, but currently the main challenges are inadequate singlet oxygen (1O2) quantum yield (QY), poor solubility and biocompatibility. Herein, we report on the synthesis of a new class of fluorine-containing GQDs (F-GQDs) by an oxidative cutting method using fluorinated graphite as the raw material.

Recent Advances in Synthesis, Optical Properties, and Biomedical Applications of Carbon Dots.

Carbon dots (CDs) are relatively new and one of the most propitious nanomaterials ever known to humanity, primarily consisting of a carbonized carbon core with heteroatoms in organic functional groups attached. CDs show various fascinating properties, such as tunable excitation/emission, chemical inertness, photostability, low toxicity, good biocompatibility, ease of handling, and eco-friendliness. Due to the anomalous optical and chemical properties of the CDs, they have a wide range of applications in the fields of bioimaging, biosensing, photocatalysis, optoelectronics, etc.

Prevalence and types of high-risk human papillomaviruses in head and neck cancers from Bangladesh.

Background: There is a dramatic rise in the incidence of Human papillomavirus (HPV) - associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in the world, with considerable variation by geography, gender and ethnicity. Little is known about the situation in Bangladesh, where tobacco- and areca nut-related head and neck cancers (HNCs) are the most common cancers in men. We aimed to determine the prevalence of HPV in HNSCC in Bangladesh and to explore the possible value of cell cycle markers in clinical diagnostic settings.

Structure activity relationship of bergenin, p-hydroxybenzoyl bergenin, 11-O-galloylbergenin as potent antioxidant and urease inhibitor isolated from Bergenia ligulata.

Ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Bergenia ligulata was subjected to solvent-solvent separation followed by various chromatographic techniques that lead to isolation of bergenine (1), p-hydroxybenzoyl bergenin (2), 11-O-galloylbergenin (3) and methyl gallate (4) as major constituents. Ethyl acetate fraction showed a dose-dependent urease inhibitory pattern with IC50 value of 54μg/mL. Structures of compounds 1 and 3 were established by XRD and 2, 4 by NMR.