Synthesis of Ring-Locked Tetracyclic Dithienocyclopentapyrans and Dibenzocyclopentapyran via 1,5-Hydride Shift and Copper-Catalyzed C-O Bond Formation for Nonfullerene Acceptors.

We discovered a unique synthetic route to construct 2H-pyran-containing tetracyclic dithienocyclopentapyran (DTCP) and dibenzocyclopentapyran (DBCP) architectures. The synthesis involves an acid-induced dehydration cyclization followed by a [1,5] hydride-shift isomerization to form a cyclopentanone moiety which was converted to the pyran-embedded tetracyclic products by a CuI-catalyzed intramolecular C-O bond formation in good yield. DTCP was used as a building block to prepare an acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) type n-type material DTCP-BC leading to a solar cell efficiency of 9.

A propeller-shaped μ-carbonate hexanuclear dysprosium complex with a high energetic barrier to magnetisation relaxation.

A Dy complex composed of two Dy triangular units, [Dy(μ-OH)(CO)(bsc)(MeOH)(HO)](Cl)·(HO)·(MeOH) (1), was isolated and found to exhibit slow relaxation of the magnetisation under zero applied dc field, resulting in a high energetic barrier to relaxation.

Accelerated Arterial Stiffening Change in Early Years of Spinal Cord Injury.

Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) possess higher arterial stiffness index (SI) than the healthy population. This study aimed to clarify the effect of post-morbid duration on arterial stiffening change among SCI sufferers. Seventy-one SCI patients were recruited.

Sensitive detection of cyanide using bovine serum albumin-stabilized cerium/gold nanoclusters.

A simple, sensitive, and selective fluorescence assay for the detection of CN(-) has been demonstrated using bovine serum albumin-stabilized cerium/gold nanoclusters (BSA-Ce/Au NCs). When excited at 325 nm, BSA-Ce/Au NCs have two fluorescence bands centered at 410 and 658 nm, which are assigned to BSA-Ce/Au complexes and Au NCs, respectively. Each BSA-Ce/Au NC contains 22 Au atoms and 8 Ce ions.

Immobilization of aptamer-modified gold nanoparticles on BiOCl nanosheets: Tunable peroxidase-like activity by protein recognition.

A self-assembled nanocomposite is prepared from an aqueous mixture of aptamer-modified gold nanoparticles (Apt-Au NPs), bismuth ions and chloride ions. The Apt-Au NPs are immobilized on bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) nanosheets in situ to form Apt-Au NPs/BiOCl nanocomposites. The as-prepared nanocomposites exhibit high peroxidase-like activity for the catalytic conversion of Amplex Red (AR) to fluorescent resorufin in the presence of H2O2.

An Arduino-Based Resonant Cradle Design with Infant Cries Recognition.

This paper proposes a resonant electric cradle design with infant cries recognition, employing an Arduino UNO as the core processor. For most commercially available electric cradles, the drive motor is closely combined with the bearing on the top, resulting in a lot of energy consumption. In this proposal, a ball bearing design was adopted and the driving force is under the cradle to increase the distance from the object to fulcrum and torque.

Anodic composite deposition of RuO₂/reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube for advanced supercapacitors.

Anodic composite deposition is demonstrated to be a unique method for fabricating a ternary ruthenium dioxide/reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube (RuO2 xH2O/rGO/CNT, denoted as RGC) nanocomposite onto Ti as an advanced electrode material for supercapacitors. The rGO/CNT composite in RGCs acts as a conductive backbone to facilitate the electron transport between current collector and RuO2 xH2O nanoparticles (NPs), revealed by the high total specific capacitance (C(S,T) = 808 F g(-1)) of RGC without annealing. The contact resistance among RuO2 xH2O NPs is improved by low-temperature annealing at 150 °C (RGC-150), which renders slight sintering and enhances the specific capacitance of RuO2 xH2O to achieve 1200 F g(-1).

Selective Colorimetric Detection of Hydrogen Sulfide Based on Primary Amine-Active Ester Cross-Linking of Gold Nanoparticles.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a highly toxic environmental pollutant and also an important gaseous transmitter. Therefore, selective detection of H2S is very important, and visual detection of it with the naked eye is preferred in practical applications. In this study, thiolated azido derivates and active esters functionalized gold nanoparticles (AE-AuNPs)-based nanosensors have been successfully prepared for H2S perception.

Optical and electrochemical applications of silicon-carbon dots/silicon dioxide nanocomposites.

Various colors of photoluminescent SiC-dots/SiO2 prepared through a simple heating process have been employed for optical and electrochemical applications. Blue (B)-, green (G)-, and tan (T)-SiC-dots/SiO2 powders have been prepared from SiC-dots that had been prepared from 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane through a hydrothermal route by simply controlling heating at 60 °C for 60 min and 300 °C for 10 and 20 min, respectively. The B-, G-, and T-SiC-dots/SiO2 nanocomposites emit at 455, 534, and 574 nm, respectively, under excitation at 360 nm.

Unibody core-shell smart polymer as a theranostic nanoparticle for drug delivery and MR imaging.

Developing novel multifunctional nanoparticles (NPs) with robust preparation, low cost, high stability, and flexible functionalizability is highly desirable. This study provides an innovative platform, termed unibody core-shell (UCS), for this purpose. UCS is comprised of two covalent-bonded polymers differed only by the functional groups at the core and the shell.

Carbon nanodots prepared from o-phenylenediamine for sensing of Cu(2+) ions in cells.

A simple hydrothermal method was applied to prepare carbon nanodots (C dots) from o-phenylenediamine (OPD). The C dots exhibit photoluminescence at 567 nm when excited at 420 nm. In the presence of Cu(2+) ions, the colour of C dots changes from yellow to orange, with an increased PL intensity as a result of the formation of Cu(OPD)2 complexes on the surfaces of C dots.

Carbon dots prepared from ginger exhibiting efficient inhibition of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Fluorescent carbon nanodots (C-dots; 4.3 ± 0.8 nm) from fresh tender ginger juice provide high suppression of the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2), with low toxicity to normal mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A) and normal liver cells (FL83B).

Sensitive detection of platelet-derived growth factor through surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) assay using two different nanomaterials has been demonstrated for highly sensitive and selective detection of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs; 13 nm) are conjugated with aptamer (Apt) and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) as the recognition element and reporter, respectively, while Au pearl necklace nanomaterials (Au PNNs) are used for generating reproducible and enhanced SERS signal of 4-MBA. The Apt/MBA-Au NPs bind PDGF through a specific interaction between Apt and PDGF in a fashion of 2:1, leading to concentration of the analyte and removal of the sample matrix.

One-pot synthesis of fluorescent BSA-Ce/Au nanoclusters as ratiometric pH probes.

A facile, one-pot synthetic approach has been developed for the preparation of BSA-Ce/Au NCs. The fluorescence intensities of BSA-Ce/Au NCs at 410 and 650 nm are pH dependent and independent, respectively. The fluorescence intensity ratio (I410/I650) is linear against pH values from 6.

Multivalent antiviral XTEN-peptide conjugates with long in vivo half-life and enhanced solubility.

XTENs are unstructured, nonrepetitive protein polymers designed to prolong the in vivo half-life of pharmaceuticals by introducing a bulking effect similar to that of poly(ethylene glycol). While XTEN can be expressed as a recombinant fusion protein with bioactive proteins and peptides, therapeutic molecules of interest can also be chemically conjugated to XTEN. Such an approach permits precise control over the positioning, spacing, and valency of bioactive moieties along the length of XTEN.

Detection of mercury(II) ions using colorimetric gold nanoparticles on paper-based analytical devices.

An on-field colorimetric sensing strategy employing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and a paper-based analytical platform was investigated for mercury ion (Hg(2+)) detection at water sources. By utilizing thymine-Hg(2+)-thymine (T-Hg(2+)-T) coordination chemistry, label-free detection oligonucleotide sequences were attached to unmodified gold nanoparticles to provide rapid mercury ion sensing without complicated and time-consuming thiolated or other costly labeled probe preparation processes. Not only is this strategy's sensing mechanism specific toward Hg(2+), rather than other metal ions, but also the conformational change in the detection oligonucleotide sequences introduces different degrees of AuNP aggregation that causes the color of AuNPs to exhibit a mixture variance.

Quantification of saccharides in honey samples through surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using HgTe nanostructures.

Quantification of monosaccharides and disaccharides in five honey samples through surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) using HgTe nanostructures as the matrix and sucralose as an internal standard has been demonstrated. Under optimal conditions (1× HgTe nanostructure, 0.2 mM ammonium citrate at pH 9.

Gold nanosponges: green synthesis, characterization, and cytotoxicity.

A simply approach for the synthesis of Au nanostructures in tea infusions at room temperature is developed. By controlling the concentrations of tea infusions, Au nanostructures in various shapes and sizes have been prepared. From 1 x (original concentration) and 0.

Extension of in vivo half-life of biologically active peptides via chemical conjugation to XTEN protein polymer.

XTEN, unstructured biodegradable proteins, have been used to extend the in vivo half-life of genetically fused therapeutic proteins and peptides. To expand the applications of XTEN technology to half-life extension of other classes of molecules, XTEN protein polymers and methods for chemical XTENylation were developed. Two XTEN precursors were engineered to contain enzymatically removable purification tags.

GLP2-2G-XTEN: a pharmaceutical protein with improved serum half-life and efficacy in a rat Crohn's. PLoS One. 2012; 7(11): e50630.

[This corrects the article on p. e50630 in vol. 7.

Detection of mercury ions using silver telluride nanoparticles as a substrate and recognition element through surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

In this paper we unveil a new sensing strategy for sensitive and selective detection of Hg(2+) through surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) using Ag2Te nanoparticles (NPs) as a substrate and recognition element and rhodamine 6G (R6G) as a reporter. Ag2Te NPs prepared from tellurium dioxide and silver nitrate and hydrazine in aqueous solution containing sodium dodecyl sulfate at 90°C with an average size of 26.8 ± 4.

GLP2-2G-XTEN: a pharmaceutical protein with improved serum half-life and efficacy in a rat Crohn's disease model.

Objectives: Glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP2) is an intestinal growth factor that has been shown to stimulate intestinal growth and reduce disease severity in preclinical models of short bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. Teduglutide, a recombinant human GLP2 variant (GLP2-2G), has increased half-life and stability as compared to the native GLP2 peptide, but still requires twice daily dosing in preclinical models and daily dosing in the clinic. The goal of this study was to produce and characterize the preclinical pharmacokinetic and therapeutic properties of GLP2-2G-XTEN, a novel, long-acting form of GLP2-2G.

Functionalized polymer spheres via one-step photoinduced synthesis for antimicrobial activity and gene delivery.

Despite the fact that polystyrene (PS) spheres have been developed as polymeric carriers or matrices for various biomedical applications, the synthesis of PS spheres is time-consuming. This work describes the fabrication of a uniform PS sphere, coated with silver nanoparticles (Ag-PS), by simultaneous photoinduced polymerization and reduction fabricated using x-rays in aqueous solution without any initiator. The solution contains only styrene, silver ions (Ag(+)), and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a stabilizer.