Integrated metabolomics and proteomics analysis of anthocyanin biosynthesis regulations in passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) pericarp.

Anthocyanin is the primary color-developing component in the pericarp of the passion fruit. Although the pericarp of the passion fruit is anticipated to be a significant source of anthocyanin, however, information regarding anthocyanin biosynthesis in the passion fruit pericarp remains unexplored. Based on metabolomics analysis, a total of five anthocyanins were identified in the purple-skinned passion fruit pericarp, among which three anthocyanins, petunidin-3-O-arabinoside, geranylgeranyl-3,5-O-diglucoside, and petunidin-3-O-rutinoside, play key roles in the coloration of the passion fruit pericarp.

The immune inflammation factors associated with disease severity and poor prognosis in patients with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with immune dysregulation and cytokine storm. It is essential to explore the immune response characteristics of peripheral circulation in COVID-19 patients to reveal pathogenesis and predict disease progression. In this study, the levels of total immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM, IgA), complement (C3, C4)，lymphocyte subsets (CD3 cell，CD4+ cell，CD8+ cell, NK cell, CD19 cell and CD45 cell) and cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, IL-12p, IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-α and IFN-γ) were retrospectively analyzed in COVID-19 patients.

Dissection of bicapped octahedral copper hydride cluster to form two chiral tetrahedral copper hydride cluster series exhibiting auto deracemization and photoluminescence.

Three series of copper hydride clusters [CuHL] (1), [CuHXL] where X = Cl (2a), Br (2b), I (2c), N (2d) and SCN (2e), and [CuHXL] where X = Br (3b) and I (3c) (L = 2-(diphenylphosphino)pyridine, dppy) were synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-Ray crystallography and standard spectroscopic techniques. The metal core of 1, Cu, can be described as a bicapped octahedron, while those of 2 and 3 series adopt tetrahedral structures. The hydride positions were deduced from difference electron density maps and corroborated by NMR and DFT calculations.

Hybrid Fullerene-Based Electron Transport Layers Improving the Thermal Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells.

The structure-dependent thermal stability of fullerene electron transport layers (ETLs) and its impact on device stability have been underrated for years. Based on cocrystallographic understanding, herein, we develop a thermally stable ETL comprising a hybrid layer of [6,6]-phenyl-C-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and [6,6]-phenyl-C-propylbenzene (PCPB). By tuning the weight ratios of PCBM and PCPB to influence the noncovalent intermolecular interactions and packing of fullerene derivatives, we obtained a champion device based on the 20PCPB (20 wt % addition of PCPB into the mixture of PCBM/PCPB) ETL and excellent thermal stability of 500 h under 85 °C thermal aging in a N atmosphere in the dark.

Rational synthesis of an atomically precise carboncone under mild conditions.

Carboncones, a special family of all-carbon allotropes, are predicted to have unique properties that distinguish them from fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphenes. Owing to the absence of methods to synthesize atomically well-defined carboncones, however, experimental insight into the nature of pure carboncones has been inaccessible. Herein, we describe a facile synthesis of an atomically well-defined carboncone[1,2] (CH) and its soluble penta-mesityl derivative.

General One-step Synthesis of Symmetrical or Unsymmetrical 1,4-Di(organo)fullerenes from Organo(hydro)fullerenes through Direct Oxidative Arylation.

A general one-step synthesis of symmetrical or unsymmetrical 1,4-di(organo)fullerenes from organo(hydro)fullerenes (RCH) is realized by direct oxidative arylation. The new combination of catalytic trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH) and stoichiometric -chloranil is the first to be used to directly generate an R-C intermediate from common RCH. Unexpectedly, the in situ generated R-C intermediate is shown to be quite stable in whole C NMR spectroscopy characterization in the absence of cation quenching reagents.

Pyridine-Functionalized Fullerene Electron Transport Layer for Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells.

In regular perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the commonly used electron transport layer (ETL) is titanium oxide (TiO). Nevertheless, the preparation of a high-quality TiO ETL demands an elevated-temperature sintering procedure, unfavorable for fabrication of PSCs on flexible substrates. Besides, TiO-based devices often suffer from notorious photocurrent hysteresis and serious light soaking instability, limiting their potential commercialization.

Double Negatively Curved C Growth through a Heptagon-Involving Pathway.

All previously reported C isomers have positive curvature and contain 12 pentagons in addition to hexagons. Herein, we report a new C species with two negatively curved heptagon moieties and 14 pentagons. This unconventional heptafullerene[70] containing two symmetric heptagons, referred to as dihept-C , grows in the carbon arc by a theoretically supported pathway in which the carbon cluster of a previously reported C species undergoes successive C insertion via a known heptafullerene[68] intermediate with low energy barriers.

An Unconventional Hydrofullerene CH with Symmetric Heptagons Retrieved in Low-Pressure Combustion.

The combustion has long been applied for industrial synthesis of carbon materials such as fullerenes as well as carbon particles (known as carbon black), but the components and structures of the carbon soot are far from being clarified. Herein, we retrieve an unprecedented hydrofullerene CH from a soot of a low-pressure combustion of benzene-acetylene-oxygen. Unambiguously characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, the CH renders a nonclassical geometry incorporating two heptagons and two pairs of fused pentagons in a C symmetry.

Sniffing with mass spectrometry.

Gaseous compounds are usually on-line detectable on sensors. The limitations of conventional sensors are suffering from incapability for exactly identifying multiple components as well as incompatibility to possible toxicants in every odor sample. Herein, we discuss an inlet modification to the laboratory standard mass spectrometer, inspired by the sensitive olfactory systems of animals, for direct sniffing, established by connecting a mini pump to the nebulizer gas tubing.

Di-isopropyl ether assisted crystallization of organic-inorganic perovskites for efficient and reproducible perovskite solar cells.

Organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells have emerged as a promising photovoltaic technology because of their advantages such as low cost, high efficiency, and solution processability. The performance of perovskite solar cells is highly dependent on the crystallinity and morphology of the perovskite films. Herein, we report a simple, one-step anti-solvent deposition process using di-isopropyl ether as a dripping solvent to obtain extremely uniform and highly crystalline CHNHPbI perovskite films.

Fullerene-based amino acid ester chlorides self-assembled as spherical nano-vesicles for drug delayed release.

Fullerenes with novel structures find numerous potential applications, particularly in the fields of biology and pharmaceutics. Among various fullerene derivatives, those exhibiting amphiphilic character and capable of self-assembly into vesicles are particularly interesting, being suitable for delayed drug release. Herein, we report the synthesis and self-assembly of biocompatible hollow nanovesicles with bilayer shells from amphiphilic functionalized fullerenes CRCl (R=methyl ester of 4-aminobutyric/glutamic acid or phenylalanine).

Tailorable PC BM Isomers: Using the Most Prevalent Electron Acceptor to Obtain High-Performance Polymer Solar Cells.

Despite being widely used as electron acceptor in polymer solar cells, commercially available PC BM (phenyl-C -butyric acid methyl ester) usually has a "random" composition of mixed regioisomers or stereoisomers. Here PC BM has been isolated into three typical isomers, α-, β - and β -PC BM, to establish the isomer-dependent photovoltaic performance on changing the ternary composition of α-, β - and β -PC BM. Mixing the isomers in a ratio of α/β /β =8:1:1 resulted in the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.

Formation of Curvature Subunit of Carbon in Combustion.

Curvature prevalently exists in the world of carbon materials (e.g., fullerenes, buckyl bowls, carbon nanotubes, and onions), but traditional C2-addition mechanisms fail to elucidate the mechanism responsible for the formation of carbon curvature starting from a pentagonal carbon ring in currently available chemical-physical processes such as combustion.

Capturing the Fused-Pentagon C74 by Stepwise Chlorination.

As a bridge to connect medium-sized fullerenes, fused-pentagon C74 is still missing heretofore. Of 14 246 possible isomers, the first fused-pentagon C74 with the Fowler-Manolopoulos code of 14 049 was stabilized as C74Cl10 in the chlorine-involving carbon arc. The structure of C74Cl10 was identified by X-ray crystallography.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of pH-sensitive PEG-I-dC16 block polymer micelles for anticancer drug delivery.

Objectives: To develop an acid trigger release of antitumour drug delivery carriers, pH-sensitive amphiphilic poly (ethyleneglycol)-imine-benzoic-dipalmitate (PEG-I-dC16 ) polymers were designed and synthesized and the drug-loaded micelles were evaluated in vitro.

Methods: PEG-I-dC16 synthesized by Schiff base synthetic method and characterized by (1) H-NMR. To determine the drug-loading capacity, doxorubicin (DOX) was encapsulated in the micelles using membrane dialysis method.

Regioselective Oxidation of Fused-Pentagon Chlorofullerenes.

Two monoxides of typical smaller chlorofullerenes, (#271)C50Cl10O and (#913)C56Cl10O, featured with double-fused-pentagons, were synthesized to demonstrate further regioselective functionalization of non-IPR (IPR = isolated pentagon rule) chlorofullerenes. Both non-IPR chlorofullerene oxides exhibit an epoxy structure at the ortho-site of fused pentagons. In terms of the geometrical analysis and theoretical calculations, the principles for regioselective epoxy oxidation of non-IPR chlorofullerenes are revealed to follow both "fused-pentagon ortho-site" and "olefinic bond" rules, which are valuable for prediction of oxidation of non-IPR chlorofullerenes.

Crystal structure of 3β-acet-oxy-androsta-5,16-dien-17-yl tri-fluoro-methane-sulfon-ate.

The title compound, C22H29F3O5S [systematic name: (3S,8R,9S,10R,13S,14S)-10,13-dimethyl-17-(tri-fluoro-methylsulfon-yloxy)-2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15-dodeca-hydro-1H-cyclo-penta-[a]phenanthren-3-yl acetate], contains a fused four-ring steroidal system. Rings A and C adopt a chair conformation, while rings B and D adopt half-chair and envelope (with the fused CH atom as the flap) conformations, respectively. In the crystal, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O inter-actions link the mol-ecules into layers parallel to the ab plane.

Crystal structure of (3S)-3-acet-oxy-17-(pyridin-3-yl)androsta-5,16-diene.

In the title compound, C26H33NO2 [systematic name: (3S,8R,9S,10R,13S,14S)-10,13-dimethyl-17-(pyridin-3-yl)-2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15-dodeca-hydro-1H-cyclo-penta-[a]phenanthren-3-yl acetate], the steroid A, B, C and D rings adopt chair, half-chair, chair and envelope conformations, respectively. The flap atom of the envelope is the methine C atom fused with the C ring. In the crystal, adjacent mol-ecules, generated by a 21 screw axis, are linked by weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a C(16) helical chain running along the c-axis direction.

Crystal structure of poly[(N,N-di-methyl-acetamide-κO)(μ4-5-methyl-isophthalato-κ(5) O:O,O':O'':O''')manganese(II)].

The title compound, poly[(N,N-di-methyl-acetamide-κO)(μ4-5-methyl-isophthalato-κ(5) O,O':O',O'':O'')manganese(II)], [Mn(C9H6O4)(C3H7NO)] n , was obtained from a mixture containing MnCl2·4H2O and 5-methyl-isophthalic acid in N,N-di-methyl-acetamide solution. The Mn(2+) ion is coordinated by five O atoms from four bridging 5-methyl-isophthalate ligands and one O atom from one N,N-di-methyl-acetamide ligand, defining a considerably distorted coordination polyhedron with one very long Mn-O bond of 2.623 (2) Å.

Reversible transformation between chiral and achiral Dy6Mo4 clusters through a symmetric operation.

Three polynuclear lanthanide clusters: (NH4)2[Dy6Mo4O12(rac-L(3-))4(OOCCH3)8]·4CH3OH·6H2O (I), (Et3NH)2[Dy6Mo4O12(rac-L(3-))4(OOCCH3)8]·18H2O (II), and (Me4N)2[Dy6Mo4O12(rac-L(3-))4(OOCCH3)8]·CH3OH·14H2O (III) (H3L = (E)-2-((2,3-dihydroxypropylimino)methyl)-phenol) were synthesized. Single-crystal analysis reveals that cluster I crystallized in the centrosymmetric space group (P42/n), while clusters II and II crystallized in the chiral space group (P3121 or P3221), and cluster I can be transformed into clusters II and III, when Et3NH(+) and Me4N(+), respectively, are used to replace NH4(+). Investigation on the solid-state vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra shows that the clusters II and III are homochiral crystallization.

A spin-canted Ni(II)4-based metal-organic framework with gas sorption properties and high adsorptive selectivity for light hydrocarbons.

The reaction of nickel(II) nitrate with isonicotinic acid and 2,6-dimethyl-pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylic acid affords a novel, tetranuclear nickel(II)-based metal-organic framework that exhibits spin-canted antiferromagnetism with a canted angle of 1.65° and high adsorptive selectivity for light hydrocarbons.

A highly selective colorimetric chemosensor for cobalt(II) ions based on a tripodal amide ligand.

A tripodal amide based ligand, tris-{(2-carbamoyl-5-carbomethoxy-pyridine)-2-ethyl}amine (H3L, 1), was synthesized and structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Investigation of the cation recognition behavior showed that the ligand has selective colorimetric sensing properties for cobalt(II) ions by an obvious color change from colorless to yellow. To investigate the sensing mechanism of H3L for Co(2+) ions, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and single-crystal structural analysis were performed.

Synthesis of long-sought C66 with exohedral stabilization.

Previously reported fused-pentagon fullerenes stabilized by exohedral derivatization do not share the same cage with those stabilized by endohedral encapsulation. Herein we report the crystallographic identification of (#4348)C66Cl10, which has the same cage as that of previously reported Sc2@C66. According to the geometrical data of (#4348)C66Cl10, both strain relief (at the fused pentagons) and local aromaticity (on the remaining sp(2)-hybrided carbon framework) contribute to the exohedral stabilization of this long-sought 66 carbon atom cage.