The conversion of solar energy into chemical energy or high-value chemicals has attracted considerable research interest in the context of the global energy crisis. Hydrogen peroxide (HO) is a versatile and powerful oxidizing agent widely used in chemical synthesis and medical disinfection. HO also serves as a clean energy source in fuel cells, generating electricity with zero-carbon emissions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Cancer ranks as the second most prevalent cause of death worldwide, responsible for approximately 9.6 million deaths annually. Approximately one out of every six deaths is caused by cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFortilin, a 172-amino acid polypeptide, is a multifunctional protein that interacts with various protein molecules to regulate their functions. Although fortilin has been shown to interact with cytoskeleton proteins such as tubulin and actin, its interactions with the components of adherens junctions remained unknown. Using co-immunoprecipitation western blot analyses, the proximity ligation assay, microscale thermophoresis, and biolayer interferometry, we here show that fortilin specifically interacts with CTNNA3 (α-T-catenin), but not with CTNNA1, CTNNA2, or CTNNB.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, , accumulates high levels of manganese without iron and possesses a polyploid genome, characteristics suggesting potential extreme resistance to radiation. Contrary to expectations, we report that wild-type B31 cells are radiosensitive, with a gamma-radiation survival limit for 10 wild-type cells of <1 kGy. Thus, we explored radiosensitivity through electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy by quantitating the fraction of Mn present as antioxidant Mn metabolite complexes (H-Mn).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) poses significant treatment challenges due to its high metastasis, heterogeneity, and poor biomarker expression. The N-terminus of an octapeptide NAPVSIPQ () was covalently coupled to a carboxylic acid derivative of Ru(2,2'-bipy) () to synthesize an N-stapled short peptide-Rubpy conjugate (). This photosensitizer (PS) was utilized to treat TNBC through microtubule (MT) targeted chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoly(ethylene oxide)-(PEO-based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are regarded as excellent candidates for solid-state lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) due to their inherent safety advantages, processability, low cost, and excellent Li+ ion solvation. However, they suffer from limited oxidation stability (up to 4 V vs Li/Li). In this study, a crosslinked polymer-in-concentrated ionic liquid (PCIL) SPE consisting of PEO, -propyl--methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (CmpyrFSI) ionic liquid (IL), and lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) salt is developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDyes are considered to be pollutants that pose a considerable worldwide health risk, as they have been discovered as agents that affect the endocrine system. Adsorption is the most commonly used method for removing different substances since it is sustainable, flexible, affordable, and easy to use. Researchers have investigated the usage of agro-waste-based adsorbents that are ecologically friendly for the process of adsorption.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly studied for solar H production from HO due to their abundant active sites and open pore channels. Titanium (Ti) and Zirconium (Zr) MOFs are particularly noted for their stability and optoelectronic properties, resembling conventional metal oxide semiconductors. These MOFs allow molecular-level tuning to alter optoelectronic properties, creating opportunities to enhance catalytic activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe quality of protective immunity plays a critical role in modulating vaccine efficacy, with native antigens often not able to trigger sufficiently strong immune responses for pathogen killing. This warrants creation of structure-based vaccine design, leveraging high-resolution antigen structures for mutagenesis to improve protein stability and efficient immunization strategies. Here, we investigated the mechanisms underlying structure-based vaccine design using CspZ-YA, a vaccine antigen from , the bacteria causing Lyme disease (LD), the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we developed a solid-state atomic replacement method for metal catalysts, enabling the exchange of metal atoms between single atoms and nanoalloys to create new combinations of nanoalloys and single atoms. We observed that partial metal interchange occurred between the RuNi nanoalloy and Zn from the zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) on a carbon-nitrogen framework (CNF) at a high temperature of 900 °C, leading to the creation of RuZn nanoparticles and single nickel atoms (Ni-CN). Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) analyses revealed that Ni is atomically dispersed within (RuZn)/Ni-CN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer remains a formidable global health challenge, demanding the exploration of innovative treatment modalities with minimized side effects. One promising avenue involves the synergistic integration of targeted photothermal/photodynamic therapy (PTT/PDT), utilizing specially designed functional nanomaterials for precise cancer diagnosis and treatment. This study introduces a composite biomaterial, anti-epidermal growth factor receptor-conjugated manganese core phthalocyanine bismuth (anti-EGFR-MPB), synthesized for precise cancer imaging and treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA CuO/TiO hybrid heterostructure was successfully engineered from copper metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using a two-step process involving solvothermal synthesis and calcination. By precisely controlling the CuO loading, this synergistic composite exhibited exceptional performance in photocatalytic CO reduction. Notably, AI-assisted continuous flow experimentation achieved a record-breaking methanol production rate of 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA novel lithium salt (lithium di-fluoro di-nonafluoro--butoxy borate) shows high solubility (>1 M) and flame-retardant properties in an electrolyte solution with conventional carbonate solvents as well as stable cycling in a high-voltage (4.8 V) LiNiMnO-graphite based lithium-ion battery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are among the most promising materials for solid-state lithium metal batteries (LMBs) due to their inherent safety advantages; however, they suffer from insufficient room-temperature ionic conductivity (up to 10 S cm) and limited oxidation stability (<4 V). In this study, a novel "polymer-in-high-concentrated ionic liquid (IL)" (PiHCIL) electrolyte composed of PEO, -propyl--methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide (CmpyrFSI) IL, and LiFSI is designed. The EO/[Li/IL] ratio has been widely varied, and physical and electrochemical properties have been explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarbon recycling is poised to emerge as a prominent trend for mitigating severe climate change and meeting the rising demand for energy. Converting carbon dioxide (CO) into green energy and valuable feedstocks through photocatalytic CO reduction (PCCR) offers a promising solution to global warming and energy needs. Among all semiconductors, zinc oxide (ZnO) has garnered considerable interest due to its ecofriendly nature, biocompatibility, abundance, exceptional semiconducting and optical properties, cost-effectiveness, easy synthesis, and durability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF3,3',5.5'-Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a widely used brominated flame-retardant. The objective of this study is to use zebrafish as a model and determine the effects of TBBPA exposure on early embryogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
August 2024
The generation of hydrogen through photocatalysis is a fascinating technology for addressing environmental concerns and the energy crisis. Nevertheless, the quest for cost-effective, stable, and efficient photocatalysts in the realm of energy conversion remains a significant challenge. Herein, we designed novel InVO/TiC MXene (IVTC) heterostructures by employing acid etching to produce TiC MXene with an accordion-like morphology, using the hydrothermal technique for the production of orthorhombic InVO nanoparticles (NPs), and integrating them through a self-assembly approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe assessment of the transformation zone is a critical step toward diagnosis of cervical cancer. This work involves the development of a portable, label-free transvaginal multispectral diffuse optical imaging (MDOI) imaging probe to estimate the transformation zone. The images were acquired from N = 5 (N = 1 normal, N = 2 premalignant, and N = 2 malignant) patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArthropod-borne pathogens are responsible for hundreds of millions of infections in humans each year. The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the predominant arthropod vector in the United States and is responsible for transmitting several human pathogens, including the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and the obligate intracellular rickettsial bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis. However, tick metabolic response to microbes and whether metabolite allocation occurs upon infection remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVector-borne diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide and pose a substantial unmet medical need. Pathogens binding to host extracellular proteins (the "exoproteome") represents a crucial interface in the etiology of vector-borne disease. Here, we used bacterial selection to elucidate host-microbe interactions in high throughput (BASEHIT)-a technique enabling interrogation of microbial interactions with 3,324 human exoproteins-to profile the interactomes of 82 human-pathogen samples, including 30 strains of arthropod-borne pathogens and 8 strains of related non-vector-borne pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Colloid Interface Sci
August 2024
Sputtering is an effective technique for producing ultrathin films with diverse applications. The review begins by providing an in-depth overview of the background, introducing the early development of sputtering and its principles. Consequently, progress in advancements made in recent decades highlights the renaissance of sputtering as a powerful technology for creating thin films with varied compositions, structures, and properties.
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