Electric field enhances the electronic and diffusion properties of penta-graphene nanoribbon anodes in lithium-ion batteries.

Enhancement of the ionic conductivity and reduction of diffusion barriers of lithium-ion batteries are crucial for improving the performance of the fast-growing energy storage devices. Recently, the fast-charging capability of commercial-like lithium-ion anodes with the smallest modification of the current manufacturing technology has been of great interest. We used first principles methods computations with density functional theory and the climbing image-nudged elastic band method to evaluate the impact of an external electric field on the stability, electronic band gap, ionic conductivity, and lithium-ion diffusion coefficient of penta-graphene nanoribbons upon lithium adsorption.

Optoelectronic Properties of Nitrogen-Doped Hexagonal Graphene Quantum Dots: A First-Principles Study.

Graphene quantum dots have been widely studied owing to their unique optical, electrical, and optoelectrical properties for various applications in solar devices. Here, we investigate the optoelectronic properties of hexagonal and nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots using the first-principles method. We find that doping nitrogen atoms to hexagonal graphene quantum dots results in a significant red shift toward the visible light range as compared to that of the pristine graphene quantum dots, and the doped nitrogen atoms also induce a clear signature of anisotropy of the frontier orbitals induced by the electron correlation between the doped nitrogen atoms and their adjacent carbon atoms.

Tuning Patchy Bonds Induced by Critical Casimir Forces.

Experimental control of patchy interactions promises new routes for the assembly of complex colloidal structures, but remains challenging. Here, we investigate the role of patch width in the assembly of patchy colloidal particles assembled by critical Casimir forces. The particles are composed of a hydrophobic dumbbell with an equatorial hydrophilic polymer shell, and are synthesized to have well-defined patch-to-shell area ratios.

Switching Colloidal Superstructures by Critical Casimir Forces.

Recent breakthroughs in colloidal synthesis promise the bottom-up assembly of superstructures on nano- and micrometer length scales, offering molecular analogues on the colloidal scale. However, a structural control similar to that in supramolecular chemistry remains very challenging. Here, colloidal superstructures are built and controlled using critical Casimir forces on patchy colloidal particles.

Type I and II interferons enhance dendritic cell maturation and migration capacity by regulating CD38 and CD74 that have synergistic effects with TLR agonists.

The major limitation for the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) using Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists is their decreased ability to migrate into lymph nodes compared with conventional DCs. CD38 can be used as a multifunctional marker to modulate migration, survival and Th1 responses of DCs. CD74 has been shown to negatively regulate DC migration.

Enhancement of antitumor effect using dendritic cells activated with natural killer cells in the presence of Toll-like receptor agonist.

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a role in natural killer (NK) cell activation, while NK cells are also able to activate and mature DCs. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) on the surface of DCs and NK cells induce the maturation and activation of these cells when engaged with their cognate ligand. We investigated to generate potent DCs by maturation with NK cells in the presence of TLR agonist in vitro and tested the efficacy of these DC vaccinations in mouse colon cancer model.