Daphnetin may protect from SARS-CoV-2 infection by reducing ACE2.

To combat the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, innovative prevention strategies are needed, including reducing ACE2 expression on respiratory cells. This study screened approved drugs in China for their ability to downregulate ACE2. Daphnetin (DAP) was found to significantly reduce ACE2 mRNA and protein levels in PC9 cells.

Cell membrane coated smart two-dimensional supraparticle for homotypic cancer targeting and enhanced combinational theranostics.

Development of intelligent and multifunctional nanoparticle for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer has drawn great attention recently. In this work, we design a smart two-dimensional (2D) supraparticle for tumor targeted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/photothermal imaging (PTI) and chemo/photothermal therapy (PTT). The nanoparticle consists of a manganese dioxide (MnO) nanosheet coated gold nanorod (GNR) core (loading with chemotherapeutics doxorubicin (DOX)), and cancer cell membrane shell (denoted as CM-DOX-GMNPs).

Direct Monitoring of Cell Membrane Vesiculation with 2D AuNP@MnO Nanosheet Supraparticles at the Single-Particle Level.

We herein demonstrate robust two-dimensional (2D) UFO-shaped plasmonic supraparticles made of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and MnO nanosheets (denoted as AMNS-SPs) for directly monitoring cell membrane vesiculation at the single-particle level. Because the decorated MnO nanosheets are ultrathin (4.2 nm) and have large diameters (230 nm), they are flexible enough for deformation and folding for parceling of the AuNPs during the endocytosis process.

Study on the mechanism of potential response of a ketamine-sensitive membrane electrode.

The response mechanism of a simple device for the rapid detection of ketamine with 'in the field' capabilities is investigated. The mechanism is a membranous ketamine ionic selective electrode (ISE) with partly carboxylated PVC as matrix and ortho-nitrophenyloctyl ether (o-NPOE) as plasticizer. The experimental results reveal that the inclusion of the plasticizer in the membrane significantly increased the response.