High-Definition, Video-Rate Triple-Channel NIR-II Imaging Using Shadowless Lamp Excitation and Illumination.

Multichannel imaging in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window offers vital and comprehensive information for complex surgical environments, yet a simple, high-quality, video-rate multichannel imaging method with low safety risk remains to be proposed. Centered at the superior NIR-IIx window of 1400-1500 nm, triple-channel imaging coordinated with 1000-1100 and 1700-1880 nm (NIR-IIc) achieves exceptional clarity and an impressive signal-to-crosstalk ratio as high as 22.10.

Disulfiram/copper induces BAK-mediated caspase-independent apoptosis in MCF-7 cells.

Disulfiram (DSF) and copper (Cu) in combination exhibit powerful anti-cancer effect on a variety of cancer cell lines. Here, we found that DSF/Cu facilitated the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and induced ROS-dependent apoptosis accompanied by chromatin condensation and phosphatidylserine externalization in MCF-7 cells. DSF/Cu caused caspase-independent apoptosis by promoting the AIF translocation from mitochondria to nucleus.

Towards large-scale programmable silicon photonic chip for signal processing.

Optical signal processing has been playing a crucial part as powerful engine for various information systems in the practical applications. In particular, achieving large-scale programmable chips for signal processing are highly desirable for high flexibility, low cost and powerful processing. Silicon photonics, which has been developed successfully in the past decade, provides a promising option due to its unique advantages.

From Optical Fiber Communications to Bioimaging: Wavelength Division Multiplexing Technology for Simplified in vivo Large-depth NIR-IIb Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy.

Near-infrared II (NIR-II, 900-1880 nm) fluorescence confocal microscopy offers high spatial resolution and extensive in vivo imaging capabilities. However, conventional confocal microscopy requires precise pinhole positioning, posing challenges due to the small size of the pinhole and invisible NIR-II fluorescence. To simplify this, a fiber optical wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) replaces dichroic mirrors and traditional pinholes for excitation and fluorescence beams, allowing NIR-IIb (1500-1700 nm) fluorescence and excitation light to be coupled into the same optical fiber.

Miniaturized Hyperspectral Imager Utilizing a Reconfigurable Filter Array for Both High Spatial and Spectral Resolutions.

Miniaturized hyperspectral imaging based on filter arrays has attracted much attention in consumer applications, such as food safety and biomedical applications. In this Letter, we demonstrate a miniaturized hyperspectral imager using a reconfigurable filter array to tackle the existing trade-off issue between the spectral and spatial resolutions. Utilizing tens of intermediate states of a vanadium dioxide cavity, we increase the total number of physical spectral channels by tens of times from a 2 × 2 mosaic filter unit, providing both high spatial and spectral resolutions for spectral imaging.

Simultaneous measurement of methane, propane and isobutane using a compact mid-infrared photoacoustic spectrophone.

Hydrocarbon gas sensing is a challenging task using laser absorption spectroscopy due to the complex and broad structure of absorption lines. This application requires quick, accurate and highly sensitive detection of hydrocarbon gases concentrations. In this paper, a compact photoacoustic spectrophone was developed to simultaneously measure methane, propane and isobutane.

Density Functional Theory Provides Insights into β-SnSe Monolayers as a Highly Sensitive and Recoverable Ozone Sensing Material.

This study explores the potential of β-SnSe monolayers as a promising material for ozone (O) sensing using density functional theory (DFT) combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method. The adsorption characteristics of O molecules on the β-SnSe monolayer surface were thoroughly investigated, including adsorption energy, band structure, density of states (DOSs), differential charge density, and Bader charge analysis. Post-adsorption, hybridization energy levels were introduced into the system, leading to a reduced band gap and increased electrical conductivity.

Near-Infrared II Agent with Excellent Overall Performance for Imaging-Guided Photothermal Thrombolysis.

Near-infrared II (NIR-II) imaging and photothermal therapy hold tremendous potential in precision diagnosis and treatment within biological organisms. However, a significant challenge is the shortage of NIR-II fluorescent probes with both high photothermal conversion coefficient (PCE) and fluorescence quantum yield (Φ). Herein, we address this issue by integrating a large conjugated electron-withdrawing core, multiple rotors, and multiple alkyl chains into a molecule to successfully generate a NIR-II agent 4THTPB with excellent PCE (87.

Durable and programmable ultrafast nanophotonic matrix of spectral pixels.

Locally addressable nanophotonic devices are essential for modern applications such as light detection, optical imaging, beam steering and displays. Despite recent advances, a versatile solution with a high-speed tuning rate, long-life durability and programmability across multiple pixels remains elusive. Here we introduce a programmable nanophotonic matrix consisting of vanadium dioxide (VO) cavities on pixelated microheaters that meets all these requirements.

Hdm2 disrupts HdmX-mediated nuclear export of p53 by sequestering it in nucleus.

Dysfunction of the tumor suppressor p53 occurs in most human cancers, Hdm2 and HdmX play critical roles in p53 inactivation and degradation. Under unstressed conditions, HdmX binds to p53 like Hdm2, but HdmX cannot directly induce p53 degradation. Moreover, HdmX has been reported to stimulate Hdm2-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of p53.

Portable Near-Infrared to Near-Infrared Platform for Homogeneous Quantification of Biomarkers in Complex Biological Samples.

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based homogeneous immunoassay obviates tedious washing steps and thus is a promising approach for immunoassays. However, a conventional FRET-based homogeneous immunoassay operating in the visible region is not able to overcome the interference of complex biological samples, thus resulting in insufficient detection sensitivity and poor accuracy. Here, we develop a near-infrared (NIR)-to-NIR FRET platform (Ex = 808 nm, Em = 980 nm) that enables background-free high-throughput homogeneous quantification of various biomarkers in complex biological samples.

Nuclear export of PML promotes p53-mediated apoptosis and ferroptosis.

Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML), a tumor suppressor protein, plays a key role in cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, senescence and cellular metabolism. Here, we report that PML promotes apoptosis and ferroptosis. Our data showed that PML over-expression inhibited cell proliferation and migration.

Observation of heat pumping effect by radiative shuttling.

Heat shuttling phenomenon is characterized by the presence of a non-zero heat flow between two bodies without net thermal bias on average. It was initially predicted in the context of nonlinear heat conduction within atomic lattices coupled to two time-oscillating thermostats. Recent theoretical works revealed an analog of this effect for heat exchanges mediated by thermal photons between two solids having a temperature dependent emissivity.

Improving Three-Photon Fluorescence of Near-Infrared Quantum Dots for Deep Brain Imaging by Suppressing Biexciton Decay.

Three-photon fluorescence microscopy (3PFM) is a promising brain research tool with submicrometer spatial resolution and high imaging depth. However, only limited materials have been developed for 3PFM owing to the rigorous requirement of the three-photon fluorescence (3PF) process. Herein, under the guidance of a band gap engineering strategy, CdTe/CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) emitting in the near-infrared window are designed for constructing 3PF probes.

The Asymmetry Observed between the Effects of Photon-Phonon Coupling and Crystal Field on the Fine Structure of Fluorescence and Spontaneous Four-Wave Mixing in Ion-Doped Microcrystals.

In this paper, we explore the asymmetry observed between the effects of photon-phonon coupling (nested-dressing) and a crystal field (CF) on the fine structure of fluorescence (FL) and spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) in Eu: BiPO and Eu: NaYF. The competition between the CF and the strong photon-phonon dressing leads to dynamic splitting in two directions. The CF leads to static splitting in one direction under weak phonon dressing.

Current Developments in Emerging Lanthanide-Doped Persistent Luminescent Scintillators and Their Applications.

Lanthanide-doped scintillators have the ability to convert the absorbed X-ray irradiation into ultraviolet (UV), visible (Vis), or near-infrared (NIR) light. Lanthanide-doped scintillators with excellent persistent luminescence (PersL) are emerging as a new class of PersL materials recently. They have attracted great attention due to their unique "self-luminescence" characteristic and potential applications.

Intravital observation of high-scattering and dense-labeling hepatic tissues using multi-photon fluorescence microscopy.

Achieving high-resolution and large-depth microscopic imaging in vivo under conditions characterized by high-scattering and dense-labeling, as commonly encountered in the liver, poses a formidable challenge. Here, through the optimization of multi-photon fluorescence excitation window, tailored to the unique optical properties of the liver, intravital microscopic imaging of hepatocytes and hepatic blood vessels with high spatial resolution was attained. It's worth noting that resolution degradation caused by tissue scattering of excitation light was mitigated by accounting for moderate tissue self-absorption.