Simple and Green Process for Silk Fibroin Production by Water Degumming.

Silk fibroin (SF), a natural polymer with very desirable physicochemical and biological properties, is an ideal material for crafting biocompatible scaffolds in tissue engineering. However, conventional methods for removing the sericin layer and dissolving SF often involve environmentally harmful reagents and processes, requiring extensive dialysis procedures to purify the fibers produced. Such processes may also damage the surface and bulk properties of the SF produced.

Cation Vacancy-Mediated Ultrafast Hole Transport in CuBiO Photocathodes.

As a promising photocathode candidate, tetragonal CuBiO (CBO) has been studied extensively in recent years. As an intrinsically p-type material, its acceptor sites originate from the cation vacancies, which are also a potential cause of hindered hole utilization in photocathodes. In this study, the ultrafast transport dynamics of the valence band hole states in CBO photocathodes were investigated by varying their atomic composition and manipulating the p-type character.

Exploring the efficiency of nitrogenated carbon quantum dots/TiO S-scheme heterojunction in the photodegredation of ciprofloxacin in aqueous environments.

In this study, we developed a heterojunction photocatalyst, namely nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots/titanium dioxide (CQDs/TiO), for the effective and sustainable treatment of ciprofloxacin (CIP) antibiotic in aqueous solution. First, CQDs were prepared from a chitosan biopolymer with a green, facile, and effective hydrothermal carbonization technique and then anchored on the TiO surface via a hydrothermal process. The morphological, structural, and optical properties of the as-prepared materials were characterized by using advanced analytical techniques.

Non-Invasive Raman Classification Comparison with pXRF of Monochrome and Related Qing Porcelains: Lead-Rich-, Lead-Poor-, and Alkali-Based Glazes.

Chinese porcelain with an optically clear colored glaze, imported to Europe from the Kangxi period (1662-1722, Qing Dynasty) onwards was highly collected by the French Elite of the 18th century. The bright colors with a clear, shiny glaze were unlike anything produced in Europe at that time. The colors of enamelled artifacts (on biscuits or already glazed porcelain) can be fully monochrome or consist of associations of large monochromatic areas with or without application of gilding.

Optimization of Laser-Wavelength Dependence for Open-Air Atmospheric Pressure Pulsed Laser Deposition of AlCrFeMnTi High-Entropy Alloy for Tailored Surface Properties.

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have garnered significant attention in different fields due to their exceptional mechanical and physical properties, making them promising candidates for various applications. Several techniques, including physical vapor deposition and pulsed laser deposition (PLD), have been employed for the fabrication of HEA thin films. In this study, we explore a novel approach to synthesizing the lightweight HEA (LWHEA) AlCrFeMnTi using PLD in air at atmospheric pressure with a particular focus on the influence of the laser wavelength on the deposition process and the resulting alloy characteristics.

Dynamically bonded cellulose nanocrystal hydrogels: Structure, rheology and fire prevention performance.

Flame retardant composite hydrogels offer many advantages over conventional flame retardants, such as high water-retention capacity, enhanced fire resistance, and mechanical tunability. Herein, we developed flame-retardant dynamic covalent hydrogels using wood-derived cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) crosslinked with boronate ester bonds, addressing environmental and health issues associated with the presence of non-biodegradable synthetic polymer and/or inorganic nanoparticle components in the existing systems. Our rheological investigation shows a liquid-to-soft-solid transition of CNC dispersions with tunable network elasticity ranging between ≈ 0.

Active Sites and Their Individual Turnover Frequencies for Ethylene Hydrogenation on Reduced Graphene Aerogel.

Graphene aerogel (GA) was reduced at various temperatures to prepare a series of reduced graphene aerogels (rGAs) with different surface characteristics. Detailed characterization demonstrated that an increase in the thermal reduction temperature leads to an increase in surface area accompanied by an increase in surface density of defect sites formed by the removal of the oxygen-containing functional groups. rGA samples were then tested for ethylene hydrogenation under identical conditions.

ALD-Engineered CuO Overlayers Transform ZnO Nanorods for Selective Production of CO in Electrochemical CO Reduction.

The electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) holds tremendous promise as a strategy for lowering atmospheric CO levels and creating new clean energy sources. The conversion of CORR to CO, in particular, has garnered significant scientific interest due to its industrial feasibility. Within this context, the CuZn-based electrocatalyst presents an attractive alternative to conventional CO-selective electrocatalysts, which are often costly and scarce.

Near-Infrared Triggered Degradation for Transient Electronics.

Electronics that disintegrate after stable operation present exciting opportunities for niche medical implant and consumer electronics applications. The disintegration of these devices can be initiated due to their medium conditions or triggered by external stimuli, which enables on-demand transition. An external stimulation method that can penetrate deep inside the body could revolutionize the use of transient electronics as implantable medical devices (IMDs), eliminating the need for secondary surgery to remove the IMDs.

A facile -butyl nitrite-assisted preparation of deamino graphitic carbon nitride (DA-gCN) as a photocatalyst for the C-H arylation of heteroarenes using anilines as radical source.

In pristine graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN), amino groups often function as structural defects that trap photogenerated charges, resulting in low photocatalytic activity as well as reaction with nitrite, aldehyde, etc., ensuing in poor product yield. Without significantly altering the optical characteristics, the removal of amino groups is necessary to increase the photocatalytic activity and structural stability of pristine g-CN.

Molecular Insight into the Effect of Polymer Topology on Wettability of Block Copolymers: The Case of Amphiphilic Polyurethanes.

The microstructure design of multiblock copolymers is essential for achieving desired interfacial properties in submerged applications. Two major design factors are the chemical composition and polymer topology. Despite a clear relationship between chemical composition and wetting, the effect of polymer topology (i.

Evaluating CH/N Separation Performances of Hundreds of Thousands of Real and Hypothetical MOFs by Harnessing Molecular Modeling and Machine Learning.

Considering the large abundance and diversity of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), evaluating the gas adsorption and separation performance of the entire MOF material space using solely experimental techniques or brute-force computer simulations is impractical. In this study, we integrated high-throughput molecular simulations with machine learning (ML) to explore the potential of both synthesized, the real MOFs, and computer-generated, the hypothetical MOFs (hypoMOFs), for adsorption-based CH/N separation. CH/N mixture adsorption data obtained from molecular simulations were used to train the ML models that could accurately predict gas uptakes of 4612 real MOFs.

Synergized photothermal therapy and magnetic field induced hyperthermia via bismuthene for lung cancer combinatorial treatment.

Thanks to its intrinsic properties, two-dimensional (2D) bismuth (bismuthene) can serve as a multimodal nanotherapeutic agent for lung cancer acting through multiple mechanisms, including photothermal therapy (PTT), magnetic field-induced hyperthermia (MH), immunogenic cell death (ICD), and ferroptosis. To investigate this possibility, we synthesized bismuthene from the exfoliation of 3D layered bismuth, prepared through a facile method that we developed involving surfactant-assisted chemical reduction, with a specific focus on improving its magnetic properties. The bismuthene nanosheets showed high and anti-cancer activity after simultaneous light and magnetic field exposure in lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Exploring the Enhanced Catalytic Activity of Pt Nanoparticles Generated on the Red Phosphorus/Graphitic Carbon Nitride Binary Heterojunctions in the Photo-assisted Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane.

Ammonia borane (AB) holds great promise for chemical hydrogen storage, but its slow dehydrogenation kinetics under ambient conditions requires a suitable catalyst to facilitate hydrogen production from AB. Here, we fabricated binary red phosphorus/graphitic carbon nitride (RP/g-CN) heterojunctions decorated with Pt nanoparticles (NPs, denoted Pt/RP/g-CN) with a facile ultrasound-assisted two-step protocol as a photo-assisted catalyst for the hydrolysis of AB (HAB). The heterojunction established through intimate P-O-N bonds was proven to have improved photophysical properties such as a lower electron-hole recombination and enhanced visible light utilization compared to the pristine components.

Cellulose nanocrystal and Pluronic L121-based thermo-responsive composite hydrogels.

Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) is a promising sustainable material with its biocompatibility, high aspect ratio, and mechanical strength. CNC-based systems have potential applications in various fields including biosensors, packaging, coating, energy storage, and pharmaceuticals. However, turning CNC into smart systems remains a challenge due to the lack of stimuli-responsiveness, limitation in compatibility with hydrophobic matrices, and their agglomeration tendency.

A mitochondria-targeted chemiluminescent probe for detection of hydrogen sulfide in cancer cells, human serum and .

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) as a critical messenger molecule plays vital roles in regular cell function. However, abnormal levels of HS, especially mitochondrial HS, are directly correlated with the formation of pathological states including neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disorders, and cancer. Thus, monitoring fluxes of mitochondrial HS concentrations both and with high selectivity and sensitivity is crucial.

Aqueous colloidal nanoplatelets for imaging and improved ALA-based photodynamic therapy of prostate cancer cells.

Fluorescent, CdSe/CdS core/crown heterostructured nanoplatelets (NPLs) were transferred to the water a simple, single-step ligand exchange using 2-mercaptopropionic acid in a simple extraction process. These stable, aqueous NPLs were loaded with a modal drug, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). ALA-loaded NPLs emerged as a new class of theranostic nanoparticles for image-guided enhanced photodynamic therapy of both androgen-dependent and -independent human prostate cancer cells.

Boosting Tetracycline Degradation with an S-Scheme Heterojunction of N-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots-Decorated TiO.

N-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) derived from the L. plant were incorporated into TiO via a facile hydrothermal method. As-prepared materials were characterized and used in the photocatalytic tetracycline (TC) degradation under UVA light irradiation by examining several operational parameters involving the N-CQDs amount, initial TC concentration, pH, and photocatalytic reaction time.

Composite of MIL-101(Cr) with a Pyrrolidinium-Based Ionic Liquid Providing High CO Selectivity.

Capturing CO selectively from flue gas and natural gas addresses the criteria of a sustainable society. In this work, we incorporated an ionic liquid (IL) (1-methyl-1-propyl pyrrolidinium dicyanamide, [MPPyr][DCA]) into a metal organic framework (MOF), MIL-101(Cr), by wet impregnation and characterized the resulting [MPPyr][DCA]/MIL-101(Cr) composite in deep detail to identify the interactions between [MPPyr][DCA] molecules and MIL-101(Cr). Consequences of these interactions on the CO/N, CO/CH, and CH/N separation performance of the composite were examined by volumetric gas adsorption measurements complemented by the density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Real-time visualization of butyrylcholinesterase activity using a highly selective and sensitive chemiluminescent probe.

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), one of the critical human cholinesterases, plays crucial roles in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Accordingly, it is a striking and at the same time challenging target for bioimaging studies. Herein, we developed the first ever example of a 1,2-dixoetane-based chemiluminescent probe (BCC) for monitoring BChE activity in native biological contexts such as living cells and animals.

Rapid and efficient ambient temperature X-ray crystal structure determination at Turkish Light Source.

High-resolution biomacromolecular structure determination is essential to better understand protein function and dynamics. Serial crystallography is an emerging structural biology technique which has fundamental limitations due to either sample volume requirements or immediate access to the competitive X-ray beamtime. Obtaining a high volume of well-diffracting, sufficient-size crystals while mitigating radiation damage remains a critical bottleneck of serial crystallography.

Facile preparation of -butyl amides under heat-, metal- and acid-free conditions by using -butyl nitrite (TBN) as a practical carbon source.

-Butyl nitrite (TBN) is a nontoxic substance that has frequently been used as a source of nitrogen, oxygen, or nitric oxide (NO), but not as a carbon source in chemical transformations. Here, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, we introduced TBN as a source of carbon (-butyl group) for the synthesis of highly valuable -butyl amides from nitriles and water under very mild conditions.

Image-Guided Enhanced PDT/PTT Combination Therapy Using Brominated Hemicyanine-Loaded Folate Receptor-Targeting AgS Quantum Dots.

Tumor-targeting nanoparticles and phototherapies are the two major trends in tumor-specific, local cancer therapy with minimal side effects. Organic photosensitizers (PSs) usually offer effective photodynamic therapy (PDT) but require enhanced solubility and tumor-targeting, which may be provided by a nanoparticle. Near-infrared (NIR)-emitting AgS quantum dots may act as a delivery vehicle for the PS, NIR tracking agent, and as a phototherapy (PTT) agent.