Discovery, synthesis, and biological mechanism evaluation of novel quinoline derivatives as potent NLRP3 inhibitors.

Targeting NLRP3 is a highly promising strategy for treating uncontrolled inflammation, which can cause a wide range of diseases or promote disease progression. More NLRP3-targeting inhibitors with different scaffolds are needed to increase the chances of developing safe and effective NLRP3 inhibitors and treating inflammation in different tissues. Here, we discovered the novel quinoline analogues that exhibit potent inhibitory activity against the NLRP3/IL-1β pathway in J774A.

Direct recovery of high-purity uranium from fluoride-containing nuclear wastewater via extraction materials with ensemble Lewis sites and a tandem electrochemical device.

Electrochemical uranium extraction from real nuclear wastewater with a high concentration of fluoride ions (F-) represents a promising strategy for the efficient treatment of radioactive wastewater and the recovery of the valuable uranium resource. However, the current progress suffers from the interference of extremely high concentration of F- and undesired purity of the final uranium product. Herein, we constructed the neighboring ensemble Lewis acid-base pair sites (ensemble Lewis sites) in bismuth oxides as the extraction material, which was integrated into a designed tandem electrochemical device for efficient recovery of high-purity uranium from real nuclear wastewater.

Filament-woven SF/PA gel for removing ultrafine nanoparticles and unmanageable hazardous pollutants by "all-in-one net".

The current state of the world's water resources is facing serious challenges, and the current water purification processes are designed for a single, more specific contaminant, with more stringent constraints, which are not suitable for emergency water treatment in stochastic environment and may cause secondary pollution. It is necessary to provide a water purification method that is convenient, easy-to-operate, one-step treatment of multiple pollutants. Herein, silk fibroin (SF) that extracted from discarded silkworm cocoons and recycled silk and phytic acid (PA) are "woven" into a network structure through hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction to form a unique gel, which could be used to remove different pollutants by "sweeping and catching" and physical adsorption.

Exploring the Anion Site Disorder Kinetics in Lithium Argyrodites.

Lithium argyrodites LiPS ( = Cl, Br, I) are a promising class of solid-state electrolytes with the potential to achieve high conductivities (>10 mS·cm) necessary for use in solid-state batteries. Previous research has shown that structural factors, in particular, site disorder between the sulfide and halide anions, can impact the ionic conductivity of lithium argyrodites. One current hypothesis for this correlation between anion site disorder and ionic transport is a connection to the lithium-ion substructure.

Engineering Perovskite Hydroxide as a Cold-Adapted Oxidase Mimic for Construction of the Robust Low-Temperature Adaptive Biosensors.

Traditional biological detection methods rely on signal amplification strategies such as enzymatic catalysis or nucleic acid amplification. However, their efficiency decreases in low-temperature environments, compromising their detection sensitivity. To break the loss of enzyme catalytic activity at low temperatures, research on cold-adaptive nanozymes has attracted much attention.

Ferroelectricity and Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling to Enhance Molecular Spin-Electric Coupling.

The electric control of magnetism has been considered to be promising for molecular spintronics and quantum information. However, the spin-electric coupling strength appears to be insufficient for application in most cases. Two major factors capable of amplifying the relative effect are spin-orbit coupling and ferroelectricity.

Gold-Catalyzed Synthesis of (Dihydro)quinolones by Cyclization of Benzaldehyde-Tethered Ynamides and Anilines.

2-Quinolones represent a versatile class of compounds that are prevalent in natural and medicinally relevant molecules. Here we report a new approach to the selective formation of these structures. By gold catalysis, a range of benzaldehyde-tethered ynamides reacted with anilines, leading to 4-amino-3,4-dihydro-2-quinolones with high efficiency and excellent diastereoselectivity in dichloromethane.

Copper-Catalyzed -Heteroannulation of [60]Fullerene with Aryl Sulfonamides and Paraformaldehyde: Synthesis and Functionalization of [60]Fullerene-Fused Imidazolidines.

The Cu(II)-catalyzed -heteroannulation reaction of [60]fullerene (C) with aryl sulfonamides and paraformaldehyde has been disclosed for the synthesis of diverse C-fused imidazolidines, of which one or both of the ArSO moieties could be removed selectively. Further transformations into the unexpected bicyclic 1,2,3,4-adduct and C-fused imidazolidinium iodide salt have also been demonstrated. A plausible reaction mechanism is proposed on the basis of control experiments.

Four-Centre, Multi-Electron Bonding in Rare-Earth Germole Sandwich Complexes.

Reduction of the germole-ligated sandwich complexes [(η5-CpGe)M(η5-Cpttt)]2 (1M, M = Y, Gd, Dy) with one or two equivalents of KC8/2.2.2-cryptand produces [(η5-CpGe)M(η5-Cpttt)2]- (2M) and [(η5-CpGe)M(η5-Cpttt)2]2- (3M), respectively, as salts of [K(2.

Ultralong Room Temperature Phosphorescence through Both Space Confinement and Long-Range Charge Migration.

Doping guest materials into host materials with a confined space to suppress nonradiative decay is an effective strategy for achieving room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP). However, constructing host-guest doped materials with ultralong RTP (URTP) is still challenging. Herein, by embedding three coumarin derivatives into boric acid via one-step heat treatment, the URTP material with an afterglow lasting up to 60 s, a phosphorescence lifetime of 1.

Glass-confined carbon dots: transparent afterglow materials with switchable TADF and RTP.

The confined synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) in solid matrixes is a promising avenue for developing new afterglow materials. Benefiting from the advantages of the sol-gel preparation of nanoporous glass, we report transparent glass-confined CDs with tunable afterglow luminescence. Switchable thermally-activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) of CDs were achieved by adjusting the sintering temperature and ion doping.

Design Refinement of Catalytic System for Scale-Up Mild Nitrogen Photo-Fixation.

Ammonia and nitric acid, versatile industrial feedstocks, and burgeoning clean energy vectors hold immense promise for sustainable development. However, Haber-Bosch and Ostwald processes, which generates carbon dioxide as massive by-product, contribute to greenhouse effects and pose environmental challenges. Thus, the pursuit of nitrogen fixation through carbon-neutral pathways under benign conditions is a frontier of scientific topics, with the harnessing of solar energy emerging as an enticing and viable option.

Carbon Doping and Oxygen Vacancy-Tungsten Trioxide/CuSnS S-Scheme Heterojunctions for Boosting Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Performance.

Developing ideal photocatalysts for energy regeneration and environmental remediation by combining the advantages of individual semiconductors remains a significant challenge. Herein, tungsten trioxide (WO)/CuSnS S-scheme heterojunction composite photocatalysts are developed. Initially, doped oxygen vacancy (OV) was prepared on two-dimensional WO nanosheets by direct calcination method.

Magnetically targeted delivery of probiotics for controlled residence and accumulation in the intestine.

The effectiveness of orally delivered probiotics in treating gastrointestinal diseases is restricted by inadequate gut retention. In this study, we present a magnetically controlled strategy for probiotic delivery, which enables controlled accumulation and residence of probiotics in the intestine. The magnetically controlled probiotic is established by attaching amino-modified iron oxide (FeO-NH NPs) to polydopamine-coated GG (LGG@P) through electrostatic self-assembly and named as LGG@P@FeO.

Boosted Scavenger-Free Overall Nitrogen Photofixation with Molybdenum Incorporated Bismuth-Rich Oxychlorides.

The design of highly efficient photocatalysts to photoreduce nitrogen (N) to ammonia (NH) under mild conditions is extremely challenging. In this work, various molar ratio of molybdenum (Mo) is incorporated into BiOCl via a hydrothermal process. The resulting Mo-doped BiOCl exhibits remarkable solar-driven activity for N photo fixation without any scavengers or sacrificial agents.

MoSe/BiSe Heterostructure Immobilized in N-Doped Carbon Nanosheets Assembled Flower-Like Microspheres for High-Rate Sodium Storage.

A key challenge for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) lies in identifying suitable host materials capable of accommodating large Na ions while addressing sluggish chemical kinetics. The unique interfacial effects of heterogeneous structures have emerged as a critical factor in accelerating charge transfer and enhancing reaction kinetics. Herein, MoSe/BiSe composites integrated with N-doped carbon nanosheets are synthesized, which spontaneously self-assemble into flower-like microspheres (MoSe/BiSe@N-C).

Iridium Nanocrystals Enriched with Defects and Atomic Steps to Enhance Oxygen Evolution Reaction Performance.

The presence of defects can significantly improve catalytic activity and stability, as they influence the binding of the reactants, intermediates, and products to the catalyst. Controlling defects in the structures of nanocrystal catalysts is synthetically challenging. In this study, we demonstrate the ability to control the growth of Ir nanocrystals, enabling the tuning of both structural and surface defects.

UCNPs@PVP-Hemin-GOx@CaCO Nanoplatform for Ferroptosis Self-Amplification Combined with Calcium Overload.

Due to the complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME), current tumor treatments cannot achieve satisfactory results. A nanocomposite material, UCNPs@PVP-Hemin-GOx@CaCO (UPHGC NPs) is developed that responds to the TME and controls release to achieve multimodal synergistic therapy in tumor tissues. UPHGC NPs mediate photodynamic therapy (PDT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), and starvation therapy (ST) synergistically, ultimately inducing self-amplification of ferroptosis.

Enhanced Hot/Free Electron Effect for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Based on 3D/2D Graphene/MXene Composite.

Photocatalytic hydrogen production through water splitting represents a promising strategy to store solar energy as chemical energy. Current photocatalysts primarily focus on traditional semiconductor materials, such as metal oxides, sulfides, nitrides, g-CN, etc. However, these materials often suffer from large bandgap and fast charge recombination, which limit sunlight utilization and result in unsatisfactory photon conversion efficiency.

Bio-Inspired Retina by Regulating Ion-Confined Transport in Hydrogels.

The effective and precise processing of visual information by the human eye primarily relies on the diverse contrasting functions achieved through synaptic regulation of ion transport in the retina. Developing a bio-inspired retina that uses ions as information carriers can more accurately replicate retina's natural signal processing capabilities, enabling high-performance machine vision. Herein, an ion-confined transport strategy is proposed to construct a bio-inspired retina by developing artificial synapses with inhibitory and excitatory contrasting functions.

High-Capacity Volumetric Methane Storage in Hyper-Cross-Linked Porous Polymers via Flexibility Engineering of Building Units.

Adsorbed natural gas (ANG) storage is emerging as a promising alternative to traditional compressed and liquefied storage methods. However, its onboard application is restricted by low volumetric methane storage capacity. Flexible porous adsorbents offer a potential solution, as their dense structures and unique gate-opening effects are well-suited to enhance volumetric capacity under high pressures.

Tuning higher order structure in colloidal fluids.

Colloidal particles self assemble into a wide range of structures under external AC electric fields due to induced dipolar interactions [Yethiraj and Van Blaaderen, , 2003, , 513]. As a result of these dipolar interactions, at low volume fraction the system is modulated between a hard-sphere like state (in the case of zero applied field) and a "string fluid" upon application of the field. Using both particle-resolved experiments and computer simulations, we investigate the emergence of the string fluid with a variety of structural measures including two-body and higher-order correlations.

Unlocking the Potential of Machine Learning in Co-crystal Prediction by a Novel Approach Integrating Molecular Thermodynamics.

Co-crystal engineering is of interest for many applications in pharmaceutical, chemistry and material fields, but rational design of co-crystals is still challenging. Although artificial intelligence has brought major changes in the decision-making process for materials design, yet limitations in generalization and mechanistic understanding remain. Herein, we sought to improve prediction of co-crystal by combining mechanistic thermodynamic modeling with machine learning.

Phase and Orbital Engineering Effectuating Efficient Adsorption and Catalysis toward High-Energy Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The delicate construction of electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity is a strategic method to enhance the kinetics of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). Adjusting the local structure of the catalyst is always crucial for understanding the structure-activity relationship between atomic structure and catalyst performance. Here, in situ induction of electron-deficient B enables phase engineering MoC, realizing the transition from hexagonal (h-MoC) to cubic phase (c-B-MoC).

Enhancing Immune Responses through Modulation of Innate Cell Microenvironments in Lymph Nodes with Virus-Mimetic Vaccines.

Nanovaccines hold significant promise for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. However, the efficacy of many nanovaccines is often limited by inadequate stimulation of both innate and adaptive immune responses. Herein, we explore a rational vaccine strategy aimed at modulating innate cell microenvironments within lymph nodes (LNs) to enhance the generation of effective immune responses.