Atomically Fe-anchored MOF-on-MOF nanozyme with differential signal amplification for ultrasensitive cathodic electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.

The successful application of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) in immunoassays for clinical diagnosis requires stable electrodes and high-efficient ECL signal amplification strategies. Herein, the authors discovered a new class of atomically dispersed peroxidase-like nanozymes with multiple active sites (CoNi-MOF@PCN-224/Fe), which significantly improved the catalytic performance and uncovered the underlying mechanism. Experimental studies and theoretical calculation results revealed that the nanozyme introduced a Fenton-like reaction into the catalytic system and the crucial synergistic effects of definite active moieties endow CoNi-MOF@PCN-224/Fe strong electron-withdrawing effect and low thermodynamic activation energy toward HO.

Suppressing photoinduced charge recombination at the BiVO||NiOOH junction by sandwiching an oxygen vacancy layer for efficient photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

Nickel oxyhydroxide (NiOOH) is regarded as one of the promising cocatalysts to enhance the catalytic performance of photoanodes but suffers from serious interfacial charge-carrier recombination at the photoanode||NiOOH interface. In this work, surface-engineered BiVO photoanodes are fabricated by sandwiching an oxygen vacancy (O) interlayer between BiVO and NiOOH. The surface O interlayer is introduced on BiVO by a chemical reduction treatment using a mild reducing agent, sodium hypophosphite.

Propelling DNA Computing with Materials' Power: Recent Advancements in Innovative DNA Logic Computing Systems and Smart Bio-Applications.

DNA computing is recognized as one of the most outstanding candidates of next-generation molecular computers that perform Boolean logic using DNAs as basic elements. Benefiting from DNAs' inherent merits of low-cost, easy-synthesis, excellent biocompatibility, and high programmability, DNA computing has evoked substantial interests and gained burgeoning advancements in recent decades, and also exhibited amazing magic in smart bio-applications. In this review, recent achievements of DNA logic computing systems using multifarious materials as building blocks are summarized.

Enhanced Stability of Enzyme Immobilized in Rationally Designed Amphiphilic Aerogel and Its Application for Sensitive Glucose Detection.

Natural enzyme complex with the subunits cooperating with each other could catalyze cascade reactions in biological system but, just like the limitation of free-floating natural enzymes, usually suffer from deactivation in harsh environment such as high temperature. In this study, a purpose-driven design of amphiphilic aerogel working as the enzymes-immobilization substrate to form the multienzyme complex (MEC) was demonstrated. The aerogel was synthesized only by a single polymer poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as well as a surface modulator maleic acid (MA), the incorporation of which tunes the surface wettability.

Size-Independent Transmembrane Transporting of Single Tetrahedral DNA Nanostructures.

DNA nanostructures have attracted considerable attention as drug delivery carriers. However, the transmembrane kinetics of DNA nanostructures remains less explored. Herein, the dynamic process of transporting single tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs) is monitored in real time using a force-tracing technique based on atomic force microscopy.

Identifying the Activation Mechanism and Boosting Electrocatalytic Activity of Layered Perovskite Ruthenate.

SrRuO as a rare conductive perovskite ruthenate has attracted increasing attention for application in energy conversion. Here, the electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of thermally synthesized layered SrRuO is investigated and shows a considerable activation during cathodic polarization in alkaline solution. The analysis demonstrates the electrode activation is caused by the increased hydrophilicity of SrRuO surface, revealing the influence of the surface properties on HER performance.

Controlled Decoration of Divalent Nickel onto CdS/CdSe Core/Shell Quantum Dots to Boost Visible-Light-Induced Hydrogen Generation in Water.

The search for a low-cost, noble-metal-free cocatalyst to replace expensive Pt for hydrogen (H ) photogeneration in water has become a hot research topic, and among these, Ni-based cocatalysts are promising and highly desired. Developing new strategies and protocols to obtain Ni-based cocatalysts with high activity is therefore vitally important. Herein, we develop a new method to efficiently decorate divalent Ni onto pre-synthesized CdS/CdSe core/shell quantum dots (QDs).

Anisotropic Plasmonic Metal Heterostructures as Theranostic Nanosystems for Near Infrared Light-Activated Fluorescence Amplification and Phototherapy.

The development of sophisticated theranostic systems for simultaneous near infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging and phototherapy is of particular interest. Herein, anisotropic plasmonic metal heterostructures, Pt end-deposited Au nanorods (PEA NRs), are developed to efficiently produce hot electrons under 808 nm laser irradiation, exhibiting the strong electric density. These hot electrons can release the heat through electron-phonon relaxation and form reactive oxygen species through chemical transformation, as a result of potent photothermal and photodynamic performance.

Uncovering the Binding Specificities of Lectins with Cells for Precision Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis Based on Multimodal Imaging.

There is a high desire for novel targets/biomarkers to diagnose and treat colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, an approach starting from a polyacrylamide hydrogel-based lectin microarray is presented to screen the high expression of glycans on the CRC cell surface and to identify new lectin biomarkers for CRC. Three common CRC cell lines (SW480, SW620, and HCT116) and one normal colon cell line (NCM460) are profiled on the microarray with 27 lectins.

The Process of Wrapping Virus Revealed by a Force Tracing Technique and Simulations.

Viral entry into the host cell is the first step of virus infection; however, its dynamic process via endocytosis remains largely elusive. Here, the force tracing technique and single particle simulation are combined to investigate the invagination of single human enterovirus 71 (HEV71, a positive single-stranded RNA virus that is associated with hand, foot, and mouth disease) via cell membranes during its host cell entry. The experimental results reveal that the HEV71 invaginates in membrane vesicles at a force of 58 ± 16 pN, a duration time of 278 ± 68 ms.

Carbon Derived from Pine Needles as a Na-Storage Electrode Material in Dual-Ion Batteries.

Pine needles are used as the precursor material to prepare hard carbon. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N adsorption-desorption tests are carried out to characterize the surface, crystal, and pore structure of the material. The pine needle derived carbon (PNC) exhibits excellent Na-ion storage ability.

Development of [F]Maleimide-Based Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β Ligands for Positron Emission Tomography Imaging.

Dysregulation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. Thus, development of GSK-3β radiotracers for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is of paramount importance, because such a noninvasive imaging technique would allow better understanding of the link between the activity of GSK-3β and central nervous system disorders in living organisms, and it would enable early detection of the enzyme's aberrant activity. Herein, we report the synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of fluorine-substituted maleimide derivatives that are high-affinity GSK-3β inhibitors.

Variation in Carbohydrates between Cancer and Normal Cell Membranes Revealed by Super-Resolution Fluorescence Imaging.

Carbohydrate alterations on cell membranes are associated with various cancer processes, including tumorigenesis, malignant transformation, and tumor dissemination. However, variations in the distributions of cancer-associated carbohydrates are unclear at the molecular level. Herein, direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy is used to reveal that seven major types of carbohydrates tended to form obvious clusters on cancer cell membranes compared with normal cell membranes (both cultured and primary cells), and most types of carbohydrates present a similar distributed characteristic on various cancer cells (e.

A Physical Mechanism and Global Quantification of Breast Cancer.

Initiation and progression of cancer depend on many factors. Those on the genetic level are often considered crucial. To gain insight into the physical mechanisms of breast cancer, we construct a gene regulatory network (GRN) which reflects both genetic and environmental aspects of breast cancer.

Incorporating specificity into optimization: evaluation of SPA using CSAR 2014 and CASF 2013 benchmarks.

Scoring functions of protein-ligand interactions are widely used in computationally docking software and structure-based drug discovery. Accurate prediction of the binding energy between the protein and the ligand is the main task of the scoring function. The accuracy of a scoring function is normally evaluated by testing it on the benchmarks of protein-ligand complexes.

Implementation of Arithmetic Functions on a Simple and Universal Molecular Beacon Platform.

are fabricated to implement arithmetic functions based on a simple and single molecular beacon platform, including half adder, half subtractor, full adder, full subtractor, and a digital comparator. Dual fluorescence outputs are generated in parallel and a constant threshold value is set to build all the logic circuits. The developed enzyme-free DNA system provides a novel prototype for the design of high-level molecular logic circuits on a biomolecular platform.

Tailor-made charge-conversional nanocomposite for pH-responsive drug delivery and cell imaging.

Imaging labels, therapeutic drugs, as well as many other agents can all be integrated into one nanoplatform to allow for molecular imaging and therapy. With this in mind, herein we report the first example of a tailor-made charge-conversional nanocomposite composed of mesoporous γ-AlO(OH) and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) via a simple and versatile method, and the obtained nanocomposite could be performed as a drug delivery carrier and applied for cell imaging. The nanocomposite (UCNPs-Al) was found to be able to efficiently transport DOX, a typical chemotherapeutic anticancer drug, into the cancer cell and release DOX from UCNPs-Al triggering by the mildly acidic environment.

Synthesis and bio-imaging application of highly luminescent mercaptosuccinic acid-coated CdTe nanocrystals.

Here we present a facile one-pot method to prepare high-quality CdTe nanocrystals in aqueous phase. In contrast to the use of oxygen-sensitive NaHTe or H(2)Te as Te source in the current synthetic methods, we employ more stable sodium tellurite as the Te source for preparing highly luminescent CdTe nanocrystals in aqueous solution. By selecting mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) as capping agent and providing the borate-citrate acid buffering solution, CdTe nanocrystals with high quantum yield (QY >70% at pH range 5.