Enhancing electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution engineering unsaturated electronic structures in MoS.

The search for efficient, earth-abundant electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has identified unsaturated molybdenum disulfide (MoS) as a leading candidate. This review synthesises recent advancements in the engineering of MoS to enhance its electrocatalytic properties. It focuses on strategies for designing an unsaturated electronic structure on metal catalytic centers and their role in boosting the efficiency of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).

Sodium compensation: a critical technology for transforming batteries from sodium-starved to sodium-rich systems.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted wide attention from academia and industry due to the low cost and abundant sodium resources. Despite the rapid industrialization development of SIBs, it still faces problems such as a low initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) leading to a significant decrease in battery energy density (., 20%).

Amine-containing donepezil analogues as potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors with increased polarity.

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by postprandial fullness, upper abdominal bloating, and early satiation. Peripheral acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors such as acotiamide have shown efficacy in FD treatment, but their limited affinity towards the enzyme has hindered their effectiveness. Conversely, AChE inhibitors developed for Alzheimer's disease have high potency but exhibit strong central activity, making them unsuitable for FD treatment.

Synthesis and functional evaluation of proteinogenic amino acid-derived synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists related to MPP-5F-PICA, MMB-5F-PICA, and MDMB-5F-PICA.

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) comprise the second largest class of new psychoactive substances (NPS), and typically α-amino acid moieties are incorporated as part of their design. Limited investigation has been performed into elucidating structure-activity relationships around commonly used α-amino acid-derived head groups, mainly with valine and -leucine-derived compounds previously described. As such, proactive synthesis, characterisation and pharmacological evaluation were performed to explore structure-activity relationships of 15 α-amino acid derivatives, with both the natural isomers and their enantiomers at CB and CB investigated using a fluorescence-based membrane potential assay.

Nanomaterials for gas sensing and delivery.

Run Zhang, Songjun Zeng, and Rona Chandrawati introduce the themed issue 'Nanomaterials for gas sensing and delivery'.

Controlling the regioselectivity of the bromolactonization reaction in HFIP.

The halolactonization reaction provides rapid access to densely functionalized lactones from unsaturated carboxylic acids. The / regioselectivity of this cyclization reaction is primarily determined by the electronic stabilization of alkene substituents, thus making it inherently dependent on substrate structures. Therefore this method often affords one type of halolactone regioisomer only.

Covalent-organic framework nanobionics for robust cytoprotection.

We present a novel study introducing a durable and robust covalent-organic framework (COF) nanocoating, developed on living cells. This COF nanocoating demonstrates remarkable resistance against a diverse range of lethal stressors, including high temperature, extreme pH, ultraviolet radiation, toxic metal ions, organic pollutants, and strong oxidative stress. Notably, the nanocoating exhibits exceptional cell survival enhancement under high temperature and strongly acidic conditions, an aspect yet unexplored in the case of metal-organic framework nanocoatings and other nanomaterials.

Towards a prebiotic chemoton - nucleotide precursor synthesis driven by the autocatalytic formose reaction.

The formose reaction is often cited as a prebiotic source of sugars and remains one of the most plausible forms of autocatalysis on the early Earth. Herein, we investigated how cyanamide and 2-aminooxazole, molecules proposed to be present on early Earth and precursors for nonenzymatic ribonucleotide synthesis, mediate the formose reaction using HPLC, LC-MS and H NMR spectroscopy. Cyanamide was shown to delay the exponential phase of the formose reaction by reacting with formose sugars to form 2-aminooxazole and 2-aminooxazolines thereby diverting some of these sugars from the autocatalytic cycle, which nonetheless remains intact.

Advances in Wearable Piezoelectric Sensors for Hazardous Workplace Environments.

Recent advances in wearable energy harvesting technology as solutions to occupational health and safety programs are presented. Workers are often exposed to harmful conditions-especially in the mining and construction industries-where chronic health issues can emerge over time. While wearable sensors technology can aid in early detection and long-term exposure tracking, powering them and the associated risks are often an impediment for their widespread use, such as the need for frequent charging and battery safety.

The vibronic state dependent predissociation of HS: determination of all fragmentation processes.

Photochemistry plays a significant role in shaping the chemical reaction network in the solar nebula and interstellar clouds. However, even in a simple triatomic molecule photodissociation, determination of all fragmentation processes is yet to be achieved. In this work, we present a comprehensive study of the photochemistry of HS, derived from cutting-edge translational spectroscopy measurements of the H, S(D) and S(S) atom products formed by photolysis at wavelengths across the range 155-120 nm.

Schwann cell-matrix coated PCL-MWCNT multifunctional nanofibrous scaffolds for neural regeneration.

Nerve tissue engineering aims to create scaffolds that promote nerve regeneration in the damaged peripheral nervous system. However, there remain some challenges in the construction of scaffolds in terms of mechanical properties and cellular behaviour. The present work aims to develop multifunctional implantable nanofibrous scaffolds for nerve regeneration.

An aqueous photo-controlled polymerization under NIR wavelengths: synthesis of polymeric nanoparticles through thick barriers.

We report an aqueous and near-infrared (NIR) light mediated photoinduced reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (photo-RAFT) polymerization system using tetrasulfonated zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPcS ) as a photocatalyst. Owing to the high catalytic efficiency and excellent oxygen tolerance of this system, well-controlled polyacrylamides, polyacrylates, and polymethacrylates were synthesized at fast rates without requiring deoxygenation. Notably, NIR wavelengths possess enhanced light penetration through non-transparent barriers compared to UV and visible light, allowing high polymerization rates through barriers.

Metrology of convex-shaped nanoparticles soft classification machine learning of TEM images.

The shape of nanoparticles is a key performance parameter for many applications, ranging from nanophotonics to nanomedicines. However, the unavoidable shape variations, which occur even in precision-controlled laboratory synthesis, can significantly impact on the interpretation and reproducibility of nanoparticle performance. Here we have developed an unsupervised, soft classification machine learning method to perform metrology of convex-shaped nanoparticles from transmission electron microscopy images.

Removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water by ceric(iv) ammonium nitrate.

Ceric(iv) ammonium nitrate (CAN) in aqueous medium acts as an excellent precipitating agent for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). The Ce(iv) center plays a crucial role. Interestingly, Ce(iii) chloride showed much less effectiveness under similar conditions.

RbSnX (X = Cl, Br, I): promising lead-free metal halide perovskites for photovoltaics and optoelectronics.

Lead (Pb) free metal halide perovskites by atomistic design are of strong interest to photovoltaics and optoelectronics industries because of the pressing need to resolve Pb-related toxicity and instability challenges. In this study, structural, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of Pb-free RbSnX (X = Cl, Br, I) perovskites have been evaluated by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The computed elastic constants suggest that the Rb-based halide perovskites are mechanically stable and highly ductile, making them suitable as flexible thin films in optoelectronic devices.

Wearable Sensors for Remote Health Monitoring: Potential Applications for Early Diagnosis of Covid-19.

Wearable sensors are emerging as a new technology to detect physiological and biochemical markers for remote health monitoring. By measuring vital signs such as respiratory rate, body temperature, and blood oxygen level, wearable sensors offer tremendous potential for the noninvasive and early diagnosis of numerous diseases such as Covid-19. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made to develop wearable sensors with high sensitivity, accuracy, flexibility, and stretchability, bringing to reality a new paradigm of remote health monitoring.

Point-of-care detection of cytokines in cytokine storm management and beyond: Significance and challenges.

Cytokines are signaling molecules between cells in immune system. Cytokine storm, due to the sudden acute increase in levels of pro-inflammatory circulating cytokines, can result in disease severity and major-organ damage. Thus, there is urgent need to develop rapid, sensitive, and specific methods for monitoring of cytokines in biology and medicine.

Monitoring the heterogeneity in single cell responses to drugs using electrochemical impedance and electrochemical noise.

Impedance spectroscopy is a widely used technique for monitoring cell-surface interactions and morphological changes, typically based on averaged signals from thousands of cells. However, acquiring impedance data at the single cell level, can potentially reveal cell-to-cell heterogeneity for example in response to chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin. Here, we present a generic platform where light is used to define and localize the electroactive area, thus enabling the impedance measurements for selected single cells.

Stable monovalent aluminum(i) in a reduced phosphomolybdate cluster as an active acid catalyst.

Low-valent aluminum Al(i) chemistry has attracted extensive research interest due to its unique chemical and catalytic properties but is limited by its low stability. Herein, a hourglass phosphomolybdate cluster with a metal-center sandwiched by two benzene-like planar subunits and large steric-hindrance is used as a scaffold to stabilize low-valent Al(i) species. Two hybrid structures, (HO)(Hbpe)[Al(HO)]{[Al(PMo OH)]·7HO (abbr.

Rapid and ultrasensitive electrochemical detection of circulating tumor DNA by hybridization on the network of gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles.

An accurate and robust method for quantifying the levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is vital if this potential biomarker is to be used for the early diagnosis of cancer. The analysis of ctDNA presents unique challenges because of its short half-life and ultralow abundance in early stage cancers. Here we develop an ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor for rapid detection of ctDNA in whole blood.

coronal protein signatures and biological impact of silver nanoparticles synthesized with different natural polymers as capping agents.

Biopolymer-capped particles, sodium alginate-, gelatin- and reconstituted silk fibroin-capped nanosilver (AgNPs), were synthesized with an intention to study, simultaneously, their and haemocompatibility, one of the major safety factors in biomedical applications. Solid state characterization showed formation of spherical nanoparticles with 5 to 30 nm primary sizes (transmission electron microscopy) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of particles confirmed silver bonding with the biopolymer moieties. The degree of aggregation of the biopolymer-capped AgNPs in the synthesis medium (ultrapure water) is relatively low, with comparable hydrodynamic size with those of the control citrate-stabilized NPs, and remained relatively unchanged even after 6 weeks.

Sub-micron moulding topological mass transport regimes in angled vortex fluidic flow.

Shear stress in dynamic thin films, as in vortex fluidics, can be harnessed for generating non-equilibrium conditions, but the nature of the fluid flow is not understood. A rapidly rotating inclined tube in the vortex fluidic device (VFD) imparts shear stress (mechanical energy) into a thin film of liquid, depending on the physical characteristics of the liquid and rotational speed, , tilt angle, , and diameter of the tube. Through understanding that the fluid exhibits resonance behaviours from the confining boundaries of the glass surface and the meniscus that determines the liquid film thickness, we have established specific topological mass transport regimes.

Influence of surface charge of graphene quantum dots on their uptake and clearance in melanoma cells.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) continue to draw interest in biomedical applications. However, their efficacy gets compromised due to their rapid clearance from the body. On one hand, rapid clearance is desired and considered advantageous in terms of their cytocompatibility, but on the other hand, it is a major limitation for their prolonged use as imaging and therapeutic probes.