Lakedodd0507

We develop a label-free fluorescence method for ultrasensitive detection of apoptosis-associated caspase activity based on branched rolling circle amplification. This work demonstrates for the first time the use of a nucleic acid amplification strategy for the amplified detection of caspase activity, which allows for highly sensitive detection of endogenous caspase even at the single-cell level. This method can be further applied for kinetic analysis and inhibitor screening.In this work, an Eu2+-doped K3ScSi2O7 (KSSO) NIR phosphor with broad-band NIR emission and robust thermal stability was designed and synthesized successfully. The crystal structure, luminescent properties, the mechanism of abnormal NIR emission, thermal stability and application to NIR pc-LEDs were investigated in detail.Pnictogen complexes are ideal for mediating multi-electron chemical reactions in two-electron steps. We report an Sb(v) bis-μ-oxo corrole that photochemically oxidises the C-H bonds of organic substrates. In the case of toluene, the substrate is oxidised to benzaldehyde, a rare example of a four-electron photoreaction.Theranostic agents that integrate diagnostic and therapeutic modalities have drawn extensive attention due to their ability to deliver real-time imaging-guided tumor treatment. NaB inhibitor in vitro Herein, a novel core-shell polydopamine (PDA)-based theranostic agent (PDA@TA-Fe) was fabricated via a two-step strategy. Upon 808 nm and 1064 nm laser irradiation, this agent exhibited high photothermal conversion efficiencies of 29% and 41%, respectively. After endocytosis into tumor cells, the TA-Fe shell of PDA@TA-Fe gradually disintegrated in the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment (TME), and released the TA as an acidity-activated reductant that could reduce Fe3+ to Fe2+. Subsequently, the generated Fe2+ reacted with H2O2 to generate toxic hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) via the Fenton reaction, which induced the apoptosis of tumor cells and achieved the chemodynamic therapy (CDT). The heat produced by photothermal therapy (PTT) accelerated the ˙OH generation to achieve a synergetic effect of CDT/PTT. In vivo tumor-xenograft imaging and therapeutic assays demonstrated obvious contrast enhancement at the tumor site in the T1/T2-weighted MR imaging and efficient tumor suppression achieved after the intravenous injection of this agent because of the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect. This study offered a new strategy to design an "all-in-one" nanoplatform for T1/T2 MR imaging-guided synergistic cancer treatment of CDT/PTT.Tandem catalysis via methanol intermediate is a promising route for the direct conversion of syngas into aromatics. However, the simultaneous formation of CO2 is a serious problem. Here, we demonstrate that CO2 was formed by the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction (CO + H2O → CO2 + H2) over a ZnO-ZrO2/H-ZSM-5 catalyst, and the net CO2 formation could be inhibited without affecting the formation of aromatics by co-feeding CO2.Sensitive and selective quantification of specific analytes is of great significance in analytical and environmental sciences, as well as in the food industry. Herein, we report the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of a responsive ruthenium(ii) complex probe, Ru-azo, for phosphorescence and time-gated luminescence (TGL) detection of bisulfite, an important additive in the food industry. Upon a specific nucleophilic addition reaction between bisulfite and the azo group of Ru-azo, a new ruthenium(ii) complex, Ru-SO3, was obtained, which resulted in a remarkable increase in phosphorescence intensity, allowing the bisulfite detection to be achieved. In addition, long-lived emissions of Ru-azo (τ = 258 ns) and Ru-SO3 (τ = 261 ns) also enabled the TGL detection of bisulfite in autofluorescence-rich food samples. Through theoretical computations, the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process within the ruthenium(ii) complex was validated, which unveiled the rationality of the luminescence "off-on" response of Ru-azo to bisulfite. The probe showed advantages of good water solubility, and high sensitivity, selectivity and accuracy for responding to bisulfite, facilitating its application in phosphorescence and TGL detection of bisulfite in aqueous and food samples.A ratiometric fluorescent probe (PNA) was developed to sense and image endogenous bacterial penicillin G acylase (PGA). Oleanolic acid was discovered as a potential natural inhibitor of PGA using high-throughput screening techniques based on PNA.[This corrects the article DOI 10.34133/2020/2640834.]. Copyright © 2020 Yong-Ming Liu et al.Lubrication is the key to efficient function of human tissues and has significant impact on the comfort level. However, the construction of a lubricating nanofibrous membrane has not been reported as yet, especially using a one-step surface modification method. Here, bioinspired by the superlubrication mechanism of articular cartilage, we successfully construct hydration-enhanced lubricating nanofibers via one-step in situ grafting of a copolymer synthesized by dopamine methacrylamide (DMA) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) onto electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers. The zwitterionic MPC structure provides the nanofiber surface with hydration lubrication behavior. The coefficient of friction (COF) of the lubricating nanofibrous membrane decreases significantly and is approximately 65% less than that of pure PCL nanofibers, which are easily worn out under friction regardless of hydration. The lubricating nanofibers, however, show favorable wear-resistance performance. Besides, they possess a strong antiadhesion ability of fibroblasts compared with pure PCL nanofibers. The cell density decreases approximately 9-fold, and the cell area decreases approximately 12 times on day 7. Furthermore, the in vivo antitendon adhesion data reveals that the lubricating nanofiber group has a significantly lower adhesion score and a better antitissue adhesion. Altogether, our developed hydration-enhanced lubricating nanofibers show promising applications in the biomedical field such as antiadhesive membranes. Copyright © 2020 Liang Cheng et al.