Optical studies of Y_3(Al,Ga)_5O_(12):Ce~(3+),Cr~(3+),Nd~(3+) nano-phosphors obtained by the Pechini method

The Y3(AI,Ga)_5O_(12):Ce~(3+),Cr~(3+),Nd~(3+)(YAGG) nano-phosphors with homogeneous particle-size distribution,low aggregation and average crystalline size of about 65 nm were obtained using a modified Pechini method.Only slight aggregation of the crystallites occurs after post-annealing at 1100℃.The intense Ce~(3+)bands in the excitation spectra of the Ce~(3+),Cr~(3+),Nd~(3+)co-doped materials monitoring the Cr~(3+) emission at 690 nm indicate energy transfer from Ce~(3+) to Cr~(3+).Weak Nd~(3+) lines are observed,as well.In addition,the emission of Nd~(3+)at 1060 nm with excitation of Ce~(3+) and Cr~(3+) confirms the Ce~(3+)/Cr~(3+)to Nd~(3+)energy transfer.The short average luminescence decay times for the Ce~(3+) emission indicate the Ce~(3+)/Cr~(3+)to Nd~(3+)energy transfer.Eventually,the Y_3(AI,Ga)_5O_(12):Ce~(3+),Cr~(3+),Nd~(3+) nano-phosphors exhibit persistent luminescence originating from the 4f~3→4f~3 transitions of Nd~(3+) which matches well to the first biological window to be used in bioimaging applications.     

Chemotherapy drugs derived nanoparticles encapsulating mRNA encoding tumor suppressor proteins to treat triple-negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one type of the most aggressive breast cancers with poor prognosis. It is of great urgency to develop new therapeutics for treating TNBC. Based on current treatment guideline and genetic information of TNBC, a combinational therapy platform integrating chemotherapy drugs and mRNA encoding tumor suppressor proteins may become an efficacious strategy. In this study, we developed paclitaxel amino lipid (PAL) derived nanoparticles (NPs) to incorporate both chemotherapy drugs and P53 mRNA. The PAL P53 mRNA NPs showed superior properties compared to Abraxane^® and Lipusu^® used in the clinic including high paclitaxel loading capacity (24 wt.%, calculated by paclitaxel in PAL), PAL encapsulation efficiency (94.7% ± 6.8%) and mRNA encapsulation efficiency (88.7% ± 0.7%). Meanwhile, these NPs displayed synergetic cytotoxicity of paclitaxel and P53 mRNA in cultured TNBC cells. More importantly, we demonstrated in vivo anti-tumor efficacy of PAL P53 mRNA NPs in an orthotopic TNBC mouse model. Overall, these chemotherapy drugs derived mRNA NPs provide a new platform to integrate chemotherapy and personalized medicine using tumor genetic information, and therefore represent a promising approach for TNBC treatment.

     

Hydrogen from wet air and sunlight in a tandem photoelectrochemical cell

A solid-state photoelectrochemical (SSPEC) cell is an attractive approach for solar water splitting, especially when it comes to monolithic device design. In a SSPEC cell the electrodes distance is minimized, while the use of polymer-based membranes alleviates the need for liquid electrolytes, and at the same time they can separate the anode from the cathode. In this work, we have made and tested, firstly, a SSPEC cell with a Pt/C electrocatalyst as the cathode electrode, under purely gaseous conditions. The anode was supplied with air of 80% relative humidity (RH) and the cathode with argon. Secondly, we replaced the Pt/C cathode with a photocathode consisting of 2D photocatalytic g-C₃N₄, which was placed in tandem with the photoanode (tandem-SSPEC). The tandem configuration showed a three-fold enhancement in the obtained photovoltage and a steady-state photocurrent density. The mechanism of operation is discussed in view of recent advances in surface proton conduction in absorbed water layers. The presented SSPEC cell is based on earth-abundant materials and provides a way towards systems of artificial photosynthesis, especially for areas where water sources are scarce and electrical grid infrastructure is limited or nonexistent. The only requirements to make hydrogen are humidity and sunlight.     

Emerging functional nanomaterials for the detection of food contaminants

Along with the progress in nanoscience, a variety of advanced functional nanomaterials were constructed to develop effective and innovative analytical techniques for food safety surveillance. In this review, we summarized the advanced analytical methods that have been developed based upon advanced functional nanomaterials, including plasmonic nanomaterial-based colorimetric methods, fluorescent nanomaterial-based fluorescent methods, advanced functional material-based molecular imprinting technology, advanced functional material-based chromatographic methods, plasmonic nanomaterial-based surface enhanced Raman scattering technology, and advanced functional material-based electrochemical methods. This review provides a progressive roadmap for further development of portable, rapid, and in situ detection technology to promote food safety surveillance from bench to market and eventually reduce the gap between research in the laboratory and industrial applications.     

Comparison of microwave and high-pressure processing on bound phenolic composition and antioxidant activities of sorghum hull

The influence of microwave boiling (MB treated 5, 10 and 15 s was abbreviated as MB5, MB10 and MB15, respectively) and high-pressure boiling (HB processed 10, 20 and 30 min was denoted as HB10, HB20 and HB30, respectively) processing on the composition and content of bound phenolic substances of sorghum hull and their antioxidant capacity were evaluated. Nine bound phenolic profiles were identified by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS, including syringic acid, veratric acid, p-hydroxybenzonic acid, caffeic acid, sinapic alcohol, ascorbic acid, prenylnaringenin and luteolin. Compared with traditional hot water processing (HP treated 10, 30 and 50 min was abbreviated as HP10, HP30 and HP50, respectively), the content of free procyanidins and total phenolics of sorghum hull treated with HB increased by 35.92–58.87% and 6.20–18.70%, respectively. Sorghum hull treated with HB20 possessed the highest ABTS (ABTS radical scavenging capacity) and FRAP (ferric ion reducing antioxidant power) among all treatment groups.     

A novel utilized method of tar derived from biomass gasification for fabricating binder-free all-solid-state hybrid supercapacitors

As an industrial pollutant, tar derived from biomass gasification is used as the precursor for fabricating a novel carbon-metal hydroxides composite electrode. A slurry (the mixture of tar, KOH and melamine) is daubed uniformly onto the nickel foam, which is directly carbonized to form NPC@LDH electrode material. This electrode is further coated with NiCo-LDH nanosheets using an electrodeposition method to form NF@NPC@LDH. The newly made NF@NPC@LDH electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 9.6 F cm⁻² at a current density of 2 mA cm⁻² and good rate performance (55.3% retention). Furthermore, a hybrid NF@NPC@LDH//NF@PC all-solid-state supercapacitor is fabricated, and the device exhibits high energy density of 1.28 mWh cm⁻³ at a power density of 8.04 mW cm⁻³, low resistance and good cycling stability.     

A landscape of hydride compounds for off-board refilling of transport vehicles

The authors compare the energy consumption of hydrogen cars (using fuel cells) with electric cars (using batteries) and conventional petrol cars finding that hydrogen cars are preferable to electric cars for long distances. They evaluate several types of hydrogen storage materials in terms of off-board refilling, in which hydrogen uptake takes place outside the vehicle. Literature values for enthalpy and entropy of formation etc. are used to calculate hydrogen densities, heat production and theoretical desorption temperature. Additionally, experimental literature values for temperature and pressure of (de)hydrogenation, kinetics and cycling stability are summarized. The results are discussed assuming that hydrogen refilling takes place in a replaceable tank outside the vehicle, which reduces the DOE requirements to high volumetric and gravimetric density, moderate release temperature, sufficiently fast release and high reversibility. They are fulfilled by materials like NaAlH₄, while even better performance can be expected from compounds like LiBH₄+MeH_x or Mg-Ti composites.     

Improving the luminescence and afterglow properties of Mg3Y2Ge3O12:Cr3+ by co-doping Bi3+

Generally, the emission intensity and afterglow of the near infrared phosphors can be improved by co-doping the sensitizer. In this work, Bi³⁺ ions as sensitizer are introduced into the near infrared phosphor Mg₃Y₂Ge₃O₁₂:Cr³⁺, and the luminescence properties are investigated. According to the principle of radius adaptation, Bi³⁺ ions would occupy eight coordinates in the host instead of Y³⁺ and Mg²⁺. Through structural refinement, theoretical calculation and experimental phenomena, there are two kinds of luminescent sources for Bi³⁺ ions, which come from ³P₁ → ¹S₀ (441 nm) and MMCT (330 nm), respectively. In addition, the substitution of Bi³⁺ for Mg²⁺ will result in inequivalent substitution forming defects (Bi_Mg·), and the trap depth is 0.55 eV. For Bi³⁺ and Cr³⁺ co-doped Mg₃Y₂Ge₃O₁₂, there are two factors can that can affect the luminescent properties of Cr, which are energy transfer and defects. The samples are obtained with three times the original emission intensity with the introduction of defects. At the same time, Bi³⁺ ions capture electrons to form new electron traps Bi²⁺ (Bi³⁺ + e^-) and the trap depth is 0.81 eV. Therefore, under the action of two traps Bi_Mg· and Bi²⁺ (Bi³⁺ + e^-), the afterglow characteristics of the samples are improved and the time can reach 1.5 h.     

pH-sensitive carbon dots for the visualization of regulation of intracellular pH inside living pathogenic fungal cells

In this paper, the pH-sensitive carbon dots were synthesized by simple one-pot hydrothermal treatment of threonine. The fluorescence of the as-synthesized carbon dots was featured by pH dependence, with the intensity decreasing as pH increases. The carbon dots can be readily internalized into plant pathogenic fungal cells for imaging with dose dependence. Moreover, intracellular pH regulation, a kind of physiological functions of living fungal cells, was visually expressed as the variation of fluorescence intensity of the internalized carbon dots. A transient reduction of the intracellular pH tightly regulated by living fungal cells under basic external condition can be presented as a gradual increase in fluorescence intensity of the carbon dots. On the contrary, the fluorescence of the carbon dots distributed in apple tissue infected by the fungal cells was soon quenched by the basic buffer because there was no intracellular pH regulation in the dead cells.