Recent Advances in Porphyrin-Based Systems for Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a pivotal role in the development of renewable energy methods, such as water-splitting devices and the use of Zn–air batteries. First-row transition metal complexes are promising catalyst candidates due to their excellent electrocatalytic performance, rich abundance, and cheap price. Metalloporphyrins are a class of representative high-efficiency complex catalysts owing to their structural and functional characteristics. However, OER based on porphyrin systems previously have been paid little attention in comparison to the well-described oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrogen evolution reaction, and CO₂ reduction reaction. Recently, porphyrin-based systems, including both small molecules and porous polymers for electrochemical OER, are emerging. Accordingly, this review summarizes the recent advances of porphyrin-based systems for electrochemical OER. Firstly, the electrochemical OER for water oxidation is discussed, which shows various methodologies to achieve catalysis from homogeneous to heterogeneous processes. Subsequently, the porphyrin-based catalytic systems for bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis including both OER and ORR are demonstrated. Finally, the future development of porphyrin-based catalytic systems for electrochemical OER is briefly prospected.     

微量氧对单壁碳纳米管生长的辅助催化作用研究

采用温控电弧炉,分别于He气氛和催化剂中加入不同量的氧,系统地研究了氧对纳米管形成的影响。TEM等研究分析表明,气氛中含有一定量的氧有利于氧化非晶碳促进纳米管的生长;催化剂中加入金属氧化物可以起到辅助催化的作用,减少产物中杂质含量,提高单壁碳纳米管的纯度。     

高炉法钙镁磷肥适当提高鼓风氧含量的试验

为促使高炉法钙镁磷肥企业在提高产量、降低消耗的基础上提高企业经济效益,云南沾益磷肥厂在2#高炉上用纯氧提高鼓风空气中氧含量1%～2%进行工业性生产试验。试验证实了适当提高氧含量鼓风是安全可靠的,提高氧含量鼓风尽管技术很成熟,但由于氧含量提高过少,影响钙镁磷肥高炉技经指标因素较多,试验未取得理想效果。应进一步制定提高鼓风中氧含量在10%～30%的试验方案,继续试验,开发这一工业应用技术。     

Insight into the Impact of Oxidative Stress on the Barrier Properties of Lipid Bilayer Models

As a new field of oxidative stress-based therapy, cold physical plasma is a promising tool for several biomedical applications due to its potential to create a broad diversity of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). Although proposed, the impact of plasma-derived RONS on the cell membrane lipids and properties is not fully understood. For this purpose, the changes in the lipid bilayer functionality under oxidative stress generated by an argon plasma jet (kINPen) were investigated by electrochemical techniques. In addition, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was employed to analyze the plasma-induced modifications on the model lipids. Various asymmetric bilayers mimicking the structure and properties of the erythrocyte cell membrane were transferred onto a gold electrode surface by Langmuir-Blodgett/Langmuir-Schaefer deposition techniques. A strong impact of cholesterol on membrane permeabilization by plasma-derived species was revealed. Moreover, the maintenance of the barrier properties is influenced by the chemical composition of the head group. Mainly the head group size and its hydrogen bonding capacities are relevant, and phosphatidylcholines are significantly more susceptible than phosphatidylserines and other lipid classes, underlining the high relevance of this lipid class in membrane dynamics and cell physiology.     

MgO－CoO－NiO氧敏材料的缺陷化学及电导特性研究

本文用点缺陷理论分析了ＭｇＯ－ＣｏＯ－ＮｉＯ系氧敏材料的缺陷模型．并测量了ＭｇＯ－ＣｏＯ－ＮｉＯ材料的高温电导与氧分压的关系．在实验的基础上，研究了该材料的缺陷化学及电导特性，对其禁带宽度及缺陷的热力学参数进行了理论估算．实验结果与理论分析吻合得较好．     

Study of amperometric diffusion solid-state electrolyte cell operating regimes

Different operating regimes are considered for operation of an amperometric diffusion solid-state electrolyte cell for measuring the volume fraction of oxygen. The design of an oxygen sensor is described. Experimental results confirm the efficiency of the proposed diffusion solid-state electrolyte cell for measuring oxygen in the range of 98–100%. Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 10, pp. 64–65, October, 2008.     

Genipin,an Inhibitor of UCP2 as a Promising New Anticancer Agent: A Review of the Literature

Genipin is a protein cross-linking agent extracted from Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) fruits. This fruit has conventionally been used as a Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of inflammation and jaundice and as an edible colorant in oriental countries. Uncoupling protein (UCP)-2 is a member of the family of uncoupling proteins, which are anion transporters positioned in the mitochondrial inner membrane. Genipin has been shown to have hepatoprotective activity, acting as an effective antioxidant and inhibitor of mitochondrial UCP2, and is also reported to exert significant anticancer effects. In this review, the author presents the latest progress of genipin as an anticancer agent and concisely describes its various mechanisms of action. In brief, genipin inhibits UCP2 to attenuate generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to ROS/c-Jun N-terminal kinase-dependent apoptosis of cancer cells. Genipin also increases the tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteases (MMP)-2, a kind of tumor promoter in a variety of cancers, as well as induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in in vitro and in vivo models. These findings suggest that genipin can serve as a promising novel antitumor agent that could be applicable for chemotherapy and/or chemoprevention for cancers.