Highly durable carbon supported Fe?N nanocrystals feature as efficient bi-functional oxygen electrocatalyst

The mesoporous carbon layers protected Fe N nanocrystals (Fe N C_syn) was successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal approach and displays an improved oxygen bi-functional performance. The high specific surface area, mesoporous and graphitic carbon with more active sites of Fe N_x and Fe₃C/Fe in Fe N C_syn favors good synergistic electrocatalytic effect toward oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions (ORR and OER) in alkaline medium. The bi-functional activity of Fe N C_syn was clearly observed from the earlier onset potential of 0.86 V and limiting current density of 5.23 mA cm⁻² for ORR, as well as the low over potential of 470 mV with small Tafel slope value of 84 mV dec⁻¹ for OER. The enhanced stability and improved oxygen bifunctional activity of Fe N C_syn catalyst was evidently demonstrated through an innovative synthesis approach for the development of earth-abundant metal catalysts for energy applications.     

Kisspeptin-10 Rescues Cholinergic Differentiated SHSY-5Y Cells from α-Synuclein-Induced Toxicity In Vitro

The neuropathological substrate of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is defined by the inextricable cross-seeding accretion of amyloid-β (Aβ) and α-synuclein (α-syn)-laden deposits in cholinergic neurons. The recent revelation that neuropeptide kisspeptin-10 (KP-10) is able to mitigate Aβ toxicity via an extracellular binding mechanism may provide a new horizon for innovative drug design endeavors. Considering the sequence similarities between α-syn’s non-amyloid-β component (NAC) and Aβ’s C-terminus, we hypothesized that KP-10 would enhance cholinergic neuronal resistance against α-syn’s deleterious consequences through preferential binding. Here, human cholinergic SH-SY5Y cells were transiently transformed to upsurge the mRNA expression of α-syn while α-syn-mediated cholinergic toxicity was quantified utilizing a standardized viability-based assay. Remarkably, the E46K mutant α-syn displayed elevated α-syn mRNA levels, which subsequently induced more cellular toxicity compared with the wild-type α-syn in choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-positive cholinergic neurons. Treatment with a high concentration of KP-10 (10 µM) further decreased cholinergic cell viability, while low concentrations of KP-10 (0.01–1 µM) substantially suppressed wild-type and E46K mutant α-syn-mediated toxicity. Correlating with the in vitro observations are approximations from in silico algorithms, which inferred that KP-10 binds favorably to the C-terminal residues of wild-type and E46K mutant α-syn with CDOCKER energy scores of −118.049 kcal/mol and −114.869 kcal/mol, respectively. Over the course of 50 ns simulation time, explicit-solvent molecular dynamics conjointly revealed that the docked complexes were relatively stable despite small-scale fluctuations upon assembly. Taken together, our findings insinuate that KP-10 may serve as a novel therapeutic scaffold with far-reaching implications for the conceptualization of α-syn-based treatments.     

Spindle-shaped CeO2/biochar carbon with oxygen-vacancy as an effective and highly durable electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Highly durable and active CeO₂ on biochar carbon (CeO₂/BC) derived from Spirulina platensis microalgae and synthesized by simple one-pot hydrothermal treatment and further activated through pyrolysis approach. A spindle-shaped morphology of CeO₂ with predominant (111) facet was evidently observed from X-ray diffraction patterns and electron microscopy images. The structural features such as high specific surface area, defect-rich carbon with N & P atoms, increased oxygen vacancy and π-electron transfer play an important role for the improved oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The considerable amount of Ce³⁺ and higher proportion of pyridinic N and graphitic N species are substantially contributed to the superior ORR performance of CeO₂/BC700, which surpasses other similar catalysts and competing with Pt/C. Hence, the significant kinetic ORR parameters and extended stability (no loss after 5000 potential cycles) of the CeO₂/BC700 catalysts provides the promising insight to develop the rare-earth metal oxide nanostructures as a possible candidate for ORR in alkaline medium.