Insights into the molecular response of Dioithona rigida to selenium nanoparticles: de novo transcriptome assembly and differential gene expression analysis.

The impact of contaminants on Copepod sp. and its molecular response is least explored, despite their abundance and dominance among invertebrates in aquatic environments. In the present investigation, Dioithona rigida, a cyclopoid zooplankton, was treated with selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) to determine the associated biochemical changes, and the chronic exposure effects were recorded using transcriptomic analysis. It was found that, SeNPs were acutely toxic with a lethal dose 50% of 140.9 mg/L. The de novo assembled transcriptome of the copepod comprised 81,814 transcripts, which underwent subsequent annotations to biological processes (23,378), cellular components (21,414), and molecular functions (31,015). Comparison of the expressed transcripts against the treated sample showed that a total of 186 transcript genes were differentially expressed among the D. rigida treatments (control and SeNPs). The significant downregulated genes are coding for DNA repair, DNA-templated DNA replication, DNA integration, oxidoreductase activity and transmembrane transport. Similarly, significant upregulations were observed in protein phosphatase binding and regulation of membrane repolarization. Understanding the impact of SeNPs on copepods is crucial not only for aquatic ecosystem health but also for human health, as these organisms play a key role in marine food webs, ultimately affecting the fish consumed by humans. By elucidating the molecular responses and potential toxicological effects of SeNPs, this study provides key insights for risk assessments and regulatory policies, ensuring the safety of seafood and protecting human health from the unintended consequences of nanoparticle pollution.

The toxicity analysis in Dioithona rigida is the first of its kind as a copepod model for analysis on dietary fixation of metal toxicity at the trophic level. Since this copepod is a major zooplankton fed by fish and crustacean larvae in marine ecosystems, the toxicity analysis on this copepod will give us more insights of the trophic-level food transfer. As far as our knowledge, this is the first study that opted to construct the de novo transcriptomic pipeline for this copepod, treated with selenium nanoparticles. The effectiveness of this work may be further extrapolated to assess the effect of other metal nanoparticles in this model organism. Although the selenium toxicity in marine ecosystem is an established sector, through our combined approach of biochemical analysis and omics approach, the solid framework and comprehensive insight of the selenium toxicity in reproductive fitness and molecular changes has been studied. This study chose to seek a reliable alternative in the sense of new copepod model and omics approach to analyse the relevant metal nanoparticle toxicity in the marine ecosystem.

Synthesis of Porous Carbon Honeycomb Structures Derived from Hemp for Hybrid Supercapacitors with Improved Electrochemistry.

Energy storage in electrochemical hybrid capacitors involves fast faradaic reactions such as an intercalation, or redox process occurring at a solid electrode surface at an appropriate potential. Hybrid sodium-ion electrochemical capacitors bring the advantages of both the high specific power of capacitors and the high specific energy of batteries, where activated carbon serves as a critical electrode material. The charge storage in activated carbon arises from an adsorption process rather than a redox reaction and is an electrical double-layer capacitor. Advanced carbon materials with interconnecting porous structures possessing high surface area and high conductivity are the prerequisites 1128to qualify for efficient energy storage. Herein, we have demonstrated that a porous honeycomb structure activated carbon derived from Australian hemp hurd (Cannabis sativa L.) in aqueous Na2SO4 electrolyte showed a specific capacitance of 240 F/g at 1 A/g. The mass ratio of biochar to KOH during the chemical activation associated with the synthesis temperature influences the change in morphologies, and distribution of pore sizes on the adsorption of ions. At higher synthesis temperatures, the tubular form of the honeycomb starts to disintegrate. The hybrid sodium-ion device employing hemp-derived activated carbon (HAC) coupled with electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) in an aqueous Na2SO4 electrolyte showed a specific capacitance of 95 F/g at 1 A/g having a capacitance retention of 90 %. The hybrid device (HAC||EMD) can possess excellent electrochemical performance metrics, having a high energy density of 38 Wh/kg at a power density of 761 W/kg. Overall, this study provides insights into the influence of the activation temperature and the KOH impregnation ratio on morphology, porosity distribution, and the activated carbon's electrochemical properties with faster kinetics. The high cell voltage for the device is devoted to the EMD electrode.

Bioactive Alkaloids from Nepalese Corydalis chaerophylla D.C. Acting on the Regulation of PCSK9 and LDL-R In Vitro.

Four new alkaloids Chaeronepaline-A (1), Chaeronepaline-B (2), Chaeronepaline-C (3), and Chaeronepaline-D (4) were isolated from Corydalis chaerophylla D.C. collected from Nepal and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data, 1D, 2D NMR and mass spectrometry. The structures were established as 3,12- Dimethoxy-5,6-dihydroisoquinolino [2,1-b] isoquinolin- 7- ium- 2, 9- diol (1), 7-Methyl-2,3 : 11,12-bis(methylenedioxy)-7,13a-secoberbin-13-14-epoxide (2), 7- methyl-5, 6, 7, 8- tetrahydro- 8H-spiro-9,14-dihydroxy-11,12-methylenedioxy-indane-isoquinoline (3) and 7- methyl-5, 6, 7, 8- tetrahydro- 8H-spiro-9,14-dihydroxy-11,12-methylenedioxy-indane-isoquinoline-N-oxide (4). The new alkaloids were tested in human hepatoma cell line to assess their ability to modulate the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R), of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) and to affect cellular cholesterol biosynthesis with the aim to evaluate their potential hypocholesterolemic effect. Results indicated that compounds 2 and 3 upregulate the LDLR, and inhibited the cholesterol biosynthesis with compound 2, which also reduced the secretion of PCSK9 by Huh7 cells. These in vitro data indicated a potential hypocholesterolemic effect of compound 2 that requires further in vivo validation.

Metal-Organic Framework on Fullerene (MOFOF) as a Hierarchical Composite by the Integration of Coordination Chemistry and Supramolecular Chemistry.

There is a synergy between coordination chemistry and supramolecular chemistry that has led to the development of innovative hierarchical composites with diverse functionalities. Here, we present a novel approach for the synthesis and characterization of a metal-organic framework on fullerene (MOFOF) composites, achieved through the integration of coordination chemistry and supramolecular chemistry principles. The hierarchical nature of the MOFOF harnesses the inherent properties of metal-organic frameworks and fullerenes. The two-step synthesis procedure involves controlled assembly of fullerenes as tube-like nanostructures (fullerene nanotube: FNT), their surface functionalization, and the on-surface growth of the MOF (in this case, ZIF-67). The method permits the precise tuning of morphology, effective distribution of MOF-on-FNT, and tight compositional control. The materials were comprehensively structurally characterized using electron microscopy, spectroscopic techniques, and other methods to elucidate the unique features and interactions within the MOFOF composites. The main findings reveal that the novel synthesis and characterization of MOFOF composites demonstrate the successful integration of coordination chemistry and supramolecular chemistry for the designing and fabricating of advanced hierarchical composites with tailored properties, including micro- and mesopore channels, interfacial facets, and defect sites. These properties are expected to lead to numerous potential applications such as gas storage and separation, catalysis, sensing, energy storage, and environmental remediation. However, only the capability of acid vapor sensing was tested and is described here.

Pretreatment-free SERS sensing of microplastics using a self-attention-based neural network on hierarchically porous Ag foams.

Low-cost detection systems are needed for the identification of microplastics (MPs) in environmental samples. However, their rapid identification is hindered by the need for complex isolation and pre-treatment methods. This study describes a comprehensive sensing platform to identify MPs in environmental samples without requiring independent separation or pre-treatment protocols. It leverages the physicochemical properties of macroporous-mesoporous silver (Ag) substrates templated with self-assembled polymeric micelles to concurrently separate and analyze multiple MP targets using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The hydrophobic layer on Ag aids in stabilizing the nanostructures in the environment and mitigates biofouling. To monitor complex samples with multiple MPs and to demultiplex numerous overlapping patterns, we develop a neural network (NN) algorithm called SpecATNet that employs a self-attention mechanism to resolve the complex dependencies and patterns in SERS data to identify six common types of MPs: polystyrene, polyethylene, polymethylmethacrylate, polytetrafluoroethylene, nylon, and polyethylene terephthalate. SpecATNet uses multi-label classification to analyze multi-component mixtures even in the presence of various interference agents. The combination of macroporous-mesoporous Ag substrates and self-attention-based NN technology holds potential to enable field monitoring of MPs by generating rich datasets that machines can interpret and analyze.

Mild selective photochemical oxidation of an organic sulfide using OxP-polyimide porous polymers as singlet oxygen generators.

A series of porous organic polymers based on a singlet oxygen generating oxoporphyinogen ('OxP') has been successfully prepared from a pseudotetrahedral OxP-tetraamine precursor (OxP(4-NH2Bn)4) by its reaction with tetracarboxylic acid dianhydrides under suitable conditions. Of the compounds studied, those containing naphthalene (OxP-N) and perylene (OxP-P) spacers, respectively, have large surface areas (~530 m2 g-1). On the other hand, the derivative with a simple benzene spacer (OxP-B) exhibits the best 1O2 generating capability. Although the starting OxP-tetraamine precursor is a poor 1O2 generator, its incorporation into OxP POPs leads to a significant enhancement of 1O2 productivity, which is largely due to the transformation of NH2 groups to electron-withdrawing diimides. Overall 1O2 production efficacy of OxP-POPs under irradiation by visible light is significantly improved over the common reference material PCN-222. All the materials OxP-B, OxP-N and OxP-P promote oxidation of thioanisole involving conversion of ambient triplet state oxygen to singlet oxygen under visible light irradiation and its reaction with the sulfide. Although the reaction rate of the oxidation promoted by OxP POPs is generally lower than for conventional materials (such as PCN-222) or previously studied OxP derivatives, undesired overoxidation of the substrate to methyl phenyl sulfone is suppressed. For organic sulfides, selectivity of oxidation is especially important for detoxification of mustard gas (bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide) or similarly toxic compounds since controlled oxidation leads to the low toxicity bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfoxide while overoxidation leads to intoxification (since bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfone presents greater toxicity to humans than the sulfide substrate). Therefore, OxP POPs capable of promoting selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides have excellent potential to be used as mild and selective detoxification agents.

Oxoporphyrinogen (OxP) is a unique chromophore compound in that it is intrinsically de-aggregated allowing large quantum yields of singlet oxygen generation. Due to its structure, OxP is also an ideal building block for porous systems. In this work, we describe the first incorporation of OxP in highly stable microporous polymers strongly enhanced singlet oxygen generation for selective oxidation of organic sulfides to sulfoxides (as a model reaction) under heterogeneous conditions. The novelty of this work lies in the high stability and easy recovery of the materials, the synergetic enhancement of singlet oxygen generation in the polymers over the starting OxP, and the excellent selectivity for the oxidation reaction.

Interaction of vascular endothelial cells with hydrophilic fullerene nanoarchitectured structures in 2D and 3D environments.

The interaction between diverse nanoarchitectured fullerenes and cells is crucial for biomedical applications. Here, we detailed the preparation of hydrophilic self-assembled fullerenes by the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP) method and hydrophilic coating of the materials as a possible vascularization strategy. The interactions of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) with hydrophilic fullerene nanotubes (FNT-P) and hydrophilic fullerene nanowhiskers (FNW-P) were investigated. The average length and diameter of FNT-P were 16 ± 2 µm and 3.4 ± 0.4 µm (i.e. aspect ratios of 4.6), respectively. The average length and diameter of FNW-P were 65 ± 8 µm and 1.2 ± 0.2 µm (i.e. aspect ratios of 53.9), respectively. For two-dimensional (2D) culture after 7 days, the ECs remained viable and proliferated up to ~ 420% and ~ 400% with FNT-P and FNW-P of 50 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, an optimized chitosan-based self-healing hydrogel with a modulus of ~400 Pa was developed and used to incorporate self-assembled fullerenes as in vitro three-dimensional (3D) platforms to investigate the impact of FNT-P and FNW-P on ECs within a 3D environment. The addition of FNW-P or FNT-P (50 µg/mL) in the hydrogel system led to proliferation rates of ECs up to ~323% and ~280%, respectively, after 7 days of culture. The ECs in FNW-P hydrogel displayed an elongated shape with aligned morphology, while those in FNT-P hydrogel exhibited a rounded and clustered distribution. Vascular-related gene expressions of ECs were significantly upregulated through interactions with these fullerenes. Thus, the combined use of different nanoarchitectured self-assembled fullerenes and self-healing hydrogels may offer environmental cues influencing EC development in a 3D biomimetic microenvironment, holding promise for advancing vascularization strategy in tissue engineering.

Self-assembled fullerenes with large aspect ratios modulate the morphology and gene expression of endothelial cells within a soft biomimetic 3D microenvironment, representing a promising new vascularization strategy in tissue engineering.

Improved supercapacitor performances by adding carbonized C60-based nanospheres to PVA/TEMPO-cellulose hydrogel-based electrolyte.

With the emergence of the energy crisis and the development of flexible electronics, there is an urgent need to develop new reliable energy supply devices with good flexibility, stable energy storage, and efficient energy transfer. Porous carbon materials have been proven to enhance the efficiency of ion transport, as the nanospaces within them serve as pathways for mass transport. However, they have been mainly investigated in the electrodes of supercapacitors and batteries. To elucidate their function in the solid electrolytes, we introduced C60-based carbonized nanospheres into PVA/TEMPO-cellulose-based hydrogels by exploiting the electrostatic interaction between the carboxyl groups of TEMPO-cellulose and the carbonized nanospheres. The obtained hydrogels were further utilized as the solid electrolytes for the supercapacitors. Through a comprehensive investigation, we found that the carbonized nanospheres can act as physical crosslinking points and increase the maximum stress of the hydrogel from 0.12 to 0.31 MPa without affecting the maximum strain. In addition, the nanospaces of the carbonized nanospheres provided a pathway for ion transport, improving the capacitance of the supercapacitor from 344.83 to 369.18 mF cm-2 at 0.5 mA cm-2. The capacitance retention was also improved from 53% to 62% at 10 mA cm-2. Collectively, this study provides new insights into the application of carbonized materials to solid electrolytes.

Nanoporous Hollow Carbon Spheres Derived from Fullerene Assembly as Electrode Materials for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

The energy storage performances of supercapacitors are expected to be enhanced by the use of nanostructured hierarchically micro/mesoporous hollow carbon materials based on their ultra-high specific surface areas and rapid diffusion of electrolyte ions through the interconnected channels of their mesoporous structures. In this work, we report the electrochemical supercapacitance properties of hollow carbon spheres prepared by high-temperature carbonization of self-assembled fullerene-ethylenediamine hollow spheres (FE-HS). FE-HS, having an average external diameter of 290 nm, an internal diameter of 65 nm, and a wall thickness of 225 nm, were prepared by using the dynamic liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation (DLLIP) method at ambient conditions of temperature and pressure. High temperature carbonization (at 700, 900, and 1100 °C) of the FE-HS yielded nanoporous (micro/mesoporous) hollow carbon spheres with large surface areas (612 to 1616 m2 g-1) and large pore volumes (0.925 to 1.346 cm3 g-1) dependent on the temperature applied. The sample obtained by carbonization of FE-HS at 900 °C (FE-HS_900) displayed optimum surface area and exhibited remarkable electrochemical electrical double-layer capacitance properties in aq. 1 M sulfuric acid due to its well-developed porosity, interconnected pore structure, and large surface area. For a three-electrode cell setup, a specific capacitance of 293 F g-1 at a 1 A g-1 current density, which is approximately 4 times greater than the specific capacitance of the starting material, FE-HS. The symmetric supercapacitor cell was assembled using FE-HS_900 and attained 164 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 with sustained 50% capacitance at 10 A g-1 accompanied by 96% cycle life and 98% coulombic efficiency after 10,000 consecutive charge/discharge cycles. The results demonstrate the excellent potential of these fullerene assemblies in the fabrication of nanoporous carbon materials with the extensive surface areas required for high-performance energy storage supercapacitor applications.

Recent Advancements in Novel Sensing Systems through Nanoarchitectonics.

The fabrication of various sensing devices and the ability to harmonize materials for a higher degree of organization is essential for effective sensing systems. Materials with hierarchically micro- and mesopore structures can enhance the sensitivity of sensors. Nanoarchitectonics allows for atomic/molecular level manipulations that create a higher area-to-volume ratio in nanoscale hierarchical structures for use in ideal sensing applications. Nanoarchitectonics also provides ample opportunities to fabricate materials by tuning pore size, increasing surface area, trapping molecules via host-guest interactions, and other mechanisms. Material characteristics and shape significantly enhance sensing capabilities via intramolecular interactions, molecular recognition, and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). This review highlights the latest advancements in nanoarchitectonics approaches to tailor materials for various sensing applications, including biological micro/macro molecules, volatile organic compounds (VOC), microscopic recognition, and the selective discrimination of microparticles. Furthermore, different sensing devices that utilize the nanoarchitectonics concept to achieve atomic-molecular level discrimination are also discussed.

Biomass Nanoarchitectonics for Supercapacitor Applications.

Nanoarchitectonics integrates nanotechnology with numerous scientific disciplines to create innovative and novel functional materials from nano-units (atoms, molecules, and nanomaterials). The objective of nanoarchitectonics concept is to develop functional materials and systems with rationally architected functional units. This paper explores the progress and potential of this field using biomass nanoarchitectonics for supercapacitor applications as examples of energetic materials and devices. Strategic design of nanoporous carbons that exhibit ultra-high surface area and hierarchically pore architectures comprising micro- and mesopore structure and controlled pore size distributions are of great significance in energy-related applications, including in high-performance supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and fuel cells. Agricultural wastes or natural biomass are lignocellulosic materials and are excellent carbon sources for the preparation of hierarchically porous carbons with an ultra-high surface area that are attractive materials in high-performance supercapacitor applications due to high electrical and ion conduction, extreme porosity, and exceptional chemical and thermal stability. In this review, we will focus on the latest advancements in the fabrication of hierarchical porous carbon materials from different biomass by chemical activation method. Particularly, the importance of biomass-derived ultra-high surface area porous carbons, hierarchical architectures with interconnected pores in high-energy storage, and high-performance supercapacitors applications will be discussed. Finally, the current challenges and outlook for the further improvement of carbon materials derived from biomass or agricultural wastes in the advancements of supercapacitor devices will be discussed.

Phyllanthus emblica Seed-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon Materials for High-Performance Supercapacitor Applications.

The electrical double-layer supercapacitance performance of the nanoporous carbons prepared from the Phyllanthus emblica (Amala) seed by chemical activation using the potassium hydroxide (KOH) activator is reported. KOH activation was carried out at different temperatures (700-1000 °C) under nitrogen gas atmosphere, and in a three-electrode cell set-up the electrochemical measurements were performed in an aqueous 1 M sulfuric acid (H2SO4) solution. Because of the hierarchical pore structures with well-defined micro- and mesopores, Phyllanthus emblica seed-derived carbon materials exhibit high specific surface areas in the range of 1360 to 1946 m2 g-1, and the total pore volumes range from 0.664 to 1.328 cm3 g-1. The sample with the best surface area performed admirably as the supercapacitor electrode-material, achieving a high specific capacitance of 272 F g-1 at 1 A g-1. Furthermore, it sustained 60% capacitance at a high current density of 50 A g-1, followed by a remarkably long cycle-life of 98% after 10,000 subsequent charging/discharging cycles, demonstrating the electrode's excellent rate-capability. These results show that the Phyllanthus emblica seed would have significant possibilities as a sustainable carbon-source for the preparing high-surface-area activated-carbons desired in high-energy-storage supercapacitors.

Hollow Spherical Fullerene Obtained by Kinetically Controlled Liquid-Liquid Interfacial Precipitation.

Nanomaterials with hollow structures are expected to exhibit new functionalities for materials engineering. Here we report the fabrication of fullerene (C60 ) spheres having different hollow structures by using a kinetically controlled liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation (KC-LLIP) method. For this purpose, 1,2-ethylenediamine (EDA) was used as a covalent cross-linker of C60 molecules to form C60 -EDA shells, while in-situ generated EDA-sulfur (EDA-S) droplets were applied as 'yolks' being eliminated by washing following formation of the yolk-shell structure, leading to hollow structures. Porous spheres, string hollow spheres, hollow spheres, and open hollow spheres have been synthesized by controlling the kinetics of nucleation of C60 -EDA and the template EDA-S growth. Isopropanol was used as an additive to control the discrepancy in growth rates of C60 -EDA and EDA-S. This simple KC-LLIP preparation method is expected to facilitate the large-scale fabrication and application of structured C60 spheres in materials science and technology.

Effects of hydrophilic fullerene nanoarchitectured structures on the behaviour of neural stem cells.

The interaction between nanoarchitectonic fullerenes and cells is essential for their applications in the biological field. Herein we reported the preparation and investigation of the function of different types of water-dispersible self-assembled fullerenes. The hydrophobic self-assembled fullerenes were either surface-modified or chemically etched to become water dispersible. Different types of fullerenes were then examined for their effects on the behavior of neural stem cells (NSCs). Our results indicated that only the hydrophilic fullerene nanotubes (FNTs, diameter ∼480 nm) created by chemically etching were endocytosed by NSCs, which showed a spindle-like morphology after the uptake. Meanwhile, the FNTs did not increase the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of the cells. The expression levels of neural-related genes (CNPase and ß-tubulin) were upregulated 1.5-fold in the presence of FNTs. The differentiation of NSCs depended on the size, shape, and surface functional group of various fullerenes. Besides, the addition of FNTs in a chitosan self-healing hydrogel did not influence the integrity, injectability, and self-healing properties of the composite hydrogel. These results revealed that FNTs induced the neural differentiation of NSCs in the composite hydrogel. The addition of FNTs at a low concentration (50 µg mL-1) was enough to create such effects in the composite hydrogel. The expression levels of the oligodendrocytic marker gene CNPase and the neuronal marker gene ß-tubulin were increased remarkably by ∼14.5- and ∼8.4-fold, respectively, by the composite self-healing hydrogel containing 50 µg mL-1 FNTs. The fullerene nanoarchitectured structures may have potential for use as nanovehicles and in neural tissue engineering in the future.

Fullerene Rosette: Two-Dimensional Interactive Nanoarchitectonics and Selective Vapor Sensing.

The simplicity of fullerenes as assembled components provides attractive opportunities for basic understanding in self-assembly research. We applied in situ reactive methods to the self-assembly process of C60 molecules with melamine/ethylenediamine components in solution, resulting in a novel type of fullerene assemblies, micron-sized two-dimensional, amorphous shape-regular objects, fullerene rosettes. ATR−FTIR spectra, XPS, and TGA results suggest that the melamine/ethylenediamine components strongly interact and/or are covalently linked with fullerenes in the fullerene rosettes. The broad peak for layer spacing in the XRD patterns of the fullerene rosettes corresponds roughly to the interdigitated fullerene bilayer or monolayer of modified fullerene molecules. The fullerene rosettes are made from the accumulation of bilayer/monolayer assemblies of hybridized fullerenes in low crystallinity. Prototype sensor systems were fabricated upon immobilization of the fullerene rosettes onto surfaces of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), and selective sensing of formic acid was demonstrated as preliminary results for social-demanded toxic material sensing. The QCM sensor with fullerene rosette is categorized as one of the large-response sensors among reported examples. In selectivity to formic acids against basic guests (formic acid/pyridine >30) or aromatic guests (formic acid/toluene >110), the fullerene rosette-based QCM sensor also showed superior performance.

Photosensitizer Encryption with Aggregation Enhanced Singlet Oxygen Production.

Chromophores that generate singlet oxygen (1O2) in water are essential to developing noninvasive disease treatments using photodynamic therapy (PDT). A facile approach for formation of stable colloidal nanoparticles of 1O2 photosensitizers, which exhibit aggregation enhanced 1O2 generation in water toward applications as PDT agents, is reported. Chromophore encryption within a fuchsonarene macrocyclic scaffold insulates the photosensitizer from aggregation induced deactivation pathways, enabling a higher chromophore density than typical 1O2 generating nanoparticles. Aggregation enhanced 1O2 generation in water is observed, and variation in molecular structure allows for regulation of the physical properties of the nanoparticles which ultimately affects the 1O2 generation. In vitro activity and the ability of the particles to pass through the cell membrane into the cytoplasm is demonstrated using confocal fluorescence microscopy with HeLa cells. Photosensitizer encryption in rigid macrocycles, such as fuchsonarenes, offers new prospects for the production of biocompatible nanoarchitectures for applications involving 1O2 generation.

Recycling Waste Paper for Further Implementation: XRD, FTIR, SEM, and EDS Studies.

Recycling technology contributes to sustainability and has received considerable interest in fulfilling consumable products' social demands, including papers. Recycled fibers are the primary source of the papermaking industry. Papers, valuable daily used materials, can be further recycled for further implementation. Here, we report a simple method for recycling waste papers for further use. Our method includes re-pulping, deinking, bleaching, and papermaking. The sample and the recycled papers were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). XRD data shows the presence of cellulose and filler minerals in the sample and the recycled papers. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of hydroxyl, carbonyl, and methyl functional groups in the recycled papers suggesting that the deinking and bleaching did not cause any structural changes. The fibrous structures were also sustained after recycling, as confirmed by SEM studies demonstrating that the recycling was successful and the papers can be further used and recycled. EDS analysis further confirmed the filler minerals in the sample paper with a trace amount of lead, which decreased upon bleaching the paper. The structure and properties of the sample and the recycled papers were quite similar, inferring that waste papers can be recycled again and different products from low to higher grade papers can be fabricated.

Nelumbo nucifera Seed-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Hierarchically Porous Carbons as Electrode Materials for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

Biomass-derived activated carbon materials with hierarchically nanoporous structures containing nitrogen functionalities show excellent electrochemical performances and are explored extensively in energy storage and conversion applications. Here, we report the electrochemical supercapacitance performances of the nitrogen-doped activated carbon materials with an ultrahigh surface area prepared by the potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation of the Nelumbo nucifera (Lotus) seed in an aqueous electrolyte solution (1 M sulfuric acid: H2SO4) in a three-electrode cell. The specific surface areas and pore volumes of Lotus-seed-derived carbon materials carbonized at a different temperatures, from 600 to 1000 °C, are found in the range of 1059.6 to 2489.6 m2 g-1 and 0.819 to 2.384 cm3 g-1, respectively. The carbons are amorphous materials with a partial graphitic structure with a maximum of 3.28 atom% nitrogen content and possess hierarchically micro- and mesoporous structures. The supercapacitor electrode prepared from the best sample showed excellent electrical double-layer capacitor performance, and the electrode achieved a high specific capacitance of ca. 379.2 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 current density. Additionally, the electrode shows a high rate performance, sustaining 65.9% capacitance retention at a high current density of 50 A g-1, followed by an extraordinary long cycle life without any capacitance loss after 10,000 subsequent charging/discharging cycles. The electrochemical results demonstrate that Nelumbo nucifera seed-derived hierarchically porous carbon with nitrogen functionality would have a significant probability as an electrical double-layer capacitor electrode material for the high-performance supercapacitor applications.

Zero-to-Two Nanoarchitectonics: Fabrication of Two-Dimensional Materials from Zero-Dimensional Fullerene.

Nanoarchitectonics of two-dimensional materials from zero-dimensional fullerenes is mainly introduced in this short review. Fullerenes are simple objects with mono-elemental (carbon) composition and zero-dimensional structure. However, fullerenes and their derivatives can create various types of two-dimensional materials. The exemplified approaches demonstrated fabrications of various two-dimensional materials including size-tunable hexagonal fullerene nanosheet, two-dimensional fullerene nano-mesh, van der Waals two-dimensional fullerene solid, fullerene/ferrocene hybrid hexagonal nanosheet, fullerene/cobalt porphyrin hybrid nanosheet, two-dimensional fullerene array in the supramolecular template, two-dimensional van der Waals supramolecular framework, supramolecular fullerene liquid crystal, frustrated layered self-assembly from two-dimensional nanosheet, and hierarchical zero-to-one-to-two dimensional fullerene assembly for cell culture.

Nanoarchitectonics for Hierarchical Fullerene Nanomaterials.

Nanoarchitectonics is a universal concept to fabricate functional materials from nanoscale building units. Based on this concept, fabrications of functional materials with hierarchical structural motifs from simple nano units of fullerenes (C60 and C70 molecules) are described in this review article. Because fullerenes can be regarded as simple and fundamental building blocks with mono-elemental and zero-dimensional natures, these demonstrations for hierarchical functional structures impress the high capability of the nanoarchitectonics approaches. In fact, various hierarchical structures such as cubes with nanorods, hole-in-cube assemblies, face-selectively etched assemblies, and microstructures with mesoporous frameworks are fabricated by easy fabrication protocols. The fabricated fullerene assemblies have been used for various applications including volatile organic compound sensing, microparticle catching, supercapacitors, and photoluminescence systems.