High biocompatible FITC-conjugated silica nanoparticles for cell labeling in both in vitro and in vivo models.

Fluorescence nanosilica-based cell tracker has been explored and applied in cell biological research. However, the aggregation of these nanoparticles at physiological pH is still the main limitation. In this research, we introduced a novel fluorescence nano-based cell tracker suitable for application in live cells. The silica-coated fluorescein isothiocyanate isomer (FITC-SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) were modified with carboxymethylsilanetriol disodium salt (FITC-SiO2-COOH), integrating the dianion form of FITC molecules. This nanosystem exhibited superior dispersion in aqueous solutions and effectively mitigated dye leakage. These labeled NPs displayed notable biocompatibility and minimal cytotoxicity in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Significantly, the NPs did not have negative implications on cell migration or angiogenesis. They successfully penetrated primary fibroblasts, human umbilical vein endothelial cells and HeLa cells in both 2D and 3D cultures, with the fluorescence signal enduring for over 72 h. Furthermore, the NP signals were consistently observed in the developing gastrointestinal tract of live medaka fish larvae for extended periods during phases of subdued digestive activity, without manifesting any apparent acute toxicity. These results underscore the promising utility of FITC-SiO2-COOH NPs as advanced live cell trackers in biological research.

A simple microplasma reactor paired with indirect ultrasonication for aqueous phase synthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles.

Cobalt oxide nanoparticles are widely used owing to their distinct properties such as their larger surface area, enhanced reactivity, and their superior optical, electronic, and magnetic properties when compared to their bulk counterpart. The nanoparticles are preferably synthesized using a bottom-up approach in liquid as it allows the particle size to be more precisely controlled. In this study, we employed microplasma to synthesize Co3O4 nanoparticles because it eliminates harmful reducing agents and is efficient and cost-effective. Microplasma reactors are equipped with copper wire electrodes to generate plasma and are simple to configure. The product was characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The experimental parameters that were varied for the synthesis were: with or without stirring, with or without indirect ultrasonication, and with or without capping agents (urea and sucrose). The results showed that the microplasma enabled Co3O4 nanoparticles to be successfully synthesized, with particle sizes of 10.9-17.7 nm, depending on the synthesis conditions.

Plasma-catalytic ethylene removal by a ZSM-5 washcoat honeycomb monolith impregnated with palladium.

The effective removal of dilute ethylene in a novel honeycomb plasma reactor was investigated using a honeycomb catalyst (Pd/ZSM-5/monolith) sandwiched between two-perforated electrodes operating at ambient temperature. Herein, the dependence of catalyst performance on the binder fraction, catalyst preparation method, and catalyst loading was examined. Ethylene removal was carried out by a process comprising cycles of 30-min adsorption conjugated with 15-min plasma-catalytic oxidation. Interestingly, the performance of the cyclic process was superior to continuous plasma-catalytic oxidation and thermally activated catalyst in terms of energy conservation, i.e., ~36 compared to ~105 and ~300 J/L, respectively. Hence, the novel cyclic process can be considered advanced-oxidation technology that features room-temperature oxidation, offers low energy consumption, negligible hazardous by-products emissions such as NOx and O3. Moreover, the process operated under described conditions: low-pressure drop, ambient atmosphere, a mechanically stable system, and a simple reactor configuration, suggesting the practical applicability of this plasma process.

Effect of targeting ligand designation of self-assembly chitosan-poloxamer nanogels loaded Paclitacel on inhibiting MCF-7 cancer cell growth.

In this study, we investigated two formulations of chitosan-Pluronic P123 with different folate ligand designation for targeted delivery of Paclitaxel (PTX), in which folic acid (FA) was directly conjugated to chitosan (FA-Cs-P123) or substituted onto P123 (Cs-P123-FA). The results showed that the FA content of Cs-P123-FA was determined at 0.71 wt/wt% which was significantly higher than that of FA-Cs-P123 (0.31 wt/wt%). Two copolymers were low critical gel concentrations (CGC). FA-Cs-P123 and Cs-P123-FA nanogels performed high PTX encapsulation efficiency reaching 95.57 ± 5.51 and 92.51 ± 6.68 wt/wt%, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and zeta potential analysis indicated that the PTX-loaded nanogels were spherically formed around 60 nm in diameter along with positive charge. Furthermore, the PTX release profile was slow and it was controlled by the pH of the medium. In particular, in vitro biocompatibility assays indicated that both FA-Cs-P123 and Cs-P123-FA exhibited good biological compatibility with a human foreskin fibroblast cell line and well uptake efficiency into MCF-7 cancer cells. Cs-P123-FA nanogel significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of PTX in comparison with FA-Cs-P123. The result indicates that Cs-P123-FA nanogels with a higher decorated FA content perform a better targeting efficiency; therefore, they could have great potential application towards breast cancer treatment.

Helminth infections in dogs in Phu Tho Province, northern Vietnam.

Helminths are among the most-commonly encountered disease-causing agents in dogs all over the world, including Vietnam. A cross-sectional survey was carried out between March and December 2019 in four dog slaughter-slabs in Yen Lap District, Phu Tho Province, northern Vietnam, aiming to reveal the occurrence of gastrointestinal helminths in dogs. Worms were collected from 350 dog samples and identified by morphological techniques followed by molecular methods for tapeworms and hookworms. Nine species, including Taenia hydatigena, Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, Dipylidium caninum, Spirocerca lupi, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, Ancylostoma caninum, Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina and Trichuris vulpis, were found to occur in this area. Infection with at least one worm species was found in 272 dogs (77.7%; 95% Wilson score CI: 73.1-81.8%). The most common species was A. ceylanicum, with a prevalence of 45.1% (95% Wilson score CI: 40.0-50.4%) while T. hydatigena had a very low prevalence of 0.3% (95% Exact CI: 0.0-1.6%). Co-infection with hookworms and D. caninum was common. Five of the recovered helminth species have a zoonotic potential. Control of these parasites is necessary in order to protect human and animal health.

Multilayered PVDF-HFP Porous Separator via Phase Separation and Selective Solvent Etching for High Voltage Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The development of highly porous and thin separator is a great challenge for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the inevitable safety issues always caused by poor mechanical integrity and internal short circuits of the thin separator must be addressed before this type of separator can be applied to lithium-ion batteries. Here, we developed a novel multilayer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) membrane with a highly porous and lamellar structure, through a combination of evaporation-induced phase separation and selective solvent etching methods. The developed membrane is capable of a greater amount of electrolyte uptake and excellent electrolyte retention resulting from its superior electrolyte wettability and highly porous structure, thereby offering better electrochemical performance compared to that of a commercial polyolefin separator (Celgard). Moreover, benefiting from the layered configuration, the tensile strength of the membrane can reach 13.5 MPa, which is close to the mechanical strength of the Celgard type along the transversal direction. The elaborate design of the multilayered structure allows the fabrication of a new class of thin separators with significant improvements in the mechanical and electrochemical performance. Given safer operation, the developed multilayer membrane may become a preferable separator required for high-power and high-energy storage devices.

Cytocompatible dendrimer G3.0-hematin nanoparticle with high stability and solubility for mimicking horseradish peroxidase activity in in-situ forming hydrogel.

Hematin has been used as an alternative enzyme catalyst to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) due to its iron-containing activity center. Although hematin and it derivatives have been widely used for polymerization of phenol/analine compounds, it has some drawbacks such as the limited solubility and reaction only at high pH condition. Herein, we report a nanosized biomimetic catalyst, hematin-decorated polyamidoamine dendrimer (G3.0-He) that can effectively catalyze the in situ hydrogelation of phenol-conjugated polymers under neutral pH condition. We demonstrate that G3.0-He particles are smaller than 100 nm and have excellent enzyme-mimetic functions. Interestingly, the nanosized catalyst is not inactivated at high H2O2 concentration. Compared to pure hematin, G3.0-He has significantly higher dispersion in acidic and neutral media, and preserves the percentage of survival of fibroblasts over 90%. Notably, G3.0-He possesses an exquisite HRP-mimicking activity in gelation of gelatin derivative with phenolic hydroxyl (tyamine) moieties under mild physiological conditions. The in vitro study demonstrated that Gel-Tyr hydrogel by G3.0-He catalyzed reaction had excellent cytocompatibility and an excellent scaffold for adhesion to fibroblast cells. Therefore, the designed minimalistic G3.0-He catalyst could serve as an effective catalytic alternative for HRP enzyme in the preparation of biomedical hydrogels.

Removal of ethyl acetate in air by using different types of corona discharges generated in a honeycomb monolith structure coated with Pd/γ-alumina.

A method based on the corona discharge produced by high voltage alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) over a Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalyst supported on a honeycomb structure monolith was developed to eliminate ethyl acetate (EA) from the air at atmospheric pressure. The characteristics of the AC and DC corona discharge generated inside the honeycomb structure monolith were investigated by varying the humidity, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), and temperature. The results showed that the DC corona discharge is more stable and easily operated at different operating conditions such as humidity, GHSV, and gas temperature compared to the AC discharge. At a given applied voltage, the EA conversion in the DC honeycomb catalyst discharge is, therefore, higher compared with that in the AC honeycomb catalyst discharge (e.g., 96% of EA conversion compared with approximately 68%, respectively, at 11.2 kV). These new results can open opportunities for wide applications of DC corona discharge combined with honeycomb catalysts to VOC treatment.

Data on a highly stable electrocatalyst of NiCoPt/Graphene-dot nanosponge for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "NiCoPt/Graphene-dot Nanosponge as a Highly Stable Electrocatalyst for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Electrolyte (N.-A. Nguyen et al., 2020) [1]. This article reports a simple method to synthesize NiCoPt/Graphene-dot as an electrocatalyst with low Pt loading but high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. The morphology of NiCoPt/Graphene-dot was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques. The structural and chemical properties of NiCoPt/Graphene-dot were investigated by using X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques.

In Situ Engineering of Pd Nanosponge Armored with Graphene Dots Using Br- toward High-Performance and Stable Electrocatalyst for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

In this study, we report a facile synthetic pathway to three-dimensional (3D) Pd nanosponge-shaped networks wrapped by graphene dots (Pd@G-NSs), which show superior electrocatalytic activity toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and exhibited excellent long-term stability in acidic media. Pd@G-NSs were synthesized by simply mixing Pd precursors, reducing agent, carbon dots (Cdots), and Br- ion at 30 °C. Experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggested that the Br- ions played an essential role in accelerating the exfoliation of Cdot, supplying graphene layers, which could wrap the nanosponge-shaped Pd and finally form Pd@G-NS. In the absence of the Br- ions, only aggregated Pd nanoparticles (NPs) were formed and randomly mixed with Cdots. The resultant Pd@G-NS exhibited a high electrochemically active surface area and accelerated charge transport characteristics, leading to its superior electrocatalytic activity toward the HER in acidic media. The HER overpotential of Pd@G-NS was 32 mV at 10 mA cm-2, and the Tafel slope was 33 mV dec-1. Furthermore, the unique Pd@G-NS catalyst showed long-term stability for over 3000 cycles in acidic media as well, owing to the protection of Pd nanosponges by graphene dot wrapping. The overall HER performance of the Pd@G-NS catalyst exceeded that of commercial Pt/C.

A dual synergistic of curcumin and gelatin on thermal-responsive hydrogel based on Chitosan-P123 in wound healing application.

This study aimed to fabricate the potential therapeutic scaffold to efficiently and safely fastening skin wound healing. A biocompatible grafting polymer-based thermal sensitive hybrid hydrogel (Chitosan-P123, CP) containing gelatin and curcumin was designed to be suitable stiffness for tissue regeneration. A detailed in the rheological study found that the encapsulated agents induced the change in the stiffness of the hydrogel from the hard to the soft. Especial, the thermally induced phase transition of CP hydrogel was governed by the participant of gelatin rather than curcumin. For example, at 25 wt% gelatin, CP hydrogel exhibited a unique gel-sol-gel transition following the function of temperature. Moreover, in vitro investigation revealed that the hybrid hydrogel provides the capacity of especially induced curcumin release with a sustainable rate as well as the excellent biocompatibility scaffold. Altogether with in vivo study, the hybrid hydrogel highlighted the advance of the dual synergistic of curcumin and gelatin in development of smart scaffold system, which promoted the efficacy in the regeneration of the structure and the barrier's function of damaged skin such as wound or skin cancer.

Fabrication of highly sensitive and selective H2 gas sensor based on SnO2 thin film sensitized with microsized Pd islands.

Ultrasensitive and selective hydrogen gas sensor is vital component in safe use of hydrogen that requires a detection and alarm of leakage. Herein, we fabricated a H2 sensing devices by adopting a simple design of planar-type structure sensor in which the heater, electrode, and sensing layer were patterned on the front side of a silicon wafer. The SnO2 thin film-based sensors that were sensitized with microsized Pd islands were fabricated at a wafer-scale by using a sputtering system combined with micro-electronic techniques. The thicknesses of SnO2 thin film and microsized Pd islands were optimized to maximize the sensing performance of the devices. The optimized sensor could be used for monitoring hydrogen gas at low concentrations of 25-250 ppm, with a linear dependence to H2 concentration and a fast response and recovery time. The sensor also showed excellent selectivity for monitoring H2 among other gases, such as CO, NH3, and LPG, and satisfactory characteristics for ensuring safety in handling hydrogen. The hydrogen sensing characteristics of the sensors sensitized with Pt and Au islands were also studied to clarify the sensing mechanisms.