Nanomicellar Electrolyte To Control Release Ions and Reconstruct Hydrogen Bonding Network for Ultrastable High-Energy-Density Zn-Mn Battery.

Zn-Mn batteries with two-electron conversion reactions simultaneously on the cathode and anode harvest a high voltage plateau and high energy density. However, the zinc anode faces dendrite growth and parasitic side reactions while the Mn2+/MnO2 reaction on the cathode involves oxygen evolution and possesses poor reversibility. Herein, a novel nanomicellar electrolyte using methylurea (Mu) has been developed that can encapsulate ions in the nanodomain structure to guide the homogeneous deposition of Zn2+/Mn2+ in the form of controlled release under an external electric field. Consecutive hydrogen bonding network is broken and a favorable local hydrogen bonding system is established, thus inhibiting the water-splitting-derived side reactions. Concomitantly, the solid-electrolyte interface protective layer is in situ generated on the Zn anode, further circumventing the corrosion issue resulting from the penetration of water molecules. The reversibility of the Mn2+/MnO2 conversion reaction is also significantly enhanced by regulating interfacial wettability and improving nucleation kinetics. Accordingly, the modified electrolyte endows the symmetric Zn∥Zn cell with extended cyclic stability of 800 h with suppressed dendrites growth at an areal capacity of 1 mAh cm-2. The assembled Zn-Mn electrolytic battery also demonstrates an exceptional capacity retention of nearly 100% after 800 cycles and a superior energy density of 800 Wh kg-1 at an areal capacity of 0.5 mAh cm-2.

Synthesis of Highly Ion-Conductive Lignin Eutectogels in a Ternary Deep Eutectic Solvent and Nitrogen-Doped 3D Hierarchical Porous Carbons for Supercapacitors.

A new strategy has been developed to synthesize deep eutectic solvent (DES)-based lignin eutectogels by the chemical crosslinking of homogeneously dispersed lignin with poly(ethylene glycol)diglycidyl ether (PEGDE) in a ternary DES of choline chloride (ChCl)/urea/glycerol. The as-prepared lignin eutectogels have high ionic conductivity, high strength, and extreme temperature stability, which can be used as sensors for flexible electronics. N-doped hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs) are prepared when the eutectogels were solvent-replaced and sintered in the atmosphere of N2 and CO2, which results in the formation of porous carbon with a sufficient specific surface area and a three-dimensional framework composed of a hierarchical porous structure. They were used as electrodes with excellent capacitance performance attributed to the synergy of reasonable pore size distribution and excellent nitrogen doping efficiency. The electrode displayed a significantly enhanced specific capacitance (270 F g-1 at a current density of 1.0 A g-1 in a three-electrode system and 224 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 in a two-electrode system) and high-performance stability (7% capacitance loss over 10,000 cycles at 8 A g-1) as a supercapacitor electrode. It indicates the great promise of the lignin eutectogels for both sensing and energy storage applications.

Discovery of IDO1 inhibitors containing a decahydroquinoline, decahydro-1,6-naphthyridine, or octahydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridine scaffold.

A series of IDO1 inhibitors containing a decahydroquinoline, decahydro-1,6-naphthyridine, or octahydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridine scaffold were identified with good cellular and human whole blood activity against IDO1. These inhibitors contain multiple chiral centers and all diastereomers were separated. The absolute stereochemistry of each isomers were not determined. Compounds 15 and 27 stood out as leads due to their good cellular as well as human whole blood IDO1 inhibition activity, low unbound clearance, and reasonable mean residence time in rat cassette PK studies.

SAR towards indoline and 3-azaindoline classes of IDO1 inhibitors.

A novel series of IDO1 inhibitors have been identified with good IDO1 Hela cell and human whole blood activity. These inhibitors contain an indoline or a 3-azaindoline scaffold. Their structure-activity-relationship studies have been explored. Compounds 37 and 41 stood out as leads due to their good potency in IDO1 Hela assay, good IDO1 unbound hWB IC50s, reasonable unbound clearance, and good MRT in rat and dog PK studies.

Discovery of 3(S)-thiomethyl pyrrolidine ERK inhibitors for oncology.

Compound 5 (SCH772984) was identified as a potent inhibitor of ERK1/2 with excellent selectivity against a panel of kinases (0/231 kinases tested @ 100 nM) and good cell proliferation activity, but suffered from poor PK (rat AUC PK @10 mpk = 0 µM h; F% = 0) which precluded further development. In an effort to identify novel ERK inhibitors with improved PK properties with respect to 5, a systematic exploration of sterics and composition at the 3-position of the pyrrolidine led to the discovery of a novel 3(S)-thiomethyl pyrrolidine analog 28 with vastly improved PK (rat AUC PK @10 mpk = 26 µM h; F% = 70).

Discovery of hydroxyaniline amides as selective Extracellular Regulated Kinase (Erk) inhibitors.

Starting from weak µM hits identified through affinity based Automated Ligand Identification System (ALIS) screenings, double digit nM hydroxyaniline amide Erk inhibitors were discovered. This class of compounds had the unique dual mechanism of inhibiting activated and non-activated forms of Erk. They generally had high degree of selectivity in kinase panel tested.

Modulating the interaction between CDK2 and cyclin A with a quinoline-based inhibitor.

A new class of quinoline-based kinase inhibitors has been discovered that both disrupt cyclin dependent 2 (CDK2) interaction with its cyclin A subunit and act as ATP competitive inhibitors. The key strategy for discovering this class of protein-protein disrupter compounds was to screen the monomer CDK2 in an affinity-selection/mass spectrometry-based technique and to perform secondary assays that identified compounds that bound only to the inactive CDK2 monomer and not the active CDK2/cyclin A heterodimer. Through a series of chemical modifications the affinity (Kd) of the original hit improved from 1 to 0.005µM.

Discovery of liver-targeted inhibitors of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1).

Inhibitors based on a benzo-fused spirocyclic oxazepine scaffold were discovered for stearoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) desaturase 1 (SCD1) and subsequently optimized to potent compounds with favorable pharmacokinetic profiles and in vivo efficacy in reducing the desaturation index in a mouse model. Initial optimization revealed potency preferences for the oxazepine core and benzylic positions, while substituents on the piperidine portions were more tolerant and allowed for tuning of potency and PK properties. After preparation and testing of a range of functional groups on the piperidine nitrogen, three classes of analogs were identified with single digit nanomolar potency: glycine amides, heterocycle-linked amides, and thiazoles. Responding to concerns about target localization and potential mechanism-based side effects, an initial effort was also made to improve liver concentration in an available rat PK model. An advanced compound 17m with a 5-carboxy-2-thiazole substructure appended to the spirocyclic piperidine scaffold was developed which satisfied the in vitro and in vivo requirements for more detailed studies.

Prussian-blue-analogue derived FeNi2S4/NiS nanoframes supported by N-doped graphene for highly efficient methanol oxidation electrocatalysis.

The design of effective and robust non-noble metal electrocatalysts to enhance catalytic reaction kinetic is critical to promote methanol oxidation catalysis. Herein, hierarchical Prussian blue analogue (PBA)-derived sulfide heterostructures supported by N-doped graphene (FeNi2S4/NiS-NG) as efficient catalysts have been developed for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Benefiting from the merits of hollow nanoframes structure and heterogeneous sulfide synergy, FeNi2S4/NiS-NG composite not only possesses abundant active sites to boost the catalytic properties but also alleviates the CO poisoning effect during the process exhibiting favorable kinetic behavior toward MOR. Specifically, the remarkable catalytic activity (97.6 mA cm-2/1544.3 mA mg-1) of FeNi2S4/NiS-NG for methanol oxidation was achieved, superior to most reported non-noble electrocatalysts. Additionally, the catalyst showed competitive electrocatalytic stability, with a current density of over 90% after 2000 consecutive CV cycles. This study offers promising insights into the rational modulation of the morphology and components of precious-metal-free catalysts for fuel cell applications.

Polysaccharide hydrogel electrolytes with robust interfacial contact to electrodes for quasi-solid state flexible aqueous zinc ion batteries with efficient suppressing of dendrite growth.

Flexible aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) require high conductive and adhesive hydrogel electrolytes. However, high adhesion tends to hinder ion conduction rate. Herein, we designed a water/glycerol binary solvent coordinating the hydrophilic polymers to reconstruct the water molecules' environment in the hydrogel. As a consequence, the interface adhesion strength between Zn and the hydrogel reached 3.0 kPa and the ionic conductivity was up to 16.8 mS cm-1. In addition, inspired by the slurry electrode preparation method, we developed a simple blade coating technique using a non-Newtonian polysaccharide liquid solution to construct an ultra-thin hydrogel electrolyte in situ on the cathode. The thickness of the obtained hydrogel reached 70 µm, and the ultrathin flexible AZIBs were easily constructed by pasting a Zn anode directly on the adhesive hydrogel, showing the potential of flexible AZIBs scalable assembly. In addition, the Zn//Zn symmetrical cells with the hydrogel electrolyte provided stable cycling performance for over 400 h at 0.1 mA cm-2 with suppressed dendrite growth. The assembled Zn//Polyaniline battery and Zn//V2O5 battery also exhibited excellent capacity retention after cycles. This work has realized the hydrogel electrolyte with high adhesion and conductivity, which has good adaptability to metal electrodes and opened up a new practical way for large-scale assembly of flexible energy storage devices.

Interface engineering of Ni/NiO heterostructures with abundant catalytic active sites for enhanced methanol oxidation electrocatalysis.

Designing efficient and stable non-noble metal electrocatalysts with good performance in reaction kinetics is desirable yet challenging for the study of methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Herein, we have reported well-defined nanoscale nickel/nickel oxide (Ni/NiO) heterostructures supported by a three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene network (RG) via a delicate interface engineering technique. The as-prepared 3D Ni/NiO/RG composites achieve outstanding catalytic activity (79.5 mA cm-2/1262.1 mA mg-1) for MOR in alkaline solution, outperforming most reported non-precious catalysts. A combined experimental and computational investigation shows that such a good performance benefits from the specific Ni/NiO interface, which not only bears abundant accessible active sites but also improves the energetics of MOR. Moreover, this interface contributes to favorable kinetic and improved structural stability during electrocatalysis, ensuring superior catalytic performance after 1000 consecutive cyclic voltammetry tests for MOR. Our work demonstrates the potential of interface engineering in the rational design of efficient precious-metal-free electrocatalysts.

A lipid-based LMP2-mRNA vaccine to treat nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a serious and highly invasive epithelial malignancy that is closely associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Due to the lack of therapeutic vaccines for NPC, we selected EBV latent membrane protein 2 (LMP2) as a preferable targeting antigen to develop a lipid-based LMP2-mRNA (mLMP2) vaccine. Full-length mLMP2 expressing LMP2 was first synthesized using an in vitro transcription method and then encapsulated into (2,3-dioleacyl propyl) trimethylammonium chloride (DOTAP)-based cationic liposomes to obtain the mRNA vaccine (LPX-mLMP2). The cell assays showed that the antigen-presenting cells were capable of highly efficient uptake of LPX-mLMP2 and expression of LMP2. LMP2 could subsequently be presented to form the peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC). Furthermore, LPX-mLMP2 could accumulate in the spleen, express antigens, promote the maturation of dendritic cells and stimulate antigen-specific T-cell responses in vivo. It dramatically inhibited the tumor growth of the LMP2-expressing tumor model after three doses of vaccination. Additionally, the proliferation of antigen-specific T cells in the tumor site made a good sign for the promise of mRNA vaccines in virus-induced cancer. Overall, we provided a newly developed antigen-encoding mRNA vaccine with advantages against NPC. We also demonstrated that mRNA vaccines are attractive candidates for cancer immunotherapy. Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary material (methods of cytotoxicity assay, LMP2 expression, hemolysis test, the results of purity and maturity of BMDCs, LMP2 expression, and evaluation of T cells in lymph nodes and gating strategy for CTLs) is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s12274-022-5254-x.

Polypeptide Radical Cathode for Aqueous Zn-Ion Battery with Two-Electron Storage and Faster Charging Rate.

The rapidly growing demand for batteries has led to a lack of global mineral resources and rechargeable organic batteries are paid extensive attention, owing to the abundance resources, light weight, and high flexibility of organic electrodes. However, most organic electrodes that use aliphatic backbones are nondegradable, leading to unsustainability when active sites fail. In this study, a poly(aspartic acid) polypeptide (PASP) with amide links in the backbone and nitroxide radical pendant groups in the side chains is synthesized by modifying the polypeptides with 4-amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine. In combination with a Zn anode, the PASP-TEMPO composite electrode exhibits rapid charge-discharge and superior cycling stability with reversible two-electron redox reaction in aqueous electrolyte. The Zn/PASP-TEMPO organic radical battery delivers a discharge capacity of around 80 mAh g-1 by two-electron reaction and charge-discharge rates of up to 18 A g-1 . Because the redox reaction process of the nitroxyl radical turning into oxoammonium follows a p-type mechanism that interacts with an anion, three electrolytes with different anions are tested in the Zn/PASP-TEMPO organic radical battery. Experimental results indicate that discharge plateau voltage is tunable by choosing different zinc salts as electrolytes. Capacity retention of up to 97.4 % after 500 cycles is realized in 1 m ZnClO4 electrolyte, which can be attributed to the adjacent reaction potentials of the two-step one-electron reaction.

Silanized Graphene Oxide-Supported Pd Nanoparticles and Silicone Rubber for Enhanced Hydrogen Elimination.

Hydrogen is a dangerous gas because it reacts very easily with oxygen to explode, and the accumulation of hydrogen in confined spaces is a safety hazard. Composites consisting of polymers and catalysts are a common getter, where the commonly used catalyst is usually commercial Pd/C. However, it often shows poor compatibility with polymers, making it difficult to form a homogeneous and stable composite. In this work, palladium chloride (PdCl2) was converted to palladium (Pd) nanoparticles by reduction reaction and supported on graphene oxide (GO) modified by silanization. Spherical Pd nanoparticles with a size of 2-36 nm were uniformly distributed over the Silanized graphene oxide (SGO) matrix. When mixed with Pd/SGO, polymethylvinylsiloxane can be cured to silicone rubber (SR) by B2O3. Afterwards, the vinyl in the polymer can interact with hydrogen under the catalysis of Pd through the addition reaction, thus achieving the purpose of hydrogen elimination. The polymer elastomers with excellent self-healing properties and improved hydrogen elimination performance were prepared and were superior to the commercial Pd/C. In addition, excellent environmental adaptability was also demonstrated. The new getter SR-Pd/SGO provides a new avenue for developing polymer getters with superior properties.

In Situ Formation of "Dimethyl Sulfoxide/Water-in-Salt"-Based Chitosan Hydrogel Electrolyte for Advanced All-Solid-State Supercapacitors.

Biodegradable hydrogel electrolytes are particularly attractive in the fabrication of all-solid-state supercapacitors due to environmental benignity and avoiding of leakage. The introduction of "water-in-salt" (WIS) electrolytes into hydrogels will further broaden the electrochemical stability window of aqueous supercapacitors significantly. Meanwhile, the addition of an organic co-solvent can effectively overcome the inevitable salt precipitation and extend the temperature adaptability. Herein, an in situ cross-linking approach was demonstrated without any extra binder to obtain a "dimethyl sulfoxide/water-in-salt"-based (DWIS) chitosan hydrogel electrolyte. Interestingly, the addition of 4-7 mol L-1 of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) salts not only conforms to the criterion of WIS, but also promoted the successful gelation through the supramolecular complexation between Li+ -solvated complexes and chitosan chains. A hydrogel-based all-solid-state supercapacitor was fabricated using the DWIS chitosan hydrogel as the electrolyte and separator while nitrogen-doped graphene hydrogel (NG) was used as the electrode. The optimized supercapacitor with a wide operating voltage of 2.1 V showed a high specific capacitance of 107.6 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 , remarkable capacitance retention of 80.1 % after 5000 cycles, a superior energy density of 62.9 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 1025.5 W kg-1 , and excellent temperature stability in the range of -20 to 70 °C. These findings suggest that the as-prepared hydrogel electrolyte holds great potential in the practical application of high-performance solid-state energy storage devices.

A high-voltage quasi-solid-state flexible supercapacitor with a wide operational temperature range based on a low-cost "water-in-salt" hydrogel electrolyte.

Recently, "water-in-salt" electrolytes have provided a huge boost to the realization of high energy density for water-based supercapacitors by broadening the electrochemical stability window. However, the high cost and low conductivity of high concentration LiTFSI greatly restrict the possibility of practical application. Herein, we adopt a new strategy to develop a low-cost and quasi-solid-state polyelectrolyte hydrogel accommodating a superhigh concentration of CH3COOK through in situ polymerization, avoiding the problem that many conventional polymers cannot accommodate ultra-high ion concentration. The polyelectrolyte hydrogel with 24 M CH3COOK exhibits a conductivity of up to 35.8 mS cm-1 and a stretchability of 950%. With advanced N-doped graphene hydrogel electrodes, the assembled supercapacitor yields a voltage window of 2.1 V with an energy density of 33.0 W h kg-1 and superior cyclability with 88.2% capacitance retention at 4 A g-1 after 6000 cycles comparable to those supercapacitors using high-cost LiTFSI salts. Besides, the supercapacitor with excellent temperature stability in the range of -20 to 70 °C can light an LED for more than one minute. The assembled flexible device with the PAAK/CMC-24 M gel film sandwiched in between demonstrates excellent bendability from 0° to 180° and shows great potential for flexible/wearable electronic devices. Our feasible approach provides a new route for assembling quasi-solid-state flexible high-energy storage devices with "water-in-salt" electrolytes.

Carbamate and N-Pyrimidine Mitigate Amide Hydrolysis: Structure-Based Drug Design of Tetrahydroquinoline IDO1 Inhibitors.

Indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) has emerged as an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. An automated ligand identification system screen afforded the tetrahydroquinoline class of novel IDO1 inhibitors. Potency and pharmacokinetic (PK) were key issues with this class of compounds. Structure-based drug design and strategic incorporation of polarity enabled the rapid improvement on potency, solubility, and oxidative metabolic stability. Metabolite identification studies revealed that amide hydrolysis in the D-pocket was the key clearance mechanism for this class. Strategic survey of amide isosteres revealed that carbamates and N-pyrimidines, which maintained exquisite potencies, mitigated the amide hydrolysis issue and led to an improved rat PK profile. The lead compound 28 is a potent IDO1 inhibitor, with clean off-target profiles and the potential for quaque die dosing in humans.

The discovery of novel tartrate-based TNF-alpha converting enzyme (TACE) inhibitors.

A novel series of TNF-alpha convertase (TACE) inhibitors which are non-hydroxamate have been discovered. These compounds are bis-amides of L-tartaric acid (tartrate) and coordinate to the active site zinc in a tridentate manner. They are selective for TACE over other MMP's. We report the first X-ray crystal structure for a tartrate-based TACE inhibitor.

Pien Tze Huang alleviate the joint inflammation in collagen-induced arthritis mice.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by synovitis. Pien Tze Huang (PZH) is a Chinese patent medicine with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. However, whether PZH could be used in RA therapy is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect and the potential mechanism of PZH on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice. METHODS: Male DBA/1J mice were used to establish an animal model of CIA and then treated with different doses of PZH for 4 weeks. The therapeutic effect of PZH on CIA mice was evaluated by arthritis score, pathological staining, and detecting the levels of inflammatory factors in serum and joints. To investigate its possible mechanism, the activity of NF-κB signaling pathway, NLRP3 inflammasome and the level of A20 were detected. RESULTS: The results showed that PZH could alleviate the erythema and swelling of hind paws of CIA mice, improve the pathological conditions of joint and decrease the production of IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-17 in serum and joints. Furthermore, PZH could significantly inhibit the activity of NF-κB signaling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome in the ankle joint of CIA mice compared with the model group. It also increased the level of A20 in the ankle joint of CIA mice. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that PZH could alleviate the joint inflammation of CIA mice, and the mechanism might be related to the regulation of NF-κB signaling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome.

Pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-based inhibitors of HCV polymerase.

The present paper describes a novel series of HCV RNA polymerase inhibitors based on a pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine scaffold bearing hydrophobic groups and an acidic functionality. Several compounds were optimized to low nanomolar potencies in a biochemical RdRp assay. SAR trends clearly reveal a stringent preference for a cyclohexyl group as one of the hydrophobes, and improved activities for carboxylic acid derivatives.