Tumour microenvironment-responded Fe-doped carbon dots-sensitized cubic Cu2O for Z-scheme heterojunction-enhanced sono-chemodynamic synergistic tumor therapy.

The efficacy of electron-hole separation in a single sonosensitizer and the complexities of the tumor microenvironment (TME) present significant challenges to the effectiveness of sonodynamic therapy (SDT). Designing efficient sonosensitizers to enhance electron-hole separation and alleviate TME resistance is crucial yet challenging. Herein, we introduce a novel Z-scheme heterojunctions (HJs) sonosensitizer using Fe-doped carbon dots (CDs) as auxiliary semiconductors to sensitize cubic Cu2O (Fe-CDs@Cu2O) for the first time. Fe-CDs@Cu2O demonstrated enhanced SDT effects due to improved electron-hole separation. Additionally, the introduction of Fe ions in CDs synergistically enhances Fenton-like reactions with Cu ions in Cu2O, resulting in enhanced chemodynamic therapy (CDT) effects. Moreover, Fe-CDs@Cu2O exhibited rapid glutathione (GSH) depletion, effectively mitigating TME resistance. With high rates of 1O2 and OH generated by Fe-CDs@Cu2O, coupled with strong GSH depletion, single drug injection and ultrasound (US) irradiation effectively eliminate tumors. This innovative heterojunction sonosensitizer offers a promising pathway for clinical anti-tumor treatment.

Targeting PTGES/PGE2 axis enhances sensitivity of colorectal cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil.

Insensitivity and resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5FU) remain as major hurdles for effective and durable 5FU-based chemotherapy in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. In this study, we identified prostaglandin E synthase (PTGES)/prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) axis as an important regulator for 5FU sensitivity in CRC cells. We found that PTGES expression and PGE2 production are elevated in CRC cells in comparison to normal colorectal epithelial cells. Depletion of PTGES significantly enhanced the inhibitory effect of 5FU on CRC cell viability that was fully reverted by exogenous supplement of PGE2. Inhibition of PTGES enzymatic function, by either inducing loss-of-function mutant or treatment with selective inhibitors, phenocopied the PTGES depletion in terms of 5FU sensitization. Mechanistically, PTGES/PGE2 axis modulates glycolysis in CRC cells, thereby regulating the 5FU sensitivity. Importantly, high PTGES expression is correlated with poor prognosis in 5FU-treated CRC patients. Thus, our study defines PTGES/PGE2 axis as a novel therapeutic target for enhancing the efficacy of 5FU-based chemotherapy in CRC.

Ultrafine Ru species within confined space: An efficient adsorbent for ultra-deep desulfurization of benzene.

The ultra-deep adsorptive desulfurization (ppb level) of benzene remains a challenging subject with the need to construct efficient adsorbent systems. Herein, a kind of ruthenium-based adsorbent functionalized with bimetallic Ru-Al was rationally designed using Al2O3 as support (denoted as 0.8%Ru-1.2%Al/Al2O3). It was found that the co-anchoring of Ru and Al species endows the Ru-based adsorbent unique adsorption capability, which is able to completely eliminate sulfur compounds in benzene, and exhibiting a much higher breakthrough sulfur capacity than that of the 0.8%Ru/Al2O3. Remarkably, under the industrial experiment conditions, 0.8%Ru-1.2%Al/Al2O3 exhibited excellent long-term stability for more than 1200 h, showing the potential for industrial application. Various characterization techniques, including BET, XRD, SEM, TEM, TPD-MS, TPR and XPS, were used to investigate the correlation between the adsorption performance and the microstructure of the adsorbents. Over 0.8%Ru-1.2%Al/Al2O3, the ultra-thin aluminum additive is beneficial to improve the dispersion of Ru species, which therefore exhibits desirable desulfurization efficiency. Moreover, the enhanced performance is also correlated to the presence of the suitable Ru active centers generated from the selective coverage by Al species. It leads to an optimal exposure of the Ru active centers, which would facilitate the interaction of S-Ru and the improvement of the desulfurization activity.

Predictive value of IL-18 and IL-10 in the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer.

Predictive value of serum interleukin 10 (IL-10) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) expression in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) was investigated. This study retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 146 patients with CRC admitted to the Binzhou Medical University Hospital as the study group, and collected the physical examination data of 82 volunteers as the control group. The expression levels of IL-10 and IL-18 in the serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A 60-month follow-up on patients in the study group was performed to make records of their prognosis. The expressions of IL-10 and IL-18 were statistically different in patients with different Dukes stages, tumor sizes, histological grades, and different situations of distant metastasis of cancer cells (P<0.05); with a gradual downward trend following the operation. The expression levels of serum IL-10 and IL-18 in the study group 7 days after the operation were lower than the levels before the operation (P<0.05), and the expression levels of IL-10 and IL-18 of patients in the study group on the day of discharge were lower than the expression levels 7 days after the operation (P<0.05). The expressions of IL-10 and IL-18 of patients with reoccurred CRC after the operation were significantly higher than that of patients without recurrence of CRC in the study group (P<0.05). Thus, IL-10 and IL-18 are highly expressed in the serum of CRC patients, which makes IL-10 and IL-18 useful to serve as indicators to determine the prognosis of CRC patients. The lower the expression levels of IL-10 and IL-18, the lower the cancer recurrence rate, the better the prognosis and the longer the survival time.

Nanocage-Based Porous Metal-Organic Frameworks Constructed from Icosahedrons and Tetrahedrons for Selective Gas Adsorption.

Two isostructural nanocage-based porous Ni/Co(II)-MOFs have been hydrothermally synthesized, which were interestingly composed of icosahedron and tetrahedron cages with a new (3,8)-connected 3D topology. Moreover, the stable Ni-MOF exhibits good selective CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 adsorption owing to its exposed nitrogen active sites.

Highly dispersed iron oxides on mesoporous carbon for selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol with molecular oxygen.

Highly dispersed iron oxide supported catalysts, prepared using HNO3-treated CMK-3 mesoporous carbons as supports, exhibit relatively high catalytic activity in selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol with oxygen.