Nitrogenous compounds from Aesculus wilsonii seeds.

Eight nitrogenous compounds including five undescribed ones, aeswilnitrousol A (1), aeswilnitrousosides BD (2-4), and 6-(2-hydroxy-3-methylbutylamino)-8-oxoadenine (5) were isolated from the seeds of Aesculus wilsonii. Their structures and absolute configurations were established based on spectroscopic determination, calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) analysis, as well as chemical reaction methods. Among the three known compounds, 7 and 8 were obtained from the Aesculus genus for the first time, and 6 was gained from this plant initially. The 13C NMR data of 7 and 8 were reported for the first time. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of all the isolates against LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages was evaluated. As a result, compounds 2 and 8 exhibited anti-inflammatory activity in a concentration-dependent manner at 10, 25, and 50 µM.

Phosphorus-nitrogen compounds. Part 58. Syntheses, structural characterizations and biological activities of 4-fluorobenzyl-spiro(N/O)cyclotriphosphazene derivatives.

The starting compound, tetrachloro-4-fluorobenzyl-spiro(N/O)cyclotriphosphazene (2), was synthesized from the substitution reaction of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazatriene (N3P3Cl6; trimer; HCCP) with sodium 3-(4-fluorobenzylamino)-1-propanoxide (1). Reactions of spiro (2) with excess 1-(2-aminoethyl)-piperidine, 4-(2-aminoethyl)-morpholine, 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperidine and 4-(2-aminoethyl)morpholine yielded the fully substituted cyclotriphosphazene derivatives (2a-2d), respectively. Elemental analysis, mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), FTIR, 1H-, 13C- and 31P-NMR data confirmed the structure of the new cyclotriphosphazenes (2a-2d); and the crystal structure of 2 was also identified by X-ray crystallography. The quantum mechanical DFT calculations of 2 were performed to estimate the geometry optimization, total energy, orientation of frontier molecular orbitals (HOMOs and LUMOs), and chemical parameters. In addition, antibacterial and antifungal activities of the fully substituted 4-fluorobenzyl-spiro(N/O)cyclotriphosphazenes (2a-2d) were investigated against G(+) and G(-) bacteria and fungi. Using agarose gel electrophoresis, the DNA cleavage activities of these phosphazenes on double-stranded plasmid DNA were evaluated. To evaluate the abilities of compounds 2a-2d to inhibit cell proliferation in different concentrations, the antiproliferative and antimigrative activities against prostate adenocarcinoma (PC3), breast cancer (MCF7) and colon cancer (HT29) cell lines were studied in vitro; and the compound 2c was determined to be the most efficient against the three cancer cells.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Response surface optimization of product yields and biofuel quality during fast hydrothermal liquefaction of a highly CO2-tolerant microalgae.

The effects of biochemical components and processing variables (e.g., temperatures, solid-liquid ratio, ethanol concentration, and time) during fast hydrothermal liquefaction of a highly CO2-tolerant microalgae (Micractinium sp.) on the product yields and biofuel quality were explored using response surface methodology coupled with central composite design. Results showed that the maximum bio-oil yield (51.4 %) was obtained at 321 °C for 49 min at ethanol concentration of 75 % and solid-liquid ratio of 15.3 %. Among different studied parameters, ethanol concentration showed the highest significant impact on the bio-oil yield due to the low P-value and high F-value in ANOVA analysis. Furthermore, the chemical compositions of bio-oils were determined, which showed that the increase of ethanol concentration in the solvent not only increased the bio-oil yield but also promoted the bio-oil quality by reduction of carboxylic acids and nitrogen-containing compounds with simultaneous enhancement of esters in the bio-oil. The present results show that fast hydrothermal liquefaction is a promising approach to convert the microalgae into high quality biofuels rich in esters.

Cyclic diarylheptanoids as potential signal compounds during actinorhizal symbiosis between Alnus sieboldiana and Frankia.

The nitrogen-fixing actinomycete Frankia coexists with actinorhizal plants via nodules and supplies nitrogen compounds to the plants. Although communication has been suggested to exist through chemical substances in this nodule symbiosis, the details underlying this mechanism remain elusive. The biphenyl-type diarylheptanoids (BP-CDHs), alnusonol, and alnusdione, previously isolated from the actinorhizal plant A. sieboldiana branch wood, are secondary metabolites that accumulate in a limited number of plant species. However, since relatively widely distributed in actinorhizal plants, we investigated whether adding A. sieboldiana root extracts and these BP-CDHs could affect plant seedlings inoculated with Frankia. The results showed that the addition of root extract or alnusonol significantly increased the number of nodules and lobes more than two times compared with that upon Frankia supplementation only. We also proved that the extracted components of this plant affected nodule symbiosis. Finally, we confirmed through LC-MS that the root extract component contained BP-CDH, alnusonol. The above-described results indicate that BP-CDHs, at leaset alnusonol, might function as signal compounds from the plant side of the actinorhizal symbiosis between A. sieboldiana and Frankia.

Effects of composite materials and revegetation on soil nutrients, chemical and microbial properties in rare earth tailings.

The mining of ionic rare earth elements in Ganzhou left large area of barren tailings with severe vegetation destruction in pressing needs of remediation. However, the remediating effects of soil additives combined with revegetation on the preservation of nutrients in the tailings and microbial communities were rarely studied. For this purpose, pilot experiments were implemented in a field, with the control group (CK) only cultivating plants without adding materials, and three treatments including peanut straw biochar composite (T1), phosphorus­magnesium composite (T2) and modified zeolite composite (T3) along with the cultivation of Medicago sativa L., Paspalum vaginatum Sw. and Lolium perenne L. Soil pH and organic matter in CK significantly decreased from 4.90 to 4.17 and from 6.62 g/kg to 3.87 g/kg after six months, respectively (p ≤ 0.05), while all the treatments could effectively buffer soil acidification (over 5.74) and delay the loss of soil organic matter. Soil cation exchange capacity was still below the detection limit in all the groups except T2. The results of rainfall runoff monitoring indicated that compared with CK, only T2 could significantly reduce the runoff loss of soil NO3- and SO42- by 45.61 %-75.78 % and 64.03 %-76.12 %, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). Compared with CK, the bacterial diversity in T2 and T3 significantly increased 21.18 % and 28.15 %, respectively (p ≤ 0.05), while T1 didn't change the bacterial or fungal diversity (p > 0.05). Co-occurrence network analysis showed that compared with CK, the whole microbial communities interacted more closely in the three treatments. Functional prediction of the microbial communities revealed all the treatments were dominated by carbon transforming bacteria and saprotrophic fungi except T2. This study demonstrated that the composite materials combined with revegetation couldn't retain soil nitrogen compounds and sulfate in rare earth tailings in the long term.

Efficient and reusable photocatalytic river water disinfection by addictive graphitic carbon nitride/magnesium oxide nano-onions with particular "nano-magnifying glass effect".

Photocatalytic disinfection is a promising way to combat bacterial pollution in the water environment. Inefficient use of visible light and undirected diffusion of reactive oxygen species (ROS) reduce photocatalytic disinfection efficiency. Herein, inspired by the concentrating effect of convex lens, photocatalysts with particular "nano-magnifying glass effect" (TCNMgNOs) were designed by embedding magnesium oxide with "converge effect" into the tailored hierarchical triple-shell porous g-C3N4 with "one light multi-purpose effect" to boost the visible-light utilization. Meanwhile, the ATPase hydrolysis homeostasis of bacteria was destroyed by TCNMgNOs to achieve the targeted movement of ROS. The results confirmed that the photocatalytic sterilization efficiency of TCNMgNOs was amplified by 30 times over g-C3N4, which was achieved by focusing visible light, multiple reflecting visible light and light transmission within the porous thin shells as well as the "addictive sterilization mechanism". The sterilization efficiency still maintains 98.8 % (15 min) after 6 rounds recycling and reusing in practical river water disinfection. A novel pathway for fighting against microbial contaminants in natural water was explored.

Construction of a 2D Layered Phosphorus-doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride/BiOBr Heterojunction for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Disinfection.

Infectious diseases caused by bacteria intimidate the health of human beings all over the world. Although many avenues have been tried, various operating conditions limit their actual applications. Photocatalytic nanomaterials are becoming candidates to be competent for water purification. Here, a novel and more efficient S-scheme has been engineered between two dimensional (2D) layered phosphorus-doped graphitic carbon nitride (P-g-C3 N4 ) and BiOBr via hydrothermal polymerization to inhibit the recombination of charge and broaden light absorption. The as-prepared P-g-C3 N4 /BiOBr hybrids exhibits significantly improved photocatalytic disinfection contrast to g-C3 N4 /BiOBr in visible wavelengths, suggesting phosphorus doping which adjusts the band structure plays a significant role in the S-scheme system. And the sterilization rate of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii 28 (AB 28) was 99.9999% within 80 min and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was 99.9%.

Coral-like potassium and phosphorous doped graphitic carbon nitride structures with enhanced charge and mass transfer dynamics toward photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production and microbial disinfection.

This study provided insight on the design of co-doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) structures by using potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) as a promising material for the supply of potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) elements. The addition of KH2PO4 to the cyanuric acid-melamine complex (CM) solution stabilized its structure by coordinating potassium ions (K+) in the hexagonal pores and dihydrogen phosphate ions (H2PO4-) in dangling bonds on the edge sites. The resultant supramolecular structure (KP-CM) with a unique skeleton governed the polycondensation process, resulting in K and P co-doped g-C3N4 structures with a distinct coral-like morphology (KP-CN). Employing the KP-CM complex as a precursor could modify the optoelectronic behaviour of the photocatalysts via the synergistic effect of the co-doping process. It could also be beneficial in terms of economic considerations by increasing the catalyst synthesis yield. The resulting g-C3N4 showed a remarkable hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production rate of 216 µmol L-1h-1 compared to the rate of the pristine sample of 137 µmol L-1h-1. It also exhibited significant photocatalytic antibacterial activity in Escherichia coli (E. coli) disinfection.

Implementation of graphitic carbon nitride nanomaterials and laser irradiation for increasing bioethanol production from potato processing wastes.

Agricultural and agro-industrial wastes (e.g., potato peel waste) are causing severe environmental problems. The processes of pretreatment, saccharification, and fermentation are the major obstacles in bioethanol production from wastes and must be overcome by efficient novel techniques. The effect of exposing the fungi (yeast) Saccharomyces cerevisiae to laser source with the addition of graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (g-C3N4) with different concentrations on bioethanol production was investigated through the implementation of a batch anaerobic system and using potato peel waste (PPW). Dichromate test was implemented as quantitative analysis for quantification of the bioethanol yield. The benefits of this test were the appearance of green color indicating the identification of ethanol (C2H5OH) by bare eye and the ease to calculate the bioethanol yield through UV-visible spectrophotometry. The control sample (0.0 ppm of g-C3N4) showed only a 4% yield of bioethanol; however, by adding 150 ppm to PPW medium, 22.61% of ethanol was produced. Besides, laser irradiations (blue and red) as influencing parameters were studied with and without the addition of g-C3N4 nanomaterials aiming to increase the bioethanol. It was determined that the laser irradiation can trigger the bioethanol production (in case of red: 13.13% and in case of blue: 16.14% yields, respectively) compared to the control sample (in absence of g-C3N4). However, by adding different concentrations of g-C3N4 nanomaterials from 5 to 150 ppm, the bioethanol yield was increased as follows: in case of red: 56.11% and, in case of blue: 56.77%, respectively. It was found that using fungi and exposing it to the blue laser diode source having a wavelength of 450 nm and a power of 250 mW for a duration of 30 min with the addition of 150 mg L-1 of g-C3N4 nanomaterials delivered the highest bioethanol yield from PPW.

ß-Cyclodextrin-Derivative-Functionalized Graphene Oxide/Graphitic Carbon Nitride Composites with a Synergistic Effect for Rapid and Efficient Sterilization.

The nonselectivity of phototherapy and the hydrophobicity of phototherapy agents limit their application in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this work, ß-cyclodextrin-derivative-functionalized graphene oxide (GO)/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) antibacterial materials (CDM/GO/CN) were designed and synthesized. CN is used as a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and GO as a photothermal agent for photothermal therapy (PTT). In addition, the supramolecular host-guest complex on the substrate can not only increase the inherent water solubility of the substrate and reduce the aggregation of the photosensitizer/photothermal agent but also manipulate the interaction between the photosensitizer/photothermal agent and bacteria to capture specific bacteria. The hyperthermia caused by PTT denatures proteins on the cell membrane, allowing reactive oxygen species (ROS) to enter the cell better and kill bacteria. The specific capture of Escherichia coli CICC 20091 by mannose significantly improves the sterilization efficiency and reduces side effects. The synergistic antibacterial agent shows excellent antibacterial efficacy of over 99.25% against E. coli CICC 20091 after 10 min of 635 + 808 nm dual-light irradiation. Moreover, cell proliferation experiments show that the composite material has good biocompatibility, expected to have applications in bacterial infections.

Phosphorus-nitrogen compounds: part 53-synthesis, characterization, cytotoxic and antimicrobial activity, DNA interaction and molecular docking studies of new mono- and dispirocyclotriphosphazenes with pendant arm(s).

Mono-/dispirocyclotriphosphazenes with pendant arm(s) are robust, but they are less investigated inorganic ring systems. In this study, a series of mono (3 and 4)- and dispirocyclotriphosphazenes with 4-chloro-benzyl pendant arm(s) (13-16) was obtained from the Cl exchange reactions of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene with sodium (N-benzyl)aminopropanoxides (1 and 2). When compound (3) reacted with excess pyrrolidine, morpholine, tetra-1,4-dioxa-8-azaspiro[4,5]decane (DASD) and piperidine, the fully substituted monospirocyclotriphosphazenes (7, 9, 10 and 12) occurred. But, the reactions of 4 with excess piperidine and morpholine produced the gem-piperidino (5)- and morpholino (6)-substituted monospirocyclotriphosphazenes, whereas the reactions of 4 with excess pyrrolidine and DASD gave the fully substituted monospirocyclotriphosphazenes (8) and (11). However, it should be indicated that these derivatives were obtained to be used for the investigation of their spectral, stereogenic and biological properties. The structures of 5, 7 and 14 were determined crystallographically. X-ray data of 5 and 14 displayed that both of compounds were chiral in solid state, and their absolute configurations were assigned as R and RR. Additionally, the antimicrobial activities of phosphazenes were investigated. Minimum inhibitory concentrations, minimal bacterial concentrations and minimum fungicidal concentrations of phosphazenes were determined. The interactions of phosphazenes with plasmid DNA were evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis. The cytotoxic activities of compounds were studied against L929 fibroblast and DLD-1 colon cancer cells. In addition, density functional theory calculations of 5, 7 and 14 were reported, and their molecular docking studies with DNA, E. coli DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV were presented.

Encapsulation of spinel CuCo2O4 hollow sphere in V2O5-decorated graphitic carbon nitride as high-efficiency double Z-type nanocomposite for levofloxacin photodegradation.

In this study, spinel CuCo2O4 (CCO) with a hierarchical hollow sphere morphology was encapsulated in V2O5-decorated ultra-wrinkled graphitic carbon-nitride (VO-UCN) for the first time via a facile glycerol-assisted solvothermal method in the interest of developing a novel high-efficiency double Z-type nano-photocatalyst (denoted as VO-UCN@CCO). The remarkable physicochemical features of the as-prepared nano-photocatalysts were verified using diverse characterization techniques including TGA, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, TEM, BET, UV-vis DRS, PL, EIS, and transient photocurrent techniques. Herein, VO-UCN@CCO nanocomposite was employed for the photodisintegration of levofloxacin (LVOF) antibiotic under visible-light irradiation and the impact of certain operative reaction system variables was explored in an effort to optimize the photocatalytic capability. The 40% loading of CCO in VO-UCN@CCO nanocomposite was found to display maximum photocatalytic performance (about 95%) for LVOF photodecomposition, which was 9.3, 6.6, and 13.8 times greater when compared with pristine VO, UCN, and CCO, respectively. A high capability was observed for as-prepared photocatalyst during reusability tests and near 90% degradation efficiency was obtained in the sixth run. The complete mineralization of LVOF was achieved by the VO-UCN@CCO photocatalyst process after 300 min of reaction. An excellent synergy factor towards the degradation of LVOF was obtained for VO-UCN@CCO compared to each of its components alone. This peculiar design is envisaged to provide new inspirations for ameliorating the photocatalytic decontamination of tenacious and non-biodegradable species present in real wastewater.

Development of a metal-free black phosphorus/graphitic carbon nitride heterostructure for visible-light-driven degradation of indomethacin.

The development of affordable and efficient technologies for the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from water has recently been the subject of extensive attention. In this study, a black phosphorus/graphitic carbon nitride (BP-g-C3N4) heterostructure is fabricated as an extremely active metal-free photocatalyst via a newly-developed exfoliation strategy. The BP-g-C3N4 shows an 11 times better decomposition rate of a representative PPCPs-type pollutant, indomethacin (IDM), compared to the widely-used P25 TiO2 under real-sunlight illumination. Also, its visible-light activity is even better than that of the best photocatalysts previously developed, but only consumes 1/10-1/4 of the catalyst. The results show that BP performs a cocatalyst-like behavior to catalyze the generation of reactive oxygen species, thus speeding up the decomposition of IDM. In addition, the BP-g-C3N4 photocatalyst also exhibits excellent IDM removal efficiency in authentic water matrices (tap water, surface water, and secondarily treated sewage effluent). Large-scale application demonstration under natural sunlight further reveals the practicality of BP-g-C3N4 for real-world water treatment operations. Our work will open up new possibilities in the development of purely metal-free photocatalysts for "green" environmental remediation applications.

A hydrophilic-hydrophobic graphitic carbon nitride@silver hybrid substrate for recyclable surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based detection without the coffee-ring effect.

There is growing interest in developing a multifunctional surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate to deal with the challenge in the pretreatment-free detection and degradation of hazardous organic pollutants in water. Herein, a hydrophilic-hydrophobic graphitic carbon nitride@silver (g-C3N4@Ag) hybrid substrate was exploited as a potential candidate for the recyclable detection of dye molecules. Such a sophisticated substrate not only showed a significant SERS activity with a high enhancement factor of 3.21 × 106 triggered by the significantly aggregated Ag nanoparticles, but also possessed an outstanding self-cleaning property via visible-light irradiation. Furthermore, the effective weakening of the coffee-ring effect was also facilitated by the hydrophilic-hydrophobic structure, resulting in excellent uniformity and reproducibility. Ultimately, the applicability of the developed recyclable SERS substrate in the monitoring of trace malachite green was demonstrated. It is expected that the innovative SERS substrate has great potential for application in highly sensitive, stable, and recyclable on-site analysis, especially for organic pollutant treatment and environmental protection.

Dual-potential electrochemiluminescence from black phosphorus and graphitic carbon nitrides for label-free enzymatic biosensing.

Simultaneous anodic and cathodic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emissions of black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs) and graphitic carbon nitrides (g-C3N4) were reported based on the co-existence of different co-reactants. Anodic ECL was obtained at the BPNSs modified electrode with tripropylamine (TPrA) as a co-reactant, while g-C3N4 was selected as another emitter to obtain cathodic ECL emission with K2S2O8 as co-reactant. Employing the superiority of two separate ECL systems, a facile ECL method was developed for cholesterol detection based on cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) immobilized g-C3N4/BPNSs modified glassy carbon electrode (g-C3N4/BPNSs/GCE). False positive signals can be significantly reduced based on the separation of anode and cathode ECL signals from BPNSs and g-C3N4, respectively. The proposed biosensor provided a quantitative readout proportional to cholesterol concentrations in the range from 0.5 µM to 0.5 mM with a detection limit of 0.14 µM (cathodic system, 3σ, n = 6) and 0.32 µM (anodic system, 3σ, n = 6). The proposed biosensor demonstrated excellent analytical performance with remarkable sensitivity, manifesting its potential application in enzymatic biosensing field.

Physisorption of bio oil nitrogen compounds onto montmorillonite.

We assess computationally the adsorption of a series of nitrogen containing heterocycles and fatty acid amides from bio-oil on a model clay surface, Na-montmorillonite. The adsorption energies and conformations predicted by atomistic detail molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are compared against density functional theory (DFT) based molecular electrostatic potentials (MEP) and Hirshfeld, AIM, Merz-Singh-Kollman, and ChelpG charges. MD predicts systematically adsorption via cation bridging with adsorption strength of the heterocycles following purine > pyridine > imidazole > pyrrole > indole > quinoline. The fatty acid amides adsorption strength follows the steric availability and bulkiness of the head group. A comparison against the DFT calculations shows that MEP predicts adsorption geometries and the MD simulations reproduce the conformations for single adsorption site species. However, the DFT derived charge distibutions show that MD force-fields with non-polarizable fixed partial charge representations parametrized for aqueous environments cannot be used in apolar solvent environments without careful accuracy considerations. The overall trends in adsorption energies are reproduced by the Charmm GenFF employed in the MD simulations but the adsorption energies are systematically overestimated in this apolar solvent environment. The work has significance both for revealing nitrogen compound adsorption trends in technologically relevant bio oil environments but also as a methodological assessment revealing the limits of state of the art biomolecular force-fields and simulation protocols in apolar bioenvironments.

PVA based nanofiber containing cellulose modified with graphitic carbon nitride/nettles/trachyspermum accelerates wound healing.

Today, bacterial cellulose has received a great deal of attention for its medical applications due to its unique structural properties such as high porosity, good fluid uptake, good strength, and biocompatibility. This study aimed to fabricate and study bacterial cellulose/graphitic carbon nitride/nettles/trachyspermum nanocomposite by immersion and PVA/BC/g-C3 N4 /nettles/trachyspermum nanofiber by electrospinning method as a wound dressing. The g-C3 N4 and g-C3 N4 solution were synthesized and then were characterized using Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, Zeta Potential, and scanning electronic microscope analyzes. Also, the antibacterial properties of the synthesized materials were proved by gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria using the minimum inhibitory concentration method. Besides, the toxicity, migration, and cell proliferation results of the synthesized materials on NIH 3T3 fibroblasts were evaluated using MTT and scratch assays and showed that the BC/PVA/g-C3 N4 /nettles/trachyspermum composite not only had no toxic effect on cells but also contributed to cell survival, cell migration, and proliferation has done. To evaluate the mechanical properties, a tensile strength test was performed on PVA/BC/g-C3 N4 /nettles/trachyspermum nanofibers, and the results showed good strength of the nanocomposite. In addition, in vivo assay, the produced nanofibers were used to evaluate wound healing, and the results showed that these nanofibers were able to accelerate the wound healing process so that after 14 days, the wound healing percentage showed 95%. Therefore, this study shows that PVA/BC/g-C3 N4 /nettles/trachyspermum nanofibers effectively inhibit bacterial growth and accelerate wound healing.

Increasing medicinal and phytochemical compounds of coneflower (Echinacea purpurea L.) as affected by NO3-/NH4+ ratio and perlite particle size in hydroponics.

Medicinal plants are considered as one of the most important sources of chemical compounds, so preparing a suitable culture media for medicinal plant growth is a critical factor. The present study is aimed to improve the caffeic acid derivatives and alkylamides percentages of Echinacea purpurea root extract in hydroponic culture media with different perlite particle size and NO3-/NH4+ ratios. Perlite particle size in the growing media was varied as very coarse perlite (more than 2 mm), coarse perlite (1.5-2 mm), medium perlite (1-1.5 mm), fine perlite (0.5-1 mm), and very fine perlite (less than 0.5 mm) in different ratios to peat moss (including pure perlite, 50:50 v/v, 30:70 v/v, and pure peat moss). Two NO3-/NH4+ ratios (90:10 and 70:30) were tested in each growing media. All phytochemical analyses were performed according to standard methods using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was found that the E. purpurea grown in the medium containing very fine-grade perlite with 50:50 v/v perlite to peat moss ratio had the maximum caffeic acid derivatives, including chicoric acid (17 mg g-1 DW), caftaric acid (6.3 mg g-1 DW), chlorogenic acid (0.93 mg g-1 DW), cynarin (0.84 mg g-1 DW), and echinacoside (0.73 mg g-1 DW), as well as, alkylamides (54.21%). The percentages of these phytochemical compounds increased by decreasing perlite particle size and increasing of NO3-/NH4+ ratio. The major alkylamide in the E. purpurea root extract was dodeca-2E, 4E, 8Z-10 (E/Z)-tetraenoic acid isobutylamide in all treatments, ranging from 31.12 to 54.21% of total dry weight. It can be concluded that optimizing hydroponic culture media and nutrient solution has significant effects on E. purpurea chemical compounds.

4-in-1 Fe3O4/g-C3N4@PPy-DOX nanocomposites: Magnetic targeting guided trimode combinatorial chemotherapy/PDT/PTT for cancer.

At present, cancer has become a major disease threatening human health worldwide. Therefore, developing targeting guided multimode synergetic therapy has become one of the hot spots in current antitumor research and is also a great challenge. Herein, a new Fe3O4/g-C3N4@PPy-DOX nanocomposite containing magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs), lamellar structure of graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and polypyrrole (PPy) shell with the loaded anti-tumor drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) was designed and prepared. The monodisperse Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) with the diameter of 20 nm endowed the nanocomposite with the magnetic targeting ability, reducing damage to normal tissues. It is very interesting that the Fe3O4 NPs also possessed photosensitizer function for photodynamic therapy (PDT). The g-C3N4 sheets as the photocatalysis towards the degradation of water for generating O2 could effectively improve the hypoxia of solid tumors and increase the efficiency of PDT. In addition, PPy has high light-to-heat conversion efficiency, so was chosen for the cancer photothermal therapy (PTT). Finally, an anticancer drug (DOX) was loaded on the nanocomposite because the presence of mesoporous structure. Thus, the prepared Fe3O4/g-C3N4@PPy-DOX nanocomposites exhibit synergetic chemotherapy/PTT/enhanced PDT antitumor effect. This study provides an inspiration for combining targeting and multimodality to improve the anticancer efficiency.

Graphitic Carbon Nitride Quantum Dots Embedded in Carbon Nanosheets for Near-Infrared Imaging-Guided Combined Photo-Chemotherapy.

Rational design of metal-free multifunctional therapeutic reagents offers great opportunities for cancer treatment in the clinic. Here, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) quantum dots embedded in carbon nanosheets (CNQD-CN) are in situ prepared via a one-pot hydrothermal approach with formamide as carbon and nitrogen source. The CNQD-CN not only serves as an excellent near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent marker but also acts as a pH-responsive nanocarrier. Moreover, the CNQD-CN possesses both light-to-heat conversion and singlet oxygen generation capabilities under a single NIR excitation wavelength. Further investigations show that systemic delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) using the multifunctional CNQD-CN nanocarrier under NIR irradiation was highly effective to cause cancer cell apoptosis in vitro and inhibit tumor growth in vivo. CNQD-CN represents a multifunctional therapeutic platform for synchronous cancer imaging and treatment through the synergistic effect of phototherapy and chemotherapy.