Nucleoside Analogs: A Review of Its Source and Separation Processes.

Nucleoside analogs play a crucial role in the production of high-value antitumor and antimicrobial drugs. Currently, nucleoside analogs are mainly obtained through nucleic acid degradation, chemical synthesis, and biotransformation. However, these methods face several challenges, such as low concentration of the main product, the presence of complex matrices, and the generation of numerous by-products that significantly limit the development of new drugs and their pharmacological studies. Therefore, this work aims to summarize the universal separation methods of nucleoside analogs, including crystallization, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), column chromatography, solvent extraction, and adsorption. The review also explores the application of molecular imprinting techniques (MITs) in enhancing the identification of the separation process. It compares existing studies reported on adsorbents of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the separation of nucleoside analogs. The development of new methods for selective separation and purification of nucleosides is vital to improving the efficiency and quality of nucleoside production. It enables us to obtain nucleoside products that are essential for the development of antitumor and antiviral drugs. Additionally, these methods possess immense potential in the prevention and control of serious diseases, offering significant economic, social, and scientific benefits to the fields of environment, biomedical research, and clinical therapeutics.

Dynamic Synthetic Biointerfaces: From Reversible Chemical Interactions to Tunable Biological Effects.

Dynamic synthetic biointerface is a new concept of biomaterials with smart surface properties capable of controlled display of bioactive ligands, dynamic modulation of cell-biomaterial interactions, and subsequently clever manipulation of fundamental cell behaviors like adhesion, migration, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and so on. As mimics of the extracellular matrix (ECM), such molecularly dynamic biointerfaces have attracted increasing attention because of their tunable biological effects with great significance in in situ cell biology, tissue engineering, drug targeting, and cell isolation for cancer theranostics. Approaches to control bioligand presentation on materials mainly rely on surface functionalization with dynamic or reversible chemical linkers to which the ligands are tethered. Photoelectric-transformable or photocleavable chemistry, host-guest supramolecular chemistry, and multiple noncovalent interactions were initially employed for fabrication of dynamic synthetic biointerfaces. However, the external stimuli required in these systems, including electrochemical potential, electrochemical reaction, and near-infrared or UV light, are mostly invasive to living cells; and few of them are able to respond to the stimuli occurring in natural biological processes. In addition, most of current systems focused only on the control of cell adhesion, other cell behaviors like migration, differentiation and apoptosis have rarely been explored. Therefore, the development of novel synthetic biointerfaces that permit access to noninvasive control of diverse cell behaviors still represents a key challenge in biomaterials science. Our group pioneers the use of reversible covalent bonds, metal coordinative interactions, and the molecular affinity of molecularly imprinted synthetic receptors as the dynamic driving forces for the fabrication of smart biointerfaces. Several typical biological stimuli, such as glycemic volatility, body temperature fluctuations, regional disparity of pH values, and specific biomolecules, were tactfully involved in our systems. In this Account, we highlight the strategies we have used on the exploitation of dynamic synthetic biointerfaces based on the above three types of reversible chemical interactions. While our attention has been focused on biologically stimuli-responsive or other noninvasive ligand presentation, the versatility of dynamic synthetic biointerfaces in control of cell adhesion, directing cell differentiation, and targeting cell apoptosis has also been successfully demonstrated. In addition, a paradigm shift of dynamic synthetic biointerfaces from macroscopic to microscopic scale (e.g., nanobiointerfaces) was conceptually demonstrated in our research. The potential applications of these developed dynamic systems, including fundamental cell biology, surface engineering of biomaterials, scaffold-free tissue engineering, cell-based cancer diagnosis, and drug targeting cancer therapy, were also introduced, respectively. Although the development of dynamic synthetic biointerfaces is still in its infancy, we strongly believe that further efforts in this field will play a continuously and increasingly significant role in bridging the gap between chemistry and biology.

Molecularly imprinted polymers as receptor mimics for selective cell recognition.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have now earned the reputation as "artificial receptors" or "plastic antibodies". As the mimics of natural receptors, MIPs are reminiscent of some basic functions of natural receptors in living systems, e.g., the ability to interact with or recognize cells. The latest decade has witnessed a great advance in MIPs from simple molecular extraction to efficient cell recognition, implying that MIP-based synthetic receptors are approaching to be perfectly functioning replicates of their natural counterparts. With the most emerging development in molecular imprinting, MIP-mediated cell recognition has now shown great promise in cell biology research, theranostics and regenerative medicine. This tutorial review provides a panoramic view of current MIPs for both microorganism and mammalian cell recognition. The most representative developments of MIP-mediated cell recognition, from initial imprinting strategies to eventual bio-related applications, are highlighted.

Dynamically PEGylated and Borate-Coordination-Polymer-Coated Polydopamine Nanoparticles for Synergetic Tumor-Targeted, Chemo-Photothermal Combination Therapy.

Multifunctional nanomaterials with efficient tumor-targeting and high antitumor activity are highly anticipated in the field of cancer therapy. In this work, a synergetic tumor-targeted, chemo-photothermal combined therapeutic nanoplatform based on a dynamically PEGylated, borate-coordination-polymer-coated polydopamine nanoparticle (PDA@CP-PEG) is developed. PEGylation on the multifunctional nanoparticles is dynamically achieved via the reversible covalent interaction between the surface phenylboronic acid (PBA) group and a catechol-containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) molecule. Due to the acid-labile PBA/catechol complex and the weak-acid-stable PBA/sialic acid (SA) complex, the nanoparticles can exhibit a synergetic targeting property for the SA-overexpressed tumor cells, i.e., the PEG-caused "passive targeting" and PBA-triggered "active targeting" under the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment. In addition, the photothermal effect of the polydopamine core and the doxorubicin-loading capacity of the porous coordination polymer layer endow the nanoparticles with the potential for chemo-photothermal combination therapy. As expected, the in vitro and in vivo studies both verify that the multifunctional nanoparticles possess relatively lower systematic toxicity, efficient tumor targeting ability, and excellent chemo-photothermal activity for tumor inhibition. It is believed that these multifunctional nanoparticles with synergetic tumor targeting property and combined therapeutic strategies would provide an insight into the design of a high-efficiency antitumor nanoplatform for potential clinical applications.

A core-shell surface magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers with fluorescence for λ-cyhalothrin selective recognition.

In this study, we report here a general protocol for making core-shell magnetic Fe3O4/SiO2-MPS/MIPs (MPS = 3-(methacryloxyl) propyl trimethoxysilane, MIPs = molecularly imprinted polymers, Fe3O4/SiO2-MPS as core, MIPs as shell) via a surface molecular imprinting technique for optical detection of trace λ-cyhalothrin. The fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer shell was first prepared by copolymerization of acrylamide with a small quantity of allyl fluorescein in the presence of λ-cyhalothrin to form recognition sites without doping. The magnetic Fe3O4/SiO2-MPS/MIPs exhibited paramagnetism, high fluorescence intensity, and highly selective recognition. Using fluorescence quenching as a detecting tool, Fe3O4/SiO2-MPS/MIPs were successfully applied to selectively and sensitively detect λ-cyhalothrin, and a linear relationship could be obtained covering a wide concentration range of 0-50 nM with a correlation coefficient of 0.9962 described by the Stern-Volmer equation. The experimental results of practical detection revealed that magnetic Fe3O4/SiO2-MPS/MIPs as an attractive recognition element was satisfactory for determination of trace λ-cyhalothrin in honey samples. This study, therefore, demonstrated the potential of MIPs for detection of λ-cyhalothrin in food.

Direct and specific detection of methyl-paraoxon using a highly sensitive fluorescence strategy combined with phosphatase-like nanozyme and molecularly imprinted polymer.

Methyl paraoxon (MP) is a highly toxic, efficient and broad-spectrum organophosphorus pesticide, which poses significant risks to ecological environment and human health. Many detection methods for MP are based on the enzyme catalytic or inhibition effect. But natural biological enzymes are relatively expensive and easy to be inactivated with a short service life. As a unique tool of nanotechnology with enzyme-like characteristics, nanozyme has attracted increasing concern. However, a large proportion of nanozymes lack the intrinsic specificity, becoming a main barrier of constraining their use in biochemical analysis. Here, we use a one-pot reverse microemulsion polymerization combine the gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), polydopamine (PDA) and hollow CeO2 nanospheres to synthesize the bright red-orange fluorescence probe (CeO2@PDA@AuNCs-MIPs) with high phosphatase-like activity for selective detection of MP. The hollow structure possesses a specific surface area and porous matrix, which not only increases the exposure of active sites but also enhances the efficiency of mass and electron transport. Consequently, this structure significantly enhances the catalytic activity by reducing transport distances. The introduced MIPs provide the specific recognition sites for MP. And Ce (III) can excite aggregation induced emission of AuNCs and enhance the fluorescent signal. The absolute fluorescence quantum yield (FLQY) of CeO2@PDA@AuNCs-MIPs (1.41 %) was 12.8-fold higher than that of the GSH-AuNCs (0.11 %). With the presence of MP, Ce (IV)/Ce (III) species serve as the active sites to polarize and hydrolyze phosphate bonds to generate p-nitrophenol (p-NP), which can quench the fluorescent signal through the inner-filter effect. The as-prepared CeO2@PDA@AuNCs-MIPs nanozyme-based fluorescence method for MP detection displayed superior analytical performances with wide linearities range of 0.45-125 nM and the detection limit of 0.15 nM. Furthermore, the designed method offers satisfactory practical application ability. The developed method is simple and effective for the in-field detection.

Fabrication and evaluation of magnetic/hollow double-shelled imprinted sorbents formed by Pickering emulsion polymerization.

Magnetic/hollow double-shelled imprinted polymers (MH-MIPs) were synthesized by Pickering emulsion polymerization. In this method, attapulgite (ATP) particles were used as stabilizers to establish a stable oil-in-water emulsion, and a few hydrophilic Fe3O4 nanoparticles were allowed to be magnetic separation carriers. The imprinting system was fabricated by radical polymerization in the presence of the functional and polymeric monomers in the oil phase. The results of characterization indicated that MH-MIPs exhibited magnetic sensitivity (Ms = 4.76 emu g(-1)), thermal stability (especially below 200 °C), and hollow structure and were composed of exterior ATP shells and interior imprinted polymers shells. Then MH-MIPs were evaluated as sorbents for the selective binding of λ-cyhalothrin as a result of their magnetism, enhanced mechanical strength, hydrophilic surface, and recognition ability. The kinetic properties of MH-MIPs were well described by the pseudo-second-order equation, indicating that the chemical process could be the rate-limiting step in the adsorption process for λ-cyhalothrin. The equilibrium adsorption capacity of MH-MIPs was 60.06 µmol g(-1) at 25 °C, and the Langmuir isotherm model gave a better fit to the experimental data, indicating the monolayer molecular adsorption for λ-cyhalothrin. The selective recognition experiments also demonstrated the high affinity and selectivity of MH-MIIPs toward λ-cyhalothrin over fenvalerate and diethyl phthalate.

Selective separation of lambdacyhalothrin by porous/magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by Pickering emulsion polymerization.

Porous/magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (PM-MIPs) were prepared by Pickering emulsion polymerization. The reaction was carried out in an oil/water emulsion using magnetic halloysite nanotubes as the stabilizer instead of a toxic surfactant. In the oil phase, the imprinting process was conducted by radical polymerization of functional and cross-linked monomers, and porogen chloroform generated steam under the high reaction temperature, which resulted in some pores decorated with easily accessible molecular binding sites within the as-made PM-MIPs. The characterization demonstrated that the PM-MIPs were porous and magnetic inorganic-polymer composite microparticles with magnetic sensitivity (M(s) = 0.7448 emu/g), thermal stability (below 473 K) and magnetic stability (over the pH range of 2.0-8.0). The PM-MIPs were used as a sorbent for the selective binding of lambdacyhalothrin (LC) and rapidly separated under an external magnetic field. The Freundlich isotherm model gave a good fit to the experimental data. The adsorption kinetics of the PM-MIPs was well described by pseudo-second-order kinetics, indicating that the chemical process could be the rate-limiting step in the adsorption of LC. The selective recognition experiments exhibited the outstanding selective adsorption effect of the PM-MIPs for target LC. Moreover, the PM-MIPs regeneration without significant loss in adsorption capacity was demonstrated by at least four repeated cycles.

Removal of cefalexin using yeast surface-imprinted polymer prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization.

The first use of yeast as a support in the molecular imprinting field combined with atom transfer radical polymerization was described. Then, the as-prepared molecularly imprinted polymers were characterized by Fourier transmission infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, and elemental analysis. The obtained imprinted polymers demonstrated elliptical-shaped particles with the thickness of imprinting layer of 0.63 µm. The batch mode experiments were adopted to investigate the adsorption equilibrium, kinetics, and selectivity. The kinetic properties of imprinted polymers were well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation, indicating the chemical process was the rate-limiting step for the adsorption of cefalexin (CFX). The equilibrium data were well fitted by the Freundlich isotherm, and the multimolecular layers adsorption capacity of imprinted polymers was 34.07 mg g(-1) at 298 K. The selectivity analysis suggested that the imprinted polymers exhibited excellent selective recognition for CFX in the presence of other compounds with related structure. Finally, the analytical method based on the imprinted polymers extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatograph was successfully used for CFX analysis in spiked pork and water samples.

Molecularly imprinted polymer surfaces as solid-phase extraction sorbents for the extraction of 2-nitrophenol and isomers from environmental water.

The novel surface molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) with 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) as the template has been prepared and used as the adsorbent for the solid-phase extraction (SPE). The selectivity of the polymer was checked toward several selected nitrophenols (NPs) such as 2-NP, 3-nitrophenol (3-NP), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP). Under the optimized conditions, high sensitivity (detection limits: 0.07-0.12 ng/mL) and good reproducibility of analytes (2.3-4.8% for four cycles) were achieved. Then, the method was applied for the analysis of selected phenols in spiked tap, lake and river water samples. High recoveries (>83.3%) for nitrophenols (NPs) were obtained, but lower recoveries (<63.4%) were achieved for 2,4,6-TCP. The method was found to be linear in the range of 1-300 ng/mL with correlation coefficients (R(2) ) greater than 0.99 and repeatability relative standard deviation (RSD) below 7.2% in all cases. For analysis of 120 mL water samples, the method detection limits (LODs) ranged from 0.10 to 0.22 ng/mL and the limit of quantification (LOQs) from 0.33 to 0.72 ng/mL. These results showed the suitability of the MIP-SPE method for the selective extraction of a group of structurally related isomeric compounds.

A recognition strategy combining effective boron affinity technology and surface imprinting to prepare highly selective and easily recyclable polymer membrane for separation of drug molecule.

Cellulose acetate membrane (CAM) has become one of the most widely used membrane materials by virtue of stability and hydrophilicity. In this work, to achieve the aim of selective recognition and separation of drug molecule shikimic acid (SA), an effective recognition tactics was proposed by combining boron affinity technology with surface imprinting strategy based on cellulose acetate membrane with low price and biocompatibility. The supporting CAM material was prepared through the phase inversion technique by continuous adjustment of different factors including solvent type and kinds of pore-forming agents, and the optimal CAM with multistage structure and highly porosity was applied for the imprinting of SA. Then the imprinted polymer membrane (MIPs-CAM) was developed via boron affinity surface imprinting polymerization. Various methods (FT-IR, UV-vis, SEM, XPS, AFM and TGA) were used to characterize the structure, morphology, elemental composition, surface roughness and thermal property of the obtained membrane. The as-prepared MIPs-CAM showed homogeneous and abundant imprinted layer, good thermal stability. The batch adsorption results showed that the MIPs-CAM had fast adsorption kinetics, specific recognition ability, and the adsorption capacity could obtain 63.598 mg g-1, which was two times higher than that of non-imprinted membrane (NIPs-CAM). The adsorption isotherms conformed to the Langmuir isotherm and the adsorption processes were spontaneous and endothermic. Additionally, the adsorption capacity of MIPs-CAM still reached 85% of the initial result after five cycles. The experimental results revealed that the molecularly imprinted membrane possessed the advantages of high selectivity and easy recovery compared with the traditional molecular imprinted polymers for SA separation. These results indicate that boron affinity MIPs-CAM with high performance will provide a promising platform for the separation and purification of other cis-diol drug molecules from environmental resources.

Dual-mode fluorescence and colorimetric detection of pesticides realized by integrating stimulus-responsive luminescence with oxidase-mimetic activity into cerium-based coordination polymer nanoparticles.

The great threat of pesticide residues to the environment and human health has drawn widespread interest to explore approaches for pesticide monitoring. Compared to commonly developed single-signal pesticide assays, multi-mode detection with inherent self-validation and self-correction is expected to offer more reliable and anti-interference results. However, how to realize multi-mode analysis of pesticides still remains challenging. Herein, we propose a dual-mode fluorescence and colorimetric method for pesticide determination by integrating stimulus-responsive luminescence with oxidase-mimetic activity into cerium-based coordination polymer nanoparticles (CPNs(Ⅳ)). The CPNs(Ⅳ) exhibit good oxidase-like activity of catalyzing the colorless 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) oxidation to its blue oxide, offering a visible color signal; by employing acid phosphatase (ACP) to hydrolyze ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (AAP), the generated ascorbic acid (AA) can chemically reduce the CPNs(Ⅳ) to CPNs(Ⅲ), which exhibit a remarkable fluorescence signal but lose the oxidase-mimicking ability to trigger the TMB chromogenic reaction; when pesticides exist, the enzymatic activity of ACP is restrained and the hydrolysis of AAP to AA is blocked, leading to the recovery of the catalytic TMB chromogenic reaction but the suppression of the fluorescence signal of CPNs(Ⅲ). According to this principle, by taking malathion as a pesticide model, dual-mode 'off-on-off' fluorescence and 'on-off-on' colorimetric detection of the pesticide with good sensitivity was realized. Excellent interference-tolerance and reliability were verified by applying it to analyze the target in real sample matrices. With good performance and practicability, the proposed dual-mode approach shows great potential in the facile and reliable monitoring of pesticide residues.

Selective recognition of 4-nitrophenol from aqueous solution by molecularly imprinted polymers with functionalized tetratitanate whisker composites as support.

Three kinds of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were obtained with surface molecular imprinting technique on functionalized potassium tetratitanate whisker (F-PTW). The results of adsorption experiments indicated that MIP prepared using PTW modified with N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylamine (AAPTS) (F-PTW A) as support [MIP(1)] was superior to the other two polymers, then MIP(1) was selected to analyze the 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) adsorption process from aqueous solution in this study. AAPTS offered hydrophilic exterior that allowed to self-assemble with the template 4-NP through intermolecular interaction rather than based on the interactions between the functional monomers and template. Equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models at various temperatures. Kinetic properties were successfully investigated by pseudo-first-order model, pseudo-second-order model, intraparticle diffusion equation, initial adsorption rate, half-adsorption time. A diffusion-controlled process as the essential adsorption rate-controlling step was also proposed. The performance of such imprinted polymer was further demonstrated by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the results showed that the selectivity of MIP(1) exhibited higher affinity for template 4-NP over competitive phenolic compounds than that of non-imprinted polymer NIP(1). MIP(1) could be reused four times without significant loss in the adsorption capacity.

Synthesis, characterization, and adsorption performance of Pb(II)-imprinted polymer in nano-TiO2 matrix.

Surface ion-imprinted in combination with sol-gel process was applied to synthesis a new Pb(II)-imprinted polymer for selective separation and enrichment of trace PbO(II) from aqueous solution. The prepared material was characterized by using the infrared spectra, X-ray diffractometer, and scanning electron microscopy. The batch experiments were conducted to study the optimal adsorption condition of adsorption trace Pb(II) from aqueous solutions on Pb(II)-imprinted polymer. The equilibrium was achieved in approximately 4.0 h, and the experimental kinetic data were fitted the pseudo second-order model better. The maximum adsorption capacity was 22.7 mg/g, and the Langmuir equation fitted the adsorption isotherm data. The results of selectivity experiment showed that selectively adsorbed rate of Pb(II) on Pb(II)-imprinted polymer was higher than all other studied ions. Desorption conditions of the adsorbed Pb(II) from the Pb(II)-imprinted polymer were also studied in batch experiments. The prepared Pb(II)-imprinted polymer was shown to be promising for the separation and enrichment of trace Pb(II) from water samples. The adsorption and desorption mechanisms were proposed.

In situ formation of fluorescent polydopamine catalyzed by peroxidase-mimicking FeCo-LDH for pyrophosphate ion and pyrophosphatase activity detection.

As pyrophosphate ion (PPi) and pyrophosphatase (PPase) play crucial roles in the pathological process of arthritis, determination of PPi and PPase in biological fluids turns to be of great importance for clinical diagnosis and therapy of arthritic diseases. In this work, we proposed a new fluorescent assay for PPi and PPase activity detection based on the competitive coordination chemistry of Fe3+ between PPi and an in situ formed fluorescent polydopamine (PDA). FeCo layered double hydroxide (FeCo-LDH) was explored as a peroxidase mimic to facilitate the in situ formation of fluorescent PDA from dopamine mediated by low-concentration H2O2 within 30 min; The formed fluorescent PDA could be significantly quenched by Fe3+ through forming a PDA-Fe3+ complex structure; When PPi existed, it coordinated Fe3+ competitively against PDA and inhibited the fluorescence quenching of PDA by Fe3+; When PPi was hydrolyzed under the catalysis of PPase, the Fe3+ ion could quench the fluorescence of the formed PDA again. With these principles, our fluorescent assay was able to detect PPi and PPase activity specifically, providing detection limits down to 54 µM and 0.13 U/L, respectively. Furthermore, accurate determination of PPi and PPase activity in spiked human serum was also demonstrated using the developed assay.

A precise and efficient detection of Beta-Cyfluthrin via fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers with ally fluorescein as functional monomer in agricultural products.

In this study, an effective and precise fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers (FMIPs) for the determination of Beta-Cyfluthrin (BC) was synthesized via precipitation polymerization with SiO2 as the carrier, BC as the target molecule, ally fluorescein as the functional monomer, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) as the crosslinker. Moreover, the characteristic of material has been measured by FTIR, TEM, SEM, TGA, LSCM and fluorescence spectrophotometer. Average diameter and shell thickness of as-synthesized microspheres were 300nm and 50nm, respectively. An excellent linear relationship of SiO2-MPTMS@FMIPs with a correlation coefficient of 0.9919 could be gained covering a wide concentration range of 10.11-80nM described by the Stern-Volmer equation. The limit of detection (LOD) was evaluated with the equation LOD=3σ/S and was found to be 10.11nM. The study demonstrated that SiO2-MPTMS@FMIPs could improve the determination for BC and illustrated the good prospects of SiO2-MPTMS@FMIPs for BC detection in agricultural products.

Fabrication of hydrophobic polymer foams with double acid sites on surface of macropore for conversion of carbohydrate.

Herein we reported a simple and novel synthetic strategy for the fabrication of two kinds of hydrophobic polymer foam catalysts (i.e. Cr(3+)-HPFs-1-H(+) and HPFs-1-H(+)) with hierarchical porous structure, inhomogeneous acidic composition and Lewis-Brønsted double acid sites distributed on the surface, which was used to one-pot conversion of carbohydrate (such as cellulose, glucose and fructose) to a key chemical platform (i.e. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, HMF). The water-in-oil (W/O) high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs), stabilized by both Span 80 and acidic prepolymers as analogous particles offered the acidic actives, were used as the template for simultaneous polymerization of oil phase in the presence of divinylbenzene (DVB) and styrene (St). After subsequent ion-exchange process, Lewis and Brønsted acid sites derived from exchanged Cr(3+) and H(+) ion were both fixed on the surface of cell of the catalysts. The HPFs-1-H(+) and Cr(3+)-HPFs-1-H(+) had similar hierarchical porous, hydrophobic surface and acid sites (HPFs-1-H(+) with macropores ranging from 0.1 µm to 20 µm, uniform mesopores in 14.4 nm, water contact angle of 122° and 0.614 mmolg(-1) of Brønsted acid sites, as well as Cr(3+)-HPFs-1-H(+) with macropores ranging from 0.1 µm to 20 µm, uniform mesopores in 13.3 nm, water contact angle of 136° and 0.638 mmolg(-1) of Lewis-Brønsted acid sites). It was confirmed that Lewis acid sites of catalyst had a slight influence on the HMF yield of fructose came from the function of Brønsted acid sites, and Lewis acid sites were in favor of improving the HMF yield from cellulose and glucose. This work opens up a simple and novel route to synthesize multifunctional polymeric catalysts for efficient one-pot conversion of carbohydrate to HMF.

Molecularly imprinted fluorescent hollow nanoparticles as sensors for rapid and efficient detection λ-cyhalothrin in environmental water.

Molecularly imprinted fluorescent polymers have shown great promise in biological or chemical separations and detections, due to their high stability, selectivity and sensitivity. In this work, molecularly imprinted fluorescent hollow nanoparticles, which could rapidly and efficiently detect λ-cyhalothrin (a toxic insecticide) in water samples, was reported. The molecularly imprinted fluorescent sensor showed excellent sensitivity (the limit of detection low to 10.26nM), rapid detection rate (quantitative detection of λ-cyhalothrin within 8min), regeneration ability (maintaining good fluorescence properties after 8 cycling operation) and appreciable selectivity over several structural analogs. Moreover, the fluorescent sensor was further used to detect λ-cyhalothrin in real samples form the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Water. Despite the relatively complex components of the environmental water, the molecularly imprinted fluorescent hollow nanosensor still showed good recovery, clearly demonstrating the potential value of this smart sensor nanomaterial in environmental monitoring.

A hierarchical rippled and crumpled PLA microstructure generated through double emulsion: the interesting roles of Pickering nanoparticles.

Herein, we propose a facile protocol for the fabrication of biomedical microstructures with fine textures of hierarchical rippled and crumpled morphologies through double emulsions by the simple addition of interior Pickering nanoparticles.

Selective removal of erythromycin by magnetic imprinted polymers synthesized from chitosan-stabilized Pickering emulsion.

Magnetic imprinted polymers (MIPs) were synthesized by Pickering emulsion polymerization and used to adsorb erythromycin (ERY) from aqueous solution. The oil-in-water Pickering emulsion was stabilized by chitosan nanoparticles with hydrophobic Fe3O4 nanoparticles as magnetic carrier. The imprinting system was fabricated by radical polymerization with functional and crosslinked monomer in the oil phase. Batches of static and dynamic adsorption experiments were conducted to analyze the adsorption performance on ERY. Isotherm data of MIPs well fitted the Freundlich model (from 15 °C to 35 °C), which indicated heterogeneous adsorption for ERY. The ERY adsorption capacity of MIPs was about 52.32 µmol/g at 15 °C. The adsorption kinetics was well described by the pseudo-first-order model, which suggested that physical interactions were primarily responsible for ERY adsorption. The Thomas model used in the fixed-bed adsorption design provided a better fit to the experimental data. Meanwhile, ERY exhibited higher affinity during adsorption on the MIPs compared with the adsorption capacity of azithromycin and chloramphenicol. The MIPs also exhibited excellent regeneration capacity with only about 5.04% adsorption efficiency loss in at least three repeated adsorption-desorption cycles.