Neuronal innervation regulates the secretion of neurotrophic myokines and exosomes from skeletal muscle.

Myokines and exosomes, originating from skeletal muscle, are shown to play a significant role in maintaining brain homeostasis. While exercise has been reported to promote muscle secretion, little is known about the effects of neuronal innervation and activity on the yield and molecular composition of biologically active molecules from muscle. As neuromuscular diseases and disabilities associated with denervation impact muscle metabolism, we hypothesize that neuronal innervation and firing may play a pivotal role in regulating secretion activities of skeletal muscles. We examined this hypothesis using an engineered neuromuscular tissue model consisting of skeletal muscles innervated by motor neurons. The innervated muscles displayed elevated expression of mRNAs encoding neurotrophic myokines, such as interleukin-6, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and FDNC5, as well as the mRNA of peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α, a key regulator of muscle metabolism. Upon glutamate stimulation, the innervated muscles secreted higher levels of irisin and exosomes containing more diverse neurotrophic microRNAs than neuron-free muscles. Consequently, biological factors secreted by innervated muscles enhanced branching, axonal transport, and, ultimately, spontaneous network activities of primary hippocampal neurons in vitro. Overall, these results reveal the importance of neuronal innervation in modulating muscle-derived factors that promote neuronal function and suggest that the engineered neuromuscular tissue model holds significant promise as a platform for producing neurotrophic molecules.

Antimicrobial efficacy of self-locomotive manganese oxide nanozyme-doped diatom microbubbler on orthodontic brackets in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Orthodontic brackets provide a favorable environment for Streptococcus mutans biofilm formation, increasing the risk of white spots and dental caries. Manganese oxide (MnO2) nanozyme-doped diatom microbubbler (DM) is a recently developed material for biofilm removal. DM can generate oxygen by catalase-mimicking activity in Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution and move with ejecting oxygen microbubbles to produce a mechanical self-cleansing effect. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of DM as a novel bracket cleaner. METHODS: DM was prepared according to the protocol and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). We treated S. mutans biofilms grown over bracket with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS group), 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX group), 3% H2O2 (H2O2 group), and co-treatment with 3 mg/mL of DM and 3% H2O2 (DM group). The biofilm removal effect was analyzed using crystal violet assay, and the results were observed using SEM. The viability of S. mutans in remaining biofilms was evaluated using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Finally, we examined the effect of all materials on mature multispecies biofilms formed on debonded brackets. RESULTS: Crystal violet assay results revealed that the CHX group removed more biofilms than the control group, and the DM group removed biofilms more effectively than the CHX group (p < 0.0001). SEM and CLSM images showed that CHX killed S. mutans but failed to remove most biofilms on brackets. However, DM effectively removed biofilms and mature multispecies biofilms on debonded brackets (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Co-treatment with DM and H2O2 is effective in removing biofilms on orthodontic brackets compared to conventional antibacterial agents.

MOF-Directed Synthesis of Crystalline Ionic Liquids with Enhanced Proton Conduction.

Arranging ionic liquids (ILs) with long-range order can not only enhance their performance in a desired application, but can also help elucidate the vital between structure and properties. However, this is still a challenge and no example has been reported to date. Herein, we report a feasible strategy to achieve a crystalline IL via coordination self-assembly based reticular chemistry. IL1 MOF, was prepared by designing an IL bridging ligand and then connecting them with metal clusters. IL1 MOF has a unique structure, where the IL ligands are arranged on a long-range ordered framework but have a labile ionic center. This structure enables IL1 MOF to break through the typical limitation where the solid ILs have lower proton conductivity than their counterpart bulk ILs. IL1 MOF shows 2-4 orders of magnitude higher proton conductivity than its counterpart IL monomer across a wide temperature range. Moreover, by confining the IL within ultramicropores (<1 nm), IL1 MOF suppresses the liquid-solid phase transition temperatures to lower than -150 °C, allowing it to function with high conductivity in a subzero temperature range.

Prussian Blue-Derived Synthesis of Hollow Porous Iron Pyrite Nanoparticles as Platinum-Free Counter Electrodes for Highly Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Iron pyrite has long been an attractive material for environmental and energy applications, but is hampered by a lack of control over morphology and purity. Hollow porous iron pyrite nanoparticles were synthesized by a direct sulfurization of iron oxide derived from Prussian blue. The high efficiencies of these hollow porous iron pyrite nanoparticles as effective dye-sensitized solar cell counter electrodes were demonstrated, with an efficiency of 7.31 %.

Towards Acid-Tolerated Ethanol Dehydration: Chitosan-Based Mixed Matrix Membranes Containing Cyano-Bridged Coordination Polymer Nanoparticles.

Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles, one of many cyano-bridged coordination polymers, are successfully incorporated into chitosan (CS) polymer to prepare PB/CS mixed matrix membranes (MMMs). The PB nanoparticles are uniformly distributed in the MMMs without the collapse of the original PB structure. As-prepared PB/CS MMMs are used for ethanol dehydration at 25 °C in the pervaporation process. The effect of loading PB in CS matrix on pervaporation performance is carefully investigated. The PB/CS membrane with 30 wt% PB loading shows the best performance with a permeate flux of 614 g. m-2 . h-1 and a separation factor of 1472. The pervaporation using our PB/CS membranes exhibits outstanding performance in comparison with the previously reported CS-based membranes and MMMs. Furthermore, the addition of PB allows PB/CS MMMs to be tolerant of acidic environment. The present work demonstrates good pervaporation performance of PB/CS MMMs for the separation of an ethanol/water (90:10 in wt%) solution. Our new system provides an opportunity for dehydration of bioethanol in the future.

A Drying-Free, Water-Based Process for Fabricating Mixed-Matrix Membranes with Outstanding Pervaporation Performance.

Despite much progress in the development of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for many advanced applications, the synthesis of MMMs without particle agglomeration or phase separation at high nanofiller loadings is still challenging. In this work, we synthesized nanoporous zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF-8) nanoparticles with a particle size of 60 nm and a pore size of 0.34 nm in water and directly added them into an aqueous solution of the organic polymer poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) without an intermediate drying process. This approach led to a high-quality PVA/ZIF-8 MMM with enhanced performance in ethanol dehydration by pervaporation. The permeability of this MMM is three times higher than that of pristine PVA, and the separation factor is nearly nine times larger than that of pristine PVA. The significantly improved separation performance was attributed to the increase in the fractional free volume in the membranes.

Melt-quenched glass formation of a family of metal-carboxylate frameworks.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) glasses are an emerging class of glasses which complement traditional inorganic, organic and metallic counterparts due to their hybrid nature. Although a few zeolitic imidazolate frameworks have been made into glasses, how to melt and quench the largest subclass of MOFs, metal carboxylate frameworks, into glasses remains challenging. Here, we develop a strategy by grafting the zwitterions on the carboxylate ligands and incorporating organic acids in the framework channels to enable the glass formation. The charge delocalization of zwitterion-acid subsystem and the densely filled channels facilitate the coordination bonding mismatch and thus reduce the melting temperature. Following melt-quenching realizes the glass formation of a family of carboxylate MOFs (UiO-67, UiO-68 and DUT-5), which are usually believed to be un-meltable. Our work opens up an avenue for melt-quenching porous molecular solids into glasses.

3,3,3',3'-Tetra-methyl-6,6'-bis-[(pyridin-4-yl)meth-oxy]-1,1'-spiro-biindane -monohydrate.

The asymmetric unit in the title compound, C(33)H(34)N(2)O(2)·H(2)O, consists of a V-shaped mol-ecule and a water mol-ecule to which it is hydrogen bonded. The angle between the mean planes of the two spiro-connected indane groups is 77.06 (5)°. The two five-membered rings of the indane groups have envelope conformations with the methyl-ene atoms adjacent to the spiro C atom forming the flaps. They have deviations from the mean plane of the other four atoms in the rings of 0.374 (4) and 0.362 (4) Å. In the crystal, molecules are linked to form inversion dimers via O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds involving the pyridine N atoms and the solvent water mol-ecule. The dimers are linked into a chain along the b axis by π-π stacking inter-actions between a pyridine ring and its centrosymmetrically related ring in an adjacent dimer. The centroid-centroid distance between the planes is 3.7756 (17) Å, the perpendicular distance is 3.4478 (11) Šand the offset is 1.539 Å.

Removal effect of Candida albicans biofilms from the PMMA resin surface by using a manganese oxide nanozyme-doped diatom microbubbler.

To prevent oral candidiasis, removal of the Candida biofilms from dentures is important. However, common denture cleaners are insufficiently effective in removing biofilms. A manganese oxide (MnO2) nanozyme-doped diatom microbubbler (DM) can generate oxygen gas microbubbles by a catalase-mimicking activity in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). DM can invade and destroy biofilms with the driving force of continuously generated microbubbles. In this study, the Candida biofilm removal efficiency by co-treatment of DM and H2O2 was investigated. Diatom particles were reacted with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane to prepare amine-substituted diatom particles. These particles were reacted with potassium permanganate to fabricate DMs. The morphology and components of DM were analyzed by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Four types of denture base resin specimens on which biofilms of Candida albicans were formed were treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS group), Polident 5-Minute (Polident group), 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX group), 3% H2O2 (H2O2 group), and co-treatment of 3 mg/mL of DM and 3% H2O2 (DM group). The biofilm removal effect of each group was quantitatively analyzed by crystal violet assay, and the results were visually confirmed by SEM images. After each treatment, the remaining C. albicans were stained with Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide, and observed with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to evaluate the viability. MnO2 nanozyme sheets were successfully doped on the surface of the fabricated DM. Although biofilms were not effectively removed in the Polident and CHX groups, CLSM images showed that CHX was able to effectively kill C. albicans in the biofilms on all resin specimen types. According to the crystal violet analysis, the H2O2 groups removed the biofilms on heat-activated and 3D-printed resins (P < .01), but could not remove the biofilms on autopolymerizing and milled resins significantly (P = .1161 and P = .1401, respectively). The DM groups significantly removed C. albicans from all resin specimen types (P < .01).

Self-locomotive, antimicrobial microrobot (SLAM) swarm for enhanced biofilm elimination.

Biofilm is a major cause of infections and infrastructure deterioration, largely due to molecular diffusion restrictions that hamper the antimicrobial activity of traditional antibiotics and disinfectants. Here, we present a self-locomotive, antimicrobial microrobot (SLAM) swarm that can penetrate, fracture, and detach biofilm and, in turn, nullify bacterial resistance to antibiotics. The SLAM is assembled by loading a controlled mass of manganese oxide nanosheets on diatoms with the polydopamine binder. In hydrogen peroxide solution, SLAMs produce oxygen bubbles that generate thrust to penetrate the rigid and dense Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm and self-assemble into a swarm that repeatedly surrounds, expands, and bursts oxygen bubbles. The resulting cavities continue to deform and fracture extracellular polymeric substances from microgrooved silicone substrates and wounded skin explants while decreasing the number of viable bacterial cells. Additionally, SLAM allows irrigating water or antibiotics to access the residual biofilm better, thus enhancing the synergistic efficacy in killing up to 99.9% of bacterial cells.

Manganese Oxide Nanozyme-Doped Diatom for Safe and Efficient Treatment of Peri-Implantitis.

Peri-implantitis is a major cause of dental implant failure. Bacterial biofilm contamination on the implant induces surrounding bone resorption and soft tissue inflammation, leading to severe deterioration of oral health. However, conventional biofilm removal procedures, such as mechanical decontamination and antiseptic application, are not effective enough to induce reosseointegration on decontaminated implant surfaces. This is due to (1) incomplete decontamination of the biofilm from inaccessible areas and (2) physicochemical alteration of implant surfaces caused by decontamination procedures. Herein, a safe and effective therapeutic approach for peri-implantitis is developed, which involves decontamination of implant-bound biofilms using the kinetic energy of microsized oxygen bubbles generated from the catalytic reaction between hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and manganese oxide (MnO2) nanozyme sheet-doped silica diatom microparticles (Diatom Microbubbler, DM). Rapidly moving microsized DM particles are able to penetrate narrow spaces between implant screws, exerting just the right amount of force to entirely destroy biofilms without harming the surrounding mucosa or implant surfaces, as opposed to conventional antiseptics such as chlorhexidine or 3% H2O2 when used alone. Consequently, decontamination with DM facilitates successful reosseointegration on the peri-implantitis-affected implant surface. In summary, our new DM-based therapeutic approach will become a promising alternative to resolve clinically challenging aspects of peri-implantitis.

MOF-supported crystalline ionic liquid: new type of solid electrolyte for enhanced and high ionic conductivity.

Solid-state electrolyte (SSE) is crucial for a high-performance all-solid-state battery. Here, a new solid sodium electrolyte based on the ionic liquid EIMS-NaTFSI and one metal-organic framework (MOF) UiO-67-MIMS functionalized with zwitterion groups MIMS was obtained (UiO-67 and was assembled with 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylate linker and cluster Zr6O4(OH)4) (EIMS = 1-(1-ethyl-3-imidazolio)propane-3-sulfonate, NaTFSI = sodium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, MIMS = 1-(1-mthyl-3-imidazolio)propane-3-sulfonate). By contacting and pairing EIMS-NaTFSI (abbreviated as EN-1) to the MIMS group on the framework, EN-1 was directed and arranged along the channels within UiO-67-MIMS, forming a solid composite EN-1@UiO-67-MIMS with Bragg scatter, i.e., a crystalline ionic liquid containing Na+ salts (NaTFSI). Such an ionic liquid EN-1@UiO-67-MIMS bearing crystalline MOF matrix showed and preserved fast ion conduction (1.02 × 10-2 S cm-1) at 150 °C even after 30 days, and exhibited 1-2 orders of magnitude higher conductivities than the bulk ionic liquid EN-1 within a wide temperature range, although the ion content in the latter was higher. The infinite pathway paved by the EN-1 arranged and contacted the MIMS along the channels within MOF well accounts for the fast ion transmission and the stability of the solid-state electrolyte. Such MOF-based crystalline ionic liquid provides a new strategy for developing high-performance solid-state electrolytes for ions.

Quenching Epigenetic Drug Resistance Using Antihypoxic Microparticles in Glioblastoma Patient-Derived Chips.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most intractable tumor types due to the progressive drug resistance upon tumor mass expansion. Incremental hypoxia inside the growing tumor mass drives epigenetic drug resistance by activating nongenetic repair of antiapoptotic DNA, which could be impaired by drug treatment. Hence, rescuing intertumor hypoxia by oxygen-generating microparticles may promote susceptibility to antitumor drugs. Moreover, a tumor-on-a-chip model enables user-specified alternation of clinic-derived samples. This study utilizes patient-derived glioblastoma tissue to generate cell spheroids with size variations in a 3D microchannel network chip (GBM chip). As the spheroid size increases, epigenetic drug resistance is promoted with inward hypoxia severance, as supported by the spheroid size-proportional expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1a in the chip. Loading antihypoxia microparticles onto the spheroid surface significantly reduces drug resistance by silencing the expression of critical epigenetic factor, resulting in significantly decreased cell invasiveness. The results are confirmed in vitro using cell line and patient samples in the chip as well as chip implantation into a hypoxic hindlimb ischemia model in mice, which is an unprecedented approach in the field.

Chloridobis(1,10-phenanthroline-κN,N')copper(II) tetra-kis-(nitrato-κO,O')(1,10-phenanthroline-κN,N')terbate(III).

The title complex salt, [CuCl(C(12)H(8)N(2))(2)][Tb(NO(3))(4)(C(12)H(8)N(2))], consists of discrete [CuCl(phen))(2)](+) cations and [Tb(NO(3))(4)(phen)](-) anions (phen is 1,10-phenanthroline). The [CuCl(phen))(2)](+) cation contains a five-coordinate Cu(2+) ion, ligated by two bidentate phen ligands and one Cl(-) ion, exhibiting a distorted CuN(4)Cl trigonal-bipyramidal geometry. In the [Tb(NO(3))(4)(phen)](-) anion, the Tb(3+) ion is coordinated by one chelating phen ligand and four chelating nitrates, forming a distorted TbN(2)O(8) bicapped dodeca-hedral configuration. The anions and cations are assembled into a three-dimensional network by weak C-H⋯Cl and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. There is also a significant π-π stacking inter-action, with a centroid-centroid distance of 3.635 (2) Å.

Facile Strategy for Efficient Charge Separation and High Photoactivity of Mixed-Linker MOFs.

Two new sets of UiO-Zr metal-organic framework (MOF) bearing mixed linkers BDC-(SCH3)2 and BDC-(SOCH3)2 that have different band gaps and edges were prepared through post oxidation and direct methods, namely, UiO-66-(SCH3)2-xh (x = 4, 9, 12 oxidation hours) and UiO-66-(SOCH3)x(SCH3)2-x (x = 0, 0.4, 0.6, 2), respectively. These composites with stoichiometric components were fully characterized via proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), photo electrochemical measurements, and femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) spectroscopy. The structure, electronic property, and photoresponsive and catalytic ability as the functions of the molar ratio of linkers and the synthetic protocol were first investigated. The mixed-linker UiO-66-(SCH3)2-xh and UiO-66-(SOCH3)x(SCH3)2-x exhibited improved performances as compared to the UiO-66-(SCH3)2 and UiO-66-(SOCH3)2 possessing neat linkers only. Their photo response and catalytic activity varied with different linker ratios. For UiO-66-(SCH3)2-xh, the performance increased with the increasing linker BDC-(SOCH3)2 ratio upon oxidation but reached the highest as the BDC-(SOCH3)2 being of 24.4% in UiO-66-(SCH3)2-9h. In comparison, the best photocurrent (80.74 uA/cm-2) and the highest H2 generation rate (2018.8 µmol g-1 h-1) (λ > 400 nm) in UiO-66-(SCH3)2-9h are about twice those of UiO-66-(SOCH3)0.4(SCH3)1.6 obtained by direct synthesis, although the linker BDC-(SOCH3)2 ratio of those two composites is almost the same (24.4% vs 23.9%). Recorded shorter lifetime and higher charge separation efficiency of the former than those of the latter suggest the postsynthetic protocol as the efficient method for achieving the mixed-liner-MOF-based photocatalyst with high performance. A new type-II tailored homojunction is proposed in these mixed-linker MOFs for their efficient charge separation and improved activity.

Label-free SARS-CoV-2 detection and classification using phase imaging with computational specificity.

Efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis revealed that fast, accurate, and scalable testing is crucial for curbing the current impact and that of future pandemics. We propose an optical method for directly imaging unlabeled viral particles and using deep learning for detection and classification. An ultrasensitive interferometric method was used to image four virus types with nanoscale optical path-length sensitivity. Pairing these data with fluorescence images for ground truth, we trained semantic segmentation models based on U-Net, a particular type of convolutional neural network. The trained network was applied to classify the viruses from the interferometric images only, containing simultaneously SARS-CoV-2, H1N1 (influenza-A virus), HAdV (adenovirus), and ZIKV (Zika virus). Remarkably, due to the nanoscale sensitivity in the input data, the neural network was able to identify SARS-CoV-2 vs. the other viruses with 96% accuracy. The inference time for each image is 60 ms, on a common graphic-processing unit. This approach of directly imaging unlabeled viral particles may provide an extremely fast test, of less than a minute per patient. As the imaging instrument operates on regular glass slides, we envision this method as potentially testing on patient breath condensates. The necessary high throughput can be achieved by translating concepts from digital pathology, where a microscope can scan hundreds of slides automatically.

The Cholesterol Metabolite 27HC Increases Secretion of Extracellular Vesicles Which Promote Breast Cancer Progression.

Cholesterol has been implicated in the clinical progression of breast cancer, a disease that continues to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. Previous work has identified the cholesterol metabolite 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC) as a major mediator of the effects of cholesterol on breast tumor growth and progression. 27HC can act as an estrogen receptor (ER) modulator to promote the growth of ERα+ tumors, and as a liver X receptor (LXR) ligand in myeloid immune cells to establish an immune-suppressive program. In fact, the metastatic properties of 27HC require the presence of myeloid cells with neutrophils (polymorphonuclear neutrophils; PMNs) being essential for the increase in lung metastasis in murine models. In an effort to further elucidate the mechanisms by which 27HC alters breast cancer progression, we made the striking finding that 27HC promoted the secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a diverse assortment of membrane bound particles that includes exosomes. The resulting EVs had a size distribution that was skewed slightly larger than EVs generated by treating cells with vehicle. The increase in EV secretion and size was consistent across 3 different subtypes: primary murine PMNs, RAW264.7 monocytic cells, and 4T1 murine mammary cancer cells. Label-free analysis of 27HC-EVs indicated that they had a different metabolite composition to those from vehicle-treated cells. Importantly, 27HC-EVs from primary PMNs promoted tumor growth and metastasis in 2 different syngeneic models, demonstrating the potential role of 27HC-induced EVs in the progression of breast cancer. EVs from PMNs were taken up by cancer cells, macrophages, and PMNs, but not T cells. Since EVs did not alter proliferation of cancer cells, it is likely that their protumor effects are mediated through interactions with myeloid cells. Interestingly, RNA-seq analysis of tumors from 27HC-EV-treated mice do not display significantly altered transcriptomes, suggesting that the effects of 27HC-EVs occur early on in tumor establishment and growth. Future work will be required to elucidate the mechanisms by which 27HC increases EV secretion, and how these EVs promote breast cancer progression. Collectively, however, our data indicate that EV secretion and content can be regulated by a cholesterol metabolite, which may have detrimental effects in terms of disease progression, important findings given the prevalence of both breast cancer and hypercholesterolemia.

[Spectroscopy and thermostability of series rare-earth complexes with 3-nitrophthalic acid].

A series of rare-earth compound RE2L2 (HL)2 (H2O)6 x 2H2O (RE=La, Nd, Eu, Tb, Er, Y) containing 3-nitrophthalic acid (H2L) ligand were synthesized from ethanol-water solution, and characterized and investigated by the element analysis, infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectra and different thermal-thermogravimetric analysis. The results of the spectroscopic analysis were conformed to the crystal structures determined by X-ray diffraction, showing that the carboxylate (-COO-) and carboxyl (-COOH) groups of the ligand link to the rare-earth ions by bridging and terminal mode respectively. Two rare-earth ions were linked by two di-deprotonated ligand L(2-) in bridging-chelating mode to form a dinuclear structure, and coordinated by the other two mono-deprotonated ligands HL-in terminal chelating mode using their carboxylate (-COO-) and carboxyl (-COOH) group together, respectively. The IR spectra shows the existence of the carboxylate (-COO-) and carboxyl (-COOH) group and the hydrogen bond interactions between the carboxyl (-COOH) group and crystal water. The DTA-TGA data were consistent with the composition of compounds, exhibiting an endothermic peak of the loss of the crystal and coordinated waters at about 150 degrees C and two exothermic peaks of the oxidation and decomposition of ligands in the rang of about 340 to 460 degrees C.

[Synthesis, characterization and fluorescent property of terbium binary and ternary complexes with p-aminohippuric acid].

A series of binary and ternary rare-earth compounds were synthesized by the reaction of terbium ion with p-aminohippuric (PAH, HL) acid and phenanthroline (phen) or 2,2'-bipyridine(2,2'-bpy) in the ethanol solution. The compositions of the complexes were deduced to be TbL3(1), TbL3.phen.H2O(2) and TbL3.bipy.H2O(3) by elemental analysis, TG-DTA, UV-Vis and IR, and the spectra and fluorescent properties of the complexes 1-3 were discussed. The oxygen atoms of the carboxylate group were coordinated with the rare-earth ion in bridging bidentate mode. The result shows that the higher the extent of the ligand coplanarity and conjugation, the better the fluorescent performance of the compound. The fluorescent intensity of the ternary complexes 2 and 3 are stronger than that of the binary complex 1.

Diatom Microbubbler for Active Biofilm Removal in Confined Spaces.

Bacterial biofilms form on and within many living tissues, medical devices, and engineered materials, threatening human health and sustainability. Removing biofilms remains a grand challenge despite tremendous efforts made so far, particularly when they are formed in confined spaces. One primary cause is the limited transport of antibacterial agents into extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of the biofilm. In this study, we hypothesized that a microparticle engineered to be self-locomotive with microbubbles would clean a structure fouled by biofilm by fracturing the EPS and subsequently improving transports of the antiseptic reagent. We examined this hypothesis by doping a hollow cylinder-shaped diatom biosilica with manganese oxide (MnO2) nanosheets. In an antiseptic H2O2 solution, the diatoms doped by MnO2 nanosheets, denoted as diatom bubbler, discharged oxygen gas bubbles continuously and became self-motile. Subsequently, the diatoms infiltrated the bacterial biofilm formed on either flat or microgrooved silicon substrates and continued to generate microbubbles. The resulting microbubbles merged and converted surface energy to mechanical energy high enough to fracture the matrix of biofilm. Consequently, H2O2 molecules diffused into the biofilm and killed most bacterial cells. Overall, this study provides a unique and powerful tool that can significantly impact current efforts to clean a wide array of biofouled products and devices.