Unveiling Liquid-Phase Exfoliation of Graphite and Boron Nitride Using Fluorescent Dyes Through Combined Experiments and Simulations.

Liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) in aqueous solutions provides a simple, scalable, and green approach to produce 2D materials. By combining atomistic simulations with exfoliation experiments, the interaction between a surfactant and a 2D layer at the molecular scale can be better understood. In this work, two different dyes, corresponding to rhodamine B base (Rbb) and to a phenylboronic acid BODIPY (PBA-BODIPY) derivative, are employed as dispersants to exfoliate graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) through sonication-assisted LPE. The exfoliated 2D sheets, mostly as few-layers, exhibit good quality and high loading of dyes. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the binding free energies are calculated and the arrangement of both dyes on the layers are predicted. It has been found that the dyes show a higher affinity toward hBN than graphene, which is consistent with the higher yields of exfoliated hBN. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the adsorption behavior of Rbb molecules on graphene and hBN is quite different compared to PBA-BODIPY.

CdSe/ZnS Quantum Rods (QRs) and Phenyl Boronic Acid BODIPY as Efficient Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) Donor-Acceptor Pair.

The reversibility of the covalent interaction between boronic acids and 1,2- or 1,3-diols has put the spotlight on this reaction for its potential in the development of sensors and for the fishing of bioactive glycoconjugates. In this work, we describe the investigation of this reaction for the reversible functionalization of the surface of CdSe/ZnS Quantum Rods (QRs). With this in mind, we have designed a turn-off Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) system that ensures monitoring the extent of the reaction between the phenyl boronic residue at the meso position of a BODIPY probe and the solvent-exposed 1,2-diols on QRs' surface. The reversibility of the corresponding boronate ester under oxidant conditions has also been assessed, thus envisioning the potential sensing ability of this system.

Biocompatible cellulose nanocrystal-based Trojan horse enables targeted delivery of nano-Au radiosensitizers to triple negative breast cancer cells.

A hybrid cellulose-based programmable nanoplatform for applications in precision radiation oncology is described. Here, sugar heads work as tumor targeting moieties and steer the precise delivery of radiosensitizers, i.e. gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. This "Trojan horse" approach promotes a specific and massive accumulation of radiosensitizers in TNBC cells, thus avoiding the fast turnover of small-sized AuNPs and the need for high doses of AuNPs for treatment. Application of X-rays resulted in a significant increase of the therapeutic effect while delivering the same dose, showing the possibility to use roughly half dose of X-rays to obtain the same radiotoxicity effect. These data suggest that this hybrid nanoplatform acts as a promising tool for applications in enhancing cancer radiotherapy effects with lower doses of X-rays.