BaTiO3 Catalyzed Ultrasonic Driven Piezoelectric Induced Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain-Transfer Polymerization in Aqueous Media.

Compared with normal stimulus such as light and heat, ultrasonic possesses much deeper penetration into tissues and organs and has lower scattering in heterogeneous systems as a noninvasive stimulus. Reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization (RAFT) in aqueous media w a s performed in a commercial ultrasonic wash bath with 40 kHz frequency ultrasonic, in the presence of piezoelectric tetragonal BaTiO3 (BTO) nanoparticles. Owing to the electron transfer from BTO under the ultrasonic action, the water could be decomposed to produce hydroxyl radical (HO•) and initiated the RAFT polymerization (Piezo-RAFT). The Piezo-RAFT polymerization exhibited features of controllable and livingness, such as linear increase of molar mass and narrow molar mass distributions (Mw/Mn<1.20). Excellent temporal control of the polymerization and the chain fidelity of polymers w e r e illustrated by "ON and OFF" experiment and chain extension, separately. Moreover, this ultrasonic driven piezoelectric induced RAFT polymerization in aqueous media can be directly used for the preparation of piezoelectric hydrogel which have potential application for stress sensor. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

18F-Radiolabeling and Evaluation of an AMD3465 Derivative for PET Imaging of CXCR4 in a Mouse Breast Tumor Model.

The exploration of pharmaceutically active agents and positron emission tomography (PET) tracers targeting CXCR4 has been a focal point in cancer research given its pivotal role in the development and progression of various cancers. While significant strides have been made in PET imaging with radiometal-labeled tracers, the landscape of 18F-labeled small molecule tracers remains relatively limited. Herein, we introduce a novel and promising derivative, [18F]SFB-AMD3465, as a targeted PET tracer for CXCR4. The compound was synthesized by modifying the pyridine ring of AMD3465, which was subsequently labeled with 18F using [18F]SFB. The study provides comprehensive insights into the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of [18F]SFB-AMD3465. In vitro and in vivo assessments demonstrated the CXCR4-dependent, specific, and sensitive uptake of [18F]SFB-AMD3465 in the CXCR4-overexpressing 4T1 cell line and the corresponding xenograft-bearing mouse model. These findings contribute to bridging the gap in 18F-labeled PET tracers for CXCR4 and underscore the potential of [18F]SFB-AMD3465 as a PET radiotracer for in vivo CXCR4 imaging.

Confined Unimolecular Micelles for Directed Self-Assembly of Ultrastable Multiple-Responsive Ratiometric Fluorescent Ultrasmall Nanoparticle Assemblies.

Ultrasmall fluorescent nanomaterials have been widely studied as novel fluorescent probes; however, these nanomaterials are prone to structural damage or aggregation, and the sensitivity and accuracy of most single emission fluorescence probes were very low. Therefore, the controlled synthesis of stable dual-emission ratiometric fluorescence ultrasmall assembly probes still remains a challenge. Herein, star-like polymer unimolecular micelles were utilized as a scaffold template to encapsulate fluorescent ultrasmall carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) via the polymer template directed self-assembly strategy to obtain multiple-responsive ratiometric fluorescent assemblies. The assemblies were ultrastable, well-defined, and nearly monodispersed with controlled size, regular morphology, and pH- and thermal-responsiveness. The assemblies can be applied to realize rapid, sensitive, quantitative, and specific detection of Cu2+ and GSH. Moreover, the convenient rapid real-time detection was realized via the combination of the visualized paper-based sensor, and the multilevel information encryption was also achieved.

A phase II study of belumosudil for chronic graft-versus-host disease in patients who failed at least one line of systemic therapy in China.

BACKGROUND: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is an immune-related disorder that is the most common complication post-allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Corticosteroids with or without calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) remain the mainstay of cGVHD treatment for first-line therapy. However, for many patients, cGVHD symptoms cannot be effectively managed and thus require second-line therapy. Currently, there is no approved treatment for second-line cGVHD treatment in China. In this study, belumosudil, a highly selective and potent rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase-2 inhibitor demonstrated to be effective for cGVHD in the United States and other Western countries, is investigated in patients with cGVHD in China for its overall benefit-risk balance. METHODS: This multicenter, open-label phase II study evaluated the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of oral belumosudil 200 mg once daily in cGVHD patients who had been treated with at least one line of systemic therapy in China. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR); each individual patient's response was assessed by the investigator using the 2014 National Institutes of Health consensus criteria. Secondary endpoints were duration of response (DOR), time to response (TTR), changes in Lee Symptom Scale (LSS) score, organ response rate, corticosteroid dose change, CNI dose change, failure-free survival, time-to-next-treatment, overall survival, and safety. RESULTS: Thirty patients were enrolled in the study with a median follow-up time of 12.9 months. ORR was 73.3% (95% confidence interval: 54.1-87.7%) and all responders achieved partial response. Median DOR among responders was not reached and median TTR was 4.3 weeks (range: 3.9-48.1). Fifteen patients (50.0%) achieved clinically meaningful response in terms of reduction in LSS score by ≥ 7 points from baseline. Corticosteroid and CNI dose reductions were reported in 56.7% (17/30) and 35.0% (7/20) of patients, respectively. Most treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were mild to moderate in severity, with 11 patients (36.7%) experiencing grade ≥ 3 TEAEs. The most common grade ≥ 3 TEAE was pneumonia (n = 5, 16.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Belumosudil treatment demonstrated a favorable benefit-risk balance in treating cGVHD patients who previously have had standard corticosteroid therapy in China where approved second-line setting is absent. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04930562.

Targeting PARP14 with lomitapide suppresses drug resistance through the activation of DRP1-induced mitophagy in multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy that remains incurable, primarily due to the high likelihood of relapse or development of resistance to current treatments. To explore and discover new medications capable of overcoming drug resistance in MM, we conducted cell viability inhibition screens of 1504 FDA-approved drugs. Lomitapide, a cholesterol-lowering agent, was found to exhibit effective inhibition on bortezomib-resistant MM cells in vitro and in vivo. Our data also indicated that lomitapide decreases the permeability of the mitochondrial outer membrane and induces mitochondrial dysfunction in MM cells. Next, lomitapide treatment upregulated DRP1 and PINK1 expression levels, coupled with the mitochondrial translocation of Parkin, leading to MM cell mitophagy. Excessive mitophagy caused mitochondrial damage and dysfunction induced by lomitapide. Meanwhile, PARP14 was identified as a direct target of lomitapide by SPR-HPLC-MS, and we showed that DRP1-induced mitophagy was crucial in the anti-MM activity mediated by PARP14. Furthermore, PARP14 is overexpressed in MM patients, implying that it is a novel therapeutic target in MM. Collectively, our results demonstrate that DRP1-mediated mitophagy induced by PARP14 may be the cause for mitochondrial dysfunction and damage in response to lomitapide treatment.

Regulating Charge Carrier Dynamics in Stable Perovskite Nanorods for Photo-Induced Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization.

Semiconducting nanocrystals have attracted world-wide research interest in artificial photosynthesis due to their appealing properties and enticing potentials in converting solar energy into valuable chemicals. Compared to 0D nanoparticles, 1D nanorods afford long-distance charge carriers separation and extended charge carriers lifetime due to the release of quantum confinement in axial direction. Herein, stable CsPbBr3 nanorods of distinctive dimensions are crafted without altering their properties and morphology via grafting hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) chains through a post-synthesis ligand exchange process. The resulting PS-capped CsPbBr3 nanorods exhibit a series of enhanced stabilities against UV irradiation, elevated temperature, and polar solvent, making them promising candidates for photo-induced atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Tailoring the surface chemistry and dimension of the PS-capped CsPbBr3 nanorods endows stable, but variable reaction kinetics in the photo-induced ATRP of methyl methacrylate. The trapping-detrapping process of photogenerated charge carriers lead to extended lifetime of charge carriers in lengthened CsPbBr3 nanorods, contributing to a facilitated reaction kinetics of photo-induced ATRP. Therefore, by leveraging such stable PS-capped CsPbBr3 nanorods, the effects of surface chemistry and charge carriers dynamics on its photocatalytic performance are scrutinized, providing fundamental understandings for designing next-generation efficient nanostructured photocatalyst in artificial photosynthesis and solar energy conversion.

Chiral Confined Unimolecular Micelles for Controlled In Situ Fabrication of Optically Active Hybrid Nanostructures.

Functional nanomaterials made by chiral induction have attracted extensive attention because of their intriguing characteristics and potential applications. However, the precise and controllable fabrication of chiral nanomaterials still remains challenging but is highly desired. In this study, chiral unimolecular micelles with different molecular weights and chiroptical activities were prepared by photoinduced atom transfer radical polymerization (photoATRP). Through nanoconfined growth, the chiral plasmonic nanoparticle assemblies with predesigned size and morphology were prepared using chiral unimolecular micelles as nanoreactors. The controllability over chiral assemblies and the size effect on chiroptical properties were also investigated. Furthermore, chiral complexes with absorption asymmetry and circularly polarized luminescence (glum = 4.25 × 10-4) were easily constructed via mixing of organic fluorescent molecules and chiral templates based on intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Such results indicated that our unimolecular-micelle-based templates enable the controllable preparation of both inorganic and organic chiral nanostructures with tailored dimensions, sizes, compositions, and optical activities.

Robust Strategy to Improve the Compatibility between Incorporated Upconversion Nanoparticles and the Bulk Transparent Polymer Matrix.

Traditional transparent polymer nanocomposites combined with functional fluorescent inorganic nanofillers are promising for many advanced optical applications. However, the aggregation of the incorporated functional nanoparticles results in light scattering and will decrease the transparency of nanocomposites, which will restrain the application of the transparent nanocomposites. Herein, a robust synthesis strategy was proposed to modify upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) to form UCNP@PMMA core@shell nanocomposites though metal-free photoinduced surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (photo-SI-ATRP), and thus, the dispersity of UCNP@PMMA and the interface compatibility between the surface of UCNPs and the bulk PMMA matrix was greatly improved. The obtained PMMA nanocomposites possess high transparency and show strong upconversion photoluminescence properties, which promises great opportunities for application in 3D display and related optoelectronic fields. This strategy could also be applied to fabricate other kinds of functional transparent polymer nanocomposites with inorganic nanoparticles uniformly dispersed.

Donor-derived CAR-T therapy improves the survival of relapsed B-ALL after allogeneic transplantation compared with donor lymphocyte infusion.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy revolutionized treatment for various hematologic malignances. However, limited studies were reported to compare the efficacy and safety of CAR-T and donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) for patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) comprehensively. We conducted a single-center, retrospective comparative study that consisted of 12 patients who were treated with DLI (control group) and 12 patients treated with donor-derived CD19 CAR-T cells (experimental group, 6 patients also received CD22 or CD123 CAR-T cells sequentially) with 3 overlaps. The event-free survival (EFS) of patients in experimental group was superior to that of the control group: 516 days versus 98 days (p = 0.0415). Compared with 7 of 12 patients treated with DLI suffered grades III-IV acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD), one grade III aGVHD developed in patients treated with CAR-T therapy. No significant difference in the incidence of infection was identified between these two groups. Most patients in the experimental group had only mild cytokine release syndrome and none developed neurotoxicity. The univariate analysis of patients in the experiment group revealed that earlier CAR-T therapy for post-transplantation relapse was associated with better EFS. There was no significant difference in EFS between patients treated with dual-target CAR-T with those with single CD19 CAR-T. In this study, our data supported that donor-derived CAR-T therapy is a safe and potentially effective treatment for relapsed B-ALL after HSCT and may be superior to DLI.

Organoids to Remodel SARS-CoV-2 Research: Updates, Limitations and Perspectives.

The novel COVID-19 pneumonia caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus poses a significant threat to human health. Scientists have made significant efforts to control this virus, consequently leading to the development of novel research methods. Traditional animal and 2D cell line models might not be suitable for large-scale applications in SARS-CoV-2 research owing to their limitations. As an emerging modelling method, organoids have been applied in the study of various diseases. Their advantages include their ability to closely mirror human physiology, ease of cultivation, low cost, and high reliability; thus, they are considered to be a suitable choice to further the research on SARS-CoV-2. During the course of various studies, SARS-CoV-2 was shown to infect a variety of organoid models, exhibiting changes similar to those observed in humans. This review summarises the various organoid models used in SARS-CoV-2 research, revealing the molecular mechanisms of viral infection and exploring the drug screening tests and vaccine research that have relied on organoid models, hence illustrating the role of organoids in remodelling SARS-CoV-2 research.

Hierarchically Structured Nanotube Arrays as Heterogenous Photocatalysts for Highly Efficient Broadband Photoinduced Controlled Radical Polymerization.

Highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) and their heterostructure nanocomposites by structural engineering design were utilized as heterogeneous photocatalysts for highly efficient broadband photoinduced controlled radical polymerization (photoCRP), including photoATRP and PET-RAFT. Highly efficient broadband UV-visible light responsive photoCRP was achieved by combining the acceleration effects of electron transfer derived from the distinctive highly ordered nanotube structure of TNTAs and the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect combined with the formation of the Schottky barrier via modification of Au nanoparticles. This polymerization system was capable to polymerize acrylate and methacrylate monomers with high conversion, "living" chain-ends, tightly regulated molecular weights, and outstanding temporal control properties. The heterogeneous nature of the photocatalysts enabled simple separation and effective reusability in subsequent polymerizations. These results highlight the modular design of highly efficient catalysts to optimize the controlled radical polymerization process.

Knockdown of MEF2D inhibits the development and progression of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D) is involved in the progression of various malignant tumors. However, its impact on B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) has not been elucidated. Methods: In this study, the expression level of MEF2D in B-ALL patients was validated through the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and clinical specimens. MEF2D-knockdown B-ALL cell lines were constructed by lentivirus transfection, and the effects of MEF2D on the viability, apoptosis, cycle progression, and drug sensitivity of B-ALL cells were verified by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry (FCM). The effect of MEF2D on the proliferation of B-ALL cells in vivo was verified via the construction of a xenograft mouse model. The mechanism of MEF2D regulating B-ALL cells was explored by RNA sequencing analysis, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting, and immunohistochemical (IHC). Results: In this study, overexpression of MEF2D was observed in B-ALL patients and was remarkably correlated to disease progression in ALL patients. The knockdown of MEF2D expression suppressed cell viability, induced cell apoptosis, blockaded cell cycle progression, enhanced drug sensitivity of B-ALL cells in vitro, and reduced the tumor load in vivo. Furthermore, mechanistic studies revealed that MEF2D knockdown downregulated the expression of the phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway. Conclusions: Our research demonstrated that MEF2D was markedly expressed in B-ALL. MEF2D knockdown inhibited cancer progression of B-ALL both in vitro and in vivo, which may be related to the downregulation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. The data suggest that MEF2D plays a vital role in the process of tumorigenesis and may be a potential novel target for B-ALL therapy.

Loss of EPS8 sensitizes non-small-cell lung carcinoma to chemotherapy-induced DNA damage.

Epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate number 8 (EPS8) has been reported to be critical in mediating tumor progression. However, the molecular and biological consequences of EPS8 overexpression remain unclear. Here we evaluated whether EPS8 increased DNA damage repair in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cells and the mechanism of EPS8-mediated DNA damage repair which influenced chemosensitivity. Serial studies of functional experiments revealed that EPS8 knockdown inhibited cell growth, induced cell-cycle arrest and increased cisplatin therapeutic effects on NSCLC. EPS8 was found to induce DNA damage repair via upregulation of phosphorylated-ATM and downregulation of the tumor suppressor p53 and G1 cell kinase inhibitor p21. Moreover, in conjunction with cisplatin, decreasing EPS8 protein levels further increased p53 protein level and inhibited ATM signaling. Transplanted tumor studies were also performed to demonstrate that EPS8 knockdown inhibited tumor growth and sensitized tumors to cisplatin treatment. In conclusion, we have described a novel molecular mechanism through which EPS8 is likely to be involved in cancer progression and chemoresistance via DNA damage repair, indicating that EPS8 expression may influence the response to chemotherapy. Therefore, targeting EPS8 may be a potential therapeutic approach for patients with NSCLC.

Time to Curative-Intent Surgery in Gastric Cancer Shows a Bimodal Relationship with Overall Survival.

BACKGROUND: Time to treatment (TTT) varies widely for patients with gastric cancer. We aimed to evaluate relationships between time to treatment, overall survival (OS), and other surgical outcomes in patients with stage I-III gastric cancer. METHODS: We identified patients with clinical stage I-III gastric cancer who underwent curative-intent gastrectomy within the National Cancer Database (2006-2015) and grouped them by treatment sequence: neoadjuvant chemotherapy or surgery upfront. We defined TTT as weeks from diagnosis to treatment initiation (neoadjuvant chemotherapy or definitive surgical procedure, respectively). Survival differences were assessed by Kaplan-Meier estimate, Cox proportional hazard regression, and log rank test. RESULTS: Among the 22,846 patients with stage I-III gastric cancer, most (56%) received surgery upfront. Median TTT was 5 weeks (IQR 4-7) and 6 weeks (IQR 3-9) for patients in the neoadjuvant and surgery upfront groups, respectively. In the neoadjuvant group, increasing TTT was significantly associated with increasing median OS up to TTT of 5 weeks, with no change in median OS when TTT was > 5 weeks. In the surgery group, increasing TTT was significantly associated with increasing median OS up to 6 weeks; however, increasing TTT between 14 and 21 weeks was associated with decreasing median OS. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between time to treatment and survival outcomes is non-linear. Among patients who underwent surgery upfront, the relationship between time to treatment and OS was bimodal, suggesting that deferring definitive surgery, up to 14 weeks, is not associated with worse OS or oncologic outcomes. The relationship between time to treatment and overall survival among patients was bimodal, suggesting that deferring definitive surgery up to 14 weeks is not associated with worse OS.

Mechanically Driven Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization by Piezoelectricity.

Targeting sustainable and eco-friendly polymer synthesis, we demonstrate here a synergistically catalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) induced and controlled by interplay between ball milling (BM) and piezoelectric nanoparticles (piezoNPs). BM-induced electron transfer can be achieved through piezoNPs deformation under impact force, serving as an external stimulus to mediate polymerization. The ppm level of copper loading is sufficient in fabrication of a polymer with well-defined molecular weight and low polydispersity. High-molecular-weight polymers ranging from 33 to 74 kDa were prepared successfully through DMSO-assisted grinding. Besides, its good performance on availability of water as liquid-assisted grinding additive, the recyclability of piezoNPs, and the formation of cross-linker-free composite resin make our ATRP approach a green and practical option alongside the existent heat-, electro-, and photo-induced methods.

Multiple/Two-Way Shape Memory Poly(urethane-urea-amide) Elastomers.

Multiple and two-way reversible shape memory polymers (M/2W-SMPs) are highly promising for many fields due to large deformation, lightweight, strong recovery stress, and fast response rates. Herein, a semi-crystalline block poly(urethane-urea-amide) elastomers (PUUAs) are prepared by the copolymerization of isocyanate-terminated polyurethane (OPU) and amino-terminated oligomeric polyamide-1212 (OPA). PUUAs, composed of OPA as stationary phase and PTMEG as reversible phase, exhibit excellent rigidity, flexibility, and resilience, and cPUUA-C7 -S25 exhibits the best tensile property with strength of 10.3 MPa and elongation at break of 360.2%. Besides, all the PUUAs possess two crystallization/melting temperatures and a glass transition temperature, which endow PUUAs with multiple and reversible two-way shape memory effect (M/2W-SME). Physically crosslinked PUUA-C0 -S25 exhibits excellent dual and triple shape memory, and micro chemically crosslinked cPUUA-C7 -S25 further shows quadruple shape memory behavior. Additionally, both PUUA-C0 -S25 and cPUUA-C7 -S25 have 2W-SME. Intriguingly, cPUUA-C7 -S25 can achieve a higher temperature (up to 165 °C) SME, which makes it suitable for more complex and changeable applications. Based on the advantages of M/2W-SME, a temperature-responsive application scenario where PUUAs can transform spontaneously among different shapes is designed. These unique M/2W-SME and high-temperature SME will enable the applications of high-temperature sensors, actuators, and aerospace equipment.

Exploring KRAS-mutant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a model validation study.

Introduction: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has the highest mortality rate among all solid tumors. Tumorigenesis is promoted by the oncogene KRAS, and KRAS mutations are prevalent in patients with PDAC. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between KRAS mutations and PDAC may expediate the development of therapeutic strategies for reversing the progression of malignant tumors. Our study aims at establishing and validating a prediction model of KRAS mutations in patients with PDAC based on survival analysis and mRNA expression. Methods: A total of 184 and 412 patients with PDAC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), respectively, were included in the study. Results: After tumor mutation profile and copy number variation (CNV) analyses, we established and validated a prediction model of KRAS mutations, based on survival analysis and mRNA expression, that contained seven genes: CSTF2, FAF2, KIF20B, AKR1A1, APOM, KRT6C, and CD70. We confirmed that the model has a good predictive ability for the prognosis of overall survival (OS) in patients with KRAS-mutated PDAC. Then, we analyzed differential biological pathways, especially the ferroptosis pathway, through principal component analysis, pathway enrichment analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), with which patients were classified into low- or high-risk groups. Pathway enrichment results revealed enrichment in the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, and viral protein interaction with cytokine and cytokine receptor pathways. Most of the enriched pathways are metabolic pathways predominantly enriched by downregulated genes, suggesting numerous downregulated metabolic pathways in the high-risk group. Subsequent tumor immune infiltration analysis indicated that neutrophil infiltration, resting CD4 memory T cells, and resting natural killer (NK) cells correlated with the risk score. After verifying that the seven gene expression levels in different KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancer cell lines were similar to that in the model, we screened potential drugs related to the risk score. Discussion: This study established, analyzed, and validated a model for predicting the prognosis of PDAC based on risk stratification according to KRAS mutations, and identified differential pathways and highly effective drugs.

Silver Nanocrystal Array with Precise Control via Star-like Copolymer Nanoreactors.

Silver nanocrystal arrays had attracted much attention due to the unique plasmonic effect of their ordered nanostructure and the synergy among adjacent nanocrystals. Conventional preparation methods had several limitations, such as high cost, harsh preparation conditions, and complicated influencing factors, which could not be employed to fabricate the nanocrystal arrays in highly controlled fashion. To solve these issues, we reported ordered arrays of different Ag nanocrystals with precise control prepared by utilizing amphiphilic star-like poly(4-vinylpyridine)-block-polystyrene diblock copolymers as nanoreactors synthesized by sequential atom transfer radical polymerization. Moreover, this unimolecular nanoreactor method based on star-like copolymers with stable and predesigned nanostructures was proved to be a universal approach to prepare other nanocrystal arrays. This strategy had low cost, simple process flow, wide applicability, and structural stability that could fabricate nanocrystal array with precise control and continuously prepare more complex nanostructure units in a large scale to meet different functions and applications.

Carbon Quantum Dot-Catalyzed, Highly Efficient Miniemulsion Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization Induced by Visible Light.

Owing to the benefits of using natural or artificial light sources as a stimulus, photoinduced reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (photoRDRP) techniques have been recognized to be a powerful "green" platform for the preparation of well-defined polymers. However, the development of highly efficient visible light-induced photoRDRP processes in aqueous dispersed media remains a challenge due to light scattering and refraction by monomer droplets or colloidal particles. In this work, an efficient green photocatalyst, carbon quantum dots (CQDs), was introduced to visible light-mediated miniemulsion atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), leading to highly efficient polymerizations with reaction rates (>80% monomer conversion within 1 h) much higher than in previous studies. This heterogeneous photocatalytic system is presumed to involve three catalytic cycles in (i) the aqueous phase, (ii) the oil-water interface, and (iii) the monomer droplets. The effect of different polymerization parameters on the polymerization reaction was investigated, including the amounts of surfactant and CQDs, CuBr2 dosage, and solid content. Excellent temporal control of the polymerization was illustrated by "ON/OFF" polymerizations, and natural sunlight was also used as an energy source. This novel CQDs-catalyzed miniemulsion photoATRP process may be easily extended to other aqueous dispersion RDRP systems. As an extension of our previous work (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144 (22), 9817-9826) we also developed a "one-pot" method for the rapid preparation of heterogeneous hydrogels.