Single Atom-Dispersed Silver Incorporated in ZIF-8-Derived Porous Carbon for Enhanced Photothermal Activity and Antibacterial Activities.

Purpose: Recently, Single-atom-loaded carbon-based material is a new environmentally friendly and stable photothermal antibacterial nanomaterial. It is still a great challenge to achieve single-atom loading on carbon materials. Materials and Methods: Herein, We doped single-atom Ag into ZIF-8-derived porous carbon to obtain Ag-doped ZIF-8-derived porous carbon(AgSA-ZDPC). The as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, XPS, FESEM, EDX, TEM, and HAADF-STEM which confirmed that the single-atom Ag successfully doped into the porous carbon. Further, the photothermal properties and antimicrobial activity of AgSA-ZDPC have been tested. Results: The results showed that the temperature increased by 30 °C after near-infrared light irradiation(1 W/cm2) for 5 min which was better than ZIF-8-derived porous carbon(ZDPC). It also exhibits excellent photothermal stability after the laser was switched on and off 5 times. When the AgSA-ZDPC concentration was greater than 50 µg/mL and the near-infrared irradiation was performed for 5 min, the growth inhibition of S. aureus and E. coli was almost 100%. Conclusion: This work provides a simple method for the preparation of single-atom Ag-doped microporous carbon which has potential antibacterial application.

Multifunctional phototheranostic agent ZnO@Ag for anti-infection through photothermal/photodynamic therapy.

To overcome the limitations of traditional therapeutics, nanotechnology offers a synergistic therapeutic approach for the treatment of bacterial infection and biofilms that has attracted attention. Herein, we report on a ZnO@Ag nanocomposite with good biocompatibility synthesized by doping ZnO NPs with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). ZnO@Ag nanocomposites were synthesized with varying ratios of Ag NPs (0.5%, 2%, 8%). Under the same experimental conditions, ZnO@8%Ag exhibited outstanding properties compared to the other nanocomposites and the pristine ZnO NPs. ZnO@8%Ag demonstrated excellent photothermal and photodynamic properties. Also, ZnO@8%Ag demonstrated over 99% inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) under photothermal therapy (PTT) or photodynamics therapy (PDT) as a result of the excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the Ag+ released, while the pristine ZnO showed an insignificant inhibition rate compared to the PBS group (control). Furthermore, ZnO@8%Ag completely disrupted S. aureus biofilm under a combined PTT/PDT treatment, a synergetic trimodal therapy, although the molecular mechanism of biofilm inhibition remains unclear. Hence, the excellent photothermal, photodynamic, biocompatibility, and bactericidal properties of ZnO@8%Ag present it as an appropriate platform for bacterial and biofilm treatment or other biomedically related applications.

Upper Yellow River air concentrations of organochlorine pesticides estimated from tree bark, and their relationship with socioeconomic indices.

Organochlorine pesticide (OCP) concentrations in tree bark from the upper Yellow River region were determined. Total OCP concentrations ranged from 2.7 to 82 ng/g dw, with a mean of 20 ng/g dw. Concentrations of total (Σ) DDTs (0.49-37 ng/g dw), HCHs (0.55-4.5 ng/g dw), and HCB (0.1-1.0 ng/g dw) were much higher than the other OCPs and accounted for 89% of the ΣOCP concentrations. p,p'-DDT was the dominant member of the DDT pesticide group and ß-HCH was the dominant HCH isomer. The p,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDE and α-HCH/γ-HCH ratios suggested that there were recent DDT and γ-HCH releases. OCP concentrations in the air were estimated from the tree bark, and the estimated median ΣDDTs, ΣHCHs, and HCB concentrations in the air were 0.09, 0.14, and 0.024 pg/m(3), respectively. The relationship between total OCP concentrations and socioeconomic and natural environment indices were assessed using multiple linear regression analysis, and a regression equation including all these factors was obtained. Population density and tertiary industry were the two dominant factors that appeared to affect OCP concentrations in the upper Yellow River region.