Multifunctional photocatalyst of graphitic carbon embedded with Fe2O3/Fe3O4 nanocrystals derived from lichen for efficient photodegradation of tetracycline and methyl blue.

We propose a feasible and economical method of constructing biomass-based multifunctional photocatalysts with excellent adsorption performance and high photodegradation abilities toward tetracycline (TC) and methyl blue (MB) under visible light. A series of novel hybrids of porous graphitic carbon embedded with Fe2O3/Fe3O4 nanocrystals (denoted as Fe2O3/Fe3O4@C) were derived from lichen doped with different dosages of Fe3+ by calcination at 700°C under a N2 atmosphere. The Fe2O3/Fe3O4@C hybrids exhibited nanoflake-like shapes, mesoporous structures, and efficient visible light harvesting, thus indicating enhanced adsorption ability and photoactivity toward pollutants. The formed Fe2O3/Fe3O4 heterojunction improved the separation efficiency and inhibited the recombination of photogenerated carriers, whereas the carbon network improved the transfer of photogenerated electrons. Under optimised conditions, the Fe2O3/Fe3O4@C-1 hybrid demonstrated enhanced photodegradation efficiencies of 96.4% for TC and 100% for MB under visible light. In addition, electron spin resonance and trapping measurements were performed to identify active species and determine the photocatalytic mechanism toward pollutants. •O2- and •OH were the active species involved, playing critical roles in the TC and MB photodegradation processes. In addition, a bacterium test revealed that the products of TC degradation by Fe2O3/Fe3O4@C-1 showed low biological toxicity. This work provides a promising preparation strategy or biomass-based photocatalysts for application in environmental pollutant treatment.

Curcumin-regulated constructing of defective zinc-based polymer-metal-organic framework as long-acting antibacterial platform for efficient wound healing.

A dual-modal antibacterial platform has been established for highly efficient wound healing infected by bacteria based on a defective zinc-based metal-organic framework composite, which was synthesized using 1,4-phthalic acid-based polyether polymer (L8) as ligand, curcumin as regulator, and Zn2+ as metal coordinated center (Cur@Zn-MOF). In addition to the integration of the features of polymer-MOF synthesized using L8 (such as high water stability and controllable and long-term release of Zn2+) and Zn-bioMOF prepared using curcumin as ligand (such as feasible release of curcumin and Zn2+ and good biocompatibility), the Cur@Zn-MOF bioplatform also possessed plenty of structure defects. Comparing with Zn-bioMOF and polyZn-MOF synthesized using the sole ligand, the smaller released amount of curcumin (6.08 µg mL-1) and higher release level of Zn2+ ions (5.68 µg mL-1) were simultaneously achieved for the defective Cur@Zn-MOF within a long-term duration (48 h). The synergistic effect afforded Cur@Zn-MOF the high sterilization performance toward Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) even at the low usage of 125 µg mL-1. The in vivo wound healing effect further confirmed the superior treatment ability of Cur@Zn-MOF toward the bacterium-infected wound. Also, the negligible cytotoxicity and low hemolysis of Cur@Zn-MOF greatly promoted the viability of human skin fibroblasts. Accordingly, this work can provide a new dual-modal bioplatform based on the functional MOF via the controllable release of antibacterial drug and metal ions for the efficient wound healing.

The Lattice Distortion, Defect Evolution and Electrochemical Performance Improvement in Zn-VO2(B) Nanorods.

Cathode materials of energy storage batteries have attracted extensive attention because of the importance in deciding the rate performance and long cycle property of batteries. Herein, we report a simple and environmentally friendly solvothermal method to prepare Zn-doped VO2(B) cathode materials. The introduction of zinc ions can effectively regulate the lattice structure, surface morphology and internal defect state of Zn-VO2(B) nano materials. The sample with Zn content x = 1.5% has smaller cell volume and grain size, and higher concentration of vacancy defects. These microstructures ensure the structural stability during ion embedding process and, thus, this sample shows excellent electrochemical performances. The capacitance retention rate still maintains 88% after 1000 cycles at the current density of 0.1 A·g-1. The enhanced performances of Zn-doped VO2(B) samples may lay a foundation for the improvement of electrochemical performances of VO2(B) cathode materials for energy storage batteries in the future.

Protein-templated cobaltous phosphate nanocomposites for the highly sensitive and selective detection of platelet-derived growth factor-BB.

We synthesized novel Co3(PO4)2-based nanocomposites with 3D porous architectures via self-assembly; here, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and aptamer were used as organic phases to produce Co3(PO4)2@BSA and Co3(PO4)2@Apt nanocomposites, respectively. The formation mechanism of Co3(PO4)2-based nanocomposites was described based on characterizations of their physio-chemical performance, and the developed nanocomposites were applied as scaffold materials to construct a novel electrochemical aptasensor and detect platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB). The PDGF-BB targeting aptamer must be immobilized onto the Co3(PO4)2@BSA-modified electrode to detect PDGF-BB, whereas Co3(PO4)2@Apt-based aptasensor may be directly used to determine the target protein. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results showed that the developed Co3(PO4)2@BSA- and Co3(PO4)2@Apt-based aptasensors present highly sensitive detection ability toward PDGF-BB. Due to the special nanoflower structure, the Co3(PO4)2@BSA-based aptasensor features a detection limit of 3.7 pg mL(-1); while the limit of detection of the Co3(PO4)2@Apt-based aptasensor is 61.5 pg mL(-1), which is the possible bioactivity loss of the aptamer in Co3(PO4)2@Apt nanocomposite. The two detection limits obtained are still much lower than or comparable with those of previously reported aptasensors. The Co3(PO4)2@BSA- and Co3(PO4)2@Apt-based aptasensors showed high selectivity, stability, and applicability for detecting the desired protein. This finding indicates that the Co3(PO4)2-based nanocomposites could be used as an electrochemical biosensor for various detection procedures in the biomedical field.

Feasible electrochemical biosensor based on plasma polymerization-assisted composite of polyacrylic acid and hollow TiO2 spheres for sensitively detecting lysozyme.

A composite made of polyacrylic acid and hollow TiO2 spheres (TiO2@PPAA) was prepared by the plasma polymerization method and subsequently used as an electrode material for detecting lysozyme. The chemical structure, surface morphology, and electrochemical performance of the TiO2@PPAA composite were mainly affected by the plasma input power used during plasma polymerization. After optimizing plasma conditions, aptamer strands exhibited high adsorption affinity toward the surface of TiO2@PPAA composite via synergistic effects between TiO2 and PPAA. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results showed that the developed TiO2@PPAA aptasensor presents highly sensitive detection ability toward lysozyme; the limit of detection of the proposed aptasensor is 0.015 ng mL(-1) (1.04 pM) within the range of 0.05-100 ng mL(-1) in terms of 3σ value. The film further showed excellent selectivity toward lysozyme in the presence of interfering proteins, such as thrombin, bovine serum albumin, and immunoglobulin E. Thus, this aptasensing strategy might broaden the applications of plasma polymerized nanomaterials in the field of biomedical research and early clinical diagnosis.

Fabrication of Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 nanoparticles supported by graphene oxide sheets for the repeated adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B under UV irradiation.

A quaternary nanocomposite Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2/graphene oxide (GO) was for the first time successfully synthesized in this work for the repeated use in simultaneous adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of aromatically structured chemical pollutants. The resulting sample was characterized by TEM, XRD, FTIR, TG-DTG, XPS, PL, and VSM. Its photocatalytic activity was evaluated in the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under high-pressure mercury lamp irradiation. The results showed that about 63% of RhB was absorbed onto the prepared Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2/GO nanocomposites by just 30 minute mixing, and after 120 min high-pressure mercury lamp irradiation, about 92.03% of RhB was converted. The photocatalytic degradation followed pseudo first-order reaction with an apparent rate constant of 0.0136 min(-1). Compared with the Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 nanoparticles, it exhibits an excellent ability to adsorb aromatic compounds via π-π stacking and a higher photocatalytic activity due to the presence of GO. In addition, the synthesized nanomaterial exhibited good magnetic response and the reusability study suggested that the prepared nanocomposites were stable enough and maintained high degradation rate and catalyst recovery even after five cycles, verifying their potential application in water purification.

Label-free aptamer biosensor for thrombin detection on a nanocomposite of graphene and plasma polymerized allylamine.

A label-free and effective aptasensor based on an amino-functionalized nanocomposite of graphene and plasma-polymerized allylamine (G-PPAA) was developed for thrombin detection. Graphene was assembled on the substrate, followed by the self-assembly of octadecylamine (OTA) to protect the graphene from etching by subsequent plasma irradiation. Afterward, PPAA was deposited onto the graphene surface with the self-assembled OTA, and the nanocomposite with amino groups was fabricated. The label-free thrombin aptamer was immobilized onto the amino-functionalized nanocomposite matrix via electrostatic interaction between the phosphate groups of the aptamer and the amino groups in PPAA. The process was investigated using impedimetric detection and a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The chemical compositions, surface morphology, and electrochemical properties were found to be dependent on the plasma conditions used in the polymer deposition. The amounts and kinetics of aptamer immobilization and thrombin detection were determined using QCM measurements. A relatively high affinity constant of aptamer immobilization and low detection limit for thrombin were achieved by using the G-PPAA film as the biosensor matrix. Results suggest that G-PPAA films can be applied in gene therapy and protein detection.

3-(1-Phenyl-ethyl)-1,3-thia-zinane-2-thione.

In the title mol-ecule, C(12)H(15)NS(2), the 1,3-thia-zinane ring has a half-boat conformation; the C atom at position 5 deviates by 0.715 (2) Šfrom the mean plane (P) of the remaining five atoms. Plane P and the phenyl ring form a dihedral angle of 83.62 (3)°. In the crystal structure, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds link mol-ecules related by translation along the axis a into chains.

3-[1-(3,4-Dichloro-phen-yl)eth-yl]-1,3-thia-zinane-2-thione.

In the title compound, C(12)H(13)Cl(2)NS(2), the thia-zinane ring adopts a half-boat conformation. An intra-molecular C-H⋯S hydrogen bond is observed. In the crystal structure, centrosymmetrically related mol-ecules inter-act through an aromatic π-π stacking inter-actions, with a centroid-centroid separation of 3.790 (2) Å.

DNA immobilization/hybridization on plasma-polymerized pyrrole.

The present work describes the fabrication and characterization of the conducting polymer coatings prepared by the continuous wave plasma polymerization and the applications as adhesion layers for studying DNA immobilization/hybridization. The stability of plasma polymerized pyrrole (ppPY) in the aqueous solution was characterized by ellipsometry. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to investigate polymer matrix properties and oligonucleotide/DNA binding interaction. The successful DNA immobilization on ppPY surfaces was found to depend on the macromolecular architecture of plasma polymerized films. The plasma polymers with similar thickness deposited at different input powers showed various comparable immobilization properties. The plasma-polymerized films prepared at the low input power showed a lower sensitivity toward DNA binding than those films deposited at the high input power. This result will be important to study plasma polymerized films as potential DNA biosensors in the future.

2-(1,3-Dibenzyl-imidazolidin-2-yl-idene)malononitrile.

In the title mol-ecule, C(20)H(18)N(4), the imidazolidine ring makes dihedral angles of 86.74 (2) and 81.18 (3)° with the two phenyl rings. In the absence of classical inter-molecular inter-actions, the crystal packing is stabilized by van der Waals forces.