Fabrication of near infrared light responsive photoelectrochemical immunosensor for in vivo detection of melanoma cells.

Effective and convenient detection of melanoma cells with high sensitivity is essential to identify malignant melanoma in its early stage. However, the existing detection methods, such as immunohistochemical analysis, are too complicated and time-consuming to realize the convenient in vivo and in situ detection. Herein, a near infrared responsive photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunosensor is proposed with plasmonic Au nanoparticles-photonic TiO2 nanocaves (Au/TiO2 NCs) as photon harvest and conversion transducer and antibody as cell recognition unit. The micro-antibody/Au/TiO2 NCs photoelectrode can easily in vivo distinguish melanoma cells and can realize sensitive detection of melanoma cells in short time of 1 min with a lowest limit of detection of 2 cell mL-1. The PEC immunosensor strategy not only allows us to pioneeringly implement sensitive in vivo bio-detection, but also opens up a new avenue for rational design of cell recognition units and micro-electrode for universal and reliable bio-detections.

Transcriptome analysis provides insights into the molecular mechanism of liver inflammation and apoptosis in juvenile largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides fed low protein high starch diets.

The present study was conducted to investigate the regulatory mechanism of liver injury in largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (LMB) fed low protein high starch diets. Two isolipidic and isoenergetic diets were formulated with different protein and starch ratios, being named as diets P49S9 (48.8 % protein and 9.06 % starch) and P42S18 (42.4 % protein and 18.2 % starch). Each diet was fed to triplicate replicates of LMB (initial body weight, 4.65 ± 0.01 g) juveniles. Fish were fed to visual satiation for 8 weeks. The results indicated that though the P42S18 fish up-regulated the feeding ratio to meet their protein requirements, feeding efficiency ratio and growth performance were impaired in treatment P42S18 as compared to treatment P49S9. Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining showed glycogen accumulated in the liver of LMB fed low protein high starch diets, and the reason should be attributed to down-regulated expression of the glycogenolytic glycogen debranching enzyme. Lower liver lipid level was associated with feeding low protein high starch diets in LMB, which should be resulted from the changes in hepatic glycerolipid metabolism regulated by lipoprotein lipase (representative of triglyceride synthesis, up-regulated) and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (representative of triglyceride breakdown, down-regulated). Though fasting plasma glucose level was comparable, treatment P42S18 performed inferior glucose tolerance to treatment P49S9. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) staining suggested that feeding low protein high starch diets induced disruption of structural integrity, inflammation and apoptosis in the hepatocytes of LMB. As expected, KEGG pathways analysis indicated that many of the up-regulated differentially expressed genes were enriched in AGE (advanced glycation end product)/RAGE (receptor for AGE), Toll-like receptor and apoptosis signaling pathways. Our transcriptome data revealed that feeding low protein high starch diets might promote the accumulation of AGEs in LMB, which bound to RAGE and subsequently induced PI3K/Akt signal pathway. The activation of Akt induced NF-κB translocation into the nucleus thus releasing proinflammatory factors including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-8. The release of these inflammatory factors concomitantly induced T cell stimulation and natural killer cells chemotactic effects through Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Besides mediating inflammation and immune response, TNF-α signal transduction participated in mediating apoptosis through the receptor of TNF (TNF-R1) pathway by up-regulating the expression of caspase 8 and cytochrome c. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that feeding low protein and high starch diets induced hepatocytes inflammation and apoptosis in LMB through the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Hole Transfer Originating from Weakly Bound Exciton Dissociation in Acceptor-Donor-Acceptor Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells.

The underlying hole-transfer mechanism in high-efficiency OSC bulk heterojunctions based on acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) remains unclear. Herein, we study the hole-transfer process between copolymer donor J91 and five A-D-A NFAs with different highest occupied molecular orbital energy offsets (ΔEH) (0.05-0.42 eV) via ultrafast optical spectroscopies. Transient absorption spectra reveal a rapid hole-transfer rate with small ΔEH, suggesting that a large energy offset is not required to overcome the exciton binding energy. Capacitance-frequency spectra and time-resolved photoluminescence spectra confirm the delocalization of an A-D-A-structured acceptor exciton with weak binding energy. Relative to the hole-transfer rate, hole-transfer efficiency is the key factor affecting device performance. We propose that holes primarily stem from weakly bound acceptor exciton dissociation, revealing a new insight into the hole-transfer process in A-D-A NFA-based OSCs.

[Effect of Compound Zaofan Pill on Bone Marrow MVD and VEGF of Patients with Chronic Aplastic Anemia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of compound Zaofan pill combined with cyclosporine and androgen for treatment of patients with chronical aplastic anemia(CAA), and its effect on bone marrow microvessel density(MVD) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) of CAA patients. METHODS: A total of 76 cases of CAA were randomly divided into group 1 and group 2, among them the group 1 (38 cases) was treated with cyclosporine and androgen alone, while the group 2(38 cases) was treated with compound Zaofan pill combined with cyclosporine and androgen. Samples of 20 cases with normal bone marrow were used as controls. The clinical effects of each groups were observed, and the mean bone marrow MVD and VEGF levels were detected before and after half a year's treatment. RESULTS: The mean bone marrow MVD and VEGF levels in CAA group before treatment were significantly lower than that in normal control group, but bone marrow MVD and VEGF levels in 2 groups significantly increased after treatment. Group 1 showed the cure and response rate of 15.8%, while group 2 showed the cure and response rate of 44.7%, there was significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05)). There was no significant difference of bone marrow MVD and VEGF expression before treatment between group 1 and group 2. After treatment, bone marrow MVD and VEGF expression of group 2 were significantly higher than pre-treatment, moreover the bone marrow MVD and VEGF expression in group 2 were significantly higher than that in group 1. CONCLUSIONS: The compound Zaofan pill combined with cyclosporine and androgen can obviously increase the levels of MVD and VEGF in bone marrow, and improve the efficacy of treatment in CAA patients.

Mesomorphism and luminescence properties of platinum(II) complexes with tris(alkoxy)phenyl-functionalized pyridyl pyrazolate chelates.

A series of new mesomorphic platinum(II) complexes 1-4 bearing pyridyl pyrazolate chelates are reported herein. In this approach, pyridyl azolate ligands have been strategically functionalized with tris(alkoxy)phenyl groups with various alkyl chain lengths. As a result, they are ascribed to a class of luminescent metallomesogens that possess distinctive morphological properties, such as their intermolecular packing arrangement and their associated photophysical behavior. In CH(2) Cl(2), independent of the applied concentration in the range 10(-6)-10(-3) M, all Pt(II) complexes exhibit bright phosphorescence centered at around 520 nm, which is characteristic for monomeric Pt(II) complexes. In stark contrast, the single-crystal X-ray structure determination of [Pt(C4pz)(2)] (1) shows the formation of a dimeric aggregate with a notable Pt⋅⋅⋅Pt contact of 3.258 Å. Upon heating, all Pt(II) complexes 1-4 melted to form columnar suprastructures, for which similar intracolumnar Pt⋅⋅⋅Pt distances of approx. 3.4-3.5 Šare observed within an exceptionally wide temperature range (>250 °C), according to the powder XRD data. Upon casting into a neat thin film at RT, the luminescence of 1-4 is dominated by a red emission that spans 630-660 nm, which originates from the one-dimensional, chainlike structure with Pt-Pt interaction in the ground state. Taking complex 4 as a representative, the emission intensity and wavelength were significantly decreased and blueshifted, respectively, on heating from RT to 250 °C. Further heating to liquefy the sample alters the red emission back to the green phosphorescence of the monomer. The results highlight the pivotal role of tris(alkoxy)phenyl groups in the structural versus luminescence behavior of these Pt(II) complexes.

Heteroleptic Ir(III) complexes containing both azolate chromophoric chelate and diphenylphosphinoaryl cyclometalates; reactivities, electronic properties and applications.

The synthesis of a new family of octahedral Ir(III) complexes with dual cyclometalating phosphine chelates, namely: 1-(diphenylphosphino)naphthalene (dpnaH) and isoquinoline (dppiH), is reported. Two series of intermediate complexes, [Ir(dpna)(tht)(2)Cl(2)] (1), [Ir(dpna)(2)(OAc)] (2), [Ir(dppiH)(dppi)Cl(2)] (3) and [Ir(dppi)(2)(OAc)] (4), which can be classified by the coexistence of either a pair of cis-chlorides or a single acetate chelate, were obtained from treatment of phosphine with [IrCl(3)(tht)(3)] (tht = tetrahydrothiophene). The in situ generated acetate complexes 2 and 4 could react with azolate chelates, namely: 5-(2-pyridyl)-3-trifluoromethyl pyrazole (fppzH) and 5-(1-isoquinolyl)-3-tert-butyl-1,2,4-triazole (iqbtzH), to afford a new series of luminescent complexes [Ir(dpna)(2)(fppz)] (5a and 5b), [Ir(dpna)(2)(iqbtz)] (6a and 6b), [Ir(dppi)(2)(fppz)] (7a) and [Ir(dppi)(2)(iqbtz)] (8a). The phosphorescence lifetime (τ(obs)) fell in the range of a few tens of µs, showing possession of excessive ligand-centered ππ* mixed in part with MLCT character. A density functional theory (DFT) study was also conducted in order to shed light on the origin of the transitions in the absorption and emission spectra and to predict emission energies for these complexes. Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) displaying bright orange emission and with maximum η(ext) up to 17.1% were fabricated employing complexes 6a and 8a as the phosphorescent dopants.

Mono- versus dinuclear Pt(II) 6-(5-trifluoromethyl-pyrazol-3-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine complexes: synthesis, characterization, and remarkable difference in luminescent properties.

A series of charge-neutral mononuclear Pt(II) complexes Pt(fpbpy)(pz) (3a), Pt(fpbpy)(dmpz) (4a), Pt(fpbpy)(dbpz) (5a), and Pt(fpbpy)(dtfpz) (6a), fpbpyH = 6-(5-trifluoromethyl-pyrazol-3-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine, pzH = pyrazole, dmpzH = 3,5-dimethylpyrazole, dbpzH = 3,5-di-tert-butylpyrazole, and dtfpzH = 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazole, and the cationic Pt(II) dimer [{Pt(fpbpy)}(2)(mu-pz)](+) (3b), [{Pt(fpbpy)}(2)(mu-dmpz)](+) (4b), and [{Pt(fpbpy)}(2)(mu-dbpz)](+) (5b) were synthesized. Series a mononuclear complexes reveal two distinctive ligand arrangements. As unveiled by X-ray crystallography, 3a exhibits a nearly perfect planar geometry, while structural determination on 6a shows a perpendicular arrangement of dbpz ligand due to steric congestion. In sharp contrast, the dinuclear complexes, exemplified by 4b and 5b, display an intramolecular Pt...Pt separation of 3.601 and 3.403 A, respectively. As for photophysical properties, the structural variation leads to a salient difference in emission features between 3a (580 nm) and 6a (510 nm). The results are rationalized by the contribution of ligand-to-ligand charge transfer and intraligand pi-pi* transition for 3a and 6a in the lowest-lying excited state, respectively. On the other hand, dinuclear complexes 3b and 4b reveal dual phosphorescence (denoted as P(1) and P(2) bands), for which the short wavelength emission (the P(1) band) is akin to that observed for the intraligand pi-pi* transition of 6a, while the much red-shifted, broad emission (the P(2) band) is attributed to the formation of intramolecular ligand-metal-to-metal charge transfer excimer transition. Further studies of relaxation dynamics on both 3b and 4b showed fast excited-state equilibrium between the P(1) and P(2) bands. In contrast, only the P(2) emission band was resolved for 5b, indicating its exergonic excimer formation. Supplementary support of the excited-state thermodynamics is also provided by time-dependent density functional theory calculations, incorporating both geometry optimized S(0) and T(1) states.

Authentic-blue phosphorescent iridium(III) complexes bearing both hydride and benzyl diphenylphosphine; control of the emission efficiency by ligand coordination geometry.

Sequential treatment of IrCl(3) x nH(2)O with 2 equiv of benzyl diphenylphosphine (bdpH) and then 1 equiv of 3-trifluoromethyl-5-(2-pyridyl) pyrazole (fppzH) in 2-methoxyethanol gave formation to three isomeric complexes with formula [Ir(bdp)(fppz)(bdpH)H] (1-3). Their molecular structures were established by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, showing existence of one monodentate phosphine bdpH, one terminal hydride, a cyclometalated bdp chelate, and a fppz chelate. Variation of the metal-ligand bond distances showed good agreement with those predicted by the trans effect. Raman spectroscopic analyses and the corresponding photophysical data are also recorded and compared. Among all isomers complex 1 showed the worst emission efficiency, while complexes 2 and 3 exhibited the greatest luminescent efficiency in solid state and in degassed CH(2)Cl(2) solution at room temperature, respectively. This structural relationship could be due to the simultaneously weakened hydride and the monodentate bdpH bonding that are destabilized by the trans-pyrazolate anion and cyclometalated benzyl group, respectively.