Resonating with Cellular Pathways: Transcriptome Insights into Nonthermal Bioeffects of Middle Infrared Light Stimulation and Vibrational Strong Coupling on Cell Proliferation and Migration.

Middle infrared stimulation (MIRS) and vibrational strong coupling (VSC) have been separately applied to physically regulate biological systems but scarcely compared with each other, especially at identical vibrational frequencies, though they both involve resonant mechanism. Taking cell proliferation and migration as typical cell-level models, herein, we comparatively studied the nonthermal bioeffects of MIRS and VSC with selecting the identical frequency (53.5 THz) of the carbonyl vibration. We found that both MIRS and VSC can notably increase the proliferation rate and migration capacity of fibroblasts. Transcriptome sequencing results reflected the differential expression of genes related to the corresponding cellular pathways. This work not only sheds light on the synergistic nonthermal bioeffects from the molecular level to the cell level but also provides new evidence and insights for modifying bioreactions, further applying MIRS and VSC to the future medicine of frequencies.

Empowering hydrophobic anticancer drugs by ultrashort peptides: General Co-assembly strategy for improved solubility, targeted efficacy, and clinical application.

The current state of drug delivery systems allows for the resolution of specific issues like inadequate solubility, limited targeting capabilities, and complex preparation processes, requiring tailored designs for different drugs. Yet, the major challenge in clinical application lies in surmounting these obstacles with a universal carrier that is effective for a variety of anticancer drugs. Herein, with the help of computer simulation, we rationally design ultrashort peptides GY and CCYRGD, which can co-assemble with hydrophobic anticancer drugs into nanoparticles with enhanced solubility, targeting ability and anticancer efficacy. Taking 7-ethyl-10-hydroxy camptothecin (SN38) as a model anticancer drug, the co-assembled SN38-GY-CCYRGD nanoparticles significantly enhance the water solubility of SN38 by more than three orders of magnitude. The as-prepared nanoparticles can effectively kill cancer cells, e.g., human small cell lung cancer (A549) cells with a notable cell mortality rate of 71%. Mice experimental results demonstrate the nanoparticles' efficient targeting capability, marked reducing the toxicity to normal tissues while improving antitumor efficacy. This work presents a novel drug delivery method, integrating effective, targeted, and safe strategies into a comprehensive carrier system, designed for the administration of hydrophobic anticancer drugs.

Conserved and specific gene expression patterns in the embryonic development of tardigrades.

Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, are enigmatic organisms characterized by their remarkable resilience to extreme environments despite their simple and compact body structure. To date, there is still much to understand about their evolutionary and developmental features contributing to their special body plan and abilities. This research provides preliminary insights on the conserved and specific gene expression patterns during embryonic development of water bears, focusing on the species Hypsibius exemplaris. The developmental dynamic expression analysis of the genes with various evolutionary age grades indicated that the mid-conserved stage of H. exemplaris corresponds to the period of ganglia and midgut development, with the late embryonic stage showing a transition from non-conserved to conserved state. Additionally, a comparison with Drosophila melanogaster highlighted the absence of certain pathway nodes in development-related pathways, such as Maml and Hairless, which are respectively the transcriptional co-activator and co-repressor of NOTCH regulated genes. We also employed Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to investigate the expression patterns of tardigrade-specific genes during embryo development. Our findings indicated that the module containing the highest proportion of tardigrade-specific genes (TSGs) exhibits high expression levels before the mid-conserved stage, potentially playing a role in glutathione and lipid metabolism. These functions may be associated to the ecdysone synthesis and storage cell formation, which is unique to tardigrades.

Integrating transcriptomics and machine learning for immunotherapy assessment in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly prevalent and lethal malignancy worldwide. Although immunotherapy has substantially improved CRC outcomes, intolerance remains a major concern among most patients. Considering the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in tumor progression and treatment outcomes, profiling the TME at the transcriptomic level can provide novel insights for developing CRC treatment strategies. Seventy-seven TME-associated signatures were acquired from previous studies. To elucidate variations in prognosis, clinical features, genomic alterations, and responses to immunotherapy in CRC, we employed a non-negative matrix factorization algorithm to categorize 2595 CRC samples of 27 microarrays from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Three machine learning techniques were employed to identify a signature specific to immunotherapy. Subsequently, the mechanisms by which this signature interacts with TME subtypes and immunotherapy were investigated. Our findings revealed five distinct TME subtypes (TMESs; TMES1-TMES5) in CRC, each exhibiting a unique pattern of immunotherapy response. TMES1, TMES4, and TMES5 had relatively inferior outcomes, TMES2 was associated with the poorest prognosis, and TMES3 had a superior outcome. Subsequent investigations revealed that activated dendritic cells could enhance the immunotherapy response rate, with their augmentation effect closely associated with the activation of CD8+T cells. We successfully classified CRC into five TMESs, each demonstrating varying response rates to immunotherapy. Notably, the application of machine learning to identify activated dendritic cells helped elucidate the underlying mechanisms contributing to these differences. We posit that these TMESs hold promising clinical implications for prognostic evaluation and guidance of immunotherapy strategies, thereby providing valuable insights to inform clinical decision-making.

Cadmium/zinc stresses and plant cultivation influenced soil microflora: a pot experiment conducted in field.

It's of great challenge to address for heavy metal-contaminated soil. Once the farmland is contaminated with heavy metals, the microbial ecology of the plant rhizosphere will change, which in turn impacts crop productivity and quality. However, few studies have explored the effects of heavy metals on plant rhizosphere microbes in farmland and the role that plant cultivation plays in such a phytoremediation practice. In this study, the impacts of comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) cultivation and the stresses of cadmium/zinc (Cd/Zn) on rhizosphere soil microflora were examined. Microbial DNA was collected from soils to evaluate the prevalence of bacteria and fungi communities in rhizosphere soils. High-throughput 16 S rRNA sequencing was used to determine the diversity of the bacterial and fungal communities. The results showed that growing comfrey on polluted soils reduced the levels of Cd and Zn from the vertical profile. Both the comfrey growth and Cd/Zn stresses affected the community of rhizosphere microorganisms (bacteria or fungi). Additionally, the analysis of PCoA and NMDS indicated that the cultivation of comfrey significantly changed the bacterial composition and structure of unpolluted soil. Comfrey cultivation in polluted and unpolluted soils did not result in much variance in the fungi's species composition, but the fungal compositions of the two-type soils were noticeably different. This work provided a better understanding of the impacts of Cd/Zn stresses and comfrey cultivation on rhizosphere microbial community, as well as new insight into phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils.

High-Performance Tandem Quantum-Dot Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Bulk-Heterojunction-Like Charge-Generation Layers.

In this study, the fundamental but previously overlooked factors of charge generation efficiency and light extraction efficiency (LEE) are explored and collaboratively optimized in tandem quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). By spontaneously forming a microstructured interface, a bulk-heterojunction-like charge-generation layer composed of a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)/ZnO bilayer is fabricated and an ideal charge-generation efficiency surpassing 115% is obtained. The coupling strength of the waveguide mode for the top unit and the plasmon polariton loss for the bottom unit are highly suppressed using precise thickness control, which increases the LEE of the tandem devices. The red tandem QLED achieves an exceptionally low turn-on voltage for electroluminescence at 4.0 V and outstanding peak external quantum efficiency of 42.9%. The ultralow turn-on voltage originates from the sequential electroluminescence turn-on of the two emissive units of the tandem QLED. Benefiting from its unique electroluminescent features, an easily fabricated optical-electrical dual anti-counterfeiting display is built by combining a dichromatic tandem QLED with masking technology.

Protein-templated ligand discovery via the selection of DNA-encoded dynamic libraries.

DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DELs) have become a powerful technology platform in drug discovery. Dual-pharmacophore DELs display two sets of small molecules at the termini of DNA duplexes, thereby enabling the identification of synergistic binders against biological targets, and have been successfully applied in fragment-based ligand discovery and affinity maturation of known ligands. However, dual-pharmacophore DELs identify separate binders that require subsequent linking to obtain the full ligands, which is often challenging. Here we report a protein-templated DEL selection approach that can identify full ligand/inhibitor structures from DNA-encoded dynamic libraries (DEDLs) without the need for subsequent fragment linking. Our approach is based on dynamic DNA hybridization and target-templated in situ ligand synthesis, and it incorporates and encodes the linker structures in the library, along with the building blocks, to be sampled by the target protein. To demonstrate the performance of this method, 4.35-million- and 3.00-million-member DEDLs with different library architectures were prepared, and hit selection was achieved against four therapeutically relevant target proteins.

FBXO8 is a novel prognostic biomarker in different molecular subtypes of breast cancer and suppresses breast cancer progression by targeting c-MYC.

F-box only protein 8 (FBXO8) is a recently identified member of the F-box proteins, showcasing its novelty in this protein family. Extensive research has established FBXO8's role as a tumor suppressor in various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, and colorectal cancer, Nevertheless, its functional, mechanistic, and prognostic roles in primary and metastatic breast cancer, particularly in different molecular subtypes of breast cancer, various stages, as well as its potential implications in immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment, and prognostic survival among breast cancer patients, remain unexplored. In this article, we employed a multi-dimensional investigation leveraging TCGA, TIMER, TISIDB, STRING, MEXPRESS, UALCAN, and cBioPortal databases to explore the underlying suppression mechanism of FBXO8 in breast cancer. FBXO8 negatively correlates with MYC, NOTCH, WNT and inflammatory signaling pathways in breast tumor microenvironment. Furthermore we conducted RT-PCR, western blot, cell proliferation, cell migration, and mRNA target gene RT-PCR analyses to elucidate the role of FBXO8 in breast cancer progression. Mechanistically, PTEN and FBXW7 expression were down-regulated and MYC, IL10, IL6, NOTCH1, WNT6 mRNA expressions were up-regulated in FBXO8 knockdown cell lines. c-MYC silenced cells showed an increase in FBXO8 protein level, which suggests a negative feedback loop between FBXO8 and c-MYC to control breast cancer metastasis. These findings illuminate the novel role of FBXO8 as a prognostic and therapeutic target across different molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Finally, through the utilization of virtual screening and Molecular Dynamics simulations, we successfully identified two FDA-approved medications, Ledipasvir and Paritaprevir, that demonstrated robust binding capabilities and interactions with FBXO8.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of the Vanin-1 gene in the Leghorn Male Hepatoma cell line and its effects on lipid metabolism.

OBJECTIVE: Vanin-1 (VNN1) is a pantetheinase that catalyses the hydrolysis of pantetheine to produce pantothenic acid and cysteamine. Our previous studies have shown that the VNN1 is specifically expressed in chicken liver which negatively regulated by microRNA-122. However, the functions of the VNN1 in lipid metabolism in chicken liver haven't been elucidated. METHODS: First, we detected the VNN1 mRNA expression in 4-week chickens which were fasted 24 hours. Next, knocked out VNN1 via CRISPR/Cas9 system in the chicken Leghorn Male Hepatoma cell line. Detected the lipid deposition via oil red staining and analysis the content of triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein-C (LDL-C), and highdensity lipoprotein-C (HDL-C) after VNN1 knockout in Leghorn Male Hepatoma cell line. Then we captured various differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between VNN1-modified LMH cells and original LMH cells by RNA-seq. RESULTS: Firstly, fasting-induced expression of VNN1. Meanwhile, we successfully used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to achieve targeted mutations of the VNN1 in the chicken LMH cell line. Moreover, the expression level of VNN1 mRNA in LMH-KO-VNN1 cells decreased compared with that in the wild-type LMH cells (p<0.0001). Compared with control, lipid deposition was decreased after knockout VNN1 via oil red staining, meanwhile, the contents of TG and LDL-C were significantly reduced, and the content of HDL-C was increased in LMH-KO-VNN1 cells. Transcriptome sequencing showed that there were 1,335 DEGs between LMH-KO-VNN1 cells and original LMH cells. Of these DEGs, 431 were upregulated, and 904 were downregulated. Gene ontology analyses of all DEGs showed that the lipid metabolism-related pathways, such as fatty acid biosynthesis and long-chain fatty acid biosynthesis, were enriched. KEGG pathway analyses showed that "lipid metabolism pathway", "energy metabolism", and "carbohydrate metabolism" were enriched. A total of 76 DEGs were involved in these pathways, of which 29 genes were upregulated (such as cytochrome P450 family 7 subfamily A member 1, ELOVL fatty acid elongase 2, and apolipoprotein A4) and 47 genes were downregulated (such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1) by VNN1 knockout in the LMH cells. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that VNN1 plays an important role in coordinating lipid metabolism in the chicken liver.

A novel atomic removal model for chemical mechanical polishing using developed mesoporous shell/core abrasives based on molecular dynamics.

To improve polishing performance and reduce the environmental pollution of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) tests, mesoporous shell/core silica abrasives were prepared, and a novel green CMP slurry was developed, including sorbitol, hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate. Prior to CMP, fused silica was roughly polished with ceria slurry. Using developed mesoporous abrasives, surface roughness Sa is reduced from 0.347 to 0.253 nm for a scanning area of 200 × 200 µm2, and the material removal rate (MRR) is increased from 70 to 127 nm min-1, compared with traditional solid abrasives. Based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, a novel atomic removal model is proposed for mesoporous abrasives through the immediate elastic recovery of atoms. MD simulations suggest that the formation of convex peaks and pits was inhibited by the mesoporous structure, promoting uniform distribution of surface atoms and atomic removal. This is different from a conventional simple increase of polishing times. In addition, more bridge bonds of Si-O-Si and a lower average Si-O bond order are produced in fused silica samples due to their mesoporous structure, contributing to a higher MRR.

[Chemical Constituents and Sources of PM2.5 Around the Wuhan Military Games Period].

Hourly monitoring datasets of PM2.5 mass concentration and associated chemical compositions were used to investigate the variations in their mass concentrations before, during, and after the 7th Military World Games held in Wuhan. Furthermore, the source analysis was conducted through PMF combined with the backward trajectory and concentration weighted trajectory cluster analysis. The study revealed the variations in PM2.5 compositions and sources around the Wuhan Military Games period and their response to local and surrounding regional control measures. This can provide a reference for regional precise prevention and control of PM2.5. Under the influence of emission reduction measures, PM2.5 mass concentration during the control period [(31.3±12.0) µg·m-3] decreased by 14.7% compared with that before the control period, whereas the secondary components were obviously formed, in which sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium(SNA) increased by 25.6% in total. After the control period, owing to the decrease in humidity and the influence of the northwest air mass, the mass concentration of SNA decreased by 36.9%, whereas the mass concentration of mineral elements increased by 4.7 times. The source apportionment results indicated that there was no significant difference between the vehicle emissions before and after the control(P<0.05). Compared with that in the non-control period, the contributions of industrial emission and coal burning decreased by 68.1% and 43.7%, respectively, whereas the contribution of secondary inorganic aerosol increased by 89.5%. With the lack of large-scale control of vehicle emissions, the mass concentrations of NO3- and NOx increased by 6.13 µg·m-3 and 3.56 µg·m-3, respectively. The vehicle emissions peaked at 21:00 [(10.9±3.67) µg·m-3], reflecting the emissions of cargo vehicles, which were only allowed to pass at night during the control period. With the banning of ship navigation, the ship emission in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River significantly decreased(48.8%). There were also high values of fugitive dust and industrial emissions near the Anhui section of the Yangtze River waterway, which reflected the dense distribution of industrial activities and road transportation along the Yangtze River. After the control period, the fugitive dust increased by 6.6 times, and the source areas were mainly distributed in Xiangyang and Jingmen.

New Insights into Radio-Resistance Mechanism Revealed by (Phospho)Proteome Analysis of Deinococcus Radiodurans after Heavy Ion Irradiation.

Deinococcus radiodurans (D. radiodurans) can tolerate various extreme environments including radiation. Protein phosphorylation plays an important role in radiation resistance mechanisms; however, there is currently a lack of systematic research on this topic in D. radiodurans. Based on label-free (phospho)proteomics, we explored the dynamic changes of D. radiodurans under various doses of heavy ion irradiation and at different time points. In total, 2359 proteins and 1110 high-confidence phosphosites were identified, of which 66% and 23% showed significant changes, respectively, with the majority being upregulated. The upregulated proteins at different states (different doses or time points) were distinct, indicating that the radio-resistance mechanism is dose- and stage-dependent. The protein phosphorylation level has a much higher upregulation than protein abundance, suggesting phosphorylation is more sensitive to irradiation. There were four distinct dynamic changing patterns of phosphorylation, most of which were inconsistent with protein levels. Further analysis revealed that pathways related to RNA metabolism and antioxidation were activated after irradiation, indicating their importance in radiation response. We also screened some key hub phosphoproteins and radiation-responsive kinases for further study. Overall, this study provides a landscape of the radiation-induced dynamic change of protein expression and phosphorylation, which provides a basis for subsequent functional and applied studies.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated myocarditis: a systematic analysis of case reports.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) therapy can be complicated by their potential cardiovascular toxicities, including myocarditis. Nowadays, no prospective trials have focused on ICI-associated myocarditis optimized management. Available evidence only come from case reports or series. A systematic case reports analysis was conducted to collect and evaluate emerging evidence of ICI-associated myocarditis to provide more information to clinicians. Methods: We performed a literature search for eligible case reports or series published between January 2018 and May 2023 using the PubMed database. Then, we extracted interesting information via table form. Finally, this study included 113 publications on 106 patients with ICI-associated myocarditis. Results: Myocarditis was found to be a highly life-threatening disease, with 53.8% of cases. Over half of cases were life-threatening (G4, 23.6%) or severe (G3, 35.8%) and required glucocorticoids. Higher rates of improvement were associated with the best response to ICI for complete response/partial response (72.7% vs. 53.9%), glucocorticoid administration (30% vs. 22%), and discontinuation of ICI (58.8% vs. 32.1%). Consequently, ICI-associated G3-G4 myocarditis should be treated with a combination of discontinuation of ICIs, high-dose glucocorticoids, other drugs, chemical drugs, plasma exchange, and life support. For moderate G1 or G2 cases, discontinuation of ICIs and regular-dose glucocorticoids should be considered. Conclusion: Once full recovery or improvement was achieved; glucocorticoids can be administered at low doses or stopped. Notably, re-challenge with ICIs appears feasible after resolution or meaningful improvement of myocarditis.

Cyanide-Bridged Rope-like Chains Based on Trigonal-Bipyramidal [Fe2Cu3] Subunits.

Extending a selected cyanometalate block into a higher dimensional framework continues to present intriguing challenges in the fields of chemistry and material science. Here, we prepared two rope-like chain compounds of {[(Tp*Me)Fe(CN)3]2Cu2X2(L)}·sol (1, X = Cl, L = (MeCN)0.5(H2O/MeOH)0.5, sol = 2MeCN·1.5H2O; 2, X = Br, L = MeOH, sol = 2MeCN·0.75H2O; Tp*Me = tris(3, 4, 5-trimethylpyrazole)borate) in which the cyanide-bridged trigonal-bipyramidal [Fe2Cu3] subunits were linked with the adjacent ones via two vertex Cu(II) centers, providing a new cyanometallate chain archetype. Direct current magnetic study revealed the presence of ferromagnetic couplings between Fe(III) and Cu(II) ions and uniaxial anisotropy due to a favorable alignment of the anisotropic tricyanoiron(III) units. Moreover, compound 1 exhibits single-chain magnet behavior with an appreciable energy barrier of 72 K, while 2 behaves as a metamagnet, likely caused by the subtle changes in the interchain interactions.

Research on route planning for solar UAV based on the intelligent optimization algorithm.

The solar unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) route planning needs to comprehensively consider the conversion efficiency of solar cells under the influence of solar ground reflection radiation and sky scattering radiation. On the one hand, it is necessary to consider the cost of radar threat, mileage energy consumption, mountain impact and other costs. On the other hand, it is also necessary to consider the influence of high threat, mountain shadow occlusion cost, and cloud shading cost on solar photovoltaic conversion efficiency. The above problem was solved through using the ant colony intelligent optimization algorithm. By constructing ant colony paths rationally, models of mountain impact cost, high threat, mountain shadow shelter cost, and cloud shading cost were established. The constraints such as the maximum action distance, solar irradiation angle and effective action distance of various costs were introduced into the cost model and exploration factor calculation, and the comprehensive optimization problem of solar UAV route was solved. Finally, the simulation results show that the algorithm path structure is reasonable; the target node can be found independently; the convergence speed can meet the requirements of route planning; the generated route cost is small; the algorithm is reasonable and effective.

Anthryl-functionalized cyanide-bridged Fe/Co cubes.

Two anthryl-functionalized cyanide-bridged [Fe4Co4] cube complexes, [(pzTp)Fe(CN)3Co(TpEtOAn)]4[OTf]4·8MeCN·7Et2O (1) and [NEt4]3[(pzTp)Fe(CN)3Co(TpEtOAn)]4[OTf]7·5MeCN·2Et2O (2) (pzTp- = tetrapyrazolylborate, TpEtOAn = 2,2,2-tris-(pyrazol-1-yl)ethoxy(9-methyl-anthracene)), were synthesized and characterized. The crystallographic study revealed that the [Fe4Co4] cubes are arranged into a linear supramolecular chain through significant anthryl-anthryl π-π stacking interactions in complex 1, whereas a zigzag supramolecular 1D assembly is observed in 2. The magnetic measurements showed that both compounds exhibited incomplete transitions from the paramagnetic {FeIIILS(µ-CN)CoIIHS} state to the diamagnetic {FeIILS(µ-CN)CoIIILS} state at about 200 K. The luminescence measurement of 1 in solution revealed an enhancement of the emission upon dilution or addition of perfluoronaphthalene (PFN) molecules, which could be attributed to the suppression of the aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect, suggesting possible aggregation of the cube units in the solution.

A dual-ratio fluorescent probe with a single excitation triple-signal to synchronously detect PTK7 and miRNA-21 for breast cancer early diagnosis.

The measurement of tumor biomarker levels is of great significance for early diagnosis of breast cancer. The combination diagnosis of multiple tumor biomarkers will significantly improve the accuracy of early diagnosis. Here, we successfully developed a dual-ratio fluorescent sensing platform for the detection of breast cancer biomarkers (PTK7, miRNA-21) using single excitation triple-signal detection. Introducing three types of fluorescence nanomaterials with narrow emission peaks and long Stokes shift as signal markers, the three peaks (430 nm, 530 nm and 640 nm) of which do not interfere with each other in fluorescence spectra under a single excitation (360 nm). The sensing platform linked aptamer (apt) modified green fluorescence quantum dots (gQDs-apt1) and aptamer modified red fluorescence quantum dots (rQDs-apt2) to Fe3O4-cDNA1 and Fe3O4-cDNA2, respectively, via base complementary pairing with aptamer molecules. When PTK7/miRNA-21 is present in the system, gQDs-apt1/rQDs-apt2 bound to the Fe3O4 MNPs surface will be released to recover fluorescence. Upon DNase I digestion of free apt1 and apt2, the target molecules will be released to bind to gQDs-apt1/rQDs-apt2 for signal amplification. After magnetic separation, PTK7 and miRNA-21 can be quantified using the fluorescence intensity ratio of gQDs with bCDs and rQDs with bCDs at a single excitation of 360 nm wavelength. This method has high sensitivity, good selectivity, and can quantify both PTK7 and miRNA-21 simultaneously with an LOD of 0.426 ng mL-1 and 0.072 nM, respectively. Additionally, the sensing platform was used for serum detection of health man and breast cancer patients with satisfactory results.

Manipulating Electron-Transfer Events in [Fe4 Co4 ] Cubes via a Mixed-Ligand Approach: The Impact of Elastic Frustration.

The engineering of intermolecular interaction is challenging but critical for magnetically switchable molecules. Here, we prepared two cyanide-bridged [Fe4 Co4 ] cube complexes via the alkynyl- and alcohol-functionalized trispyrazoyl capping ligands. The alkynyl-functionalized complex 1 exhibited a thermally-induced incomplete metal-to-metal electron transfer (MMET) behaviour at around 220 K, while the mixed alkynyl/alcohol-functionalized cube of 2 showed a complete and abrupt MMET behaviour at 232 K. Remarkably, both compounds showed a long-lived photo-induced metastable state up to 200 K. The crystallographic study demonstrated that the incomplete transition of 1 was likely due to the possible elastic frustration originating from the competition between the anion-propagated elastic interactions and inter-cluster alkynyl-alkynyl & CH-alkynyl interactions, whereas the latter are eliminated in 2 as a result of the partial substitution by the alcohol-functionalized ligand. Additionally, the introduction of chemically distinguishable cobalt centers within the cube unit of 2 did not lead to a two-step but a one-step transition, possibly because of the strong ferroelastic intramolecular interaction through the cyanide bridges.

Ultrafast Superfilling Construction of a Metal Artificial Interface for Long-Term Stable Zinc Anodes.

Zinc (Zn)-metal anodes are promising candidates for large-scale, highly safe energy-storage systems. However, their cycling life is associated with instability issues such as dendritic growth, corrosion, and hydrogen evolution. Introducing an artificial metal interface is expected to help overcome this challenge owing to the optimization of the absorption, nucleation, and growth of Zn2+ . In this study, an ultrafast, universal, and cost-effective superfilling approach is developed to construct a metal artificial interface decorated Zn anode in situ. Most zincophilic metals, including Sn, Cu, and Ag, can be used to construct a homogenous interface without any restrictions on the size, morphology, or curvature of the substrates. With Sn as a proof-of-concept demonstration, the as-obtained Sn@Zn anode is conducive for the homogenous Zn nuclei and 2D diffusion of Zn2+ ions. Symmetric cells with Sn@Zn electrodes can be operated for over 900 h at different current densities. This superior performance contributes to the attractive electrochemical characteristics of both coin and scaled-up Sn@Zn//ß-MnO2 cells. Given the facile and cost-effective fabrication and recyclability of the cells, this work enables the efficient design and exploration of Zn anodes for research, industrialization, and commercialization purposes.

Gemini surfactant-like peptide-based nanocages with ß-sheet-enhanced stability and encapsulation efficiency of hydrophobic anticancer drugs.

Peptide-based scaffolds have been widely applied to drug delivery because of their ease and high yields of synthesis, well-defined structure, biocompatibility, diversity, tunability of properties, and molecular recognition abilities. However, the stability of peptide-based nanostructures highly depends on the intermolecular assembling manner, e.g., α-helix based coiled coils, ß-sheet. Inspired by the robust protein fibril structures in amyloidosis, herein we constructed a ß-sheet-forming gemini surfactant-like peptide to self-assemble into nanocages with the help of molecular dynamics simulation. As expected, the experimental results showed that nanocages can be formed with the inner diameter of up to ∼400 nm, which were robust enough even under both transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, indicating the significant contribution of ß-sheet conformation. The ß-nanocages can load hydrophobic anticancer drugs, e.g., paclitaxel with a very high encapsulation efficiency, which holds great potential for clinic drug delivery due to the improved anticancer effect as compared with paclitaxel alone.