Relationship and improvement strategies between drug nanocarrier characteristics and hemocompatibility:What can we learn from the literature

This article discusses the various blood interactions that may occur with various types of nano drug-loading systems. Nanoparticles enter the blood circulation as foreign objects. On the one hand, they may cause a series of inflammatory reactions and immune reactions, resulting in the rapid elimination of immune cells and the reticuloendothelial system, affecting their durability in the blood circulation. On the other hand, the premise of the drug-carrying system to play a therapeutic role depends on whether they cause coagulation and platelet activation, the absence of hemolysis and the elimination of immune cells. For different forms of nano drug-carrying systems, we can find the characteristics, elements and coping strategies of adverse blood reactions that we can find in previous researches. These adverse reactions may include destruction of blood cells, abnormal coagulation system, abnormal effects of plasma proteins, abnormal blood cell behavior, adverse immune and inflammatory reactions, and excessive vascular stimulation. In order to provide help for future research and formulation work on the blood compatibility of nano drug carriers.

Tablets of paliperidone using compression-coated technology for controlled ascending release

The aim of this work was to prepare ascending release compression-coated(CC) tablets with paliperidone(PAL) using a simple manufacturing technique and short manufacturing process.The release behavior and mechanisms in vitro of the final tablets was investigated and evaluated. The PAL CC tablets were comprised of a core layer of high viscosity hydroxypropyl cellulose(HPC-H) and a coating layer of high viscosity hydroxypropyl methylcellulose(HPMCK100 M). Several factors such as materials and core tablet compositions were studied for their influence in the formulation procedure. The drug release mechanism was studied using gravimetric analysis. The data could be fitted to the Peppas model. The ascending drug release results were expressed in terms of the slope of the release curve at different time points.Results showed that the formulation could achieve a good ascending drug release when the weight ratio of PAL was 5:1(core:layer). The fraction of HPC and HPMC was 33 %, and the combination of Eudragit RL-PO was 10%. The ascending release mechanism was due to solvent penetration into the PAL CC tablets, and subsequent drug dissolution from the gelatinous HPC and HPMC matrix erosion. The release mechanism was therefore a combination of diffusion and erosion. This work demonstrated that the compression-coated tablets could achieve controlled ascending release over 24 h for the oral administration systems.

Identification of the Intrinsic Dielectric Properties of Metal Single Atoms for Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

Atomically dispersed metals on N-doped carbon supports(M-N_(xCs)) have great potential applications in various fields.However,a precise understanding of the definitive relationship between the configuration of metal single atoms and the dielectric loss properties of M-N_(xCs) at the atomic-level is still lacking.Herein,we report a general approach to synthesize a series of three-dimensional(3D)honeycomb-like M-N_xC(M=Mn,Fe,Co,Cu,or Ni) containing metal single atoms.Experimental results indicate that 3D M-N_(xCs) exhibit a greatly enhanced dielectric loss compared with that of the NC matrix.Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the density of states of the d orbitals near the Fermi level is significantly increased and additional electrical dipoles are induced due to the destruction of the symmetry of the local microstructure,which enhances conductive loss and dipolar polarization loss of 3D M-N_(xCs),respectively.Consequently,these 3D M-N_(xCs) exhibit excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties,outperforming the most commonly reported absorbers.This study systematically explains the mechanism of dielectric loss at the atomic level for the first time and is of significance to the rational design of high-efficiency electromagnetic wave absorbing materials containing metal single atoms.

Conjugation expansion strategy enables highly stable all-polymer solar cells

The stability issue is one of the key factors hindering the commercial application of organic solar cells.All-polymer organic solar cell is one of the effective ways to solve the stability problem.In this work,we designed and synthesized two polymer donor materials PBDT and PDTBDT with different conjugation ranges,and demonstrated for the first time that extending the conjugation range of donor materials in all polymer solar cells can significantly improve device efficiency and stability.The experimental results of materials and devices show that PDTBDT with a larger conjugation range has stronger crystallinity and a more planar structure,which endows the active layer in its corresponding device with higher exciton dissociation probability,lower carrier recombination probability,more balanced charge transport properties and more favorable film morphology.As a result,the PDTBDT:PYF-T-o devices display an outstanding PCE of 13.38%,which is much higher than PBDT with smaller conjugation range based devices.Moreover,the PDTBDT:PYF-T-o device retains 0.86 of the initial PCE after over 500 h in the air atmosphere,exhibiting significantly improved stability.The improved stability is attributed to the enhanced moisture and air tolerance of active layer film thanks to the strong crystallinity of the donor material.These results demonstrate that the conjugation expansion strategy is one of the effective ways to obtain efficient and stable all-polymer organic solar cells.

JUNO sensitivity on proton decay p→νK^(+)searches

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory(JUNO)is a large liquid scintillator detector designed to explore many topics in fundamental physics.In this study,the potential of searching for proton decay in the p→νK^(+)mode with JUNO is investigated.The kaon and its decay particles feature a clear three-fold coincidence signature that results in a high efficiency for identification.Moreover,the excellent energy resolution of JUNO permits suppression of the sizable background caused by other delayed signals.Based on these advantages,the detection efficiency for the proton decay via p→νK^(+)is 36.9%±4.9%with a background level of 0.2±0.05(syst)±0.2(stat)events after 10 years of data collection.The estimated sensitivity based on 200 kton-years of exposure is 9.6×1033 years,which is competitive with the current best limits on the proton lifetime in this channel and complements the use of different detection technologies.

Facile synthesis of ultrathin metal-organic framework nanosheets for Lewis acid catalysis

Ultrathin metalorganic framework (MOF) nanosheets are attracting great interest in catalysis due to their unique and intriguing two-dime nsional (2D) features. Although many progresses have been achieved, it is still highly desirable to develop novel strategies for controllable synthesis of the well-defined ultrathin MOF nanosheets. Herein we report a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-assisted route to synthesize the ultrathin Ni-MOF nanosheets characteristic of 1.5 nm in thickness, in which PVP is reacted with 2-aminoterephthalic acid (H2BDC-NH2) via formation of C=N bon d, followed by coord inatio n with Ni2+ io ns to form the ultrathi n MOF n anosheets. Impressively, when used in the Kno eve nagel condensation reactions of propane dinitrile with different aldehydes, ultrathin Ni-MOF nanosheets display the significantly enhanced catalytic activity and good stability in respect with the bulk Ni-MOF, mainly owing to the exposed active sites as well as facile mass transfer and diffusion of substrates and products.

Structure regulated catalytic performance of gold nanocluster-MOF nanocomposites

Atomically precise gold(Au)nanoclusters(NCs)as visible light photosensitizers supported on the substrate for photoredox catalysis have attracted considerable attentions.However,eficient control of their photocatalytic activity and long-term stability is still challenging.Herein,we report a coordination-assisted self-assembly strategy in combination with electrostatic interaction to sandwich Au2:(Capt)18(abbreviated as AU25,Capt=captopril)NCs between an inner core and an outer shell made of UiO-66,denoted as UiO-66@Au25@UiO-66.Notably,the sandwich-like nanocomposite displays significantly enhanced catalytic activity along with an excellent stability when used in the selective photocatalytic aerobic oxidation of sulfide to sulfoxide.As comparison,AU25 NCs simply located at the outer surface or insider matrix of UiO-66(short as Au2/UiO-66 and AU2s@UiO-66)show poor stability and low conversion,respectively.This structure regulated difference in the catalytic performances of three nanocomposites is assigned to the varied distribution of active sites(Au NCs)in metal-organic frameworks(MOFs).This work offers the opportunity for application of nanoclusters in catalysis,energy conversion and even biology.

Efficient and targeted drug/siRNA co-delivery mediated by reversibly crosslinked polymersomes toward anti-inflammatory treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC)

Co-delivery of anti-inflammatory siRNA and hydrophilic drug provides a promising approach for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). However, lack of a suitable and efficient co-delivery carrier poses critical challenge against their utilization. We herein developed macrophage-targeting, reversibly crossli nked polymersomes (TKPR-RCP) based on the TKPR-modified, poly(ethyle ne glycol)-b-poly(trimethylene carbonate-codithiolane trimethylene carbonate)-b-polyethylenimine (PEG-P(TMC-DTC)-PEI) triblock copolymer, which could efficiently encapsulate TNF-α siRNA and dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DSP) in their hydrophilic core. The cationic PEI segments provided additional electrostatic interactions with cargo molecules to promote the encapsulatiion, and disulfide crosslinking of the polymersome membrane endowed the TKPR-RCP with high colloidal stability. Because the cationic PEI was embedded in the hydrophilic core, the polymersomes displayed neutral surface charge and thus possessed high serum stability. The TKPR-RCP co-encapsulating TNF-α siRNA and DSP could be efficiently internalized by macrophages (~98%) and undergo redox-responsive membrane de-crosslinking to accelerate cargo release in the cytoplasm, thus inducing efficient gene silencing and anti-inflammatory effect .Intravenous injectio n of the co-delivery TKPR-RCP mediated pote nt and cooperative anti-inflammatory effect in inflamed colons of UC mice, and significantly prevented animals from colonic injury. This study therefore provides a promising approach for the co-delivery of hydrophilic drug/siRNA toward the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

A-π-D-π-A small-molecule donors with different end alkyl chains obtain different morphologies in organic solar cells

For bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells, the morphology of the blend films highly influence the exciton dissociation and charge transport process. In this work, two novel A-π-D-π-A(A represents the acceptor unit and D represents the donor unit) backbone structure small molecular electron donors based on two dimensional conjugated naphtho[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene(NDT) with different end alkyl chains, named as NDT-3T-EH and NDT-3T-O, have been designed and synthesized. The photovoltaic property of NDT-3T-O-based device is better than that of the NDT-3T-EH and the best efficiency reaches 7.06%, and the photovoltaic property of NDT-3T-EH reaches 6.11%. The difference in the performance should be attributed to the different morphology and phase separation resulted from the different crystallinity and aggregation ability of two donors. The results demonstrate that the optimized end alkyl chains can be used to design A-π-D-π-A backbone structure small molecular electron donors for smallmolecule organic solar cells.

Engineering strong and stress-responsive promoters in Bacillus subtilis by interlocking sigma factor binding motifs

Prokaryotic gene expression is largely regulated on transcriptional levels with the involvement of promoters,RNA polymerase and sigma factors.Developing new promoters to customize gene transcriptional regulation becomes increasingly demanded in synthetic biology and biotechnology.In this study,we designed synthetic promoters in the Gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis by interlocking the binding motifs ofσA for house-keeping gene expression and that of two alternative sigma factorsσH andσB which are involved in responding post-exponential growth and general stress,respectively.The developed promoters are recognized by multiple sigma factors and hence generate strong transcriptional strength when host cells grow under normal or stressed conditions.With green fluorescent protein as the reporter,a set of strong promoters were identified,in which the transcription activities of PHA-1,PHAB-4,PHAB-7 were 18.6,4.1,3.3 fold of that of the commonly used promoter P43,respectively.Moreover,some of the promoters such as PHA-1,PHAB-4,PHAB-7,PBA-2 displayed increased transcriptional activities in response to high salinity or low pH.The promoters developed in this study should enrich the biotechnological toolboxes of B.subtilis.

Sub-percent precision measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters with JUNO

JUNO is a multi-purpose neutrino observatory under construction in the south of China.This publication presents new sensitivity estimates for the measurement of the △m_(31)^(2),△m_(21)^(2),sin^(2)θ_(12),and sin^(2)θ_(13) oscillation parameters using reactor antineutrinos,which is one of the primary physics goals of the experiment.The sensitivities are obtained using the best knowledge available to date on the location and overburden of the experimental site,the nuclear reactors in the surrounding area and beyond,the detector response uncertainties,and the reactor antineutrino spectral shape constraints expected from the TAO satellite detector.It is found that the △m_(21)^(2) and sin^(2)θ_(12) oscillation parameters will be determined to 0.5%precision or better in six years of data collection.In the same period,the △m_(31)^(2) parameter will be determined to about 0.2%precision for each mass ordering hypothesis.The new precision represents approximately an order of magnitude improvement over existing constraints for these three parameters.