Core-shell structured SiO2/poly（N-isopropylacrylamide） （SiO2/PNIPAM） microspheres were successfully fabricated through hydrolysis and condensation reaction of tertraethyl orthosilicate （TEOS） on the surface of P...Core-shell structured SiO2/poly（N-isopropylacrylamide） （SiO2/PNIPAM） microspheres were successfully fabricated through hydrolysis and condensation reaction of tertraethyl orthosilicate （TEOS） on the surface of PNIPAM template at 50 ~C. The PNIPAM template can be easily removed by water at room temperature so that SiO2 hollow microspheres were finally obtained. The transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope observations indicated that SiO2 hollow microspheres with an average diameter of 150 nm can be formed only if there are enough concentration of PNIPAM and TEOS, and the hy- drolysis time of TEOS. FTIR analysis showed that part of PNIPAM remained on the wall of SiO2 because of the strong interaction between PNIPAM and silica. This work provides a clean and efficient way to prepare hollow microspheres.展开更多
The safety of nucleic acid staining dyes has long been recognized to be a problem. Extensive efforts have been made to search for alternatives to the most popular but toxic staining dye, ethidium bromide （EtBr）. How...The safety of nucleic acid staining dyes has long been recognized to be a problem. Extensive efforts have been made to search for alternatives to the most popular but toxic staining dye, ethidium bromide （EtBr）. However, so far no staining method that can be guaranteed to be suffidently safe has been developed. In this paper, we report a green staining method of DNA in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, where in situ synthesis of DNA-templated fluorescent copper nanoclusters （CuNCs） in the gel is achieved to make the DNA bands visible under UV light. Moreover, a comprehensive study of the performance of this staining method has been conducted and the experimental results show that it has favorable sensitivity, stability, and usability. Meanwhile, in our animal experiments, the two reagents （copper sulfate and ascorbic acid） as well as the synthesized CuNCs have been proven to be non-toxic in contact with skin. In addition, all the reagents employed in this work are readily available and low cost, and the procedure is simple to carry out. Therefore, this novel staining method based on the in situ synthesis DNA-templated fluorescent CuNCs has many potential applications.展开更多
文摘Core-shell structured SiO2/poly（N-isopropylacrylamide） （SiO2/PNIPAM） microspheres were successfully fabricated through hydrolysis and condensation reaction of tertraethyl orthosilicate （TEOS） on the surface of PNIPAM template at 50 ~C. The PNIPAM template can be easily removed by water at room temperature so that SiO2 hollow microspheres were finally obtained. The transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope observations indicated that SiO2 hollow microspheres with an average diameter of 150 nm can be formed only if there are enough concentration of PNIPAM and TEOS, and the hy- drolysis time of TEOS. FTIR analysis showed that part of PNIPAM remained on the wall of SiO2 because of the strong interaction between PNIPAM and silica. This work provides a clean and efficient way to prepare hollow microspheres.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant No. 21235003 and 61001035）, the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars （Grant No. 20925520）, the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai （Grant No. 14ZR1416500）, and the Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission （Grant No. 14YZ026）.
文摘The safety of nucleic acid staining dyes has long been recognized to be a problem. Extensive efforts have been made to search for alternatives to the most popular but toxic staining dye, ethidium bromide （EtBr）. However, so far no staining method that can be guaranteed to be suffidently safe has been developed. In this paper, we report a green staining method of DNA in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, where in situ synthesis of DNA-templated fluorescent copper nanoclusters （CuNCs） in the gel is achieved to make the DNA bands visible under UV light. Moreover, a comprehensive study of the performance of this staining method has been conducted and the experimental results show that it has favorable sensitivity, stability, and usability. Meanwhile, in our animal experiments, the two reagents （copper sulfate and ascorbic acid） as well as the synthesized CuNCs have been proven to be non-toxic in contact with skin. In addition, all the reagents employed in this work are readily available and low cost, and the procedure is simple to carry out. Therefore, this novel staining method based on the in situ synthesis DNA-templated fluorescent CuNCs has many potential applications.
