查找使用阿拉丁产品的科研文献

Intracellular cleavable poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles for efficient siRNA delivery in vitro and in vivo

Daoshu Lin,Qiang Cheng,Qian Jiang,Yuanyu Huang,Zheng Yang,Shangcong Han,Yuning Zhao,Shutao Guo,Zicai Liang,Anjie Dong

A low cytotoxicity and high efficiency delivery system with the advantages of low cost and facile fabrication is needed for the application of small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery both in vitro and in vivo. For these prerequisites, cationic polymer–mesoporous silica nanoparticles (ssCP-MSNs) were prepared by surface functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles with disulfide bond cross-linked poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA). In vitro and in vivo evaluations were performed. The synthesized ssCP-MSNs are 100–150 nm in diameter with a pore size of 10 nm and a positively charged surface with a high zeta potential of 27 mV. Consequently, the ssCP-MSNs showed an excellent binding capacity for siRNA, and an enhancement in the cell uptake and cytosolic availability of siRNA. Furthermore, the intracellular reducing cleavage of the disulfide bonds cross-linking the PDMAEMA segments led to intracellular cleavage of PDMAEMA from ssCP-MSNs, which facilitated the intracellular triggered release of siRNA. Therefore, promoted RNA interference was observed in HeLa-Luc cells, which was equal to that of Lipofectamine 2000. Significantly, compared to Lipofectamine 2000, the ssCP-MSNs were more biocompatible, with low cytotoxicity (even non-cytotoxicity) and promotion of cell proliferation to HeLa-Luc cells. The in vivo systemic distribution studies certified that ssCP-MSNs/siRNA could prolong the duration of siRNA in vivo, and that they accumulated in the adrenal gland, liver, lung, spleen, kidney, heart and thymus after intravenous injection. Encouragingly, with the ability to deliver siRNA to a tumor, ssCP-MSNs/siRNA showed a tumor suppression effect in the HeLa-Luc xenograft murine model after intravenous injection. Therefore, the ssCP-MSNs cationic polymer–mesoporous silica nanoparticles with low cytotoxicity are promising for siRNA delivery.

Identification of glucuronidation and biliary excretion as the main mechanisms for gossypol clearance: in vivo and in vitro evidence

Hongming Liu,Hua Sun,Danyi Lu,Yuchen Zhang,Xingwang Zhang,Zhiguo Ma,Baojian Wu

Palladium dispersed in three-dimensional polyaniline networks as the catalyst for hydrogen peroxide electro-reduction in an acidic medium

Fen Guo,Ke Ye,Xiaomei Huang,Yinyi Gao,Kui Cheng,Guiling Wang,Dianxue Cao

A novel Pd/polyaniline/CFC electrode is prepared by electroless deposition of palladium (Pd) onto three-dimensional polyaniline networks. The polyaniline matrix on the carbon fiber cloth (CFC) in the reduction state is electro-synthesized by cyclic voltammetry and has a lower vertex potential of −0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The particle size of the Pd coated on the polyaniline chains is gradiently distributed. The as-prepared Pd/polyaniline/CFC electrode is characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FITR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) electro-reduction reaction in H2SO4 solutions on the Pd/polyaniline/CFC electrode is investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), chronoamperometry (CA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results reveal that the electrode exhibited high catalytic activity and excellent stability in the strong oxidizing solution of H2O2 and H2SO4. Polyaniline itself shows electro-catalytic activity towards H2O2 to some extent involving the chemical–electrochemical (C–E) coupling mechanism.

Facile preparation of Pd–Au bimetallic nanoparticles via in-situ self-assembly in reverse microemulsion and their electrocatalytic properties

Tianqi Li,Haihui Zhou,Jiaqi Huang,Junli Yin,Zhongxue Chen,Dan Liu,Ningshuang Zhang,Yafei Kuang

Pd–Au bimetallic nanoparticles were facilely prepared on Ni foil substrate via in-situ self-assembly in reverse microemulsion of water/Triton X-100/n-hexanol/n-hexane. The Pd–Au nanomaterials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). A homogeneous alloy structure of Pd–Au in the bimetallic nanoparticles is indicated by XRD analysis and TEM. The SEM results show that the resultant bimetallic nanoparticles disperse uniformly on Ni foil with a narrow size distribution. The apparent size of bimetallic nanoparticles deposited on Ni depends on the reaction time of self-assembly. The TEM results reveal that the Pd–Au bimetallic nanoparticles consist of smaller homogeneous alloy nanoparticles with an average diameter of 5.1   nm, size of which depends on the size of micro water droplets. The growth mechanism of the Pd–Au nanoparticles in microemulsion was also explored. The electrocatalytic performance of the Pd–Au NPs/Ni electrode was studied by cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric measurements. Electrochemical experiments show that the Pd–Au nanoparticles have good catalytic activity and good stability for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media.

In situ synthesis of poly(ionic liquid)–Pt nanoparticle composite in glass capillary for the electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen

Meina Li,Yingzi Liu,Shushu Ding,Anwei Zhu,Guoyue Shi

A novel approach for in situ synthesizing poly(ionic liquid)–Pt nanoparticle (PIL–Pt) composite in a glass capillary for fabricating filling-type electrode is reported in this work. XRD and TEM were used to characterize the as-synthesized PIL–Pt composite. Because of the modification of poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs), the PIL–Pt composite can not only be dispersed well to form a homogeneous suspension of Pt nanoparticles, but also be synthesized directly in a glass capillary with a tip radius ranging from 250 nm to 2.5 µm. By simple heating at 130 °C, the PIL–Pt composite capillary electrode was fabricated under mild conditions. With the advantages of both PILs and glass capillary, a PIL–Pt capillary electrode can provide a favourable microenvironment for the encapsulated Pt nanoparticles and promote the mass transfer rate; thus, showing a high electrocatalytic activity and stability for an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The present study provided a novel method for the development of high performance electrocatalysts based on the construction of PIL–Pt composite in a glass capillary for fuel cell or electrochemical sensors.

Regulating the surface poly(ethylene glycol) density of polymeric nanoparticles and evaluating its role in drug delivery in vivo

Xiao-Jiao Du,Ji-Long Wang,Wei-Wei Liu,Jin-Xian Yang,Chun-Yang Sun,Rong Sun,Hong-Jun Li,Song Shen,Ying-Li Luo,Xiao-Dong Ye,Yan-Hua Zhu,Xian-Zhu Yang,Jun Wang

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is usually used to protect nanoparticles from rapid clearance in blood. The effects are highly dependent on the surface PEG density of nanoparticles. However, there lacks a detailed and informative study in PEG density and in vivo drug delivery due to the critical techniques to precisely control the surface PEG density when maintaining other nano-properties. Here, we regulated the polymeric nanoparticles' size and surface PEG density by incorporating poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) homopolymer into poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG–PCL) and adjusting the mass ratio of PCL to PEG–PCL during the nanoparticles preparation. We further developed a library of polymeric nanoparticles with different but controllable sizes and surface PEG densities by changing the molecular weight of the PCL block in PEG–PCL and tuning the molar ratio of repeating units of PCL (CL) to that of PEG (EG). We thus obtained a group of nanoparticles with variable surface PEG densities but with other nano-properties identical, and investigated the effects of surface PEG densities on the biological behaviors of nanoparticles in mice. We found that, high surface PEG density made the nanoparticles resistant to absorption of serum protein and uptake by macrophages, leading to a greater accumulation of nanoparticles in tumor tissue, which recuperated the defects of decreased internalization by tumor cells, resulting in superior antitumor efficacy when carrying docetaxel.

Hydrate Formation and Decomposition of CH4 and N2 in Ordered Mesoporous Carbon CMK-3 in the Presence of Tetrahydrofuran

Qiaobei Dong,Yan Sun,Wei Su,Jia Liu

The use of hydrate formation in porous media is an effective method for gas storage and separation. The equilibrium isotherms of CH4 and N2 in CMK-3, a mesoporous carbon material, were measured under different tetrahydrofuran (THF) concentrations and temperatures. The higher is the temperature required, the greater is the formation pressure needed, but the presence of THF significantly reduces the hydrate formation pressure. When THF exists, both CH4 and N2 form structure II (sII) hydrate; however, the amount of hydrate generation is lower than the theoretical value. As the operating pressure increases, some of the sII CH4 hydrate may transform into structure I (sI) and the amount of hydrate generation increases. The desorption isotherms showed that the gas hydrate decomposed completely when the operating pressure was below the hydrate decomposition pressure. In addition, it is feasible to separate gas mixtures via hydrate formation using the different gas hydrate formation pressures.

Photoinduced electron transfer of poly(o-phenylenediamine)–Rhodamine B copolymer dots: application in ultrasensitive detection of nitrite in vivo

Fang Liao,Xun Song,Siwei Yang,Chenyao Hu,Lin He,Shuai Yan,Guqiao Ding

We demonstrate a new semiconducting polymer dot: the poly(o-phenylenediamine)–Rhodamine B copolymer dot (Pp–RhB dot), which emits in the red wavelength range. The Pp–RhB dots can be used as an ultrasensitive fluorescence probe for NO2−in vivo and show high selectivity and ultrasensitivity (detection limit: 2.0 × 10−11 M) for NO2−. The fluorescence of Pp–RhB dots is decreased (φ = 0.014) as a result of fast photoinduced electron transfer (PET) between the modulator (poly(o-phenylenediamine)) and the transducer (RhB), but the N–NO2 bonding mode prevents PET, causing the fluorescence emission to be enhanced (φ = 0.92). This probe effectively avoids the influence of auto-fluorescence in biological systems and gave positive results when tested in both aqueous solution and living cells.

Assessment of Cuscuta chinensis seeds׳ effect on melanogenesis: Comparison of water and ethanol fractions in vitro and in vivo

Tian-Jing Wang,Jing An,Xiao-Hui Chen,Qiu-Di Deng,Liu Yang

Ethnopharmacological relevance Cuscuta chinensis seeds have traditionally been used to treat freckles and melasma in Asia, although recent reports have revealed that Semen cuscutae is a promoter of melanogenesis. The present study aims to investigate the mechanism of this opposite effect of Semen cuscutae on melanogenesis. Materials and methods In accordance with traditional usage, the water fraction and the ethanol fraction from Semen cuscutae (WFSC/EFSC) were extracted to determine the herbal effects by examining the activity of mushroom tyrosinase , cellular melanin contents, tyrosinase activity assay, quantitative-reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and Western blot analysis for tyrosinase in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. The melanocyte phenotypes of zebrafish larvae were observed while the in vivo melanin contents and tyrosinase activity were determined. Results The activity of mushroom tyrosinase assay shown that WFSC was an uncompetitive inhibitor of mushroom tyrosinase, while EFSC indicated dose-dependent activation of the mushroom tyrosinase activity. The WFSC markedly inhibited 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX)-stimulated melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity in vitro . Howeveran accelerant role in melanin synthesis and tyosinase activity. Neither fraction had any effect on the IBMX-induced expression of tyrosinase protein or mRNA. The WFSC strongly inhibited melanin synthesis and cellular tyrosinase activity in vivo . Furthermore, with the function of WFSC at a higher concentration, a punctate melanocyte pattern appeared that was similar to the pattern induced by arbutin or Mequinol (MQ). The EFSC had no effect on the melanocytes of zebrafish larvae. It was discovered that WFSC did not show a stable inhibitory effect until it was extracted 1 month later. Conclusions These results suggest that the opposite effects of Cuscuta chinensis seeds were caused by the extraction methods and that time has an important role on the effect of WFSC. Both WFSC and EFSC significantly influence melanogenesis by regulating enzymatic activity of tyrosinase. In addition, the data indicate that wildtype (WT) zebrafish may be an ideal model for testing inhibitors of melanogenesis from clinically active herbs.

A Highly Selective and Instantaneous Nanoprobe for Detection and Imaging of Ascorbic Acid in Living Cells and in Vivo

Na Li,Yanhua Li,Yaoyao Han,Wei Pan,Tingting Zhang,Bo Tang

The development of a specific reaction of nanomaterials and reactive species is of fundamental importance for the determination of biomolecules. Here we report a novel nanoprobe for detection and imaging of ascorbic acid (AA) in living cells and in vivo based on the specific reaction of cobalt oxyhydroxide (CoOOH) and AA. Persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNPs) were used as the luminescence unit, and CoOOH nanoflakes served as the quencher. When CoOOH was modified on the surface of the PLNPs, the luminescence of the PLNPs was efficiently quenched by the CoOOH. In the presence of AA, CoOOH was reduced to Co2+ and the luminescence of PLNPs was restored. The nanoprobe showed high selectivity and an instantaneous response. The luminescence property permits detection and imaging without external excitation, which could effectively avoid background noise and scattering of light from biological matrixes produced by in situ excitation. The current strategy provides an effective platform for monitoring and imaging reactive species in living cells and in vivo.

Unusual phase transition mechanism of poly(ethylene oxide) in an ionic liquid: opposite frequency shifts in C–H groups

Wenlong Li,Peiyi Wu

The dynamic thermally reversible phase transition behaviour of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM][BF4]) has been investigated by calorimetric measurements (DSC) and FT-IR, in combination with perturbation correlation moving window (PCMW) and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS) for the first time. A relatively high lower critical solution temperature (LCST) was observed which is different from that of conventional thermo-sensitive polymers in aqueous solution. Four types of hydrogen bonds were found in this system, among which the type I (the hydrogen bonds between the unsaturated C–H on the imidazole ring and the oxygen atoms of PEO) and type II (the hydrogen bonds between the saturated C–H on the PEO backbone and the fluorine atoms of the IL anions) ones have a more predominant influence on the phase transition. Moreover, type I plays the predominant role in both the heating and cooling process. DSC revealed that the phase transition temperature of PEO–[EMIM][BF4] solutions decreases with the increasing concentration of PEO, as well as with a decreasing scanning rate. Through PCMW, the LCST was determined to be ca. 137 °C during heating and ca. 131 °C during cooling. Finally, 2DCOS was employed to elucidate the dynamic mechanism of PEO in [EMIM][BF4], which revealed hydrogen bond disruption, chain aggregation and exclusion of IL molecules. Solutions with a low PEO concentration tend to form loosely aggregated globules, compared to the more densely aggregated globules in samples with a high PEO concentration. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that several unusual and peculiar phenomena were also observed, such as opposite frequency shifts in C–H groups, a “tail-raising” phenomenon, critical PEO concentration for the phase transition temperature, and intersection of the frequency shift curves for samples with high concentrations of PEO during cooling.

Band Engineering in Core/Shell ZnTe/CdSe for Photovoltage and Efficiency Enhancement in Exciplex Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells

Shuang Jiao,Qing Shen,Iván Mora-Seró,Jin Wang,Zhenxiao Pan,Ke Zhao,Yuki Kuga,Xinhua Zhong,Juan Bisquert

Even though previously reported CdTe/CdSe type-II core/shell QD sensitizers possess intrinsic superior optoelectronic properties (such as wide absorption range, fast charge separation, and slow charge recombination) in serving as light absorbers, the efficiency of the resultant solar cell is still limited by the relatively low photovoltage. To further enhance photovoltage and cell efficiency accordingly, ZnTe/CdSe type-II core/shell QDs with much larger conduction band (CB) offset in comparison with that of CdTe/CdSe (1.22 eV vs 0.27 eV) are adopted as sensitizers in the construction of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). The augment of band offset produces an increase of the charge accumulation across the QD/TiO2 interface under illumination and induces stronger dipole effects, therefore bringing forward an upward shift of the TiO2 CB edge after sensitization and resulting in enhancement of the photovoltage of the resultant cell devices. The variation of relative chemical capacitance, Cμ, between ZnTe/CdSe and reference CdTe/CdSe cells extracted from impedance spectroscopy (IS) characterization under dark and illumination conditions clearly demonstrates that, under light irradiation conditions, the sensitization of ZnTe/CdSe QDs upshifts the CB edge of TiO2 by the level of ∼50 mV related to that in the reference cell and results in the enhancement of Voc of the corresponding cell devices. In addition, charge extraction measurements have also confirmed the photovoltage enhancement in the ZnTe/CdSe cell related to reference CdTe/CdSe cell. Furthermore, transient grating (TG) measurements have revealed a faster electron injection rate for the ZnTe/CdSe-based QDSCs in comparison with the CdSe cells. The resultant ZnTe/CdSe QD-based QDSCs exhibit a champion power conversion efficiency of 7.17% and a certified efficiency of 6.82% under AM 1.5G full one sun illumination, which is, as far as we know, one of the highest efficiencies for liquid-junction QDSCs.