查找使用阿拉丁产品的科研文献

Senkyunolide I suppresses hepatic stellate cell activation and liver fibrosis by reprogramming VDR-dependent fatty acid metabolism

Zhu Mengyao,Ren Lu,Xiao Wenlong,Wang Longjian,Hu Zhiming,Wang Nani

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation represents a central pathological mechanism in liver fibrosis, with emerging evidence implicating fatty acid metabolic reprogramming as a critical regulator of this process. Our study established the vitamin D receptor (VDR) as a key transcriptional coordinator of fatty acid metabolism during HSC activation. Genetic VDR deletion in mice exacerbated liver fibrosis progression, which was associated with elevated TGF-β1 levels and increased Smad3 phosphorylation. Mechanistically, VDR deficiency disrupted lipid homeostasis through the upregulation of lipogenic enzymes (fatty acid synthase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1, ATP citrate lyase) and desaturases (stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1, fatty acid desaturases 1/2) and the suppression of the β-oxidation gatekeeper carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A). Pathological VDR downregulation was observed in both TGF-β1-activated HSCs and fibrotic liver tissues, suggesting a disease-associated regulatory circuit. Calcitriol-mediated VDR activation reversed TGF-β1-induced Smad3 phosphorylation and normalized metabolic enzyme expression, effectively reducing lipid accumulation and collagen deposition. We further identified senkyunolide I as a novel natural VDR agonist that rebalances fatty acid metabolism by simultaneously downregulating lipogenesis/desaturation machinery and upregulating CPT1A. The complete abolition of anti-fibrotic effects of senkyunolide I following VDR knockdown confirmed its strict receptor dependency. These findings identify VDR as a master regulator of metabolic reprogramming in HSC activation and validate pharmacological VDR activation as a promising therapeutic strategy for liver fibrosis. The dual metabolic regulatory capacity of senkyunolide I through VDR signaling highlights its potential for targeted antifibrotic intervention.

2,6-Pyridinedicarboxylic Acid Covalently Bound Polydopamine for Enhanced Tumor Photothermal Therapy in NIR-I and NIR-II

Xingxing Gao,Jingjing Li,Xiaoxu Li,Xing Yin,Shunze Cao,Ximing Pu,Juan Wang,Xiaoming Liao,Zhongbing Huang,Guangfu Yin

Polydopamine (PDA) possesses potential as a photothermal agent for tumor treatment owing to its photothermal capacity, chemical modifiability, excellent biocompatibility, and selective biodegradability. However, weak near-infrared (NIR) light absorption seriously hinders its actual utilization, especially in NIR-II. This study presents a novel molecularly modified PDA with remarkably increased NIR absorption and remarkably enhanced photothermal conversion capacity in both NIR-I and NIR-II. Dopamine monomers are covalently bound with elaborately selected 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (DPA) through an amidation reaction and then undergo an oxidative polymerization to form DPA-doped PDA nanoparticles (DPA-PDA NPs). By constructing donor–acceptor pairs and extending the conjugation length of molecular units, the energy band gap of DPA-PDA between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital is diminished from 0.77 to 0.45 eV, facilitating the electron low-energy transition. Meanwhile, the content of carbon-centered free radicals is obviously raised via suppressing their dimerization and quenching by the conjugation effect and steric hindrance effect, where the strengthened electron spin and vibration may promote charge and energy transfers, increasing and accelerating the excited electron nonradiative decay. As a result, the DPA-PDA NPs exhibit the enhanced NIR light absorption (196 and 205% over PDA) and much higher photothermal conversion efficiency (1.4 and 2.1 times that of PDA) under 808 and 1064 nm irradiation, respectively, achieving more effective tumor cells inhibition in vitro and tumor ablation in vivo. Interestingly, photothermal therapies with DPA-PDA for tumor-bearing mice emerge with higher tumor elimination (nearly 100%) under 1064 nm irradiation than that under 808 nm irradiation (94.3%), without recurrence within 20 days, which is attributed to both the enhanced photothermal capacity of DPA-PDA and the stronger tissue penetration ability of NIR-II. This design provides a new option to enhance the photothermal capacity of polydopamine as an applicative photothermal agent for tumor therapy.

Buried 2D/3D heterojunction in n–i–p perovskite solar cells through solid-state ligand-exchange reaction

Zhao Qiangqiang,Zhang Bingqian,Hui Wei,Gao Kun,Ji Hongpei,Sun Xiuhong,Feng Xiaopeng,Peng Cheng,Wang Kaiyu,Gao Caiyun,Zhang Chenyang,Wang Han,Zhang Qi,Su Zhenhuang,Wang Xiao,Wang Li,Pang Shuping,De Wolf Stefaan,Wang Kai

Incorporating two-dimensional (2D) perovskite phases at the interfaces of three-dimensional (3D) perovskite solar cells improves device performance. These 2D structures form in the bulk and at interfaces of the perovskite film by adding long-chain ammonium salts into the perovskite, but achieving them exclusively at the buried interface remains challenging. Here we sequentially graft thioglycolic acid and oleylamine onto SnO 2 nanoparticles. The strong chemical bond between thioglycolic acid and oleylamine ensures that cation exchange with formamidinium iodide, a perovskite precursor, occurs only during thermal annealing, creating a 2D/3D perovskite structure solely at the bottom interface. This localized 2D layer accelerates 3D phase formation, enhances perovskite crystallization and reduces defect concentration at the interface by over tenfold. The resulting solar cells achieve power conversion efficiencies of 26.19% (certified 26.04%, 0.09 cm 2 ), 23.44% (aperture area of 21.54 cm 2 , certified 22.68%) and 22.22% (aperture area of 64.80 cm 2 ), respectively.

Highly sensitive and selective colorimetric detection of glutathione based on Ag [I] ion–3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB)

Pengjuan Ni,Yujing Sun,Haichao Dai,Jingting Hu,Shu Jiang,Yilin Wang,Zhuang Li

Glutathione (GSH) plays an important role in the biological system and serves many cellular functions. Since all of the biothiols possess similar functional groups, it is still challenging to selectively detect GSH over cysteine (Cys) and homocysteine (Hcy). In this work, a novel and simple colorimetric method for discriminative detection of glutathione (GSH) over Cys and Hcy is developed. The proposed method is based on the fact that Ag [I] ion could oxidize 3,3′,5,5′,-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to the oxidized TMB to induce a blue color and an absorption peak centered at 652   nm. However, the introduction of GSH could cause the reduction of oxidized TMB and it could also combine with Ag + , both of which result in a blue color fading and a decrease of the absorbance at 652   nm. Based on this finding, we propose a method to qualitatively and quantitatively detect GSH by naked eyes and UV–vis spectroscopy, respectively. The proposed method shows a low detection limit of 0.1   µM by naked eyes and 0.05   µM with the help of UV–vis spectroscopy. In addition, this method has great potential in discriminatively detecting GSH over other amino acid and biothiols. More importantly, this method is simple and fast without the preparation of nanomaterials and has also been successfully applied to the detection of GSH in biological fluids.

Enhancing Hot-Electron Extraction via Naphthalene Tetracarboxylic Diimide-Based Molecule in n–i–p Perovskite Solar Cells

Zhengjie Xu,Xuan Lu,Jianing Wang,Qiang Lou,Jiazheng Wang,Xinxin Xu,Hao Zhang,Xinyan Dong,Liping Xu,Hong Meng,Yufeng Jin,Hang Zhou

Extraction and utilization of hot carriers are considered viable approaches to surpass the Shockley–Queisser limit of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, we introduce N,N′-bis(4-trifluoromethoxybenzyl) naphthalene-1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic acid diimide (denoted as NDI-BOCF3) to modify the buried SnO2/perovskite interface, simultaneously accelerating hot-electron extraction and passivating interfacial defects. The NDI-BOCF3-modified SnO2 (denoted as SnO2–NDI-BOCF3) exhibits improved surface uniformity and optimized energy-level alignment and passivates oxygen vacancies (VO), thereby providing ∼22% enhancement in hot-electron extraction. Nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that NDI-BOCF3 enhances hot-electron extraction via higher-frequency lattice vibrations and more ordered nonadiabatic couplings at the interface. In addition, NDI-BOCF3 passivates multisite defects across various perovskite terminations. As a result, SnO2–NDI-BOCF3 devices achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.06%, compared to 23.96% for a device with pristine SnO2. An increase of PCE from 8.81 to 17.50% for SnO2-free devices is also achieved. Furthermore, due to passivation, the activation barrier for positively charged iodine vacancies (VI+) increases from 0.80 to 0.87 eV, resulting in an enhancement in the thermal and photostability of the perovskite thin films.

A Type I Aggregation-Induced Emission Photosensitizer Enables Peroxide-Free Photodynamic Tooth Whitening While Preserving Enamel Integrity

Conventional hydrogen peroxide (HP) tooth whitening treatments frequently induce structural deterioration of enamel, necessitating the development of biocompatible and highly efficient alternatives. This in vitro study investigated the application of a novel functional biomaterial, the Type I aggregation-induced emission (AIE) photosensitizer CPTQ, for peroxide-free photodynamic tooth whitening. Under white-light irradiation (25 mW/cm2), CPTQ (12.5 μM) demonstrated rapid degradation of representative chromogenic molecules (crystal violet, malachite green, and rhodamine B). Extracted human teeth stained with both model pigments and complex beverage mixtures (coffee, tea, and fruit juices) were allocated into four treatment groups: negative control (NC), CPTQ, 7.5% HP, and 30% HP (n= 6 per group). Colorimetric parameters (ΔE00, Δa*, Δb*, and ΔL*) and enamel-related endpoints—including surface morphology, roughness, mineral composition (Ca/P), and microhardness—were evaluated over 6 h and analyzed using one-way ANOVA. For pigment-stained teeth, the photodynamic whitening efficiency of CPTQ was comparable to that of 30% HP (ΔE00,p> 0.05) during the 6 h treatment period. At 1.5 h, the ΔE00value in the CPTQ group (23.35 ± 2.32) was significantly greater than those in the NC group (15.70 ± 1.78,p< 0.05) and the 7.5% HP group (15.02 ± 1.63,p< 0.05). For beverage-stained teeth, the whitening efficiency (ΔE00) of CPTQ was significantly greater than that of the control group at 1.5 h (6.22 ± 2.09 vs. 1.82 ± 0.56,p< 0.01) and was significantly greater than that of 7.5% HP at 4.5 h (10.94 ± 2.82 vs. 7.56 ± 1.78,p< 0.05). Crucially, unlike the change observed after 30% HP treatments, CPTQ treatment resulted in no statistically significant differences from NC in preserved enamel surface integrity, including morphology assessed by SEM, surface roughness (RaandSa, bothp> 0.05), mineral composition (Ca and P, bothp> 0.05), and microhardness (ΔHV,p> 0.05). Mechanistic investigations using reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers (TBA and DABCO) suggested that hydroxyl radicals generated via the Type I photodynamic pathway are the primary drivers of pigment degradation, reducing ΔE00from 12.56 to 1.09 upon •OH inhibition. CPTQ achieved measurable in vitro whitening through a predominantly Type I ROS-mediated mechanism while causing limited changes in the evaluated enamel surface endpoints.

Double-Site Occupation Triggered Broadband and Tunable NIR-I and NIR-II Luminescence in AlNbO4:Cr3+ Phosphors

Kuangnan Lyu,Gaochao Liu,Maxim S. Molokeev,Zhiguo Xia

Near-infrared (NIR) phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (pc-LEDs) are desired for optoelectronic and biomedical applications, while the development of target broadband NIR phosphors still remains a significant challenge. Herein, a kind of Cr 3+ -doped AlNbO 4 phosphors with a broad NIR emission ranging from 650 to 1400 nm under 450 nm excitation are reported. A giant red-shift emission peak from 866 to 1020 nm together with broadened full width at half-maximum of 320 nm is achieved simply by varying the doped Cr 3+ concentrations. Structural and spectroscopy analysis demonstrate that a concentration-dependent site-occupation of Cr 3+ emitters in different Al 3+ sites is responsible for the tunable NIR luminescence. The as-fabricated NIR pc-LED based on optimized AlNbO 4 :Cr 3+ phosphor exhibits great potential in night-vision applications. This work provides a novel design principle on the Cr 3+ -doped AlNbO 4 phosphor with tunable broadband luminescence from NIR-I to NIR-II, and these materials can be employed in NIR spectroscopy applications.

Synthesis of core-shell molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) for spiramycin I and their application in MIP chromatography

Qi Liu,Junfen Wan,Xuejun Cao

Spiramycin I is a main component of spiramycin and a structural analogue of neospiramycin I, which is an impurity in spiramycin production. Molecular imprinting technology (MIT) has many advantages in selectivity and environmental compatibility in biomolecular separation. In this study, core-shell molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared for spiramycin I. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) was used to prepare the seed core, and acrylamide (AM)/methacrylic acid (MAA) was chosen to prepare the shell. The structure of polymerized MIPs was successfully characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The adsorption results showed that MIPs polymerized by different monomers exhibited very different adsorption for spiramycin I. MIPs with monomeric AM achieved a fast mass transfer, high adsorption capacity and high selectivity. Then, these MIPs were applied to separate spiramycin I from the fermentation broth in the chromatographic column, and its recovery and purity were 61% and 83%, respectively. Finally, regeneration of the MIP chromatographic column was studied to explore its recycling performance in application.

Adjusting photophysical properties of five daylight white-emitting copper (I) iodide hybrid complexes by modifying their ligands

Karima El Mir,Hao-Yu Zhu,Juan-Juan Shao,Yu-Wen Su,Paul Kwizera,Fang-Ming Wang,Li-Zhuang Chen

Five new copper iodide complexes ( 1–5 ) were prepared by the solvent evaporation method of cuprous iodide with derivatives of 2-(1 H -imidazol-1-yl) pyrimidine ( L 1 -L 5 ). All of them are daylight white emissions among 5079–6483 K and have good thermal stabilities. Their internal quantum yields (IQYs) range from 17% to 66%. By modifying the ligand's pyrimidine ring with different groups, they successfully adjust distances of Cu…Cu in Cu 2 I 2 rhomboid dimers and further influences their optical properties, which is confirmed by electronic structure calculations employing density functional theory (DFT). This research will be very helpful for understanding the structure-activity relationship of copper (I) iodide hybrid materials. And all these complexes can be used in solid-state lighting and other optoelectronic devices.

Broad-temperature-range thermoresponse of Cu(I)-based organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides with multimode dynamic luminescence

He Jiaman,Kang Liwen,Zeng Weigang,Shi Wanxin,Ling Qidan,Lin Zhenghuan

Organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides (OIMHs) based on Cu(I) ions show broad application prospects in the field of stimulus-responsive luminescent materials based on their rich structural diversity and highly adjustable electronic state. However, achieving sensitive and broad-temperature-range thermal responses for OIMHs remains a significant challenge, despite the growing interest in smart luminescence materials. In this study, 4-morpholinopiperidine (4-MP) and CuI are used to synthesize a zero-dimensional warm white-light emitting OIMH, namely MPC-W ((C 9 H 20 N 2 O) 4 (Cu 2 I 4 )(Cu 2 I 6 )(H 2 PO 2 ) 2 ), which features hybrid structures of [Cu 2 I 4 ] 2− and [Cu 2 I 6 ] 4− . Owing to the coexistence of three luminescent mechanisms-organic cluster luminescence (CL), self-trapped exciton (STE) emission of [Cu 2 I 6 ] 4− , and cluster-centered (CC) state luminescence of [Cu 2 I 4 ] 2− , MPC-W exhibits temperature and excitation wavelength-dependent dynamic luminescence. When the temperature is increased from 77 to 297 K, the luminescence color of MPC-W can be continuously tuned from blue to cyan, green, yellow-green, and white. In the range of 217–463 K, MPC-W displays an abnormal luminescence enhancement phenomenon with increasing temperature. Additionally, upon chemical stimulus, MPC-W can reversibly transform into a blue-light emitting crystal named MPC-B ((C 9 H 20 N 2 O)Cu 2 I 4 ), and a yellow-light emitting crystal named MPC-Y ((C 9 H 18 N 2 O) 7 Cu 8 I 8 ). These unique dynamic luminescent properties endow MPC-W with great application potential in temperature sensing, optical anti-counterfeiting, and password locks. The work provides a new insight for the development of novel wide temperature-responsive multifunctional intelligent luminescent materials. The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

A mixed-valence biotinylated Cu(I/II) complex for tumor-targeted chemodynamic therapy accompanied by GSH depletion

Zhaoguo Hong,Xin You,Jingjing Zhong,Di Yao,He-Dong Bian,Shulin Zhao,Liangliang Zhang,Hong Liang,Fu-Ping Huang

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT), in which highly toxic hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) could be triggered by a Fenton or Fenton-like reaction to kill cancer cells, has emerged recently. Compared to traditional CDT nanomaterials, herein, an atomically-precise biotinylated Cu(I/II) complex [CuICuIICl2(VBio)]·CH3OH (VBio = deprotonated O-vanillin biotinylhydrazone), denoted VBio-CuICuII, was rationally designed and synthesized successfully. This targeted Fenton-like agent, VBio-CuICuII, is constructed from a hydroxyl radical-producible CuI ion, a CuII center as a GSH depletor for an augmented CDT effect, and a biotin moiety as a cancer-targeting unit. Owing to the obvious cell selectivity discrepancy of biotin towards normal and cancerous cells, VBio-CuICuII was able to preferentially accumulate in tumor cells. Meanwhile, the CuI metal center could be used as a Fenton-like agent to generate ˙OH. Furthermore, the CuII in VBio-CuICuII was available for successive ˙OH production via a CuI/CuII-circulation strategy under a GSH-rich tumor site, thereby improving catalytic efficiency. More importantly, in vivo results further demonstrate that VBio-CuICuII could significantly inhibit tumor growth without obvious damage toward major organs. Therefore, this multiple-identity Fenton-like agent could provide an appreciable reference value for the design of atomically precise CDT agents.

Carbon dots nanophotosensitizers with tunable reactive oxygen species generation for mitochondrion-targeted type I/II photodynamic therapy

Yunxiu Zhang,Qingyan Jia,Fuchun Nan,Jian Wang,Ke Liang,Jian Li,Xiaokuang Xue,Haohui Ren,Weimin Liu,Jiechao Ge,Pengfei Wang

Carbon dots (CDs) have emerged as promising nanomaterials for bioimaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, designing red-emissive CDs (RCDs) with tunable type I and type II reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation to simultaneously meet PDT applications in aerobic and hypoxic scenarios still remain major challenges. Herein, three types of RCDs with maximum emission at approximately 680 nm are successfully prepared. It is noteworthy that they exhibit the adjustable ROS production with equal superoxide anion (via type I PDT) and incremental singlet oxygen (via type II PDT). Detailed structural and optical characterizations along with theoretical calculation reveal that the unique type I/II ROS formation mainly depends on the core sizes and surface states of RCDs, which determine their identical redox potentials and tapering energy gaps between singlet- and triplet states, respectively. Additionally, due to the inherent mitochondria targeting capability, RCDs enable themselves to induce cell programmed death via activating mitochondrion-mediated apoptotic pathways. This work exploits the unprecedented RCDs with tunable type I and type II ROS generation that could ensure highly efficient tumor eradication both in vitro and in vivo, even under the harsh tumor microenvironment , providing a new prospect for CDs as nanophotosensitizers to conquer the limitations of single type PDT.