• Energy Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the self-sensitization of photosensitizer without an external light source to produce a photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect based on the principle of bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (PDT-BRET). First, we demonstrated that HeLa cells could efficiently express firefly luciferase (FLase) after the firefly luciferase gene was transfected with the FLase-gene plasmid (FLase-GP), and proved that FLase could act on the substrate firefly D-luciferin (FLuc) to produce photons. The generated photons activate the photosensitizer hypericin (Hyp) and induce cytotoxicity. Then, we successfully prepared carboxymethyl chitosan-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (CPNPs) loaded with FLuc (FLuc-CPNPs) and with loaded Hyp (Hyp-CPNPs). Their physicochemical and pharmaceutical characteristics indicated that they were an excellent drug delivery system. Characterization of the biological effects showed that they could be located in the mitochondrial, had higher ROS generation and stronger cytotoxicity. In vivo results also showed that PDT-BRET was as effective as classic PDT. PDT-BRET and the related drug delivery system are expected to become a new platform for anticancer therapy.

Research on potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) has recently been reemphasized because of the irreplaceable advantages of abundant resource, cheap price, and comparable standard redox potential to lithium, displaying great potential for large-scale energy conversion. Nevertheless, the development of PIBs is tremendously hindered due to the shortage of matching electrode materials that can reversibly uptake/release larger K + during discharging and charging. Herein, we report the fabrication of double-layer carbon-coated CoSe hollow nanocapsules (denoted as CoSe@C/HCPs) using a flexible template-assisted strategy. The as-prepared CoSe@C/HCPs exhibit enhanced electrochemical performance as an anode material for PIBs. In particular, they can deliver a high reversible capacity of 461 mAh g –1 at 100 mA g –1 , an extraordinary rate capability of 278 mAh g –1 at 3 A g –1 , and decent cycling stability with 182 mAh g –1 retained at 3 A g –1 after 300 cycles. More importantly, a full PIB cell (P2-type K 0.6 CoO 2 used as the cathode material) also demonstrates an improved electrochemical performance (168 mAh g –1 at 100 mA g –1 after 100 cycles). These current studies have made a vanguard attempt to synthesize selenium-based anodes with sophisticated hierarchical architectures for PIBs, which could provide extensive impetus for the evolution of advanced PIBs.

Urgent requests for environmentally friendly clean energy and the development of modern electronic products have resulted in fervent research on novel energy storage technologies, particularly for supercapacitors. But supercapacitors suffer from low energy densities, restricting their development. In order to obtain high performance supercapacitors with a high energy density and power density, the indispensable factor is designing electrode materials with excellent capacitive performance. We have successfully prepared innovative materials and unique structures to apply in high-performance supercapacitors. The nanowire is good for making close contact with the electrolyte for fast ion diffusion, and the nanoflower sheet enables shortening the electron convey route and provides a number of reaction active sites. Herein, we use copper foam (CF) as the substrate, and binder-free core–shell nanoflower-like CuO/CF@NiCoMn–OH is designed as a battery-style positive electrode. Benefiting from the advantages of a metal–organic framework (MOF)-assisted growth strategy and simple hydrothermal dynamics, the prepared optimizing electrode structure delivers a distinguished specific capacity of 26.8 F cm–² at 8 mA cm–² (3356 F g–¹ at 1 A g–¹). The assembled CuO/CF@NiCoMn–OH//AC exhibits a high energy density of 37.28 W h kg–¹ and a power density of 170 W kg–¹, under a potential window of 1.5 V. This work implies that MOF-assisted construction of core–shell nanoflower-like CuO/CF@NiCoMn–OH has broad application prospects in high-performance energy storage equipment.

In this article, the interaction mechanism of Ga(3+)-hypocrellin A (Ga(3+)-HA) with myoglobin (Mb) is studied in detail through various spectroscopic technologies. UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra demonstrate the interaction process. The Stern-Volmer plot and the time-resolved fluorescence study suggest the fluorescence quenching mechanism of Mb by Ga(3+)-HA is a static quenching procedure, and the electronic transfer forces play a major role in binding Ga(3+)-HA to Mb. Furthermore, synchronous fluorescence studies and circular dichroism (CD) spectra reveal that the conformation of Mb is changed after its conjugation with Ga(3+)-HA.

AbstractCurrent chemical-fuel-driven nanomotors are driven by gas (e.g. H2, O2, NH3) which only provides motion ability, and can produce waste (e.g. Mg(OH)2, Pt). Here, inspired by endogenous biochemical reactions in the human body involving conversion of amino acid L-arginine to nitric oxide (NO) by NO synthase (NOS) or reactive oxygen species (ROS), we report on a nanomotor made of hyperbranched polyamide/L-arginine (HLA). The nanomotor utilizes L-arginine as fuel for the production of NO both as driving force and to provide beneficial effects, including promoting endothelialisation and anticancer effects, along with other beneficial by-products. In addition, the HLA nanomotors are fluorescent and can be used to monitor the movement of nanomotors in vivo in the future. This work presents a zero-waste, self-destroyed and self-imaging nanomotor with potential biological application for the treatment of various diseases in different tissues including blood vessels and tumours.

In this study, the effects of different chemical additives including dispersant and stabilizer on the solid loading, viscosity, rheological behaviour and static stability of coal water mixtures have been investigated. In the experiments, naphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde condensate (NSF) was selected as dispersant and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt (CMC-Na) and nano-stabilizer were employed as stabilizers. An Indonesian low-rank coal, taken from Berau, East Kalimantan, was used for the study. To obtain high-loaded slurry, Liaohe petroleum coke was used to blend with Indonesian coal sample. The results of the experiments showed that adding chemical additives and blending Liaohe petroleum coke can effectively improve the slurryability of Indonesian low-rank coal.