Tumor clonal structure is closely related to future progression, which has been mainly investigated as mutation abundance clustering in bulk samples. With relatively limited studies at single-cell resolution, a systematic comparison of the two approaches is still lacking. Here, using bulk and single-cell mutational data from the liver and colorectal cancers, we checked whether co-mutations determined by single-cell analysis had corresponding bulk variant allele frequency (VAF) peaks. While bulk analysis suggested the absence of subclonal peaks and, possibly, neutral evolution in some cases, the single-cell analysis identified coexisting subclones. The overlaps of bulk VAF ranges for co-mutations from different subclones made it difficult to separate them. Complex subclonal structures and dynamic evolution could be hidden under the seemingly clonal neutral pattern at the bulk level, suggesting single-cell analysis is necessary to avoid underestimation of tumor heterogeneity.
For semiconductor tin dioxide (SnO2) materials, the oxygen adsorption theory often struggles to explain their selectivity towards specific gases. Therefore, it is worth considering altering the surface functional groups of SnO2 to modify its surface state and enhance its selectivity towards specific gases. Due to the rich functional groups on the surfaces of carbon dots, this study employed a hydrothermal method to prepare three types of carbon dots with varying carboxyl functional group contents by adjusting the hydrothermal time. These carbon dots were then used as dopants and combined with SnO2 to create composite gas-sensitive devices. The gas-sensing test results indicate that the introduction of carboxyl functional groups can enhance the selectivity of SnO2 towards ethanol. Furthermore, at any operating temperature within the range of 150–300 °C, the higher the carboxyl functional group content on the surface of carbon dot-doped SnO2, the higher the sensitivity towards ethanol. By employing density functional theory (DFT), the interaction energies between the surfaces of carbon dots and surface carboxyl groups with the target gas were calculated. These calculations validated the gas-sensing test results, confirming that the presence of carboxyl functional groups enhances the selectivity towards ethanol. The results of this study can provide new insights into the research on the selective mechanism of gas-sensitive materials.
Introduction: Tumor clonal structure is closely related to future progression, which has been mainly investigated via mutation abundance clustering in bulk sample. With limited studies at single-cell resolution, a systematic comparison of the two approaches is still lacking. Methods: Here, using bulk and single-cell mutational data from liver and colorectal cancers, we would like to check the possibility of obtaining accurate tumor clonal structures from bulk-level analysis. We checked whether co-mutations determined by single-cell analysis had corresponding bulk variant allele frequency (VAF) peaks. We examined VAF ranges for different groups of co-mutations, and also the possibility of discriminating them. Results: While bulk analysis suggested absence of subclonal peaks and possibly neutral evolution in some cases, single-cell analysis identified co-existing subclones. The overlaps of bulk VAF ranges for co-mutations from different subclones made it difficult to separate them, even with other parameter introduced. The difference between mutation cluster and tumor subclone is accountable for the challenge in bulk clonal deconvolution, especially in case of branched evolution as shown in colorectal cancer. Conclusion: Complex subclonal structures and dynamic evolution are hidden under the seemingly clonal neutral pattern at bulk level, suggesting single-cell analysis will be needed to avoid under-estimation of tumor heterogeneity.
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