Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has shown tremendous promises in the treatment of various types of tumors. However, ICB therapy with antibodies appears to be less effective for glioma, partly owing to the existence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) that impedes the entrance of therapeutics including most proteins to the central nervous system (CNS). Herein, considering the widely existing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and choline transporters (ChTs) on the surface of BBB, a choline analogue 2-methacryl­oyloxyethyl phosphoryl­choline (MPC) is employed to fabricate the BBB-crossing copolymer via free-radical polymerization, followed by conjugation with antiprogrammed death-ligand 1 (anti-PD-L1) via a pH-sensitive traceless linker. The obtained nanoparticles exhibit significantly improved BBB-crossing capability owing to the receptor-mediated transportation after intravenous injection in an orthotopic glioma tumor model. Within the acidic glioma microenvironment, anti-PD-L1 would be released from such pH-responsive nanoparticles, further triggering highly effective ICB therapy of glioma to significantly prolong animal survival. This work thus realizes glioma microenvironment responsive BBB-crossing delivery of ICB antibodies, promising for the next generation immunotherapy of glioma.

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Catalytic transformation of CO 2 into chemicals in large demand such as ethanol has attracted much research attention under the background of establishing carbon-neutral societies. Supported Rh catalysts are promising candidates for the hydrogenation of CO 2 to ethanol but suffer from low ethanol productivity and poor catalyst stability. Here, we report that zeolite silicalite-1 embedded Na-promoted Rh nanoparticles (Na-Rh@S-1) demonstrate high productivity and stability for CO 2 hydrogenation to ethanol. The ethanol selectivity of 24% was attained at a CO 2 conversion of 10%, and the space-time yield of ethanol reached 72 mmol g Rh −1 h −1 , which outperformed most of the Rh-based catalysts reported to date. While a reference catalyst prepared by impregnation underwent deactivation, the Na-Rh@S-1 catalyst was stable for at least for 100 h owing to the confinement effect. The Na + modifier played crucial roles in enhancing the CO 2 conversion and ethanol selectivity by suppressing methane formation. The characterizations suggest that the presence of Na + enables the coexistence of Rh 0 and Rh + and enhances CO 2 adsorption, thus boosting ethanol formation. A comparative study between CO and CO 2 hydrogenation reveals that the Na-Rh@S-1 catalyst is significantly more active and selective toward CO 2 hydrogenation to ethanol.

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Although there are many studies on photocatalytic environmental remediation, hydrogen evolution, and chemical transformations, less success has been achieved for the synthesis of industrially important and largely demanded bulk chemicals using semiconductor photocatalysis, which holds great potential to drive unique chemical reactions that are difficult to implement by the conventional heterogeneous catalysis. The performance of semiconductors used for photochemical synthesis is, however, usually unsatisfactory due to limited efficiencies in light harvesting, charge‐carrier separation, and surface reactions. The precise construction of heterogeneous photocatalysts to facilitate these processes is an attractive but challenging goal. Here, single‐atom rhodium‐doped metal sulfide nanorods composed of alternately stacked wurtzite/zinc‐blende segments are successfully designed and fabricated, which demonstrate record‐breaking efficiencies for visible light‐driven preferential activation of C−H bond in methanol to form ethylene glycol (EG), a key bulk chemical used for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer. The wurtzite/zinc‐blende heterojunctions lined regularly in one dimension accelerate the charge‐carrier separation and migration. Single‐atom rhodium selectively deposited onto the wurtzite segment with photogenerated holes accumulated facilitates methanol adsorption and C−H activation. The present work paves the way to harnessing photocatalysis for bulk chemical synthesis with structure‐defined semiconductors.

Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) is a water-soluble active component of Danshen and has anti-atherosclerotic effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the cytoprotective effects of Sal B against hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 )-induced oxidative stress damage in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and investigate the underlying mechanisms. It was revealed that Sal B protected the cells from H 2 O 2 -induced damage, as indicated by MTT results showing enhanced cell viability and by flow cytometric analysis showing reduced apoptosis of cells challenged with H 2 O 2 . Furthermore, as an underlying mechanism, the enhancement of autophagy was indicated to be accountable for the decrease in apoptosis, as Sal B caused the upregulation of light chain 3-II and Beclin-1, and downregulation of p62 under H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress. Finally, Sal B increased the phosphorylation of AMP kinase (AMPK) and decreased the phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), but had no effect on the phosphorylation of AKT. In conclusion, the present study revealed that Sal B protects HUVECs from oxidative stress, at least partially by promoting autophagy via activation of the AMPK pathway and downregulation of the mTOR pathway.