Reported here is a green synthesis of graphitic carbon quantum dots (GCQDs) as a fluorescent sensing platform for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Fe 3+ ions. Through the electrochemical ablation of graphite electrodes in ultrapure water, uniform GCQDs with graphitic crystallinity and oxygen containing groups on their surfaces have been successfully prepared. The absence of acid, alkali, salt and organic compounds in the starting materials effectively avoids complex purification procedures and environmental contamination, leading to a green and sustainable synthesis of GCQDs. The oxygen functional groups (e.g., hydroxyl, carboxyl) contribute to the water solubility and strong interaction with metal ions, which enable the GCQDs to serve as a fluorescent probe for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Fe 3+ ions with a detection limit as low as 2 nM. The high sensitivity of our GCQDs could be attributed to the formation of complexes between Fe 3+ ions and the phenolic hydroxyls of GCQDs. The fluorescence lifetime of GCQDs in the presence and absence of Fe 3+ was tested by time-correlated singlephoton counting (TCSPC), which confirmed a dynamic fluorescence quenching mechanism.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are crucial regulators of gene expression in tumorigenesis and are of great interest to researchers, but miRNA profiles are often inconsistent between studies. The aim of this study was to confirm candidate miRNA biomarkers for esophageal cancer from integrated‐miRNA expression profiling data and TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) data in tissues. Here, we identify five significant miRNAs by a comprehensive analysis in esophageal cancer, and two of them (hsa‐miR‐100‐5p and hsa‐miR‐133b) show better prognoses with significant difference for both 3‐year and 5‐year survival. Additionally, they participate in esophageal cancer occurrence and development according to KEGG and Panther enrichment analyses. Therefore, these five miRNAs may serve as miRNA biomarkers in esophageal cancer. Analysis of differential expression for target genes of these miRNAs may also provide new therapeutic alternatives in esophageal cancer.
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