It
is undoubted the important role of cells in biology and medicine,
but worldwide misidentified and cross-contaminated cell lines have
caused much trouble in related fields. Herein, three kinds of supramolecular
AIE (aggregation-induced emission) nanoassemblies were constructed
by the host–guest interaction between tetraphenylethene (TPE)
derivatives and cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]). Based on the recognized mechanism
of AIE, the TPE derivatives could achieve stronger fluorescence emission
and higher fluorescence quantum yield after assembling with CB[8].
Moreover, the constructed supramolecular AIE complexes obtained well-confirmed
nanostructures and exhibited different sizes and shapes. Correspondingly,
they generated characteristic biological properties and fluorescence
enhancement of cells. Inspired by the concept of Big Data Analysis,
these fluorescence signals were further transformed into a unique
fingerprint of cells via linear discriminant analysis.
Immediately, we realized the veracious identification between a normal
cell line, two cancer cell lines, and two metastasized cancer cell
lines in a qualitative analysis. More importantly, it was well used
to monitor the evaluation of cross-contaminated cells and the discrimination
of cancer cells. As a proper bioapplication of ideal supramolecular
nanomaterials, this system was easy to learn and apply, and the whole
procedure was kept to 20 min, without cell disruption, centrifugation,
or washing steps.
Iatrogenic ureteral
injury is a dreaded complication of abdominal
and pelvic surgeries, and thus, intraoperative identification of ureters
is of paramount importance but lacks efficient methods and probes.
Herein, we used near-infrared II (NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm) fluorescence
imaging with advantages of higher spatial resolution, deeper tissue
penetration, lower light scattering, and less tissue autofluorescence
to identify ureters by aggregation-induced emission luminogen dots
(AIE dots). The intraoperative ureteral injuries and common ureteral
diseases can be visualized timely and precisely. Due to the longer
emission wavelength and higher quantum yield of the AIE dots, it largely
outperforms the commercial indocyanine green dye in brightness and
penetration depth. It was the first time to realize the intraoperative
identification of ureters in vivo using NIR-II imaging. Thus, our
work provides a new platform for intraoperative monitoring during
clinical operation.
Photosynthesis is regarded as the foundation for sustaining planet living, and light-harvesting is the initial step and activates the subsequent photochemical reactions. In the photosystems, chloroplast is the basic light-driven...
An
electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under mild
conditions offers a promising alternative to the traditional Haber–Bosch
process in converting abundant nitrogen (N2) to high value-added
ammonia (NH3). In this work, iron phthalocyanine (FePc)
was homogeneously immobilized on pyridine-functionalized carbon nanotubes
to form a well-tuned electrocatalyst with an FeN5 active
center (FePc-Py-CNT). Synchrotron X-ray absorption and Fourier transform
infrared spectroscopy proved the presence of an Fe–N coordination
bond between FePc and surface-bound pyridine. The resulting hybrid
exhibited notably enhanced electrocatalytic NRR performance compared
to FePc immobilized on CNTs based on π–π stacking
interactions (FePc-CNT), resulting in doubled NH3 yield
(21.7 μg mgcat
–1 h–1) and Faradaic efficiency (22.2%). Theoretical calculations revealed
that the axial coordination on FePc resulted in partial electron transfer
from iron to pyridine, which efficiently suppresses the adsorption
of H+ and improves the chemisorption of N2 at
Fe sites. Meanwhile, the interfacial electron transfer was facilitated
by pyridine as an electron transfer relay between FePc and CNTs. This
work provides a unique strategy for the design of highly efficient
NRR electrocatalysts at the molecular level.
<p>Photosynthesis is regarded as the foundation for sustaining planet living, and light-harvesting is the initial step of
photosystems and activates the subsequent photochemical reactions. However, the
incomplete match between the solar radiation spectrum and absorption profile of
chloroplasts limited the full absorption and utilization of sunlight by the
photosynthetic pigments. Here, we designed two new aggregation-induced emission
(AIE)-active molecules with activated alkyl groups (TPE-PPO and TPA-TPO), and
realized the substantial manipulation of live chloroplasts via facile metal-free
“Click” reaction. Owing to the matched photophysical properties, the AIE
luminogens (AIEgens) could harvest harmful ultraviolet radiation (HUVR) and
photosynthetically inefficient radiation (PIR), and further convert them into
photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for chloroplasts absorption. As a
result, the AIEgen-chloroplasts bioconjugation exhibited better capability of
water splitting and election separation for adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
generation, which are important processes in photosynthesis. This is the first
AIEgen-based conjugation strategy reported for improving solar-energy
utilization and augmenting photosynthetic efficiency.<b></b></p>
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