Layered hydrogen titanate nanowires were synthesized from TiO2 via an alkaline−hydrothermal process and subsequent acid treatment. The average diameter of as-prepared nanowires is about 100 nm with a uniform interlayer spacing of 0.81 nm. The framework of this hydrogen titanate nanowires holds the composition of H2Ti3O7 as determined by thermogravimetric analysis. The nanostructured electrode made from these nanowires shows large lithium intercalation capacity (reversible lithium intercalation with Li0.71H2/3TiO7/3), high discharge/charge rate capability, and excellent cycling stability, as revealed by galvanostatically charge/discharge cycling tests. The detailed cyclic voltammetric investigation, however, indicates that the hydrogen titanate nanowires show pseudocapacitive characteristic during the Li+ insertion process. The novel electrochemical properties of hydrogen titanate nanowires are attributed to the open layered structure with a much larger interlayer spacing than normal intercalation compounds for commercial lithium ion batteries. The layered hydrogen titanate nanowires with unique electrochemical performance may become a promising lithium intercalation material for high-energy rechargeable lithium ion batteries and electrochemical supercapacitors.

Highly sensitive, multiplexed detection of soluble cancer protein biomarkers can facilitate early cancer screening as well as enable real-time monitoring of patients' sensitivity and resistance to therapy. Current technologies for detection of soluble cancer protein biomarkers, e.g., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, however, suffer from limited sensitivity, as well as the requirement of expensive monoclonal antibodies, which undergo the quality variability. Herein, we propose a sensitive, cheap, and robust surface-enhanced Raman scattering technology to detect a panel of soluble cancer protein biomarkers, including soluble programmed death 1 (sPD-1), soluble programmed death-ligand 1 (sPD-L1) and soluble epithermal growth factor receptor (sEGFR), which are related to disease progression and treatment efficacy. In this assay, gold-silver alloy nanoboxes that have strong Raman signal enhancement capability were used as plasmonic nanostructures to facilitate highly sensitive detection. In addition, nanoyeast single-chain variable fragments were utilized as mAb alternatives to allow specific and stable protein capture performance. We successfully detected sPD-1, sPD-L1, and sEGFR with a limit of detection of 6.17 pg/mL, 0.68 pg/mL, and 69.86 pg/mL, respectively. We further tested the detection of these three soluble cancer protein biomarkers in human serum and achieved recovery rates between 82.99% and 101.67%. We believe our novel platform that achieves sensitive, multiplexed, and specific detection of soluble cancer protein biomarkers could greatly benefit cancer treatment and improve patient outcome.

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The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors has demonstrated significant improvements in survival for subsets of cancer patients. However, they carry significant and sometimes life-threatening toxicities. Prompt prediction and monitoring of immune toxicities have the potential to maximise the benefits of immune checkpoint therapy. Herein, we develop a digital nanopillar SERS platform that achieves real-time single cytokine counting and enables dynamic tracking of immune toxicities in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment - broader applications are anticipated in other disease indications. By analysing four prospective cytokine biomarkers that initiate inflammatory responses, the digital nanopillar SERS assay achieves both highly specific and highly sensitive cytokine detection down to attomolar level. Significantly, we report the capability of the assay to longitudinally monitor 10 melanoma patients during immune inhibitor blockade treatment. Here, we show that elevated cytokine concentrations predict for higher risk of developing severe immune toxicities in our pilot cohort of patients.

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BackgroundHigh levels of dietary sodium are associated with raised blood pressure and adverse cardiovascular health. To determine baseline salt intake, we investigated the average dietary salt intake from 24-hour urinary sodium excretion with a small sample of Yantai adults in the Shandong province of China.MethodsOne hundred ninety one adults aged 18–69 years were randomly selected from the Yantai adult population. Blood pressure, anthropometric indices and sodium excretion in a 24-hour urine collection were measured. Consumption of condiments was derived from 3-day weighted records. Completeness of urine collections was verified using creatinine excretion in relation to weight.ResultsThe mean Na and K outputs over 24 hours were 201.5 ± 77.7 mmol/day and 46.8 ± 23.2 mmol/day, respectively (corresponding to 11.8 g NaCl and 1.8 g K). Overall, 92.1% of the subjects (96.9% of men and 87.1% of women) had intakes of over 6 g salt (NaCl)/d. The main sources of salt intake from weighed condiments records were from home cooking salt (74.7%) followed by soy sauce (15.0%). Salt intake from condiments and salt excretion were weakly correlated((r = 0.20, p = 0.005).A positive linear correlation between salt intake was associated with systolic blood pressure in all adjusted and unadjusted model (r = 0.16, p = 0.01). Each 100 mmol/day increase in sodium intake was associated with a 4.0 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure.ConclusionDietary salt intake in Yantai adults was high. Reducing the intake of table salt and soy sauce used in cooking will be an important strategy to reduce sodium intake among Yantai adults.

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Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an important, highly sensitive technique for chemical and biological analysis, which is critically dependent upon high-performance metallic substrates. Anisotropic gold (Au)-silver (Ag) alloy nanoboxes are attractive SERS substrates because of the greatly enhanced Raman signals from the strong electromagnetic fields on the sharp corners. Yet, the routine approach of Au-Ag alloy nanobox synthesis is still challenging because of the complicated procedures and use of biologically/environmentally unfriendly reagents. To facilitate the usage of Au-Ag alloy nanoboxes for broad SERS applications, we propose a facile green strategy to synthesize Au-Ag alloy nanoboxes with superior single-particle SERS sensitivity. Our novel straightforward strategy involves HAuCl and AgNO reduction by ascorbic acid, which is achieved in an aqueous one-pot reaction at ambient temperature. Significantly, the surfaces of the prepared Au-Ag alloy nanoboxes are judiciously designed to introduce nanodots, generating numerous "hot spots" for high Raman signal enhancement as indicated by rigorous numerical simulations. By combining scanning electron microscopy and Raman mapping images, we demonstrate the application of Au-Ag alloy nanoboxes for single-particle sensing SERS activity. The as-prepared Au-Ag alloy nanoboxes are expected to facilitate their further applications in quantitative and ultrasensitive SERS detection.