The fabrication of
superhydrophobic materials capable of spontaneously
healing both chemical and mechanical damages at ambient conditions
has been a great challenge but highly desired. In this study, we propose
that a self-healing hydrophobic polymer can be used to induce self-healing
in a superhydrophobic material. As a demonstration, stable and porous
self-healing superhydrophobic foams are fabricated by casting a mixture
of healable poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based polyurea, multiwalled
carbon nanotubes (MCNTs), and table salt, followed by solvent evaporation
and removal of the salt template. The PDMS-based polyurea is able
to heal mechanical damage by reforming hydrogen bonds and can also
reverse chemical damage through surface reorganization. Thus, the
chemically and mechanically damaged foams can spontaneously restore
their superhydrophobicity and structural integrity at ambient conditions.
Moreover, because of the satisfactory photothermal conversion of MCNTs,
the temperature of the self-healing superhydrophobic foams can rapidly
reach 60 °C under sunlight, which greatly increases the healing
speed and healing efficiency of the foam.
Metabolic reprogramming is a central hallmark of cancer. Therefore, targeting metabolism may provide an effective strategy for identifying promising drug targets for cancer treatment. In prostate cancer, cells undergo metabolic transformation from zinc‐accumulating, citrate‐producing cells to citrate‐oxidizing malignant cells with lower zinc levels and higher mitochondrial aconitase (ACO2) activity. ACO2 is a Krebs cycle enzyme that converts citrate to isocitrate and is sensitive to reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐mediated damage. In this study, we found that the expression of ACO2 is positively correlated with the malignancy of prostate cancer. Both zinc and p53 can lead to an increase in ROS. ACO2 can be a target for remodeling metabolism by sensing changes in the ROS levels of prostate cancer. Our results indicate that targeting ACO2 through zinc and p53 can change prostate cancer metabolism, and thus provides a potential new therapeutic strategy for prostate cancer.
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