Iron doping of nickel oxide films results in enhanced activity for promoting the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Whereas this enhanced activity has been ascribed to a unique iron site within the nickel oxide matrix, we show here that Fe doping influences the Ni valency. The percent of Fe 3+ doping promotes the formation of formal Ni 4+ , which in turn directly correlates with an enhanced activity of the catalyst in promoting OER. The role of Fe 3+ is consistent with its behavior as a superior Lewis acid.water splitting | renewable energy | electrocatalysis | oxygen evolution reaction | catalysis

Differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) analysis of the oxygen isotopologues produced by (18)O-labeled Co-OEC in H2(16)O reveals that water splitting catalysis proceeds by a mechanism that involves direct coupling between oxygens bound to dicobalt edge sites of Co-OEC. The edge site chemistry of Co-OEC has been probed by using a dinuclear cobalt complex. (17)O NMR spectroscopy shows that ligand exchange of OH/OH2 at Co(III) edge sites is slow, which is also confirmed by DEMS experiments of Co-OEC. In borate (Bi) and phosphate (Pi) buffers, anions must be displaced to allow water to access the edge sites for an O-O bond coupling to occur. Anion exchange in Pi is slow, taking days to equilibrate at room temperature. Conversely, anion exchange in Bi is rapid (kassoc = 13.1 ± 0.4 M(-1) s(-1) at 25 °C), enabled by facile changes in boron coordination. These results are consistent with the OER activity of Co-OEC in Bi and Pi. The Pi binding kinetics are too slow to establish a pre-equilibrium sufficiently fast to influence the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), consistent with the zero-order dependence of Pi on the OER current density; in contrast, Bi exchange is sufficiently facile such that Bi has an inhibitory effect on OER. These complementary studies on Co-OEC and the dicobalt edge site mimic allow for a direct connection, at a molecular level, to be made between the mechanisms of heterogeneous and homogeneous OER.

The Co 4 O 4 cubane is a representative structural model of oxidic cobalt oxygen-evolving catalysts (Co-OECs). The Co-OECs are active when residing at two oxidation levels above an all-Co(III) resting state. This doubly oxidized Co(IV) 2 state may be captured in a Co(III) 2 (IV) 2 cubane. We demonstrate that the Co(III) 2 (IV) 2 cubane may be electrochemically generated and the electronic properties of this unique high-valent state may be probed by in situ spectroscopy. Intervalence charge-transfer (IVCT) bands in the near-IR are observed for the Co(III) 2 (IV) 2 cubane, and spectroscopic analysis together with electrochemical kinetics measurements reveal a larger reorganization energy and a smaller electron transfer rate constant for the doubly versus singly oxidized cubane. Spectroelectrochemical X-ray absorption data further reveal systematic spectral changes with successive oxidations from the cubane resting state. Electronic structure calculations correlated to experimental data suggest that this state is best represented as a localized, antiferromagnetically coupled Co(IV) 2 dimer. The exchange coupling in the cofacial Co(IV) 2 site allows for parallels to be drawn between the electronic structure of the Co 4 O 4 cubane model system and the high-valent active site of the Co-OEC, with specific emphasis on the manifestation of a doubly oxidized Co(IV) 2 center on O-O bond formation.water splitting | renewable energy | solar-to-fuels | electrocatalysis | oxygen evolution reaction T he overall efficiency of the solar-to-fuels conversion process of water splitting in large part is determined by the overpotential required to drive the oxygen evolution half-reaction (i.e., 2H 2 O → O 2 + 4H + + 4e -) (1-3). This half-reaction may be driven at high activity by Earth-abundant catalysts, which are formed by self-assembly upon anodic deposition from buffered cobalt, nickel, and manganese salt solutions (4-10). As determined by in situ structural measurements (11-14), the heterogeneous films consist of aggregates of metalate clusters of molecular dimension. These metalate clusters are ubiquitous and likely the active catalytic species of conventional metal oxide oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy of crystalline cobalt oxides in neutral and alkaline solutions reveals that the surface of the oxide is indeed an amorphous overlayer comprising the metalate clusters (15-18). Electrochemical kinetics (19) and spectroscopic measurements (20, 21) support a mechanism consisting of a minor equilibrium proton-coupled electron transfer process to generate effectively a Co(III)Co(IV) precatalyst, followed by a subsequent oxidation to generate a doubly oxidized state that drives the turnover-limiting O-O bond-forming step (22). Isotope labeling studies of active oxidic cobalt OER catalysts (23, 24) establish direct coupling of oxygens on neighboring sites, thus identifying one path for O-O bond formation from a Co(IV) 2 state,The generation of the reactive Co(IV) 2 intermediat...

Iron alloying of oxidic cobaltate catalysts results in catalytic activity for oxygen evolution on par with Ni-Fe oxides in base but at much higher alloying compositions. Zero-field 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) are able to clearly identify Fe4+ in mixed-metal Co-Fe oxides. The highest Fe4+ population is obtained in the 40–60% Fe alloying range, and XAS identifies the ion residing in an octahedral oxide ligand field. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity, as reflected in Tafel analysis of CoFeOx films in 1 M KOH, tracks the absolute concentration of Fe4+. The results reported herein suggest an important role for the formation of the Fe4+ redox state in activating cobaltate OER catalysts at high iron loadings.

The glycosylation of nucleocytoplasmic proteins with O-linked N-acetylglucosamine residues (O-GlcNAc) is conserved among metazoans and is particularly abundant within brain. O-GlcNAc is involved in diverse cellular processes ranging from the regulation of gene expression to stress response. Moreover, O-GlcNAc is implicated in various diseases including cancers, diabetes, cardiac dysfunction, and neurodegenerative diseases. Pharmacological inhibition of O-GlcNAcase (OGA), the sole enzyme that removes O-GlcNAc, reproducibly slows neurodegeneration in various Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse models manifesting either tau or amyloid pathology. These data have stimulated interest in the possibility of using OGA-selective inhibitors as pharmaceuticals to alter the progression of AD. The mechanisms mediating the neuroprotective effects of OGA inhibitors, however, remain poorly understood. Here we show, using a range of methods in neuroblastoma N2a cells, in primary rat neurons, and in mouse brain, that selective OGA inhibitors stimulate autophagy through an mTOR-independent pathway without obvious toxicity. Additionally, OGA inhibition significantly decreased the levels of toxic protein species associated with AD pathogenesis in the JNPL3 tauopathy mouse model as well as the 3×Tg-AD mouse model. These results strongly suggest that OGA inhibitors act within brain through a mechanism involving enhancement of autophagy, which aids the brain in combatting the accumulation of toxic protein species. Our study supports OGA inhibition being a feasible therapeutic strategy for hindering the progression of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, these data suggest more targeted strategies to stimulate autophagy in an mTOR-independent manner may be found within the O-GlcNAc pathway. These findings should aid the advancement of OGA inhibitors within the clinic.

Earth-abundant oxygen evolution catalysts (OECs) with extended stability in acid can be constructed by embedding active sites within an acid-stable metal-oxide framework. Here, we report stable NiPbOx films that are able to perform oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysis for extended periods of operation (>20 h) in acidic solutions of pH 2.5; conversely, native NiOx catalyst films dissolve immediately. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal that PbO2 is unperturbed after addition of Ni and/or Fe into the lattice, which serves as an acid-stable, conductive framework for embedded OER active centers. The ability to perform OER in acid allows the mechanism of Fe doping on Ni catalysts to be further probed. Catalyst activity with Fe doping of oxidic Ni OEC under acid conditions, as compared to neutral or basic conditions, supports the contention that role of Fe3+ in enhancing catalytic activity in Ni oxide catalysts arises from its Lewis acid properties.

BACKGROUND: Predictive preclinical models play an important role in the assessment of new treatment strategies and as avatar models for personalised medicine; however, reliable and timely model generation is challenging. We investigated the feasibility of establishing patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of high-risk neuroblastoma from a range of tumour-bearing patient materials and assessed approaches to improve engraftment efficiency. METHODS: PDX model development was attempted in NSG mice by using tumour materials from 12 patients, including primary and metastatic solid tumour samples, bone marrow, pleural fluid and residual cells from cytogenetic analysis. Subcutaneous, intramuscular and orthotopic engraftment were directly compared for three patients. RESULTS: PDX models were established for 44% (4/9) of patients at diagnosis and 100% (5/5) at relapse. In one case, attempted engraftment from pleural fluid resulted in an EBV-associated atypical lymphoid proliferation. Xenogeneic graft versus host disease was observed with attempted engraftment from lymph node and bone marrow tumour samples but could be prevented by T-cell depletion. Orthotopic engraftment was more efficient than subcutaneous or intramuscular engraftment. CONCLUSIONS: High-risk neuroblastoma PDX models can be reliably established from diverse sample types. Orthotopic implantation allows more rapid model development, increasing the likelihood of developing an avatar model within a clinically useful timeframe.

Metastasis of cancer to the skeleton represents a debilitating turning point in the lives of patients. Skeletal metastasis leads to moderate to severe ongoing pain along with bone remodeling that can result in fracture, events that dramatically diminish quality of life. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels are elevated in patients with metastatic breast cancer and are associated with a lower survival rate. We therefore determined the consequences of inhibition of IL-6 signaling using a novel small molecule antagonist, TB-2-081, on bone integrity, tumor progression, and pain in a rodent model of breast cancer. Rat MAT B III mammary adenocarcinoma cells were injected and sealed within the tibia of female Fischer rats. Growth of these cells within the rat tibia elicited increased IL-6 levels both within the bone exudate and in the plasma, produced ongoing pain and evoked hypersensitivity, and bone fracture that was observed by approximately day 12. Systemic TB-2-081 delivered by subcutaneous osmotic minipumps starting at tumor implantation prevented tumor-induced ongoing bone pain and evoked hypersensitivity without altering tumor growth. Remarkably, TB-2-081 infusion significantly reduced osteolytic and osteoblastic bone remodeling and time to fracture likely by decreasing osteoclastogenesis and associated increase in bone resorption. These findings indicate that blockade of IL-6 signaling may represent a viable, disease-modifying strategy to prevent tumor-induced bone remodeling allowing for stabilization of bone and decreased fractures as well as diminished ongoing pain that may improve quality of life of patients with skeletal metastases. Notably, anti-IL-6 antibodies are clinically available allowing for rapid testing of these possibilities in humans.