Vesicle transport is a fundamental mechanism of communication in the CNS. In this study we characterized a novel type of vesicle released by murine brain microglial cells: microglial exosomes. Analysis of their protein content identified several enzymes, chaperones, tetraspanins, and membrane receptors previously reported in B cells and dendritic cell-derived exosomes. Additionally, microglia-derived exosomes expressed the aminopeptidase CD13 and the lactate transporter MCT-1. Exosomal CD13 was metabolically active in cleaving leucine- and methionine-enkephalins peptides by releasing the N-terminal tyrosine. Cleaved neuropeptides were unable to bind to the neuronal opioid receptor as assessed by cAMP response. Microglial exosomal vesicles may represent an important, previously unrecognized, cellular communication system in an organ in which cell motility is highly restricted.

Exosomes shed by tumor cells have been recognized as promising biomarkers for cancer diagnostics due to their unique composition and functions. Quantification of low concentrations of specific exosomes present in very small volumes of clinical samples may be used for noninvasive cancer diagnosis and prognosis. We developed an immunosorbent assay for digital qualification of target exosomes using droplet microfluidics. The exosomes were immobilized on magnetic microbeads through sandwich ELISA complexes tagged with an enzymatic reporter that produces a fluorescent signal. The constructed beads were further isolated and encapsulated into a sufficient number of droplets to ensure only a single bead was encapsulated in a droplet. Our droplet-based single-exosome-counting enzyme-linked immunoassay (droplet digital ExoELISA) approach enables absolute counting of cancer-specific exosomes to achieve unprecedented accuracy. We were able to achieve a limit of detection (LOD) down to 10 enzyme-labeled exosome complexes per microliter (∼10 M). We demonstrated the application of the droplet digital ExoELISA platform in quantitative detection of exosomes in plasma samples directly from breast cancer patients. We believe our approach may have the potential for early diagnosis of cancer and accelerate the discovery of cancer exosomal biomarkers for clinical diagnosis.

No abstract

This study reports a novel hard carbon material derived from kelp and the effect of carbonization temperature on its electrochemical properties.

Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis of γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic 2 frameworks for size control and efficient drug loading 3 4

No abstract

Rechargeable sodium-ion batteries have lately received considerable attention as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries because sodium resources are essentially inexhaustible and ubiquitous around the world. Despite recent reports on cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries have shown electrochemical activities close to their lithium-ion counterparts, the major scientific challenge for sodium-ion batteries is to exploit efficient anode materials. Herein, we demonstrate that a hybrid material composed of few-layer SnS 2 nanosheets sandwiched between reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets exhibits a high specific capacity of 843 mAh g −1 (calculated based on the mass of SnS 2 only) at a current density of 0.1 A g −1 and a 98% capacity retention after 100 cycles when evaluated between 0.01 and 2.5 V. Employing ex situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction techniques, we illustrate the high specific capacity of our anode through a 3-fold mechanism of intercalation of sodium ions along the ab-plane of SnS 2 nanosheets and the subsequent formation of Na 2 S 2 and Na 15 Sn 4 through conversion and alloy reactions. The existence of RGO nanosheets in the hybrid material functions as a flexible backbone and high-speed electronic pathways, guaranteeing that an appropriate resilient space buffers the anisotropic dilation of SnS 2 nanosheets along the ab-plane and c-axis for stable cycling performance.

Preventing or minimizing ice formation in supercooled water is of prominent importance in many infrastructures, transportation, and cooling systems. The overall phase change heat transfer on icephobic surfaces, in general, is intentionally sacrificed to suppress the nucleation of water and ice. However, in a condensation frosting process, inhibiting freezing without compromising the water condensation has been an unsolved challenge. Here we show that this conflict between anti-icing and efficient condensation cooling can be resolved by utilizing biphilic topography with patterned high-contrast wettability. By creating a varying interfacial thermal barrier underneath the supercooled condensate, the biphilic structures tune the nucleation rates of water and ice in the sequential condensation-to-freezing process. Our experimental and theoretical investigation of condensate freezing dynamics further unravels the correlation between the onset of droplet freezing and its characteristic radius, offering a new insight for controlling the multiphase transitions among vapor, water, and ice in supercooled conditions.