Ionic liquids (ILs) have been proposed as promising solvents for separating C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 4 , but screening an industrially attractive IL with high capacity from numerous available ILs remains challenging. In this work, a rapid screening method based on COSMO-RS was developed. We also present an efficient strategy to improve the C 2 H 2 capacity in ILs together with adequate C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 selectivity with the aid of COSMO-RS. The essence of this strategy is to increase molecular free volume of ILs and simultaneously enhance hydrogen-bond basicity of anions by introducing flexible and highly asymmetric structures, which is validated by a new class of tetraalkylphosphonium ILs featuring long-chain carboxylate anions. At 298.1 K and 1 bar, the solubility of C 2 H 2 in ILs reaches 0.476 mole per mole IL, very high for a physical absorption, with a selectivity of up to 21.4. The separation performance of tetraalkylphosphonium ILs to the mixture of C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 was also evaluated. Topical Heading and Key WordsTopical heading: Separations: Materials, Devices and Processes

Nanostructure engineering has improved the performance of thermoelectric materials, but the deteriorated stability of the materials at high temperatures shortens the service life of thermoelectric modules. Here, we realized a...

Defective pericyte-endothelial cell interaction in tumors leads to a chaotic, poorly organized and dysfunctional vasculature. However, the underlying mechanism behind this is poorly studied. Herein, we develop a method that combines magnetic beads and flow cytometry cell sorting to isolate pericytes from tumors and normal adjacent tissues from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Pericytes from tumors show defective blood vessel supporting functions when comparing to those obtained from normal tissues. Mechanistically, combined proteomics and metabolic flux analysis reveals elevated hexokinase 2(HK2)-driven glycolysis in tumor pericytes, which up-regulates their ROCK2-MLC2 mediated contractility leading to impaired blood vessel supporting function. Clinically, high percentage of HK2 positive pericytes in blood vessels correlates with poor patient overall survival in NSCLC and HCC. Administration of a HK2 inhibitor induces pericyte-MLC2 driven tumor vasculature remodeling leading to enhanced drug delivery and efficacy against tumor growth. Overall, these data suggest that glycolysis in tumor pericytes regulates their blood vessel supporting role.

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