Ceramic membranes offer significant technical advantages for separating oily water; however, membrane fouling remains a persistent challenge that limits their widespread use. In this study, we developed an attapulgite (ATP)/ Co3O4 ceramic membrane with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for self-cleaning capacity. The novel ATP/ Co3O4 nanofibers were fabricated through a facile hydrothermal method. Then, the bi-layered ceramic membrane was prepared by dip-coating ATP/Co3O4 nanofiber onto macroporous Al2O3 substrate. The nanostructure and hydrophilicity of Co3O4 and ATP endowed the membrane with superhydrophilicity (water contact angle = 39 degrees) and underwater superoleophobicity (oil contact angle = 153 degrees). This membrane could effectively separate surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with separation efficiency exceeding 99%. More importantly, the combination of the ATP/Co3O4 membrane with the PMS system demonstrated excellent catalytic effect for degrading organic dyes and outstanding self-cleaning property. A water flux recovery rate of 99.1% was achieved after applying the PMS-activated catalytic degradation process. Additionally, good separation stability was maintained during a five-cycle separation test. With its high separation efficiency, excellent stability, and selfcleaning capability, the ATP/Co3O4 ceramic membrane stands out as a promising solution for wastewater treatment.

An efficient and convenient protocol for copper-promoted oxidative mono- and di-bromination of 8-aminoquinoline amides using hydrogen bromide (HBr) as the brominating reagent and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a mild oxidant has been developed.

GO-loaded gold–platinum bimetallic nanowires were synthesized by an in situ growth method. They exhibited good electrocatalytic performance for the ORR and their stability and methanol resistance were comparable to those of commercial Pt–C catalysts.

Although significant research has been conducted on metal nanoparticles, a notable gap persists in understanding the fundamental principles governing their crystallization and stability, particularly when deposited on heterogeneous supports. Most current studies focus on specific systems, such as single nanocrystalline facet, which limits the broader understanding of how these processes are influenced by various factors, such as interactions with the facet-dependent crystalline supports. Gaining deeper insights into these mechanisms could lead to the development of more robust and efficient catalytic systems, sensors, and nanomaterials for other advanced applications across various industries. To address this gap, our study focuses on the in-depth examination of the crystallization process of gold (Au) nanoparticles on hematite (104) and (001) facets through in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation. Our findings reveal the existence of three distinct crystal growth pathways in hematite-supported Au nanoparticles: Ostwald ripening, particle coalescence, and disordered intermediate-phase-mediated growth where particle coalescence plays a dominant role in the sintering process. Furthermore, analysis of crystal growth kinetics on different facets of hematite substrate highlights a facet-dependent behavior. Hematite (001) effectively stabilizes Au nanoparticles and suppresses their sintering more effectively than (104) facets. This enhanced stabilization is attributed to the lower surface energy and stronger interaction between Au and the hematite (001) facet. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations, in conjunction with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, provide valuable insight into heterogeneous coarsening of Au nanoparticles on hematite. Our research significantly contributes to the understanding of facet-dependent growth of metal nanoparticles on hematite nanocrystals and offers guidelines for selecting hematite-supported heterogeneous catalysts.

Frequent mining activities have led to an increasing transfer of heavy metals to the soil. Pyrite functionalized Black Soldier Fly feces biochar composite material (BFFS) was synthesized to immobilize Cu and Pb in contaminated mine soil and improve soil quality in our study. Incubation experiments showed that BFFS significantly reduced the leaching rates by 96% and 90% for Cu and Pb, respectively, when compared to the control after 220 days. Speciation transformation analysis further revealed that BFFS could significantly reduce easily labile fractions of Cu and Pb, and transformed to recalcitrant fractions. Moreover, BFFS significantly improved the quality of mine soil combined with soil quality index analysis. The potential toxicity and bioavailability of Cu and Pb can still be effectively reduced by BFFS, even during a 90-day field experiment. In addition, the mine soil improved by BFFS further promoted the survival and growth of ramie. Multiple characterization analyses and related experiments indicated that ion exchange, adsorption, complexation, and coprecipitation mainly contribute to the high efficiency immobilization of Cu and Pb by BFFS. These findings could bring some fresh perspectives on the development of immobilization materials and related technologies for the economical, green and sustainable remediation of heavy metals contaminated mine soil.

A novel nanozyme, based on copper-ion-complexed palygorskite (Pal-Cu2+), was synthesized using a facile method. The introduction of Cu2+ demonstrates a synergistic effect with Pal, enhancing the peroxidase-like activity for the oxidation of 3,3 ',5,5 '-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2. Steady-state kinetic analysis revealed that Pal-Cu2+ exhibits a higher affinity for substrates compared to native horseradish peroxidase, presenting a practical alternative to natural peroxidase. The efficacy of Pal-Cu2+ as a peroxidase mimic for H2O2 sensing was investigated through colorimetric methods. Additionally, when combined with enzymatic glucose oxidation, a sensitive and selective colorimetric strategy for glucose detection was established. The developed method was effectively applied to detect H2O2 and glucose in real samples. The proposed strategy offers an approach for the rational design and development of metal ion composites, opening new way for future applications of Pal-based materials.

A simple and effective method for the copper-catalyzed selective C5-H bromination and difluoromethylation of 8-aminoquinoline amides with ethyl bromodifluoroacetate as the bifunctional reagent was developed. The combination of cupric catalyst and alkaline additive results in a C5-bromination reaction, whereas cuprous catalyst combined with silver additive results in the C5-difluoromethylation reaction. This method has a broad substrate scope and allows for easy and convenient access to desired C5-functionalized quinolones with good to excellent yields.

DNA-based supramolecular hydrogels are important and promising biomaterials for various applications due to their inherent biocompatibility and tunable physicochemical properties. The three-dimensional supramolecular matrix of DNA formed by non-covalently dynamic cross-linking provides exceptional adaptability, self-healing, injectable and responsive properties for hydrogels. In addition, DNA hydrogels are also ideal bio-scaffold materials owing to their tissue-like mechanics and intrinsic biological functions. Technically, DNA can assemble into supramolecular networks by pure complementary base pairing; it can also be combined with other building blocks to construct hybrid hydrogels. This review focuses on the development and construction strategies of DNA hydrogels. Assembly and synthesis methods, diverse responsiveness and biomedical applications are summarized. Finally, the challenges and prospects of DNA-based supramolecular hydrogels are discussed.

Both benzimidazoles and pyranochromenes exhibit a variety of important biological activities. However, the effective preparation of compounds incorporating both pyranochromene and benzoimidazole moieties is very rare. In this paper, a HOAc-promoted three-component annulation reaction of aromatic aldehydes with 2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)acetonitrile and 4-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one is reported, leading to the formation of a series of 3-benzo[d]imidazol-2(3H)-ylidene substituted pyrano[3,2-c]chromen-2-ones in 58%similar to 84% yields. The current reaction could tolerate aromatic aldehydes with diverse functional groups such as chloro, bromo, cyano, methoxy and heteroaryl aldehydes, and HOAc served as the reaction media as well as the Bronsted acid catalyst, thereby providing an effective synthetic method for the construction of N,O-containing heterocyles.

Herein, a novel electrochemical sensor based on core-shell Au@Ag nanoparticles deposited on carboxylated graphene (CG) was constructed for the simultaneous electrochemical determination of nitrite (NO2-) and iodide (I-). The CG/Au@Ag nanocomposite was prepared via two-step simple chemical reduction method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to characterize the CG/Au@Ag nanocomposite. Au@Ag nanoparticles were distributed on the CG surface, providing more active sites for the electrocatalytic active center. The strong synergistic effect between Au@Ag nanoparticles and CG improved the conductivity of nanoparticles and provided a significant electrocatalytic performance on the flexible sensor. The CG/Au@Ag modified electrode showed a wide linear concentration range of 2.5-1250 mu M, a low detection limit of 0.15 mu M for NO2- and corresponding linear ranges of 3.5-1000 mu M (peak I) and 500-1000 mu M (peak II), and the detection limit of 0.1 mu M for I- . It also demonstrated good anti-interference ability against various common interfering substances. Finally, the sensing platform was successfully applied to simultaneous determination of NO2- and I in real samples. The present electrochemical strategy is promising to broaden the practical electrochemical application in environment.

Nanomaterials with intrinsic enzyme-like activities have attracted extensive research interest as promising alternatives to natural biological enzymes due to their advantages of low cost and high stability. Many artificial enzyme mimics have been successfully applied in the fields of sensing, environmental treatment, and oncotherapy. Herein, novel palygorskite@Co3O4 nanocomposites (Pal@Co3O4 NCs) were fabricated by modifying Pal with Co3O4 nanoparticles through a facile hydrothermal method. The obtained Pal@Co3O4 nanocomposites as nanozymes displayed enhanced peroxidase-like activity, which can catalyze the oxidation of 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to obtain colored products. Kinetic assay indicated that the Pal@Co3O4 peroxidase mimics showed a higher affinity towards TMB than that of natural horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Moreover, a sensitive and selective sensor for colorimetric determination of H2O2 and ascorbic acid (AA) was successfully constructed by using Pal@Co3O4 nanocomposites as peroxidase mimics. Furthermore, the proposed assay for sensing of AA in model samples was evaluated with satisfactory results, demonstrating the potential applications in complex biological systems.

Ovarian cancer has become one of the most common gynecological cancers with a high mortality. However, conventional surgery together with combination chemotherapy is difficult to achieve ideal therapeutic effect. Although genetic immunotherapy is applied to active immune responses against cancer, the absence of efficient in vivo gene delivery technique is still an obstacle in clinical application. To overcome these problems, a minicircle DNA vector encoding humanized anti-EpCAM/CD3 bispecific antibody (BsAbEPH) has been constructed. Moreover, different shapes of calcium phosphate (CaPO) biomaterials were prepared. Specifically, the CaPO-nanoneedle-mediated “cell perforation” transfection technology achieves high levels of gene expression in peritoneal cavity. In an intraperitoneal xenograft model with human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3, the CaPO-nanoneedle/minicircle DNA system expressed BsAbEPH resulted in significant retardation of cancer growth and extension of mouse life-span with limited toxicity. And this system can be made as off-the-shelf and easy-to-use products. Therefore, CaPO-nanoneedle based non-viral gene delivery technology will have great potential in clinical application.

An electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor was developed with carboxylated graphene-loaded Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and inductive coupling plasma (ICP) were applied to characterizing COOH-G/Au@Ag nanocomposites. Electrochemical performance of the nanocomposites was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Based on ECA. experimental results, we can find COOH-G/@Au@Ag nanocomposites have good electrocatalytic ability for glucose, so we construct a glucose electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor. When the glucose concentration range is from 0.005 to 1500 mu M, the linear response of ECL intensity to glucose concentration was valid with detection limit of 0.02 mu M. In addition, the developed sensor not only has good stability, repeatability and sensitivity for the detection of glucose, but also can be successfully used for glucose monitoring in human serum samples.

Naphthofuran-4,9-dione derivatives exhibit a broad spectrum of biological and medicinal activities. The development of green and efficient methods for the synthesis of these heterocyclic compounds is of great importance. In this paper, the N-chloro-succinimide (NCS)-promoted reaction of 2-amino-benzo[g]chromene-3-carbonitriles or ethyl 2-amino-pyrano[3,2-c]chromene-3-carboxylates with alcohols lead to the naphthofuran-4,9-dione or diethyl furo[3,2-c]chromene-2,2-dicarboxylate was reported. All reactions were completed in 30 min under room temperature, and two types of novel fused furan derivatives were obtained in 48%similar to 97% yields under tandem ring-opening/cyclization processes.

Although the treatment of burn wounds has made great progress, the incidence of wound infection is still the main cause of high mortality.In this study, a silk fibroin (SF) scaffold wound dressing incorporated with Gentamicin Sulfate (GS) was developed for the treatment of burn infected wounds, in which GS was used as anti-bacterial agent.GS was mixed with silk fibroin solution and then processed into GS-SF composite scaffold via electro-spinning.The results showed the scaffold exhibited uniform polyporous morphology with 80% porosity.Induced by methanol, the scaffold presented much improved mechanical properties and stability to protease XIV.More important, the scaffold presented significant growth inhibition on both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) bacteria.

A facile and sensitive colorimetric method for determining ascorbic acid (AA) was established using MnO2 nanosheets. Addition of AA to the sensor system caused the transformation of solution color from brown to colorless.

Benzoimidazole and chromen derivatives exhibit a variety of important biological activities. Chromens incorporating benzoimidazole moiety have high Rho kinase inhibitory activity. However, the effective synthetic method for the preparation of these compounds is rare. The efficient synthesis of new substituted 3-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)-4H- chromens in 48%similar to 89% yields via one-pot, three-component reaction of 2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)acetonitrile with aromatic aldehydes and 5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione was studied. This reaction was carried out in EtOH in the presence of pyridine under reflux conditions. All reactions were completed within 1 to 3 h.

The objective of the study is to construct a stimuli responsive membrane on the electrode and regulate the bioelectrocatalysis of hydrogen peroxide by temperature stimulation. Fe3O4-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels (Fe3O4-PNIPAM microgels) were prepared and developed as temperature-controlled nonenzymatic electrochemical switchable hydrogen peroxide biosensors in this study. The microgels were fabricated through a two-step way and characterizations such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS) were used to prove the microgels. Then, Fe3O4-PNIPAM microgels were assembled to the electrode surface and the switchable electrochemical function relating to temperature stimuli was illustrated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) study showed a switchable electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation process of H2O2 between 26.0 and 37.0 degrees C due to peroxidaselike behaviour of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) and temperature-sensitive properties of PNIPAM. On the basis of concept, we constructed a switchable biosensor for the detection of H2O2. Under optimal conditions, we successfully detected H2O2 as low as 0.005 mu M at 26.0 degrees C and 0.01 mu M at 32.0 degrees C. By using Fe3O4 NPs instead of enzyme to construct the switchable biosensor in the experiment, the operation is simple and the strategy meets the demands of switchable biosensors when used in bioscience and biotechnology, which broadens the applications of electrochemical switching biosensors. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.

2-(1H-Benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)-3-arylacrylonitrile derivatives not only exhibit a variety of important biological activities, but also are important intermediates in organic synthesis. The CBr4-promoted reaction of aromatic aldehydes with 2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)acetonitrile to obtain 2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)-3-arylacrylonitriles was developed. Structurally diverse 2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)-3-anlacrylonitriles were obtained in moderate to good yields (74%-96%) under mild conditions. This method has the advantages of operational simplicity and wide substrate scope.