Search

Cysteine (Cys) and homocysteine (Hcy) are important biothiols in living organisms. They play important roles in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Therefore, it is very important to design an optical probe for the selective detection of Cys/Hcy. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a fluorescent probe NBD-B-T based on a boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) structure, which showed an excellent lysosome targeting ability and an outstanding Cys/Hcy detection capacity. For NBD-B-T, the sensing group 7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD) and the lysosomal targeting group morpholine were introduced. The results show that the NBD-B-T probe can detect Cys/Hcy with fluorescence emission turn-on performance. The low detection limits of this probe are about 76.0 nM for Hcy and 97.6 nM for Cys, respectively. The NBD-B-T probe has a low detection limit, high stability, and excellent selectivity and sensitivity. More importantly, the NBD-B-T can target lysosome, and simultaneously detect the Cys/Hcy in living cells.

•Novel donor-acceptor-donor small molecular hole transport materials were reported.•Devices using the novel material achieve a power conversion efficiency of 14.21%.•Novel material show advantages in hole mobility and conductivity over spiro-OMeTAD.

The first example of copper-catalyzed four-component coupling reaction of aryl iodides, Se powder, secondary amines, and maleimides is developed. This reaction provides an efficient and concise route to access aminoarylselenated maleimides via double C–Se bonds and C–N bond formation. The appealing features of this transformation are the use of Se powder as a selenating reagent, a green catalytic system, a wide range of substrate scope, and late-stage selenation of bioactive compounds.

Five novel metal-free organic dyes DQ1–5containing a dipentyldithieno[3,2-f:2′,3′-h]quinoxaline (DPQ) unit were synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), where DPQ was employed as a π-spacer for the first time. Their photophysical, electrochemical, and theoretical calculations and photovoltaic properties were systematically investigated. All the five dyes show broad photoresponse. Especially the absorption edges of DQ3–5extend to 800 nm on the TiO2films. The inserted electron-rich unit 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene or electron-withdrawing group benzothiadiazole (BTD) in DPQ-based dyes can greatly influence the optoelectronic properties of the dyes. In addition, the different electron donors also significantly affect the performance of the DSSCs. Under standard global AM 1.5 solar light conditions, the DQ5sensitized solar cell obtained a power conversion efficiency of 7.12%. The result indicates that the rigid DPQ-based organic dye is a promising candidate for efficient DSSCs.