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The principal histopathological feature of Alzheimer's disease is the presence of [beta]-amyloid (A[beta]) aggregates in the gray matter of the brain, and researchers believe that various environmental factors play significant roles in the conformational change and self-assembly of A[beta] peptides. Therefore, discovering a rapid and convenient analytical method of evaluating the environmental factors on A[beta] aggregation would have a considerable impact. Herein we report our development of a novel microfluidic screening system enabling high-throughput analysis, low-consumption of reagents, and short analytical time. Microchannels with a cross-sectional dimension of 100 [micro]m x 100 [micro]m were immobilized with A[beta] monomers via N-hydroxysuccinimide ester activation of the internal surfaces, and then a fresh A[beta] monomer solution mixed with different small molecules or metal ions was continuously introduced into the microchannels to induce A[beta] aggregation. In this work, we investigated (1) the temporal evolution of A[beta] aggregation within microchannels, (2) the high-throughput screening of the inhibitory effect of 12 small molecules against A[beta] aggregation, and (3) the effect of different metal ions ([Fe.sup.3+], [Cu.sup.2+], [Zn.sup.2+], and [A1.sup.3+]) on A[beta] aggregation by using thioflavin T (ThT)-induced fluorescence microscopy and ex situ atomic force microscopy. The microfluidic system should contribute to a simultaneous analysis of multiple environmental factors affecting amyloid aggregates in a parallel manner and to screen therapeutic small molecules prior to their in vivo evaluation.

We analyzed the aggregation of Alzheimer's [beta]-amyloid (1-42) (A[beta]42) peptides from fresh monomers to fully grown fibrils by using in situ surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectrometry and ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). To immobilize A[beta]42 peptide on an SPR chip surface, different carboxy-terminated surfaces were investigated: (1) self-assembled monolayer of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid and (2) carboxylated dextran-modified surface. It was found that the carboxylated dextran surface was more appropriate due to a much lower degree of nonspecific binding. By using the carboxylated dextran surface, we further investigated effects of key environmental factors, such as the density of surface-bound A[beta]42, the concentration of A[beta]42 in solution phase, and the presence of [Fe.sup.3+] ions on A[beta]42 fibrillation. The increase in either the surface density of A[beta]42 or its concentration in incubation solution highly accelerated the formation of amyloid fibrils on the chip surface. The presence of [Fe.sup.3-] ions in the incubation solution induced significantly denser aggregates, resulting in a nearly 6-fold increase of SPR angle shift. This work shows that SPR analysis coupled with AFM can be effectively used for analyzing amyloid aggregation and deposition on a solid surface from the very beginning to fully grown fibrils.

Two or more metal ions along with [beta]-amyloid were incubated over a solid template prepared by immobilizing A[beta]42 oligomers to explore the nature of codeposition of different metals. The results reveal the significant role of multiple metal ions in interactions with Alzheimer's A[beta] or its aggregates.

Recently discovered evidences suggest that precipitation of Alzheimer's β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide and the toxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are caused by abnormal interactions with neocortical metal ions, especially Zn2+, Cu2+, and Fe3+. While many studies had focused on the role of a "single" metal ion and its interaction with Aβ peptides, such studies involving "multiple" metal ions have hardly been explored. Here, to explore the nature of codeposition of different metals, two or more metal ions along with Aβ were incubated over a solid template prepared by immobilizing Aβ42 oligomers. The influence of Zn2+, Cu2+, and Fe3+ on Aβ aggregation was investigated by two approaches: co-incubation and sequential addition. Our results using ex situ AFM, ThT-induced fluorescence, and FTIR spectroscopy indicated that the co-incubation of Cu2+, Zn2+, and Fe3+ significantly altered the morphology of aggregates. A concentration dependence study with mixed metal ions suggested that Zn2+ was required at much lower concentrations than Cu2+ to yield nonfibrillar amorphous Aβ deposits. In addition, sequential addition of Zn2+ or Cu2+ on fibrillar aggregates formed by Fe3+ demonstrated that Zn2+ and Cu2+ could possibly change the conformation of the aggregates induced by Fe3+. Our findings elucidate the coexistence of multiple metal ions through their interactions with Aβ peptides or its aggregates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar water oxidation is a crucial process in light-driven reductive synthesis, providing electrons and protons for various chemical reductions. Despite advances in light-harvesting materials and cocatalysts, achieving high efficiency and stability remains challenging. In this study, we present a simple yet effective strategy for immobilizing natural photosystems (PS) made of abundant and inexpensive elements, using amine-rich polyethylenimine (PEI) hydrogels, to fabricate organic/inorganic hybrid photoanodes. Natural PS II extracted from spinach was successfully immobilized on inverse opal TiO 2 photoanodes in the presence of PEI hydrogels, leading to greatly enhanced solar water oxidation activity. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) analyses reveal that PS II can be immobilized in specific orientations through electrostatic interactions between the positively charged amine groups of PEI and the negatively charged stromal side of PS II. This specific orientation ensures efficient photogenerated charge separation and suppresses undesired side reactions such as the production of reactive oxygen species. Our study provides an effective immobilization platform and sheds light on the potential utilization of PS II in PEC water oxidation.

Although development and utilization of efficient catalysts with earth-abundant and cheap elements are desired, precious noble metal-based catalysts are still widely used and studied due to the urgent need to address energy and environmental issues. Polyoxometalates (POMs) can be excellent candidates in this context. In this study, we found that oxo-bridged tetraruthenium polyoxometalate (RuPOM) exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity for both oxygen evolution and reduction reactions (OER and ORR) with minimal use of noble metal elements and can be used for the development of efficient seawater batteries (SWBs). The deposition of RuPOM on a desired electrode with conducting carbon Ketjen black (KB) by the simple slurry coating method imparted bifunctional OER/ORR activity to the underlying electrode. Although the mass activity was similar, RuPOM/KB mixtures exhibited superior activity even compared to commercially available Pt/C when comparing the activity per noble metal element. Based on these findings, we employed RuPOM to develop efficient SWBs. RuPOM significantly lowered the charging potential and increased the discharging potential of SWBs, which are related to OER and ORR, respectively. This study can provide insights into the development of POM-based electrocatalysts and their application in energy storage and conversion devices.

Volumetric energy density is considered a primary factor in developing high-energy batteries. Despite its significance, less efforts have been devoted to its improvement. Silicon-based materials have emerged as next-generation anodes for lithium-ion batteries due to their high specific capacity. However, their volumetric capacities are limited by the volume expansion rate of silicon, which restricts mass loading in the electrodes. To address this challenge, we introduce porous silicon templated from earth-abundant minerals with native internal voids, capable of alleviating volumetric expansion during repeated cycles. In situ transmission electron microscopy analysis allows the precise determination of the expansion rate of silicon, thus presenting an analytical model for finding the optimal content in silicon/graphite composites. The inner pores in silicon reduce problems associated with its expansion and allow higher silicon loading of 42% beyond the conventional limitations of 13-14%. Consequently, the anode designed in this work can deliver a volumetric capacity of 978 mAh cc -1 . Thus, suppressing volume expansion with natural abundant template-assisted materials opens new avenues for cost-effective fabrication of high volumetric capacity batteries.

We studied the kinetics of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation using a model photoanode BiVO 4 modified with various water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In particular, we prepared BiVO 4 photoanodes with catalytic multilayers (CMs), where cationic polyelectrolytes and anionic polyoxometalate (POM) WOCs were assembled in a desired amount at a nanoscale precision, and compared their performance with those with well-known WOCs such as cobalt phosphate (CoPi) and NiOOH. Our comparative kinetics analysis suggested that the deposition of the CMs improved the kinetics of both the photogenerated charge carrier separation/transport in bulk BiVO 4 due to passivation of surface recombination centers and water oxidation at the electrode/electrolyte interface due to deposition of efficient molecular WOCs. On the contrary, the conventional WOCs were mostly effective in the former and less effective in the latter, which is consistent with previous reports. These findings explain why the CMs exhibit an outstanding performance. We also found that separated charge carriers can be efficiently transported to POM WOCs via a hopping mechanism due to the delicate architecture of the CMs, which is reminiscent of natural photosynthetic systems. We believe that this study can not only broaden our understanding on the underlying mechanism of PEC water oxidation but also provide insights for the design and fabrication of novel electrochemical and PEC devices, including efficient water oxidation photoanodes.

An efficient water oxidation photoanode based on hematite has been designed and fabricated by tailored assembly of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and cobalt polyoxometalate (Co-POM) water oxidation catalysts into a nacre-like multilayer architecture on a hematite photoanode. The deposition of catalytic multilayers provides a high photocatalytic efficiency and photoelectrochemical stability to underlying hematite photoanodes. Compared to the bare counterpart, the catalytic multilayer electrode exhibits a significantly higher photocurrent density and large cathodic shift in onset potential (∼369 mV) even at neutral pH conditions due to the improved charge transport and catalytic efficiency from the rational and precise assembly of GO and Co-POM. Unexpectedly, the polymeric base layer deposited prior to the catalytic multilayers improves the performance even more by facilitating the transfer of photogenerated holes for water oxidation through modification of the flat band potential of the underlying photoelectrode. This approach utilizing polymeric base and catalytic multilayers provides an insight into the design of highly efficient photoelectrodes and devices for artificial photosynthesis.

Water splitting is considered the most attractive pursuit in the field of solar energy conversion. In this study, we report the synthesis and application of a supramolecular hybrid of carbon nanodot (CD) and cobalt polyoxometalate (Co-POM) to solar water oxidation. The self-assembly of the alginate-based CD and Co-POM led to the formation of a spherical hybrid of CD/Co-POM. Owing to the facile transfer of photogenerated holes from CD under visible light irradiation, the hybrid donor-acceptor type of CD/Co-POM enabled the rapid scavenging of holes and accumulation of a long-lived oxidation state of Co-POM for efficient solar water oxidation, outperforming conventional [Ru(bpy) 3 ] 2+ -based systems. We believe that this study offers new insights into the development of CD-based nanocomposites with various photocatalytic and optoelectronic applications.

An efficient and stable heterojunction photoanode for solar water oxidation was fabricated by hybridization of WO 3 and conducting polymers (CPs). Organic/inorganic hybrid photoanodes were readily prepared by the electropolymerization of various CPs and the codeposition of tetraruthenium polyoxometalate (Ru 4 POM) water-oxidation catalysts (WOCs) on the surface of WO 3 . The deposition of CPs, especially polypyrrole (PPy) doped with Ru 4 POM (PPy:Ru 4 POM), resulted in a remarkably improved photoelectrochemical performance by the formation of a WO 3 /PPy p-n heterojunction and the incorporation of efficient Ru 4 POM WOCs. In addition, there was also a significant improvement in the photostability of the WO 3 -based photoanode after the deposition of the PPy:Ru 4 POM layer due to the suppression of the formation of hydrogen peroxide, which was responsible for corrosion. This study provides insight into the design and fabrication of novel photosynthetic and photocatalytic systems with excellent performance and stability through the hybridization of organic and inorganic materials.

Artificial photosynthesis is considered one of the most promising solutions to modern energy and environmental crises. Considering that it is enabled by multiple components through a series of photoelectrochemical processes, the key to successful development of a photosynthetic device depends not only on the development of novel individual components but also on the rational design of an integrated photosynthetic device assembled from them. However, most studies have been dedicated to the development of individual components due to the lack of a general and simple method for the construction of the integrated device. In the present study, we report a versatile and simple method to prepare an efficient and stable photoelectrochemical device via controlled assembly and integration of functional components on the nanoscale using the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. As a proof of concept, we could successfully build a photoanode for solar water oxidation by depositing a thin film of diverse cationic polyelectrolytes and anionic polyoxometalate (molecular metal oxide) water oxidation catalysts on the surface of various photoelectrode materials (e.g., Fe 2 O 3 , BiVO 4 , and TiO 2 ). It was found that the performance of photoanodes was significantly improved after the deposition in terms of stability as well as photocatalytic properties, regardless of types of photoelectrodes and polyelectrolytes employed. Considering the simplicity and versatile nature of LbL assembly techniques, our approach can contribute to the realization of artificial photosynthesis by enabling the design of novel photosynthetic devices.

We report the synthesis of novel diphenylalanine/cobalt(II,III) oxide (Co(3)O(4)) composite nanowires by peptide self-assembly. Peptide nanowires were prepared by treating amorphous diphenylalanine film with aniline vapor at an elevated temperature. They were hybridized with Co(3)O(4) nanocrystals through the reduction of cobalt ions in an aqueous solution using sodium borohydride (NaBH(4)) without any complex processes such as heat treatment. The formation of peptide/Co(3)O(4) composite nanowires was characterized using multiple tools, such as electron microscopies and elemental analysis, and their potential application as a negative electrode for Li-ion batteries was explored by constructing Swagelok-type cells with hybrid nanowires as a working electrode and examining their charge/discharge behavior. The present study provides a useful approach for the synthesis of functional metal oxide nanomaterials by demonstrating the feasibility of peptide/Co(3)O(4) hybrid nanowires as an energy storage material.

The abnormal deposition and aggregation of beta-amyloid (Abeta) on brain tissues are considered to be one of the characteristic neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Environmental conditions such as metal ions, pH, and cell membranes are associated with Abeta deposition and plaque formation. According to the amyloid cascade hypothesis of AD, the deposition of Abeta42 oligomers as diffuse plaques in vivo is an important earliest event, leading to the formation of fibrillar amyloid plaques by the further accumulation of soluble Abeta under certain environmental conditions. In order to characterize the effect of metal ions on amyloid deposition and plaque growth on a solid surface, we prepared a synthetic template by immobilizing Abeta oligomers onto a N-hydroxysuccinimide ester-activated solid surface. According to our study using ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence spectroscopy, Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions accelerated both Abeta40 and Abeta42 deposition but resulted only in the formation of "amorphous" aggregates. In contrast, Fe3+ induced the deposition of "fibrillar" amyloid plaques at neutral pH. Under mildly acidic environments, the formation of fibrillar amyloid plaques was not induced by any metal ion tested in this work. Using secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis, we found that binding Cu ions to Abeta deposits on a solid template occurred by the possible reduction of Cu ions during the interaction of Abeta with Cu2+. Our results may provide insights into the role of metal ions on the formation of fibrillar or amorphous amyloid plaques in AD.