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Realizing efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) in the absence of precious metals is one of the urgent research topics for industrial application. In this work, efficient p-n heterojunction of iron(III) hydroxide and graphitic carbon nitride (Fe(OH)3/g-C3N4) for hydrogen production were successfully constructed using the electrostatic attraction self-assembly method. The Fe(OH)3/g-C3N4 heterojunction could harvest more visible light, suppress recombination and boost transmission rate of the carriers. As expected, without participation of any precious metal, the highest hydrogen production rate (733 μmol h−1 g−1) was 51.2 folds higher than the unmodified g-C3N4 at λ > 400 nm, which is superior to many previous results. Additionally, a possible reaction mechanism was proposed according to energy band analysis as well as the experimental photocatalytic activity results. To the energy and environmental studies fields, this work suggests a novel approach to design high efficiency photocatalysts using abundant and inexpensive metals instead of precious metals.

At present, more and more flexible pressure sensors are used in wearable devices. The improvement of the adsorbability of nanomaterials on sponge flexible pressure sensors is an urgent problem to be solved. Here, using conductive carbon black with good dispersibility and small particle size as the conductive filler filled in the middle of the sponge can improve the absorbability of the sponge. A simple method of soaking a sponge with different thicknesses in conductive carbon black dispersion is used to obtain flexible pressure sensors based on conductive carbon black/sponge. We compare and analyze the differences in initial resistance and sensitivity of sponge pressure sensors with different thicknesses and select the sensor with higher sensitivity (0.194 kPa−1) for response time, recovery time, and stability tests. The sensor is used in the neck, wrist, knee, and other body parts for motion recognition. The two conductive carbon black/sponge sensors are placed orthogonally on the back to identify nod, tilt head, and placed on the elbow to test the angle of arm bending. Conductive carbon black/sponge flexible pressure sensor shows good application prospects in the wearable field.

Membrane protein leucine–rich repeat containing 15 (LRRC15) is known to be expressed in several solid tumors including osteosarcoma. ABBV-085, an antibody–drug conjugate against LRRC15, conjugated to monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), was studied in osteosarcoma patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) by the Pediatric Preclinical Testing Consortium (PPTC). LRRC15 expression data were obtained from PPTC RNA-sequencing data for the PDX models. The TARGET database was mined for LRRC15 expression in human osteosarcoma. Protein expression was confirmed via IHC in three PDX models. Seven osteosarcoma PDX models (OS1, OS9, OS33, OS34, OS42, OS55, and OS60) with varying LRRC15 gene expression were studied. ABBV-085 was administered at 3 mg/kg (OS33), 6 mg/kg (all seven PDXs), and 12 mg/kg (OS60) weekly for 4 consecutive weeks via intraperitoneal injection. Control cohorts included vehicle and an isotype MMAE-linked antibody. Tumor volumes and responses were reported using PPTC statistical analysis. OS1, OS33, OS42, OS55, and OS60 had high LRRC15 expression while OS9 and OS34 had low LRRC15 expression. ABBV-085 inhibited tumor growth in six of seven PDX models as compared with vehicle control and significantly improved event-free survival in five of seven models as compared with isotype controls. Two models showed maintained complete responses while all others showed progressive disease. Response correlated with LRRC15 expression. ABBV-085’s antitumor activity against osteosarcoma PDX suggests LRRC15 may be a rational target for pursuing clinical trials in patients with this disease.

Herein, a pH and redox dual-responsive drug delivery system (CDs–Pt(IV)–PEG) was developed based on fluorescence carbon dots (CDs). In this system, cisplatin(IV) prodrug (Pt(IV)) was selected as a model drug to reduce toxic side effects. The aldehyde-functionalized monomethoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG-CHO) was conjugated to CDs–Pt(IV) to form pH sensitive benzoic imine bond. Owing to the slightly acidic tumor extracellular microenvironment (pH 6.8), the benzoic imine bond was then hydrolyzed, leading to charge reversal and decrease in the hydration radius of the drug-carrying, which facilitated in vivo circulation and tumor targeting. Notably, the cytotoxicity of the drug delivery system on cancer cells was comparable to that of cisplatin, while the side effects on normal cells were significantly reduced. In addition, the system realized recognition of cancer cells by the high-contrast fluorescent imaging. In conclusion, the CDs–Pt(IV)–PEG system provided a promising potential for effective delivery of anticancer drugs and cancer cells screening.

Here we report a facile defect-engineering strategy on the support to optimize the metal-support interaction and enhance the metal’s electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination performance in converting 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) to phenol. The specific activity of the Pd nanoparticles (Pd NPs) on defective polymer carbon nitride (Pd/PCN-x) reaches 0.09 min-1 m-2Pd, which is 1.5 times that of the Pd NPs supported on the perfect PCN (Pd/PCN-0). The combined experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that the strong adsorption of phenol on Pd/PCN-0 passivates the active sites, limiting the dechlorination progress. The PCN-x containing -C≡N defects can effectively mediate the spatial configuration and electronic structure of Pd NPs, and promote the preferential adsorption of 2,4-DCP rather than phenol, resulting in an enhanced dechlorination efficiency.

Dispersibility and magnetic response characteristics of magnetic nanoparticles is crucial to the sensitivity and stability of flexible magnetic field sensors. To improve the performance of magnetic nanoparticles, this paper reported a preparation method of the fullerene-coated ferric oxide (C60@Fe3O4) magnetic nanocomposites. The TEM results showed that the C60@Fe3O4 has uniform dispersion and consistent particle size, and C60 particles are distributed on the surface of Fe3O4, forming a coating structure. The X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and energy dispersion spectroscopy results further proved that the compositions of the nanomaterials are Fe3O4 and C60. The VSM hysteresis loop of the nanocomposites showed good performance in magnetic response. Then, styrene ethylene butylene Styrene (SEBS), the C60@Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles, and CNTs, which were used as flexible substrate, magnetic sensitive unit, and conductive networks, respectively, composed the flexible magnetic field sensor. The measurement results of the flexible magnetic field sensor showed its high sensitivity (2.1 T−1) and good stability. The mechanism of the sensor was explored at last.

In this paper, an ultrahigh sensitive hydrazine electrochemical sensor based on gold nanoparticles integrated into a reduced graphene oxide/nickel foam (AuNPs-rGO@NF) hybrid structure was synthesized using a facile coating and electrochemical deposition method. The morphology and elemental composition of the as-synthesized AuNPs-rGO@NF structure was comprehensively investigated. Both cyclic voltammetry and potential amperometry results show the optimum AuNPs-rGO@NF sensor exhibits excellent electrochemical performances including higher sensitivity (14.635 μA μM−1 cm−2), lower limit of detection (0.056 μM; S/N = 3), wider linear detection range (0.2–200 μM), good selectivity and long-term stability. Meanwhile, the results of real sample analysis indicate the AuNPs-rGO@NF sensor has great potential for practical electrochemical hydrazine sensing applications.

Clustered indium oxide/copper oxide (In2O3/CuO) nanospheres with different CuO amounts were successfully synthesized as sensing materials for the carbon monoxide (CO) detection. Component and morphological characterizations were performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Sensing performance for CO of the clustered In2O3 and In2O3/CuO nanospheres were investigated under different temperatures and humidity conditions. The results show that the sensors based on 2 mol % In2O3/CuO (InCu2) exhibit about threefold improvement in response to CO compared to that of In2O3 with quick response and recovery time, wide linearity, and low detection limit at 200 °C under 25% relative humidity (RH). Moreover, it shows tiny resistance and response declines despite the wide range of humidity variation from 25 to 95% RH. Meanwhile, the mechanism of enhanced gas-sensing performances and antihumidity properties of InCu2 were systematically investigated. We speculated that most of the water-driven species are predominantly adsorbed by CuO due to its high affinity to the hydroxyl group, which suppresses the interaction between moisture and In2O3. InCu2 is a new and promising material to sense CO in a highly sensitive and fast manner with negligible interference from ambient humidity.

Nanoparticles with absorbances in the near-infrared window (NIR, 700–1300 nm) are ideal contrast agents for in vivo imaging of deep tissue with high signal-to-noise ratios. By using CTAB and L(+)-ascorbic acid (AA) as ligands to effectively balance particle nucleation and growth, PEGylated Au nanorods (NRs) with broad absorption bands (from 650 to 1100 nm) in the first NIR window could be successfully realized. The morphologies, crystal structures, absorption and biotoxicities of the samples were determined by TEM, TGA, UV-vis and MTT assay. The results indicated that the presence of a thin poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) shell could greatly improve the biocompatibility of the Au NRs (1.7 times that of non-PEGylated Au NRs), making them harmless to living cells. Moreover, the prepared PEGylated Au NRs displayed the highest image contrast and SNR values (1.1–1.5 times that of commercial Au nanospheres and NRs), with excitation lasers of 532, 680 and 828 nm, showing their great potential for use in multicolor photoacoustic imaging in vivo. With the prepared PEGylated Au NRs, a functional image of oxygen saturation was constructed in a single step without changing the contrast agent.

Au nanoparticle (Au NP) modified α-Fe2O3 nanodisk structures are obtained using a facile hydrothermal method and annealing based surface treatment. XRD, EDS, SEM, TEM and XPS are used to characterize the as-prepared samples, showing crystalline structured Au NPs of about 6–16 nm in diameter on the surface of α-Fe2O3 nanodisk structures of about 145 ± 15 nm in diameter. The Au NP modified α-Fe2O3 nanodisk structures are then investigated for acetone detection under different operating temperatures, showing improved gas sensing performance compared to the pure α-Fe2O3 nanomaterial. In particular, under the optimum working temperature (275 °C), the sensor response of Au0.5Fe can reach a sensibility of 19.5 toward 100 ppm acetone, which is about two times higher than that of the pure one. Meanwhile, the Au0.5Fe acetone sensor also exhibits fast response and recovery time (4 s/7 s), good linear relationship (50–5000 ppb), low detection limit (50 ppb), excellent long-term stability and superior selectivity. Finally, the enhanced gas sensing mechanism of Au NP modified α-Fe2O3 nanomaterials can be attributed to the combined action of chemical and electronic sensitization of Au NPs, which are promising as highly sensing materials toward acetone detection.

In this paper, a series of Co3O4–Ag photocatalysts with different Ag loadings were synthesized by facile hydrothermal and in situ photoreduction methods and fully characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, UV-vis and PL techniques. The catalysts were used for the degradation of methyl orange (MO). Compared with the pure Co3O4 catalyst, the Co3O4–Ag catalysts showed better activity; among these, the Co3O4–Ag-0.3 catalyst demonstrated the most efficient activity with 96.4% degradation efficiency after 30 h UV light irradiation and high degradation efficiency of 99.1% after 6 h visible light irradiation. According to the corresponding dynamics study under UV light irradiation, the photocatalytic efficiency of Co3O4–Ag-0.3 was 2.72 times higher than that of Co3O4 under identical reaction conditions. The excellent photocatalytic activity of Co3O4–Ag can be attributed to the synergistic effect of strong absorption under UV and visible light, reduced photoelectron and hole recombination rate, and decreased band gap due to Ag doping. Additionally, a possible reaction mechanism over the Co3O4–Ag photocatalysts was proposed and explained.

Soft-strain-based sensors are being increasingly used across various fields, including wearable sensing, behavior monitoring, and electrophysiological diagnostics. However, throughout all applications, the function of these sensors is limited because of high sensitivity, high-dynamic range, and low-power consumption. In this paper, we focus on improving the sensitivity and strain range of the soft-strain-based sensor through structure, surface, and sensitive unit treatment. Nanosilver (Ag)-coated hydroxyl-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (OH-f MWCNTs) were explored for highly acute sensing. With stretching and depositing methods, Ag@OH-f MWCNTs and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are fabricated into a wrinkled and sandwich structure for a soft-strain-based sensor. The electronic properties were characterized in that the gauge factor (GF) = ΔR/R0 was 412.32, and the strain range was 42.2%. Moreover, our soft-strain-based sensor exhibits features including flexibility, ultra-lightweight and a highly comfortable experience in terms of wearability. Finally, some physiological and behavioral features can be sampled by testing the exceptional resistance change, including the detection of breath, as well as facial and hand movement recognition. The experiment exhibits its superiority in terms of being highly sensitive and having an extensive range of sensing.

In the edge computing and network communication environment, important image data need to be transmitted and stored securely. Under the condition of limited computing resources, it is particularly necessary to design effective and fast image encryption algorithms. One-dimensional (1D) chaotic maps provide an effective solution for real-time image encryption, but most 1D chaotic maps have only one parameter and a narrow chaotic interval, which has the disadvantage of security. In this paper, a new compound 1D chaotic map composed of a logistic map and tent map is proposed. The new system has two system parameters and an arbitrarily large chaotic parameter interval, and its chaotic signal is evenly distributed in the whole value space so it can improve the security in the application of information encryption. Furthermore, based on the new chaotic system, a fast image encryption algorithm is proposed. The algorithm takes the image row (column) as the cyclic encryption unit, and the time overhead is greatly reduced compared with the algorithm taking the pixel as the encryption unit. In addition, the mechanism of intermediate key associated with image content is introduced to improve the ability of the algorithm to resist chosen-plaintext attack and differential attack. Experiments show that the proposed image encryption algorithm has obvious speed advantages and good cryptographic performance, showing its excellent application potential in secure network communication.

Silicon nano-film is essential for the rapidly developing fields of nanoscience and flexible electronics, due to its compatibility with the CMOS process. Viscoelastic PDMS material can adhere to Si, SiO2, and other materials via intermolecular force and play a key role in flexible electronic devices. Researchers have studied many methods of transfer printing silicon nano-films based on PDMS stamps with pyramid microstructures. However, only large-scale transfer printing processes of silicon nano-films with line widths above 20 μm have been reported, mainly because the distribution of pyramid microstructures proposes a request on the size of silicon nano-films. In this paper, The PDMS base to the curing agent ratio affects the adhesion to silicon and enables the transfer, without the need for secondary alignment photolithography, and a flat stamp has been used during the transfer printing, with no requirement for the attaching pressure and detaching speed. Transfer printing of 20 μm wide structures has been realized, while the success rate is 99.3%. The progress is promising in the development of miniature flexible sensors, especially flexible hydrophone.

In order to meet the requirements of having a small structure, a wide frequency band, and high sensitivity for acoustic signal measurement, an acoustic sensor based on a silicon-based grooved microring resonator is proposed. In this paper, the effective refractive index method and the finite element method are used to analyze the optical characteristics of a grooved microring resonator, and the size of the sensor is optimized. The theoretical analysis results show that, when the bending radius reaches 10 μm, the theoretical quality factor is about 106, the sensitivity is 3.14 mV/Pa, and the 3 dB bandwidth is 430 MHz, which is three orders of magnitude larger based on the sensitivity of the silicon-based cascaded resonator acoustic sensor. The sensor exhibits high sensitivity and can be used in hydrophones. The small size of the sensor also shows its potential application in the field of array integration.

As an emerging cancer treatment strategy, photothermal therapy (PTT) is precise, controllable, minimally invasive, low cost and less toxic side effects, thus photothermal transduction agents have been extensively investigated in recent years. Noble metal nanomaterials with unique localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effects are particularly suitable as photothermal transduction agent, but the currently developed precious noble metal nano photothermal transduction agents face serious problems such as complex synthesis process, poor photothermal performance and high biotoxicity. Moreover, the large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during PTT treatment could cause irreversible damage to the healthy tissues surrounding the tumor. In this work, we deposited platinum (Pt) on the tips of gold nanorods (AuNRs) to form dumbbell-shaped Au-Pt bimetallic nanorods (AuPtNRs), and functionalized AuPtNRs with biocompatible polydopamine (PDA) to obtain AuPt@PDA. With 808 nm laser irradiation, the prepared AuPt@PDA exhibited excellent photothermal stability, and its photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) reached 81.78%, which was significantly higher than that of AuNRs (52.32%) and AuPtNRs (78.76%). With low cytotoxicity, AuPt@PDA decreased cell viability from 91.12% to 39.36% after PTT on cancer cells in vitro, while significantly reducing intracellular ROS levels generated by heat stress. Therefore, the excellent photothermal properties, high cancer cell killing and ROS scavenging activity of AuPt@PDA in PTT could be an ideal candidate for improving therapeutic efficacy while reducing the risk of toxic side effects due to heat stress-induced ROS formation.

Paper based flexible pressure sensors have received extensive attention due to their recoverability and accessibility. In this paper, we proposed graphical pressure sensors array with multilayered structure. A simple writing method was adopted to achieve the adsorption of sensitive materials on the fiber structure of cellulose paper. Pressure sensors with 1, 3, 5 and 7 stacked layers were fabricated and compared, respectively. The results show that the 7layers sensor combined high sensitivity (44 kPa-1) and fast time response (150 ms). The highly sensitive stacked paper-based sensor array realizes the pressure detection of objects and special-shaped surfaces. A pressure sensor base on commercial corrugated box was also fabricated to compare. The corrugated carton array was made to switch reminder devices for its convenience and accessibility. Since there are many scenarios that require a safe distance, especially under the influence of the COVID-19, the writable paper-based sensor array was used to realize graphical distance perception and warning.

The advantages of the capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducer (CMUT) technology have provided revolutionary advances in ultrasound imaging. Extensive research on CMUT devices for high-frequency medical imaging applications has been conducted because of strong demands and fabrication realization by using standard silicon IC fabrication technology. However, CMUT devices for low-frequency underwater imaging applications have been rarely researched because it is difficult to fabricate thick membrane structures through depositing processes using standard IC fabrication technology due to stress-related problems. To address this shortcoming, in this paper, a CMUT device with a 2.83-μm thick silicon membrane is proposed and fabricated. The CMUT device is fabricated using silicon fusion wafer-bonding technology. A 5-μm thick Parylene-C is conformally deposited on the device for immersion measurement. The results show that the fabricated CMUT can transmit an ultrasound wave, receive an ultrasound wave, and have pulse-echo measurement capability. The ability of the device to emit and receive ultrasonic waves increases with the bias voltage but does not depend on the voltage polarity. The results demonstrate the viability of the fabricated CMUT in low-frequency applications from the perspectives of the device structure, fabrication, and characterization. This study presents the potential of the CMUT for underwater ultrasound imaging applications.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical usefulness of cetuximab and cisplatin alone or in combination with paclitaxel as the first-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Methodology: Three hundred patients with confirmed HNSCC from 20 different hospitals were included in this study. Patients in group I underwent a 2-hour infusion of 400 mg/m2 cetuximab (day 1), followed by a 1-hour infusion of 250 mg/m2 cetuximab weekly and 1-hour infusion of 100 mg/m2 cisplatin (days 1 and 21) per treatment cycle. Patients in group II were treated with a combination of cetuximab, cisplatin, and paclitaxel. Patients received 6 cycles of 175 mg/m2 paclitaxel given on days 1 and 21. The primary outcome of the study was progression-free survival (PFS); overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR) were the secondary endpoints. Results: The median PFS was 5 months and 8 months for patients in groups I and II, respectively (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.85–1.78; P > 0.05). Similarly, we found no significant differences in OS between the 2 groups (median OS, 13 vs. 11 months, respectively; HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.42–1.43; P = 0.198). Moreover, we observed no significant difference in ORR between the 2 groups (ORR, 63.3% vs 69.9%, respectively; HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.36–1.67; P = 0.231). Conclusions: The combination of paclitaxel with cetuximab and cisplatin did not improve patient outcomes compared to cetuximab plus cisplatin alone. Therefore, the 2-drug regimen could be used as first-line treatment in patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC.

The surface stress-based biosensor has been applied in fast and sensitive identification of Escherichia coli (E. coli)with significance for public health, food, and water safety. However, the stable sensitive element of flexible biosensor based on surface stress is still crucial and challengeable. Here, the authors reported surface stress-induced biosensors based on double-layer stable gold nanostructures (D-AuNS-SSMB) for E. coli O157:H7 detection. Bacterial detection demonstrates the high stability of the biosensor. The resistance change of biosensor is linear to the logarithmic value of the E. coli O157:H7 concentrations ranging from 103 to 107 CFU/mL with a limit of detection (LOD) of 43 CFU/mL. The captured signals of D-AuNS-SSMB comes from surface stress generated by antigen-antibody binding. In addition, the biosensor exhibits good stability, reproducibility and specificity in detection of E. coli O157:H7 as well. This study provides a new preparation method of stable sensitive element for the E. coli detection.

The composite of gold and PDMS hold remarkable potential for surface stress-based biosensor applicaitons. However, the gold and PDMS in composite suffers from poor compatibility with each other and suppresses the performance of the biosensor. Here, we conduct two-step synthesis of the composite of gold and PDMS by in-situ reduction and glucose reduction of HAuCl4. The composite shows stable conductive gold nanoparticle network (SC-AuNW). In in-situ reduction, Au-seeds are embedded in PDMS surface. Furthermore, AuNPs are also generated inside the PDMS and enhance conductivity. The SC-AuNW plays a crucial role in tunneling conductivity of composite film and exhibits an excellent sensitivity to surface stress. We construct SC-AuNW-PDMS biosensors based on surface stress for glucose detection with a detection limit of 0.021 mM, high repeatability and specificity. Our research can promote the application of flexible conductive films in biosensors for disease diagnosis.

Black silicon is a kind of micro-/nanostructure formed on the surface of silicon, which can greatly reduce light reflection. In this review, five main fabrication techniques of black silicon are introduced and these techniques can change the morphology of the surface of crystalline silicon to a certain extent, thus making the preparation of black silicon more feasible and convenient. The utilization of black silicon is then reviewed. Black silicon has originally been used as a bactericidal to eradicate bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is bound to have more novel applications in the field of sterilization. Black silicon is like a sponge that absorbs light. It can capture almost all sunlight, both visible and infrared light. It also reduces the amount of silicon used in optical sensors, making products cheaper, smaller, and lighter. Due to the above characteristics, black silicon is widely used in Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering detection, biomedical sensing, and infrared device manufacturing. It also has the potential to improve the performance of solar cells. This review is intended to serve as a useful introduction to this novel material and its properties, and provide a general overview of recent progress in its main applications.

The photocatalysis process follows two fundamental sequences: reactant adsorption and surface photocatalysis. In this work, Bi metal-deposited Bi2GeO5 (Bi@BiGeO) is prepared as a model photocatalyst to understand the adsorption and activation mechanisms of the reactants and the photocatalytic oxidation of NO under visible light irradiation. Density functional theory and analytical approaches are employed to reveal the electronic structure and photo-induced carrier transfer processes. The introduction of Bi metal and the generation of oxygen vacancies (OVs) in BiGeO were achieved simultaneously via a facile method. The Bi metal served as a visible light antenna and as an electron sink and promoted the carrier separation and transfer. The OVs promote reactant (H2O and O2) activation, thereby reinforcing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The NO molecules are actively adsorbed at the coordinative unsaturated sites on Bi@BiGeO and get activated via electron exchange. The photocatalytic NO oxidation mechanism on Bi@BiGeO is revealed based on the reaction intermediates and final products monitored using in-situ FTIR. This work highlights the importance of reactant activation as a new strategy for the design of highly efficient photocatalysts to overcome the bottlenecks in environmental applications.

Pure WO3 sensors and Mn3O4/WO3 composite sensors with different Mn concentrations (1 atom %, 3 atom % and 5 atom %) were successfully prepared through a facile hydrothermal method. As gas sensing materials, their sensing performance at different temperatures was systematically investigated for gas detection. The devices displayed different sensing responses toward different gases at specific temperatures. The gas sensing performance of Mn3O4/WO3 composites (especially at 3 atom % Mn) were far improved compared to sensors based on pure WO3, where the improvement is related to the heterojunction formed between the two metal oxides. The sensor based on the Mn3O4/WO3 composite with 3 atom % Mn showed a high selective response to hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3) and carbon monoxide (CO) at working temperatures of 90 °C, 150 °C and 210 °C, respectively. The demonstrated superior selectivity opens the door for potential applications in gas recognition and detection.

Background: With the increasing serious problem of water environment pollution, it is a hot spot to study the high efficient sewage treatment method. Owning to the photosensitization of carbon nanomaterials, carbon doped TiO2 (C-TiO2) has higher photocatalytic activity. Method: Here, we proposed a new method, carbon-assisted method, to prepare C-TiO2 nanomaterials. We first used degreasing cotton as a dispersant to fully absorb the TiCl4 sol. Results: After high-temperature calcination, C-TiO2nanomaterials were obtained. Characterizations results showed that the high specific surface area C-TiO2 nanomaterials in the size of about 50 nm showed a broader light absorption and narrower bandgap spectrum than P25 (commercial TiO2 nanoparticles). Conclusion: The C-TiO2 nanomaterials showed stronger photocatalytic ability than P25.

This paper reported a simple pH-responsive fluorescent therapeutic drug delivery system of doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded carbon dots (CDs) for intracellular drug delivery and track in human gastric cancer cells. Drug loading efficiency of this system was 75.3 wt%. The drug release process of this system followed the first-degree drug delivery model, which was ideal for intravenous injection therapy of cancer. The carboxyl-rich CDs had almost no toxicity to human gastric cancer (MGC-803) and human gastric epithelial (GES-1) cells with the survival rates of over 90%. The CDs-DOX system had about a 2-fold inhibitory effect on MGC-803 cells growth compared to GES-1 cells according to the MTT assay. The cell imaging results showed that the CDs-DOX system could be internalized into the cells efficiently. The intracellular uptake and drug delivery efficiency of this system in GES-1 cells was about 30% of that in the MGC-803 cells. The fluorescent CDs enabled the optical labeling and tracking of the drug delivery process at least 48 h. Because of its specific drug delivery and fluorescence tracking properties, the multifunctional CDs-DOX system possesses potential applications in bioimaging, biolabeling and cancer therapy.

A novel Au-decorated α-Fe2O3 nanocomposite has been successfully prepared using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid as bridging agent via a facile and cost-effective method. The formed 10 mol% Au-decorated α-Fe2O3 (Au/α-Fe2O3) nanocomposite demonstrates a narrower band gap (1.88 eV), 4.3 times larger photocurrent, more hot spots, and stronger electromagnetic coupling effect between gold and iron oxide than pure hematite nanoparticles, thus serving as the possible origins of their comparative photocatalytic activities. In addition, the synthesized Au/α-Fe2O3 exhibits excellent in handling anionic dyes like methyl orange and congo red, remarkably superior to their α-Fe2O3 precursors, and efficiently improves persistent organic pollutants (POPs) treatment.

The design of highly efficient visible-light photocatalysts and the elucidation of decomposition mechanisms are the two key tasks in environmental remediation. Herein, we utilized theoretical calculations to design a Bi metal–based visible-light photocatalyst (Bi@BiOSi) with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties, showing that the unique electron delivery channel was formed at the Bi metal/Bi2O2SiO3 interface. The Bi@BiOSi nanosheets were used for photocatalytic removal of ppb-level atmospheric NO, with Bi metal–based SPR resulting in enhanced visible light capture and charge separation efficiency, whereas oxygen vacancy induced the formation of a midgap level and promoted O2 activation. As a result, generation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals over Bi@BiOSi was promoted, favoring photocatalytic NO removal. To elucidate the reaction mechanism, the products distribution during adsorption and photocatalytic NO oxidation on Bi@BiOSi were determined by in situ DRIFTS, which revealed that the increased production of reactive species inhibited the toxic intermediates (N2O4) formation and increased the selectivity of the NO-to-NO3– transformation via the synergy of oxygen vacancy and Bi metal. Thus, this work provides new insights into the design of non-noble metal-based photocatalysts and establishes a novel method of inhibiting the toxic intermediates production in photocatalysis for efficient and safe air purification.

Carbon dots (Cdots) with bright green fluorescence were applied to the rapid and selective cell imaging for a variety of cell lines. Different labeling distributions of hepatoma cells (HepG2) and normal human liver cells (LO2) were achieved using Cdots as imaging agents. For HepG2 cells, the Cdots could rapidly permeate the cell membrane and diffuse into the cytoplasm and nucleus within 3 min, and retained their location in the targets for 24 h. However, the Cdots exhibited bright fluorescence only in the cytoplasm of LO2 cell lines. Moreover, the Cdots were almost non-cytotoxic and exhibited superior photostability over a wide range of pH. Therefore, these Cdots have great potential for rapid, luminous and selective bioimaging applications, and are expected to be used as a nucleus-staining agent in cancer diagnosis. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

In this paper, pure ZnO, Co3O4-ZnO, Pd@ZnO and Pd@Co3O4-ZnO composite nanofibers were synthesized by electrospinning method. Multiple characterizations were employed to investigate the crystal structure, composition, morphology, and bonding states of the Pd@Co3O4-ZnO composite nanofibers. The sensing properties of the as-synthesized nanofibers were evaluated toward different volatile organic components (VOCs) including ethanol, acetone, isopropanol and formaldehyde under the various operating temperatures. The obtained results have clearly demonstrated that the Pd@Co3O4-ZnO composite nanofibers exhibits significantly enhanced VOC sensing performance compared with other nanofibers. Specifically, the response of Pd@Co3O4-ZnO composite nanofibers toward 200 ppm ethanol is 59 at 240℃, which is much higher than that of ZnO nanofibers. The enhanced VOC sensing properties of Pd@Co3O4-ZnO composite nanofibers could be attributed to the electronic and chemical sensitizations of Pd and the p-n junction formation at the interface of Co3O4 and ZnO.

Here, we firstly report a wireless magnetoelastic (ME) nanobiosensor, based on ME materials and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), for highly sensitive detection of atrazine employing the competitive immunoassay. In response to a time-varying magnetic field, the ME material longitudinally vibrates at its resonance frequency which can be affected by its mass loading. The layer of AuNPs coating on the ME material contributes to its biocompatibility, stability, and sensitivity. The atrazine antibody was oriented immobilized on the AuNPs-coated ME material surface through protein A, improving the nanobiosensor’s performance. Atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis proved that the immobilization of atrazine antibody was successful. Furthermore, to enhance the sensitivity, atrazine–albumin conjugate (Atr–BSA) was induced to compete with atrazine for binding with atrazine antibody, amplifying the signal response. The resonance frequency shift is inversely and linearly proportional to the logarithm of atrazine concentrations ranging from 1 ng/mL to 100 μg/mL, with the sensitivity of 3.43 Hz/μg mL−1 and the detection limit of 1 ng/mL, which is significantly lower than the standard established by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The experimental results indicated that the ME nanobiosensor displayed strong specificity and stability toward atrazine. This study provides a new convenient method for rapid, selective, and highly sensitive detection of atrazine, which has implications for its applications in water quality monitoring and other environmental detection fields.

Promoting the detection range, durability, and shapeable manufacturing of flexible strain sensors is essential to broaden their applications. Therefore, in this study, styrene ethylene butylene styrene (SEBS) rubber as a flexible material and a melt-mixing molding method are adopted to design an ultra-flexible strain sensor. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are added to form a conductive network, and the effect of Ag flakes on improving the sensor performance is studied. The experiment results exhibit good strain–resistance dependent characteristics of the obtained sensor, which demonstrates an excellent sensing range of about 540% with a gauge factor (GF) of 5.197. The good hydrophobicity (water contact angle ≈120.4°), repeatable characteristics at different rates, strain-dependence and long-term recycling of the sensor are demonstrated as well. Finally, the fabricated round bracelet sensor is applied to detect different cross-sections, the movement of human joints, balloon inflation, bottle cap sealing and numerous other aspects.

US–China trade relations have implications for global nitrogen and phosphorus surpluses, and increasing blue water demand. The case shows that trade policy analysis needs to integrate environmental considerations.

The sensitivity improvement is the choke point of the soft strain sensor’s development. This paper focuses on heightening the soft strain sensor’s sensitivity through changing the sensitive unit’s shape. The sensitive units in shape of square or sine wave with different periods were studied in this work. Silver nanowires (Ag NWs) in excellent electrical conductivity and flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were used as sensitive nanomaterials and soft substrate. The soft strain sensor whose sensitive unit is double cycled square wave performs the highest sensitivity whose gauge factor (GF) reaches to 14763.8. Based on the high sensitivity, the sensor was applied on real-time detection of the human expression.

Noble metal nanomaterials are particularly suitable as photothermal transduction agents (PTAs) with high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) due to local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Studies on different gold–platinum (Au–Pt) bimetal nanoparticles exhibiting the LSPR effect have provided a new idea for the synthesis of excellent PTAs. But there is no simple and scalable method for the controllable synthesis of Au–Pt nanoparticles with adjustable LSPR wavelength range. In this work, the effects of Ag+ and K2PtCl4 on the deposition of Pt on the surface of gold nanorods (AuNRs) were investigated. A fast, precise, and controlled synthesis of dumbbell-like Pt-coated AuNRs (Au@Pt NRs) under mild conditions is proposed. The synthesized Au@Pt NRs have a longitudinal LSPR wavelength of 812 nm, which is very close to a common laser wavelength of 808 nm. The Au@Pt NRs exhibit excellent photothermal properties when irradiated with a laser. The temperature increased by more than 36 °C after irradiation for 10 min, with a PCE of about 78.77%, which is much higher than that of AuNRs (57.33%). In addition, even after four on/off cycles, the Au@Pt NRs are able to maintain the photothermal properties and retain their optical properties, indicating that they have excellent photothermal stability and reusability.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) with different Zn and Ni ratios (ZNOF-x) were synthesized by one-step solvothermal method without any surfactant. The ratio of Zn and Ni significantly affect the morphology of the ZNOF-x. Subsequently, MOF-derived ZnO-NiO (ZNO-x) was obtained after the calcination in air atmosphere. Gas sensing experimental was conducted on the as-fabricated ZNO-x sensors, and the measured results demonstrate that ZNO-x-based gas sensor presents lower acetone sensitivity but higher moisture-resistance performance with increasing the amount of Ni under ultra humid atmospheres. Especially, ZNO-5-based sensor exhibits a relative high sensitivity (1.31 to 1 ppm acetone in 95% RH atmosphere) and excellent water-vapour resistance performance (S95%/S11% > 0.8 at 175 °C), as well as good response and rapid response/recovery speed for the acetone sensing. Therefore, ZNO-5 is a promising material for acetone detecting in a high humid environment, which is a potential sensing material for the diagnosis of diabetes through exhaled gases analysis.

Enzymes immobilized in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted great attention as a promising hybrid material. In the study, a novel biomimetic mineralization encapsulation process for a highly stable and easily reusable catalase (CAT)@ZIF-8 composite has been designed. This immobilization process provides a high enzyme loading of 70 wt %. The CAT@ZIF-8 composites exhibited a much lower Km value and better enzyme activity than those of free CAT, exhibiting good stability against enzymatic hydrolysis and protein denaturation under harsh conditions. The inhibitory effects of pesticides such as pH, temperature, solvent (i.e., methanol, dimethyl sulfoxide and tetrahydrofuran) and storage at room temperature (6 months) on the activity of free and immobilized catalase enzyme were investigated. The CAT@MOF composites also exhibited excellent reusability, an obvious advantage for treating a wastewater from food processing. The CAT@MOF developed is promising for the efficient removal of H2O2 under harsh conditions.

Eltrombopag is a small molecule, thrombopoietin receptor agonist approved for the treatment of patients with aplastic anemia and chronic immune thrombocytopenia. It is also a polyvalent cation chelator and inhibits leukemia cell proliferation via reduction of intracellular iron. The in vivo efficacy of eltrombopag was tested against a panel of six Pediatric Preclinical Testing Consortium osteosarcoma xenografts at doses of 5 mg/kg/day (moderate dose) and 50 mg/kg/day (high dose). Eltrombopag, at moderate doses, failed to significantly improve event-free survival (EFS) in 6/6 models. At high doses, eltrombopag significantly prolonged EFS in 2/2 models, though the effect size was small. All models tested demonstrated progressive disease. While eltrombopag did not meaningfully inhibit osteosarcoma growth, it also did not stimulate tumor growth, suggesting it may be safely investigated as a supportive care agent to enhance platelet recovery post chemotherapy.

The flexible strain sensor is a fast-moving technology and has been used in many fields. The array design and application based on flexible strain sensors have been the current research hotspots. However, there are few reports on research of acoustic positioning using the flexible sensor array. Herein, we designed and realized the consistent fabrication of a thin-film, acoustic sensor array. The acoustic sensing research of the sensor was demonstrated as well. We used a convenient fabrication method to design a flexible acoustic sensor using silver nanowires coated on a thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film with mass block-beam structure. The acoustic sensor can record sound within a frequency domain of 20-2000 Hz and volume detection range of 83-108 dB. The sensor's resonance frequency is 380 Hz, horizontal distance sound detection limit is 5 cm, and vertical detection limit is 3.5 cm. We also achieved 360° azimuth detection in two-dimensional space with a detection accuracy of 15°. In three-dimensional space, the flexible acoustic sensor array was designed with two flexible acoustic sensors to detect the position of the sound source. This research first proposes the use of flexible acoustic sensors to test the sound source orientation.

Background Regorafenib is a small molecule multikinase inhibitor that inhibits multiple kinases including BRAF, KIT, PDGFRB, RAF, RET, and VEGFR1-3. Procedures The in vivo anticancer effects of regorafenib were assessed in a panel of six osteosarcoma models, three rhabdomyosarcoma models, and one Ewing sarcoma model. Results Regorafenib induced modest inhibition of tumor growth in the models evaluated. Conclusion The overall pattern of response to regorafenib appears similar to that of the kinase inhibitor sorafenib, with pronounced slowing of tumor growth in some models, limited to the period of agent administration, being the primary treatment effect.

The pediatric preclinical testing program previously demonstrated activity of eribulin in osteosarcoma patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. The phase 2 trial in patients with relapsed osteosarcoma failed to meet response endpoints. Eribulin was evaluated in the original and an expanded set of PDX models and tested at multiple dose levels and schedules to evaluate dose-response. Maximal response was observed at the highest dose, consistent with prior results. The alternative schedule generated similar responses. We demonstrate steep dose-response for eribulin in osteosarcoma PDX models, implying that any deviation from achievement of effective concentrations may have a significant impact on activity.

Recently, highly stretchable strain sensors have attracted considerable attention. Identifying alternatives to sensitive unit materials and flexible substrates is critical in the fabrication of sensors. Herein, a trinary hybrid carbon material consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and fullerene was chosen due to its dense interconnections and robust mechanism. Additionally, the cost-effective fabrication of styrene ethylene butylene styrene (SEBS) provides a platform for the strong adhesion of substrates, which contributes to the strong interaction between the substrates and the sensitive unit materials. Furthermore, the intrinsically high elasticity of SEBS allows the sensors to endure large stretching ranges. Owing to the above-mentioned merits, the fabricated sensor based on CNT/graphene/fullerene-SEBS has a high conductivity of 5.179 S m−1, a moderate gauge factor (GF) of 15, an optimum stretching range of 203%, a linearity of 136% (R2 = 0.998), and adaptive-rate repeatability, which reveals its potential in the fields of human motion monitoring and scalable applications.