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Intramolecular exciplex systems featuring thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) have garnered significant attention in the realm of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Nonetheless, the occurrence of organic sandwich intramolecular exciplexes remains rare due to structural limitations and synthetic challenges. Herein, we present a novel rigid acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–D–A) sandwich complex, dSFQP, characterized by two sp3C-locking moieties. This compound exhibits TADF characteristics facilitated by a multiple through-space charge-transfer process. X-ray crystallographic analysis confirms the distinctive sandwich configuration. The parallel spatial arrangement and minimized A–D–A configuration enhance electronic interactions, resulting in a high photoluminescence quantum yield, rapid reverse intersystem crossing rate, and sluggish nonradiative decay rate. OLEDs employing dSFQP as the dopant achieve a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 28.5% with a low efficiency roll-off of merely 2.8% at 1000 cd m−2. Even at a high brightness of 10 000 cd m−2, the EQE remains notably high at 17.5%. Our current results provide an effective way to further innovate the design of new organic charge-transfer complexes.

Single-molecule white-light emission (SMWLE) materials possessing multiple excited states offer promising prospects for covering the full spectrum of visible light, making them ideal for mimicking sunlight. Nevertheless, crafting these materials and regulating their intricate energy demands have been significant hurdles, necessitating the creation of inventive molecular designs for their future application in energy, molecular biology, and organic electronics.

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters based on multiple resonance (MR) effects are promising for high-definition organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with narrowband emission and high efficiency. However, they still face the challenges of aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) and spectral broadening. Solution-processable MR-TADF emitters with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of >20% and a full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of <30 nm have rarely been reported. To construct ACQ-resistant emitters without sacrificing color purity, the aggregation-induced MR-TADF material 6TBNwith a rigid B,N-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon core and four carbazole substituents as well as 12 tert-butyl groups on the periphery is designed. The multidimensional shielded effect largely limits the ACQ, intermolecular interactions, and spectral broadening. Consequently, solution-processed OLEDs based on 6TBNexhibit a maximum EQE of 23.0% and high color purity with a fwhm of 25 nm. Furthermore, the nondoped device achieves a high efficiency (12.3%) and merely a slight widening of the fwhm to 27 nm. This work provides a feasible strategy to achieve MR-TADF materials with resistance to concentration quenching and high color purity.

Cylas formicariusis one of the most important pests of sweet potato worldwide, causing considerable ecological and economic damage. This study improved the effect of comprehensive management and understanding of genetic mechanisms by examining the functional genomics of C. formicarius. Using Illumina and PacBio sequencing, this study obtained a chromosome-level genome assembly of adult weevils from lines inbred for 15 generations. The high-quality assembly obtained was 338.84 Mb, with contig and scaffold N50 values of 14.97 and 34.23 Mb, respectively. In total, 157.51 Mb of repeat sequences and 11 907 protein-coding genes were predicted. A total of 337.06 Mb of genomic sequences was located on the 11 chromosomes, accounting for 99.03% of the total length of the associated chromosome. Comparative genomic analysis showed that C. formicariuswas sister to Dendroctonus ponderosae, and C. formicariusdiverged from D. ponderosaeapproximately 138.89 million years ago (Mya). Many important gene families expanded in the C. formicariusgenome were involved in the detoxification of pesticides, tolerance to cold stress and chemosensory system. To further study the role of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in olfactory recognition of C. formicarius, the binding assay results indicated that CforOBP4–6 had strong binding affinities for sex pheromones and other ligands. The high-quality C. formicariusgenome provides a valuable resource to reveal the molecular ecological basis, genetic mechanism, and evolutionary process of major agricultural pests; it also offers new ideas and new technologies for ecologically sustainable pest control.

The need for bladder reconstruction and side effects of cystoplasty have spawned the demand for the development of alternative material substitutes. Biomaterials such as submucosa of small intestine (SIS) have been widely used as patches for bladder repair, but the outcomes are not fully satisfactory. To capture stem cells in situhas been considered as a promising strategy to speed up the process of re-cellularization and functionalization. In this study, we have developed an anti-CD29 antibody-conjugated SIS scaffold (AC-SIS) which is capable of specifically capturing urine-derived stem cells (USCs) in situfor tissue repair and regeneration. The scaffold has exhibited effective capture capacity and sound biocompatibility. In vivoexperiment proved that the AC-SIS scaffold could promote rapid endothelium healing and smooth muscle regeneration. The endogenous stem cell capturing scaffolds has thereby provided a new revenue for developing effective and safer bladder patches.

Background: Using conventional endoscope to perform endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is difficult because of the one-handed operation and blind dissection caused by gravity. Poor visualization of the submucosal plane causes ESD to be associated with a high risk of bleeding and perforation. This study aimed to develop a novel ESD-assistive robot system and to evaluate its efficacy. Methods: A novel flexible auxiliary single-arm transluminal endoscopic robot (FASTER) was developed. A total of 36 artificial lesions in ex vivo porcine stomachs were removed using the FASTER-assisted ESD method (n= 18) and the conventional ESD method (n= 18). Lesions were 2 cm or 4 cm in diameter, located on the anterior and posterior walls of the antrum. Primary outcome measurements were dissection time and dissection speed. Results: The dissection time in FASTER-assisted ESD was significantly shorter than that in conventional ESD (7 min vs 13 min, p= 0.012), mainly because of the faster dissection speed (148.6 vs 97.0 mm2/min, p= 0.002). The total procedure time in FASTER-assisted ESD was shorter than that in conventional ESD, but the difference was not significant (16 min vs 24 min, p= 0.252). Complete en bloc resection was achieved in all lesions. No perforations were detected. The FASTER exhibited the ability of regrasp, multidirectional traction, and proper tension control during ESD. Conclusion: FASTER significantly increased the dissection speed by providing proper traction and achieving good submucosal vision. This new device is expected to facilitate ESD in clinical practice.

Elevated expression of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporter ABCG2 in cancer cells contributes to the development of the multidrug resistance phenotype in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Due to the lack of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved synthetic inhibitors of ABCG2, significant efforts have been invested in discovering bioactive compounds of plant origin that are capable of reversing ABCG2-mediated multidrug resistance in cancer cells. Sophoraflavanone G (SFG), a phytoncide isolated from the plant species Sophora flavescens, is known to possess a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, and antiproliferative effects. In the present study, the chemosensitizing effect of SFG in ABCG2-overexpressing NSCLC cells was investigated. Experimental results demonstrate that at subtoxic concentrations SFG significantly reversed ABCG2-mediated multidrug resistance in a concentration-dependent manner. Additional biochemical data and in silico docking analysis of SFG to the inward-open conformation of human ABCG2 indicate that SFG inhibited the drug transport function of ABCG2 by interacting with residues within the transmembrane substrate-binding pocket of ABCG2. Collectively, these findings provide evidence that SFG has the potential to be further tested as an effective inhibitor of ABCG2 to improve the efficacy of therapeutic drugs in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Organometal mixed-halide perovskite materials hold great promise for next-generation solar cells, light-emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors. Except for the rapid progress in the efficiency of perovskite-based devices, the stability issue over prolonged light illumination has severely hindered their practical application. The deterioration mechanism of organometal halide perovskite materials under light illumination has seldom been conducted to date, which is indispensable to the understanding and optimization of photon-harvesting process inside perovskite-based optoelectronic devices. Here, explicit degradation pathways and comprehensive microscopic understandings of white-light-induced degradation have been put forward for two organometal mixed-halide perovskite materials (e.g., MAPbI3–xClxand MAPbBr3–xClx) under high vacuum conditions. In situ compositional analysis and real-time film characterizations reveal that the decomposition of both mixed-halide perovskites starts at the grain boundaries, leading to the formation of hydrocarbons and ammonia gas with the residuals of PbI2(Cl), Pb, or PbClxBr2–xin the films. The degradation has been correlated to the localized trap states that induce strong coupling between photoexcited carriers and the crystal lattice.

In account of the energy gap law, the development of efficient narrow-band gap thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials remains a major challenge for the application of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The orange-red TADF materials are commonly designed with either large π-conjugated systems or strong intramolecular donor–acceptor (D–A) interactions for red-shift emission and small singlet–triplet energy gap (ΔEST). There are rare reports on the simultaneous incorporation of these two strategies on the same material systems. Herein, two orange-red emitters named 1P2D-BPand 2P2D-DQhave been designed by extending the conjugation degree of the center acceptor DQ and increasing the number distribution of the peripheral donor PXZ units, respectively. The emission peak of 1P2D-BPis red-shifted to 615 nm compared to 580 nm for 2P2D-DQ, revealing the pronounced effect of the conjugation extension on the emission band gap. In addition, the distorted molecular structure yields a small ΔESTof 0.02 eV, favoring the acquisition of a high exciton utilization through an efficient reverse intersystem crossing process. As a result, orange-red OLEDs with both 1P2D-BPand 2P2D-DQhave achieved an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of more than 17%. In addition, the efficient white OLED based on 1P2D-BPis realized through precise exciton assignment and energy transport modulation, showing an EQE of 23.6% and a color rendering index of 82. The present work provides an important reference for the design of high-efficiency narrow-band gap materials in the field of solid-state lighting.

Chemical potassium (K) fertilizer is commonly used in apple (Malus domesticaL. Borkh) production but K is easily fixed by soil, resulting in reduced K fertilizer utilization and wasted resources. K-solubilizing bacteria (KSB) can cost-effectively increase the soluble K content in rhizosphere soil. Therefore, the objectives were to select high-efficiency KSB from apple orchards under various soil management models and evaluate their effects on apple seedling growth. Maize (Zea maysL.) straw mulching (MSM) increased the total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN) and available potassium (AK) in the rhizosphere and improved fruit quality. The number of KSB in the rhizosphere soil of MSM was 9.5×104CFU g−1soil, which was considerably higher than that in the other mulching models. Fourteen KSB strains were isolated with relative K solubilizing ability ranging from 17 to 30%, and five strains increased the dry weight per apple seedling. The most efficient strain was identified as Paenibacillus mucilaginosusthrough morphological observation and sequence analysis of 16S rDNA, named JGK. After inoculation, the colonization of JGK in soil decreased from 4.0 to 1.5×109CFU g−1soil within 28 d. The growth of the apple seedlings and the K accumulation in apple plants were promoted by irrigation with 50 mL JGK bacterial solution (1×109CFU mL−1), but there was no significant increase in the AK content of rhizosphere soil. High-performance liquid phase analysis (HPLC) data showed that the JGK metabolites contained phytohormones and organic acids. Hence, the JGK strain promoted the growth of two-month-old apple seedlings by stimulating function of the produced phytohormones and enhanced K solubility by acidification for apple seedling uptake. This study enriches the understanding of KSB and provides an effective means to increase the K utilization efficiency of apple production.

The overexpression of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter ABCG2 has been linked to clinical multidrug resistance in solid tumors and blood cancers, which remains a significant obstacle to successful cancer chemotherapy. For years, the potential modulatory effect of bioactive compounds derived from natural sources on ABCG2-mediated multidrug resistance has been investigated, as they are inherently well tolerated and offer a broad range of chemical scaffolds. Licochalcone A (LCA), a natural chalcone isolated from the root of Glycyrrhiza inflata, is known to possess a broad spectrum of biological and pharmacological activities, including pro-apoptotic and antiproliferative effects in various cancer cell lines. In this study, the chemosensitization effect of LCA was examined in ABCG2-overexpressing multidrug-resistant cancer cells. Experimental data demonstrated that LCA inhibits the drug transport function of ABCG2 and reverses ABCG2-mediated multidrug resistance in human multidrug-resistant cancer cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner. Results of LCA-stimulated ABCG2 ATPase activity and the in silico docking analysis of LCA to the inward-open conformation of human ABCG2 suggest that LCA binds ABCG2 in the transmembrane substrate-binding pocket. This study provides evidence that LCA should be further evaluated as a modulator of ABCG2 in drug combination therapy trials against ABCG2-expressing drug-resistant tumors.

The design and synthesis of highly efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters with an electroluminescence wavelength beyond 600 nm remains a great challenge for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). To solve this issue, three TADF molecules, xDMAC–BP (x= 1, 2, 3), are developed in combination with the rigid planar dibenzo[a,c]phenazine (BP) acceptor core and different numbers of 9,9-dimethylacridan (DMAC) donors. All these emitters possess stable internal charge transfer and a large dihedral angle between the donors and planar BP core. The emission wavelength can be regulated from 541 to 605 nm by increasing the number of the donor DMAC units because of the controllable tuning of the intramolecular charge transfer effect and the molecular geometrical structure. The photoluminescence quantum yields of these emitters are improved from 42 to 89% with the increase in the number of DMAC units. The orange-red OLEDs employing the xDMAC–BP emitters exhibit maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 22.0% at 606 nm, which is the highest EQE of the previously reported TADF OLEDs exceeding 600 nm.

Two novel thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters, 3-phenylquinolino[3,2,1-de]acridine-5,9-dione (3-PhQAD) and 7-phenylquinolino[3,2,1-de]acridine-5,9-dione (7-PhQAD), were designed and synthesized based on a rigid quinolino[3,2,1-de]acridine-5,9-dione (QAD) framework. With the effective superimposed resonance effect from electron-deficient carbonyls and electron-rich nitrogen atom, both emitters realize significant TADF characteristics with small ΔESTs of 0.18 and 0.19 eV, respectively. And, molecular relaxations were dramatically suppressed for both emitters because of their conjugated structure. In the devices, 3-PhQAD realizes superior performance with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 19.1% and a narrow full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 44 nm, whereas a maximum EQE of 18.7% and an extremely narrow FWHM of 34 nm are realized for 7-PhQAD. These superior results reveal that apart from nitrogen and boron-aromatic systems, QAD framework can also act as a TADF matrix with effective resonance effect, and QAD derivatives are ideal candidates to develop TADF emitters with narrow FWHMs for practical applications.

The disease burden of gastrointestinal disease (GD) in China is high, with significant variation across provinces. A comprehensive agreed set of indicators could guide rational resource allocation to support better GD outcomes.

In the aim to realize high performance semitransparent fully coated organic solar cells, printable electrode buffer layers and top electrodes are two important key technologies. An ideal ink for the preparation of the electrode buffer layer for printed top electrodes should have good wettability and negligible solvent corrosion to the underlying layer. This work reports a novel organic–inorganic composite of phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) and PEDOT:PSS that features excellent wettability with the active layer and printed top Ag nanowires and high resistibility to solvent corrosion. This composite buffer layer can be easily deposited on a polymer surface to form a smooth, homogeneous film via spin-coating or doctor-blade coating. Through the use of this composite anode buffer layer, fully coated semitransparent devices with doctor-blade-coated functional layers and spray-coated Ag nanowire top electrodes showed the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.01% with an excellent average visible-light transmittance (AVT) of 50.3%, demonstrating superior overall characteristics with a comparable performance to and a much higher AVT than cells based on a thermally evaporated MoO3/Ag/MoO3thin film electrode (with a PCE of 5.77% and AVT of 19.5%). The current work reports the fabrication of fully coated inverted organic solar cells by combining doctor-blade coating and spray coating and, more importantly, demonstrates that a nanocomposite of a polyoxometalate and conjugated polymer could be an excellent anode buffer layer for the fully coated polymer solar cells with favorable interfacial contact, hole extraction efficiency, and high comparability with full printing.

The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporter ABCG2 can actively efflux a wide variety of chemotherapeutic agents out of cancer cells and subsequently reduce the intracellular accumulation of these drugs. Therefore, the overexpression of ABCG2 often contributes to the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells, which is one of the major obstacles to successful cancer chemotherapy. Moreover, ABCG2 is highly expressed in various tissues including the intestine and blood-brain barrier (BBB), limiting the absorption and bioavailability of many therapeutic agents. For decades, the task of developing a highly effective synthetic inhibitor of ABCG2 has been hindered mostly by the intrinsic toxicity, the lack of specificity, and complex pharmacokinetics. Alternatively, considering the wide range of diversity and relatively nontoxic nature of natural products, developing potential modulators of ABCG2 from natural sources is particularly valuable. α-Mangostin is a natural xanthone derived from the pericarps of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) with various pharmacological purposes, including suppressing angiogenesis and inducing cancer cell growth arrest. In this study, we demonstrated that at nontoxic concentrations, α-mangostin effectively and selectively inhibits ABCG2-mediated drug transport and reverses MDR in ABCG2-overexpressing MDR cancer cells. Direct interactions between α-mangostin and the ABCG2 drug-binding site(s) were confirmed by stimulation of ATPase activity and by inhibition of photolabeling of the substrate-binding site(s) of ABCG2 with [125I]iodoarylazidoprazosin. In summary, our findings show that α-mangostin has great potential to be further developed into a promising modulator of ABCG2 for reversing MDR and for its use in combination therapy for patients with MDR tumors.

Deregulated activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is frequently found in human cancers, which plays a key role in promoting cancer proliferation and resistance to anticancer therapies. Therefore, developing inhibitors targeting key components of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway has great clinical significance. PF-4989216 is a novel, orally available small-molecule drug that was developed to selectively inhibit the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and subsequent cancer cell proliferation. PF-4989216 exhibited potent and selective inhibition against PI3K kinase activity in preclinical small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) models, and was especially effective against the proliferation of SCLCs harboring PIK3CA mutation. Unfortunately, in addition to innate resistance mechanisms, drug extrusion by the efflux pumps may also contribute to the development of acquired resistance to PI3K inhibitors in cancer cells. The overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporters ABCB1 and ABCG2 is one of the most common mechanisms for reducing intracellular drug concentration and developing multidrug resistance, which remains a substantial challenge to the effective treatment of cancer. In this study, we report the discovery of ABCG2 overexpression as a mechanism of resistance to PI3K inhibitor PF-4989216 in human cancer cells. We demonstrated that the inhibition of Akt and downstream S6RP phosphorylation by PF-4989216 were significantly reduced in ABCG2-overexpressing human cancer cells. Moreover, overexpression of ABCG2 in various cancer cell lines confers significant resistance to PF-4989216, which can be reversed by an inhibitor or competitive substrate of ABCG2, indicating that ABCG2-mediated transport alone can sufficiently reduce the intracellular concentration of PF-4989216.

Inverted organic light-emitting diode (OLED) has attracted extensive attention due to the demand in active-matrix OLED display panels as its geometry enables the direct connection with n-channel transistor backplane on the substrate. One key challenge of high-performance inverted OLED is an efficient electron-injection layer with superior electrical and optical properties to match the indium tin oxide cathode on substrate. We here propose a synergistic electron-injection architecture using surface modification of ZnO layer to simultaneously promote electron injection into organic emitter and enhance out-coupling of waveguided light. An efficient inverted white OLED is realized by introducing the nanoimprinted aperiodic nanostructure of ZnO for broadband and angle-independent light out-coupling and inserting an n-type doped interlayer for energy level tuning and injection barrier lowering. As a result, the optimized inverted white OLEDs have an external quantum efficiency of 42.4% and a power efficiency of 85.4 lm W1–, which are accompanied by the superiority of angular color stability over the visible wavelength range. Our results may inspire a promising approach to fabricate high-efficiency inverted OLEDs for large-scale display panels.

In this paper, Ti sheets were anodized to obtain TiO2 nanotube arrays electrodes. The impact of different oxidation conditions on photoelectric properties of TiO2 nanotube arrays were discussed by the photocurrent density, and the optimal oxidation conditions of TiO2 which had good photoelectric properties were found. Pigments were extracted from fresh spinach leaves, tomatoes and carrots, and to be used as plant dye to sensitize TiO2 electrodes. The photocurrent density and the Incident Photon to Current Efficiency (IPCE) of the plant dye sensitized TiO2 electrodes were examined.

Charge transport at organic/inorganic hybrid contacts significantly affects the performance of organic optoelectronic devices because the unfavorable energy level offsets at these interfaces can hinder charge injection or extraction due to large barrier heights. Herein, we report a technologically relevant method to functionalize a traditional hole-transport layer of solution-processed nickel oxide (NiOx) with various interlayers. The photoemission spectroscopy measurements reveal the continuous tuning of the NiOxsubstrate work function ranging from 2.5 to 6.6 eV, enabling the alignment transition of energy levels between the Schottky–Mott limit and Fermi level pinning at the organic/composite NiOxinterface. As a result, switching hole and electron transport for the active organic material on the composite NiOxlayer is achieved due to the controlled carrier injection/extraction barriers. The experimental findings indicate that tuning the work function of metal oxides with optimum energy level offsets can facilitate the charge transport at organic/electrode contacts.

The overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporter ABCB1 (P-glycoprotein, MDR1) is the most studied mechanism of multidrug resistance (MDR), which remains a major obstacle in clinical cancer chemotherapy. Consequently, resensitizing MDR cancer cells by inhibiting the efflux function of ABCB1 has been considered as a potential strategy to overcome ABCB1-mediated MDR in cancer patients. However, the task of developing a suitable modulator of ABCB1 has been hindered mostly by the lack of selectivity and high intrinsic toxicity of candidate compounds. Considering the wide range of diversity and relatively nontoxic nature of natural products, developing a potential modulator of ABCB1 from natural sources is particularly valuable. Through screening of a large collection of purified bioactive natural products, hernandezine was identified as a potent and selective reversing agent for ABCB1-mediated MDR in cancer cells. Experimental data demonstrated that the bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid hernandezine is selective for ABCB1, effectively inhibits the transport function of ABCB1, and enhances drug-induced apoptosis in cancer cells. More importantly, hernandezine significantly resensitizes ABCB1-overexpressing cancer cells to multiple chemotherapeutic drugs at nontoxic, nanomolar concentrations. Collectively, these findings reveal that hernandezine has great potential to be further developed into a novel reversal agent for combination therapy in MDR cancer patients.

We have demonstrated in this article that both power conversion efficiency (PCE) and performance stability of inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells can be improved by using a ZnO:PFN nanocomposite (PFN: poly[(9,9-bis(3′-(N,N-dimethylamion)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctyl)-fluorene]) as the cathode buffer layer (CBL). This nanocomposite could form a compact and defect-less CBL film on the perovskite/PC61BM surface (PC61BM: phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester). In addition, the high conductivity of the nanocomposite layer makes it works well at a layer thickness of 150 nm. Both advantages of the composite layer are helpful in reducing interface charge recombination and improving device performance. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the best ZnO:PFN CBL based device was measured to be 12.76%, which is higher than that of device without CBL (9.00%), or device with ZnO (7.93%) or PFN (11.30%) as the cathode buffer layer. In addition, the long-term stability is improved by using ZnO:PFN composite cathode buffer layer when compare to that of the reference cells. Almost no degradation of open circuit voltage (VOC) and fill factor (FF) was found for the device having ZnO:PFN, suggesting that ZnO:PFN is able to stabilize the interface property and consequently improve the solar cell performance stability.

The effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy is often circumvented by multidrug resistance (MDR) caused by the overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporter ABCB1 (MDR1, P-glycoprotein). Several epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been shown previously capable of modulating the function of ABCB1 and reversing ABCB1-mediated MDR in human cancer cells. Furthermore, some TKIs are transported by ABCB1, which results in low oral bioavailability, reduced distribution, and the development of acquired resistance to these TKIs. In this study, we investigated the interaction between ABCB1 and osimertinib, a novel selective, irreversible third-generation EGFR TKI that has recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We also evaluated the potential impact of ABCB1 on the efficacy of osimertinib in cancer cells, which can present a therapeutic challenge to clinicians in the future. We revealed that although osimertinib stimulates the ATPase activity of ABCB1, overexpression of ABCB1 does not confer resistance to osimertinib. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that the overexpression of ABCB1 can be a major contributor to the development of osimertinib resistance in cancer patients. More significantly, we revealed an additional action of osimertinib that directly inhibits the function of ABCB1 without affecting the expression level of ABCB1, enhances drug-induced apoptosis, and reverses the MDR phenotype in ABCB1-overexpressing cancer cells. Considering that osimertinib is a clinically approved third-generation EGFR TKI, our findings suggest that a combination therapy with osimertinib and conventional anticancer drugs may be beneficial to patients with MDR tumors.

Solution-processed perovskite solar cells are attracting increasing interest due to their potential in next-generation hybrid photovoltaic devices. Despite the morphological control over the perovskite films, quantitative information on electronic structures and interface energetics is of paramount importance to the optimal photovoltaic performance. Here, direct and inverse photoemission spectroscopies are used to determine the electronic structures and chemical compositions of various methylammonium lead halide perovskite films (MAPbX3, X = Cl, Br, and I), revealing the strong influence of halide substitution on the electronic properties of perovskite films. Precise control over halide compositions in MAPbX3films causes the manipulation of the electronic properties, with a qualitatively blue shift along the I → Br → Cl series and showing the increase in ionization potentials from 5.96 to 7.04 eV and the change of transport band gaps in the range from 1.70 to 3.09 eV. The resulting light absorption of MAPbX3films can cover the entire visible region from 420 to 800 nm. The results presented here provide a quantitative guide for the analysis of perovskite-based solar cell performance and the selection of optimal carrier–extraction materials for photogenerated electrons and holes.

The reliable information about interface energetics of organic materials, especially the energy level alignment at organic heterostructures is of pronounced importance for unraveling the photon harvesting and charge separation process in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. This article provides an overview of interface energetics at typical planar and mixed donor-acceptor heterostructures, perovskite/organic hybrid interfaces, and their contact interfaces with charge collection layers. The substrate effect on energy level offsets at organic heterostructures and the processes that control and limit the OPV operation are presented. Recent efforts on interface engineering with electrical doping are also discussed.

CUDC-907 is a novel, dual-acting small molecule compound designed to simultaneously inhibit the activity of histone deacetylase (HDAC) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Treatment with CUDC-907 led to sustained inhibition of HDAC and PI3K activity, inhibition of RAF-MEK-MAPK signaling pathway, and inhibition of cancer cell growth. CUDC-907 is currently under evaluation in phase I clinical trials in patients with lymphoma or multiple myeloma, and in patients with advanced solid tumors. However, the risk of developing acquired resistance to CUDC-907 can present a significant therapeutic challenge to clinicians in the future and should be investigated. The overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporter ABCB1, ABCC1, or ABCG2 is one of the most common mechanisms of developing multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancers and a major obstacle in chemotherapy. In this study, we reveal that ABCG2 reduces the intracellular accumulation of CUDC-907 and confers significant resistance to CUDC-907, which leads to reduced activity of CUDC-907 to inhibit HDAC and PI3K in human cancer cells. Moreover, although CUDC-907 affects the transport function of ABCG2, it was not potent enough to reverse drug resistance mediated by ABCG2 or affect the expression level of ABCG2 in human cancer cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that ABCG2-mediated CUDC-907 resistance can have serious clinical implications and should be further investigated. More importantly, we demonstrate that the activity of CUDC-907 in ABCG2-overexpressing cancer cells can be restored by inhibiting the function of ABCG2, which provides support for the rationale of combining CUDC-907 with modulators of ABCG2 to improve the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of CUDC-907 in future treatment trials.

Background The nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway is the main mechanism repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in human cells. This research was designed to study the association between selected variants in NHEJ members and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Methods Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), PRKDC (rs7003908) and X-ray repair cross complementing group 4 (XRCC4; rs1805377), were genotyped in a total of 189 patients with ESCC and 189 unrelated control individuals in a high-risk area for ESCC in North China, and the polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was applied.Results A significantly different distribution was found in the frequency of PRKDC (rs7003908) genotype between the ESCC group and controls. Individuals homozygous for the C allele had a significant (3.185-fold) increased risk of ESCC. As for XRCC4 (rs1805377) polymorphism, no difference was found in distribution between the ESCC and control groups.Conclusions Our results suggest that variation in DNA repair genes may be associated with risk of ESCC.

Flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) hold great promise for future bendable display and curved lighting applications. One key challenge of high-performance flexible OLEDs is to develop new flexible transparent conductive electrodes with superior mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. Herein, an effective nanostructured metal/dielectric composite electrode on a plastic substrate is reported by combining a quasi-random outcoupling structure for broadband and angle-independent light outcoupling of white emission with an ultrathin metal alloy film for optimum optical transparency, electrical conduction, and mechanical flexibility. The microcavity effect and surface plasmonic loss can be remarkably reduced in white flexible OLEDs, resulting in a substantial increase in the external quantum efficiency and power efficiency to 47.2% and 112.4 lm W–1.

The overexpression of the serine/threonine specific polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is associated with poor prognosis in many types of cancer. Consequently, Plk1 has emerged as a valid therapeutic target for anticancer drug design. Volasertib is a potent inhibitor of Plk1 that inhibits the proliferation of multiple human cancer cell lines by promoting cell cycle arrest at nanomolar concentrations. However, the risk of developing drug resistance, which is often associated with the overexpression of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter ABCB1 (P-glycoprotein), can present a therapeutic challenge for volasertib and many other therapeutic drugs. Although volasertib is highly effective against the proliferation of numerous cancer cell lines, we found that the overexpression of ABCB1 in cancer cells leads to cellular resistance to volasertib and reduces the level of volasertib-stimulated G2/M cell cycle arrest and subsequent onset of apoptosis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that volasertib competitively inhibits the function of ABCB1 and stimulates the basal ATPase activity of ABCB1 in a concentration-dependent manner, which is consistent with substrate transport by ABCB1. More importantly, we discovered that the coadministration of an inhibitor or drug substrate of ABCB1 restored the anticancer activity of volasertib in ABCB1-overexpressing cancer cells. In conclusion, the results of our study reveal that ABCB1 negatively affects the efficacy of volasertib and supports its combination with a modulator of ABCB1 to improve clinical responses.

Enhancing light outcoupling in flexible organic light-emitting diodes (FOLEDs) is an important task for increasing their efficiencies for display and lighting applications. Here, a strategy for an angularly and spectrally independent boost in light outcoupling of FOLEDs is demonstrated by using plastic substrates with a low refractive index, consisting of a bioinspired optical coupling layer and a transparent conductive electrode composed of a silver network. The good transmittance to full-color emission (>94% over the whole visible wavelength range), ultralow sheet resistance to carrier injection (<5 Ω sq–1), and high tolerance to mechanical bending of the ameliorated plastic substrates synergistically optimize the device performance of FOLEDs. The maximum power efficiencies reach 47, 93, 56, and 52 lm W–1for red, green, blue, and white emissions, which are competitive with similarly structured OLEDs fabricated on traditional indium–tin-oxide (ITO) glass. This paradigm for light outcoupling enhancement in ITO-free FOLEDs offers additional features and design freedoms for highly efficient flexible optoelectronics in large-scale and low-cost manufacturing without the need for a high-refractive-index plastic substrate.

Solution-processed organic–inorganic hybrids composing of MoO3nanoparticles and PEDOT:PSS were developed for use in inverted organic solar cells as hole transporting layer (HTL). The hybrid MoO3:PEDOT:PSS inks were prepared by simply mixing PEDOT:PSS aqueous and MoO3ethanol suspension together. A core–shell structure was proposed in the MoO3:PEDOT:PSS hybrid ink, where PEDOT chains act as the core and MoO3nanoparticles connected with PSS chains act as the composite shell. The mixing with PEDOT:PSS suppressed the aggregation of MoO3nanoparticles, which led to a smoother surface. In addition, since the hydrophilic PSS chains were passivated through preferentially connection with MoO3, the stronger adhesion between MoO3nanoparticles and the photoactive layer improved the film forming ability of the MoO3:PEDOT:PSS hybrid ink. The MoO3:PEDOT:PSS hybrid HTL can therefore be feasibly deposited onto the hydrophobic photoactive polymer layer without any surface treatment. The use of the MoO3:PEDOT:PSS hybrid HTL resulted in the optimized P3HT:PC61BM- and PTB7:PC61BM-based inverted organic solar cells reaching highest power conversion efficiencies of 3.29% and 5.92%, respectively, which were comparable with that of the control devices using thermally evaporated MoO3HTL (3.05% and 6.01%, respectively). Furthermore, less HTL thickness dependence of device performance was found for the hybrid HTL-based devices, which makes it more compatible with roll-to-roll printing process. In the end, influence of the blend ratio of MoO3to PEDOT:PSS on photovoltaic performance and device stability was studied carefully, results indicated that the device performance would decrease with the increase of MoO3blended ratio, whereas the long-term stability was improved.

Based on the film formability of silica sol, large specific surface area of NanoTiO2-ZnO complex and adhesion of conductive adhesive (CA), nanoTiO2-ZnO/silica sol/CA composite material was prepared to immobilize Tris(2,2′- bipyridyl)ruthenium (II) (Ru(bpy)32+) on gold electrode surface in fabrication of an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor for determination of codeine phosphate. Under the optimal conditions (e.g., negative high voltage of 800 V, scan rate of 100 mV s−1and 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 6.5 as supporting electrolyte), the ECL response of the sensor showed a linear relationship with codeine concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10−7−1.0 × 10−4M (R2= 0.9973) with a detection limit of 2.56 × 10−8M (S/N= 3). The ECL sensor exhibited excellent repeatability and stability. The RSD of ECL response was 2.7% for 1.28 × 10−5M codeine for 10 continuous cyclic scans. The ECL response maintained over 92% of the original value after storage at room temperature for 10 days. The spiked recovery was 99.3%–102.5% for determination of real codeine phosphate sample.

An efficient organic solar cell is demonstrated using a solution-processed phosphorescence-doped electron extraction layer (PDEEL) as the complementary optical response layer, which can absorb the ultraviolet light and reemit green light, and eventually be utilized by the active layer. Besides, the optimized PDEEL is also demonstrated as an efficient interfacial layer, which exhibits a super energy match and leads to the enhancement of electron collection ability. As a result, a 39.5% enhancement of power conversion efficiency is achieved from 3.39% to 4.73%, which is attributed to the effective utilization of high-energy photons and the improved electrical properties by PDEEL.

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is a serine/threonine kinase involved in the regulation of mitosis and is overexpressed in many tumor types. Inhibition of Plk1 leads to cell cycle arrest, onset of apoptosis, and cell death, thus Plk1 has emerged as an important target for cancer treatment. GSK461364 is a potent inhibitor of Plk1 that inhibits the proliferation of multiple human cancer cell lines by promoting G2/M cell cycle arrest at low concentrations. However, as is the case for many therapeutic drugs, the risk of developing drug resistance to GSK461364 can present a therapeutic challenge to clinicians. Since the overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporter ABCB1 is one of the most common mechanisms of drug resistance, we aimed to investigate the effect of ABCB1 on the cellular efficacy of GSK461364. In this study, we observed a significantly reduced activity of GSK461364 in cells overexpressing human ABCB1. We showed that GSK461364 stimulates the ABCB1 ATPase activity and competitively inhibits ABCB1-mediated efflux of calcein-AM in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, as a way to assess the impact of ABCB1 on the efficacy of GSK461364, we evaluated the G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induced by GSK461364. We discovered that, by inhibiting the function of ABCB1, the reduced G2/M cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and sensitivity to GSK461364 treatment in ABCB1-overexpressing cells can be significantly restored. In conclusion, in order to achieve a better therapeutic outcome, combination therapy of GSK461364 with a modulator of ABCB1 should be further investigated as a potential treatment approach.