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A novel bright near-infrared II (NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm) fluorescent probe with excellent water-solubility, superior photostability, and excellent in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility was facilely synthesized for in vivo biomedical imaging of xenograft breast tumor and chemically induced spontaneous breast carcinoma. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that the superior practical applications of this NIR-II probe in dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA)-induced rat mammary carcinoma imaging and image-guided rat carcinoma surgery were demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of graphene–polymer nanocomposite materials has been hindered by issues such as poor colloidal stability of graphene in liquid media, weak interactions between graphene and the host polymers as well as the lack of scalable and economical graphene synthesis routes. Chlorosulfonic acid (CSA) can spontaneously disperse graphene without the need for mechanical agitation, chemical functionalisation or surfactant stabilisation,1 however is incompatible with most polymers and organic materials. Here, we demonstrate how poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) – the polymer which constitutes Kevlar – can be co-processed with graphene in CSA and wet-spun into nanocomposite fibres with minimal aggregation of graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the assembly of three-fold axially compressed icosahedral arrays of the bowl shaped p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene molecules in the solid-state, intricately bound to dipicolinate and yttrium(iii) ions, with the compression reflected in Hirshfeld surface analyses. Solution studies show dissolution of the icosahedra intact, but with a geometrical rearrangement to regular icosahedra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineered variants of the capsid-forming enzyme lumazine synthase, AaLS, were used as nanoreactors for an enzyme-mediated polymerization. Oxidation of 3,3-diaminobenzidine (DAB) by the engineered ascorbate peroxidase APEX2 encapsulated in AaLS capsids resulted in templated formation of polyDAB–capsid nanoparticles of homogeneous size and shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing interest in the design of protein assemblies for use in materials science and bionanotechnology. Protein assemblies, such as cages and crystalline protein structures, provide confined chemical environments that allow immobilization of metal complexes, nanomaterials, and proteins by metal coordination, assembly/disassembly reactions, genetic manipulation and crystallization methods. Protein assembly composites can be used to prepare hybrid materials with catalytic, magnetic and optical properties for cellular applications due to their high stability, solubility and biocompatibility. In this feature article, we focus on the recent development of ferritin as the most promising molecular template protein cage and in vivo and in vitro engineering of protein crystals as solid protein materials with functional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural protein-based microcompartments containing multiple enzymes promote cascade reactions within cells. We use the apo-ferritin protein cage to mimic such biocompartments by immobilizing two organometallic Ir and Pd complexes into the single protein cage. Precise locations of the metals and their accumulation mechanism were studied by X-ray crystallography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the crystal structure of a novel 60-subunit dodecahedral cage that results from self-assembly of a re-engineered version of a natural protein (PduA) from the Pdu microcompartment shell. Biophysical data illustrate the dependence of assembly on solution conditions, opening up new applications in microcompartment studies and nanotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generator-detector electrodes can be used to both perturb and monitor pH dependant metal–ligand binding equilibria, in situ. In particular, protons generated at the generator locally influence the speciation of metal (Cu2+) in the presence of ligand (triethylenetetraamine), with the detector employed to monitor, in real time, free metal (Cu2+) concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]