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Identification of the phosphatidylserine (PS) discrepancies occurring on the cellular membrane during apoptotic processes is of the utmost importance. However, monitoring the quantity of PS molecules in real-time at a single-cell level currently remains a challenging task. Here, we demonstrate this objective by leveraging the specific binding and reversible interaction exhibited by the zinc(II) dipyridinamine complex (ZnDPA) with PS. Lipoic acid-functionalized ZnDPA (LP-ZnDPA) was subsequently immobilized onto the surface of an atomic force microscopy cantilever to form a force probe, ALP–ZnDPA, enabling a PS-specific dynamic imaging and detection mode. By utilizing this technique, we can not only create a heat map of the expression level of PS with submicron resolution but also quantify the number of molecules present on a single cell’s surface with a detection limit of 1.86 × 104molecules. The feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated through the analysis of PS expression levels in different cancer cell lines and at various stages of paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. This study represents the first application of a force probe to quantify PS molecules on the surface of individual cells, providing insight into dynamic changes in PS content during apoptosis at the molecular level and introducing a novel dimension to current detection methodologies.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the primary tool used by businesses to enhance economic advantages. Family company management is undergoing information and the digital industrial revolution because of artificial intelligence. With the fast development of new technologies, the family company management style has a significant effect and previously unimaginable impact. For most enterprises, intergenerational succession is either taking place or will occur shortly. Here intergenerational inheritance significance for family-owned businesses (IISF-OB) has been proposed to solve family company performance and the internal action mechanisms. Intergenerational succession pathways deserve consideration, and research for the family businesses must utilize artificial intelligence technology to enhance related work. The proposed method investigates how family company management modes can be innovated to fulfill societal development requirements methods in artificial intelligence. It will use case studies, comparative analyses, and develop a new solution.

-Lysozyme batch cooling crystallization in the presence of two ionic liquids (ILs), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl), and 1,3-dimethylimidazolium iodide ([C1mim]I). Microscopic observation demonstrated that the crystal morphology with [C1mim]I is needle-like, while that with [C4mim]Cl and no ILs is plate-like. FTIR spectroscopy revealed that new peaks in the range of 1300–400 cm−1occur with the case of adding [C1mim]I, meaning that the microstructure of lysozyme crystals changed. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) pattern further confirmed that crystal forms of lysozyme with adding [C4mim]Cl and no ILs is completely different from that of adding [C1mim]I. Thermogravimetry (TG) and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) results indicated that addition of [C1mim]I delay the thermal deformation and degradation temperature of lysozyme crystals, suggesting that lysozyme crystals with [C1mim]I possesses higher thermal stability. The change in lysozyme crystal forms can be attributed to changes in interaction among lysozyme molecules and conformation in solution, leading to different assembly mode of molecules and formation of polymorphs. These findings could offer instructions for regulating lysozyme crystal forms and gaining initial insight into screening of potential ILs for developing polymorphs of the protein and other macromolecule crystals.

In this work, a microemulsion emitting fluorescence was fabricated as a potential oral delivery system for bioactive compounds. In simulated oral administration, the microemulsion was characterized for its microstructure by 1hydrogen-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). Results showed that microemulsions not only have good resistance to oral and gastric phases, but also lay a solid foundation for the release of bioactive compounds in the intestine. Fluorescence stability tests showed that microemulsions exhibit a remarkable fluorescence intensity in the digestive environment, indicating feasibility as a label-free delivery carrier. Moreover, in vitro release tests of bioactive compounds confirmed that an α-linolenic acid (ALA)-loaded microemulsion mainly released in the intestine, thereby achieving the aim of controlling the release of bioactive compounds. These results suggest that the synthesized fluorescent microemulsion, combining the favorable features of nontoxicity, antidigestive stability, remarkable fluorescence intensity, and controllable release, can be regarded as a promising label-free delivery carrier for oral administration.

In this work, the effects of α-linolenic acid (ALA) loaded in oil-in-water (O/W) and water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) microemulsions on cell viability, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) viability, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were examined using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), an LDH assay kit, and a fluorescence microscope, respectively. The CCK-8 assay demonstrated that ALA inhibited MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Further, the results of LDH activity and ROS levels revealed that ALA-induced cancer cell damage was closely related to oxidative stress. Under the irradiation of ultraviolet light, the microemulsion without any added fluorescent dye would emit bright blue fluorescence, and the fluorescent images of the cells treated with ALA-loaded O/W and W/O/W microemulsions at different incubation times were taken, which exhibited long-term photostability and biocompatibility. In addition, the fluorescence mechanism of the microemulsion was explained by immobilizing surfactant molecules with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties at the water–oil interface through the microemulsion with a self-assembled structure. These findings showed the potential application of O/W and W/O/W microemulsions as the label-free delivery carriers in long-term imaging of living cells and real-time release monitoring of nutrients.

The crystallization and melting behaviors of binary tripalmitoylglycerol (PPP)/1,2-dioleoyl-3-palmitoyl glycerol (POO), tripalmitoylglycerol (PPP)/1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl glycerol (POP), and 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl glycerol (POP)/1,2-dioleoyl-3-palmitoyl glycerol (POO) were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). On the basis of melting phase equilibrium data, solid–liquid phase diagrams of binary systems (PPP/POO, PPP/POP, and POP/POO) were constructed. With respect to PPP/POO and PPP/POP, eutectic and solid solution phase equilibrium were confirmed when PPP content (XPPP) in the mixtures was lower and higher than 90% and 80% (w/w), respectively. For POP/POO, the solid solution and eutectic phase equilibrium were confirmed when the POP content (XPOP) in the mixtures was lower and higher than 80% (w/w), respectively. Interestingly, polymorphic transition behaviors of PPP, POP, and POO at melting stages were also revealed. Finally, melting Gibbs free energy changes based on enthalpy changes for different binary mixtures were predicted by thermodynamics models.

In this work, the effects of curcumin on the viability, morphology, and nanomechanics of SH-SY5Y neuronal cells were investigated using a conventional cell viability test kit (CCK-8) and sophisticated AFM imaging and force measurement techniques. CCK-8 tests show that SH-SY5Y neuronal cells have a dose–response to curcumin in terms of viability that is dependent on the exposure durations. When exposed to a maximum dosage of 32 μg/mL used in the present study for 4 h, 24 h, and 48 h, the cell viability dropped to 73.4 ± 4.5%, 9.1 ± 3.2%, and 2.5 ± 1.2% of the control, correspondingly. AFM studies show that curcumin can induce the disappearance of synapses of the cells and the change of biomechanics. After exposure for 24 h at the concentration of 16 μg/mL, the viscous deformation of the cells decreased from 2.15 ± 0.02 to 1.58 ± 0.03 (×10–15N·m), the elastic deformation increased from 1.26 ± 0.04 to 1.72 ± 0.07 (×10–15N·m), and adhesion work decreased from 0.56 ± 0.07 to 0.39 ± 0.04 (×10–16N·m). The morphological and mechanical changes obtained using AFM can be interpreted from optically observed cellular structural changes. The present study provides insights into the effects of curcumin on neuronal cells from both biological and biophysical aspects, which can help more comprehensively understand the interactions between curcumin and SH-SY5Y cells. The demonstrated techniques can be potentially used to assess the efficacy of bioactive constituents on cells or help screen drugs.

Our previous work has demonstrated that α-linolenic acid (ALA)-loaded oil-in-water (O/W) microemulsion could enhance ALA antioxidant capacity. Meanwhile, we also observed that synthesized microemulsion itself had fluorescence. In this work, we have prepared a multiple water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) microemulsion to further enhance ALA antioxidant capacity and activate this delivery carrier application potential with a free label. The compositions of primary water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion were obtained using pseudo-ternary phase diagrams, and then W/O/W microemulsion was prepared adopting the “two-step heterotherm method”. The conductivity of W/O/W microemulsion was measured to lie between 250.0 and 350.0 μs/cm. The spherical droplets with a mean particle diameter of 10.0–20.0 nm were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed that ALA diffused to the multiple water–oily interface simultaneously. In addition, the in vitrorelease and antioxidant capacity measurements of ALA-loaded W/O/W microemulsion concluded the sustained-release effect and excellent antioxidant capacity. The fluorescent intensity of W/O/W microemulsion was markedly increased in comparison to O/W microemulsion. The synthesized microemulsion could lead to important applications and have advantages of a label-free fluorescent carrier for optical imaging purposes.

Various active ingredients play a crucial role in providing and supplementing the nutritional requirements of organisms. In this work, we attempted to chemically manipulate the interfacial microstructure of oil–water microemulsions (ME) with carbon dots (CDs), concentrating on substantially enhancing the antioxidant capacity of α-linolenic acid (ALA). To this end, CDs were synthesized and introduced into an ME. The molecular interaction of surfactant with CDs was investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The microstructure of the ME was monitored by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The cryo-EM result showed the oil–water interface in the ME was better defined after the CDs were loaded, and 1H NMR proved the CDs were distributed mainly at the interface. On the basis of these results, interfacial models were proposed. Final evaluation results demonstrated the stabilizing effect and oxidation-inhibition ability of the ALA-loaded ME was substantially enhanced after the introduction of the CDs, indicating a “turn off” effect of the interface. Interestingly, CDs do not affect the in vitro release of ALA, indicating a “turn on” effect of the interface. This work provided a successful interface manipulation with a nanocarrier that can be used for a large diversity of food nutraceuticals.

Nanoscale microemulsions have been utilized as delivery carriers for nutraceuticals and active biological drugs. Herein, we designed and synthesized a novel oil in water (O/W) fluorescent microemulsion based on isoamyl acetate, polyoxyethylene castor oil EL (CrEL), and water. The microemulsion emitted bright blue fluorescence, thus exhibiting its potential for active drug detection with label-free strategy. The microemulsion exhibited excitation-dependent emission and distinct red shift with longer excitation wavelengths. Lifetime and quantum yield of fluorescent microemulsion were 2.831 ns and 5.0%, respectively. An excellent fluorescent stability of the microemulsion was confirmed by altering pH, ionic strength, temperature, and time. Moreover, we proposed a probable mechanism of fluorochromic phenomenon, in connection with the aromatic ring structure of polyoxyethylene ether substituent in CrEL. Based on our findings, we concluded that this new fluorescent microemulsion is a promising drug carrier that can facilitate active drug detection with a label-free strategy. Although further research is required to understand the exact mechanism behind its fluorescence property, this work provided valuable guidance to develop new biosensors based on fluorescent microemulsion.

The thermal, phase transition and spectral studies of erythromycin A dihydrate and acetone solvate were performed by Differential Scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermo Gravimetry (TG-DTA), X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectrum. The non-thermal kinetic analysis of erythromycin A dihydrate was carried out by DSC at different heating rates in dynamic nitrogen atmosphere. The result showed that heating rate has substantial influence on the thermal behavior of erythromycin dihydrate. The Arrhenius parameters were estimated according to the Kissinger method. Corresponding to dehydration of dihydrate, melting of dehydrated dihydrate, phase transition from dehydrated dihydrate to anhydrate, and melting of anhydrate, the calculated activation energy were 39.60, 269.85, 261.23, and 582.16 kJmol–1, the pre-exponential factors were 3.46 × 103, 8.06 × 1032, 9.23 × 1030, and 7.29 × 1063 s–1, respectively. Ozawa method was used to compare activation energy values calculated by Kissinger method. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The application of in situ FBRM and PVM in monitoring the erythromycin dilution crystallization process and the transformation of erythromycin solvates is introduced. Influences of seeding strategies on nucleation and growth were examined in acetone aqueous solutions. It is noted by FBRM monitoring that the dominant chord length of crystal products is dependent on the supersaturation when seed crystals are added. Higher supersaturation leads to a smaller dominant chord length. In the crystallization process, breakage and agglomeration are not determined, and secondary nucleation mainly originates from induced nucleation by local high supersaturation resulting from water addition. The transformation process from metastable erythromycin acetone solvate to stable dihydrate was successfully monitored in pure water by using both PVM and FBRM, and the transformation mechanism can be identified as mediated-solution phase transformation. PVM is proven to be more appropriate to monitor transformation between erythromycin solvates as compared with FBRM.

The solubility of erythromycin A dihydrate in pure ethanol, propan-2-ol, methanol, acetone, chloroform, and acetone + water was measured by a synthetic method at temperature ranging from 293.20 K to 323.00 K at atmosphere pressure. The laser monitoring observation technique was used to determine the disappearance of the solid phase in a solid + liquid mixture. The results of these measurements were correlated by a semiempirical Apelblat equation.