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Herein, we designed and synthesized novel reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive glycol chitosan-doxorubicin (DOX) prodrug via a ROS-cleavable thioketal (TK) linker. The obtained GC-TK-DOX formed self-assembled nanoparticles of 312 nm in aqueous media. Photosensitizers zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc)-loaded GC-TK-DOX (GC-TK-DOX/ZnPc) nanoparticles were fabricated by using a dialysis approach. The GC-TK-DOX and GC-TK-DOX/ZnPc nanoparticles were nearly spherical by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation. Under 660-nm laser irradiation, GC-TK-DOX/ZnPc could generate singlet oxygen. Further, GC-TK-DOX/ZnPc nanoparticles exhibited ROS-sensitive release of DOX and ZnPc in vitro. GC-TK-DOX/ZnPc with laser irradiation showed more drug uptake and higher cytotoxic effects than GC-TK-DOX/ZnPc without irradiation, free DOX and GC-TK-DOX in HeLa tumor cells. Overall, these findings suggested that GC-TK-DOX/ZnPc could be a promising nanoarchitecture for synergetic chemo-photodynamic therapy against tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rhizome of Rohdea chinensis (Baker) N.Tanaka (RRc) is a famous folk medicine for the treatment of carbuncles and pharyngitis. Steroidal saponins (SSs) were considered to be the most abundant active constituents in RRc. However, to date, the in-depth study of SSs is still lacking. This study was aimed to investigate the SSs profiles of RRc extract by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS. Analysis was performed on an Agilent poroshell 120 EC-C18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, i.d., 2.7 μm) with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile as the mobile phase under gradient conditions. The results showed that 32 SSs including 20 furospirostanol, 11 spirostanol and 1 pseudo-spirostanol saponins were identified, 5 of which were reported in this plant for the first time. This is the first report on the analysis of SSs in RRc. This novel analysis method may stimulate further research regarding the identification of SSs in other plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO2 capture and storage (CCS) has been acknowledged as an essential part of a portfolio of technologies that are required to achieve cost-effective long-term CO2 mitigation. However, the development progress of CCS technologies is far behind the targets set by roadmaps, and engineering practices do not lead to commercial deployment. One of the crucial reasons for this delay lies in the unaffordable penalty caused by CO2 capture, even though the technology has been commonly recognized as achievable. From the aspects of separation and capture technology innovation, the potential and promising direction for solving this problem were analyzed, and correspondingly, the possible path for deployment of CCS in China was discussed. Under the carbon neutral target recently proposed by the Chinese government, the role of CCS and the key milestones for deployment were indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co3O4 nanomaterials are grown in situ on nickel foam by a facile two-step method, and their electrochemical properties for supercapacitors and electrochemical H2 production are systematically investigated. As an electrode material for supercapacitors, the Co3O4/NF nanomaterials have a specific capacitance of 4705 mF/cm2 at a current density of 2.5 mA/cm2 in 6 M KOH solution with good cycling stability. The asymmetric supercapacitor assembled with Co3O4/NF (positive) and activated carbon (negative) exhibits high energy storage capacity (2023 mF/cm2 at 5 mA/cm2), good rate performance and cycling stability. In addition, the Co3O4/NF nanocomposites exhibit excellent catalytic performance in electrolytic aquatic hydrogen. In 1 M KOH electrolyte, a potential of only 225 mV is required to provide a current density of 30 mA/cm2. Furthermore, increasing the temperature enhances the catalytic performance of the material, which provides the possibility of using industrial production waste heat to catalyze hydrogen production. Therefore, this study not only shows the great potential of Co3O4/NF nanocomposites as a supercapacitor cathode material, but also indicates its great opportunity for hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co3O4 nanorods were successfully synthesized by a facile two-step method and showed outstanding electrochemical performances in KOH and urea electrolyte. The Co3O4 nanorods showed high purity phase and covered the surface of carbon cloth. As the electrode materials for hydrogen generation, it only required the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) overpotential of 0.46 V to deliver the current density of 40 mA/cm2 for HER and urea oxidation reaction potential (UOR vs RHE) of 1.62 V at 10 mA/cm2. Remarkably, the assembled electrolyzer with Co3O4/CC and Pt foil as two electrodes demonstrated low potentials and a stable long cycle life. Therefore, the study displays a promising direction to explore the practical and effective ways for hydrogen production by overall urea electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]