Search

The development and utilization of switchable adhesives are considered to be an essential target to solve the problems of their separation and recycling in some specific service environments, such as the preparation or repair process of electronic devices. Intelligent materials with controllable phase transition are utilized to fabricate switchable adhesives because of the significantly diverse adhesion strengths in different phase states. Photoresponsive azobenzene and its derivatives usually possess different melting temperatures (

Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists are potent immune-stimulators that hold great potential in vaccine adjuvants as well as cancer immunotherapy. However, TLR agonists in free form are prone to be eliminated quickly by the circulatory system and cause systemic inflammation side effects. It remains a challenge to achieve precise release of TLR7/8 agonist in the native form at the receptor site in the endosomal compartments while keeping stable encapsulation and inactive in nontarget environment. Here, we report a pH-/enzyme-responsive TLR7/8 agonist-conjugated nanovaccine (TNV), which responds intelligently to the acidic environment and cathepsin B in the endosome, precisely releases TLR7/8 agonist to activate its receptor signaling at the endosomal membrane, stimulates DCs maturation, and provokes specific cellular immunity. In vivo experiments demonstrate outstanding prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of TNV in mouse melanoma and colon cancer. The endosome-targeted responsive nanoparticle strategy provides a potential delivery toolbox of adjuvants to advance the development of tumor nanovaccines.

A novel, efficient, deep-blue fluorescent emitter mPAC, with a meta-connected donor-acceptor structure containing phenanthroimidazole (PPI) as the donor and phenylcarbazole-substituted anthracene (An-CzP) as the acceptor, was designed and synthesized. The meta-linkage provided a highly twisted molecular conformation, which efficiently interrupts the intramolecular π-conjugation, resulting in a deep-blue emission. The optimized nondoped device based on mPAC displayed a deep-blue emission with a narrow full width at half-maximum of 56 nm and Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.16, 0.09). The maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE

Restricted by the energy gap rule, near-infrared (NIR) luminescent materials face great challenges. Here, we report a newly designed and synthesized organic molecule, 5,5′-([1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-c...

When the excited states of a molecule above its lowest excited state (Sn or Tn, n > 1) have a sufficient lifetime, photophysical and photochemical processes may occur directly in these high-energy levels, bypassing the Kasha’s rule and significantly influencing the system properties. Investigation of the relationship between molecular structure and intramolecular electronic relaxation processes targets molecular design to achieve a long-lifetime higher excited states. Here, we report stable high-energy excited states with lifetimes approaching several nanoseconds in our newly designed and synthesized compound PPI–AnCN. Through experimental and theoretical investigation, we reveal that both large energy gap and poor electronic coupling between the high excited state and the S1 state are responsible for this stability. More importantly, we find that the emission from the higher exited states can be promoted when the lowest excited state is quenched. This study provides new insights into understanding long-l...

Foams are concentrated dispersions of gas bubbles in a continuous liquid phase. They are ubiquitous in nature and familiar from beer, frothed milk, and bubble baths; moreover, they play important roles in industrial applications ranging from petrochemicals to pharmaceuticals, food, and cosmetics. Recently, we reported the discovery of “capillary foams”, a new class of stable foams obtained by frothing a suspension of colloidal particles in the presence of a small amount of oil. In this study, we explored in more detail the formation stages of capillary foams and found that particle networks are formed first, which then entrap the gas bubbles (in this case, air bubbles). We further investigated the influence of particle concentration and wettability on the formation of capillary foams. As the fraction of particles is increased, the foam volume first increases and then reaches a plateau value. Finally, capillary foams were prepared at different oil fractions, using oils with different interfacial properties...

Surfactants can adsorb in fluid-fluid interfaces and lower the interfacial tension. Like surfactants, particles with appropriate wettability can also adsorb in fluid-fluid interfaces. Despite many studies of particle adsorption at fluid interfaces, some confusion persists regarding the ability of (simple, nonamphiphilic) particles to reduce the interfacial tension. In the present work, the interfacial activity of silica nanoparticles at air-water and hexadecane-water interfaces and of ethyl cellulose particles at the interface of water with trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate was analyzed through pendant drop tensiometry. Our measurements strongly suggest that the particles do significantly affect the interfacial tension provided that they have a strong affinity to the interface by virtue of their wettability and that no energy barrier to adsorption prevents them from reaching the interface. A simplistic model that does not explicitly account for any particle-particle interactions is found to yield surprisingly good predictions for the effective interfacial tension in the presence of the adsorbed particles. We further propose that interfacial tension measurements, when combined with information about the particles' wetting properties, can provide a convenient way to estimate the packing density of particles in fluid-fluid interfaces. These results may help to understand and control the assembly of nonamphiphilic nanoparticles at fluid-fluid interfaces, which is relevant to applications ranging from surfactant-free formulations and food technology to oil recovery.

Liquid foams are two-phase systems in which a large volume of gas is dispersed as bubbles in a continuous liquid phase. These foams are ubiquitous in nature. In addition, they are found in industrial applications, such as pharmaceutical formulation, food processing, wastewater treatment, construction, and cosmetics. Recently, we reported a new type of foam material, capillary foam, which is stabilized by the synergistic action of particles and a small amount of an immiscible secondary liquid. In this study, we explore in more detail the foam preparation routes. To illustrate some of the potential applications, we create vividly colored wet and dried foams, which are difficult to prepare using traditional methods, and load-bearing porous solids. The combined action of particles and immiscible secondary fluid confers exceptional stability to capillary foams and many options for functionalization, suggesting a wide range of possible applications.