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In 2020, the MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization in Zhejiang University had made progresses in several aspects. First, a series of metal-free organoboron catalysts had been designed and synthesized facilely, exhibiting outstanding reactivity, thermalstability and productivity in different kinds of polymerization and cycloaddition reactions. Second, a variety of chalcogen(O, S, Se)-rich polymers had been synthesized via organocatalysis and fabricated to be the ionic conductive and photoluminescent materials. Third, diverse microenvironment-sensitive nanoparticles had been designed, and novel strategies had been realized, to enhance the therapeutic efficacy in cancer as well as biofilm-associated infections. Fourth, m6A modification on cellular transcriptome-wide messenger RNA had been successfully mapped at single base resolution using a metabolic labelling method. Fifth, a hydrogel-based robot had been developed, showing swift locomotion as a response to dynamic light stimulations. Sixth, the conformation-size scaling law and the conformation evolution map of 2D macromolecules in solution had been elucidated experimentally, in the single-layer graphene oxide model. Seventh, semitransparent polymer solar cells, promising as building-integrated photovoltaics, have been developed with the fine balance among power conversion efficiency, visible light transparency and infrared photon radiation rejection. Finally, long-range ordered bulk-heterojunctions of organic semiconductors had been achieved, and their superior optoelectronic properties and potential application in photoelectric conversion had been revealed. The related work progresses are reviewed in this paper.

Nonalbuminuric diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has become the prevailing DKD phenotype. We compared the risks of adverse outcomes among patients with this phenotype compared with other DKD phenotypes.Multicenter prospective cohort study.19,025 Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes enrolled in the Hong Kong Diabetes Biobank.DKD phenotypes defined by baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria: no DKD (no decreased eGFR or albuminuria), albuminuria without decreased eGFR, decreased eGFR without albuminuria, and albuminuria with decreased eGFR.All-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, hospitalization for heart failure (HF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression (incident kidney failure or sustained eGFR reduction ≥40%).Multivariable Cox proportional or cause-specific hazards models to estimate the relative risks of death, CVD, hospitalization for HF, and CKD progression. Multiple imputation was used for missing covariates.Mean participant age was 61.1 years, 58.3% were male, and mean diabetes duration was 11.1 years. During 54,260 person-years of follow-up, 438 deaths, 1,076 CVD events, 298 hospitalizations for HF, and 1,161 episodes of CKD progression occurred. Compared with the no-DKD subgroup, the subgroup with decreased eGFR without albuminuria had higher risks of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.59 [95% CI, 1.04-2.44]), hospitalization for HF (HR, 3.08 [95% CI, 1.82-5.21]), and CKD progression (HR, 2.37 [95% CI, 1.63-3.43]), but the risk of CVD was not significantly greater (HR, 1.14 [95% CI, 0.88-1.48]). The risks of death, CVD, hospitalization for HF, and CKD progression were higher in the setting of albuminuria with or without decreased eGFR. A sensitivity analysis that excluded participants with baseline eGFR 30 mL/min/1.73 mPotential misclassification because of drug use.Nonalbuminuric DKD was associated with higher risks of hospitalization for HF and of CKD progression than no DKD, regardless of baseline eGFR.

In view of the fact that pancreatic cancer, called as the king of cancer, is one of the most lethal malignancies, exploring effective technologies for pancreatic cancer diagnosis and therapy remains an appealing yet significantly challenging task. Phototheranostics has recently received considerable attention by virtue of its various distinctive advantages. However, the limited penetration depth, strong oxygen-dependence and high heat shock protein-inhibition of conventional phototheranostic materials severely hamper their overall theranostic efficacy, especially for deep-seated hypoxia tumors, such as pancreatic tumor. In this study, an aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-featured photosensitizer, namely DCTBT, synchronously sharing NIR-II fluorescence imaging (FLI), diminished oxygen-dependent type-I photodynamic therapy (PDT) and high-efficiency photothermal therapy (PTT) functions was subtly constructed by molecular engineering. With the aid of an EGFR-targeting-peptide-modified amphiphilic polymer, the as-prepared DCTBT-loaded liposomes is capable of effectively accumulating at and visualizing pancreatic tumor, as well as significantly suppressing the tumor growth on both subcutaneous and orthotopic PANC-1 tumor mice models. This study thus brings useful insights into designing the next generation of cancer theranostic agents for potential clinical applications.

As the typical highly exothermic polymerization, cationic polymerization suffers from harsh reaction conditions and poor control of polymerizations. The combination of microreactor and cation pool method or carbocation stabilization achieves improved living cationic polymerizations under mild conditions. In this review, not only cationic addition polymerizations of vinyl monomers (vinyl ether, isobutene, and diisopropenylbenzen) but also cationic ring-opening polymerizations of cyclic monomer (oxazoline) will be highlighted in the context of microreactor-based flow chemistry. Challenges and opportunities are proposed with the aim to promote the development of cationic polymerization in both academia and industry.

Nitrogen-doped graphene/carbon nanohorns composite (NGLC) was prepared by one-step co-pyrolysis of graphene oxide, carbon nanohorns (CNHs), urea, and lignosulfonate. CNHs as spacers were inserted into graphene nanosheets. The introduction of CNHs and the loosened nano-structure of NGLC make it achieve a high specific capacitance of 363 F g−1 at a discharge current density of 1 A g−1, and NGLC exhibits an ultrahigh stability of 93.5% capacitance retention ratio after 5000 cycles. The outstanding comprehensive electrochemical performance of NGLC could meet the need of the future acted as an efficient supercapacitor electrode material.

Gram-negative bacterial infection remains an instant health threat in the world owing to the shortage of effective and biocompatible drugs. Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has attracted considerable attention, capable of treating bacterial infections with little drug-resistance. However, it also has some limitations, such as the limited diffusion distance, the short lifetime of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and poor sensitivity to Gram-negative bacteria. Thus, PDT, as a local treatment method, is bound to be combined with the targeting technology to enhance its membrane-capturing ability. Herein, we fabricated new polymeric micelles with the bacteria-targeting ability, high adherence, and photosensitizer (PS)-loading capacity that can be adsorbed onto the bacterial membrane to enhance the PDT efficiency. In this paper, a novel photodynamic drug delivery system was obtained by the supramolecular assembly of chlorin e6 (Ce6)-conjugated α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) and polyethylene glycol (PEG)ylated polypeptide (Pep). These cationic Pep@Ce6 micelles showed great efficacy to eradicate biofilms and inactivate persister cells with negligible toxicity towards mammalian cells. Furthermore, in vivo therapeutic performance was identified by the prominent antibacterial ability and good wound healing capacity in a P. aeruginosa-infected skin knife injury model. This research is of great significance for the preparation of multifunctional nanomaterials and the treatment of bacterial infections, especially those caused by Gram-negative bacteria.

A carbon reduction labelling scheme is an effective policy tool for motivating enterprises or organizations to reduce their life-cycle-based carbon emissions to benefit the environment. This paper uses system dynamics to model enterprises' compliance with a combined government policy instrument for a carbon reduction labelling scheme, that is, government subsidies and economic sanctions. A case study of paper enterprises in China is provided to demonstrate the application of the proposed model in which two optional technological plans to reduce the enterprises' carbon emissions are examined. The technological plans are categorized as a low-cost and high-cost plan. The simulation results show that both the technological plans are vulnerable to the combined policy making, and the high-cost plan shows superior environmental performance for carbon emissions reduction. However, the enterprises are more inclined to choose the low-cost plan because of superior economic performance. The study offers insights to help enterprises select optimal actions on carbon emissions reduction and to inform government of possible sustainable policy design to promote low-carbon development. The model limitations are discussed as a basis for further improvements in low-carbon development.

The equilibrium geometries, stabilities, chemical bonding, and aromaticity of the ground state of iridium low-nitride Ir 3 N 3 2+/0/2− clusters and their metal complexes Ir 3 N 3 M −/0 (M = Li, Na, K and Be, Mg, Ca) or Ir 3 N 3 M 2 (M = Li, Na, and K) are investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The bare Ir 3 N 3 2+/0/2− clusters favor perfectly planar D 3h structure. The neutral Ir 3 N 3 favors the 3 A 2 ″ triplet state, the Ir 3 N 3 2+ cation prefer to the 1 A 1 ′ singlet state, and the Ir 3 N 3 2− dianion is found also to be a 1 A 1 ′ singlet state. A detailed molecular orbitals (MOs) analysis reveals that the Ir 3 N 3 (D 3h , 3 A 2 ″) cluster possesses multiple (σ-, π-, and partial δ-) aromaticity and the Ir 3 N 3 2− (D 3h , 1 A 1 ′) dianion possesses double (σ- and π-) aromaticity. The Ir 3 N 3 2− (D 3h , 1 A 1 ′) motif structure was perfectly preserved in the pyramidal Ir 3 N 3 M −/0 and bipyramidal Ir 3 N 3 M 2 complexes, which also possess corresponding aromatic characters.

The equilibrium geometries, harmonic vibrational frequencies, stabilities, and chemical bonding of the low-lying states for all-metal Hg3Al3+/−, Hg3Al3Li, and Hg3Al3Be+ clusters are investigated using 2nd order Moller–Plesset perturbation theory. The extensive search for the global minimum structures of Hg3Al3+/− at the MP2 level of theory with 6-311++G∗ basis set for Al and CEP-121 G basis set for Hg reveals that the ground states of the Hg3Al3+ and Hg3Al3− clusters are all singlet state 1A′ with Cs symmetry. A detailed molecular orbital (MO) analysis reveals that the Hg3Al3+ (Cs, 1A′) cation and Hg3Al3− (Cs, 1A′) anion possess double aromaticity (simultaneous presence of σ- and π-aromaticity). The hexagonal pyramidal-type Hg3Al3Li and Hg3Al3Be+ complexes containing the Hg3Al3− ligand reveal that the Hg3Al3− structural units are preserved in the Hg3Al3Li and Hg3Al3Be+ complexes, which also possess corresponding aromatic characters.

Phenanthrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) that is widely distributed in the environment and seriously affects the growth and development of plants. To clarify the mechanisms of the direct effects of phenanthrene on the plant photosynthetic apparatus, we measured short-term phenanthrene-treated cucumber leaves. Phenanthrene inhibited Rubisco carboxylation activity, decreasing photosynthesis rates (Pn). And phenanthrene inhibited photosystem II (PSII) activity, thereby blocking photosynthetic electron transport. The inhibition of the light and dark reactions decreased the photosynthetic electron transport rate (ETR) and increased the excitation pressure (1−qP). Under high light, the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (F v /F m ) in phenanthrene-treated cucumber leaves decreased significantly, but photosystem I (PSI) activity (Δ I/I o ) did not. Phenanthrene also caused a J-point rise in the OJIP curve under high light, which indicated that the acceptor side of PSII Q A to Q B electron transfer was restricted. This was primarily due to the net degradation of D1 protein, which is caused by the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in phenanthrene-treated cucumber leaves under high light. This study demonstrated that phenanthrene could directly inhibit photosynthetic electron transport and Rubisco carboxylation activity to decrease net Pn. Under high light, phenanthrene caused the accumulation of ROS, resulting in net increases in D1 protein degradation and consequently causing PSII photoinhibition.

The molecular structures, stabilities, and electronic properties of the bare and complex (with group IA/IIA metals) Os32+/0/2− clusters have been investigated systematically using the density-functional theory (DFT) B3LYP method. It is found that the non-linear structures in their heptet states are energetically favored for these bare and complex osmium trimers, i.e. (7A′, Cs), (7A2, C2v) and (7A″, Cs) for bare Os32+/0/2− respectively, and as (7A′, Cs) and (7B1, 7B2, C2v) for isoelectronic (as compared to Os32−) pyramidal Os3M−/0 and bipyramidal Os3M20/2+ (M = Li, Na, K and Be, Mg, Ca) complexes. The detailed molecular orbital (MO) were analyzed. The ground-states of bare Os32+/0/2− clusters were observed to possess the multiple (partial σ- and partial δ-) aromaticity. The Os32− motif structure was perfectly preserved in these pyramidal and bipyramidal all-metal complexes, which also possess corresponding d-orbital aromatic character.

The structural stability, electronic properties, and aromaticity of osmium low-nitride Os 3 N 3 +/− clusters have been investigated systematically using density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP methods. The calculations reveal that five types of σ-tangential (σ t ), σ-radial (σ r ), π-tangential (π t ), π-radial (π r ), and δ-bonding interaction exist in the planar regular hexagonal Os 3 N 3 + (D 3h , 7 A 1 ′) cation and Os 3 N 3 − (D 3h , 5 A 1 ′) anion. The detailed molecular orbitals (MOs) were analyzed. Simultaneously, the Os 3 N 3 + (D 3h , 7 A 1 ′) cation and Os 3 N 3 − (D 3h , 5 A 1 ′) anion possess triply (σ-, π- and δ-) aromatic character. The structural stabilities should be attributed to powerful five types of d-orbital bonding interaction and triple (σ-, π-, and δ-) aromaticity for the Os 3 N 3 + (D 3h , 7 A 1 ′) and Os 3 N 3 − (D 3h , 5 A 1 ′) clusters.

Background: With the development of radiotherapy technology, Radiotherapy has been used increasingly to treat primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). But due to the radioresistance and the intolerance of the adjacent organs, the effect of radiotherapy is not satisfactory. Therefore, it is necessary to study the radiosensitization of HCC. Method: Microarray was used to analyze the significant gene associated with radiosensitivity. Application of HCC cells HepG2 and MHCC97H in vitro. Real-time PCR performed to determine MIR22HG (microRNA22 host gene) and miR-22-5p expression, western blot performed to determine histone expression. HDAC whole cell assay was sed to determine the activity of HDAC2. Then, MTT, colony formation, EDU, wound healing assays were to examine the function of MIR22HG and miR-22-5p on cellular radiosentivity. ChIP-PCR was used to confirm that HDAC2 affects the acetylation level of the MIR22HG promoter region. Finally, animal experiments were performed to demonstrate the effect MIR22HG on the radiosensitivity of hepatoma in vivo. Results: Irradiation can upregulate MIR22HG expression and downregulate HDAC2 expression; Inhibition of HDAC2 expression promotes histone acetylation in the MIR22HG promoter region and up-regulates MIR22HG expression; MIR22HG can increase radiosensitivity via miR-22-5p in HCC. Conclusion: Inhibition of HDAC2 expression promotes histone acetylation in the MIR22HG promoter region, thereby upregulating the expression of MIR22HG and promoting the production of miR-22-5p, ultimately increasing the sensitivity of liver cancer radiotherapy. Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81872473), Key R & D projects of Hunan science and technology planning project (2017SK2052). Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Ethical Approval: All experiments were approved by the Animal Center of China South University and performed following International Guidelines and Protocols.

Because of the severe antibiotic resistance, photodynamic therapy is considered as a potent method for the treatment of bacterial infection with bare drug resistance. However, its therapeutic efficacy is not always satisfactory in practical treatment. In this study, pH-responsive prodrug micelles were prepared by conjugation of chlorin e6 to polyethylene glycol-b-poly(2-(hexamethyleneimino) ethyl methacrylate-co-aminoethyl methacrylate) for improving the antimicrobial activity of photodynamic therapy. The micelles were negatively charged in normal physiological environment, which was very important for long blood circulation. However, the micelles could turn to be positively charged in bacterial infection microenvironment and then adhere to negatively charged bacterial membranes, which could significantly improve their antibacterial activity against both methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli after laser irradiation. The in vivo experiment showed excellent antibacterial effect of pH-sensitive micelles in a subcutaneous infection model. The micelles showed great potential in the photodynamic therapy of stubborn bacterial infections.

A novel zwitterionic pendant copolymer poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine)- co -poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl adamantane-1-carboxylate) (poly(MPC- co -Ada)) is synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The pendant adamantane guest molecules and doxorubicin (DOX) decorated β -cyclodextrins (DOX- hyd -CD) can form inclusion complexation through host-guest interactions. The resultant supramolecular polymers can self-assemble into polymeric prodrug nanoparticles in the size range of 25–60 nm, with the zwitterionic phosphorylcholine grafts acting as hydrophilic shell. In vitro drug release results indicates that the release of DOX at pH 5.0 is faster than that at pH 7.4, since DOX is conjugated to β -CD with pH-responsive hydrazone bond. Efficient cellular internalization is observed by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy, resulting in the inhibitation of cancer cell proliferation. Importantly, taking advantage of the host-guest interaction, such kind of zwitterionic pendant polymer can be further developed as promising platforms for multifunctional cancer theranostics.

The structures, stabilities and chemical bonding in the mercuric low-borides Hg3B3+/−/3− clusters are investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The extensive search for the global minimum structures of Hg3B3+/−/3− at the DFT/B3LYP level of theory revealed that the ground-state for the Hg3B3+ cation is a singlet state 1A1′ with the D3h symmetry, the ground-state for the Hg3B3− anion is a singlet state 1A1 with the C2v symmetry, and the ground-state for the Hg3B33− cluster is a triplet state 3B2 with the C2v symmetry. A detailed molecular orbital (MO) analysis reveals that the Hg3B3+ (D3h, 1A1′) cation possesses the double σ- (σt and σr) aromaticity, which is responsible for a planar regular hexagonal structure D3h (1A1′) of Hg3B3+ and perfect triangular Hg3 framework, respectively. The Hg3B3− (C2v, 1A1) anion possesses the multiple (σ- and π-) aromaticity, which is responsible for a planar regular hexagonal structure C2v (1A1) of Hg3B3− and the Hg3B33− (C2v, 3B2) anion possesses also the multiple (σ-and π-) aromaticity, which is responsible for a planar regular hexagonal structure C2v (3B2) of Hg3B33− and perfect triangular Hg3 framework, respectively. We search the hexagonal pyramidal-type Hg3B3X (X = Li, Na and K) and Hg3B3Mg+ complexes, which containing Hg3B3− (C2v, 1A1) ligand to reveal that Hg3B3− (C2v, 1A1) structural unit was preserved preferably in Hg3B3X (C3v, 5A2) (X = Li, Na and K) and Hg3B3Mg+ (C3v, 5A2) complexes.

Miniemulsion reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization was used to synthesize biomimetic poly (2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine)-b-Poly (n-butyl methacrylate) (PMPC-b-PBMA) nanoparticles which were used as nanocarriers to encapsulate theranostic IR-780 molecules. IR-780 endowed the PMPC-b-PBMA nanoparticles with dual functions including tumor near-infrared (NIR) imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT). The IR-780 encapsulated PMPC-b-PBMA (PMPC-b-PBMA/IR-780) nanoparticles showed good monodispersity and significant stability. The photothermal effects and photothermal cytotoxicity of the PMPC-b-PBMA/IR-780 nanoparticles were studied in vitro. High accumulation of the PMPC-b-PBMA/IR-780 nanoparticles in tumor tissue was verified by whole-animal NIR imaging. The resulted IR-780 encapsulated biomimetic nanoparticles can be an alternative safe theranostic agent for imaging-guided cancer treatment.

Abundant desmoplastic stroma, which typically exists in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), can act as a natural protective physical barrier rendering insufficient drug delivery and penetration. To address this issue, we herein report a two-step sequential delivery strategy for enhanced pancreatic cancer therapy. In this sequential strategy, the nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) loaded liposomes (Lip-SNAP) were firstly delivered to pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) in tumor tissue to inhibit the production of dense stroma, by inhibiting the expression of TGF-β1 and its downstream profibrotic signal transduction. Therefore, the PSC-mediated desmoplastic reaction could be suppressed by inhibiting the expression of fibronectin, α-SMA and collagen. The gemcitabine (GEM) loaded liposomes (Lip-GEM) were administrated subsequently. The enhanced intratumoral penetration of Lip-GEM was then achieved due to the stromal disruption in consequence of NO treatment, thus significantly improving the drug delivery efficiency. The tumor growth inhibition of the two-step sequential delivery of Lip-SNAP and Lip-GEM was investigated on both subcutaneous and orthotopic tumor mouse models, to show the remarkably improved therapeutic efficacy of GEM. Such NO-induced stromal depletion provides a general strategy to overcome the blockage of desmoplastic stroma on other therapeutic agents.

Biomimic hyaluronic acid (HA) prodrug micelles with pH and reduction responsiveness were prepared by chemical graft of phosphorylcholine and doxorubicin (DOX) to the backbone of HA. DOX was conjugated to HA by pH-sensitive hydrazone bonds which could be hydrolyzed under acidic conditions and thus resulted in controlled release of DOX. Besides, the HA prodrug micelles were cross-linked via reduction-responsive disulfide bonds to improve the stability of the micelles. The HA prodrug can form remarkable core–shell micelles with a quite narrow size distribution which was confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The in vitro drug release studies showed that there was a dramatic release under endosome pH (pH = 5.0) and reductive environment (10 mM of dithiothreitol) than that at normal physiological environment (pH = 7.4). Greater uptake of DOX from HA prodrug micelles was observed in the CD44 receptor highly expressed MDA-MB-231 cell line, compared to the results from the CD44-negative cell line, NIH3T3, which was demonstrated by the flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. The glutathione (GSH)-responsive behaviors were studied as well. The micelles showed higher cellular proliferation inhibition against glutathione monoester (GSH-OEt) pretreated MDA-MB-231 cells than that of the non-pretreated and buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) pretreated ones. These results suggested that such pH/reduction dual-responsive prodrug micelles may enhance the selective inhibition to cancer cells which exhibit higher levels of GSH concentration and provide favorable platforms for cancer therapy.

A lectin secreted from Andrias davidianus skin (ADL) was purified by affinity chromatography on porcine stomach mucin (type III) (PSM)-crosslinked albumin, followed by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and HPLC on TSK gel G3000PWXL. The purified lectin was found to be a dimeric protein, as revealed by SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF analysis. SDS-PAGE showed that the ADL protein had a molecular mass of 17 kDa. ADL produced an 8.5 kDa band when examined using SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions. ADL agglutinated native and trypsinized human B erythrocytes. The hemagglutination activity was inhibited by glycoproteins, such as PSM and asialo-PSM, but not by any of the monosaccharides tested. The activity was stable between 4 °C and 50 °C. Significant ADL activity was observed between pH 4–5. The lectin reaction did not depend on the presence of the divalent cation Ca2+ or Mg2+. The N-terminal ADL sequence was determined to be VGYTVGATPM. The lectin exhibited antibacterial activity, involving growth and respiration inhibition in Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Shewanella sp. Furthermore, ADL showed inhibition activity against the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These findings suggest that ADL plays an important role in the innate immunity of A. davidianus on the body surface.

A novel amphiphilic photo-degradable hyperbranched polymer was reported at the first time. The hyperbranched o-nitrobenzyl containing poly(amino ester)s (HPAE) were prepared by one-pot Michael addition polymerization. The photo-induced degradation of hyperbranched poly(amino ester)s was confirmed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and UV-vis spectra. Bioinspired phosphorylcholine grafted HPAE (HPAE-PC) was synthesized via thiol-ene click chemistry. HPAE-PC can self-assemble to micelles and the micelles could be disassembled under UV irradiation because of the photo-degradation of HPAE. HPAE-PC micelles were used to load anticancer drug Doxorubicin (DOX). In vitro drug release studies showed that the release of DOX was much faster in the presence of UV irradiation than that without UV irradiation. The fluorescence microscope results indicated that DOX-loaded micelles exhibited faster drug release in A549 cells after UV irradiation. Moreover, the DOX-loaded HPAE-PC micelles under UV irradiation exhibited better anticancer activity against A549 cells than that of the nonirradiated ones. The novel amphiphilic photo-degradable hyperbranched polymers can be used to construct spatiotemporal on-demand drug delivery system for cancer therapy.

The electronic structure and chemical bonding in the tungsten trimer W 3 2+ cluster and the single pyramidal W 3 X +/– , W 3 Y 2+/0 , and W 3 Al 3+/+ (X = Li, Na, K and Y = Be, Mg, Ca) all-metal compounds are investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The ground-state for the W 3 2+ cation is shown to be a singlet 1 A 1 ′ (1a 1 ′ 2 1a 2 ″ 2 1e′ 4 2a 1 ′ 2 1e″ 4 3a 1 ′ 2 ) with D 3h symmetry. A detailed molecular orbital (MO) analysis reveals that the W 3 2+ (D 3h , 1 A 1 ′) cation is found to possess the multiple σ - and δ -aromaticity. The multiple d-orbital aromaticity is responsible for a three-center metal–metal bond of the triangular W 3 framework. We search the single pyramidal W 3 X +/– , W 3 Y 2+/0 , and W 3 Al 3+/+ (X = Li, Na, K and Y = Be, Mg, Ca) all-metal compounds containing W 3 and W 3 2– aromatic ligands to reveal that the W 3 (D 3h , 3 A 1 ′) and W 3 2– (D 3h , 1 A 1 ′) structural units were preserved perfectly in the single pyramidal all-metal compounds.

Investigation of equilibrium geometries, total energies, harmonic vibrational frequencies, natural population analysis, and nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS) of the low-lying states for the multinuclear low-fluorination-state transition-metal [Hf3F3]− cluster and its pyramidal [Hf3F3Y]+ (Y = Be and Mg) and bipyramidal [Hf3f3X2]+ (X = Li, Na, and K) complexes were done with two density functional theory (DFT) methods. The calculations reveal three types of d-bonding interaction existing in the planar regular hexagonal [Hf3F3]− (D3h, 1 A 1 ′ ) cluster, [Hf3F3X2]+ (D3h, 1 A 1 ′ ) (X = Li, Na, and K) and [Hf3F3Y]+ (C3v, 1A1)(Y = Be and Mg) complexes. They separately possess two delocalized π-electrons and two delocalized δ-electrons, exhibiting characteristics of multiple (δ- and π-) aromaticity (satisfying the (4n + 2) Huckel electron counting rule).

A lectin, Cyclina sinensis (Gmelin) (CSL), was isolated from hemolymph C. sinensis by ion-exchange on Cellulose DE52 and purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and HPLC on TSK gel G4000PW XL . SDS-PAGE showed that the CSL protein had a molecular mass of 72 kDa, had consisted of 40 and 18 kDa subunits. The lectin activity of CSL was Ca 2+ -denpendent. The total carbohydrate content of CSL was found to be 16.2%. According to the principle of β-elimination reaction, the oligosaccharide moiety and peptide moiety of CSL might belong to O -glucosidic linkage. CSL was found to agglutinate rabbit erythrocytes and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The hemagglutination activity was inhibited by GalNAc and Man. CSL was observed to promote the yeast cells growth and ethanol production by yeast cells. The number of yeast and ethanol production increased with increasing concentration of CSL. In addition, the nitric oxide (NO) production increased as CSL concentration increased. The results indicate that CSL can be a potential yeast stimulator in fermentation process.