Search

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a neurological disorder that can lead to loss of perceptive and athletic function due to the severe nerve damage. To date, pieces of evidence detailing the precise pathological mechanisms in SCI are still unclear. Therefore, drug therapy cannot effectively alleviate the SCI symptoms and faces the limitations of systemic administration with large side effects. Thus, the development of SCI treatment strategies is urgent and valuable. Due to the application of nanotechnology in pharmaceutical research, nanopharmaceutical-based regenerative medicine will bring colossal development space for clinical medicine. These nanopharmaceuticals (i.e. nanocrystalline drugs and nanocarrier drugs) are designed using different types of materials or bioactive molecules, so as to improve the therapeutic effects, reduce side effects, and subtly deliver drugs, etc. Currently, an increasing number of nanopharmaceutical products have been approved by drug regulatory agencies, which has also prompted more researchers to focus on the potential treatment strategies of SCI. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to summarize and elaborate the research progress as well as the challenges and future of nanopharmaceuticals in the treatment of SCI, aiming to promote further research of nanopharmaceuticals in SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a photoanode, a large overpotential for water oxidation, which limits the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency, may be caused by slow water oxidation kinetics and the recombination of photo-induced electrons and holes. Herein, taking flat and thin BiVO4 photoanodes as an example, the composite AgOx/NiOx electrocatalyst was found to promote not only the water oxidation kinetics, but also the bulk charge separation. As a result, the surface charge injection efficiency (ηinj) and the bulk charge separation efficiency (ηsep) of BiVO4 photoanodes were improved by the composite AgOx/NiOx electrocatalyst. Photo-assisted electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed to illustrate the significantly reduced surface charge transfer resistance of the BiVO4/AgOx/NiOx sample at the interface between the photoanode surface and the electrolyte. Analysis of the surface potential changes obtained from photo-assisted Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) revealed that the surface photovoltage (SPV) of the BiVO4/AgOx/NiOx photoanode is higher than those of BiVO4/AgOx and BiVO4/NiOx, representing its large band bending region for bulk charge separation. The open circuit photovoltage (OCP) measurements also demonstrated the superior charge separation ability of the BiVO4/AgOx/NiOx photoanode. The possible working mechanism is that one component of the composite AgOx/NiOx electrocatalyst may stabilize the high valence states of the other metal ions, which is beneficial for the formation of water oxidation active sites and the extension of the band bending region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hollow Mn2O3 core–shell microspheres were successfully fabricated via a mixed method including a solution method and a subsequent thermal decomposition. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the average size of Mn2O3 cores was about 0.8 μm and their shell thickness was 120 nm. These hollow Mn2O3 core–shell microspheres as anode materials exhibited a high specific capacity of up to 620 mA h g−1 with a good cycling performance (500 cycles), indicating that the hollow Mn2O3 core–shell microsphere material was a promising anode candidate for a high-capacity, low-cost, and environment-friendly lithium ion battery. The formation mechanism was studied in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hollow Mn2O3 core-shell microspheres were successfully fabricated via a mixed method including a solution method and a subsequent thermal decomposition. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the average size of Mn2O3 cores was about 0.8 μm and their shell thickness was 120 nm. These hollow Mn2O3 core-shell microspheres as anode materials exhibited a high specific capacity of up to 620 mA h g(-1) with a good cycling performance (500 cycles), indicating that the hollow Mn2O3 core-shell microsphere material was a promising anode candidate for a high-capacity, low-cost, and environment-friendly lithium ion battery. The formation mechanism was studied in detail.