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Great efforts have been made in investigating the neurotoxicity of dopamine (DA) in the presence of manganous ions. In contrast, here, we probe the possibility of DA-based cancer chemotherapy by le...

Ferroptosis and autophagy, playing significant roles in tumor treatment, are two typical forms of the programmed cell death. However, the rational combination of ferroptosis and autophagy for synergistic tumor therapy is still highly challenging. Herein, we report on an intriguing nanomedicine strategy for achieving autophagy-enhanced ferroptosis on efficiently combating cancer, which was based on the construction of trehalose-loaded mSiO2@MnOx-mPEG (TreMMM) nanoparticles with satisfactory biocompatibility. The nanoparticles are endowed with high glutathione (GSH) consumption efficiency, thereby inducing cancer-cell ferroptosis via inactivating glutathione peroxidases 4 (GPX4). Subsequently, the TreMMM degradation due to the GSH depletion and pH sensitivity contributed to the trehalose release for inducing autophagy, promoting/enhancing ferroptosis by NCOA4-mediated degradation of ferritin. A substantial in vitro and in vivo antitumor effect was achieved by such an intriguing autophagy-enhanced ferroptosis. Therefore, the rational combination of GSH-consumption-induced ferroptosis and trehalose-induced autophagy by nanomedicine design provides an alternative but effective strategy for tumor treatment.

High value-added utilization of plastic waste has historically been a problem, which has driven researchers to make long-term and unremitting efforts to tackle it. High-performance carbon based solid acid (CSA) was prepared from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE) in different proportions. The small amount of chlorine is still residual on the edge of graphitic carbon sheets after co-carbonization and sulfonation. Strong electronegative –Cl group and the high-density phenolic –OH group, double-adsorption group, are covalently bonded to the edges of the graphitic carbon sheets, contributing to the decrystallization of cellulose to a large extent. Meanwhile, PVC and PE-derived CSAs have significantly higher –SO3H group density than PVC-derived CSA and cellulose-derived CSA. These are obviously beneficial to the improvement of hydrolysis activity, which can be attributed to structural optimization caused by co-carbonization PVC and PE. The CSA with a mixture of 80% proportions has great catalytic activity and repeatability.

The iron gall ink-triggered chemical corrosion of hand-written documents is a big threat to Western cultural heritages, which was demonstrated to result from the iron gall (GA-Fe) chelate-promoted reactive oxygen species generation. Such a phenomenon has inspired us to apply the pro-oxidative mechanism of GA-Fe to anticancer therapy. In this work, we construct a composite cancer nanomedicine by loading gallate into a Fe-engineered mesoporous silica nanocarrier, which can degrade in acidic tumor to release the doped Fe3+ and the loaded gallate, forming GA-Fe nanocomplex in situ. The nanocomplex with a highly reductive ligand field can promote oxygen reduction reactions generating hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the resultant two-electron oxidation form of GA-Fe is an excellent Fenton-like agent that can catalyze hydrogen peroxide decomposition into hydroxyl radical, finally triggering severe oxidative damage to tumors. Such a therapeutic approach by intratumoral synthesis of GA-Fe nano-metalchelate may be instructive to future anticancer researches., Iron gall chelate (GA-Fe) can promote oxygen reduction reactions and reactive oxygen species generation which causes chemical corrosion. Here, the authors, inspired by this phenomenon, develop a composite nanomedicine for tumour therapy constructed by loading gallate into Fe-engineered and PEGylated mesoporous silica nanocarrier, and show that it inhibits tumour growth.

To solve the global water shortages and serious water pollution problems, research on semiconductor photocatalysts has generated significant research attention. The degradation of pollutants by titanium dioxide (TiO2) exceeds other semiconductor materials. However, its wide bandgap restricts the photocatalytic reaction under visible light. The large specific surface area and good thermal conductivity of graphene yielded an effective graphene-TiO2 catalyst combination effective under visible light. 2D graphene-TiO2 composites (2D-GTC) have shown promise, so a study of the preparation methods, mechanism and catalytic effect of different pollutants on this material was undertaken. In this current review, the characteristics of different graphene and TiO2 composites and their preparation methods, as well as the effects of different synthesis methods on the catalyst are introduced. The reaction mechanism of 2D-GTC catalysts, the degradation effects of different pollutants in water are all reviewed.

Pyrolysis techniques can provide a way to convert polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste into high value liquids and gases. The inexpensive pyrolysis residue was used to successfully prepare a carbon-based solid acid (CSA) bearing –Cl functional group by a simple process, which has been shown to be highly effective for hydrolyzing microcrystalline cellulose into reducing sugars. The structure, acidic functional group density and catalytic activity of PVC-derived CSA (PCSA) were investigated. The results showed that the carbonization time has an important influence on the structure and properties of the PCSA, especially in a lower temperature range. There was a compensation effect between the carbonization temperature and time on the structure and the activity of PCSA. Phenolic-OH and –Cl groups acted as double cellulose-binding sites and together improved the adsorbability of PCSA, which is much higher than that of traditional CSA and other CSAs bearing –Cl groups. The high hydrolytic activity was determined by the adequate density of the –SO3H group, the excellent adsorption property, and the entire structure of the PCSA.

The chain structure of a tetranuclear zinc(II) cluster [Zn4Q6(Ox)]0.5n ([Zn4 (C9H6NO)6(C2O4)]0.5n) (1) (Q = 8- hydroxyquinoline anion, Ox = oxalate dianion) was determined by X-ray crystallography and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and thermal analysis. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P21/n (No. 14), with the lattice parameters a = 13.2222(15) ?, b = 11.0566(12) ?, c = 16.2224(18) ?, ? = 92.1770(10)?, V = 2369.9(5) ?3, Z = 4, Mr = 607.23 g mol-1, Dc = 1.702 g cm-3. The tetranuclear zinc(II) clusters form 1D polymeric chains parallel to the b-axis. The ?-? stacking interactions involving aryl rings support the formation of the 1D polymeric structure. The neighboring polymeric chains are connected by C-H???? interactions.