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Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a major constituent of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and an important contributor to cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. Regulation of CAF activation is a promising strategy to influence cancer outcomes. Here, we report that ovarian cancer cells (OCs) and TME cells promote the activation of ovarian CAFs, whereas gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of 20 nm in diameter inhibit the activation, as demonstrated by the changes in cell morphology, migration, and molecular markers. GNPs exert the effect by altering the levels of multiple fibroblast activation or inactivation proteins, such as TGF-β1, PDGF, uPA and TSP1, secreted by OCs and TME cells. Thus, GNPs represent a potential tool to help understand multicellular communications existing in the TME as well as devise strategies to disrupt the communication., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • OCs and TME cells promote the activation of ovarian CAFs. • GNPs of 20 nm in diameter inhibit ovarian CAFs activation induced by OCs and TME cells. • GNPs alter the levels of fibroblast activation or inactivation proteins secreted by OCs and TME cells.

Owing to distinguished characteristics such as the diverse molecular design, favorable processibility and good flexibility of non-conjugated amorphous polymeric phosphorescent materials with persistent lifetime and intensive luminescence, they have emerged as alternative candidates in various fields, thus attracting significant attention. Nevertheless, regarding the results of the investigation of non-conjugated amorphous room temperature phosphorescent materials, we found that their triplet lifespan mostly last for less than 1 s and harsh conditions and organic solvents are required for their synthesis. Herein, a concise and effective method was employed for the successful synthesis of amorphous non-conjugated polymer polyacrylamide (PAM) with efficient room temperature phosphorescence phenomenon via microwave power (MWP). The use of MWP with appropriate MWP parameters facilitated the synthesis of PAM with a persistent triplet lifetime of three phosphorescent emissions (at 414 nm, 442 nm and 462 nm) exceeding 2 s and high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 53.8%. Different precipitation speeds resulted in various aggregated states of PAMs, and consequently different luminescence intensities and color-tunable phosphorescence properties of PAM (from blue to green) were realized through different post-processing heating temperatures. Based on this, embedding the luminophore vinyl carbazole through copolymerization with acrylamide caused copolymers to exhibit similar phosphorescent emissions as PAM and persistent triplet lifetimes reached 4.06 s, 3.89 s and 3.96 s. Benefitting from MWP, the systematic construction of amorphous polymeric RTP materials with a long triplet lifetime based on PAM provides an explicit strategy for efficient polymerization to achieve room temperature phosphorescence materials and a significant development of the applications of information protection and anti-counterfeiting.

Mutations in the human cystathionine beta synthase (CBS) gene are known to cause endothelial dysfunction responsible for cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases. CBS is the predominant hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S)-producing enzyme in endothelial cells (ECs). Recently, H(2)S was shown to attenuate ROS and improve mitochondrial function. Mitochondria are metabolic organelles that actively transform their ultrastructure to mediate their function. Therefore, we questioned whether perturbation of CBS/H(2)S activity could drive mitochondrial dysfunction via mitochondrial dynamics in ECs. Here we demonstrate that silencing CBS induces mitochondria fragmentation, attenuates efficient oxidative phosphorylation, and decreases EC function. Mechanistically, CBS silencing significantly elevates ROS production, thereby leading to reduced mitofusin 2 (MFN2) expression, decouple endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contacts, increased mitochondria fission, enhanced receptor-mediated mitophagy, and increased EC death. These defects were significantly rescued by the treatment of H(2)S donors. Taken together our data highlights a novel signaling axis that mechanistically links CBS with mitochondrial function and ER-mitochondrial tethering and could be considered as a new therapeutic approach for the intervention of EC dysfunction-related pathologies.

Carbon nanomaterials have aroused considerable interests due to excellent optical performances, but most of achieved carbon dots possess blue luminescence under UV-light irradiations. Herein, we report the preparation of phosphorus and nitrogen co-doped carbon quantum dots (PNCQDs) via hydrothermal method by employment of 1,3-phenylenediamine, citric acid and H3PO4 as precursors. The particle size of the water-soluble PNCQDs is in the range between 4 and 6 nm and the average diameter is determined to be 4.75 nm. The resulted quantum dots give rise to bright green emission at 504 nm and the excitation-dependent behavior has been found. Moreover, it demonstrates luminescence stability toward a broad pH range from 1 to 10. Fluorometric titration studies reveal that close interactions occur between carbon dots and nitrite ions and a switched off effect has been achieved. In addition, prospective application of the quantum dots in tap water and live cells has also been demonstrated.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest solid cancers with dismal prognosis. Several mechanisms that are mainly responsible for aggressiveness and therapy resistance of PDAC cells include epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), stemness and Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) signaling. Strategies that inhibit these mechanisms are critically important to improve therapeutic outcome in PDAC. In the current study, we wanted to investigate whether gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) could sensitize pancreatic cancer cells to the chemotherapeutic agent gemcitabine. We demonstrated that treatment with AuNPs of 20 nm diameter inhibited migration and colony forming ability of pancreatic cancer cells. Pre-treatment with AuNPs sensitized pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine in both viability and colony forming assays. Mechanistically, pre-treatment of pancreatic cancer cells with AuNPs decreased gemcitabine induced EMT, stemness and MAPK activation. Taken together, these findings suggest that AuNPs could be considered as a potential agent to sensitize pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine.

GO is of great interesting for membrane materials due to its unique properties including antimicrobial activity and antifouling property. However, the differences between GO nanosheets and layered GO membranes gained little attention. Herein, we fabricated GO membranes that have a thickness of around 30 nm and a void d-spacing of 0.67 nm (wet state) with single layer GO nanosheets of 10–75 nm in lateral size and investigated their antimicrobial and antifouling potential for practical use. It exhibits typical nanofiltration performance, with the rejections of 65.23%, 17.79%, 42.10% and 12.47% to Na2SO4, NaCl, Mg2SO4 and MgCl2, respectively. The antimicrobial test demonstrated that GO nanosheets lose their antimicrobial activity after they stacked together. A 14-day test showing that GO membrane has excellent resistance for organic fouling, with reversible fouling of more than 98%. But when it comes to tapwater, the proportion of irreversible fouling is surging to more than fifty percent even after cleaning with 2000 mg/L of sodium hypochlorite. Thus, we suggested that there are more details should be investigated before put layered GO membrane into practical use. Surprisingly, GO membrane exhibits excellent mechanical stability during the 14-day test, showing its exciting potential in water treatment.

An accurate and rapid microflow cytometry-based agglutination immunoassay (MCIA) suitable for on-site antibody or antigen detection was proposed. In this study, quantitative C-reactive protein (CRP) detection was chosen as a model assay in order to demonstrate the detection principle. The average transit time was employed to estimate the extent of the agglutination reaction and improve the detection accuracy as compared to the intensity-dependent methods. The detection time was less than 8 min. and only a 20 &micro, L serum sample was needed for each test. The results showed a linear relationship between the average transit time of aggregates and CRP concentrations ranging from 0 to 1 &micro, g/mL. The R2 of this relationship was 0.99. The detection limit of this technology was 0.12 &micro, g/mL CRP. The system used for CRP detection can be extended to also monitor other clinically relevant molecules.

Many traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) with skin-whitening properties have been recorded in the Ben-Cao-Gang-Mu and in folk prescriptions, and some literature confirms that their extracts do have the potential to inhibit pigmentation. However, no systematic studies have identified the specific regulatory mechanisms of the potential active ingredients. The aim of this study was to screen the ingredients in TCMs that inhibit skin pigmentation through a network pharmacology system and to explore underlying mechanisms. We identified 148 potential active ingredients from 14 TCMs, and based on the average “degree” of the topological parameters, the top five TCMs (Fructus Ligustri Lucidi, Hedysarum multijugum Maxim., Ampelopsis japonica, Pseudobulbus Cremastrae Seu Pleiones, and Paeoniae Radix Alba) that were most likely to cause skin-whitening through anti-inflammatory processes were selected. Sitogluside, the most common ingredient in the top five TCMs, inhibits melanogenesis in human melanoma cells (MNT1) and murine melanoma cells (B16F0) and decreases skin pigmentation in zebrafish. Furthermore, mechanistic research revealed that sitogluside is capable of downregulating tyrosinase (TYR) expression by inhibiting the ERK and p38 pathways and inhibiting TYR activity. These results demonstrate that network pharmacology is an effective tool for the discovery of natural compounds with skin-whitening properties and determination of their possible mechanisms. Sitogluside is a novel skin-whitening active ingredient with dual regulatory effects that inhibit TYR expression and activity.

A novel nexus of PHD2, HIF-1α, and CBS is found, which coordinately regulates PHD2 activity and hence HIF-1α stability., The stringent expression of the hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is critical to a variety of pathophysiological conditions. We reveal that, in normoxia, enzymatic action of cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) produces H2S, which persulfidates prolyl hydroxylase 2 (PHD2) at residues Cys21 and Cys33 (zinc finger motif), augmenting prolyl hydroxylase activity. Depleting endogenous H2S either by hypoxia or by inhibiting CBS via chemical or genetic means reduces persulfidation of PHD2 and inhibits activity, preventing hydroxylation of HIF-1α, resulting in stabilization. Our in vitro findings are further supported by the depletion of CBS in the zebrafish model that exhibits axis defects and abnormal intersegmental vessels. Exogenous H2S supplementation rescues both in vitro and in vivo phenotypes. We have identified the persulfidated residues and defined their functional significance in regulating the activity of PHD2 via point mutations. Thus, the CBS/H2S/PHD2 axis may provide therapeutic opportunities for pathologies associated with HIF-1α dysregulation in chronic diseases.

Resolution of the global fresh-water crisis requires advanced separation systems and hence the search for perfect separation materials is being undertaken vigorously. The ideal membrane material should be capable of being easily fabricated and modified to obtain a controllable performance. Graphene oxide (GO) is a graphene-based material with oxygen-containing functional groups. In recent years, GO-based separation membranes have received a lot of attention in the field of separation technology. In this review, we discuss the methods to fabricate or modify multilayered GO membranes. GO membranes and conventional separation membranes are compared and discussed. Further, we compared the molecular dynamics simulation results and the applications of GO membranes. Finally, we summarize the challenges and point out possible future research directions. This review is expected to help researchers obtain a quick idea of multilayered GO membranes and aid in future research for designing and fabricating multilayered GO membranes.

The performance of the general AMBER force field (GAFF) was evaluated by computing the density (ρ), dielectric constant (e), viscosity (η), and enthalpy of vaporization (ΔHvap) for 19 different organic solvents at 298 K and 1 atm. The force field performed very well for liquid densities, with deviations from experiment averaging around 3%. The performance of the force field was much worse for the other properties, with average absolute deviations of 10% for ΔHvap, 35% for e, and 132% for η. A set of modified GAFF parameters were developed for each fluid using an optimization procedure to uniformly scale the Lennard-Jones parameters and partial charges. The modified parameters generally yielded more accurate properties than the original GAFF model, though discrepancies still remained for some liquids. Since these properties depend on the parameters of this class of force field in a complex and nonadditive manner, it is unlikely that any combination of parameters will yield a very high accuracy for all four...

Enteromorpha prolifera (EP), the main source contributing to the outbreak of ‘green tide’, was used as the raw material to prepare biochars by pyrolysis. The biochars were analysed using N2-adsorption and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The pyrolysis process was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis coupled with FTIR. The adsorption capacities of the biochars were compared in terms of removal efficiencies of methylene blue (MB), oxytetracycline (OTC) and humic acid (HA). The adsorption isotherms of the three organics by the optimum biochar were investigated. The results showed that the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of the biochar increased from 36 to 643 m2 g−1 with increasing pyrolysis temperature. The surface functional groups contained in EP were damaged during pyrolysis, while–N=O, S=O and C=N groups were formed on the biochar surface. Decomposition of EP resulted in the vigorous release of gaseous products at 240 °C, including CO2, H2O, aldehydes, ethers, aliphatic amines, sulfones and alcohols. CO2 was released due to the decomposition of carbonates above 700 °C and the in situ reduction of CO2 by carbon contained in the biochar was responsible for the high surface area of the biochar prepared at 750 °C (EPC750). EPC750 had the highest adsorption capacities for MB, OTC and HA among the biochars. The adsorption equilibrium data for MB and OTC onto EPC750 followed the Langmuir model with monolayer adsorption capacities of 138.89 and 103.31 mg g−1 respectively. The adsorption data for OTC also exhibited good agreement with the Freundlich model, suggesting the adsorption process was controlled by multiple mechanisms. The adsorption of HA by EPC750 followed the Freundlich model and the maximum adsorption capacity reached 64.27 mg g−1 under the experimental conditions.

A tremendous quantity of brackish water with a high proportion of divalent cations is in great need of water softening. Layer-stacked graphene oxide membranes show potential in membrane processing due to their molecular sieving properties, but show poor selective retention of cations due to unstable interlayer spacing and electrostatic interaction. In this study, a partially reduced graphene oxide (prGO) and chitosan (CS) nanohybrid membrane (prGO–CS) was fabricated to achieve the selective retention of divalent cations by adjusting the configuration and controlling the surface charge. The prGO–CS membrane, which included a CS skin and embedded prGO sheets, showed a performance boost of 98.0% rejection of Mg2+ and 95.5% rejection of Ca2+ when compared with a CS membrane. The membrane showed good water softening performance for brackish water under low operation pressure with a high Na+/Mg2+ selectivity of 33.8. The excellent performance was attributed to the dense structure and positive charge of prGO–CS.

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes have been developed by stacking the nanosheets together for using as molecular sieve due to its two-dimensional (2D) capillaries. However, this technology is still far from being ready for large-scale production. Specifically, pure GO membranes exhibit poor resistance to cross-flow process, and the commonly used preparation techniques pose scale-up difficulties. Here, we report a durable membrane developed using dip-coating polydopamine (PDA), followed by spray-coating multi-layered GO (MLGO). The fast preparation speed of ~0.2 s cm−2 and large preparation area of 1400 cm2 per preparing cycle demonstrated the scalability of the method. Acting as a binder and stabilizer, PDA developed MLGO-substrate interaction and crosslinked the MLGO sheets. The modified oriented MLGO layer contributed up to 95.0% retention of Na2SO4 and showed enhanced stability in a 263-days soaking test and a nearly 800-h cross-flow test with the test area of 29.2 cm2. This work expands the possibilities for the GO membranes in practical applications.

Increasing the migration and separation efficiencies of photogenerated carriers can enormously enhance photocatalytic properties. Thus, a novel CQDs/BiOCl nanocomposite with rich oxygen vacancies (OVs) was effectively synthesized via a hydrothermal method by using maltitol as a carbon source to address these issues. The photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FT-IR, BET, XPS, PL, EIS, I-t, DRS and ESR. The experimental results demonstrate that BOC-1 can purify 72% tetracycline hydrochloride (10 mg/L, TC-HCl) within 60 min, which is 4 times higher than pure BiOCl. Moreover, photocatalytic mechanism was thoroughly studied and verified that the cooperation of point discharge effect (PDE) and rational OVs concentration induced by carbon quantum dots (CQDs) can significantly enhance the migration and separation of photo-induced carriers, thereby leading to high photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared nanocomposites. In addition, the contribution of the free radicals was comprehensively calculated based on trapping experiments. the contributions of ·OH, ·O2- and 1O2 are 6.38%, 48.94% and 8.51%, respectively. This study provides a promising strategy to boosting the photoinduced carrier transfer properties by the coupling of point discharge effect and defect engineering.

Enhance the concentration of singlet oxygen (1O2) to ameliorate the photocatalytic performance is a promising strategy. Therefore, Z-scheme Mo2S3/BiOCl heterostructure with rational oxygen vacancies (OVs) was successfully synthesized by in-situ template method to tackle these issues. Characterization results reveal that the OVs were efficiently passivated by forming Mo–O bond at the interface of Mo2S3 and BiOCl. Moreover, the photocatalytic mechanism research reflects that the interfacial electric field not only enhance the spatial separation and migration efficiency of the photo-induced carriers but also benefit producing abundant 1O2, and thus TC-HCl was purified 90.8% in 90 min. Meanwhile, the contribution of the reactive oxygen species to the photocatalytic activity and the formation path of 1O2 were comprehensively studied for the first time. This work provides a new avenue to study the formation path of 1O2 and offer a polishing strategy to mend the photocatalytic activity by modulate the concentration of 1O2.

Two NF membranes were applied to separate and purify the soybean oligosaccharide (SBOS) from SBOS broth. NF-3A membrane was more appropriate than NF-2A membrane because of its superior separation p...

Narrowly size-distributed poly(styrene- co -methyl methacrylate) (poly(St- co -MMA))/SiO 2 nanocomposite particles (NCPs) were efficiently prepared through miniemulsion polymerization by using a special use strategy of surfactants. A trace amount of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was post-added to monomer miniemulsions stabilized with polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate (Tween-20). The number fraction of the poly(St- co -MMA)/SiO 2 NCPs reached 97% in the as-synthesized emulsion stabilized with 0.15 g of Tween-20 and 2.5 mg of the post-added SDS. The highly efficient formation of poly(St- co -MMA)/SiO 2 NCPs was realized through controlled mergence between the monomer droplets and latex particles during polymerization. The influence of the amount of post-added SDS, surface hydrophobic modification degree of SiO 2 nanoparticles, and SiO 2 content on the particle properties of latex particles was systematically investigated. The amount of post-added SDS and surface hydrophobic modification degree of SiO 2 nanoparticles are two determining factors for the efficiency of polymer/SiO 2 NCP formation.

Modified three-compartment electrodialysis (MTED), a novel process containing intermediate compartment with fluorinated ion exchange membrane, has been applied to the recovery of petroleum sulfonate from petrochemical dispersion. The fluorinated ion exchange membrane has higher degree of crosslinking than heterogeneous ion exchange membrane. The petroleum sulfonate is separated from the petrochemical dispersion during anion migration by the different steric effect of ion exchange membranes. In order to reduce the membrane fouling and increase the current efficiency, the 50 nm ceramic membrane was utilized as the pretreatment of MTED. The result indicated that in total of 99.4 wt% of petroleum sulfonate in the petrochemical dispersion could be recovered at the applied voltage 25 V, flux rate 30 L/h, temperature 40 °C and initial concentration 7.5 wt% (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 . Simultaneously, the (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 solution without petroleum sulfonate was received in concentrate compartment of MTED. The results verified the feasibility of MTED on separating the petroleum sulfonate and inorganic salt in petrochemical dispersion, and provided important technical basis for a large-scale procedure of MTED in petrochemical dispersion treatment.

Pyrolysis of Euphausia superba shell waste (ESW) was investigated by using a thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (TG-FTIR). The kinetic parameters of pyrolysis reactions were obtained via the distributed activation energy model (DAEM). Experimental results showed that the temperature at which the highest weight loss rate occurred increased from 280 to 315 °C as the heating rate increased from 5 to 30 °C min−1. Almost all the volatiles were evolved between 300 and 350 °C, while CH4 and aliphatic C–H were also produced at higher-temperature regions. A large amount of CO2 was generated above 650 °C by the decomposition of carbonates, and it can be further reduced to CO by ESW char. CO2 was the main non-condensable product, and ketones were the dominating condensable products. The activation energy of pyrolysis reactions increased from 79 to 392 kJ mol−1 for conversion rates 0.13 to 0.54. The linear relationship between the natural logarithm of the frequency factor and activation energy was also established. The activation energy approximately followed Gaussian distribution, and the mean activation energy was 162 kJ mol−1.

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are promising materials for gas and liquid separations due to their unique pore structures and tunable surface properties. Recent studies show that ZIF crystalline powders, especially membranes, are not stable in aqueous solutions. The present work shows the improvement of ZIF-8 crystal and membrane stability in water through utilization of a ligand exchange post-modification method which replaces methylimidazole ligands on the outer surface of ZIF-8 crystals or membranes by the more hydrophobic, bulkier 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole. Ligand exchange modification does not change the crystal structure, morphology or gas permeance as shown ZIF-8 powder and membrane characterization experiments. The modified ZIF-8 powders and membranes retain identical morphologies and crystallinities after static and dynamic water immersion. The modified ZIF-8 membrane exhibits stable water pervaporation flux controlled by the ZIF-8 layer while the unmodified ZIF-8 membrane experiences dissolution of the ZIF-8 layer during water pervaporation. This ligand exchange strategy enables hydrostable ZIF-8 membranes for practical applications involving aqueous solutions.

Dispersion state of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) in the composite films may significantly influence on the film properties. In the present study, polymer/SiO 2 nanocomposite particles (NCPs) with various SiO 2 grafting states (various grafting ratios, various linking patterns between SiO 2 NPs, and various types of grafted chains), were prepared through in situ emulsion or in situ miniemulsion technique. These NCPs were used as building blocks to prepare composite films. The microscopic observations and surface composition analyses of the composite films manifest that the spatial distribution of SiO 2 NPs in the composite films depends on the baking temperature, SiO 2 grafting state, and the compatibility between SiO 2 NPs and polymer matrix. The SiO 2 NPs might display a cluster-like distribution, homogenous one, or locally aggregated one. The results from this study demonstrate how the grafting state of inorganic NPs is effective in controlling dispersion state of inorganic NPs and further determining the properties of composite films.

The pyrolysis of waste disposable paper cups (WDPCs) was investigated using a thermogravimetric analyser coupled with a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The activation energies of the pyrolysis reactions were obtained by the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) methods respectively. The kinetic model was determined by the master plots method. Thermogravimetric results showed that the highest weight loss rate occurred from 345 to 365 °C as the heating rate was increased from 10 to 30 °C min−1, indicating the pyrolysis of cellulosic material in the WDPC. The weight loss between 400 and 500 °C can be attributed to the decomposition of polyethylene. By analysing the FTIR spectra, it was found that the absorbance of all the evolved gaseous products had peaks at 360 °C due to the decomposition of cellulose fibres and the cracking of polyethylene at 485 °C led to the emergence of a second hydrocarbon peak. Ketones were the most abundant condensable organic products and CO2 was the dominating gaseous product, which can also be produced via secondary cracking of the small molecule organics above 400 °C. Kinetic analysis revealed that the average activation energy of the pyrolysis of the WDPC was 153.75 kJ mol−1 from the FWO method and 151.43 kJ mol−1 from the KAS method. The reaction mechanism can be described by the R3 model.

The desalting performance of graphene oxide (GO) membranes was further optimized using one-step carboxylation via nucleophilic substitution reactions between epoxy groups of graphene oxide (GO) and amino groups of glycine. GO and GO-COOH membranes with highly ordered structure were prepared by pressure-assisted self-assembly technique. The performance of GO and GO-COOH membranes was investigated and compared. The results showed that GO-COOH membranes exhibited not only higher permeability but also better salt rejections compared with pristine GO membranes. The surface physicochemical properties of GO-COOH membrane including negativity and hydrophilicity were improved as well. The transport mechanism revealed that the improvement of desalting properties was attributed to enhanced electrostatic repulsion by inducing effective negative charge. The higher permeability of GO-COOH membranes resulted from increased water nanochannels and improved surface hydrophilicity. Overall, GO-COOH membranes show great potential in the separation field due to prominent permeation performance and desirable separation property.

Polymeric/inorganic nanocomposite particles (NCPs) were tentatively prepared through miniemulsion polymerization using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the sole surfactant. The representative inorganic nanoparticles (NPs), SiO 2 NPs, were pre-dispersed in monomer solutions. Particle morphology and size of the latex particles in the emulsions prepared from miniemulsions were investigated in terms of the SiO 2 and SDS content. The results indicate that the number fraction of polymer/SiO 2 NCPs ( f NCP ) in the latex particles was below 4%, and that plain polymer particles dominated in all of the emulsions regardless of the SiO 2 and SDS content when the sonication power was 95 W. The centrifugation experiments showed that there were three types of particles in the emulsions, namely, a dominant amount of plain polymer particles, a small amount of polymer/SiO 2 NCPs, and a very small amount of sub-micrometer polymer/SiO 2 aggregates. These particles evolved from small plain monomer droplets, medium monomer droplets containing SiO 2 NPs, and micrometer monomer droplets containing many SiO 2 NPs, respectively. Formation mechanisms of these three types of particles were proposed. On the basis of the mechanism, we used higher sonication power to improve the homogeneity of the number distribution of SiO 2 NPs among monomer droplets. The f NCP value markedly increased to ∼39% upon increase of the sonication power to 190 W. However, the formation efficiency of polymer/SiO 2 NCPs could not be improved with further increase of the sonication power.

Rice roll-like (RR-like) Au/SiO 2 nanocatalysts (NCs) were synthesized through simultaneous sol–gel process of tetramethoxysilane and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and in situ reduction of gold salt in inverse miniemulsions. APTES played an important role in formation of RR-like SiO 2 nano-supports, reduction of gold salts to narrowly size-distributed sub–10 nm Au nanoparticles (NPs), and improved attachment of Au NPs to the SiO 2 nano-supports. The prepared RR-like Au/SiO 2 NCs displayed a pH-dependent, reversible colloidal stability in water, which facilitated to recycle them through tuning the pH value of the dispersion. Most importantly, the catalytic activity of the RR-like Au/SiO 2 NCs towards reduction of p -nitrophenol was about 7–9 times higher than that of the raspberry-like Au/SiO 2 NCs reported in our previous paper (Colloids Surf. A, 489, 2016, 223–233). The formation mechanism of the RR-like Au/SiO 2 NCs was also discussed.

Pyrolysis of waste printing paper was investigated by using thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (TG–FTIR). The activation energies of pyrolysis reactions were obtained via the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose methods, respectively. The kinetic model was determined by the master plot method. TG results showed that the highest mass loss rate occurred increased from 618 to 638 K as heating rate increased from 5 to 20 K min−1, indicating the pyrolysis of cellulose fibers in WPP. The mass loss above 873 K can be attributed to the decomposition of calcite used as filler. By analyzing the FTIR spectra, it was found that the major generation temperatures of the evolving gaseous products ranged from 635 to 647 K during the pyrolysis of WPP at 20 K min−1. CO2 was the primary non-condensable product, and aldehydes, organic acids, ketones were the dominating condensable products, in addition to ethers. Kinetic analysis revealed that the activation energy of the pyrolysis reaction of WPP was 189.39 kJ mol−1 for the FWO method and 189.03 kJ mol−1 for the KAS method. The reaction model function was f(α) = (1 − α)1.95, and the frequency factor A = 3.66 × 1015 min−1. All of the findings would help further understanding of pyrolysis behavior of WPP and its thermochemical utilization for fuels and chemicals.

Pyrolysis of Enteromorpha prolifera was investigated for the first time by using thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (TG-FTIR). The activation energies of pyrolysis reactions were obtained via the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose method, respectively. The experimental results showed that the main weight loss of EP occurred between 200 and 350 °C, and almost all the volatiles were evolved in this stage. CO2 was the most prominent non-condensable product, while aldehydes, organic acids, ketones, and ethers were the dominating condensable products. The minor weight loss of EP above 720 °C was possibly caused by the decomposition of calcium carbonate, and it resulted in the formation of CO2, which was further reduced to CO by EP char above 750 °C. In addition, the evolution curves of CH4 and aliphatic C-H exhibited two peaks located between 200 and 600 °C, due to the rupture of methoxy, ethoxy, and methylene. The activation energy of the pyrolysis of EP increased with the increase of conversion rate, and its average value was calculated as 299.84 kJ mol−1 for FWO method and 306.81 kJ mol−1 for KAS method. All of the findings would help further understanding of pyrolysis behavior of EP and its thermo-chemical utilization for fuels and chemicals.

Thin film nanocomposite (TFN) polyamide (PA) reverse osmosis (RO) membranes incorporating carboxylic multiwall carbon nanotubes (c-MWCNTs) were successfully synthesized by interfacial polymerization with aqueous solution of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) containing c-MWCNTs and Isopar G solution of trimesoly chloride (TMC). In order to improve the dispersion of MWCNTs in polymer matrix, carboxylic groups was modified onto the pristine MWCNTs by acid mixture (sulfuric acid and nitric acid of 3:1 volume ratio) and mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide (4:1 volume ratio). The feasibility of carboxylic on MWCNTs was evaluated by FT-IR, SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopy analysis. Apparent size distribution and suspension of c-MWCNTs showed the well dispersion condition of c-MWCNTs in water which also proved the successful carboxylic of MWCNTs. The effect of c-MWCNTs incorporation into the PA selective layer on the surface morphology, separation performance and antifouling properties of the membranes were investigated and discussed. The “leaf-like” and granules outgrowth morphology of nanocomposite was observed by SEM and the c-MWCNTs incorporated in PA layer were observed by TEM. After doping c-MWCNTs, the water flux of TFN membranes increased due to higher hydrophilicity and additional water pathways of c-MWCNTs. It is noteworthy that the TFN membrane with 0.005 wt% c-MWCNTs could exhibit water flux as high as 68.3 L·m-2·h-1 and the NaCl rejection maintained at 96.0%. Meanwhile, the TFN membrane with 0.005 wt% c-MWCNTs showed better antifouling affinity than c-MWCNTs free membrane due to the increased in hydrophilicity as well as surface negative charge. Based on the result, it can be concluded that incorporating an appropriate amount of c-MWCNTs into PA rejection layer could potentially improve the performance of TFN membrane during RO applications.

Forward osmosis has motivated practical applications in seawater desalination and agricultural irrigation due to its potential advantage of osmotic dilution. However, water flux decline accompanies with continuous dilution of the DS, which will cause extra membrane expenditure, until final osmotic equilibrium. Without the help of additional driving force, it is impossible to reduce driving force loss in OD. In this study, concentration-dependent hydraulic pressure is exactly introduced as an auxiliary driving force. Investigations on water flux decline behavior in OD showed that water fluxes at lower initial concentration difference, lower initial solution volume and AL-DS orientation suffered more severe decline; furthermore, it implied that additional hydraulic pressure could alleviate adverse effects of greater concentration difference variation generated by pressure-induced water flux increment on water flux. For given dilution of the DS, minimized change in bulk FS concentration was conducive to ensure the effectiveness of constant hydraulic pressure on reducing water flux decline. Validation experiments demonstrated that current model equations were more appropriate under lower hydraulic pressures, and stable water flux also relied on concentration difference variation corresponding to applied hydraulic pressure. Potential implications were highlighted in the context of technical progress of membrane preparation and application potential of OD.

It is currently recognized that perpetual crosstalk among key players in tumor microenvironment such as cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs), cancer cells (CCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) play a critical role in tumor progression, metastasis and therapy resistance. Disruption of the crosstalk may be useful to improve the outcome of therapeutics for which limited options are available. In the current study we investigate a use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a therapeutic tool to disrupt the multicellular crosstalk within the TME cells with an emphasis on inhibiting angiogenesis. We demonstrate here that AuNPs disrupt signal transduction from TME cells (CAFs, CCs and ECs) to ECs and inhibit angiogenic phenotypes in vitro. We demonstrate that conditioned media (CM) from ovarian CCs, CAFs or ECs themselves induce tube formation and migration of ECs in vitro. Migration of ECs is also induced when ECs are co-cultured with CCs, CAFs or ECs. In contrast, CM from the cells treated with AuNPs, or co-cultured cells pre-treated with AuNPs demonstrate diminished effects on ECs tube formation and migration. Mechanistically, AuNPs deplete ~95% VEGF165 from VEGF single-protein solution, and remove up to ~45% of VEGF165 from CM, which is reflected on reduced activation of VEGF-Receptor 2 (VEGFR2) as compared to control CM. These results demonstrate that AuNPs inhibit angiogenesis via blockade of VEGF-VEGFR2 signaling from TME cells to endothelial cells.

A rapid, sensitive and simple microflow cytometry-based agglutination immunoassay (MCIA) was developed for point-of-care (POC) quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies. The antibody concentration was determined by using the transit time of beads aggregates. A linear relationship was established between the average transit time and the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG by the MCIA measurement are 0.06 mg/L and 0.10 mg/L, respectively. The 10 µL sample consumption, 30 min assay time and the compact setup make this technique suitable for POC quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

Graphene oxide (GO), prepared using Hummers method, is used to fabricate nanofiltration membranes by pressure-assisted self-assembly method. The reasons for the formation of wrinkles on the surface of GO membranes are analyzed in this paper. GO membranes have serious flux attenuation and obvious changes in surface morphology due to hydraulic pressure. At 1.0 MPa, the water flux of GO membranes decreases about 75%, while at 1.5 MPa, sodium sulfate rejection increases from 21.32% to 85.84%. GO membranes were compacted and wrinkles became narrower under the influence of hydraulic pressure. By comparing flux decline between support membranes and GO membranes and analyzing the structure of GO laminate, we concluded that flux decline is due to the changes in the support membrane and GO laminate synergistically. This study reveals a defect of GO membranes and provides a profound analysis of water permeation through GO membranes.

Batik industries generate large amounts of effluents with high chromaticity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, and salinity. The present study aims to recycle batik effluent using nanofiltration (NF) membranes. The effects of various operating conditions on the performances of three NF membranes (NF6, NF2A, and NF3A) were examined in terms of the removal rate of salt, COD, and chromaticity, together with permeate flux. Membrane fouling and cleaning strategies were also investigated. Results showed that the NF3A membrane outperformed the other membranes under the following optimal operating conditions: operating pressure, 1 MPa; operating temperature, 20°C; and cross-flow velocity, 5 m/s. A pilot-scale test was conducted by screening a NF membrane combination, including one NF membrane with high permeate fluxes and a poor water quality and another NF membrane placed on the opposite side, to satisfy reuse requirements and to reduce investment costs. Compared with NF3A membranes alone, the com...

Electrodialysis (ED) is an electrochemical separation process during which ion exchange membranes use an electric potential as the driving force to separate and purify ionic species. In the experiment, the limiting current is firstly determined to avoid the polarization phenomenon. Then, the effects of the feed pH, feed concentration, and the glucose concentration on the performance of separation and purification are studied to determine the optimal operating conditions in terms of L-phenylalanine recovery and salt removal. The optimal operating conditions in this study are the limiting current of 0.75 A, feed pH of 5.91, feed concentration of 10 g/L, and the glucose concentration of 5 g/L, respectively. Under the optimal operating conditions, the L-phenylalanine recovery and salt removal can reach up to 84.3 and 98.5%, respectively.

This work studied the feasibility of ultrasonic-assisted (US-assisted) chemical cleaning of nanofiltration (NF) membranes that fouled with inorganic scales. We carried out US-assisted acid cleaning experiments by filter arsenic-rich brackish water to investigate the influencing conditions of US-assisted cleaning technology. We first optimized the proper ultrasonic power intensity (1 W/cm2) in avoiding of membrane damage. US-assisted water flushing can recover the membrane water flux by around 75%, which suggested that the removal of inorganic scales was inadequate. However, US-assisted acid cleaning is efficient for removing the inorganic scales on membrane surface, and cleaning time was significantly shortened by 1/3 to 2/3 when compared with acid cleaning. It is worth to note that US-assisted acid cleaning can be carried out at a lower pH value of 3.0, while traditional acid cleaning usually conducted at pH of 2.0.This would reduce disposal amount of chemical contaminants by up to 90%. Additionally, our investigation suggests the optimal temperature for US-assisted acid cleaning was around 30 °C. This study revealed that the US-assisted acid cleaning method is an effective and environmental-friendly method for NF membrane cleaning.

The porous structure produced by star-shaped molecules via electrochemical polymerization provides a number of transport channels, which will be beneficial for ions migration and improving electrochemical and electrochromic performance. Two novel star-shaped trithiophene and hexathiophene functionalized truxenes, Tr-3Th and Tr-6Th, were successfully synthesized. The corresponding porous polymers PTr-3Th and PTr-6Th, prepared by the electrochemical polymerization of the Tr-3Th and Tr-6Th, have provided compatible ion transport channels, which performed high electrochemical stability (maintain 99% electrochemical activity after 5000 cycles). PTr-3Th revealed colour change from light gray-green to dark gray-green upon oxidation, meanwhile, PTr-6Th presented the colour variations from light yellow to green. The result provides a new insight into the design of electrochromic polymers with good stability.

One of the biggest challenges in rapid low concentration bacterial detection is the pre-concentration or pre-enrichment, which aims to increase bacteria concentration and reduce sample volume for easy bacterial detection. In practical bacterial detection, large-volume water samples with a pathogenic bacterial concentration of less than 1 CFU/mL have to be tested rapidly. The reported biosensors either have insufficient detection limit or have limited capability of handling a sufficiently large water sample. Therefore, a high-performance automated pre-enrichment process is strongly demanded in rapid practical bacterial detection. In this paper, a practical high performance automated bacterial concentration and recovery system (ABCRS) based on the combination of a ceramic membrane and tangential flow filtration technique was presented with short processing time (less than one hour), low pre-enrichment limit (≤0.005 CFU/mL), high concentration ratio (≥ 500), high recovery efficiency (~ 90%), and small final retentate volume (≤ 5 mL).

The employment of aggregation induced emission (AIE) species for detecting analytes has become ubiquitous in many applications ranging from environmental monitoring to novel chemical sensing processes. Herein, a new organic building block (4,4′,4″,4″‘-(ethene-1,1,2,2-trayltetrakis (benzene-4,1-diyl))tetrakis(1-methylpyridin-1-ium) boric acid (TPE-B)) has been synthesized and such chromophore exhibits very weak emission in aqueous solution. The molecule-surfactant interaction can lead to distinguished yellow emissions and the incorporation of sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) will generate morphological changes from irregular organic clusters to aggregated nanoparticles with the size of 45 nm. A six-fold intensity enhancement has been observed and the electrostatic forces are believed to act as the primary role for the selective response to SDS. Based on the in situ established TPE-B-SDS framework, a switched-off effect has been observed in the presence of ClO− and this signal change will allow us to accurately determine the concentration of such reactive oxygen species (ClO−). The limits of detection for SDS and ClO− are calculated to be 54.2 nM and 14.2 nM, respectively. These excellent optical properties have been extended into practical range and the results for the detection of SDS and ClO− in tap water samples are satisfactory. It is anticipated that the responsive probe will provide deeper insights into multi-targets sensing in extensive systems.

Among the current methods for lithium extraction from seawater, adsorption by manganese oxide ion sieves was considered to be the most promising one for industrial application. In this study, sol–gel, hydrothermal synthesis and two-stage heat treatment were used for preparing lithium ion sieve precursor Li 1.6 Mn 1.6 O 4 . Ion sieve MnO 2 ·0.5H 2 O was then obtained after eluting Li + from Li 1.6 Mn 1.6 O 4 by acid treatment. The crystal structure, surface morphology and adsorption properties of the ion sieve were characterized by XRD, SEM, HRTEM, adsorption isotherms and kinetics. Furthermore, the dynamic adsorption/desorption processes of granulated ion sieve were studied with concentrated seawater (saltern bittern) and HCl solution. The results showed that the ion sieve and its precursor were nearly pure spinel manganese oxides, and possessed one-dimensional nanowires morphologies. After granulation, the ion sieve exhibited good adsorption performance, and its adsorption process was in accordance with Lagergren Kinetics Equation and Langmuir Isotherm Equation. Under continuous and dynamic conditions, the ion-exchange capacity of this ion sieve for saltern bittern (pH = 10) was 10.05 mg/g, and after acid treatment, lithium-rich solution which was 30 times more concentrated than bittern (900 times than seawater) was obtained. The results implied that the ion sieve could be used for lithium extraction and enrichment in seawater system, and had a good application prospect.

Recently lower limit of detection (LOD) is necessary for rapid bacteria detection and analysis applications in clinical practices and daily life. A critical pre-conditioning step for these applications is bacterial concentration, especially for low level of pathogens. Sample volume can be largely reduced with an efficient pre-concentration process. Some approaches such as hollow-fiber ultra-filtration and electrokinetic technique have been applied to bacterial concentration. Since none of these methods can provide a concentrating method with a stable recovery efficiency, bacterial concentration still remains challenging Ceramic micro- filter can be used to concentrate the bacteria but the cross flow system keeps the bacteria in suspension. Similar harvesting bacteria using ultra-filtration showed an average recovery efficiency of 43% [1] and other studies achieved recovery rates greater than 50% [2]. In this study, an enhanced ceramic micro-filter with 0.14 μm pore size was proposed and demonstrated to optimize the concentration of E.coli. A high recovery rate (mean value >90%) and a high volumetric concentration ratio (>100) were achieved. Known quantities (104 to 106 CFU/ml) of E.coli cells were spiked to different amounts of phosphate buffered saline (0.1 to 1 L), and then concentrated to a final retentate of 5 ml to 10 ml. An average recovery efficiency of 95.3% with a standard deviation of 5.6% was achieved when the volumetric con- centration ratio was 10. No significant recovery rate loss was indicated when the volumetric concentration ratio reached up to 100. The effects of multiple parameters on E.coli recovery rate were also studied. The obtained results indicated that the optimized ceramic micro- filtration system can successfully concentrate E.coli cells in water with an average recovery rate of 90.8%.

Class I HDACs 1-3 are critical for the AR-mediated transcriptional program. Thus, targeting class I HDACs is a promising strategy for treating prostate cancer. However, several FDA-approved HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) broadly inhibiting different HDACs have been shown to be ineffective and overtly toxic for treating castration-resistant prostate cancer in clinical trials. These observations suggest that HDACi selective for class I HDACs may be more effective but less toxic for treating prostate cancer than pan HDACi. Notably, we and others have shown that HDACi of different chemical classes individually exhibit nonoverlapping but limited effects on the acetylome in cancer cells. We hypothesize that a combination treatment strategy with class I HDAC-selective HDACi of different chemical classes is more effective to block AR signaling and prostate tumor growth than such HDACi individually. We have recently discovered the novel benzoylhydrazide chemo-type of class I HDAC-selective HDACi with a unique pharmacologic profile. Medicinal chemistry effort led to an optimized analog, SR-4370, with 6 nM potency to HDAC3. In support of our hypothesis, SR-4370 in combination with the clinical class I HDACi entinostat markedly suppressed AR signaling, prostate cancer cell proliferation in vitro, and tumor growth in vivo, and the tumor-suppressive effects by the HDACi combination were more pronounced than by SR-4370 and entinostat individually. Gene expression profiling experiments revealed that the SR-4370/entinostat combination profoundly downregulated AR, AR-V7, and AR target genes, while activating immune and cell death signaling pathways. In a C4-2 xenograft model using athymic nude mice, the SR-4370/entinostat combination was highly effective in suppressing tumor growth. Importantly, these HDACi alone or in combination did not cause observable adverse effects judged by body weight and blood chemistry tests of treated mice. Overall, our data suggest that the SR-4370/entinostat combination may be a translatable treatment for castration-resistant prostate cancer. Citation Format: Guimei Tian, Iqbal Mahmud, Ryan Stowe, Yushan Zhang, Hamsa Thayek Purayil, William Roush, Yehia Daaka, Daiqing Liao. A combination of two chemically distinct inhibitors of class I HDACs is highly effective to suppress AR signaling and in vivo growth of prostate cancer xenograft [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Prostate Cancer: Advances in Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research; 2017 Dec 2-5; Orlando, Florida. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(16 Suppl):Abstract nr B004.

Pd/Si-MFI membranes are fabricated by depositing palladium nanoparticles onto Si-MFI membranes via opposing reactants chemical fluid deposition in supercritical carbon dioxide. Palladium hexafluoroacetylacetonate [Pd(hfac)2] and ethanol are used as the Pd precursor and the reducing agent, respectively, in the deposition process. The resulting Pd/Si-MFI membrane is characterized using SEM, XRD, EPMA, TEM, and EDX techniques. It is demonstrated that a continuous layer of Pd particles with size of 10 nm is covered on the matrix surface while 30-nm Pd particles are plugged into the defects within the matrix. The H2/N2 permselectivity has been significantly increased due to the deposition of Pd nanoparticles in the Si-MFI membrane, which could keep stable below the critical temperature. This bifunctional membrane and similar membranes possess the application potential to achieve various one-step syntheses.

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is a potent promoter of plant senescence. ORESARA3 (ORE3)/ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2 (EIN2), a protein similar to the members of the disease-related Nramp metal transporter family, is involved in cross-talk among several senescence processes related to abscisic acid, ethylene, MeJA, age and darkness. Nevertheless, the mechanism involved in the regulation of ORE3/EIN2 in exogenous MeJA-induced leaf senescence remains unclear. The C-terminal end of ORE3/EIN2 (CEND) was cleaved from ORE3/EIN2 located in the endoplasmic reticulum and then transferred to the nucleus during MeJA-induced senescence. Further analyses showed that mitogen-activated protein kinase 6 (MPK6) promoted CEND cleavage and nuclear translocation. Nuclear CEND accumulated ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE3 (EIN3), a transcription factor that accelerates MeJA-induced leaf senescence wherein ORESARA9 (ORE9) expression was suppressed in ein3, ore3, and mpk6 mutant plants. ChIP experiments revealed that EIN3 bound directly to the ORE9 promoter and this binding was enhanced in MeJA-induced leaf senescence. This study revealed the effect of the signalling pathway involving MPK6-ORE3-EIN3-ORE9 on regulating leaf senescence and provided insights into the mechanism of MeJA in promoting leaf senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana.

A systematic study on the influence of solution chemistry (pH, ionic strength) and bulk cell concentration on static and dynamic glutamicum adsorption onto polysulphone membrane, cell adsorption isotherms, and the rate of adsorption was performed. The interaction between cells and membrane surface in the absence of salt was dominated by electrostatic interaction due to the charges on the cell surface. The maximum adsorption occurred at isoelectric point (IEP) of cells, suggesting complementary electrostatically driven adsorption. At pH values below the IEP, adsorption increased as pH increased, but above the IEP, adsorption decreased as pH increased. Increased salt concentration reduces electrostatic repulsion between like-charged material (increasing adsorption) and decreases electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged material (decreased adsorption). Isotherms were performed to determine equilibrium adsorption behavior. Adsorption isotherms follow Langmuir laws, the parameters of which were determined. By taking into account electrostatic interactions, it has been possible to explain the evolution in the adsorption isotherms of the cell on the membrane surface with the solution chemical conditions. Rate of adsorption was determined by measuring adsorbed mass as a function of time at different pH values, ionic strength, and bulk feed concentration. In order to determine the effect of convective flow and electrostatic interactions on the cell adsorption behavior, static and dynamic adsorption were compared. Although convective forces tend to increase the amount of cell accumulated near the membrane surface, electrostatic interactions played a stronger role, as evident in the irreversible adsorption results for the static and dynamic cases. Controlling electrostatic interactions could reduce adsorption of cells onto the membrane, consequently reducing long-term membrane fouling.

Human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are an attractive multipotent stem cell source with therapeutic applicability across diverse fields for the repair and regeneration of acute and chronically damaged tissues. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in ADSC for tissue engineering applications. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of ADSC proliferation are not fully understood. Here we show that 47 transcripts are up-regulated while 23 are down-regulated in ADSC compared to terminally differentiated cells based on global mRNA profiling and microRNA profiling. Among the up-regulated genes, the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is fine-tuned by miR-199a-5p. Further investigation indicates that VEGF accelerates ADSC proliferation whereas the multipotency of ADSC remains stable in terms of adipogenic, chondrogenic and osteogenic potentials after VEGF treatment, suggesting that VEGF may serve as an excellent supplement for accelerating ADSC proliferation during in vitro expansion.

Introduction Acute liver failure (ALF) is a highly lethal disease, for which effective therapeutic methods are limited. Although allogeneic liver transplantation is a viable treatment method for ALF, there is a serious shortage of liver donors. Recent studies suggest that stem cell transplantation is a more promising alternative. Hence, we investigate whether human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have the therapeutic potential for ALF in this study based on the studies of rat models. Methods Sprague Dawley rats were used to establish ALF models by D-galactosamine injection. These rats were randomly divided into a human ASC-treated group and a phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) control group. The human ASCs or PBS was transplanted through the spleen of rats. The indices of hepatic function and hepatic histology were dynamically detected, and the survival rates of rats were also counted. Double-fluorescence immunohistochemistry was employed to detect the ASC fate after transplantation. Moreover, both concentrated ASC conditional media and ASC lysates were transplanted through the femoral vain of rats to investigate the therapeutic potential for ALF. Results The ASC transplantation group showed improved viability in comparison with the sham control. Histological and biochemical analysis suggested that liver morphology and function were improved in terms of cell proliferation and apoptosis. Although a plethora of ASCs persist in the spleen, the improvement in liver function was obvious. However, ASCs did not differentiate into hepatocytes after engrafting to livers within 3 days. In addition, both concentrated serum-free ASC conditional media and ASC lysates, characterized by high levels of hepatocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor, demonstrated obvious improvement in terms of high survival rates of ALF rats. Conclusion Our data suggest that ASC transplantation has the potential for ALF treatment partly by the mechanism of secreting growth factors contributing to liver regeneration.