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This study was designed to evaluate the subchronic toxicity of the compound of diphenhydramine hydrochloride (DH) and caffeine in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and beagle dogs. A total of 180 SD rats (15/sex/group) were randomly divided into the compound low-, medium- and high-dose groups (51, 102, 204 mg/kg), DH group (60 mg/kg), caffeine group (144 mg/kg) and the vehicle control group. Sixty beagle dogs (5/sex/group) were randomly divided into the compound low-, medium- and high-dose groups (male: 14.20, 28.30, 56.60 mg/kg, female: 5.66, 14.20, 28.30 mg/kg), DH group (male: 16.60 mg/kg, female: 8.30 mg/kg), caffeine group (male: 40.00 mg/kg, female: 20.00 mg/kg) and the vehicle control group. Rats and dogs were given continuous oral administration for 28 days following a 28-day recovery period. The adverse effects of the compound on rats and beagle dogs mainly included anorexia and liver function impairment. Most adverse effects induced by administration were reversible. Under the experimental conditions, the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of the compound of DH and caffeine was 51 mg/kg/day for SD rats and 28.30 mg/kg/day (male) and 5.66 mg/kg/day (female) for beagle dogs.

We synthesized herein a novel 3D cathode constructed by growing cobalt diselenide in situ on the surface of carbon nanofiber for hydrogen evolution reaction. The cobalt diselenides with two typical morphologies (agaric-like and nanorod-like) were synthesized by precisely controlling reaction time and temperature in the same system. They show excellent electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reactions. Especially, the agaric-like diselenide cobalt electrode has the low overpotential (187 and 199 mV) to obtain the current density of 50 and 100 mA cm-2 with a small Tafel slope of 37 mV dec−1 in acidic medium. The excellent catalytic performance of the agaric-like cobalt diselenide can be attributed to its large specific surface area and fast electron transfer rate. More importantly, the agaric-like cobalt diselenide supported carbon nanofiber electrode has excellent long-term stability in electrolyte. The outstanding electrocatalytic performance and stability of agaric-like cobalt diselenide supported carbon nanofiber indicate that it is a promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reactions.

DNA-protein interfacial inhibition is a classical paradigm for design of diverse interfacial inhibitors as clinically relevant anticancer drugs. To extend this paradigm from small molecules to nanoparticles, we synthesized pyridine N-modified polycationic graphene quantum dots (Graphenin) as a new class of DNA probes and interfacial inhibitors for cancer chemotherapy. Compared with classical interfacial inhibitors, Graphenin showed enhanced interfacial inhibition against Topoisomerase I and II, both of which are clinically important targets for chemotherapy. The enhanced interfacial inhibition activity was ascribed to their distinct DNA targeting capability preferentially at the DNA major groove, through which many DNA binding proteins recognize DNA. They induced DNA damage and cell apoptosis for sensitive and resistant cancer cell lines, and great potential for tumor chemotherapy was demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. Our results have identified shape-complementary Graphenin as the first DNA major groove binder to inhibit DNA binding enzymes for chemotherapy.

At present, there are still challenges in the efficient synthesis of catalysts for splitting water hydrogen evolution. We propose herein a high-efficiency strategy to simple and fast synthesize the...

Developing efficient therapeutic strategies for combating bacterial infection remains a challenge owing to the indiscriminate utilization of antibiotics and the prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Herein, highly graphitic-N-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) with efficient NIR-II photothermal conversion properties were synthesized for the first time for photothermal antibacterial therapy. The obtained N-GQDs exhibited strong NIR absorption ranging from 700 to 1200 nm, achieving high photothermal conversion efficiency of 77.8% and 50.4% at 808 and 1064 nm, respectively. Outstanding antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against MDR bacteria (methicillin-resistant

Intractable bacterial infections and insufficient osseointegration are two major concerns plaguing the repair of infected bone defects. Many attempts use antibiotics coatings on the implant surface to prevent infectious biofilm formation and promote bone regeneration, however, the introduction of toxic antibiotics not only leads to the appearance of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, but also decreases osteoinductivity of scaffold materials. Herein, we report for the first time the systemic regulation of the antibacterial and osteogenic activities of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) by changing their surface charge. The positively charged CQDs (p-CQDs) exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against MDR bacteria and suppression of biofilm formation, whereas negatively charged CQDs (n-CQDs) could significantly promoted bone regeneration. To avoid aggregation of p-CQDs and n-CQDs in scaffolds, we first fabricated nearly neutral p-CQD/WS2 hybrids by depositing p-CQDs on WS2 nanosheets (NSs). We then constructed a multifunctional biodegradable p-CQD/WS2 and n-CQDs co-encapsulated GelMA hydrogel scaffolds. In a MRSA-infected craniotomy defect model, implantation of multifunctional p-CQD/WS2/n-CQD/GelMA hydrogel scaffolds resulted in nearly complete repair of infected bone defect with the new bone area of 97.0 ± 1.6% at 60 days. These findings indicate a surface charge regulation strategy for designing biomaterials with both antibacterial and osteogenic activities for treating infected bone defects.

Sonosensitizers play crucial roles in the controlled production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under ultrasound (US) irradiation with high tissue-penetration depth for noninvasive solid tumor therapy. It is desirable to fabricate structurally simple yet multifunctional sonosensitizers from ultrafine nanoparticles for ROS-based multimode therapy to overcome monomode limitations such as low ROS production yields and endogenous reductive glutathione (GSH) to ROS-based treatment resistance. We report the facile high-temperature solution synthesis of ultrafine W-doped TiO2 (W-TiO2) nanorods for exploration of their sonodynamic, chemodynamic, and GSH-depleting activities in sonodynamic-chemodynamic combination tumor therapy. We found that W5+ and W6+ ions doped in W-TiO2 nanorods play multiple roles in enhancing their ROS production. First, W doping narrows the band gap from 3.2 to 2.3 eV and introduces oxygen and Ti vacancies for enhancing their sonodynamic performance. Second, W5+ doping endows W-TiO2 nanorods with Fenton-like reaction activity to produce •OH from endogenous H2O2 in the tumor. Third, W6+ ions reduce endogenous GSH to glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and, in turn, form W5+ ions that further enhance their chemodynamic activity, which greatly modifies thae oxidation-reduction tumor microenvironment in the tumor. In vivo experiments display the excellent ability of W-TiO2 nanorods for enhanced tumor eradication in human osteosarcoma models under single US irradiation. Importantly, the ultrafine nanorod morphology facilitates rapid excretion from the body, displaying no significant systemic toxicity. Our work suggests that multivalent metal doping in ultrafine nanomaterials is an effective and simple strategy for the introduction of new functions for ROS-based multimode therapy.

TiO2-based semiconductor nanosonosensitizers have been extensively explored for sonodynamic therapy (SDT) against deep-seated tumors, but their clinical applications are limited by low reactive oxygen species (ROS) quantum yields owing to their rather wide bandgaps (∼3.2 eV). Herein, we report Ti3C2-based two-dimensional (2D) MXene nanosheets with a bandgap of only ∼0.94 eV, induced by surface terminations (-F, –OH), were employed as a novel narrow-bandgap nanosonosensitizer for effective SDT. To improve the stability and SDT performance of the MXene nanosheets, 0D/2D hybrid heterojunctions (HJs) were also introduced between Ti3C2 nanosheets and graphitic N doped carbon dots. Taking the advantage of the HJ-enhanced carrier transfers, the designed CD@Ti3C2Tx HJs exhibited a remarkably enhanced ROS generation efficiency, which was 3.07 times than that of commercial TiO2 nanoparticles. The CD@Ti3C2Tx HJs were also found to offer enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency in the NIR-II biowindow (64.5%). By using the mild photothermal effect to alleviate tumor hypoxia in the “cold” tumor microenvironment (TME), complete tumor ablation was realized by the mild NIR-II PTT-enhanced deep-tissue SDT. This work presents the promising potential of MXene-based 2D materials for noninvasive SDT of deep-seated tumors.

To evaluate the effects of yttrium nitrate on the development of the parent, offspring and third generation of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats by using a two-generation reproductive toxicity test.The SD rats were randomly divided into 0 mg/kg group, 10.0 mg/kg group, 30.0 mg/kg group and 90.0 mg/kg group according to the different doses of yttrium nitrate administration. The reproductive toxicity of parent, offspring and third generation SD rats were compared.The weight gains of F1a female rats and F2a female rats in the low-dose groups were significantly lower than those of the control groups (p 0.05), the weight gains of F1a male rats in the medium-dose and high-dose groups were significantly lower than those of the control groups (p 0.05), and the weight gains of F2a male rats in the low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose groups were significantly lower than those of the control groups (p 0.05). In F0 male rats, the absolute weight and relative weight of the liver in the low-dose, middle-dose, and high-dose groups were significantly lower than those of the control group (p 0.05). In F1b male rats, the absolute and relative weights of the liver in the medium-dose and high-dose groups were significantly lower than those of the control group (p 0.05). In F2b male rats, the absolute and relative weights of the liver and spleen of the medium-dose and high-dose groups were significantly lower than those of the control group (p 0.05). In F2a female rats, the absolute weight and relative weight of oviduct in the high-dose group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p 0.05). The absolute and relative weights of lung, spleen, brain and uterus of F2b female rats in the high-dose group were higher than those of the control group (p 0.05). But the pathological test results showed no hepatotoxicity. There was no statistically significant difference in sperm count and sperm motility between male rats in the yttrium nitrate administration groups and the control group (p 0.05). There was no significant correlation between F0, F1a, F1b, F2a, F2b SD rats' reproductive organ lesions and the dose of yttrium nitrate.Yttrium nitrate at a dose of 90 mg/kg has no reproductive toxicity to two generations of SD rats, but 30.0 mg/kg dose of yttrium nitrate is toxic to the liver weight of male two generations of SD rats, but no hepatotoxicity.

We have developed the rapid synthesis of NIR–II–responsive carbon dots (NIR–II–CDs) under microwave irradiation conditions. A close correlation between the photothermal effects and graphitic N doping level is well established by two observed effects: 1) absorbance at 808 and 1064 nm was consistently proportional to the graphitic N content; 2) the photothermal conversion efficiency remarkably increased with the graphitic N content. We further revealed a distinct photothermal conversion mechanism in the NIR–II–CDs, where doped graphitic N sites as paramagnetic F centers can mediate the highly efficient NIR absorption and photothermal conversion. Importantly, readily derived NIR–II–CDs with a graphitic N doping level as high as 4.30 at.% showed ultrahigh photothermal conversion efficiency of 81.3% in the NIR-II window. Using NIR–II–CDs or their hybrid liposomal formula as single PTT or imaging-guided PCT agents, complete tumor ablation without recurrence was realized under the 1064-nm laser irradiation at low laser power densities even in the presence of the breast tissue with a thickness larger than 10 mm. Our results suggest that the photothermal properties of biocompatible CDs can be regulated in the extended NIR regions by doping a high concentration of graphitic N defects as color centers for tumor treatment with minimized side effects.

Theranostic sonosensitizers with combined sonodynamic and near infrared (NIR) imaging modes are required for imaging guided sonodynamic therapy (SDT). It is challenging, however, to realize a single material that is simultaneously endowed with both NIR emitting and sonodynamic activities. Herein, we report the design of a class of NIR-emitting sonosensitizers from a NIR phosphorescent carbon dot (CD) material with a narrow bandgap (1.62 eV) and long-lived excited triplet states (11.4 μs), two of which can enhance SDT as thermodynamically and dynamically favorable factors under low-intensity ultrasound irradiation, respectively. The NIR-phosphorescent CDs are identified as bipolar quantum dots containing both p- and n-type surface functionalization regions that can drive spatial separation of e−–h+ pairs and fast transfer to reaction sites. Importantly, the cancer-specific targeting and high-level intratumor enrichment of the theranostic CDs are achieved by cancer cell membrane encapsulation for precision SDT with complete eradication of solid tumors by single injection and single irradiation. These results will open up a promising approach to engineer phosphorescent materials with long-lived triplet excited states for sonodynamic precision tumor therapy.

Nanozymes have shown promising potential in disease treatment owing to the advantages of low-cost, facile fabrication, and high stability. However, the highly complex tumor microenvironment (TME) and inherent low catalytic activity severely restrict the clinical applications of nanozymes. Herein, a novel mild hyperthermia-enhanced nanocatalytic therapy platform based on Z-scheme heterojunction nanozymes by depositing N-doped carbon dots (CDs) onto Nb

Sonodynamic therapy as a promising noninvasive modality is being developed for tumor therapy, but there is a lack of next-generation sonosensitizers that can generate full ROS at high yields and simultaneously deplete elevated levels of glutathione (GSH) in tumor cells. Semiconductor p-n junctions are engineered as high-efficacy sonosensitizers for sonodynamic tumor eradication using pyridine N-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) as a p-type semiconductor and oxygen-deficient TiO

Sonosensitizers play crucial roles in the controlled production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under ultrasound (US) irradiation with high tissue-penetration depth for noninvasive solid tumor therapy. It is desirable to fabricate structurally simple yet multifunctional sonosensitizers from ultrafine nanoparticles for ROS-based multimode therapy to overcome monomode limitations such as low ROS production yields and endogenous reductive glutathione (GSH) to ROS-based treatment resistance. We report the facile high-temperature solution synthesis of ultrafine W-doped TiO

Different physiological and biochemical responses in mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) seedlings induced by graphene quantum dots (GQDs) (250–1500 mg L−1) were studied. Results showed that both seeds exposed to GQDs can still germinate normally. However, the growth of the seedlings after germination was adversely affected by the GQDs, and mung bean was more sensitive than tomato. In hydroponic experiments, the appropriate concentration of GQDs enhanced the accumulation of chlorophyll in mung bean (250–1250 mg L−1) and tomato (250–500 mg L−1) seedlings after exposure for 2 weeks. High concentrations of GQDs (1000–1500 mg L−1) led to an increase in the H2O2, malondialdehyde (MDA), proline, glutathione (GSH) levels, as well as increased catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities in seedlings of both species. In addition, the migration of GQDs into plants was observed. Results showed that high concentrations of GQDs had an adverse effect on the growth of both plants, and mung bean seedlings were more sensitive than tomato seedlings. In addition, the problem of nanocontamination was suggested and the resulting food safety problems warrant further investigation.

In order to evaluate the effects of lanthanum nitrate on the development of the parent, offspring, and the third generation of Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats, a two-generation reproductive toxicity experiment, was conducted. Two hundred and forty specific pathogen-free (SPF) healthy SD rats were randomly divided into the control group, low-, medium-, and high-dose group, with 30 male and 30 female rats in each group. The rats in each group were given 0 mg/kg, 10.0 mg/kg, 30.0 mg/kg, and 90.0 mg/kg lanthanum nitrate by gavage, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the weight gain and food intake of rats in each group. High-dose lanthanum nitrate had no effect on rat implantation and no embryo toxicity. The absolute and relative liver weights of F1a and F1b male rats in the high-dose group were significantly decreased. The absolute liver and spleen weight of F1b female rats in the high-dose group decreased significantly, but the relative weight did not change significantly. Histopathological examination results showed that there were no significant differences in the effects of different doses of lanthanum nitrate on the uterus, ovaries, oviduct, testes and epididymis, and liver of SD rats. Under the experimental conditions, 90.0 mg/kg lanthanum nitrate had an effect on the liver weight of the SD rats, but there was no liver toxicity. The no visible harmful effect level (NOAEL) of lanthanum nitrate on SD rats’ reproduction toxicity is 90 mg/kg.

Currently, one of the major hurdles hindering the clinical applications of photothermal therapy (PTT) and photothermal-chemo combination therapy (PCT) is the lack of highly efficient, readily derived, and irradiation-safe photothermal agents in the biologically transparent window. Herein, we report the first design and rational construction of 0D/2D/0D sandwich heterojunctions for greatly enhanced PTT and PCT performances using 0D N-doped carbon dots and 2D MoS2 nanosheets as the assembly units. The well-matching heterojunctions enabled an additional enhancement in NIR absorbance owing to the carrier injection from carbon dots to MoS2 nanosheets, and achieved a much higher photothermal conversion efficiency (78.2%) than that of single NIR-CDs (37.6%) and MoS2 (38.3%) only. In virtue of the heterojunction-based PTT, complete tumor recession without recurrence or pulmonary metastasis was realized at an ultralow and safe laser exposure (0.2 W cm−2) below the skin tolerance irradiation threshold. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the strong X-ray attenuation and effective drug loading capacity of MoS2 nanosheets, the CT imaging-guided PCT was achieved at 0.1 W cm−2, without inducing noticeable toxic side effects. Our findings can substantiate the potential of a novel 0D/2D heterojunction for cancer theranostics.

The wide use of functionalized graphene quantum dots (GQDs) in stable dispersions is currently hampered by the lack of industrially scalable, low-cost, and eco-friendly methods. Herein we report the first realization of the industrial-scale (20 L) production of high-quality fluorescent GQDs via a molecular fusion route from a low-cost, active derivative of pyrene. By a wholly "green", conventional sulfonation reaction at low hydrothermal temperature, the molecular precursor is wholly converted into highly water-soluble, sulfonated GQDs without byproducts such as insoluble carbon. The GQDs show superior optical properties including strong excitonic absorption bands extended to ∼530 nm, bright photoluminescence (PL) at 510 nm with a quantum yield of up to 42%, and a wide PLE spectrum. The edge-site sulfonic functionalization enables the GQDs to stably re-disperse in water and maintains high fluorescence activities even after annealing up to 250 °C, whereas amino GQDs and graphene oxide sheets markedly aggregate after drying at low temperature. The GQDs are applied as biological fluorescent probes for visualizing and targeting Golgi apparatus in Hela and MCF7 live cells. The low-cost mass production, excellent biocompatibility, and superior optical properties make the GQDs an attractive alternative probe for efficient Golgi targeted imaging in biomedical applications.

Carbon dots (CDs) with unique optical properties are a stable and highly biocompatible fluorescent material offering enormous application potential in optical imaging and photothermal cancer therapy (PTT). However, the low photothermal conversion efficiency and the high power density still impede the development of CDs in PTT. Herein, the nitrogen and oxygen co-doped CDs (N-O-CDs) with strong absorbance in the near infrared (NIR) region were prepared from 1,3,6-trinitropyrene (TNP) and N-containing polymer of branched polyethylenimine (BPEI) via a one-step molecular fusion route. The as-prepared black N-O-CDs with high photostability and superb biocompatibility can be utilized not only as a new fluorescence imaging agent but also as an excellent PTT agent in vivo. The structure, optical properties, bioimaging, photothermal effect in vitro, and therapeutic efficiency in vivo of the N-O-CDs are investigated. The low power density (0.8 W cm−2) and high photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 38.3%) facilitate N-O-CDs to act as an ideal theranostic agent for fluorescence imaging and photothermal therapy in vitro and in vivo. This work highlights CDs as an excellent candidate for efficient cancer therapy.

Understanding the relationship between stem cell’ osteogenic capacity and physicochemical properties of nanomaterials is essential for designing new tissue engineering materials capable of regulating stem cell fate. It has reported that the surface potential of nanomaterials affects cell behavior, however, the underlying mechanism is still controversial and surface charge was not the only variable in the studies performed. In this work, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were used as a simplified model for single-factor study for the effect of surface charge on osteogenic differentiation, by changing the surface charge of GQD only while keeping all other variables constant. Notably, it was found that the positively charged GQD+ exerted no impact on osteogenic differentiation, while the negatively charged GQD‾ could significantly enhance osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) by activating the BMP/Smad signaling pathway. The negatively charged GQD‾ was then encapsulated in gelatin methacrylamide (GelMA) hydrogel via a UV light-activated photopolymerization in the presence of photoinitiator, obtaining an 3D injectable GQD‾/GelMA hydrogel scaffold. A significantly accelerated bone regeneration induced by GQD‾/GelMA hydrogel scaffolds was observed in the mouse calvarial defect model. The systematic study of the effects of surface charge on the stem cell behavior could provide much inspiration for the tissue engineering application of nanomaterials.

We report the rational design of an all-carbon and all-scale electrocatalytic system with ultrahigh electrocatalytic activity outperforming Pt-based electrodes by quantum mechanics calculations and bionics. According to the calculations, N and O co-doped graphene quantum dots (N-O-GQDs) could offer an ultrahigh atomic ratio of high-activity edge defects (N-C+-O, O-C+, and N-C+) owing to the most marked edge effect and co-doping effect. To fully activate these atomic-scale defects for catalyzing the two-electron triiodide reduction applied in dye-sensitized solar cells, a mesh-capillary carbon matrix composed of carbon fibers and carbon nanotubes was constructed to well disperse the catalyst and provide fast pathways for both electron transport and electrolyte penetration/diffusion by imitating the sophisticated structure of the blood vessel system. The all-carbon ternary system exhibits high reduction potential (i.e. low overpotential) and low charge-transfer resistance, and delivers high open-circuit voltage of 0.81 V, high short circuit current density of 15.77 mA cm−2, and high conversion efficiency of 7.68%. Our study helps understand and address general and challenging scale-span issues in electrode reactions for developing more efficient and practical electrocatalytic systems merely by assembling facilely derived carbon materials as the catalyst, matrix or current collector without using other materials.

Metal-free layered black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets with an excellent photothermal effect and large surface areas have been widely applied in biomedicine but are easily oxidized in ambient conditions yielding insulating phosphorus oxides adsorbed on its surface. Several chemical-functionalized strategies have been explored to protect thin layers of BP; however, the performance of passivated BP often decreases significantly, falling behind the single BP due to the strong structure perturbation. Herein, we designed and constructed 0D/2D hybrid photothermal agents by assembling NIR-II-responsive carbon dots (NIR-II-CDs) on BP nanosheets. NIR-II-CDs improve the ambient stability of BP by isolating them from water and oxygen and enhance the photothermal properties of BP nanosheets. Such NIR-II-CD/BP hybrids strengthen the light-harvesting ability, achieving high photothermal conversion efficiencies in the NIR-I (77.3%) and NIR-II (61.4%) windows, which is significantly higher than that of pristine BP (49.5 and 28.4% at 808 and 1064 nm). Owing to the intrinsic advantage of 1064 nm laser and the excellent PTT effect of our NIR-II-CD/BP hybrids, complete tumor eradication was realized in a deep-tissue tumor model.

Currently, one of the major hurdles hindering the clinical applications of photothermal therapy (PTT) and photothermal-chemo combination therapy (PCT) is the lack of highly efficient, readily derived, and irradiation-safe photothermal agents in the biologically transparent window. Herein, we report the first design and rational construction of 0D/2D/0D sandwich heterojunctions for greatly enhanced PTT and PCT performances using 0D N-doped carbon dots and 2D MoS2 nanosheets as the assembly units. The well-matching heterojunctions enabled an additional enhancement in NIR absorbance owing to the carrier injection from carbon dots to MoS2 nanosheets, and achieved a much higher photothermal conversion efficiency (78.2%) than that of single NIR-CDs (37.6%) and MoS2 (38.3%) only. In virtue of the heterojunction-based PTT, complete tumor recession without recurrence or pulmonary metastasis was realized at an ultralow and safe laser exposure (0.2 W cm-2) below the skin tolerance irradiation threshold. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the strong X-ray attenuation and effective drug loading capacity of MoS2 nanosheets, the CT imaging-guided PCT was achieved at 0.1 W cm-2, without inducing noticeable toxic side effects. Our findings can substantiate the potential of a novel 0D/2D heterojunction for cancer theranostics.

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are considered ideal fluorescent probes owing to their excellent optical properties and low cytotoxicity. We report a low-cost solvothermal method to synthesize orange fluorescent CQDs from coal tar. The as-fabricated CQDs exhibit bright and stable photoluminescence with long wavelength emission at 605 nm. To improve the biocompatibility of the oil-soluble CQDs, we chose liposomes as a carrier. After being encapsulated by liposomes, the CQDs become water-soluble and show a redshift of fluorescence to 640 nm. The in vitro and in vivo imaging application of the liposome-CQDs is demonstrated. Our work has provided a way for the conversion of low-value coal tar into high-value fluorescent carbon materials.

The rate capability of an anode material is limited by slow Li-ion diffusion dynamics within the bulk, which leads to slow charging rates and low power densities in Li-ion batteries. To address this issue, we fabricated novel 3D hierarchical porous oxide arrays composed of mesoporous Co3O4 nanosheets grown on a thin layer of reduced graphene oxide “skin” as a stable buffering and conducting layer. The porous oxide-graphene hybrid anode shows the outstanding rate capability (∼1400 mAh g−1 at 2.0 A g−1) among all oxide anode materials, high cycling stability and high retention of 84.5% over 200 cycles. Besides, the anode material in sodium-ion batteries also delivers a high capacity of 757 mAh g−1 and a high retention of 89.7% over 400 cycles. The high electrochemical performances are mainly due to mesoporous Co3O4 nanosheets provide abundant accessible sites for electrolyte diffusion and intercalation of Li+/Na+ ions into the active phases while the graphene coating dramatically boosts the overall Li/Na storage performances of the Co3O4 nanosheets by enhancing the binding to and electrical contact with the current collector. Kinetic analysis reveals that the rational integration of battery-type and capacitor-type electrochemical energy storage in the same anode material (the distinct 3D hierarchical porous structure) enables to offer excellent rate capability. This novel graphene-metal oxide nanopore array could be applied in high-performance Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.

Osteosarcoma as an aggressive malignant neoplasm is commonly treated by surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, but surgery induces bone defects and chemo/radiotherapy causes severe systemic toxicity. We have designed a novel low-toxic bifunctional 0D/2D heterojunction (HJ) that can be used to generate effective photothermal effects in the second NIR window (NIR-II, 1000–1350 nm) for simultaneous osteosarcoma treatment and bone regeneration. To construct this 0D/2D nanostructure, biocompatible, positively charged NIR-II-responsive carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized by an ultrafast microwave-assisted hydrothermal method, followed by electrostatically driven assembly on both sides of negatively charged WS2 nanosheets. We found that the HJs exhibited enhanced NIR-II absorption and photothermal conversion efficiency. Due to the deep-tissue penetration ability of 1064 nm laser, complete osteosarcoma ablation was realized at a low power density even when being covered by a 10-mm-thick additional tissue. Furthermore, osteogenic differentiation was remarkably enhanced by mild photothermal effects of CD/WS2 HJs, which significantly up-regulated bone-related gene expressions, particularly, heat shock protein expression. Designed CD/WS2 HJs can be used in osteosarcoma treatment and bone-tissue engineering.

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have attracted much attention owing to their unique optical properties and a wide range of applications. The fabrication and control of CQDs with organic solubility and long-wavelength emission are still urgent issues to be addressed for their practical use in LEDs. Here, organic-soluble CQDs were produced at a high yield of ∼90% by a facile solvent engineering treatment of 1,3,6-trinitropyrene, which were simultaneously used as the nitrogen and carbon sources. The optical properties of the organic-soluble CQDs (o-CQDs) were investigated in nonpolar and polar solvents, films, and LED devices. The CQDs have a narrow size distribution around 2.66 nm, and can be dispersed in different organic solvents. Significantly, the as-prepared CQDs present an excitation-independent emission at 607 nm with fluorescence quantum yields (QYs) up to 65.93% in toluene solution. A pronounced solvent effect was observed and their strong absorption bands can be tuned in the whole visible region (400–750 nm) by changing the solvent. The CQDs in various solvents can emit bright, excitation-independent, long-wavelength fluorescence (orange to red). Furthermore, benefiting from the unique oil-solution properties, the as-prepared CQDs can be processed in thin film and device forms to meet the requirements of various applications, such as phosphor-based white-light LEDs. The color coordinate for these CQD modified LEDs is realized at (0.32, 0.31), which is close to pure white light (0.33, 0.33).