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Safety concerns related to the abuse operation and thermal runaway are impeding the large-scale employment of high-energy-density rechargeable lithium batteries. Here, we report that by incorporating phosphorus-contained functional groups into a hydrocarbon-based polymer, a smart risk-responding polymer is prepared for effective mitigation of battery thermal runaway. At room temperature, the polymer is (electro)chemically compatible with electrodes, ensuring the stable battery operation. Upon thermal accumulation, the phosphorus-containing radicals spontaneously dissociate from the polymer skeleton and scavenge hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals to terminate the exothermic chain reaction, suppressing thermal generation at an early stage. With the smart risk-responding strategy, we demonstrate extending the time before thermal runaway for a 1.8-Ah Li-ion pouch cell by 100% (~9 hours) compared with common cells, creating a critical time window for safety management. The temperature-triggered automatic safety-responding strategy will improve high-energy-density battery tolerance against thermal abuse risk and pave the way to safer rechargeable batteries.

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating malignant disease with 5-year survival rate less than 8%. The impenetrable desmoplastic stroma of pancreatic tissue and serious side-effects of existing drugs hinder the effective treatment for pancreatic carcinoma. Thus, it is imperative to exploit much more safe and efficient methods to prolong the survival of pancreatic cancer patients. In this study, we explored a superior anti-pancreatic cancer strategy based on gadofullerene nanoparticles (GFNPs) using an orthotopic human pancreatic carcinoma (PANC-1) tumor model. It was demonstrated that GFNPs could efficiently suppress orthotopic pancreatic cancer in a dose manner, and significantly extend the survival rate of tumor-bearing mice. Of note, the proteomic profiling of tumor tissues revealed that GFNPs ameliorated the coagulation cascade dysfunction and down-regulated the thrombin expression in pancreatic tumor tissues. The regulation of abnormal thrombin by GFNPs was validated in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, GFNPs suppressed orthotopic pancreatic cancer with negligible adverse effects, superior to the widely recognized clinical anti-pancreatic cancer drug, gemcitabine. Together, this study provides a promising therapeutic for intractable pancreatic cancer as well as a potential to alleviate the cancer-associated thromboembolic diseases.

Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent regulated cell death process driven by excessive lipid peroxides, can enhance cancer vulnerability to chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. As an essential upstream process for ferroptosis activation, lipid peroxidation of biological membranes is expected to be primarily induced by intrabilayer reactive oxygen species (ROS), indicating a promising strategy to initiate peroxidation by improving the local content of diffusion-limited ROS in the lipid bilayer. Herein, liposomes embedded with PEG-coated 3 nm γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles in the bilayer (abbreviated as Lp-IO) were constructed to promote the intrabilayer generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the integration of amphiphilic PEG moieties with liposomal bilayer improved lipid membrane permeability to H2O2 and •OH, resulting in efficient initiation of lipid peroxidation and thus ferroptosis in cancer cells. Additionally, Lp-IO enabled traceable magnetic resonance imaging and pH/ROS dual-responsive drug delivery. Synergistic antineoplastic effects of chemotherapy and ferroptosis, and alleviated chemotherapeutic toxicity, were achieved by delivering doxorubicin (capable of xCT and glutathione peroxidase inhibition) with Lp-IO. This work provides an efficient alternative for triggering therapeutic lipid peroxidation and a ferroptosis-activating drug delivery vehicle for combination cancer therapies.

Cancer immunotherapy as a novel cancer therapeutic strategy has shown enormous promise. However, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (ITM) is a primary obstacle. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) as a major component of immune cells in a tumor microenvironment are generally polarized to the M2 phenotype that not only accelerates tumor growth but also influences the infiltration of lymphocytes and leads to immunosuppression. Thus, rebuilding ITM by re-educating TAMs and increasing infiltration of lymphocytes is a promising strategy. Herein, gadofullerene (GF-Ala) nanoparticles are demonstrated to reprogram TAMs to M1-like and increase the infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), achieving effective inhibition of tumor growth. Notably, the modulation of ITM by GF-Ala promotes the anticancer efficacy of anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, achieving superior synergistic treatment. Additionally, GF-Ala nanoparticles can be mostly excreted from the body and cause no obvious toxicity. Together, this study provides an effective immunomodulation strategy using gadofullerene nanoparticles by rebuilding ITM and synergizing immune checkpoint blockade therapy.

Aplastic anemia (AA) is characterized as hypoplasia of bone marrow hematopoietic cells and hematopenia of peripheral blood cells. Though the supplement of exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) has been clinically approved for AA treatment, the side-effects hinder its further application. Here a robust treatment for AA induced by chemotherapy drugs is explored using gadofullerene nanoparticles (GFNPs). Methods: The gadofullerene were modified with hydrogen peroxide under alkaline conditions to become the water-soluble nanoparticles (GFNPs). The physicochemical properties, in vitro chemical construction, stability, hydroxyl radical scavenging ability, in vitro cytotoxicity, antioxidant activity, in vivo treatment efficacy, therapeutic mechanism and biological distribution, metabolism, toxicity of GFNPs were examined. Results: GFNPs with great stability and high-efficiency antioxidant activity could observably increase the number of red blood cells (RBC) in the peripheral blood of AA mice and relieve the abnormal pathological state of bone marrow. The erythropoiesis mainly includes hemopoietic stem cells (HSCs) differentiation, erythrocyte development in bone marrow and erythrocyte maturation in peripheral blood. The positive control-EPO promotes erythropoiesis by regulating HSCs differentiation and erythrocyte development in bone marrow. Different from the anti-AA mechanism of EPO, GFNPs have little impact on both the differentiation of HSCs and the myeloid erythrocyte development, but notably improve the erythrocyte maturation. Besides, GFNPs can notably decrease the excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibit apoptosis of hemocytes in blood. In addition, GFNPs are mostly excreted from the living body and cause no serious toxicity. Conclusion: Our work provides an insight into the advanced nanoparticles to powerfully treat AA through ameliorating the erythrocyte maturation during erythropoiesis.

Chronic exposure to crystalline silica causes the development of silicosis, which is one of the most important occupational diseases worldwide. In the early stage of silicosis, inhaled silica crystals initiate oxidative stress, a cycle of persistent inflammation and lung injury. And it is crucial to prevent the deteriorative progression in the onset of the disease. Herein, we present a promising candidate for the treatment of crystalline silica-induced pulmonary inflammation, using a silicosis mouse model caused by intratracheal instillation based on local administration of β-alanine and hydroxyl functionalized C70 fullerene nanoparticles (FNs). The results demonstrate that FNs could significantly alleviate inflammatory cells infiltration, lower the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and reduce the destruction of lung architecture stimulated by crystalline silica. Further investigations reveal that FNs could effectively inhibit the activation of NLRP3 (NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 3) inflammasome, and thus prevent the secretion of mature IL-1β and neutrophil influx, deriving from the superior ROS scavenging capability. Importantly, FNs could not cause any obvious toxicity after pulmonary administration.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been one of the most prevalent metabolic disorders. Nonetheless, the commonly used anti-T2DM drugs failed to substant to treat T2DM when anti-T2DM was withdrawn. Here we put forward a superior and sustainable anti-diabetic strategy using intraperitoneal administration of amino-acid-functionalized gadofullerene nanoparticles (GFNPs) in db/db diabetic mice. Highly accumulated in the pancreas and liver, GFNPs could prominently decrease hyperglycemia, along with permanently maintaining normal blood sugar levels in T2DM mice and even stopping administration. Importantly, GFNPs reversed the pancreas islets dysfunctions by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation responses and fundamentally normalized the insulin secretory function of the pancreas islets. Mechanistically, GFNPs improved hepatic insulin resistance by regulating glucose and lipid metabolism through the activation of IRS2/PI3K/AKT signal pathways, resulting in inhibiting gluconeogenesis and increasing glycogenesis in the liver. Additionally, GFNPs relieved hepatic steatosis in the liver, ultimately maintaining systemic glucose and lipid metabolic homeostasis without obvious toxicity. Together, GFNPs reverse the dysfunctions of the pancreas and improve hepatic insulin resistance, providing a promising approach for T2DM treatment.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term, recurrent inflammatory bowel disease for which no effective cure is yet available in the clinical setting. Repairing the barrier dysfunction of the colon and reducing intestinal inflammation are considered key objectives to cure UC. Here we demonstrate a novel therapeutic strategy based on a C60 fullerene suspension (C60FS) to treat dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced UC in an animal model. C60FS can repair the barrier dysfunction of UC and effectively promote the healing of ulcers; it also manifests better treatment effects compared with mesalazine enema. C60FS can reduce the numbers of basophils in the blood of UC rats and mast cells in the colorectal tissue, thereby effectively alleviating inflammation. The expression of H1R, H4R, and VEGFR2 receptors in colorectal tissues is inhibited by C60FS, and the levels of histamine and prostaglandin in the rat blood are reduced. This work presents a reliable strategy based on fullerene to cure UC and provides a novel guide for UC treatment.

Fullerene nanomaterials protect the liver from lipid accumulation by promoting the transport of lipids out of liver., Hepatic steatosis is a widespread metabolic disease characterized by excessive accumulation of triglyceride (TG) in liver. So far, effective approved drugs for hepatic steatosis are still in development, and removing the unnecessary TG from the hepatocytes is an enormous challenge. Here, we explore a promising anti-hepatic steatosis strategy by boosting hepatocellular TG transport using β-alanine–modified gadofullerene (GF-Ala) nanoparticles. We confirm that GF-Ala could reverse hepatic steatosis in oleic acid–induced hepatocytes, fructose-induced mice, and obesity-associated transgenic ob/ob mice. Observably, GF-Ala improves hepatomegaly and hepatic lipid accumulation, reduces lipid peroxidation, and repairs abnormal mitochondria. Of note, we demonstrate that GF-Ala markedly inhibits the posttranslational degradation of apolipoprotein B100 (ApoB100) and boosts hepatocellular TG transport based on their superior antioxidant property. Together, we conclude that GF-Ala could potently ameliorate hepatic TG transport and maintain hepatic metabolic homeostasis without apparent toxicity, being beneficial for treatments of hepatic steatosis and other fatty liver diseases.

Summary In 2017, global CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels reached 33 gigatons, twice the natural rate at which CO2 is absorbed back into land and ocean sinks. Harnessing solar radiation holds the answer to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. It is the most abundant energy resource and could meet humans' future energy needs. The efficient conversion of solar radiation into stable, energy-dense liquid energy carriers that can use existing or adapt global supply chains for storage, shipping, and distribution is the key to large-scale deployment of solar energy at gigaton levels. Liquid sunshine is the vision of combining the sun's energy with carbon dioxide and water to produce green liquid fuels. CO2 released on using these fuels is recycled back into the environment, thus maintaining an ecologically balanced cycle. Multi-source and multi-purpose alcohols are optimal candidate fuels. Methanol and ethanol are actionable first targets with gigaton production potential.

It has long been a dream to achieve tumor targeting therapy that can efficiently reduce the toxicity and severe side effects of conventional antitumor chemotherapeutic agents. Taking advantage of the abnormalities of tumor vasculature, we demonstrate here a new powerful tumor vascular-targeting therapeutic technique for solid cancers that applies advanced nanotechnology to cut off the nutrient supply of tumor cells by physically destroying the abnormal tumor blood vessels. Water soluble magnetic Gd@C82 nanocrystals of the chosen sizes are deliberately designed with abilities to penetrate into the leaky tumor blood vessels. By triggering the radiofrequency induced phase transition of gadofullerene nanocrystals while extravasating the tumor blood vessel, the explosive structural change of nanoparticles generates a devastating impact on abnormal tumor blood vessels, resulting in a rapid and extensive ischemia necrosis and shrinkage of the tumors. This unprecedented target-specific physiotherapy is found to work perfectly for advanced and refractory solid tumors.

Celebrating 10 years of Nanoscale.

The Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, held in Hong Kong last month, was rocked by the revelation from a researcher from Shenzhen that twins were born whose healthy embryonic genomes had been edited to confer resistance to HIV. Despite widespread condemnation by the summit organizing committee, world scientific academies, and prominent scientific leaders that such research was “deeply disturbing” and “irresponsible,” and the launch of an investigation in China into the researcher's actions, it is apparent that the ability to use CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the human genome has outpaced nascent efforts by the scientific and medical communities to confront the complex ethical and governance issues that they raise. The current guidelines and principles on human germline genome editing are based on sound scientific and ethical principles. However, this case highlights the urgent need to accelerate efforts to reach international agreement upon more specific criteria and standards that have to be met before human germline editing would be deemed permissible. ![Figure][1] ILLUSTRATION: DAVIDE BONAZZI/SALZMANART > “We need…broad agreement on…criteria for human germline genome editing research…” Together, we call upon international academies to quickly convene international experts and stakeholders to produce an expedited report that will inform the development of these criteria and standards to which all genome editing in human embryos for reproductive purposes must conform, and to engage scientific bodies around the world in this effort. The United States National Academies are willing to lead in this endeavor. Academies are well-positioned to convene needed international expertise and to help foster broad scientific consensus on the responsible pursuit of human genome editing research and clinical applications. We strongly believe that international consensus on such standards is important to avoid the potential for researchers to rationalize the justification or seek out convenient locales for conducting dangerous and unethical experimentation. The establishment of international scientific standards is not intended to substitute for national regulation but could inform such regulation. To maintain the public's trust that someday genome editing will be able to treat or prevent disease, the research community needs to take steps now to demonstrate that this new tool can be applied with competence, integrity, and benevolence. Unfortunately, it appears that the case presented in Hong Kong might have failed on all counts, risking human lives as well as rash or hasty political reaction. Establishing standards alone will not suffice. We also need an international mechanism that would enable scientists to raise concerns about cases of research that are not conforming to the accepted principles or standards. The Second International Summit organizers have called for establishing an ongoing international forum on human genome editing that could provide such a mechanism, along with other important functions such as helping to speed the development of regulatory science, providing a clearinghouse for information about governance options, contributing to the long-term development of common regulatory standards, and enhancing coordination of research and clinical applications through an international registry of planned and ongoing experiments. More than 40 years ago, scientists organized the renowned Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA amid concerns about safety and efficacy of what was then a revolutionary new biomedical technology. They publicly discussed and debated the issues, and ultimately, they were able to reach consensus on a set of research guidelines that eventually formed the basis for official government policy. The model of Asilomar still offers important lessons. We need to build upon the work done at recent international summits and the guidance provided by numerous organizations to achieve broad agreement on specific standards and criteria for human germline genome editing research and clinical applications—agreement that should include not only the scientific and clinical communities, but also society as a whole. [1]: pending:yes

Fast evolving nanosciences and nanotechnology in China has made it one o f the front countries of nanotechnology development. In this review, we summarize some most recent progresses in nanoscience research and nanotechnology development in China. The topics we selected in this article include nano-fabrication, nanocatalysis, bioinspired nanotechnology, green printing nanotechnology, nanoplasmonics, nanomedicine, nanomaterials and their applications, energy and environmental nanotechnology, nano EHS (nanosafety), etc. Most of them have great potentials in applications or application-related key issues in future.

A brief description of the background, rational and goals of the Pioneer Initiative (PI), a reform program at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is provided. The harmonizing nature and shared missions between this initiative and the CAS 135 Strategy that is concurrently occuring are also discussed. Both initiatives aim to address fundamental challenges and bring CAS to a new high in science excellence and innovation.

Summary Nanomaterials and nanostructures implanted on the surface of solid supports are currently receiving much interest and have become one of the most attractive topics in the interdisciplinary fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology, surface science, material science, bioscience, supramolecular engineering, etc. This review presents some recent progress in how to implant the nanomaterials and nanostructures such as nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes and chiral nanostructures on the surface of certain supports and their potential application opportunities. It particularly focused on several sophisticated and typical strategies for the formulation of nanostructured surface, wherein the unique physicochemical and biochemical properties and potential application possibilities emerged. An outlook on the future trends and developments in this area is also proposed at the end of the article.

The spontaneous formation of ordered self-assembly on solid supports is not only an intriguing subject for fundamental surface science study, but also closely related to many emerging technologically important applications, especially in the field of nanotechnology. With the help of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at sub-molecular resolution, the detailed structural information within the self-assembled monolayers can be obtained, which allows us to have an insight into how the interplay between the intermolecular weak interactions and the substrate–molecule interactions governs the formation of molecular self-assembly. In this review, the structural transition of self-assembly in response to the subtle differences in the molecular structures and/or the environment change will be presented. The fundamental understanding about the driving force controlling the assembly process promotes the development of various means to tune the structural transition of supramolecular assembly on solid surfaces and fabricate the sophisticated architectures. Finally, some future directions in the field are outlined.

Three different kinds of rare-earth metal phthalocyanine complexes (Pc2LuH, Pc3Gd2, R12 Pc3Dy2) were synthesized. Their ultra-thin films were prepared by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Crystallites were observed in Langmuir film of Pc3Gd2 by means of transmission electron microscopy. The limiting molecular areas of the phthalocyanine derivatives on pure water increased in the order mono-, di- and triphthalocyanine, implying that these phthalocyanine molecules are stacked with a face-to-face orientation and edge-on to the water surface. By using scanning tunneling microscopy individual molecules of lutetium diphthalocyanine adsorbed on graphite surfaces were imaged for the first time.

I think the foremost area in nanoscience and nanotechnology is [at the interface] with the biosciences.

A continuous C70 nanowire arrays are prepared using a simple electrophoretic deposition method, composed of two steps: generation of the cluster; and deposition of cluster in the alumina membrane, which is proved to be a practicable technique to fabricate other fullerene low-dimensional nanostructures.

Six new supramolecular structures have been prepared by bis(2-hydroxy-5-chlorophenyl) sulfide (HCS) and/or spirobicromane (SBC) with bipyridine bases 4,4'-bipyridyl (bipy), 1,2-di(4-pyridyl)ethylene (dipy-ete), 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane (bipy-eta), and 4,4'-dipyridyl N,N'-dioxide (dipy-dox). These molecular complexes are (HCS)-(bipy) 1, (HCS)-(dipy-ete) 2, (HCS)-(bipy-eta) 3, (HCS)-(dipy-dox) 4, (SBC)-(dipy-ete) 5, and (SBC).dipy-dox.H 2 O 6, respectively. The crystal structures of 1-6 have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. All of these molecular complexes exhibit supramolecular structures via O-H...N or O-H...O hydrogen bondings. Both 1 and 2 form interestingly [2 + 2] macrocyclic structures, whose sizes are ca. 12.495(6) A x 5.087(6) A and 14.774(6) A x 5.300(6) A, respectively. Compounds 3 and 5 form one-dimensional zigzag chain structures. Compounds 4 and 6 form two-dimensional double helices. These results demonstrate that by changing the guest molecule, we can obtain different hydrogen-bonded supramolecular structures through different interactions.

Well-defined nanoarchitectured metal film electrodes (NMFEs) with high electroactive surface areas relative to corresponding metal macroelectrode have been fabricated by direct evaporating metal onto porous anodic aluminum oxide films in a two-step route. The so-prepared metal electrodes have high dense hollow nanostructure arrays upstanding on their surfaces and thin thickness within several hundred nanometers, which endow them with enhanced electroactive surface areas relative to disk-shaped electrodes of macroscopic dimensions and the feature of reduction of cost. Because of the rich nano-surface, these NMFEs will find use in a number of applications that involve sensing, analysis, and catalysis.

NPB and arachidic acid (AA) are introduced to the ITO surface through Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique to modify the hydrophilic surface to hydrophobic surface. The π–A isotherms and AFM images of NPB–arachidic acid with different mol concentration show that they can form stable and condensed LB films, and the compactness are increased with the increasing of the NPB molecular concentration. The surface morphologies of the composite films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface properties of the film are characterized by contact angle and cyclic voltammetry.

The diffusion dynamics and enantiomeric structure of the alkyl-substituted isophthalic acid adlayer physisorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) have been investigated in the vicinity of defect by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Through molecular motion and reorientation, the defect in the monolayer is filled and an ordered two-dimensional (2D) packing appears. Moreover, an enantiomeric structure is also observed. These findings can be explained by the role of molecular mobility and the cooperation of molecule/molecule and molecule/substrate interactions. The result provides experimental evidences for molecular diffusion and chirality in two dimensions.

The monolayers of pure C 60 derivative (C60-COOH) are stable on the surface of pure water subphase and poly-phenylene-vinylene derivative (PPV) solution, respectively. The composite ultrathin film of PPV and C60-COOH was successively fabricated on the quartz and mica substrate by using Langmuir–Blodgett technique. X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) measurements show that the PPV is embedded into the film during the fabrication process. The surface morphologies of pure C60-COOH film and the composite film were investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The phenomenon of electron transmission between PPV and C60-COOH in the composite film was confirmed by UV–vis spectra.

Uniform gold hollow nanospheres with tunable interior-cavity sizes were fabricated by using Co nanoparticles as sacrificial templates and varying the stoichiometric ratio of starting material HAuCl4 over the reductants. The formation of these hollow nanostructures is attributed to two subsequent reduction reactions: the initial reduction of HAuCl4 by Co nanoparticles, followed by the reduction by NaBH4. In addition, a thick layer of silica was successfully coated onto the gold hollow nanospheres. These nanostructures are extensively characterized by TEM, XRD, HRTEM, SEM, electron diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. It is evident that the SPR peak locations corresponding to these hollow nanospheres are shifted over a region of more than 100 nm wavelength due to changes of shell thickness, which make these optically active nanostructures of great interest in both fundamental research and practical applications.