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Lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3) is an inhibitory immune checkpoint crucial for suppressing the immune response against cancer. Blocking LAG-3 interactions enables T cells to recover their cytotoxic capabilities and diminishes the immunosuppressive effects of regulatory T cells. A cyclic peptide (Cys-Val-Pro-Met-Thr-Tyr-Arg-Ala-Cys, disulfide bridge: 1-9) was recently reported as a LAG-3 inhibitor. Based on this peptide, we designed 19 derivatives by substituting tyrosine residue to maximize LAG-3 inhibition. Screening via TR-FRET assay identified 8 outperforming derivatives, with cyclic peptides 12 [Tyr6(L-3-CN-Phe)], 13 [Tyr6(L-4-NH 2 -Phe)], and 17 [Tyr6(L-3,5-DiF-Phe)] as top candidates. Cyclic peptide 12 exhibited the highest inhibition (IC 50  = 4.45 ± 1.36 µM). MST analysis showed cyclic peptides 12 and 13 bound LAG-3 with K D values of 2.66 ± 2.06 µM and 1.81 ± 1.42 µM, respectively, surpassing the original peptide (9.94 ± 4.13 µM). Docking simulations revealed that cyclic peptide 12 exhibited significantly enhanced binding, with a docking score of -7.236 kcal/mol, outperforming the original peptide (-5.236 kcal/mol) and cyclic peptide 5 (L-4-CN-Phe) (-5.131 kcal/mol). A per-residue decomposition of the interaction energy indicated that the 3-cyano group in cyclic peptide 12 contributes to a more favorable conformation, yielding an interaction energy of -9.22 kcal/mol with Phe443 of MHC-II, compared to -6.03 kcal/mol and -5.619 kcal/mol for cyclic peptides 0 and 5, respectively. Despite promising in vitro results, cyclic peptide 12 failed to inhibit tumor growth in vivo, underscoring the importance of dual immunotherapies targeting several immune checkpoints to achieve anti-tumor efficacy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Anastrazole (ASZ) is an effective aromatase inhibitor that is used for breast cancer treatment. Nevertheless, ASZ's effectiveness is diminished due to its low water solubility, unregulated release, absence of targeting, and inadequate patient compliance. The goal of the research was to create a hydrogel formulation of ASZ-loaded invasomes (ALI) to enhance the solubility, permeability, targeting, and efficacy of ASZ while also sustaining its release for treatment of breast cancer. The optimized ALI formulation was determined to be 3%w/v phospholipid, 0.15%w/v cholesterol, 3%v/v ethanol, and 1 %v/v cineole based on the results of the pre-formulation study. After conducting in vitro characterization of the optimum formulation, it was combined with carbopol for in vivo examination of its anti-tumor efficacy in a rat model of 7, 12-dimethylbenzanthracene. Compared to free ASZ, ALI hydrogel increased its penetration by 10.67 times and prolonged its release by 64.02%. Compared to the control positive group, ALI hydrogel reduced tumor volume by 99.19% and mortality by 10.93%. The anti-tumor effect of the ALI hydrogel was demonstrated by its ability to accumulate more ASZ in tumors and reduce hypercellular tumors. Overall, transdermal ALI hydrogel shows potential as a promising approach for treating breast cancer., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Amr gamal reports financial support was provided by Taif University. Amr gamal reports a relationship with Taif University that includes: non-financial support. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is one of major antibiotic contaminants in current aqueous environment. In this paper, waste loofah and melamine were co-carbonized to prepare biochar-doped g-C 3 N 4 (CCN) by a one-pot method and then combined with Co 2 PMo 11 VO 40 (CoPMoV) using a binder to obtain the novel polyoxometalates (POMs) photocatalytic composites (CCN/CoPMoV). The incorporation of CoPMoV dramatically reduced the photogenerated carrier recombination and led to a small band gap. Under visible light, the synergetic activation from biochar, g-C 3 N 4 and POMs can remove 98.5% of SMX (k = 0.215 min -1 ) in the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system within 20 min and keep its high stability with the degradation of 88.9% after five cycles. Multi-active sites from CCN/CoPMoV are contributed to develop the most active species of SO 4 -∙ , ·OH, 1 O 2 , and h + . The validity in the degradation of SMX makes CCN/CoPMoV a promising and potential material for the removal of aqueous pollutants in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Substrate access tunnel engineering is a useful strategy for enzyme modification. In this study, we improved the catalytic performance of Fe-type Nitrile hydratase (Fe-type NHase) from Pseudomonas fluorescens ZJUT001 (PfNHase) by mutating residue Q86 at the entrance of the substrate access tunnel. The catalytic activity of the mutant PfNHase-αQ86W towards benzonitrile, 2-cyanopyridine, 3-cyanopyridine, and 4-hydroxybenzonitrile was enhanced by 9.35-, 3.30-, 6.55-, and 2.71-fold, respectively, compared to that of the wild-type PfNHase (PfNHase-WT). In addition, the mutant PfNHase-αQ86W showed a catalytic efficiency (k cat /K m ) towards benzonitrile 17.32-fold higher than the PfNHase-WT. Interestingly, the substrate preference of PfNHase-αQ86W shifted from aliphatic nitriles to aromatic nitrile substrates. Our analysis delved into the structural changes that led to this altered substrate preference, highlighting an expanded entrance tunnel region, theenlarged substrate-binding pocket, and the increased hydrophobic interactions between the substrate and enzyme. Molecular dynamic simulations and dynamic cross-correlation Matrix (DCCM) further supported these findings, providing a comprehensive explanation for the enhanced catalytic activity towards aromatic nitrile substrates., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Hydrogels based on natural polymers have lightened the path of novel drug delivery systems, wound healing, and tissue engineering fields because they are renewable, non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable. Furthermore, applying modified hydrogels can upgrade their biological activity. Herein, Chitosan (CS) was used to create a hydrogel using terephthaloyl thiourea as a cross-linker. Silk fibroin (SF) and carbon nitride (CN) were added to the hydrogel to enhance its strength and biocompatibility. Finally, CS hydrogel/SF/CN was in situ magnetized using Fe 3 O 4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and manufactured as a nanobiocomposite for improved hyperthermia. The structural properties of the nanobiocomposite were assessed using several analytical techniques, including VSM, FTIR, TGA, EDX, XRD, and FESEM. The saturation magnetization of this magnetic nanocomposite was 23.94 emu/g. The hemolytic experiment on the nanobiocomposite resulted in ca. 98 % cell survival, with a hemolysis rate of 1.69 %. Anticancer property is confirmed by a 20.0 % reduction in cell viability of BT549 cells at 1.75 mg/mL concentration compared to 0.015 mg/mL. The nanocomposite is non-toxic to the human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK293T), indicating its potential for biomedical applications. Finally, the magnetic nanocomposite's hyperthermia behavior was examined using a specific absorption rate (SAR), achieving the highest value of 47.44 W/g at 200.0 kHz. When subjected to an alternating magnetic field, the nanobiocomposite may perform well in hyperthermia therapy. These results indicate that the magnetic nanobiocomposite has the potential to perform well in hyperthermia therapy when subjected to an alternating magnetic field., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microbiological DNA gyrase is recognized as an exceptional microbial target for the innovative development of low-resistant and more effective antimicrobial drugs. Hence, we introduced a one-pot facile synthesis of a novel pyranopyrazole scaffold bearing different functionalities; substituted aryl ring, nitrile, and hydroxyl groups. All new analogs were characterized with full spectroscopic data. The antimicrobial screening for all analogs was assessed against standard strains of Gm + ve and Gm-ve through in vitro considers. The screened compounds displayed very promising MIC/MBC values against some of the bacterial strains with broad or selective antibacterial effects. Of these, 4j biphenyl analog showed 0.5-2/2-8  µ g/mL MIC/MBC for suppression and killing of Gm + ve and Gm-ve strains. Moreover, the antimicrobial screening was assessed for the most potent analogs against certain highly resistant microbial strains. Consequently, DNA gyrase supercoiling assay was done for all analogs using ciprofloxacin as reference positive control. Obviously, the results showed a different activity profile with potent analog 4j with IC 50 value 6.29  µ g/mL better than reference drug 10.2  µ g/mL. Additionally, CNS toxicity testing was done using the HiB5 cell line for attenuation of GABA/NMDA expression to both 4j and ciprofloxacin compounds that revealed better neurotransmitter modulation by novel scaffold. Importantly, docking and dynamic simulations were performed for the most active 4j analog to investigate its interaction with DNA binding sites, which supported the in vitro observations and compound stability with binding pocket. Finally, a novel scaffold pyranopyrazole was introduced as a DNA gyrase inhibitor with prominent antibacterial efficacy and low CNS side effect toxicity better than quinolones.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Lanthanum nickelate (LaNiO 3 ), known for its high visible-light absorption, is a promising photocatalyst for water purification. However, the low conduction band position and high photogenerated carrier complexation rate of pure LaNiO 3 limit its photocatalytic activity. To address this issue, we investigated the synergistic effects of doping and constructing heterojunctions. A La 0.9 Sr 0.1 NiO 3 (20%)/g-C 3 N 4 (L2CN8) heterojunction was successfully created. In addition, various characterisation techniques were then employed to analyse the structure-performance relationships of these heterojunction photocatalysts in degrading organic dyes. Results revealed that at a 10% Sr doping level, the oxygen vacancy content was 0.68, which is significantly higher than that of LaNiO 3 (0.05). The increased number of oxygen vacancies enhanced the electron capture ability and improved the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. Furthermore, the optimised L2CN8 (20 mg) achieved 81.2% and 73.8% removal of methylene blue (50.0 mL, 10 mg L -1 ) and tetracycline (50.0 mL, 10 mg L -1 ) under simulated visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). Furthermore, an active species capture experiment confirmed the significant role of superoxide radicals (·O 2 - ) in the degradation process. Based on these experimental findings, we proposed a rational Z-type charge transfer mechanism. This study holds great importance for water pollution control and environmental protection., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Catechol- O -methyltransferase inhibitors (iCOMT), such as entacapone, have been successfully employed to treat tremor-related symptoms of Parkinson's disease. However, iCOMT has been associated with a short half-life and poor oral bioavailability. Nanobased drug delivery systems have often been used to overcome this type of setbacks. Therefore, entacapone was encapsulated in PEGylated poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid) (PLGA)-based nanoparticles (NPs) via a nanoprecipitation process, as well as in PEGylated nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) using a solvent emulsification/evaporation method. Both nanoformulations presented sub-200 nm populations, with zeta-potential (ZP) values close to -30 mV, and showed stability at different pHs, while maintaining their physicochemical properties mostly intact, presenting only a change in their superficial charge (ZP values), indicating their interaction. Both nanoformulations presented interaction with mucins, which anticipates good permeation and bioavailability for oral and topical administration. No cytotoxic effects were observed for lyophilized PLGA NPs encapsulating entacapone, in which 2-hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) was used as a cryoprotectant at 3% concentration (HP-PLGA@Ent), in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), or human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cell lines. Conversely, NLCs encapsulating entacapone (W-NLCs@Ent) presented cytotoxic effects on the HepG2 cell line, likely due to intracellular lipid accumulation or storage. Both nanoformulations maintained a COMT inhibition effect in HepG2 cells, using 3-BTD as the COMT probe. An increase of entacapone permeability in both monolayer and coculture models (Caco-2 and Caco-2/HT29-MTX, respectively) was observed for the developed nanoformulations. Overall, this work shows that encapsulated entacapone in different nanocarriers could be a stimulating alternative to solve entacapone setbacks, since they improve its physicochemical properties and permeability while still maintaining the COMT inhibitory activity.

A highly sensitive, portable, rapid, and accurate colorimetric sensing method is presented. It is based upon exfoliated g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets (E-g-C 3 N 4 NSs), having peroxidase nanozyme-like properties. The as-prepared catalyst (E-g-C 3 N 4 NSs) tends to oxidize the colorless tetramethyl-benzidine (TMB) into oxidized-TMB in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) generating a dark blue color and corresponding ultraviolet visible-spectral changes following a Michaelis-Menten kinetic. The prepared colorimetric sensor exhibited response within the range 0.001-0.450 μM having R 2 value of 0.999 and a detective limit (LOD) of 0.15 ± 0.04 nM. Furthermore, the sensor also displayed outstanding selectivity, ample stability (10 weeks), and excellent practicability in real sample applications. All these outstanding properties were highly attributed to the large surface area with exposed actives sites, high surface energy, and large conductive structure of E-g-C 3 N 4 NSs. For comparison of the catalytic study, we have also explored the sensing mechanism of B-g-C 3 N 4 , using the same optimized experimental conditions. Resultantly, we concluded that the proposed sensor (E-g-C 3 N 4 NSs) will gain considerable attention for on-site environmental and health monitoring in future endeavor., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

This study addressed the development of a novel biomarker for 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS) gas exposure. Using liquid chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques, we found that CS underwent rapid hydrolysis into 2-chlorobenzaldehyde (2-CBA), a highly reactive intermediate that reacted swiftly with endogenous cysteine (Cys) and Cys residues in proteins, producing a stable 2-(2-chlorophenyl)thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid adduct (ClPh-SPro) in high yield, which may be used as a CS exposure dosimeter. In particular, it was found that most CS was rapidly hydrolyzed under physiologically relevant conditions, with over 90% of CS being converted into 2-CBA in as short as 20 min. The resultant 2-CBA then reacted swiftly with Cys ( k = 0.086 M -1 s -1 ), forming the stable thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid adduct, which was detected both in the intracellular fluid and in the cell-isolated proteins of CS-exposed lung cells, as well as in purified human serum albumin. It is expected that the results of this study will facilitate exposure assessment for bystanders who may have been exposed to high levels of CS gas unwillingly.

Methidathion (MTDT), a common organophosphorus pesticide with high insecticidal activity, is widely used for pest control. However, the misuse of MTDT leads to widespread residues and endangers human health. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a simple and highly sensitive method for the detection of MTDT residues. Herein, ZIF-90/MnO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 /Fe 3 O 4 composite particles were synthesized: The  MnO 2 nanosheets could absorb the energy of the excited g-C 3 N 4 to quench the ECL of g-C 3 N 4 while ZIF-90 acted as a mimetic enzyme to catalyze the formation of thiocholine from MTDT. The thiocholine caused the reduction of MnO 2 to Mn 2+ , restoring the ECL signal of g-C 3 N 4 . Combined with molecular imprinting technique, an electrochemiluminescence sensor was constructed for the determination of MTDT. The determination range was 1.00 × 10 -9  ~ 7.00 × 10 -7  g/L, and the detection limit was 6.58 × 10 -10  g/L. Structurally similar organophosphorus pesticides showed no cross-reactivity. The method has high sensitivity and specificity, and has been successfully applied to the determination of MTDT residue in fruits with recoveries in the range 93.75% ~ 102.37%., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Wearable electronics have significantly advanced the development of highly stretchable strain sensors, which are essential for applications such as health monitoring, human-machine interfaces, and energy harvesting. Fiber-based sensors and polymeric materials are promising due to their flexibility and tunable properties, although balancing sensitivity and stretchability remains a challenge. This study introduces a novel composite strain sensor that combines poly(3-hexylthiophene) and tetrafluoro-tetracyanoquinodimethane to form a charge-transfer complex (CTC) with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a styrene-butadiene-styrene substrate. The CTC improves conductivity through effective charge transfer, while CNTs provide mechanical reinforcement and maintain conductive paths, preventing cracks under large strains. Purposefully introduced wrinkles in the structure enhance the detection of small strains. The sensor demonstrated a broad strain-sensing range from 0.01 to 200%, exhibiting high sensitivity to both minor and major deformations. Mechanical tests confirmed strong stress-strain performance, and electrical tests indicated significant conductivity improvements with CNT integration. These results highlight the potential of the sensor for applications in health monitoring, human-machine interfaces, and energy harvesting, effectively mimicking the tactile sensing abilities of human skin.

Antibiotics are extensively used in human medicine, aquaculture, and animal husbandry, leading to the release of antimicrobial resistance into the environment. This contributes to the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), posing a significant threat to human health and aquatic ecosystems. Conventional wastewater treatment methods often fail to eliminate ARGs, prompting the adoption of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to address this growing risk. The study investigates the efficacy of visible light-driven photocatalytic systems utilizing two catalyst types (TiO 2 -Pd/Cu and g-C 3 N 4 -Pd/Cu), with a particular emphasis on their effectiveness in eliminating bla TEM , ermB, qnrS, tetM. intl1, 16 S rDNA and 23 S rDNA through photocatalytic ozonation and peroxone processes. Incorporating O 3 into photocatalytic processes significantly enhances target removal efficiency, with the photocatalyst-assisted peroxone process emerging as the most effective AOP. The reemergence of targeted contaminants following treatment highlights the pivotal importance of AOPs and the meticulous selection of catalysts in ensuring sustained treatment efficacy. Furthermore, Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis reveals challenges in eradicating GC-rich bacteria with TiO 2 and g-C 3 N 4 processes, while slight differences in Cu/Pd loadings suggest g-C 3 N 4 -based ozonation improved antibacterial effectiveness. Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis highlights the efficacy of the photocatalyst-assisted peroxone process in treating diverse samples., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Glucosinolates (GSLs) are the most controversial yet ignored class of phytochemicals. These are the middleman phytochemicals that have low bioactivity. But once there is any injury in the plant-manmade, insect caused, or natural-magic happens. The compound is broken down into smaller phytochemicals referred to as glucosinolate hydrolytic products (GHPs; nitriles, isothiocyanates [ITCs], and thiocyanates). These hydrolytic products are like a showstopper of the fashion industry. These compounds have some of the highest bioactivity in nature. They have been associated with a varied range of bioactivities (anticancer, antioxidant, insecticidal, weedicide, etc.) by researchers across the globe., Objective: The objective of the current article is to provide a critical review to highlight some of the important bioactivities of these ignored compounds and for promoting researchers to at least give these compounds a chance-to glow in the dark., Methods: This review has been written from analysis of accessible literature, mostly from the last 5 years (2018-2023), with some critically essential exceptions., Results: The review highlighted a brief background of GSLs and its hydrolysis. Efforts were made to include most of the biological properties of the compound. Special emphasis has been given to the anticancer activities of the compound with details of the involved mechanism., Conclusions: Considering the wide array of bioactivities of GHPs, it is essential to consider it as a prospective medicinal compound. More GHPs-in a similar manner as sulforaphane-can be proceeded to phase trials., Highlights: The mechanistic pathway for production of GHPs and related biological activities have been discussed in detail. The bioactivities have been further explained using the involved mechanism., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of AOAC INTERNATIONAL. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides play important roles in the control of plant fungal diseases. However, they are facing serious challenges from issues with resistance and cross-resistance, primarily attributed to their frequent application and structural similarities. There is an urgent need to design and develop SDHI fungicides with novel structures., Results: Aiming to discover novel potent SDHI fungicides, 31 innovative pyrazole β-ketonitrile derivatives with diphenyl ether moiety were rationally designed and synthesized, which were guided by a 3D-QSAR model from our previous study. The optimal target compound A23 exhibited not only outstanding in vitro inhibitory activities against Rhizoctonia solani with a half-maximal effective concentration (EC 50 ) value of 0.0398 μg mL -1 comparable to that for fluxapyroxad (EC 50  = 0.0375 μg mL -1 ), but also a moderate protective efficacy in vivo against rice sheath blight. Porcine succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) enzymatic inhibitory assay revealed that A23 is a potent inhibitor of SDH, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 0.0425 μm. Docking study within R. solani SDH indicated that A23 effectively binds into the ubiquinone site mainly through hydrogen-bonds, and cation-π and π-π interactions., Conclusion: The identified β-ketonitrile compound A23 containing diphenyl ether moiety is a potent SDH inhibitor, which might be a good lead for novel fungicide research and optimization. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Photocatalysis is recognized to be one of the most promising ways to address energy and environmental issues by utilizing visible light. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ), with a moderate band gap (∼2.7 eV) has been the flashpoint in environmental photocatalysis as it can work better under visible light, can be synthesized by a facile synthesis process using low-cost materials, thermally and chemically stable. Still the photocatalytic performance of g-C 3 N 4 is not satisfactory because of certain limitations such as insufficient visible light absorption capacity, low electron-hole separation efficiency, high recombination rate, poor surface area. Introduction of doping, band structure engineering, defecting and designing of heterojunction, composites etc. were investigated to amplify its applications. Among all these modifications, elemental doping is a suitable and successful alternative for the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity by changing the optical and electronic properties. This review emphasizes on advancement and trends of elemental doping and its application on photocatalytic organic pollutant remediation in aqueous medium. The fundamental photocatalytic activity of heterogeneous photocatalysis and specifically g-C 3 N 4 -based photocatalysis have been discussed. The benfits of non-metal doping, enhanced photocatalytic performance by doping element, mechanism invloved in doping, advantages of co-doping has been explained. Mono, bi, and tri non-metal doped g-C 3 N 4 and their application for the removal of organic pollutants from water medium by visible light photocatalysis has been summerized. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of photocatalytic system has been highlighted. Future research should focus on the large-scale application of the photocatalysis process considering the economic aspects. A rigorous life cycle assessment for deploying the non-metal doped g-C 3 N 4 -based photocatalysis technology for successful commercial application is recommended., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Near-infrared (NIR)-responsive metal-free carbon co-catalysts that convert glucose into H 2 O 2 to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) are developed from phosphorus-doped carbon nitride (P-C 3 N 4 ) and graphene quantum dots (GQD) composites, for enhanced photocatalytic cancer therapy by light exposure in the targeted tumor microenvironment. Upon irradiation, the NIR light is converted by GQD with up-conversion function into visible light to excite P-C 3 N 4 for photocatalytic conversion of glucose into H 2 O 2 , which subsequently decomposes into ROS. ROS thus generated exhibits an excellent anticancer efficacy for efficient cancer therapy with minimal side effects, as evidenced by both in vitro and in vivo studies. This study demonstrates, for the first time, a cancer therapeutic of GQD/P-C 3 N 4 composite that utilizes a two-step cascade effect using initially NIR-triggered GQD nanoparticles to activate P-C 3 N 4 to photocatalytically generate ROS for effective and targeted cancer therapy., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Materials published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

In this study, g-C 3 N 4 /PANI was prepared by in situ oxidative polymerization. Graphite-phase carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) with surface defects was deposited onto the surface of conductive polyaniline (PANI) to form a p-n heterojunction. This construction aimed to create an efficient heterogeneous catalyst, increasing the surface defect level and active sites of the composite, and augmenting its capability to capture and transfer extracellular electrons under anaerobic conditions. This addresses the challenge of low efficiency in direct interspecies electron transfer between bacteria and archaea during anaerobic digestion for methane production. The results showed that the prepared g-C 3 N 4 /PANI increased the CH 4 yield and CH 4 production rate by 82% and 96%, respectively. Notably, the conductivity and XPS test results showed that the ratio of g-C 3 N 4 to PANI was 0.15, and the composite exhibited favorable conductivity, with a uniform distribution of pyrrolic nitrogen, pyridinic nitrogen, and graphitic nitrogen, each accounting for approximately 30%. Furthermore, g-C 3 N 4 /PANI effectively enhanced the metabolic efficiency of intermediate products such as acetate and butyrate. Analysis of the microbial community structure revealed that g-C 3 N 4 /PANI led to a significant increase in the abundance of hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanolinea (from 48% to 64%) and enriched Clostridium (a rise of 1%) with direct interspecies electron transfer capability. Microbial community function analysis demonstrated that the addition of g-C 3 N 4 /PANI boosted the activities of key enzymes involved in anaerobic digestion, including phosphate transacetylase (PTA), phospho-butyryl transferase (PTB), and NAD-independent lactate dehydrogenase (NNLD), by 47%, 135%, and 153%, respectively. This acceleration in enzymatic activity promoted the metabolism of acetyl-CoA, butyryl-CoA, and pyruvate. Additionally, the function of ABC transporters was enhanced, thereby improving the efficiency of material and energy exchange among microorganisms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present research utilizes a sol-gel approach to create a CoFe 2 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposite (NC) and explored several analytical methods to evaluate physical, chemical and optical based characteristics via XRD, FTIR, UV-vis, SEM/EDS and XPS for the prepared pure CoFe 2 O 4 , g-C 3 N 4 , and CoFe 2 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 NC. The XRD results show that the prepared g-C 3 N 4 , CoFe 2 O 4 , exhibits hexagonal and cubic phases respectively, whereas the g-C 3 N 4 /CoFe 2 O 4 NC exhibit mixing of two phases. The energy band gaps for pure g-C 3 N 4 , CoFe 2 O 4 and g-C 3 N 4 /CoFe 2 O 4 NC values are viz., 2.75, 1.3, and 2.4 eV. As photocatalysts, synthesized materials were utilized for the decomposition of Rhodamine-B (RhB) dye. Finally, the CoFe 2 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 NC showed good performance of photocatalysis for RhB dye disintegration under the stimulus of visible light. According to the induced visible light, the rate at which the photocatalytic degradation occurs for the CoFe 2 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 NC was found to be 57% in 120 min and this is greater when compared with pure catalysts like CoFe 2 O 4 (28%) and g-C 3 N 4 (10%). These outcomes suggest that the prepared NC have efficiently worked during the photocatalytic process compared with its pure materials., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) as an attractive green bio-based material has attracted widespread attention in recent years due to its non-toxicity, degradability, excellent performance, and high aspect ratio. In this study, the g-C 3 N 5 with a high nitrogen/carbon ratio was prepared as a catalyst through the self-polymerization of a nitrogen-rich precursor. The triazole groups at the edges of g-C 3 N 5 were proven to exhibit strong adsorption to biomass and strong alkalinity. In a low-acidic aqueous system with g-C 3 N 5 , MFC with diameters of 100-200 nm and lengths up to 100 μm was fabricated from various biomasses within 5 min under microwave radiation. The ultimate yield of the MFC produced from viscose reached 90 %. Young's modulus of the MFC reaches 3.7 GPa. This work provides a particular method with high efficiency to prepare MFC with excellent properties from biomass by chemical method., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Oxygen-doped g-C 3 N 4 with pyridine ring (POCN) was synthesized by easily thermal polymerization of urea, pyridine solution, and ammonium acetate to improve photocatalytic hydrogen production. The experimental results indicate that pyridine was incorporated into the tri-s-triazine structure of g-C 3 N 4 . The O atoms were modified to g-C 3 N 4 by replacing the N atoms (C-N=C) of the triazine ring. The photocatalytic activity for the hydrogen production rate of optimized POCN was 1018 µmol g -1 h -1 , approximately 30 times higher than that of bulk g-C 3 N 4 (CN) under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The high stability of POCN was confirmed through cycling tests for 30-h, XRD patterns, and SEM images. The pyridine incorporation can significantly enhance surface charge transfer efficiency. The oxygen modification can greatly promote visible light absorption (600 nm) and photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation. This work provides a suitable strategy to synthesize g-C 3 N 4 based on metal-free photocatalysts for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen generation performance.

Diclazuril (DIC) is a broad-spectrum anti-coccidiosis drug of the triazine class, widely used in poultry farming. The overuse of DIC may lead to its accumulation in animal bodies, which may enter the food chain and threaten human health. In this work, we fabricated a stable Eu 3+ -doped UiO-66 fluorescence sensor (EuUHIPA-30) for the sensitive detection of DIC. Among 20 veterinary drugs, the fluorescence of EuUHIPA-30 selectively responds to DIC, with a low detection limit (0.19 μM) and fast response (10 s). EuUHIPA-30 is recyclable and can detect DIC in chicken and eggs with good recoveries. Moreover, a smartphone-integrated paper-based sensor enables the instrument-free, rapid, visual, and intelligent detection of DIC in chickens and eggs. This work provides a promising candidate for practical fluorescent DIC sensing in animal-derived food to promote food safety., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Bosutinib (BST) is a Biopharmaceutics Classification System Class II drug having very low solubility and high permeability. Low aqueous solubility and poor dissolution of BST lead to poor bioavailability, Thus, limited aqueous solubility is the bottleneck for the therapeutic outcome of BST. Animal data suggest that the absolute bioavailability of BST is about 14-34% due to an extensive first-pass effect. To overcome hepatic first-pass metabolism and to enhance oral bioavailability, lipid-based drug delivery systems such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) can be used., Methods: SLNs are submicron colloidal carriers having a size range of 50-1000 nm. These are prepared with physiological lipid and dispersed in water or aqueous surfactant solution. BST can be conveniently loaded into SLNs to improve the oral bioavailability by exploiting the intestinal lymphatic transport. An optimal system was evaluated for bioavailability study in rats compared with that of BST suspension (SUS)., Results: An in vitro cytotoxicity study was done by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay method through ATCC cell lines; the percent inhibition was more in SLN when compared with SUS. The pharmacokinetics of BST-SLNs after oral administration in male Wistar rats was studied. The bioavailability of BST was increased by 2.28 fold when compared with that of a BST SUS., Conclusion: The results are indicative of SLNs as suitable lipid-based carrier system for improving the oral bioavailability of BST.

Constructing van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures is a prospective approach that is essential for developing a new generation of functional two-dimensional (2D) materials and designing new conceptual nanodevices. Using density-functional theory combined with a nonequilibrium Green's function approach allows for the theoretical and systematic exploration of the electronic structure, transport properties, and sensitivity of organic small molecules adsorbed on 2D C 3 B/graphene (Gra) and C 3 N/Gra vdW heterojunctions. Calculations show the metallic properties of C 3 B/Gra and C 3 N/Gra after the formation of heterojunctions. Interestingly, the heterojunctions C 3 B/Gra (C 3 N/Gra) for the adsorption of small organic molecules (C 2 H 2 , C 2 H 4 , CH 3 OH, CH 4 , and HCHO) at the C 3 B (C 3 N) side are sensitive to the chemisorption of C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 4 . Similarly, the Gra/C 3 B is chemisorbed for both C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 4 when adsorbed on Gra side, while it is only chemisorbed for C 2 H 2 in Gra/C 3 N. Interestingly, all heterojunctions on different sides are physisorbed for CH 3 OH, CH 4 , and HCHO. Furthermore, the calculated I-V curves demonstrate that the devices based on the adsorption of C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 4 at each side of the heterojunction have remarkable anisotropy, in with the current being considerably greater in the zigzag direction than in the armchair direction. More specifically, with C 2 H 2 adsorbed on the Gra side, the sensitivity along the armchair direction is up to 85.0% for Gra/C 3 B and close to 100% for Gra/C 3 N. This study reveals that C 3 B/Gra (C 3 N/Gra) heterojunctions with high selectivity, high anisotropy, and excellent sensitivity are highly prospective 2D materials for applications, which further contributes new insights into the development of future electronic nanodevices.

Three new series of 3-(substituted)methylthio-4-cyano-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroisoquinolines were designed and synthesized starting from readily available materials, 7-acetyl-4-cyano-1,6-dimethyl-6-hydroxy-8-(4-pyridyl, 3-pyridyl, phenyl, 4-methoxyphenyl, or 4-chlorophenyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrosoquinoline-3(2 H )-thiones 2a - e in high yields and very pure states. Thus, compounds 2a - e were reacted with some chloro reagents, namely, N -aryl-2-chloroacetamides 3a - f and N -(naphthalen-2-yl)-2-chloroacetamide ( 3g ) under mild basic conditions to give the first two series of the target compounds, 3-( N -aryl)carbamoylmethylthio-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroisoquinoline-4-carbonitriles 4a - l and 5a - e , respectively. Reaction of compounds 2d , e with ethyl chloroacetate under the same conditions gave the other series, 3-ethoxycarbonyl-methylthio-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroisoquinoline-4-carbonitriles 6d , e . Structural formulas of all of the new compounds were elucidated and confirmed by elemental and spectral analyses. The insecticidal activity of all synthesized 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrosoquinolines toward the nymphs and adults of Aphis gossypii were screened. The results revealed the promising insecticidal activity of some tested compounds. Moreover, the structure-activity relationships as well as molecular docking of some representative compounds were evaluated.

The detrimental effects of widespread pesticide application on the health of living organisms highlight the urgent need for technological advancements in monitoring pesticide residues at trace levels. This study involves the synthesis of a distinctive sensing material, KL@Ni@g-C 3 N 4 , which comprises nanocomposites of graphitic carbon nitride with Kraft lignin and nickel. The prepared samples were characterized using FT-IR, PXRD, TEM, SEM, and EDX techniques. The KL@Ni@g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposite was drop-cast on a graphite electrode. Subsequently, this fabricated electrode was used to detect cypermethrin (CYP) residues in drinking water. The redox properties of the fabricated sensors were evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The limit of detection (LOD) of the fabricated sensor was determined to be 0.026 μg mL -1 , which is below the maximum residual limits of CYP in the environment (0.5 μg mL -1 ) and within the acceptable range for food products (∼0.05 to 0.2 μg mL -1 ). Therefore, this study proposes a promising alternative to conventional methods for detecting pesticides in drinking water.

Strategies based on nanomaterials for sterilization address the problem of antibiotic resistance faced by conventional antimicrobials, with the contribution of photocatalytic compounds being particularly prominent. Herein, to integrate multiple bactericidal techniques into a system for generating synergistic antibacterial effects, a novel photo-triggered AuAg@g-C 3 N 4 composite nanoplatform was constructed by anchoring AuAg on the surface of a g-C 3 N 4 layer. As the composite nanoplatform had a lower bandgap and superior visible light utilization efficiency, it could facilitate free electron transfer better and exhibit superior photocatalytic activity under light conditions. Moreover, the AuAg@g-C 3 N 4 composite nanoplatform integrated the bactericidal modes of silver ion toxicity, physical disruption of bacterial cell membranes by the multilayer structure, and excellent photocatalytic activity, exhibiting extremely superior bactericidal effects against Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis , with a bactericidal efficiency of up to 100%.

The direct synthesis of alkenes from alkynes usually requires the use of transition-metal catalysts. Unfortunately, efficient biocatalytic alternatives for this transformation have yet to be discovered. Herein, the selective bioreduction of electron-deficient alkynes to alkenes catalysed by ene-reductases (EREDs) is described. Alkynes bearing ketone, aldehyde, ester, and nitrile moieties have been effectively reduced with excellent conversions and stereoselectivities, observing clear trends for the E/Z ratios depending on the nature of the electron-withdrawing group. In the case of cyanoalkynes, (Z)-alkenes were obtained as the major product, and the reaction scope was expanded to a wide variety of aromatic substrates (up to >99 % conversion, and Z/E stereoselectivities of up to >99/1). Other alkynes containing aldehyde, ketone, or ester functionalities also proved to be excellent substrates, and interestingly gave the corresponding (E)-alkenes. Preparative biotransformations were performed on a 0.4 mmol scale, producing the desired (Z)-cyanoalkenes with good to excellent isolated yields (63-97 %). This novel reactivity has been rationalised through molecular docking by predicting the binding poses of key molecules in the ERED-pu-0006 active site., (© 2024 The Author(s). Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Multimodal immunochromatographic sensors (ICSs) have acquired extensive attention since they not only provide reliable results by comparing the different output signals but also flexibly respond to various application environments. Herein, an ICS with triple signal outputs including colorimetry, temperature, and pressure was developed for sensitive detection of chlorothalonil. The multivalent Pt/Ti 3 C 2 Tx nanoparticles as signal tags were facilely synthesized by loading PtNPs onto single-layer Ti 3 C 2 Tx nanosheets with high surface area. The acquired Pt/Ti 3 C 2 TxNPs accelerated the rate-limiting step of the aerogenesis reaction of H 2 O 2 for producing intensive pressure signals due to their significant catalase-mimic activity. Meanwhile, they showed desirable photothermal conversion efficiency in the near-infrared region for producing significant temperature signals. Furthermore, their deep color also allowed facile colorimetry by using the naked eye. Based on a competitive immunoassay, chlorothalonil was detected as a model analyte on this trimodal ICS platform. The detection limits for pressure, temperature, and colorimetric modes were 0.04, 0.09, and 5 ng mL -1 , respectively. The recoveries for detecting chlorothalonil supplemented in Astragalus and Honeysuckle with pressure mode were 84.0-110% and 108-114%, respectively. Therefore, the ICS presented a portable, sensitive, accurate, and flexible multimodal strategy suitable for point-of-care testing.

Structure engineering is of great importance to enhance the carrier separation efficiency of multiphoton absorption (MPA) materials for near-infrared (NIR) light-driven reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In this study, the MPA-responsive potassium/cyano group-functionalized graphitic carbon nitride was investigated, demonstrating charge redistribution and improved carrier separation efficiency by density functional theory calculations and experimental results. With various types of boosted ROS generation under UV-vis or NIR-II light irradiation, the potassium/cyano group-functionalized graphitic carbon nitride could achieve efficient multiphoton photodynamic therapy after reducing the particle size. This study developed a simple strategy to manipulate charge distribution for booting NIR light-activated ROS generation in efficient multiphoton photodynamic therapy.

A series of seleno-containing polyfunctionalized compounds was synthesized exploring cyanohydrin chemistry, including α-hydroxy esters, α-hydroxy acids, 1,2-diols, and 1,2-diacetates, with yields ranging from 26 up to 99 %. The cytotoxicity of all synthesized compounds was then evaluated using a non-tumor cell line (BALB/3T3 murine fibroblasts), and those deemed non-cytotoxic had their anti-melanoma activity evaluated using B16-F10 murine melanoma cells. These assays identified two compounds with selective cytotoxic activity against the tested melanoma cell line, showing a potential anti-melanoma application., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Leandro Piovan reports financial support was provided by Federal University of Parana. Leandro Piovan reports a relationship with Federal University of Parana that includes: employment. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Vertically ordered mesoporous silica films (VMSF) are a class of porous materials composed of ultrasmall pores and ultrathin perpendicular nanochannels, which are attractive in the areas of electroanalytical sensors and molecular separation. However, VMSF easily falls off from the carbonaceous electrodes and thereby impacts their broad applications. Herein, carbon nitride nanosheets (CNNS) were served as an adhesive layer for stable growth of VMSF on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE). CNNS bearing plentiful oxygen-containing groups can covalently bind with silanol groups of VMSF, effectively promoting the stability of VMSF on the GCE surface. Benefiting from numerous open nanopores of VMSF, modification of VMSF's external surface with carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3)-specific antibody allows the target-controlled transport of electrochemical probes through the internal silica nanochannels, yielding sensitive quantitative detection of CA15-3 with a broad detection range of 1 mU/mL to 1000 U/mL and a low limit of detection of 0.47 mU/mL. Furthermore, the proposed VMSF/CNNS/GCE immunosensor is capable of highly selective and accurate determination of CA15-3 in spiked serum samples, which offers a simple and effective electrochemical strategy for detection of various practical biomarkers in complicated biological specimens.

There are numerous uses for the pharmacological effects of thiazolo-pyridine and its derivatives. The main objective of the study was to synthesis 10 novel derivatives of thiazolo[3,2-a] pyridine-6,8-dicarbonitrile with a 22-78% yield, with a focus on their potential anti-diabetic properties. We investigated the interactions between these compounds and the enzyme α-amylase through an in silico study involving molecular docking. According to the docking analysis results, the resulting compounds had advantageous inhibitory properties. With a docking score of -7.43 kcal/mol against the target protein, compound 4e performed best. The stability root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) showed that the complex stabilizes after 25 ns and with minor perturbation at 80. The RMSF values of the ligand-protein complex indicate that the following residues have interacted with compound 4e during the MD simulation: Trp58, Trp59, Tyr62, Gln63, His101, Val107, lle148, Asn152, Leu162, Thr163, Gly164, Leu165, Asp197, Ala198, Asp 236, Leu237, His299, Asp300, and His305. Moreover, the pharmacokinetic and drug-like properties of the synthesized derivatives of 2-arylamino-dihydroindeno[1,2-b] pyrrol-4(1H)-one suggest that they have the potential to be effective inhibitors of α-amylase and should be considered for further research. Nevertheless, it is crucial to ascertain the in vivo and in vitro effectiveness of these compounds through biochemical and structural investigations., Competing Interests: NO authors have competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Aghahosseini et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Cyano-substituted stilbene (CSS) derivatives have been synthesized that can form luminescent nanoscopic assemblies in an aqueous medium. The optical properties of such materials, as governed by the relative ratios of their monomer and aggregated forms, are found to be susceptible to pH and temperature of the medium. The compound with boronic acid attached at the terminal positions shows a turn-on fluorescence response (LOD: 15.4 ppb) with gallic acid (GA). The mechanistic studies indicate that the 1,2-diol unit of GA is involved in ester formation with the boronic acid residue, while the carboxylic end engages in hydrogen bonding interaction with the nitrile unit. Such multi-point binding interaction provides better selectivity over other structurally similar analytes. Moreover, the distinct aggregation properties of such boronate ester derivatives are responsible for the GA-specific optical response. The sensory system has been utilized for the determination of the levels of GA derivatives in tea (green tea and black tea) and various fruit (mango, orange, guava, pomegranate) extracts. In all cases, the estimated values of GAE were found to be in the same range reported by others. Finally, low-cost, chemically-modified paper strips have been designed for rapid, on-location detection of GA.

Carbonyls have previously been dismissed as significant precursors for carbon monoxide (CO) photoproduction from natural chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Here, we used hydrogen cyanide (HCN), which reacts with carbonyls to form photochemically inert cyanohydrins, as a probe to re-examine the role of carbonyls in CO photoproduction. Adding HCN to low-absorbance euphotic zone seawater decreased CO photoproduction. Modeling [HCN] (∼5 to 364 μM) vs the percent decrease in CO photoproduction (%CO↓) yielded carbonyl-cyanohydrin dissociation equilibrium constants, K D , and maximum %CO↓, %CO↓ max values. Four Atlantic and Pacific seawater K D s (66.7 ± 19.6 μM) overlap aqueous aliphatic but not aromatic aldehyde K D s. Phenylacetaldehyde (PA) and other β,γ-unsaturated aldehydes are proposed as prototypical CO precursors. Direct photolysis of ∼10 nM PA can supply the measured daily production of HCN-sensitive CO at an open-ocean site near Bermuda. HCN's %CO↓ max was 31 ± 2.5% in North Atlantic seawater vs the 13 ± 2.5% inhibition of CO photoproduction by borohydride, a dilemma since only borohydride affects most ketones. Borohydride also decreased CDOM absorption much more than did HCN. This puzzle probably reflects differing steric and solvation requirements in HCN- and borohydride-CDOM reactions. This study demonstrates cyanophilic aldehydes to be a significant source of open-ocean CO and reveals new clues regarding CDOM photochemistry mechanisms.

Using antifungal agrochemicals as the most economical solution might reduce plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi, which have a significant negative impact on the quality and yield of food worldwide. In this work, 33 compounds ( G ) containing 1,2,3-triazole and malononitrile structures were synthesized. When the compounds were tested in vitro against six fungal species, they exhibited significant fungicidal activity toward Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia solani . Compounds G17 and G30 displayed promising in vivo efficacy, with an EC 50 of 0.19 and 0.27 mg/L respectively against R. solani . Fungal ergosterol production was suppressed by compounds G17 and G30 , according to a preliminary analysis of their mechanism of action on R. solani using transcriptomics and scanning electron microscopy. It has been shown through experimentation that compounds G17 and G30 prevent R. solani from synthesizing ergosterol. Ultimately, it was anticipated that compounds G17 and G30 would be discovered to be low-toxic.

Organic fluorescent materials with red/near-infrared (NIR) emission are highly promising for use in biotechnology due to their exceptional advantages. However, traditional red/NIR fluorophores often exhibit weak emission at high concentrations or in an aggregated state due to the aggregate-caused quenching effect, which severely limits their applicability in biological imaging. To address this challenge, we developed a series of cyanostyrene derivatives with aggregation-induced emission characteristics, including 2,3-Bis-(4-styryl-phenyl)-but-2-enedinitrile (DPB), 2,3-Bis-{4-[2-(4-methoxy- phenyl)-vinyl]-phenyl}-but-2-enedinitrile (DOB), 2,3-Bis-{4-[2-(4-diphenylamino- phenyl)-vinyl]-phenyl}-but-2-enedinitrile (DTB), and 2,3-Bis-[4-(2-{4-[phenyl- (4-triphenylvinyl-phenyl)-amino]-phenyl}-vinyl)- phenyl]-but-2-enedinitrile (DTTB). Notably, these compounds exhibited intense solid state fluorescence owing to AIE effect, especially DTTB shows NIR emission with high solid state quantum efficiency (712 nm, Φ F =14.2 %). Then we prepared DTTB@PS-PEG NPs nanoparticles by encapsulating DTTB with the amphiphilic polymer polystyrene-polyethylene glycol (PS-PEG). Importantly, DTTB@PS-PEG NPs exhibited highly efficient NIR luminescence (Φ F =28.7 %) and a large two-photon absorption cross-section (1900 GM) under 800 nm laser excitation. The bright two-photon fluorescence of DTTB@PS-PEG indicated that it can be a highly promising candidate for two-photon fluorescence probe. Therefore, this work provides valuable insights for the design of highly efficient and NIR-emitting two-photon fluorescent probes., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The binding mechanism of molecular interaction between bicalutamide and human serum albumin (HSA) in a pH 7.4 phosphate buffer was studied using various spectroscopic techniques in combination with molecular modeling. Fluorescence data revealed that the fluorescence quenching of HSA by bicalutamide was a static quenching procedure. The binding constants and number of binding sites were evaluated at different temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters, ΔH and ΔS, were calculated to be 4.30 × 10 4  J·mol -1 and 245 J·mol -1 ·K -1 , respectively, suggesting that the binding of bicalutamide to HSA was driven mainly by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. The displacement studies indicated neither Sudlow's site I nor II but subdomain IB as the main binding site for bicalutamide on HSA. The binding distance between bicalutamide and HSA was determined to be 3.54 nm based on the Förster theory. Analysis of circular dichroism, synchronous, and 3D fluorescence spectra demonstrated that HSA conformation was slightly altered in the presence of bicalutamide., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The synthesis of sulfur-doped exfoliated graphitic carbon nitride (S-gCN) photocatalyst was achieved by the implementation of a two-step calcination technique. The XRD results revealed that all the fabricated photocatalytic materials were crystalline in nature. The inclusion of 5% sulfur in gCN led to a conspicuous escalation in the surface area of photocatalyst, rising from 10.294 to 61.185 m 2 g⁻ 1 . Morphological scrutiny of the samples using FE-SEM revealed that pristine gCN exhibited tightly stacked small nanosheets, whereas inclusion of sulfur and exfoliation resulted in generation of loosely distributed large nanosheet. Furthermore, the inclusion of sulfur also induced a shift in the energy band gap (Eg) from 2.81 eV to 2.63 eV, making it felicitous for investigation as proficient visible light photocatalyst. Additionally, the photoluminescence photo-induced charge carrier recombination behavior revealed a reduced peak intensity for 5% S-gCN compared to other synthesized compositions. This observation can be directly linked to the minimized electron-hole pairs recombination during photocatalysis, underscoring its superior photocatalytic performance. Our findings revealed that the 5% S-gCN photocatalyst exhibit the most promising attributes, it degraded Tetracycline drug, Chlorpyrifos pesticide and Eriochrome Black T dye under visible light irradiation almost ∼4 times more efficiently than pristine gCN. Additionally, exceptional visible light photocatalytic antibacterial efficacy was also perceived by 5% S-gCN against S. aureus bacteria. Overall, the present research sheds light on how doping and exfoliation interact to modify the structure and catalytic properties of gCN, paving the way for the development of outstanding performance, visible light-responsive efficient photocatalysts for environmental restoration., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The occurrence of xenobiotic pollutants in the aquatic environment troubling the present and future generation. Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is one such class of xenobiotic that was dominant in that category. In the present paper, a competent visible light driven heterojunction photocatalyst combining Bismuth niobate and g-C 3 N 4 was developed for the effective removal of Bisphenol A (BPA), a notable POP. Before constructing the heterostructure the calcination temperature for bismuth niobate synthesis was optimised for achieving most proficient photocatalysis. A phase change in the crystal structure of bismuth niobate was apparent. The Bi 3 NbO 7 at 300-500 °C transformed to Bi 5 Nb 3 O 15 at 600-700 °C and to orthorhombic BiNbO 4 at 900 °C as the temperature was enhanced. With the increment in the temperature the light absorbance of the materials enhanced in UV and reduced in visible light. Thus, the bismuth niobate obtained by calcining at 500 °C demonstrated highest BPA removal under sunlight was chosen for heterojunction construction. After the heterojunction construction with g-C 3 N 4 the crystal lattice strain was observed to be reduced for all composites, and a greater mobility of charge carriers was observed within the composite. The presence of either of the materials resulted in a different band structure and thus Type II and Z-scheme pathway was inferred. A commendable photocatalytic activity was observed for B1.5G and BG1.5 under sunlight and LED light respectively. Hight amount of g-C 3 N 4 in the BG1.5 resulted in maximum absorbance in LED light. Superoxide radicals (*O 2 - ) radicals were observed as major radicals for B1.5G composite, whereas both *O 2 - and holes (h + ) were the major radicals in case of BG1.5., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The on-site detection of pyrethroids, particularly type II pyrethroids, remains a challenging task in complex vegetable samples. Herein, a novel method based on naphthalimide was developed to realize the specific detection of type II pyrethroids by hydrolyzing and utilizing the compound m-phenoxybenzaldehyde (3-PBD). Hydrazine group, used as the appropriate moiety, was introduced into the fluorescent dye 1,8-naphthalimide to construct the fluoroprobe NAP. In the presence of 3-PBD, NAP displayed the prominently enhanced fluorescence and also exhibited high selectivity. This proposed method exhibited high anti-inference effects in complex media, realizing sensitive detection of 3-PBD with linear range of 2.15-800 μM and a low detection limit (LOD) of 0.64 μM. The underlying fluorescence-responsive mechanisms were in-depth elucidated by combining spectral analyses with TD-DFT theoretical calculations. Additionally, a direct and rapid hydrolysis method for deltamethrin in celery was established, achieving a high hydrolysis efficiency of >90% within 15 min. Furthermore, a portable fluorescence sensor (PFS) was developed based on high-power LEDs and photodetectors. PFS supplied a LOD of 2.23 μM for 3-PBD and exhibited comparable stability by a fluorescence spectrometer when detecting celery hydrolysate. Moreover, external power source is not required for PFS operations, thereby enabling rapid and on-site detection by transmitting data to a smartphone via bluetooth. These findings extend the academic knowledge in the field of specific pyrethroids detection and contribute to the development of on-site methods for pesticide residual analyses in food matrices., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this article, ferric ion-doped floral graphite carbon nitride (Fe-CN-3, energy donor) was used to construct the substrate of the immunosensor and copper oxide nanocubes (Cu 2 O, energy acceptor) were taken as an efficient ECL quenching probe. A sandwich quench electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor for soluble cytokeratin 19 fragment (Cyfra21-1) detection was preliminarily developed based on a novel resonant energy transfer donor-acceptor pair. Fe-CN-3, a carbon nitride that combines the advantages of metal ion doping as well as morphology modulation, is used in ECL luminophores to provide more excellent ECL performance, which makes a significant contribution to the application and development of carbon nitride in the field of ECL biosensors. The regular shape, high specific surface area and excellent biocompatibility of the quencher Cu 2 O nanocubes facilitate the labeling of secondary antibodies and the construction of sensors. Meanwhile, as an energy acceptor, the UV absorption spectrum of Cu 2 O can overlap efficiently with the energy donor's ECL emission spectrum, making it prone to the occurrence of ECL-RET and thus obtaining an excellent quenching effect. These merits of the donor-acceptor pair enable the sensor to have a wide detection range of 0.00005-100 ng/mL and a low detection limit of 17.4 fg/mL (S/N = 3), which provides a new approach and theoretical basis for the clinical detection of lung cancer., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Solar-driven photodegradation of pollutant is attractive for environmental remediation. Herein, we designed and synthetized a new kind of group-modified polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) photocatalyst with urea and 4-Nitro-o-phenylenediamine by one-pot method and applied to degrade bisphenol A (BPA) in aqueous solution. The light response range of photocatalyst had been extended a lot due to conjugation and electron-withdrawing properties of nitrobenzene. Physical analysis shows that 4-Nitro-o-phenylenediamine grafting brings an improved charge separation capacity. EPR and DFT results demonstrate the charge separation is significantly affected by the donor-acceptor structure of PCN, which can be altered via aromatic electron-withdrawing group. The kinetic constant of photocatalytic degradation for BPA was promoted by 8.8-times greater than unmodified PCN and a good recyclability was achieved. To verify the universality of group modification strategies, we prepared other two kinds of photocatalysts via electron-withdrawing group modification strategy and their photocatalytic performance all had been improved obviously., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, we report hydroxyapatite derived from egg-shell biowaste embedded on diglycolamic acid functionalized graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite (abbreviated as HAp@D-gCN). The compositional and morphological characteristics of HAp@D-gCN were evaluated using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, BET, FTIR techniques and surface charge using zeta potential measurement. The sorption of U(VI) species on HAp@D-gCN was investigated through batch studies as a function of pH, contact time, initial U(VI) concentration, adsorbent dosage and ionic strength. The adsorption of U(VI) onto HAp@D-gCN was confirmed by FTIR, XRD and EDS elemental mapping. Adsorption kinetics follow pseudo second order model and it attains equilibrium within 20 min. Adsorption isotherm data correlates well with Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum sorption capacity of 993.6 mg of U(VI) per gram of HAp@D-gCN at 298K. U(VI) can be leached from the loaded adsorbent using 0.01 M Na 2 CO 3 as desorbing agent and its sorption capacity remains unaffected even after 4 adsorption-desorption cycles. Hence, the present study reveals that HAp@D-gCN nanocomposite could serve as an environmental friendly material with potential application in environmental remediation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study focuses on the elaboration of magnetic nanocomposites by the in situ incorporation of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles (NPs) with spherical and nanoflower-like morphologies in graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) sheets using two different synthetic routes. Nanomaterials are characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, FTIR, BET, zetametry, vibrating sample magnetometry, and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The decoration of the carbon nitride matrix with the magnetic NPs enhanced optical and textural properties. The influence of the morphology of the magnetic NPs on the adsorptive and photocatalytic properties of the nanocomposites under different pH conditions (4.5, 6.9, and 10.6) was assessed from batch tests to remove methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. In extreme pH conditions, the nanocomposites exhibited lower or equivalent MB removal capacity compared to the pure g-C 3 N 4 . However, at neutral medium, the nanocomposite with incorporated Fe 3 O 4 nanoflowers showed a significantly higher removal efficiency (80.7%) due to the combination of a high adsorption capacity and a good photocatalytic activity in this pH region. The proposed nanocomposite is a promising alternative to remove cationic dyes from water by magnetic assistance, since no pH adjustment of the polluted effluent is required, reducing costs and environmental impact in the dyeing industry., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Herein, three g-C 3 N 4 (MCN/TCN/UCN), obtained by the direct pyrolysis of melamine/urea/thiourea respectively, were introduced as supports to optimize the NH 3 -SCR activity of Ce-W-Ti catalyst. Compared to CWT-400-Air, CWT@g-C 3 N 4 (2)-300-N 2 exhibits lower crystalline anatase TiO 2 and larger specific surface area, which improves the dispersion of Ce/W/Ti species on catalysts surface. Furthermore, the introduction of g-C 3 N 4 as supports also contributes to doping C/N elements into Ce-W-Ti catalyst and increases the Ce 3+ /(Ce 3+ +Ce 4+ ) and O α /(O α +O β ) molar ratios on catalyst surface. These all are advantageous to the NH 3 -SCR activity. However, UCN shows better promotional effect than MCN and TCN. This might be mainly attributed to the loose and porous stacked layered fold structure of UCN, the larger BET surface area, higher dispersion of Ce/W/Ti species and moderate weak/medium-strong acid sites of CWT@UCN(2)-300-N 2 . At the same time, the influence of carbon nitride amount, calcination atmosphere and calcination temperature on the NH 3 -SCR activity of CWT@g-C 3 N 4 catalyst were also investigated.

In this study, the porous graphite phase carbon nitride photocatalyst (P-g-C 3 N 4 ) is prepared by the CaCO 3 template method, and then P-g-C 3 N 4 /T-polyethylene terephthalate (T-PET) catalytic fibre is prepared by the padding method. P-g-C 3 N 4 can provide more active sites than g-C 3 N 4 as proved by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and the UV-Visible diffuse reflectance test. P-g-C 3 N 4 powder catalyst successfully supports PET fibre as proved by scanning electron microscope, Fourier infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance of P-g-C 3 N 4 /T-PET catalytic fibre is tested by constructing a single hexavalent chromium or hexavalent chromium/organic pollutant binary pollution system. The potential application value of P-g-C 3 N 4 /T-PET catalytic fibre is further explored by simulating the complex actual water environment. After five recycles, P-g-C 3 N 4 /T-PET catalytic fibre shows good catalytic performance. The mechanism of P-g-C 3 N 4 /PET photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants is proposed through the capture agent experiment and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Among them, •O 2 - is the most important active species of P-g-C 3 N 4 catalytic fibre, which is used for the oxidation of organic pollutants. At the same time, photoelectrons generated by the catalytic fibre are used to reduce hexavalent chromium. The efficiency of P-g-C 3 N 4 to remove pollutants is improved by using PET fibre as a carrier, which not only solves the problem of difficult recovery of powder catalysts but also provides more active sites.

Chlorothalonil (CTN) is a popular fungicide widely used in the world. However, its determination in serum samples is highly challenging, preventing a reliable investigation of human CTN internal exposure. We first investigated CTN's behaviour all along this analytical process on spiked serum samples. We used a radiolabelled 14 C-CTN standard to monitor CTN in spiked serum samples and observed (1) a complete degradation of CTN in deproteinised serum samples after 4 h of contact; (2) a strong interaction between serum proteins and CTN by-products, with only 20 % of the radioactivity found to be extractable after 24 h of contact and (3) a slightly improved stability of CTN in serum following a first step of acidification or EDTA addition to samples. Using liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry, 4-hydroxy-2,5,6-trichloroisophthalonitrile (HCTN) was identified as the major serum by-product of CTN. A protocol was developed to monitor both extractable CTN and HCTN from serum. This method was implemented on 36 human adult serum samples from the French "Esteban" Cohort. No free CTN was identified in these serum samples. Conversely, HCTN was detected in all samples at concentrations around 15 ± 2 ng mL -1 , corresponding to the extractable fraction of CTN. Thus, HCTN may constitute a relevant biomarker of human internal exposure. Of note, the potential CTN contamination during blood collection could also be a source of HCTN detection in serum samples. Finally, blood sampling in EDTA tubes would seem more appropriate than in dry tubes for any future internal exposure studies on CTN., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

For the efficient degradation of organic pollutants with the goal of reducing the water environment pollution, we employed an alkaline hydrothermal treatment on primeval g-C 3 N 4 to synthesize a hydroxyl-grafted g-C 3 N 4 (CN-0.5) material, from which we engineered a novel Fenton-like catalyst, known as Cu-CN-0.5. The introduction of numerous hydroxyl functional groups allowed the CN-0.5 substrate to stably fix active copper oxide particles through surface complexation, resulting in a low Cu leaching rate during a Cu-CN-0.5 Fenton-like process. A sequence of characterization techniques and theoretical calculations uncovered that interfacial complexation induced charge redistribution on the Cu-CN-0.5 surface. Specifically, some of the π electrons in the tris-s-triazine units were transferred to the copper oxide particles along the newly formed chemical bonds (C (π) -O-Cu), forming a π-deficient area on the tris-s-triazine plane near the complexation site. In a typical Cu-CN-0.5 Fenton-like process, a stable π-π interaction was established due to the favorable positive-negative match of electrostatic potential between the aromatic pollutants and π-deficient areas, leading to a significant improvement in Cu-CN-0.5's adsorption capacity for aromatic pollutants. Furthermore, pollutants also delivered electrons to the Cu-CN-0.5 Fenton-like system via a "through-space" approach, which suppressed the futile oxidation of H 2 O 2 in reducing the high-valent Cu 2+ and significantly improved the generation efficiency of • OH with high oxidative capacity. As expected, Cu-CN-0.5 not only exhibited an efficient Fenton degradation for several typical aromatic organic pollutants, but also demonstrated both a low metal leaching rate (0.12 mg/L) and a H 2 O 2 utilization rate exceeding 80%. The distinctive Fenton degradation mechanism substantiated the potential of the as-prepared material for effective wastewater treatment applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

A rational design of heterojunctions with high-quality contacts is essential for efficiently separating photogenerated charge carries and boosting the solar-driven harvesting capability. Herein, we fabricated a novel heterojunction of SnO 2 quantum dots-anchored CdS-CdCO 3 with g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets as a superior photocatalyst. SnO 2 quantum dots (SQDs) with positively charged surfaces were tightly anchored on the negatively charged surface of CdS nanosheets (NSs). The resulting CdS@SnO 2 was finally decorated with g-C 3 N 4 NSs, and a new crystalline phase of CdS-CdCO 3 was formed during the hydrothermal decoration process, g-C 3 N 4 decorated CdS-CdCO 3 @SnO 2 (CdS-CdCO 3 @SnO 2 @g-C 3 N 4 ). The as-synthesized photocatalysts were evaluated for the degradation of methyl orange dye under solar light conditions. The CdS-CdCO 3 @SnO 2 @g-C 3 N 4 exhibited 7.7-fold and 2.3-fold enhancements in photocatalytic activities in comparison to those of the bare CdS and CdS@SnO 2 NSs, respectively. The optimal performance of CdS-CdCO 3 @SnO 2 @g-C 3 N 4 is primarily attributed to the cascade-type conduction band alignments between 2D/0D/2D heterojunctions, which can harvest maximum solar light and effectively separate photoexcited charge carriers. This work provides a new inspiration for the rational design of 2D/0D/2D heterojunction photocatalyst for green energy generation and environmental remediation applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)