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Highly transparent energy storage devices have attracted attention owing to their applications in innovative electronics and displays. However, it is still challenging to fabricate devices with high optical transmittance (Tvis) and areal capacitance (CA) simultaneously, and the capacitance of an electrode with Tvis exceeding 95% has not been reported yet. Here we demonstrate a simple process for fabricating ruthenium oxide (RuO2) nanoparticle (NP)-based ultrathin film electrodes with a Tvis of 97.1% and CA of 0.85 mF cm−2. This high transparency and capacitance are achieved by the deposition of organic ligand-decorated, small (∼2 nm) RuO2 NPs followed by subsequent removal of the ligands. The optical transparency of the electrode can easily be controlled by changing the concentration of the RuO2 NP solution. Efficient contact with the electrolyte and metallic conductivity of the uniformly spread RuO2 NPs result in a significantly high capacitance retention of 81.2% at a scan rate of 1000 mV s−1, the highest reported value. The cycle stability is also considerably improved, and 93.5% of capacitance is retained after 5000 charge–discharge cycles. Furthermore, the monodisperse RuO2 NPs can be uniformly and thinly deposited using a simple spray-coating technique, indicating their applicability to large-area transparent devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensionally (2D) arrayed hemispherical nanostructures of TiO 2 thin films were successfully fabricated using a simple procedure of spin-coating or dip-coating TiO 2 nanoparticles onto 2D close-packed polystyrene (PS) nanospheres, followed by PS extraction. The nanostructured TiO 2 film was then used as an n-type layer in a lead sulfide (PbS) colloidal quantum dot solar cell. The TiO 2 nanostructure could provide significantly increased contacts with subsequently deposited PbS quantum dot layer. In addition, the periodically arrayed nanostructure could enhance optical absorption of the cell by redirecting the path of the incident light and increasing the path length passing though the active layer. As a result, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) reached 5.13%, which is approximately a 1.7-fold increase over that of the control cell without nanostructuring, 3.02%. This PCE enhancement can mainly be attributed to the increase of the short-circuit current density from 19.6 mA/cm 2 to 30.6 mA/cm 2 , whereas the open-circuit voltage and fill factor values did not vary significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supercapacitiveproperties of ruthenium oxide (RuO2)nanoparticles electrodeposited onto the indium tin oxide (ITO) nanopillarswere investigated. Compared to conventional planar current collectors,this coaxially nanostructured current collector–electrode systemcan provide increased contact for efficient charge transport, andthe internanopillar spacing allows easy access of electrolyte ions.The morphological and electrochemical properties depended on the thicknessof the RuO2layers, i.e., the number of electrodepositioncycles. A maximum specific capacitance, Csp, of 1235 F/g at a scan rate of 50 mV/s was achieved for the 30-cycledeposited RuO2–ITO nanopillars. The other capacitiveproperties such as electrochemical reversibility and Cspretention at high scan rates also improved greatly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delta-like-ligand 4 (DLL4) is a promising target to augment the effects of VEGF inhibitors. A simultaneous blockade of VEGF/VEGFR and DLL4/Notch signaling pathways leads to more potent anti-cancer effects by synergistic anti-angiogenic mechanisms in xenograft models. A bispecific antibody targeting VEGF and DLL4 (ABL001/NOV1501/TR009) demonstrates more potent in vitro and in vivo biological activity compared to VEGF or DLL4 targeting monoclonal antibodies alone and is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 clinical study of heavy chemotherapy or targeted therapy pre-treated cancer patients (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03292783). However, the effects of a combination of ABL001 and chemotherapy on tumor vessels and tumors are not known. Hence, the effects of ABL001, with or without paclitaxel and irinotecan were evaluated in human gastric or colon cancer xenograft models. The combination treatment synergistically inhibited tumor progression compared to each monotherapy. More tumor vessel regression and apoptotic tumor cell induction were observed in tumors treated with the combination therapy, which might be due to tumor vessel normalization. Overall, these findings suggest that the combination therapy of ABL001 with paclitaxel or irinotecan would be a better clinical strategy for the treatment of cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gene therapy using a protein-based CRISPR system in the brain has practical limitations due to current delivery systems, especially in the presence of arterial occlusion. To overcome these obstacles and improve stability, we designed a system for intranasal administration of gene therapy for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Methods: Nanoparticles containing the protein-based CRISPR/dCas9 system targeting Sirt1 were delivered intranasally to the brain in a mouse model of ischemic stroke. The CRISPR/dCas9 system was encapsulated with calcium phosphate (CaP) nanoparticles to prevent them from being degraded. They were then conjugated with β-hydroxybutyrates (bHb) to target monocarboxylic acid transporter 1 (MCT1) in nasal epithelial cells to facilitate their transfer into the brain. Results: Human nasal epithelial cells were shown to uptake and transfer nanoparticles to human brain endothelial cells with high efficiency in vitro . The intranasal administration of the dCas9/CaP/PEI-PEG-bHb nanoparticles in mice effectively upregulated the target gene, Sirt1 , in the brain, decreased cerebral edema and increased survival after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Additionally, we observed no significant in vivo toxicity associated with intranasal administration of the nanoparticles, highlighting the safety of this approach. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the proposed protein-based CRISPR-dCas9 system targeting neuroprotective genes in general, and SIRT1 in particular, can be a potential novel therapy for acute ischemic stroke., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

The supercapacitive properties of manganese oxide (MnO 2 ) thin films electrodeposited on three-dimensionally (3D) aligned inverse-opal nickel nanostructures are investigated. Compared to conventional planar or two-dimensionally (2D) aligned nanostructures, 3D-aligned nanostructures can provide considerably increased and controllable contacts between the electrode and electrolyte. As a result, saturation of the areal capacitance with the electrode thickness and associated decrease of the specific capacitance, C sp , become much slower than those of the planar and 2D-aligned electrode systems. While, for planar MnO 2 electrodes, the C sp of a 60-cycle electrodeposited electrode is only the half of the 10-cycle electrodeposited one, the value of the 3D-nanostructured electrode remains unchanged under the same condition. The maximum C sp value of 864 F g -1 , and C sp retention of 87.7% after 5000 cycles of galvanostatic charge-discharge are obtained. The voltammetric response is also improved significantly and the C sp measured at 200 mV s -1 retains 71.7% of the value measured at 10 mV s -1 . More quantitative analysis on the effect of this 3D-aligned nanostructuring is also performed using a deconvolution of the capacitive elements in the total capacitance of the electrodes.

A major limitation of polyaniline (PANi) electrodes for supercapacitors is the slow rate of ion transport during redox reactions and the resultant easy saturation of areal capacitance with film thickness. In this study, three-dimensionally (3D)-arrayed PANi nanospheres with highly roughened surface nanomorphology were fabricated to overcome this limitation. A hierarchical nanostructure was obtained by polymerizing aniline monomers on a template of 3D-arrayed polystyrene (PS) nanospheres and appropriate oxidative acid doping. The structure provided dramatically increased surface area and porosity that led to the efficient diffusion of ions. Thus, the specific capacitance (C sp ) reached 1570 F g -1 , thereby approaching a theoretical capacitance of PANi. In addition, the retention at a high scan rate of 100 mV s -1 was 77.6% of the C sp at a scan rate of 10 mV s -1 . Furthermore, 3D-arrayed hollow PANi (H-PANi) nanospheres could be obtained by dissolving the inner PS part of the PS/PANi core/shell nanospheres with tetrahydrofuran. The ruthenium oxide (RuO 2 ) nanoparticles (NPs) were also encaged in the H-PANi nanospheres by embedding RuO 2 NPs on the PS nanospheres prior to polymerization of PANi. The combination of the two active electrode materials indicated synergetic effects. The areal capacitance of the RuO 2 -encaged PANi electrode was significantly larger than that of the RuO 2 -free PANi electrode and could be controlled by varying the amount of encaged RuO 2 nanoparticles. The encagement could also solve the problem of detachment of RuO 2 electrodes from the current collector. The effects of the nanostructuring and RuO 2 encagement were also quantitatively analyzed by deconvoluting the total capacitance into the surface capacitive and insertion elements.