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Psychologists are interested in how humans process faces of their own-race and Other-races, and there are plenty of previous research on this topic. This paper will summarize previous paper about Other-race Effect (ORE), and how do ORE develop racial bias in children. Researchers used Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess implicit racial bias and found that implicit racial bias are different in different cultures and counties.

BODIPY dyes have recently been used for photothermal and photodynamic therapy of tumors. However, complex multi-material systems, multiple excitation wavelengths and the unclear relationship between BODIPY structures and their PTT/PDT efficiency are still major issues. In our study, nine novel BODIPY near-infrared dyes were designed and successfully synthesized and then, the relationships between BODIPY structures and their PTT/PDT efficiency were investigated in detail. The results showed that modifications at position 3,5 of the BODIPY core with conjugated structures have better effects on photothermal and photodynamic efficiency than the modifications at position 2,6 with halogen atoms. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that this is mainly due to the extension of the conjugated chain and the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) effect. By encapsulating BDPX-M with amphiphilic DSPE-PEG2000-RGD and lecithin, the obtained NPs not only show good water solubility and biological stability, but also could act as superior agents for photothermal and photodynamic synergistic therapy of tumors. Finally, we obtained BODIPY NPs that exhibited excellent photothermal and photodynamic effects at the same time under single irradiation with an 808 nm laser (photothermal conversion efficiency: 42.76%, A/A0: ∼0.05). In conclusion, this work provides a direction to design and construct phototherapeutic nanoparticles based on BODIPY dyes for tumor treatment.

Graphdiyne (GDY) is a new 2D carbon material different from graphene, and its ideal drug carrying and photothermal therapy efficacy had been noticed recently. Graphdiyne-oxide (GDYO), which few phototherapy researches had been reported, has more oxygen functional groups than GDY. Metal-organic framework materials Fe3O4@UiO-66-NH2 (FU) can covalently connect to GDYO layers and obtain covalent-organic framework-like structures FUGYO. FU enlarged interlamellar space of GDYO, which avoided the aggregation of FUGYO multiple layers. At the same time, more acetylenic bonds and hydrophilic group were exposed, which brings out advantages like stability, hydrophily, high drug-loading, as well as magnetic targeting and better magnetic resonance imaging efficacy. To promote cancer treatment effect and water solubility, we loaded chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (DOX) in FUGYO, then encapsulated FUGYO/DOX in phosphatidylcholine and fluorescent organic polymer BODIPY-PEG (BP) to integrate image-guided and synergistic therapy in one nanoparticle (BPFG/DOX). Due to the unique structure of BPFG/DOX, the π–π interaction between GDYO and BP improved photodynamic therapy efficiency. About 10 μg ml−1 BPFG/DOX have nearly 90% cell lethality to MCF-7 (human breast cancer cell line) cells with laser irradiation. In vivo, BPFG/DOX possessed ideal magnetic targeting and effectively inhibited tumor growth in 6 d. In conclusion, BPFG/DOX not only acts as an excellent tumor theranostic agent but also provides a scheme for applying GDYO in the biomedical region.

The practical application of silica-based composites as an alternative to commercial graphite anode materials is hampered by their large volumetric expansion, poor conductivity, and low Coulombic efficiency. In this work, a novel silica/oxidized mesocarbon microbead/amorphous carbon (SiO2/O’MCMB/C) hierarchical structure in which SiO2 is sandwiched between spherical graphite and amorphous carbon shell was successfully fabricated through hydrogen bonding-assisted self-assembly and post-carbon coating method. The obtained three-layer hierarchical structure effectively accommodates the volumetric expansion of SiO2 and significantly enhances the electronic conductivity of composite materials. Moreover, the outer layer of amorphous carbon effectively increases the diffusion rate of lithium ions and promotes the formation of stable SEI film. As a result, the SiO2/O’MCMB/C composite exhibits superior electrochemical performance with a reversible capacity of 459.5 mA h/g in the first cycle, and the corresponding Coulombic efficiency is 62.8%. After 300 cycles, the capacity climbs to around 600 mA h/g. This synthetic route provides an efficient method for preparing SiO2 supported on graphite with excellent electrochemical performance, which is likely to promote its commercial applications.

Multimodal therapies have been regarded as promising strategies for cancer treatment as compared to conventional drug delivery systems that have various drawbacks in either low loading content, uncontrolled release, non-targeting or biotoxicity. We have developed a multifunctional three-dimensional tumor-targeting drug delivery system, Fe3O4@UIO-66-NH2/graphdiyne (FUGY), based on the hybridization of a novel two-dimensional material, graphdiyne (GDY), with a metal organic framework (MOFs) structure, Fe3O4@UIO-66-NH2 (FU). The FU MOF structure has superior ability for magnetic targeting, and was constructed by an in situ growth method in which it was surface-installed with GDY via amide bonds, as a carrier of anticancer drugs. The anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded onto FUGY and served as both an anticancer drug to treat the tumor and a fluorescence probe to ascertain the location of FUGY. The results show that FUGY exhibits a high drug loading content of 43.8% and an effective drug release around the tumor cells at pH 5.0. In particular, fluorescence imaging demonstrates that FUGY can deliver more anticancer drugs to tumor tissue than conventional drug delivery systems. Furthermore, FUGY exhibits superior therapeutic efficiencies with negligible side effects as compared to the direct administration of free DOX, both in vitro and in vivo. The obtained FUGY drug delivery system possesses ideal biocompatibility, sustained drug release, effective chemotherapeutic efficacy, and specific targeting abilities. Such a multimodal therapeutic system can facilitate new possibilities for multifunctional drug delivery systems.

Targeted synergistic therapy has broad prospects in tumor treatments. Here, a multi-functional nanodrug GDYO-CDDP/DOX@DSPE-PEG-MTX (GCDM) based on three traditional anticancer drugs (doxorubicin (DOX), cisplatin (CDDP) and methotrexate (MTX)) modified graphdiyne oxide (GDYO) is described, for diagnosis and targeted cancer photo-chemo synergetic therapy. In this system, for the first time, these three traditional anti-cancer drugs have played new roles and can reduce multidrug resistance through synergistic anti-tumor effects. Cisplatin can be hybridized with GDYO to form a multifunctional and well-dispersed three-dimensional framework, which can not only be used as nano-drug carriers to achieve high drug loading rates (40.3%), but also exhibit excellent photothermal conversion efficiency (47%) and good photodynamic effects under NIR irradiation. Doxorubicin (DOX) is loaded onto GDYO-CDDP through π-π stacking, which is used as an anticancer drug and as a fluorescent probe for nanodrug detection. Methotrexate (MTX) can be applied in tumor targeting and play a role in synergistic chemotherapy with DOX and CDDP. The synthesized multi-functional nanodrug GCDM has good biocompatibility, active targeting, long-term retention, sustained drug release, excellent fluorescence imaging capabilities, and remarkable photo-chemo synergistic therapeutic effects.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has a successful track record in cancer. . Urea is a naturally occurring metabolite in the human body. Some studies have shown that it can inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells and cause oxidative stress. In order to explore the application of urea in enhancing the PDT effect, we synthesized a new photosensitizer (BODIPY-I-35) with good phototherapeutic effect and encapsulated it in liposomes. Compared with free BODIPY-I-35, water-soluble nanoliposomes (LipoBOD) produced a huge redshift ( 122 nm) of fluorescence emission in solution. When LipoBOD was irradiated with 808 nm laser (1 W/cm

A novel fluorescent probe was constructed by the self-assembly of monosubstituted BODIPY and a novel targeted hydrophobin named hereafter as HFBI-RGD. Optical measurements and theoretical calculations confirmed that the spectral properties of the probe were greatly influenced by the BODIPY structure, the appropriate volume of BODIPY and the cavity of HFBI-RGD. The experiments in vivo and ex vivo demonstrated that the probe had excellent ability for tumor labelling.

Fluorescent probes have been demonstrated to be promising candidates as biomarkers and biological carriers. Our study focuses on the development of a novel amphiphilic fluorescent probe with good photostability, high water solubility, excellent specificity and promising loading capability for tumor diagnosis and treatment. At first, BODIPY dye and O-carboxymethyl chitosan were prepared via a chemical reaction. Then, the prepared BODIPY dye and cRGD were bonded to O-carboxymethyl chitosan successively via an acylation reaction. Finally, we obtained the desired amphiphilic fluorescent probe: BODIPY–O-CMC–cRGD, which was based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) principle for selective visualization of tumors in vitro. Through a series of experiments, we found that this fluorescent probe possessed better fluorescence characteristics and tumor targeting properties. Simultaneously, by self-assembly, the amphiphilic probe encapsulated the other flexible structure of BODIPY2 and the rigid structure of porphyrin, which formed distinct nanoparticles with different particle sizes. Hence, we could observe different phagocytosis processes of the two nanoparticles in the tumor cells via the fluorescence of dyes by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Therefore, the results suggest that the fluorescent probe has advantages in tumor detection, and the constructed tumor-specific nanoparticles show high clinical potential to be utilized not only in visual and precise diagnosis but also in excellent drug delivery for tumor treatment. Henceforth, we will prepare new targeted and visualized pharmaceuticals by replacing BODIPY2 and porphyrin with antineoplastic drugs for future tumor treatment.

Several different quantities of Ce/TiO2 materials were synthesized in the same condition by a wet method. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated by using porous Ce/TiO2 film electrodes derived from P25 nanoparticles. Various techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscope and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller are used to characterize the products. The short-circuit current density and photo-electric conversion efficiency reach optimum values: 13.87 mA cm−2 and 7.00% respectively when the amount of Ce(NO3)3·6H2O is 0.050 g/1 g P25, which may be attributed to better transportation of electrons and more adsorption of dyes and sunlight.

Low water solubility and poor selectivity are two fundamental limitations that compromise applications of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes. Methods: Here, a simple strategy that can resolve these problems simultaneously was developed by using a novel hybrid protein named RGD-HFBI that is produced by fusion of hydrophobin HFBI and arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide. This unique hybrid protein inherits self-assembly and targeting functions from HFBI and RGD peptide respectively. Results: Boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) used as a model NIR dye can be efficiently dispersed in the RGD-HFBI solution by simple mixing and sonication for 30 min. The data shows that self-assembled RGD-HFBI forms a protein nanocage by using the BODIPY as the assembly template. Cell uptake assay proves that RGD-HFBI/BODIPY can efficiently stain αvβ3 integrin-positive cancer cells. Finally, in vivo affinity tests fully demonstrate that the soluble RGD-HFBI/BODIPY complex selectively targets and labels tumor sites of tumor-bearing mice due to the high selectivity of the RGD peptide. Conclusion: Our one-step strategy using dual-functional RGD-HFBI opens a novel route to generate soluble and targeted NIR fluorescent dyes in a very simple and efficient way and may be developed as a general strategy to broaden their applications.

Cyanine dyes are widely used in the field of tumor phototherapy due to their excellent photophysical properties. To explore the heavy atoms effects on the photothermal and photodynamic performance of phototherapeutic agents, chlorine, bromine, and iodine were introduced to synthesize a series of cyanine dyes (IR6, IR7, and IR8). We have found that all halogenated cyanine dyes exhibited high excitation wavelength (around 800 nm) and low dark toxicity. Among them, IR8 behaved the best singlet oxygen production ability in the three dyes. For photothermal performance, IR8 exhibited the best photothermal conversion rate (46.6%), photothermal stability, and excellent therapy efficiency (half-maximal inhibitory concentration, IC50 = 16.2 μg/mL). IR7 behaved a greater enhancement of the photothermal conversion rate (43.4%) than IR6 (42.3%). In conclusion, the heavy atoms effects on the photothermal and photodynamic properties of cyanine dyes are positively correlated with the increase of the atomic number of the halogen atom, and the iodine atom may be the most worthy of consideration in the all halogen atoms.

The combination of chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy has been proved to be a promising therapy for drug-resistant cancers. In this study, we report, for the first time, a novel two-fold interpenetration pillar-layered metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) material, using BODIPY-derivate bipyridine as linker and Photosensitizer (PS), named BBP-MOFs, was successfully synthesized to serve as a drug carrier and Photodynamic agent simultaneously. The BBP-MOFs could generate singlet oxygen (1O2) to perform PDT under 660 nm light irradiation, in the meantime, the anticancer drugs doxorubicin (DOX) could be loaded for chemotherapy. The results showed that BBP-MOFs exhibited a high drug loading content of 49.7% a controlled drug release and ideal biocompatibility. This DOX loaded BBP-MOFs was readily taken up by HeLa cells, and high levels of 1O2 were generated under light irradiation. This work provided strong evidence for BBP-MOFs as a promising new anticancer drug carrier and PDT candidate, the PDT and chemotherapy combined synergistic therapy revealed high therapeutic efficacy for cancer cells.

Three-dimensional TiO2 microspheres doped with N were synthesized by a simple single-step solvothermal method and the sample treated for 15 h (hereafter called TMF) was then used as scattering layers in the photoanodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The TMF was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The TMF had a high surface area of 93.2 m2∙g–1 which was beneficial for more dye-loading. Five photoanode films with different internal structures were fabricated by printing different numbers of TMF scattering layers on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass. UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra, incident photon-to-current efficiencies, photocurrent-voltage curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to investigate the optical and electrochemical properties of these photoanodes in DSSCs. The presence of nitrogen in the TMF changed the TMF microstructure, which led to a higher open circuit voltage and a longer electron lifetime. In addition, the presence of the nitrogen significantly improved the light utilization and photocurrent. The highest photoelectric conversion efficiency achieved was 8.08%, which is much higher than that derived from typical P25 nanoparticles (6.52%).

A porphyrin modified by glycine has been synthesized and developed as a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence probe to detect tumor. Porphyrins’ longwavelength emission at ∼650 nm can efficiently avoid the spectral crosstalk with Spontaneous fluorescence in the visible light region. A disulfide-based cyclic RGD peptide named iRGD c (CRGDKGPDC), a tumor homing peptide, harbors a cryptic C-end Rule (CendR) motif that is responsible for neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) binding and for triggering extravasation and tumor penetration of the peptide to improve the imaging sensitivity and therapeutic efficacy. We used N − hydroxy succinimide as an activator to introduce the glycine methyl ester to detect tumor. We got a porphyrin modified by glycine. The affinity between probe and tumor cell entered GLC-82 cells (human glandular lung cancer cell line) can be observed by Confocal Microscope. The toxicity of probe has been identified by MTT Assay. The summary has been gotten that the porphyrins were nontoxic to GLC-82 cells and glycine modified porphyrin has a good affinity with GLC-82 cells under the iRGD function by our experiment.

The performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) consisting of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles that were synthesized via a hydrothermal method was studied. The synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen sorption analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and UV–vis spectroscopy. Then the J-V curve, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) measurement were applied to evaluate the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs. Compared with the commercial TiO2 nanoparticles (P25), the synthesized-TiO2 nanoparticles showed better performance. By adding diethylene glycol (DEG) before the hydrothermal process, the synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles (hereafter referred to as TiO2-DEG particles) shows narrower size distribution, larger specific surface area, higher crystallinity, and less surface defects than TiO2 (DEG free) particles. The analysis of photovoltaic properties of DSSCs based on TiO2-DEG particles showed that the recombination of electron-hole pairs was decreased and the trapping of carries in grain boundaries restrained. It was believed that the photoelectrode fabricated with the as-prepared TiO2 nanoparticles improved the loading amount of dye sensitizers (N719), and enhanced the photocurrent of the DSSCs. As a result, the TiO2-DEG particle based cells achieved a photo-to-electricity conversion efficiency (η) of 7.90%, which is higher than 7.53% for the cell based on TiO2 (DEG free) and 6.59% for the one fabricated with P25.

Herein, a simple one-step immersion plating method is firstly used to prepare Cu6Sn5/Sn composite film electrode for lithium ion battery and thiourea (TU) is used as potential adjustment agent in the deposition process. The films with different morphologies are obtained by changing the content of tin(II) chloride (SnCl2). After a series of physical and electrochemical characterizations, the results demonstrate that the content of SnCl2 in the plating solution plays an important role in determining the morphology and component of film electrode. In the condition of SnCl2 6.5 g L−1, film electrode obtains both void space to accommodate volume expansion and stable structure which could inhibit abscission of active material from current collector. Therefore, the film electrode has an excellent areal capacity of 0.84 mA h cm−2 after 70 cycles. In comparison with reported Sn–Cu alloy planar film electrodes for lithium ion battery in recent decade, the film electrode in this work exhibits a higher areal capacity.

A novel polymer gel electrolyte was used to improve the performance and long-term stability in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The polymer gel electrolyte (PGE) was prepared by mixing 5 wt% poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and 2 % TiO2 nanoparticles. The conductivity of PGE with P25 reached 9.98 × 10−3 S/cm, which increased by 34.9 % compared with 7.40 × 10−3 S/cm of PGE without P25, and the diffusion coefficient was also increased by 19.0 %. Different photoelectrodes were obtained by using three kinds of surfactants (cetylamine, octadecylamine, and P123) as pore-forming materials, and their morphologies were contrasted through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that gel electrolyte can increase the short-circuit current density (J sc) from 11.01 to 12.99 mA/cm2 in DSSCs. Moreover, unlike the liquid electrolyte, the gel electrolyte is more conducive to the TiO2 photoelectrodes with larger pores. In conclusion, the efficiency of DSSC with gel electrolyte and P123 as pore-forming material was 6.73 %, which was 12 % higher than the liquid electrolyte in the same test condition. In addition, the sealed gel electrolyte DSSCs showed better stability than did liquid electrolyte DSSCs during nearly 600 h.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) composite gel electrolytes containing variable amounts of modified kaolin were studied in this work. The kaolin was modified with silane coupling agent γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550), and the modified kaolin (M-KL) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that the crystallinity of polymer membranes decreased with the addition of M-KL nanoparticles. The ionic conductivity and diffusion coefficient (I3−) of polymer gel electrolytes (PGEs) reached optimum values of 9.452 × 10−3 S cm−1 and 10.37 × 10−6 cm2 s−1 for 3 wt% M-KL, respectively, which contributed to higher short-circuit current density (Jsc) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) of the corresponding DSSCs. The optimum level of η reached 7.48% under the illumination of 100 mW cm−2, an increase of 16.3% compared with the DSSC without M-KL.

Several mesoporous TiO2 (MT) materials were synthesized under different conditions following a hydrothermal procedure using poly(ethylene-glycol)-block-poly(propylene-glycol)-block-poly(ethylene-glycol) (P123) as the template and titanium isopropoxide as the titanium source. The molar ratios of Ti/P123, and the pH values of the reaction solution in an autoclave were investigated. Various techniques such as Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), laser Raman spectrometry (LRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were used to characterize the products. Then, these materials were assembled into dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Analysis of the J–V curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were applied to characterize the cells. The results indicated that the specific surface area and crystalline structure of these materials provide the possibility of high photocurrent for the cells, and that the structural characteristics of the specimens led to increased electron transfer resistance of the cells, which was beneficial for the improvement of the photovoltage of the DSSCs. The highest photoelectric conversion efficiency of the cells involving MT materials reached 8.33%, which, compared with that of P25-based solar cell (5.88%), increased by 41.7%.

Multifunctional chitosan-based nanoparticles were designed and synthesized by photosensitizer (PS) AZA-BODIPY grafting water-soluble chitosan as nanoshells and then loaded drug methotrexate (MTX) into the nanoshells, which generated chemotherapy, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT) and imaging into one system for synergistic therapy in vitro. The nanoshells in this designed nanostructure can serve as drug carriers to increase solubility, reduce toxicity and enhance the efficacy of synergistic PTT and PDT. Cell-viability indicated the low toxicity and safety of chitosan-based AZA-BODIPY nanoshells as carrier materials and the low-drug dosage of chitosan-based nanoparticles (half-maximal inhibitory concentration, IC50 = 34.5 μg/mL) is lower than that of pure drug MTX (IC50 = 56.9 μg/mL). Under light irradiation, photothermal temperature and MTT studies show that nanoparticles produce reactive oxygen species and exhibit photothermal conversion efficiency (38.3%). Thus, this study provides a multifunctional nanoparticle with chemotherapy, photothermal, photodynamic and imaging, synergistic therapy and diagnose for cancer treatment.

Phototheranostic agents are capable of both therapeutic and diagnostic potential, making them a promising strategy for cancer therapy. BODIPY is an outstanding photosensitizer for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). Here we engineered a BODIPY-based phototheranostic nanoparticle with photo-chemo synergistic property and the nanoparticle MMC-Graphene@BODIPY-mPEG (MGBP) possesses excellent ROS production ability, high photothermal conversion efficiency (48%), and excellent therapy efficiency (HeLa cell viability was down to 17% after treatment) in vitro. Furthermore, because of its high fluorescence and anti-photobleaching ability of BODIPY and photothermal conversion ability of Graphene, MGBP showed superior fluorescence and photothermal imaging ability in the agar model. In summary, MGBP possessed the excellent potential for tumour tissue imaging-guided photo-chemo synergistic therapy.

Fluorescent probes have been demonstrated to be promising candidates as biomarkers and biological carriers. Our study focuses on the development of a novel amphiphilic fluorescent probe with good photostability, high water solubility, excellent specificity and promising loading capability for tumor diagnosis and treatment. At first, BODIPY dye and

The utilization of silicon/carbon composites as anode materials to replace the commercial graphite is hampered by their tendency to huge volumetric expansion, costly raw materials, and complex synthesis processes in lithium-ion batteries. Herein, self-assembly method is successfully applied to prepare hierarchical silicon nanoparticles@oxidized mesocarbon microbeads/carbon (Si@O-MCMB/C) composites for the first time, in which O-MCMB core and low-cost sucrose-derived carbon shell not only effectively enhance the electrical conductivity of the anode, but also mediate the dramatic volume change of silicon during cycles. At the same time, the carbon can act as “adhesive”, which is crucial in enhancing the adhesive force between Si and O-MCMB in the composites. The as-obtained Si@O-MCMB/C delivers an initial reversible capacity of 560 mAh g–1 at 0.1 A g–1, an outstanding cyclic retention of 92.8% after 200 cycles, and respectable rate capability. Furthermore, the synthetic route presented here is efficient, le...

In this paper, we first investigated the optimal amount of ammonia to add, using ammonia as the single dopant for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Using this optimal amount of ammonia, urea was introduced as the second N dopant. The DSSCs produced by double-N doped samples combine the advantages of increased visible light absorption with ammonia as the nitrogen dopant and enlarged interface area with urea as the second nitrogen dopant. Not only was Voc increased, but Jsc was also enhanced. We observed that the double-N doped sample forms a new microstructure with more mesopores, which enhance the transfer of electrolyte. Because these mesopores are the combination core of generated electrons and holes, they need to be kept in delicate balance. When urea is brought in as the double-N dopant, the doped amount of N atoms was improved. As a result, η is increased to 7.58%, a 14% improvement compared with single-N doped TiO2.

The TiO2 photoelectrode containing pores of different sizes was fabricated by adding various amounts of polystyrene microspheres (188 nm) into the TiO2 paste, which was used as template agent during the sintering process. On the one hand, it was found that the photoelectrode with appropriate size of pores was beneficial for the enhancement of photovoltaic performance of the corresponding dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) via efficient utilization of incident light. On the other hand, the presence of large pores would also tend to reduce the amount of dye-uptake resulting in the decrease of cell performance. Furthermore, a multi-layered stacking architecture of TiO2 nanoporous film with pore size gradually increased from bottom FTO glass to the top of the film was developed and used as photoelectrode in DSSCs with N719 as the sensitizer. The photoelectric conversion efficiency of 7.80% was realized which is 17.6% higher than that obtained for DSSCs containing TiO2 nanoporous films with uniform size of pores. UV–vis spectra measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis were carried out for further studying the effect of the pore size and the stacking pattern on the photoelctronic and electrochemical properties of the resultant DSSCs.

Two sets of meso -tetraphenylzincporphyrins have been synthesized via Sonogashira coupling and Knoevenagel condensation. The photophysical and electrochemical measurements have been performed for each dye, and the photovoltaic properties of all porphyrin-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been evaluated. For different linkers on β position, meso-substituents show different affections for DSSCs' performances. The matching degree of the length of linker and the size of meso -substituent could be a key point in porphyrin structure that affect the cell performance of DSSC based on porphyrin sensitizers. The highest cell performance was achieved with IId as a sensitizer and ethanol as an immersing solvent: a short-circuit photocurrent density of 9.75 mA cm −2 , an open-circuit voltage of 0.71 V, a fill factor of 0.73, and a light to electricity conversion efficiency of 5.08% under the AM 1.5 sunlight.

Low water solubility and poor membrane permeability are major disadvantages that compromise applications of most fluorescent dyes. To resolve these problems, herein, using Boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) as a model fluorescent dye, for the first time, we provide a new strategy for the rapid and efficient production of a water-soluble and membrane-permeable dye by mixing with an amphiphilic protein named hydrophobin. Data shows BODIPY could be effectively solubilized and dispersed in 200 μg/mL hydrophobin by simple mixing and sonication. Subsequent experiments indicated that hydrophobin self-assembled into a protein film on the surface of BODIPY forming stable hydrophobin-BODIPY complexes with a size range of 10–30 nm. Furthermore, we demonstrated hydrophobin-functionalized BODIPY are toxicity free to cells. The hydrophobin-BODIPY complex could pass through both the cell plasma membrane and nuclear membrane efficiently. Our work opens a novel route to modify and functionalize fluorescent dyes and may be developed as a general strategy for broadening their applications.

The insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) serves as an attractive target for cancer molecular imaging and therapy. Previous single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) studies showed that the IGF-1R-targeting Affibody molecules (99m)Tc-ZIGF1R:4551-GGGC, [(99m)Tc(CO)3](+)-(HE)3-ZIGF1R:4551 and (111)In-DOTA-ZIGF1R:4551 can discriminate between high and low IGF-1R-expression tumors and have the potential for patient selection for IGF-1R-targeted therapy. Compared with SPECT, positron emission tomography (PET) may improve imaging of IGF-1R-expression, because of its high sensitivity, high spatial resolution, strong quantification ability. The aim of the present study was to develop the (64)Cu-labeled NOTA-conjugated Affibody molecule ZIGF-1R:4:40 as a PET probe for imaging of IGF-1R-positive tumor. An Affibody analogue (Ac-Cys-ZIGF-1R:4:40) binding to IGF-1R was site-specifically conjugated with NOTA and labeled with (64)Cu. Binding affinity and specificity of (64)Cu-NOTA-ZIGF-1R:4:40 to IGF-1R were evaluated using human glioblastoma U87MG cells. Small-animal PET, biodistribution, and metabolic stability studies were conducted on mice bearing U87MG xenografts after the injection of (64)Cu-NOTA-ZIGF-1R:4:40 with or without co-injection of unlabeled Affibody proteins. The radiosynthesis of (64)Cu-NOTA-ZIGF-1R:4:40 was completed successfully within 60 min with a decay-corrected yield of 75 %. (64)Cu-NOTA-ZIGF-1R:4:40 bound to IGF-1R with low nanomolar affinity (K D = 28.55 ± 3.95 nM) in U87MG cells. (64)Cu-NOTA-ZIGF-1R:4:40 also displayed excellent in vitro and in vivo stability. In vivo biodistribution and PET studies demonstrated targeting of U87MG gliomas xenografts was IGF-1R specific. The tumor uptake was 5.08 ± 1.07 %ID/g, and the tumor to muscle ratio was 11.89 ± 2.16 at 24 h after injection. Small animal PET imaging studies revealed that (64)Cu-NOTA-ZIGF-1R:4:40 could clearly identify U87MG tumors with good contrast at 1-24 h after injection. This study demonstrates that (64)Cu-NOTA-ZIGF-1R:4:40 is a promising PET probe for imaging IGF-1R positive tumor.

Development of reporter genes for multimodality molecular imaging is highly important. In contrast to the conventional strategies which have focused on fusing several reporter genes together to serve as multimodal reporters, human tyrosinase (TYR) – the key enzyme in melanin production – was evaluated in this study as a stand-alone reporter gene for in vitro and in vivo photoacoustic imaging (PAI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Human breast cancer cells MCF-7 transfected with a plasmid that encodes TYR (named as MCF-7-TYR) and non-transfected MCF-7 cells were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. Melanin targeted N-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl)-18F-5-fluoropicolinamide was used as a PET reporter probe. In vivo PAI/MRI/PET imaging studies showed that MCF-7-TYR tumors achieved significant higher signals and tumor-to-background contrasts than those of MCF-7 tumor. Our study demonstrates that TYR gene can be utilized as a multifunctional reporter gene for PAI/MRI/PET both in vitro and in vivo.