Search

LaFeO3/NiO modified g-C3N4 nanosheets (L-N/CNS) were synthesized by a two-step method. HRTEM results showed that an intimate contact between LaFeO3, NiO and N-CNS was successfully established. Ninety percent of phenol was degraded within 120 min, and the hydrogen evolution rate of 171.2 μ mol h − 1 g − 1 was obtained over the L-N/CNS heterojunctions under the visible-light irradiation. It was higher than that of g-C3N4 nanosheets, NiO modified g-C3N4 and LaFeO3/g-C3N4. The ⋅ O 2 − radicals acted the crucial role in the photocatalytic degradation reaction. EIS, PL and time-resolved fluorescence spectra demonstrated that L-N/CNS possessed the highest charge separation efficiency. The intimate contact between LaFeO3, NiO and g-C3N4 nanosheets promoted the separation and transfer of photo-induced electron–hole pairs and consequently prolonged the exciton lifetime, and implied more photo-induced electrons could be probably involved in the photocatalytic reactions on the surface of photocatalysts. Thus, the visible-light driven photocatalytic performances of L-N/CNS were effective. This work provided a feasible method to design and construct heterostructures for the exploitation of solar energy. In this study, LaFeO3/NiO modified porous g-C3N4 nanosheets were synthesized by a two-step method. HRTEM results showed that an intimate contact between LaFeO3, NiO and N-CNS was successfully established. A total of 90% of phenol was degraded within 120 min, and the hydrogen evolution rate of 171.2 μmol h–1 g–1 was obtained over the LaFeO3/NiO modified porous g-C3N4 nanosheets heterojunctions under the visible light irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria pose serious threats to public health due to the lack of effective and biocompatible drugs to kill MDR bacteria. Photodynamic antibacterial therapy has been widely studied due to its low induction of resistance. However, photosensitizers that can efficiently generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) through both type I and type II mechanisms and that have the capability of multiple modes of action are rarely reported. Addressing this issue, we developed a near-infrared-emitting triphenylamine indole iodoethane (TTII) and its silver(I) self-assembled (TTIIS) aggregation-induced emission (AIE) photosensitizer for multimode bacterial infection therapy. TTII can efficiently produce both Type I ROS • OH and Type II ROS 1 O 2 . Interestingly, the Ag(I)-π interaction contributed in TTIIS efficiency promotion of the generation of 1 O 2 . Moreover, by releasing Ag + , TTIIS enabled photodynamic-Ag(I) dual-mode sterilization. As a result, TTIIS achieved an effective enhancement of antibacterial activity, with a 1-2-fold boost against multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli (MDR E. coli ). Both TTII and TTIIS at a concentration as low as 0.55 μg mL -1 can kill more than 98% of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on MRSA-infected full-thickness defect wounds of a mouse, and both TTII and TTIIS were effective in eliminating the bacteria and promoting wound healing.

A facile hot injection approach to synthesize high-quality non-stoichiometric Zn x Ag y InS 1.5+x+0.5y nanocrystals (NCs) in the size range of 2.8-3.1 nm was presented. The fluorescence spectra had single band gap features, and indicated the formation of alloy states rather than simple composite structures. The chemical compositions, photoluminescence (PL) emission wavelengths, and quantum yields of Zn x Ag y InS 1.5+x+0.5y nanocrystals were significantly influenced by the concentration of an organic capping agent. The appropriate proportion of 1-dodecanthiol in the precursor prevented the precipitation, increased the fluorescence quantum yield, and improved their optical properties. The proper ratio of capping agent allowed Zn, Ag, and In to form a better crystallinity and compositional homogeneity of Zn x Ag y InS 1.5+x+0.5y nanocrystals. The photoluminescence was tunable from blue to red in the range of 450-700 nm as the Ag content changed independently. The PL and absorption spectra of Zn x Ag y InS 1.5+x+0.5y nanocrystals showed a significant blue shift with the decrease of Ag content in the precursor. As there were no obvious differences on the average particle sizes of Zn x Ag y InS 1.5+x+0.5y samples, these results fully revealed the composition-dependent photoluminescence properties of Zn x Ag y InS 1.5+x+0.5y nanocrystals. The relative quantum yield reached 35%. The fluorescence lifetimes (τ 1 =115-148 ns and τ 2 =455-483 ns) were analogous to those of AgInS 2 and (AgIn) x Zn 2(1-x) S 2 .

In this study, we aimed to investigate the influences of conditioned medium from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) on cancer stem cell phenotype of human hepatoma cells. HUVEC and human hepatoma cells (MHCC97H) were cultured, respectively, and then the MHCC97H cells were co-cultured with conditioned medium from HUVEC (EC-CM) with Transwell system. Anti-cancer drug sensitivity, colony-formation, migration/invasion ability, expression of cancer stem cell marker and sphere formation were performed to determine the cancer stem cell phenotype in MHCC97H cells. We found that MHCC97H cells co-cultured with EC-CM exhibited significantly higher colony-formation ability and lower sensitivity of anti-cancer drugs 5-FU and Cis. Transwell assay showed that treatment with EC-CM obviously increased migration and invasion of MHCC97H cells. Moreover, increased sphere forming capability and expression of CD133 in MHCC97H cells were observed after co-cultured with EC-CM. These results suggested that EC-CM could promote cancer stem cell phenotype of hepatoma cells.