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Fe3O4 Nanospheres with good dispersibility were synthesized by hydrothermal method, and mesoporous silica (MSN) was coated on their outer layer. Chitosan (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) were further modified to form highly dispersed nanospheres Fe3O4@SiO2@MSN@CS@HA. The structure, morphology, particle size, and dispersibility of several nanospheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The outer layer content, specific surface area, and pore size were measured using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and a specific surface area analyzer (BET). The performance of the Fenton reaction was measured using a UV visible spectroscopy analyzer and its reaction rate was calculated. The results indicate that nanospheres have good dispersibility and drug loading ability, and the divalent iron ions(Fe2+) they contain can further realize the potential of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) for tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential oils have become increasingly popular in fields of medical, food and agriculture, owing to their strongly antimicrobial, anti-inflammation and antioxidant effects, greatly meeting demand from consumers for healthy and safe natural products. However, the easy volatility and/or chemical instability of active ingredients of essential oils (EAIs) can result in the loss of activity before realizing their functions, which have greatly hindered the widely applications of EAIs. As an emerging trend, micro/mesoporous nanomaterials (MNs) have drawn great attention for encapsulation and controlled release of EAIs, owing to their tunable pore structural characteristics. In this review, we briefly discuss the recent advances of MNs that widely used in the controlled release of EAIs, including zeolites, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), mesoporous silica nanomaterials (MSNs), and provide a comprehensive summary focusing on the pore engineering strategies of MNs that affect their controlled-release or triggered-release for EAIs, including tailorable pore structure properties (e.g. , pore size, pore surface area, pore volume, pore geometry, and framework compositions) and surface properties (surface modification and surface functionalization). Finally, the variegated applications and potential challenges are also given for MNs based delivery strategies for EAIs in the fields of healthcare, food and agriculture. These will provide considerable instructions for the rational design of MNs for controlled release of EAIs. [Display omitted] • Recent advances in MNs for encapsulation and controlled release of EAIs. • Outlook in pore engineering strategies of MNs for controlled release of EAIs. • Perspectives and challenges in variegated applications of MNs for EAIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulk nanomaterials with an open porosity offer exciting prospects for creating new functional materials for various applications in photonics, IR-THz optics, metamaterials, heterogeneous photocatalysis, monitoring and cleaning toxic impurities in the environment. However, their availability is limited by the complexity of controlling the process of synthesis of bulk 3D nanostructures with desired physicochemical and functional properties. In this paper, we performed a detailed analysis of influence of a silica monolayer chemically deposited on the surface of a monolithic ultraporous nanostructure, consisting of a 3D nanofibril network of aluminum oxyhydroxide, on the evolution of structure and morphology, chemical composition and phase transformations after heat treatment in the temperature range of 20−1700 °C. The experimental results are interpreted in the framework of a physical model taking into account surface and volume mass transport and sintering kinetics of nanofibrils, which made it possible to estimate activation energies of the surface diffusion and sintering processes. It is shown that the presence of a surface silica monolayer on the surface affects the kinetics of aluminum oxyhydroxide dehydration and inhibits diffusion mass transfer and structural phase transformations. As a result, the overall evolution of the 3D nanostructure significantly differs from that of nanomaterials without surface chemical modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly textured mixed metal oxide nano systems consisting of TiO2, RuO2, and CuO (TiO2/RuO2/CuO) were developed through triblock copolymer and Pluronic P123 assisted sol–gel method followed by calcinations at relatively lower temperature from the corresponding inorganic precursors. The powder X-ray diffraction pattern connotes the formation of mixed TiO2 structure made up of anatase and rutile phases with reduced crystal symmetry when the compounds aggregate from TiO2/RuO2 to TiO2/RuO2/CuO phase. The X-ray Photoelectron spectra is conspicuously indicated growth of both tertiary and quaternary configuration of elements in the specimens. The Gaussian–Lorentzian Sum peaks obtained in O1s and Ru3d elemental scanning were deconvoluted for corresponding individual components raised due to multivalent state or mixed emissions. N2 sorption studies using BET analysis shows the specific surface area of TiO2/RuO2/CuO is 53 m2/g and the same for TiO2/RuO2 is 40 m2/g. The textural property asseverates both compounds exhibit type IV adsorption isotherms with hysteresis loop analogous to the features of mesoporous materials. The surface topography retrieved using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibit the formation of agglomerated nanostructures with average particle size of 21 and 35 nm respectively for mesoporous TiO2/RuO2 and TiO2/RuO2/CuO. The near band edge emissions are cumulative emissions from excited and de-excitation electron or due to the formulation of electron–hole pairs. These emissions are resolved and reported. Photoluminescence intensity of TiO2/RuO2 is significantly higher than TiO2/RuO2/CuO, this is mainly attributed to reduced recombination of photo-excited electron–hole pairs in TiO2/RuO2/CuO. Highlights: Single step sol–gel synthesis of phase pure TiO2 /RuO2 and TiO2 /RuO2 /CuO nanostructures. Development of binary and ternary nanostructures with reduced pore radius and enhanced surface area. Surface structure related photoluminescence analysis of binary and ternary compound systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell autophagy is a well-known phenomenon in cancer, which limits the efficacy of cancer therapy, especially cancer starvation therapy. Glucose oxidase (GOx), which is considered as an attractive starvation reagent for cancer therapy, can effectively catalyze the conversion of glucose into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the presence of O2. However, tumor cells adapt to survive by inducing autophagy, limiting the therapy effect. Therefore, anti-cell adaptation via autophagy inhibition could be used as a troubleshooting method to enhance tumor starvation therapy. Herein, we introduce an anti-cell adaptation strategy based on dendritic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (DMONs) loaded with GOx and 3-methyladenine (3-MA) (an autophagy inhibition agent) to yield DMON@GOx/3-MA. This formulation can inhibit cell adaptative autophagy after starvation therapy. Our in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that autophagy inhibition enhances the efficacy of starvation therapy, leading to tumor growth suppression. This anti-cell adaptation strategy will provide a new way to enhance the efficacy of starvation cancer therapy.

A heterogeneous nanocatalyst containing polyoxomolybdate immobilized on the internal surface of amino‐functionalized SBA‐15 pores was prepared and fully characterized by several analytical techniques. The textural property of supported material was found to retain important mesoporous features, compatible with its potential use as heterogeneous catalysts. The catalyst SBA‐15‐NH3+•{Mo36}–shows excellent catalytic activity for the epoxidation of alkenes as compared to POM, which is attributed to the large specific surface area and highly ordered pore structure of SBA‐15, allowing for easy access of reactants to the active sites and removal of products. The prepared catalyst has high recyclability performance without obvious loss of activity after six runs of epoxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose is a key energy supplier and nutrient for tumor growth. Herein, inspired by the glucose oxidase (GOx)-assisted conversion of glucose into gluconic acid and toxic H2O2, a novel treatment paradigm of starving-like therapy is developed for significant tumor-killing effects, more effective than conventional starving therapy by only cutting off the energy supply. Furthermore, the generated acidic H2O2 can oxidize l-Arginine ( l-Arg) into NO for enhanced gas therapy. By using hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticle (HMON) as a biocompatible/biodegradable nanocarrier for the co-delivery of GOx and l-Arg, a novel glucose-responsive nanomedicine ( l-Arg-HMON-GOx) has been for the first time constructed for synergistic cancer starving-like/gas therapy without the need of external excitation, which yields a remarkable H2O2-NO cooperative anticancer effect with minimal adverse effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous nanoscale catalyst was successfully synthesized via anchoring of oxoperoxo molybdenum(VI) complex on the chloro-functionalized SBA-15. The mesoporous nanomaterials, MoO 3 (sal-phz)/SBA-15 (where sal-phz is salicylidene 2-picoloyl hydrazine) were identified by several characterization techniques. MoO 3 (sal-phz)/SBA-15 and MoO 3 (sal-phz) were also treated as catalysts in the olefins epoxidation reactions. Both homogenous and heterogeneous catalysts exhibit outstanding activity and selectivity for epoxide with tert-BuOOH in decane as oxidant at 95 °C. In addition, the heterogeneous nanocatalyst was chemically stable and can be efficiently reused for at least six cycles without a significant loss in catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nb5+-doping strategy was adopted to enhance the photocatalytic efficiency of SrTiO 3 to overcome the limitation for its practical photocatalytic applications. Different amounts of Nb5+ doped SrTiO 3 (Nb-SrTiO 3) mesoporous nanospheres were synthesized via a convenient hydrothermal approach. The photocatalytic reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) using the Nb-SrTiO 3 products under xenon lamp irradiation was investigated. Results indicated that 3% Nb-SrTiO 3 was the optimum product, which exhibited a photocatalytic efficiency 3 times as much as that of SrTiO 3 and a fair reuse stability. Moreover, 3% Nb-SrTiO 3 also demonstrated higher photocatalytic efficiency than many other metal cations doped SrTiO 3 synthesized via the same process and a number of previously reported photocatalysts. The best photocatalytic activity of 3% Nb-SrTiO 3 was found to be predominantly due to its most efficient separation and transfer of photogenerated holes and electrons. This study suggests that Nb-SrTiO 3 is a potential efficient photocatalyst for the remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated water. [Display omitted] • Nb5+-doped SrTiO 3 mesoporous nanospheres were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. • 3% Nb-SrTiO 3 has far higher photocatalytic activity than SrTiO 3 in Cr(VI) reduction. • It outperforms many other metal ions doped SrTiO 3 and many reported photocatalysts. • It has good photocatalytic stability. • Its higher activity mainly results from enhanced separation and transfer of e − and h + . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Synthesized mesoporous nanocrystalline Fe-doped titania by sol–gel. [•] Mesoporosity can be tuned by adjusting the amount of Fe-doping. [•] Studied the photocatalytic activity under UV, UV–visible, and visible radiations. [•] Fe-doping in TiO2 generated photocatalytic activity under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent insight into the molecular mechanisms of natural biomineralization has enabled biomimetic synthesis of functional organic-inorganic hybrid materials under mild reaction conditions. Here, we describe a novel method to construct organic-inorganic hybrid on mesoporous silica nanoparticles by utilizing electrostatically absorbed hyaluronic acid (HA) as a reaction site for deposition of calcium phosphate (CaP) minerals. The addition of another layer of HA on the CaP surfaces not only stabilizes the nanocomposites but also confers target ability toward CD44 overexpressed cancer cells. The nanomaterials enable controlled release of loaded anticancer drugs in acidic subcellular environments after receptor mediated endocytosis. More importantly, our study demonstrated that the cancer targeting nanomaterials dramatically enhanced cellular uptake and cytotoxicity toward breast carcinoma cells. These results thus open new opportunities for biomineralization guided nanostructure assemblies with great potential for biomedical applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The synthesis of mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO films in a premixed (in vol %) 12.9/14.4/72.7 H/O/Ar flame doped with 0.1% titanium tetraisopropoxide [Ti(OCH)] was studied. Stabilization of the flame and deposition of TiO nanoparticles were carried on the plane of a rotating disk. Spatial distributions of temperature and concentrations of major species in the flame were investigated. The applicability of the employed kinetic reaction scheme and the calculation method to the description of the structure of the investigated flame was tested. It was established that this method can be used to synthesize spherical crystalline nanoparticles of the anatase polymorphic form of TiO with an average diameter of 12 nm and a narrow size distribution ( σ = 1.45), which can be used in the production of solar cells and gas analyzer sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell autophagy is a well-known phenomenon in cancer, which limits the efficacy of cancer therapy, especially cancer starvation therapy. Glucose oxidase (GOx), which is considered as an attractive starvation reagent for cancer therapy, can effectively catalyze the conversion of glucose into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the presence of O2. However, tumor cells adapt to survive by inducing autophagy, limiting the therapy effect. Therefore, anti-cell adaptation via autophagy inhibition could be used as a troubleshooting method to enhance tumor starvation therapy. Herein, we introduce an anti-cell adaptation strategy based on dendritic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (DMONs) loaded with GOx and 3-methyladenine (3-MA) (an autophagy inhibition agent) to yield DMON@GOx/3-MA. This formulation can inhibit cell adaptative autophagy after starvation therapy. Our in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that autophagy inhibition enhances the efficacy of starvation therapy, leading to tumor growth suppression. This anti-cell adaptation strategy will provide a new way to enhance the efficacy of starvation cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of ordered mesoporous Fe Mn bimetal oxides (OMFMs) were fabricated by using a novel inverse micelle method, and the texture, nanostructure and interface chemistry properties of OMFMs were closely correlated to the calcination temperature. Due to the amorphous regular inner-connected nanostructure and bimetallic synergistic effect, the obtained OMFMs exhibited superior arsenic sequestration performance than pure mesoporous Fe oxides (PMF) and Mn oxides (PMM). The optimum ratio of Fe/Mn and calcination temperature for arsenic removal was 3/1 and 350 °C (OMFM-3), and the maximum As(III) and As(V) adsorption capacities of OMFM-3 were 174.59 and 134.58 mg/g, respectively. Solution pH value negligibly affected the uptake of arsenic (ranged from 3.0 to 7.0), while SiO 3 2−/PO 4 3− ions and humic acid (HA) displayed significant inhibitory effect on arsenic removal by OMFM-3. According to the mechanism of arsenic removal, which simultaneously analyzed the arsenic redox transformation in aqueous phase and on solid phase interface, it was concluded that manganese oxides in OMFM-3 mainly played the role as a remarkable As(III) oxidant in water, whereas iron oxides dominantly acted as an excellent arsenic species adsorbent. Finally, the prominent arsenic sequestration behavior and performance in surface water suggested that OMFM-3 could be a promising and hopeful candidate for arsenic-contaminated (especially As(III)) surface water and groundwater remediation and treatment. Unlabelled Image • A series of OMFMs were successfully fabricated via a novel inverse micelle method. • Calcination temperature affected the nanostructure and surface chemistry of OMFMs. • SiO 3 2−/PO 4 3− ions and HA significantly influenced on both As(III) and As(V) removal. • Redox transformation of arsenic in liquid-solid phase was simultaneously investigated. • Respective role of Fe/Mn oxides in OMFM-3 for arsenic removal was identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cost-effective and high-performance electrocatalysts toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have been a research hotspot for the electrochemical water splitting. In view of the unique surface effect and good electrical conductivity, mesoporous nanomaterials have been a promising alternative to the precious RuO 2 for OER. Herein, two mesoporous CoFe-based nanomaterials were designed and synthesized through a facile solvothermal process as efficient OER electrocatalysts in 1.0 M KOH solution. The catalysts with a larger pore size show more excellent catalytic performance, which possess a lower overpotential of 248 mV at 10 mA·cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 58.7 mV·dec−1, illustrating an increase of catalytic activities toward OER with the enhancement of mesoporous pore diameters. This work also contributes to the development of OER nanomaterials and the understanding of the effects of mesoporous on catalytic activity. • One-pot solvothermal method was utilized to synthesize two mesoporous nanomaterials with different pore sizes. • By comparison, the synthesized nanomaterials with larger pore size have higher conductivity. • Both synthesized mesoporous materials exhibit superior stability in OER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-response (near-infrared, alternating magnetic field) multifunctional nanoplatform was developed based on urokinase plasminogen activators (uPA)-loaded metal-organic-framework (MOF)-derived carbon nanomaterials (referred to uPA@CFs below) for thrombolytic therapy. uPA loaded in mesoporous CFs could be released under the action of near-infrared (NIR)-mediated photothermy to achieve superficial thrombolysis. More importantly, with the assistance of alternating magnetic field (AMF), this system could also precisely heat the thrombosis in the deep tissue area. Quantitative experiments proved that the thrombolytic efficiency of this dual-response system at deep venous thrombosis was nearly 6 times than that of NIR alone. This is the first application that MOF-derived carbon nanomaterials in the field of targeted thrombolysis. To our delight, the MOF-derived carbon nanomaterials (CFs) not only maintained the drug-carrying capacity, but also endowed CFs with reliable magnetic targeting ability. More encouragingly, the CFs also showed extraordinary angiogenic performance, thus opening up the prospect of its clinical application.

Mesoporous materials have attracted considerable attention because of their distinctive properties, including high surface areas, large pore sizes, tunable pore structures, controllable chemical compositions, and abundant forms of composite materials. During the last decade, there has been increasing research interest in constructing advanced mesoporous nanomaterials possessing short and open channels with efficient mass diffusion capability and rich accessible active sites for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. Here, the synthesis, structures, and energy-related applications of mesoporous nanomaterials are the main focus. After a brief summary of synthetic methods of mesoporous nanostructures, the delicate design and construction of mesoporous nanomaterials are described in detail through precise tailoring of the particle sizes, pore sizes, and nanostructures. Afterward, their applications as electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, water-splitting electrolyzers, and fuel cells are discussed. Finally, the possible development directions and challenges of mesoporous nanomaterials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage are proposed., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

A major concern about glucose oxidase (GOx)-mediated cancer starvation therapy is its ability to induce serious oxidative damage to normal tissues through the massive production of H 2 O 2 byproducts in the oxygen-involved glucose decomposition reaction, which may be addressed by using a H 2 O 2 scavenger, known as an antioxidation agent. Surprisingly, H 2 O 2 removal accelerates the aerobic glycometabolism of tumors by activating the H 2 O 2 -dependent "redox signaling" pathway of cancer cells. Simultaneous oxygen depletion further aggravates tumor hypoxia to increase the toxicity of a bioreductive prodrug, such as tirapazamine (TPZ), thereby improving the effectiveness of cancer starvation therapy and bioreductive chemotherapy. Herein, a "nitrogen-protected silica template" method is proposed to design a nanoantioxidant called an organosilica-based hollow mesoporous bilirubin nanoparticle (HMBRN), which can act as an excellent nanocarrier to codeliver GOx and TPZ. In addition to efficient removal of H 2 O 2 for self-protection of normal tissues via antioxidation, GOx/TPZ-coloaded HMBRN can also rapidly deplete intratumoral glucose/oxygen to promote a synergistic starvation-enhanced bioreductive chemotherapeutic effect for the substantial suppression of solid tumor growth. Distinct from the simple combination of two treatments, this study introduces antioxidation-activated self-protection nanotechnology for the significant improvement of tumor-specific deoxygenation-driven synergistic treatment efficacy without additional external energy input, thus realizing the renaissance of precise endogenous cancer therapy with negligible side effects.

The cover page for the 2017 issue of the journal "Angewandte Chemie International Edition" is presented.

To develop a multifunctional nanomaterial for dual-mode imaging and synergetic chemotherapy, curcumin (CUR) was physically entrapped into hollow upconversion NaGdF 4 nanomaterial, then apoferritin (AFn) loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) was attached to the NaGdF 4 surface. Subsequent modification with the targeting reagent folic acid (FA) led to generation of the CUR/NaGdF 4 -DOX/AFn-FA conjugate for cancer treatment. X-ray diffraction, scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy demonstrated the successful preparation of hexagonal-phase NaGdF 4 and NaGdF 4 -AFn-FA. Moreover, no toxicity was observed for NaGdF 4 -AFn-FA. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the two drugs are sequentially released from the nanocomposites. This two-drug system showed strong growth inhibitory effects on MCF-7 cells. Upconversion luminescence imaging and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of NaGdF 4 -AFn-FA were carried out. The results of this study show that NaGdF 4 -AFn-FA can be used for targeted anticancer drug delivery as well as imaging, a novel multi-pronged theranostic system for tumor treatment., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)