The Royal Society of Chemistry最新文献

We investigated a polydisperse cubic haematite particle suspension in an external magnetic field and examined the dependence of magnetic field-induced transitions on the standard deviation of the particle size distribution using quasi-two dimensional Monte Carlo simulations. In the case of smaller polydispersity, stable clusters tend to form owing to stable face-to-face contact. In this case, however, larger magnetic particle-particle interaction strengths are necessary. Since the applied magnetic field enables the magnetic moment of each particle to incline in the field direction, it enhances the formation of chain-like clusters. In the case of larger polydispersity, compared to the smaller polydispersity cases, particle aggregates are formed even in the region of smaller magnetic particle-particle interactions. In this case, small particles combine with a growing cluster composed of large particles to form larger clusters. However, these small particles tend to disturb the internal structure of the particle aggregates, leading to chain-like clusters with narrower widths than those in the case of smaller polydispersity. These characteristics of the particle aggregates confirm that the broadness of polydispersity in a magnetic cubic particle suspension is applicable for controlling the internal structure and regime transition in the internal structure of particle aggregates. This may be an important feature in the development of surface modification techniques using magnetic cubic particle suspensions.

Infectious pathogens pose a significant threat to public health and healthcare systems, making the development of a point-of-care (POC) detection platform for their early identification a key focus in recent decades. Among the numerous biosensors developed over the years, transistor-based biosensors, particularly those incorporating nanomaterials, have emerged as promising candidates for POC detection, given their unique electronic characteristics, compact size, broad dynamic range, and real-time biological detection capabilities with limits of detection (LODs) down to zeptomolar levels. However, the translation of laboratory-based biosensors into practical applications faces two primary challenges: the cost-effective and scalable fabrication of high-quality transistor sensors and functional device integration. This review is structured into two main parts. The first part examines recent advancements in additive manufacturing technologies-namely in screen printing, inkjet printing, aerosol jet printing, and digital light processing-and evaluates their applications in the mass production of transistor-based biosensors. While additive manufacturing offers significant advantages, such as high quality, cost-effectiveness, rapid prototyping, less instrument reliance, less material waste, and adaptability to diverse surfaces, challenges related to uniformity and yield remain to be addressed before these technologies can be widely adopted for large-scale production. The second part focuses on various functional integration strategies to enhance the practical applicability of these biosensors, which is essential for their successful translation from laboratory research to commercialization. Specifically, it provides a comprehensive review of current miniaturized lab-on-a-chip systems, microfluidic manipulation, simultaneous sampling and detection, wearable implementation, and integration with the Internet of Things (IoT).

Correction for 'Metal-free amination of alkenes based on maleimides' by Li-Wen Shen et al., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ob00201j.

Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), a major bioactive component of Astragalus membranaceus, exhibits anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. However, its precise role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of AS-IV on NPC progression and its relationship with Special AT-rich binding protein-2 (SATB2), a diagnostic marker for NPC. AS-IV treatment reduced NPC cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, as assessed by CCK-8 assays. Functional experiments, including transwell, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry assays, demonstrated that AS-IV inhibited cell migration, invasion, and autophagy while promoting apoptosis. Western blot analysis showed that SATB2 expression was significantly elevated in NPC cells, particularly in C666-1 and HK-1 cells. Overexpression of SATB2 partially reversed AS-IV's inhibitory effects on NPC progression. Further analysis revealed that AS-IV suppressed the Wnt signaling pathway by downregulating SATB2 expression, while SATB2 overexpression restored Wnt pathway activation. This effect was reversed upon treatment with the Wnt pathway inhibitor DKK-1. In vivo, AS-IV administration inhibited tumor growth in a nude mouse subcutaneous xenograft model, reduced Ki-67 positivity, and lowered LC3B expression, indicating decreased proliferation and autophagy. However, these effects were diminished upon SATB2 overexpression. These findings suggest that AS-IV exerts anti-tumor effects in NPC by downregulating SATB2 and suppressing Wnt pathway activation, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic agent for NPC.

Highlights: Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) reduces nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell vitality, suppresses cell migration, invasion and autophagy, and fosters apoptosis.SATB2 exhibits notably high levels in NPC cells.Overexpression of SATB2 counteracts the inhibition of NPC malignant progression by AS-IV.AS-IV impedes NPC progression by decreasing SATB2 and thereby hindering the Wnt pathway.AS-IV deters NPC tumor growth in nude mice.

Brain metal homeostasis is essential for healthy neurological function, and disturbed brain metal homeostasis has deleterious consequences for neuro-development or cognitive outcome following injury or during disease. Specific regions of the brain (e.g. the hippocampus and subregions within) are known to be enriched with transition metals (i.e. ions of iron, copper, and zinc). Neither the physiological need for localized enrichment, nor the mechanisms driving the enrichment, however, are well understood. In this study we have applied a multimodal template, incorporating elemental mapping using X-ray fluorescence microscopy with spatial transcriptomics, to help reveal a molecular basis for metallomic heterogeneity across key subregions of the hippocampus. Our results reveal that significant differences in iron, zinc and copper enrichment are associated with regional enrichment of specific transcripts related to metal transport, metal storage and metal regulatory proteins. In addition to providing novel biological insight into the neurometallomic profile of the hippocampus, this study also provides an important template for others to integrate transcriptomics into multimodal workflows investigating the neurometallome.

Chiral tartaric acid (TA)-modified Ni(OH)₂ shows chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, creating spin channels that significantly enhance electron transfer to promote the formation of NiOOH species. D-TA-Ni(OH)₂ achieves a current density of 100 mA cm^-2 at 1.38 V with a Tafel slope of 21.88 mV dec^-1, highlighting its potential for the urea oxidation reaction.

Soft-rigid grippers represent a novel paradigm for grasping complex objects, combining the high deformability of soft components with the high stiffness of rigid components. Recently, bistable structures, as architected materials for engineering soft components, have attracted significant attention for their ability to enable rapid-response grasping and shape self-locking. However, challenges persist in utilizing them for handling multi-feature objects, i.e., irregular-shaped, fragile, and variable-weight objects. Here, we report a class of soft-rigid grippers comprising customizable bistable units and their data-driven design framework to address these challenges. Specifically, the transition behavior of bistable units can be tailored by designing their contact blocks (CBs), enabling grasping-force control of grippers for objects with varying fragility and weight. The CB design is achieved through an inverse design framework that employs extremely randomized trees (ERT) models and differential evolution (DE) algorithms. The trained ERT model accounts for the strongly coupled nonlinearity of structural deformation, material constitutive models, and contact behaviors during transition processes, achieving a prediction accuracy of 96.4%. Additionally, the grippers offer overload protection and shape-conforming reconfiguration for irregular-shaped objects. This bistable unit design offers grippers new ways of grasping complex objects, promising superb flexibility, scalability, and efficiency in the design and operation of robot technologies.

An open hollow polyoxovanadate (POV) cage, V14Nb2P8, has been successfully constructed using {Nb(V₅)} pentagons as building blocks. The POV cage features a crown-ether-like {V₄P₄O₈} opening that can selectively coordinate with Cs⁺ ions. Additionally, it has a hollow cavity that acts as a molecular container to accommodate size-appropriate organic molecules.

The deoxygenative carbon-carbon bond formation from alcohols remains a formidable challenge toward cleaner coupling reactions. In this work, we first unlocked a novel homocoupling upgrading mode of benzyl alcohol by virtue of the two-side roles of the pre-introduced formyl group, which serves as both impetus for easier C-O bond dissociation and an endogenous hydrogen source. As a proof-of-concept, the decarboxylative and dehydrogenative homocoupling of anisyl formate toward 1,2-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethane was realized using a Ru/MoS₂ catalyst with an optimized yield of 66%. Structural characterizations and control experiments indicated the synergy effect between Ru and Mo. A tailored nitration-reduction route was further designed for upgrading the coupling product into a high value-added aromatic diamine, the overall yield of which reached 56% based on anisyl formate. This method opens a new avenue for catalytic transformations of alcohols through ester intermediates.

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