Pd‐based nanosheet materials have emerged as efficient catalysts for monobasic and polyhydric alcohol oxidation reactions. However, most reported synthetic methods of Pd‐based nanosheets (NSs) are ...nonuniversal and surfactant‐involved, leading to residue‐covered surfaces with drastically damaged electrocatalytic properties. Herein, a universal, surfactant‐free, simple one‐pot route is developed for the precise synthesis of a kind of novel self‐standing Pd–M (M = Ag, Pb, Au, Ga, Cu, Pt, etc.) NSs with tremella‐like superstructures are assembled using ultrathin two‐dimensional (2D) NSs. Benefiting from the universal surfactant‐free methods, the obtained Pd–M NSs exhibit clean surfaces and stable three‐dimensional (3D) self‐standing structures that overcome the difficulty of normal close packing and overlapping 2D NSs. The Pd–M (M = Ag, Pb, and Au) NSs with tremella‐like structures all show excellent ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) properties. In particular, with the optimal superstructure, better electronic effect, and promoted toxicity tolerance, the EOR/EGOR mass activities of Pd7Ag NSs, Pd7Pb NSs, and Pd7Au NSs are 8.2/7.3, 7.2/5.7, and 5.3/4.4 times higher than that of commercial Pd/C catalysts. This advanced 3D construction also endows Pd–M NSs with more favorable stability than Pd/C. This study may be extended to Pd–M (M = other metals) NSs and open up more opportunities for broad catalytic applications.
A universal, surfactant‐free, simple one‐pot route is developed for the precise synthesis of a kind of novel self‐standing Pd–M (M = Ag, Pb, Au, Ga, Pt, Cu, etc.) nanosheets with a tremella‐like superstructure assembled using ultrathin 2D nanosheets. Benefiting from optimal superstructure, better electronic effect, and promoted toxicity tolerance, the prepared Pd–M nanosheets display superior alcohol catalytic performance.
Although great progress has been made in the synthesis of metal nanoparticles, good repeatability and accurate predictability are still difficult to achieve. This difficulty can be attributed to the ...synthetic method based primarily on observation and subjective experience, and the role of many surfactants remains unclear. It should be noted that surfactants play an important role in the synthetic process. Understanding their function and mechanism in the synthetic process is a prerequisite for the rational design of nanocatalysts with ideal morphology and performance. In this review article, the function of surfactants is introduced first, and then the mechanism of action of surfactants in controlling the morphology of nanoparticles is discussed according to the types of surfactants, and the promoting and sealing effects of surfactants on the crystal surface is revealed. The relationship between surfactants and the morphology structure of nanoparticles is studied. The removal methods of surfactants are discussed, and the existing problems in the current development strategy are summarized. Finally, the application of surfactants in controlling the morphology of metal nanocrystals is prospected. It is hoped that the review can open up new avenues for the synthesis of nanocrystals.
The roles of surfactants in the morphology control of nanoparticles are reviewed, including dispersion, structure direct, cap, reduction, etch, and ion exchange. The application of surfactants in the synthesis of nanoparticles is prospected.
Bimetallic one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures such as nanowires (NWs) and nanorods (NRs), serving as high-efficiency anode electrocatalysts, have attracted extensive attention in the past decade. ...However, the precise design and synthesis of 1D Pt-based nanocrystals with tunable morphology and size still remain an arduous challenge. Driven by this, we report a facile yet efficient strategy for the first time to prepare PtNi ultrafine NWs (UNWs), sinuous NWs (SNWs) and ultrashort NRs (UNRs) by adjusting the amount of citric acid, ascorbic acid and glucose. Detailed analysis of their electrocatalytic properties has indicated that the as-obtained PtNi SNWs exhibit the most outstanding electrocatalytic activity toward ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) and glycerol oxidation (GOR), 4.5 and 4.3 times higher in mass activity as well as 4.3 and 3.9 times higher in specific activity compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The as-prepared PtNi SNWs are also more stable than the commercial Pt/C catalyst after successive durability tests. The proposed method provides insight into more rational designs of bimetallic nanocatalysts with 1D architectures and the as-synthesized PtNi catalysts with improved electrocatalytic performance assist in promoting the further development of direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs).
Visible-light-induced specific desulfurization of cysteinyl peptides has been explored. The photocatalytic desulfurization catalyzed by Ru(bpy)3 2+ can proceed efficiently at room temperature in ...aqueous solution or in binary mixtures of aqueous/organic solvent and be compatible with the presence of residues of amino acids, carbohydrates, and various sulfur-containing functional groups. This approach was successfully applied to synthesize linear and cyclic peptides through the ligation–desulfurization protocol.
Patient‐derived organoids (PDOs) may facilitate treatment selection. This retrospective cohort study evaluated the feasibility and clinical benefit of using PDOs to guide personalized treatment in ...metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Patients diagnosed with MBC were recruited between January 2019 and August 2022. PDOs were established and the efficacy of customized drug panels was determined by measuring cell mortality after drug exposure. Patients receiving organoid‐guided treatment (OGT) were matched 1:2 by nearest neighbor propensity scores with patients receiving treatment of physician's choice (TPC). The primary outcome was progression‐free survival. Secondary outcomes included objective response rate and disease control rate. Targeted gene sequencing and pathway enrichment analysis were performed. Forty‐six PDOs (46 of 51, 90.2%) were generated from 45 MBC patients. PDO drug screening showed an accuracy of 78.4% (95% CI 64.9%–91.9%) in predicting clinical responses. Thirty‐six OGT patients were matched to 69 TPC patients. OGT was associated with prolonged median progression‐free survival (11.0 months vs. 5.0 months; hazard ratio 0.53 95% CI 0.33–0.85; p = .01) and improved disease control (88.9% vs. 63.8%; odd ratio 4.26 1.44–18.62) compared with TPC. The objective response rate of both groups was similar. Pathway enrichment analysis in hormone receptor‐positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2‐negative patients demonstrated differentially modulated pathways implicated in DNA repair and transcriptional regulation in those with reduced response to capecitabine/gemcitabine, and pathways associated with cell cycle regulation in those with reduced response to palbociclib. Our study shows that PDO‐based functional precision medicine is a feasible and effective strategy for MBC treatment optimization and customization.
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Patient‐derived organoids (PDOs) can effectively recapitulate the histopathology and immunochemistry of parental breast tumors. The clinical applications of breast cancer PDOs, particularly as a means of guiding treatment, however, remain largely unexplored. Here, to assess the utility of PDOs in personalized treatment for breast cancer, the authors examined outcomes among advanced breast cancer patients who received organoid‐guided therapy (OGT) versus treatment of physician's choice (TPC). Compared to TPC, OGT was associated with extended progression‐free survival and improved disease control rate. The findings indicate that breast cancer treatment can be optimized via precision medicine strategies guided by the use of PDOs.
The tailoring and design of electrocatalysts, such as Pt-based nanocubes (NCs) covered by {100} facets, have received extensive attention in the past decade; however, studies on the facile yet ...precise synthesis of PtRh NCs with different sizes have rarely been reported up till now. Herein, a reliable method is reported for the first time to synthesize PtRh-small (PtRh-S) and PtRh-large (PtRh-L) NCs with the different sizes of 5.5 and 10.5 nm by introducing rhodium acetate and rhodium chloride, respectively. In particular, to the best of our knowledge, the PtRh-S NCs are the smallest synthesized PtRh NCs reported to date. We demonstrated that the {100} facet-covered PtRh NCs showed much better catalytic activity and stability than the {100}-terminated pure Pt NCs towards the ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR). Specifically, the size-optimized PtRh-S NCs show a much higher mass and specific activity (5125.0 mA mg −1 and 11.6 mA cm −2 ) for EGOR, which are 4.2 and 2.0 and 4.7 and 6.4-fold higher than those of the Pt NCs and Pt/C catalysts, respectively. The monodisperse nanocubic structure, ultra-small size and alloy effect led to the enhanced electrocatalytic behaviors. The present study describes the rational synthesis of size-controlled PtRh NCs and further provides a promising reference for the effective manipulation of other cubic nanocatalysts for applications in fuel cells and so forth.
Trans-Cinnamaldehyde (TC) is a widely used food additive, known for its sterilization, disinfection, and antiseptic properties. However, its antibacterial mechanism is not completely understood. In ...this study, quantitative proteomics was performed to investigate differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in Escherichia coli in response to TC treatment. Bioinformatics analysis suggested aldehyde toxicity, acid stress, oxidative stress, interference of carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, and protein translation as the bactericidal mechanism. E. coli BW25113ΔyqhD, ΔgldA, ΔbetB, ΔtktB, ΔgadA, ΔgadB, ΔgadC, and Δrmf were used to investigate the functions of DEPs through biochemical methods. The present study revealed that TC exerts its antibacterial effects by inducing the toxicity of its aldehyde group producing acid stress. These findings will contribute to the application of TC in the antibacterial field.
Lysine crotonylation has attracted widespread attention in recent years. However, little is known about bacterial crotonylation, particularly crotonyltransferase and decrotonylase, and its effects on ...antibiotic resistance. Our study demonstrates the ubiquitous presence of crotonylation in E. coli, which promotes bacterial resistance to polymyxin. We identify the crotonyltransferase YjgM and its regulatory pathways in E. coli with a focus on crotonylation. Further studies show that YjgM upregulates the crotonylation of the substrate protein PmrA, thereby boosting PmrA’s affinity for binding to the promoter of eptA, which, in turn, promotes EptA expression and confers polymyxin resistance in E. coli. Additionally, we discover that PmrA’s crucial crotonylation site and functional site is Lys 164. These significant discoveries highlight the role of crotonylation in bacterial drug resistance and offer a fresh perspective on creating antibacterial compounds.
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•YjgM functions as a crotonyltransferase in Escherichia coli•Crotonylation proteomics reveals differentially crotonylated proteins in PMB-R•YjgM promotes bacterial polymyxin resistance via the crotonylation of PmrA•Crotonylation promotes PmrA’s binding ability to the eptA promoter
Zhuang et al. find that YjgM is a crotonyltransferase in Escherichia coli. YjgM improves the binding affinity between the polymyxin-resistant protein PmrA and the eptA promoter by increasing the crotonoylation level of PmrA, thereby encouraging the expression of eptA, resulting in the development of polymyxin resistance in E. coli.
In the drive toward energy crisis, direct ethylene glycol cells have received a great deal of attention, but its commercial development has been greatly restricted due to the lack of cost-effective ...anodic catalysts. Therefore, it is essential to design a suitable catalyst with excellent performance. To this end, we herein report a facile one-pot tactic for successfully synthesizing the pompon-like PtAg nanocrystals (NCs) with marvelous electrocatalytic activity and amazing long-term stability. More specifically, the results have proved that the pompon-like PtAg possessed the superior mass activity of 5042.9 mA mg−1 towards ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) under the alkaline condition, 5.4-fold enhancements than that of commercial Pt/C. Upon the basis of our investigation, we attributed the better catalytic activity to abundant available surface active sites and synergistic effect, as well as the brushy hairs on the surface of PtAg NCs. There is no doubt that the as-obtained nanocatalysts show a great prospect for serving as excellent anode catalyst in fuel cells and beyond.
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•We use a simple wet chemical tactic to construct the pompon-like PtAg alloy.•The Pt1Ag1 nanocrystals exhibited excellent performance towards EGOR.•The activity and stability is ascribe to unique structure and electronic effects.
