In the current study, we investigated the effects of acteoside as a phenylpropanoid glycoside on interaction with neurons to assesses locomotor recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats by ...focusing on evaluating the factors involved in autophagy, apoptosis, inflammation and oxidative stress processes. 49 Spargue-Dawley rats were prepared and divided into seven healthy and SCI groups receiving different concentrations of acteoside. After 28 days of disease induction and treatment with acteoside, a BBB score test was used to evaluate locomotor activity. Then, by preparing spinal cord cell homogenates, the expression levels of MAP1LC3A, MAP-2, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), Nrf2, Keap-1, Caspase 3 (Casp3), Bax, Bcl-2, TNF-a, IL-1B, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. Improvement of locomotor activity in SCI rats receiving acteoside was observed two weeks after the beginning of the experiment and continued until the fourth week. Both MAP1LC3A and MAP-2 were significantly up-regulated in SCI rats treated with acteoside compared to untreated SCI rats, and GFAP levels were significantly decreased in these animals. Pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Casp3 and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 were down-regulated and up-regulated, respectively, in SCI rats receiving acteoside. In addition, a significant downregulation of iNOS, TNF-α, and IL-1β and a decrease in contents of both ROS and MDA as well as increases in Nrf2 and Keap-1 were seen in rats receiving acteoside. Furthermore, acteoside strongly interacted with MAP1LC3A, TNF-α, and Casp3 targets with binding affinities of −8.3 kcal/mol, −8.3 kcal/mol, and −8.5 kcal/mol, respectively, determined by molecular docking studies. In general, it can be concluded that acteoside has protective effects in SCI and can be considered as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of this disease. However, more studies, especially clinical studies, are needed in this field.
Molecular wires with asymmetric anchors have garnered considerable interest in the field of molecular electronics. Numerous studies have focused on asymmetrically anchored molecules at both ...single-molecule and self-assembled monolayer (SAM) levels. However, few studies have investigated how the binding preference of asymmetric anchors towards the substrate affects their quantum transport behavior. In this study, oligo(arylene ethynylene) derivatives with thiol acetate anchors at one terminal and pyridine anchors at the other terminal were used for self-assembly, and gold and single-layered graphene (SLG) were employed as the bottom and top electrodes to form molecular junctions. XPS results indicated that, without deprotecting the acetyl group on thiol acetate, the molecules tended to assemble on the Au surface with either the thiol anchor or pyridine anchor. However, with the deprotection procedure (which transformed the thiol acetate into thiol), almost all molecules tended to assemble on the Au surface with the thiol anchor. Furthermore, quantum transport measurements revealed that both the electron tunnelling efficiency and the energy difference between the electrode Fermi level and the molecular frontier orbital also shifted due to this change in the binding preference. For example, the field effect transistor behaviour of functional SAMs can be switched between ambipolar (where the molecule can be turned on by shifting the gate voltage in either the positive or negative direction, resembling an ambipolar MOS-FET) and unipolar (where the molecule can only be turned on by shifting the gate voltage in the negative direction, resembling an n-type MOS-FET). This study demonstrates that, in addition to molecular structure engineering, molecular electronic functionalities such as tunnelling efficiency and switching behaviour can also be regulated through binding preference control during self-assembly. These findings suggest a new approach for fabricating advanced quantum technology devices.
Orientation preference control: molecules transitioning from a mixture of foot-standing and hand-standing to exclusively foot-standing.
Correction for ‘Tailoring quantum transport efficiency in molecular junctions via doping of graphene electrodes’ by Xintai Wang et al. , J. Mater. Chem. C , 2024, 12 , 5157–5165, ...https://doi.org/10.1039/D3TC04761J.
The efficiency of charge transport across a molecular bridge, such as a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), in molecular electronics is influenced not only by the molecules’ structural configuration but ...also significantly by the choice of electrode materials. Single-layered graphene (SLG), a novel electrode material, offers unique benefits for forming such junctions, including exceptional flexibility, high transparency, and elevated carrier mobility. Notably, the work function of SLG can be modulated through p-type or n-type doping. In this study, we used our previously reported micro-well devices to fabricate Au/SAM/SLG junctions. Two types of SAMs were employed: one forming a HOMO-dominated junction, while the other formed a LUMO-dominated junction. These SAMs were coupled with three variants of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) SLG: as-transferred, n-type doped, and p-type doped, yielding six distinct combinations. Our results show that doping effectively adjusts the relative energetic position of the Fermi level between the graphene electrode and the molecular frontier orbitals, thereby controlling the quantum transport efficiency through the molecular bridge. These findings open new possibilities for designing high-performance molecular electronic devices such as biosensors, field-effect transistors, and thermoelectric harvesters.
Mechanical stress and genetic factors play important roles in the occurrence of thoracic ossification of ligament flavum (TOLF), which can occur at one, two, or multiple levels of the spine. It is ...unclear whether single- and multiple-level TOLF differ in terms of osteogenic differentiation potency and osteogenesis-related gene expression under cyclic mechanical stress. This was addressed in the present study using patients with non-TOLF and single- and multiple-level TOLF (n=8 per group). Primary ligament cells were cultured and osteogenesis was induced by application of cyclic mechanical stress. Osteogenic differentiation was assessed by evaluating alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the mRNA and protein expression of osteogenesis-related genes, including ALP, bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), Runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx-2), osterix, osteopontin (OPN) and osteocalcin. The application of cyclic mechanical stress resulted in higher ALP activity in the multiple-level than in the single-level TOLF group, whereas no changes were observed in the non-TOLF group. The ALP, BMP2, OPN and osterix mRNA levels were higher in the multiple-level as compared to the single-level TOLF group, and the levels of all osteogenesis-related genes, apart from Runx2, were higher in the multiple-level as compared to the non-TOLF group. The osterix and ALP protein levels were higher in the multiple-level TOLF group than in the other 2 groups, and were increased with the longer duration of stress. These results highlight the differences in osteogenic differentiation potency between single- and multiple-level TOLF that may be related to the different pathogenesis and genetic background.
Understanding and controlling the orbital alignment of molecules placed between electrodes is essential in the design of practically-applicable molecular and nanoscale electronic devices. The orbital ...alignment is highly determined by the molecule-electrode interface. Dependence of orbital alignment on the molecular anchor group for single molecular junctions has been intensively studied; however, when scaling-up single molecules to large parallel molecular arrays (like self-assembled monolayers (SAMs)), two challenges need to be addressed: 1. Most desired anchor groups do not form high quality SAMs. 2. It is much harder to tune the frontier molecular orbitals
via
a gate voltage in SAM junctions than in single molecular junctions. In this work, we studied the effect of the molecule-electrode interface in SAMs with a micro-pore device, using a recently developed tetrapodal anchor to overcome challenge 1, and the combination of a single layered graphene top electrode with an ionic liquid gate to solve challenge 2. The zero-bias orbital alignment of different molecules was signalled by a shift in conductance minimum
vs.
gate voltage for molecules with different anchoring groups. Molecules with the same backbone, but a different molecule-electrode interface, were shown experimentally to have conductances that differ by a factor of 5 near zero bias. Theoretical calculations using density functional theory support the trends observed in the experimental data. This work sheds light on how to control electron transport within the HOMO-LUMO energy gap in molecular junctions and will be applicable in scaling up molecular electronic systems for future device applications.
Understanding and controlling the orbital alignment of molecules placed between electrodes is essential in the design of practically-applicable nanoscale electronic devices.
Correction for 'Tailoring quantum transport efficiency in molecular junctions
via
doping of graphene electrodes' by Xintai Wang
et al.
,
J. Mater. Chem. C
, 2024,
12
, 5157-5165,
...https://doi.org/10.1039/D3TC04761J
.
The efficiency of charge transport across a molecular bridge, such as a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), in molecular electronics is influenced not only by the molecules' structural configuration but ...also significantly by the choice of electrode materials. Single-layered graphene (SLG), a novel electrode material, offers unique benefits for forming such junctions, including exceptional flexibility, high transparency, and elevated carrier mobility. Notably, the work function of SLG can be modulated through p-type or n-type doping. In this study, we used our previously reported micro-well devices to fabricate Au/SAM/SLG junctions. Two types of SAMs were employed: one forming a HOMO-dominated junction, while the other formed a LUMO-dominated junction. These SAMs were coupled with three variants of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) SLG: as-transferred, n-type doped, and p-type doped, yielding six distinct combinations. Our results show that doping effectively adjusts the relative energetic position of the Fermi level between the graphene electrode and the molecular frontier orbitals, thereby controlling the quantum transport efficiency through the molecular bridge. These findings open new possibilities for designing high-performance molecular electronic devices such as biosensors, field-effect transistors, and thermoelectric harvesters.
The efficiency of charge transport across a well-ordered molecular array is influenced not only by the molecular structure but also by the state of the electrode.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global public health crisis. However, little is known about the pathogenesis and biomarkers of COVID-19. Here, we profiled host responses to ...COVID-19 by performing plasma proteomics of a cohort of COVID-19 patients, including non-survivors and survivors recovered from mild or severe symptoms, and uncovered numerous COVID-19-associated alterations of plasma proteins. We developed a machine-learning-based pipeline to identify 11 proteins as biomarkers and a set of biomarker combinations, which were validated by an independent cohort and accurately distinguished and predicted COVID-19 outcomes. Some of the biomarkers were further validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a larger cohort. These markedly altered proteins, including the biomarkers, mediate pathophysiological pathways, such as immune or inflammatory responses, platelet degranulation and coagulation, and metabolism, that likely contribute to the pathogenesis. Our findings provide valuable knowledge about COVID-19 biomarkers and shed light on the pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets of COVID-19.
Display omitted
•We profile plasma proteomics of COVID-19 cases at distinct symptoms and time points•The alterations of host plasma proteins are linked with COVID-19 development•Machine-learning-based models distinguish patients with different severity•Biomarker combinations show the power to predict COVID-19 clinical outcomes
Proteomic quantifications and experimental validation of plasma samples from three cohorts of COVID-19 patients with distinct symptoms at different time points identify differentially expressed host proteins that correlate with disease severity and prioritize biomarker combinations for accurately predicting COVID-19 clinical outcomes.
PDF
