Carbon/Polymer Bilayer-Coated Si-SiOx Electrodes with Enhanced Electrical Conductivity and Structural Stability.

Si-based electrodes offer exceptionally high capacity and energy density for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs),but suffer from poor structural stability and electrical conductivity that hamper their practical applications. To tackle these obstacles, we design a C/polymer bilayer coating deposited on Si-SiOx microparticles. The inner C coating is used to improve electrical conductivity. The outer C-nanoparticle-reinforced polypyrrole (CNP-PPy) is a polymer matrix composite that can minimize the volumetric expansion of Si-SiOx and enhance its structural stability during battery operation. Electrodes made of such robust Si-SiOx@C/CNP-PPy microparticles exhibit excellent cycling performance: 83% capacity retention (794 mAh g-1) at a 2 C rate after more than 900 cycles for a coin-type half cell, and 80% capacity retention (with initial energy density of 308 Wh kg-1) after over 1100 cycles for a pouch-type full cell. By comparing the samples with different coatings, an in-depth understanding of the performance enhancement is achieved, i.e., the C/CNP-PPy with cross-link bondings formed in the bilayer coating plays a key role for the improved structural stability. Moreover, a full battery using the Si-SiOx@C/CNP-PPy electrode successfully drives a car model, demonstrating a bright application prospect of the C/polymer bilayer coating strategy to make future commercial LIBs with high stability and energy density.

Novel pH-sensitive polysialic acid based polymeric micelles for triggered intracellular release of hydrophobic drug.

Polysialic acid (PSA), a non-immunogenic and biodegradable natural polymer, is prone to hydrolysis under endo-lysosomal pH conditions. Here, we synthesized an intracellular pH-sensitive polysialic acid-ursolic acid conjugate by a condensation reaction. To further test the drug loading capability, we prepared paclitaxel-loaded polysialic acid-based amphiphilic copolymer micelle (PTX-loaded-PSAU) by a nanoprecipitation method. Results showed PTX-loaded-PSAU exhibited well-defined spherical shape and homogeneous distribution. The drug-loading was 4.5% with an entrapment efficiency of 67.5%. PTX released from PTX-loaded-PSAU was 15% and 42% in 72 h under simulated physiological condition (pH 7.4) and mild acidic conditions (pH 5.0), respectively. In addition, In vitro cytotoxicity assay showed that PTX-loaded-PSAU retained anti-tumor (SGC-7901) activity with a cell viability of 53.8% following 72 h incubation, indicating PTX-loaded-PSAU could efficiently release PTX into the tumor cells. These results indicated that the pH-responsive biodegradable PTX-loaded-PSAU possess superior extracellular stability and intracellular drug release ability.

Characterization of two water-soluble lignin metabolites with antiproliferative activities from Inonotus obliquus.

The chaga mushroom, Inonotus obliquus has long been recognized as a remedy for cancer, gastritis, ulcers, and tuberculosis of the bones since the 16th century. Herein we reported the identification of two homogenous biological macromolecules, designated as IOW-S-1 and IOW-S-2 with anti-tumor activities from the hot-water extract of I. obliquus. Their molecular weights were determined to be 37.9 and 24.5kDa by high performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) respectively. Chemical and spectral analysis indicated that both IOW-S-1 and IOW-S-2 were predominant in lignin, along with ∼20% carbohydrates. Examination of cytotoxicity showed that these two lignin-carbohydrate complexes induced cell death in a concentration dependent manner, while this apoptosis induction was largely cell-cycle independent. Further investigation demonstrated that IOW-S-1 or IOW-S-2 inhibited the activation of the nuclear transcription factor in cancer cells. These findings implied that soluble lignin derivatives were one of bioactive components in I. obliquus, and further provided insights into the understanding of molecular basis for diverse medicinal and nutritional values of this mushroom.

Purification, antioxidant and immunological activities of polysaccharides from Actinidia Chinensis roots.

Two water-soluble polysaccharides (ACPS1 and ACPS2) were isolated from the roots of Actinidia Chinensis by DEAE-52 cellulose and Sephacryl S300 chromatography. Preliminary structural characterization was conducted by physicochemical property, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. ACPS1, with an average molecular weight of 5.58 × 10(5) Da, was mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose and galactose in an approximate molar ratio of 1.48:4.28:4.30:1.00:17.83. ACPS2, with a high average molecular weight of 1.23 × 10(6) Da, mainly contained rhamnose, arabinose and galactose in a molar ratio of approximately 1.00:2.33:6.61. Both ACPS1 and ACPS2 exhibited the remarkable antioxidant activity to scavenge the DPPH radical and significant protective effects on H2O2-induced HEK 293 cells death in a concentration-dependent manner. Meanwhile, in vitro immunomodulatory activities of the two polysaccharides were evaluated. The results showed that treatment with 50-300 µg/mL of the samples could increase NO production and phagocytic activity of macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. The present results suggested that the two polysaccharides from Actinidia Chinensis may be potential antioxidant and immunomodulatory agents for preparing functional foods and nutraceuticals applied in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Alteration in immune responses toward N-deacetylation of hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an ubiquitous nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan of the extracellular matrix in all mammalian connective tissues. Along with the age growth, HA will lose its N-acetyl groups in vivo; however, the significance of this physiological process remains largely unknown. Herein, three highly N-deacetylated HAs (dHAs), dHA-5 kDa (Mw: 5 kDa, DD: 100%), dHA-16 kDa (Mw: 16 kDa, DD: 94%) and dHA-110 kDa (Mw: 110 kDa, DD: 72%), were generated after hydrazinolysis. Their capability in the activation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) was compared with that of their respective HAs. Our results demonstrated that both HAs and dHAs could activate the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) transcription factor in APCs and induced cytokine production through the Toll-like receptor (TLR)/MyD88 pathway. Notably, the capacity of dHAs in cytokine induction was much lower than that of HAs. In addition, the TLR-2 pathway was much involved following the appearance of zwitterionic motifs in dHAs. Thus, our findings highlight that N-deacetylation renders HA divergences in immune response, which might be implicated in age-induced functional change in endogenous glycosaminoglycans due to the structural modification in vivo.