ABSTRACT
In industrial manufacturing, alloying can contribute to the passivation of active metals and markedly improve their corrosion resistance. This inspires us to solve the current critical problem of Ag nanowires (Ag NWs) that have poor stability against chemical and electrochemical corrosion. These problems have seriously limited the applications of Ag NWs in optoelectronic devices where they are used for transparent conductive electrodes. Here, a kind of transparent conductive electrode based on Ag@Pt alloy-walled hollow nanowires (Ag@Pt AHNWs) is successfully fabricated by introducing 12 mol % Pt into long Ag NWs to form Ag@Pt alloy. The as-synthesized electrodes exhibit better optical transmittance (82% at the wavelength of 550 nm) under high electrical conductivity (28.73 Ω/sq-1), high thermal stability up to 400 °C for 11 h, and remarkable mechanical flexibility (remaining stable after 5000 cycles bending), as well as high resistance against chemical and electrochemical corrosion. The Ag@Pt AHNWs electrodes are further applied in a primary bifunctional polyaniline electrochemical device, and the device shows promising flexibility, noticeable multicolor performances, and high specific capacitance because of the remarkable mechanical flexibility and electrochemical stability of Ag@Pt AHNWs. This work will provide an optional approach for the preparation of other metal nanomaterial electrodes with high stability.
ABSTRACT
Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERs) has been regarded as an important cause for the pathogenesis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ß-elemene is an active component in the essential oil extracted from a medicinal herb, Curcuma wenyujin, and has been reported to be effective against non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the potential effect and underlying mechanisms of ß-elemene on regulating ERs to inhibit NSCLC are still unclear. In the present study, A549 cells and Lewis tumor-bearing C57BL/6J mice were established to evaluate this effect. Visualsonics Vevo 2100 Small Animal Dedicated High-frequency Color Ultrasound was performed to observe tumor volume in vivo. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) was used to evaluate cell vitality of A549 cells. Furthermore, western blotting (WB), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) were applied to detect the ERs-related proteins. Flow cytometry was also applied to detect cell apoptosis and assay kit for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Our results showed that ß-elemene inhibited lung cancer tumor growth and cell vitality in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Not only that, ß-elemene could up-regulate ERs-related proteins like PERK, IRE1α, ATF6, ATF4, CHOP and down-regulate the Bcl-2 expression. More importantly, ERs inhibitor 4-PBA, IRE1α inhibitor STF-083010, ATF6 inhibitor Anti-ATF6 and PERK inhibitor GSK2656157 can all reduce the amplitude of protein expression changes and apoptosis rates, then weaken the anti-tumor effect of ß-elemene. Therefore, the present in vivo and in vitro study revealed that the anti-NSCLC effect of ß-elemene is closely related to the activation of ERs through PERK/IRE1α/ATF6 pathway, and this might be beneficial for clinical therapy of NSCLC.
