Iridium(III) carbene complexes as potent girdin inhibitors against metastatic cancers.

Many cancer-driving protein targets remain undruggable due to a lack of binding molecular scaffolds. In this regard, octahedral metal complexes with unique and versatile three-dimensional structures have rarely been explored as inhibitors of undruggable protein targets. Here, we describe antitumor iridium(III) pyridinium-N-heterocyclic carbene complex 1a, which profoundly reduces the viability of lung and breast cancer cells as well as cancer patient-derived organoids at low micromolar concentrations. Compound 1a effectively inhibits the growth of non-small-cell lung cancer and triple-negative breast cancer xenograft tumors, impedes the metastatic spread of breast cancer cells, and can be modified into an antibody-drug conjugate payload to achieve precise tumor delivery in mice. Identified by thermal proteome profiling, an important molecular target of 1a in cellulo is Girdin, a multifunctional adaptor protein that is overexpressed in cancer cells and unequivocally serves as a signaling hub for multiple pivotal oncogenic pathways. However, specific small-molecule inhibitors of Girdin have not yet been developed. Notably, 1a exhibits high binding affinity to Girdin with a Kd of 1.3 µM and targets the Girdin-linked EGFR/AKT/mTOR/STAT3 cancer-driving pathway, inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and metastatic activity. Our study reveals a potent Girdin-targeting anticancer compound and demonstrates that octahedral metal complexes constitute an untapped library of small-molecule inhibitors that can fit into the ligand-binding pockets of key oncoproteins.

Dihydroartemisinin engages liver fatty acid binding protein and suppresses metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma growth.

Dihydroartemisinin non-covalently binds liver fatty acid binding protein (FABP1) with micromolar affinity, acts as a FABP1-dependent peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha agonist and inhibits metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma growth.

Hierarchical mesoporous zeolites: direct self-assembly synthesis in a conventional surfactant solution by kinetic control over the zeolite seed formation.

By kinetic control over the zeolite seed formation, we report the direct fabrication of hierarchical mesoporous zeolites using hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the soft template in a conventional solution route. Nanometer-sized, subnanocrystal-type zeolite seeds with a high degree of polymerization are essential to prevent the formation of a separate amorphous mesoporous phase and the phase separation between the mesophase and zeolite crystals in the presence of CTAB and a certain amount of ethanol. The mechanisms for the formation of hierarchically porous zeolites in the solution process, including the effect of mother liquid aging, formation of subnanocrystal zeolite seeds and their self-assembly effect with CTAB, and the role of ethanol are proposed and discussed in detail. The prepared mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolite showed much higher catalytic activity than conventional counterparts for aldol condensations involving large molecules, especially in the synthesis of vesidryl.

Structural characteristics of oriented mesostructured silica thin films.

Mesoporous thin films synthesized via an electrochemical strategy (ref 1) generally show granular domains, each of which is composed of hexagonally packed one-dimensional channels oriented uniquely perpendicular to the film surface. Grain boundaries either parallel or normal to the channel direction might affect the properties and subsequent application of the film. In this study, the structural details of oriented mesostructured silica thin films have been examined by transmission electron microscope. The pore structures are characterized using the traditional crystallographic concepts but show different structural properties from that of polycrystalline materials. The boundary structures vary much depending on the residual internal stress and the orientation relationship between the bounded grains. A variety of structural features, typically near the large-angle tilt boundaries, have been observed including coincidence site lattices, lattice distortion, lattice displacement, and dislocations. According to the present structural analysis, microstructure evolution and potential applications have been discussed with respect to the oriented mesoporous films.

Direct fabrication of mesoporous zeolite with a hollow capsular structure.

We report the direct fabrication of mesoporous zeolite with a hollow spherical/ellipsoidal capsule structure by using conventional TPAOH and CTAB as soft micro- and mesopore generating templates; the mesoporous zeolite shows a high surface area of 717 m(2) g(-1) and small mesopore size of around 3 nm.

A facile route to hollow nanospheres of mesoporous silica with tunable size.

Hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres (HMSNs) with tunable sizes of both sphere diameter (around 100 nm) and shell thickness have been successfully fabricated.

A novel nanoscale catalyst system composed of nanosized Pd catalysts immobilized on Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2)-PAMAM.

This study reports the syntheses of Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2)-Gn-PAMAM-Pd(0) composites and their applications as magnetically recoverable catalysts for the hydrogenation of allyl alcohol. The controlled growth of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers with different generations on Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) surfaces was monitored by FT-IR spectra. Subsequently, Pd nanoparticles with diameters of about 2.5 nm were stabilized homogeneously on the surface of Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2)-Gn-PAMAM (n = 1-4), investigated by thermogravimetry (TG) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. The Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2)-Gn-PAMAM-Pd(0) have high catalytic activity for the hydrogenation of allyl alcohol and the rate of the reaction can be controlled by changing the generation of PAMAM. In particular, the composites made of superparamagnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanocrystals with diameters of about 10 nm are very suitable as catalyst supports for catalyst separation under a relatively low external magnetic field and catalyst re-dispersion after removing the external magnetic field.

Synthesis and formation mechanism of nanoneedles and nanorods of manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve using an ionic liquid.

Single-crystalline cryptomelane-type manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) nanoneedles and nanorods were prepared by a solution-phase approach in the presence of an ionic liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM]BF4). [BMIM]BF4 can act as a cosolvent, structure-directing agent, and reducing reagent in the reaction system. Based on the redox reaction of MnCl2 and KMnO4 in the mixed solvents of water and [BMIM]BF4, the formation of OMS-2 nanoneedles followed the rolling mechanism with lamellae as an intermediate. However, the direct reaction of KMnO4 with [BMIM]BF4 resulted in the formation of OMS-2 nanorods with diameters as small as 3-6 nm. The formation mechanism of OMS-2 nanostructures was discussed.

Template guided self-assembling two-dimensional array of Au@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles for room-temperature single electron transistors.

The composite nanoparticles of a gold core capped by a SiO2 shell with well-controlled thickness have been synthesized and fabricated into two-dimensional array on silicon surface by a simple self-assembly method combined with an AFM nanolithography technique. Current-voltage measurements of the Au@SiO2 composite nanoparticles (shell thickness of 6 nm) show a well-pronounced Coulomb staircase with a period of 300 mV at room temperature, demonstrating single electron transistor behavior. The step width of the Coulomb staircase can be tuned by controlling the thickness of SiO2 shell. The tunable single electron tunneling properties make the 2D array of Au@SiO2 composite nanoparticles an ideal candidate for planar single electron transistor devices.

A mesoporous template route to the low-temperature preparation of efficient green light emitting Zn2SiO4:Mn phosphors.

Green light emitting Zn2SiO4:Mn phosphors have been prepared via a low-temperature solid-state reaction using mesoporous silica SBA-15 template. This mesoporous silica template method features low-temperature formation of phosphors and easy doping. The structure and morphology of the phosphors were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and N2 adsorption/desorption techniques, which confirmed the single crystallinity, ordered mesostructure, closed pore channels, and elongated ropelike morphology. The luminescent properties were examined by photoluminescence spectroscopy at room temperature, and the results of fluorescence decay time measurements show non-single-exponential decay behavior and a decrease of the decay time with an increase of the Mn concentration.

Preparation and properties of an ordered, uniform 0.9 nm Ag array assembled in a nanoporous VSB-1 by a simple soft chemical method.

An ordered, homogeneously distributed and uniform 0.9 nm Ag array, which exhibits an unusual UV-vis surface plasmon resonance absorption peak at 355 nm with the largest blue-shift position and controllable intensity, has been successfully prepared by a simple soft chemical approach using the nanoporous VSB-1 as the template.