Science China Chemistry最新文献

The development of advanced antibacterial materials to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens remains a significant challenge in the healthcare sector. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a novel pillar[5]arene-based platinum metallacycle (P5Pt) specifically engineered to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The obtained metallacycle serves as a host molecule that can bind with an ethylene glycol-linked bis-biotin diester linker, resulting in a water-soluble supramolecular nanosystem (P5Pt-Bio). Both P5Pt and P5Pt-Bio demonstrate remarkable efficacy against drug-resistant bacteria, particularly MRSA, with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 3.1 µM for P5Pt-Bio. Mechanistic investigations, including scanning electron microscopy and protein leakage assays, reveal significant disruption of bacterial membranes, ultimately leading to bacterial cell death. Notably, P5Pt-Bio displays excellent biocompatibility with human keratinocyte cells. These findings underscore the potential of pillar[5]arene-based supramolecular nanosystems as versatile platforms for antibacterial applications.

Hydrogel-based electronic skins or triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) are considered ideal candidates for flexible electronics. However, current hydrogels face limitations that lead to suboptimal performance, and their reliance on external power sources hampers their practical application. A two-step washing approach comprising of “salt soaking” and “salt washing” is introduced to fabricate the multifunctional hydrogel. Initially, the hydrogel framework (SAC₂Z)-acrylamide (AM) and silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel is formed via salt soaking. Subsequently, the crosslinking degree is fine-tuned by adjusting the salt ion concentration through salt washing. The obtained hydrogel SAC₂ZC possesses excellent mechanical properties (a 15-fold increase in fracture strength to 320 kPa) and excellent cold resistance up to −80 °C. Compared to conventional water-dispersible hydrogels, strain sensors based on SAC₂ZC are capable of sensing up to −30 °C. The flexible antifreeze battery based on SAC₂ZC has excellent dendrite resistance and could supply power under high pressure (30 MPa) and severe bending (180°). The SAC₂ZC-based TENG (C-TENG) enables energy harvesting, eliminating reliance on external power sources. This innovation paves the way for flexible sensing systems that integrate energy collection and storage, facilitating all-weather human-smartphone signal interaction. This research provides a new strategy to develop multifunctional SAC₂ZC hydrogel for flexible wearable devices, especially in extremely cold complex environments.

Nanomedicine has emerged as a dynamically evolving frontier in contemporary medical research. However, the development of nanomedicine is impeded by significant challenges due to its complex, multidisciplinary nature, necessitating the exploration of innovative solutions. Artificial intelligence (AI) has established itself as a pivotal and rapidly advancing domain within nanomedicine research. By leveraging its robust data processing and analytical capabilities, AI can efficiently analyze large datasets and accurately predict the properties and medical functions of nanomaterials. Over the past years, AI applications have proliferated across critical nanomedicine subdomains, including intelligent nanobiosensors for precision diagnostics, AI-optimized nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery, machine learning-guided adjuvant therapy systems, and predictive computational models for nanosafety evaluation. This review aims to provide a thorough analysis of AI’s influence throughout the entire spectrum of nanomedicine, as well as the formidable challenges and extraordinary potential for pioneering researchers.

The exposome is defined as the cumulative lifetime exposure to exogenous environmental factors and their corresponding biological responses, thereby providing a holistic framework for elucidating the complex interplay between environmental determinants and human health outcomes. Understanding these complex interactions is important for identifying the causes of diseases and associated risk factors. Recent advances in analytical methodologies employed in exposomics, including mass spectrometry and sensor-based platforms, have significantly expanded our capacity to identify and quantify both external exposures and internal biological responses. This review explores recent advancements and practical applications of these techniques in environmental health studies, with a focus on their role in detecting and characterizing complex exposure patterns. Additionally, we discuss the challenges in exposome research and propose strategies to improve its application, thereby reinforcing the potential of the exposome paradigm in advancing precision public health.

Chlorine-rich argyrodite electrolytes, despite their exceptional ionic conductivity, face critical challenges in industrial utilization of all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) due to inherent air instability and unsatisfactory compatibility with lithium metal anodes. To solve this problem, this work doped the PO ³⁻₄ unit in Li_5.5PS_4.5Cl_1.5, yielding a modified electrolyte LPSC-5%Li₃PO₄ with significantly enhanced chemical/electrochemical stability. The integration of PO ³⁻₄ units within the bulk structure reinforces lattice stability through robust P–O bonding while inhibiting reactive sulfur species responsible for moisture-triggered H₂S generation, resulting in enhanced air/moisture stability. Moreover, the electrolyte demonstrates an ionic conductivity of 5.71 mS cm⁻¹ coupled with an exceptional critical current density reaching 2.9 mA cm⁻², indicating robust dendrite suppression capability. Notably, the PO ³⁻₄ -doped into the LPSC electrolyte induces multifaceted interfacial enhancements: a composite interphase layer consisting of LiCl and Li₃OCl phases is spontaneously formed at the lithium/electrolyte interface. Physical field simulations demonstrate that the electrolyte exhibits excellent mechanical stability, effectively suppressing the penetration of lithium dendrites. Chemically, Density functional theory calculations reveal that the electrolyte possesses a high lowest unoccupied molecular orbital potential, demonstrating good compatibility with lithium metal. This multifaced mechanism synergistically inhibits dendritic lithium growth by simultaneously passivating reactive interfaces and homogenizing ion transport dynamics. The assembled ASSLBS enables stable cycling performance, delivering an initial discharge capacity of 146.7 mAh g⁻¹ and a capacity retention of 80.0% after 1000 cycles at 0.5 C. This work establishes a straightforward and effective doping paradigm that simultaneously addresses ionic transport efficiency, air stability, and interfacial compatibility in sulfide based electrolytes. The proposed strategy provides critical insights into the rational design of high-energy-density ASSLBs with superior cyclability.

The development of advanced materials and technologies in the field of sustainability is of vital importance for addressing environmental pollution. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) show great potential in the field of environmental remediation due to their ordered structure, high porosity, low density, large specific surface area, alongside excellent chemical stability. These features position COFs as promising candidates for environmental remediation. However, COFs usually exist in powder form with poor processability and recyclability. To overcome such challenges, the construction of COF-based aerogels with a unique three-dimensional interconnected pore structure and extremely low density is considered an important means to realize their device applications. The research on the development of advanced COF aerogel composites at the molecular level opens up a new way and provides a new choice of multifunctional materials for environmental governance. This review focuses on COF aerogels and systematically summarizes their synthesis methods and development in environmental applications.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) hold great promise to be the next-generation large-scale energy storage system due to their cost-effectiveness and resource availability. More importantly, sodium-ion batteries have energy density approaching that of lithium-ion batteries, outperforming most of their counterparts. Further improvement of their energy density depends on the innovation of high-capacity layered sodium-ion cathodes, which entails the participation of anionic redox whose origin and reversibility are closely associated with the superstructures in the transition metal layer. Recently, various superstructures were found in layered sodium-ion cathodes and were tightly correlated with their anionic redox activity and electrochemistry. Given its high importance in tailoring the performance of sodium-ion cathodes, in this minireview, we systematically summarize the recent progress of superstructure in SIBs, assisting in understanding the underlying mechanism of anionic redox that is coupled with transition metal migration, O-O dimer formation, and consequently, the voltage hysteresis. We start with the structure-relationship between anionic redox and superstructures (mainly honeycomb, ribbon and mesh superstructures) by delving into the band structure of these Na-based cathodes. The different properties of the three main superstructures are then compared and discussed, followed by a revisit of recent progress on varying the honeycomb superstructures. Finally, we present our perspectives on how to utilize such superstructure-related anionic redox via stabilizing and tuning the structural units with various strategies. We hope this minireview can clarify the various characteristics of different superstructures and offer a unique insight toward high-energy-density sodium-ion batteries with anionic redox.

We present a comprehensive study of an oligoguanidine family exhibiting remarkable antiviral efficacy against pathogenic viruses. Through structural screening, we identified OG_5–11 as a promising compound and thoroughly characterized its antiviral activity using coxsackievirus B3 and spring viremia of carp virus as model viruses. OG_5–11 demonstrated a compelling ability to rescue cells already infected with pathogenic viruses at low µM concentrations, as well as a potent and rapid virucidal capacity against infective virions. These effects are likely attributed to the oligomer’s strong affinity towards viral nucleic acids, inhibiting viral replication processes by binding to them. The cationic OG_5–11 also exhibited binding capability towards proteins and lipids, directly contributing to its virucidal activity. To evaluate the in vivo efficacy, we assessed OG_5–11 in a coxsackievirus B3-based mouse myocarditis model, where it significantly reduced viral burden in the heart tissues by 94%, effectively mitigating viral infection-induced damage. Finally, preliminary investigations demonstrated the potential of the oligoguanidine family to broaden its antiviral spectrum, employing adenovirus and influenza A virus as additional models. Collectively, our findings underscore the effectiveness and inspiration derived from the dual-mechanistic approach of oligomer construction, which holds great promise for the development of urgently needed broad-spectrum antiviral agents.