Data_Sheet_1_Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in HT-29 Cells Induced by Dichloromethane Fraction From Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam..docx

<p>The roots of Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam. (TA) has been often used in Chinese folk medicine to treat different diseases, including but not limited to arthritis, injuries, stomachache, and even tumors. However, the anti-cancer effects and the action mechanisms of TA remain elusive. Therefore, we firstly evaluated the effects of different extracts of TA on the growth of human colon cancer cells, and then tried to further elucidate their underlying molecular mechanisms. As a result, the dichloromethane fraction (DF) was found to possess the highest anti-proliferative activity with IC₅₀ value at 18 μg/mL among all of the four extracts from TA, and strongly inhibited HT-29 cell growth and halted cell cycle progression in G2/M phase. DF also induced phosphatidylserine externalization and activated caspases -8, -9, and -3, suggesting DF induced apoptosis through intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. Furthermore, we found that HT-29 cell cycle arrest induced by DF could be the result of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as the ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) attenuating it. Taken together, these results indicated that DF induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and apoptosis in HT-29 cells, and could be a promising source for developing natural therapeutics for colon cancer.</p

Anion Engineering on 3D Ni₃S₂ Nanosheets Array toward Water Splitting

Anion engineering on transition-metal-based materials has been put forward as an important strategy to develop efficient and stable non-noble-metal electrocatalysts toward water electrolysis, including both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). On the basis of theoretical predictions, a three-dimensional (3D) integrated electrode constructed by P-decorated Ni₃S₂ nanosheet arrays (Ni₃S₂|P) was prepared via a facile two-step method. The suitable controlled incorporation of P anions into the Ni₃S₂ matrix can have little influence on the crystal structure, and meanwhile can effectively modify the electronic structure, increase the concentration of charge carrier, supply more delocalized electrons, facilitate more active sites to be electrically activated, optimize the hydrogen adsorption Gibbs free energy, strengthen the interaction for water molecules, and benefit the oxidation of Ni²⁺ to Ni³⁺ oxo-/hydroxides. As a result, the freshly achieved 3D Ni₃S₂|P electrode exhibits higher activity with lower overpotential toward HER and OER, in comparison with its pristine counterpart. Furthermore, when employed in an overall electrolytic cell as both cathode and anode, it can reduce the required overvoltage of 100 mV for reaching 10 mA cm^–2 current density, verifying the great potential of anion engineering in the design of bifunctional materials for overall water splitting

Facile Synthesis of Co₉Se₈ Quantum Dots as Charge Traps for Flexible Organic Resistive Switching Memory Device

Uniform Co₉Se₈ quantum dots (CSQDs) were successfully synthesized through a facile solvothermal method. The obtained CSQDs with average size of 3.2 ± 0.1 nm and thickness of 1.8 ± 0.2 nm were demonstrated good stability and strong fluorescence under UV light after being easily dispersed in both of <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-dimethylformamide (DMF) and deionized water. We demonstrated the flexible resistive switching memory device based on the hybridization of CSQDs and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (CSQDs-PVP). The device with the Al/CSQDs-PVP/Pt/poly­(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) structure represented excellent switching parameters such as high ON/OFF current ratio, low operating voltages, good stability, and flexibility. The flexible resistive switching memory device based on hybridization of CSQDs and PVP has a great potential to be used in flexible and high-performance memory applications

Interface Etching Leads to the Inversion of the Conduction Band Offset between the CdS/Sb₂Se₃ Heterojunction and High-Efficient Sb₂Se₃ Solar Cells

Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) has gained extensive attention owing to its excellent properties of stability and optoelectronic characteristics. However, the band-gap alignment of CdS/Sb2Se3 heterojunction is still a significant bottleneck in the improvement of the efficiency of Sb2Se3 thin-film solar cells. In this study, the quality of a vapor transport deposition (VTD)-processed Sb2Se3 thin film is improved by ammonia etching, wherein the surface potential of the CdS buffer layer is modified and the band-gap alignment of CdS/Sb2Se3 is changed from a “clifflike” to a “spikelike” structure. Moreover, the growth orientation of the Sb2Se3 absorber is tailored. Finally, the reduced carrier recombination, improved band-gap structure, and enhanced crystal orientation lead to the fabrication of a Sb2Se3 solar cell with the best efficiency of 7.48% in this work, which is comparable with the highest efficiency of VTD-processed Sb2Se3 thin-film solar cells. This is expected to provide a valuable reference for the future development of Sb2Se3 thin-film solar cells and other photoelectronic devices

Photophysical Tuning of Organic Ionic Crystals from Ultralong Afterglow to Highly Efficient Phosphorescence by Variation of Halides

Manipulation of photophysical properties of pure organic materials via simple alteration is attractive but extremely challenging because of the lack of valid design strategies for achieving ultralong afterglow or efficient room-temperature phosphorescence. Herein, we report a first photophysical manipulation of organic ionic crystals from ultralong afterglow to highly efficient phosphorescence by variation of halides in the crystals. Crystal structural analysis reveals ultralong organic afterglow of tetraphenylphosphonium chloride is promoted by strong intermolecular electronic coupling in the crystal, and theoretical analysis demonstrates that the tremendous boost of the phosphorescence of tetraphenylphosphonium iodide is caused by the coupling effects of significant heavy atom effect from iodine atoms and a small energy difference between the first singlet and triplet states. This work contributes to regulating long-lived emissive behaviors of pure organic ionic crystals in a controlled way and will promote the development of optical switches controlled by external stimuli

Photophysical Tuning of Organic Ionic Crystals from Ultralong Afterglow to Highly Efficient Phosphorescence by Variation of Halides

Manipulation of photophysical properties of pure organic materials via simple alteration is attractive but extremely challenging because of the lack of valid design strategies for achieving ultralong afterglow or efficient room-temperature phosphorescence. Herein, we report a first photophysical manipulation of organic ionic crystals from ultralong afterglow to highly efficient phosphorescence by variation of halides in the crystals. Crystal structural analysis reveals ultralong organic afterglow of tetraphenylphosphonium chloride is promoted by strong intermolecular electronic coupling in the crystal, and theoretical analysis demonstrates that the tremendous boost of the phosphorescence of tetraphenylphosphonium iodide is caused by the coupling effects of significant heavy atom effect from iodine atoms and a small energy difference between the first singlet and triplet states. This work contributes to regulating long-lived emissive behaviors of pure organic ionic crystals in a controlled way and will promote the development of optical switches controlled by external stimuli

Ultralong Room-Temperature Phosphorescence from Supramolecular Behavior via Intermolecular Electronic Coupling in Pure Organic Crystals

Ultralong room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) of organic materials is extremely attractive for its tremendous potential use. However, the design of organic materials with ultralong and efficient RTP is very challenging due to the lack of general design principles. A new design principle for organic materials with ultralong room-temperature phosphorescence based on π–π-dominated supramolecular aggregates in crystal is proposed, and strong intermolecular electronic coupling with specific molecular alignment is identified to be responsible for supramolecular behavior in persistent emission. Small substituents in molecular structure favor the formation of supramolecular aggregates in the crystal, thus facilitating the generation of ultralong RTP under ambient conditions. Our results also reveal that the introduction of heavy atoms into supramolecular aggregates as a general rule can be used to achieve efficient persistent phosphorescence