Efficient photoinduced charge separation in a BODIPY-C60 dyad

A donor-acceptor dyad composed of a BF2-chelated dipyrromethene (BODIPY) and a C60 fullerene has been newly synthesized and characterized. The two moieties are linked by direct addition of an azido substituted BODIPY on the C60, producing an imino-fullerene-BODIPY adduct. The photoinduced charge transfer process in this system was studied by ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. Electron transfer toward the fullerene was found to occur selectively exciting both the BODIPY chromophore at 475 nm and the C60 unit at 266 nm on a time scale of a few picoseconds, but the dynamics of charge separation was different in the two cases. Eletrochemical studies provided information on the redox potentials of the involved species and spectroelectrochemical measurements allowed to unambiguously assign the absorption band of the oxidized BODIPY moiety, which helped in the interpretation of the transient absorption spectra. The experimental studies were complemented by a theoretical analysis based on DFT computations of the excited state energies of the two components and their electronic couplings, which allowed identification of the charge transfer mechanism and rationalization of the different kinetic behavior observed by changing the excitation conditions

Observation of an improved healing process in superficial skin wounds after irradiation with a blue-LED haemostatic device

The healing process of superficial skin wounds treated with a blue-LED haemostatic device is studied. Four mechanical abrasions are produced on the back of 10 Sprague Dawley rats: two are treated with the blue-LED device, while the other two are left to naturally recover. Visual observations, non-linear microscopic imaging, as well as histology and immunofluorescence analyses are performed 8 days after the treatment, demonstrating no adverse reactions neither thermal damages in both abraded areas and surrounding tissue. A faster healing process and a better-recovered skin morphology are observed: the treated wounds show a reduced inflammatory response and a higher collagen content. Blue LED induced photothermal effect on superficial abrasions

Nanostructured carbon materials decorated with organophosphorus moieties: Synthesis and application

A new synthetic approach for the production of carbon nanomaterials (CNM) decorated with organophosphorus moieties is presented. Three different triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) derivatives were used to decorate oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (ox-MWCNTs) and graphene platelets (GPs). The TPPOs chosen bear functional groups able to react with the CNMs by Tour reaction (an amino group), nitrene cycloaddition (an azido group) or CuAAC reaction (one terminal C–C triple bond). All the adducts were characterized by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, TEM, XPS, elemental analysis and ICP-AES. The cycloaddition of nitrene provided the higher loading on ox-MWCNTs and GPs as well, while the Tour approach gave best results with nanotubes (CNTs). Finally, we investigated the possibility to reduce the TPPO functionalized CNMs to the corresponding phosphine derivatives and applied one of the materials produced as heterogeneous organocatalyst in a Staudinger ligation reaction

Metal-Free Antibacterial Additives Based on Graphene Materials and Salicylic Acid: From the Bench to Fabric Applications

[Image: see text] The custom functionalization of a graphene surface allows access to engineered nanomaterials with improved colloidal stability and tailored specific properties, which are available to be employed in a wide range of applications ranging from materials to life science. The high surface area and their intrinsic physical and biological properties make reduced graphene oxide and graphene oxide unique materials for the custom functionalization with bioactive molecules by exploiting different surface chemistries. In this work, preparation (on the gram scale) of reduced graphene oxide and graphene oxide derivatives functionalized with the well-known antibacterial agent salicylic acid is reported. The salicylic acid functionalities offered a stable colloidal dispersion and, in addition, homogeneous absorption on a sample of textile manufacture (i.e., cotton fabrics), as shown by a Raman spectroscopy study, thus providing nanoengineered materials with significant antibacterial activity toward different strains of microorganisms. Surprisingly, graphene surface functionalization also ensured resistance to detergent washing treatments as verified on a model system using the quartz crystal microbalance technique. Therefore, our findings paved the way for the development of antibacterial additives for cotton fabrics in the absence of metal components, thus limiting undesirable side effects

Biocompatible cellulose nanocrystal-based Trojan horse enables targeted delivery of nano-Au radiosensitizers to triple negative breast cancer cells

: A hybrid cellulose-based programmable nanoplatform for applications in precision radiation oncology is described. Here, sugar heads work as tumor targeting moieties and steer the precise delivery of radiosensitizers, i.e. gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. This "Trojan horse" approach promotes a specific and massive accumulation of radiosensitizers in TNBC cells, thus avoiding the fast turnover of small-sized AuNPs and the need for high doses of AuNPs for treatment. Application of X-rays resulted in a significant increase of the therapeutic effect while delivering the same dose, showing the possibility to use roughly half dose of X-rays to obtain the same radiotoxicity effect. These data suggest that this hybrid nanoplatform acts as a promising tool for applications in enhancing cancer radiotherapy effects with lower doses of X-rays