Compartmentalized Assembly of Motor Protein Reconstituted on Protocell Membrane toward Highly Efficient Photophosphorylation

Molecule assembly and functionalization of protocells have achieved a great success. However, the yield efficiency of photophosphorylation in the present cell-like systems is limited. Herein, inspired by natural photobacteria, we construct a protocell membrane reconstituting motor protein for highly efficient light-mediated adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis through a layer-by-layer technique. The assembled membrane, compartmentally integrating photoacid generator, proton conductor, and ATP synthase, possesses excellent transparency, fast proton production, and quick proton transportation. Remarkably, these favorable features permit the formation of a large proton gradient in a confined region to drive ATP synthase to produce ATP with high efficiency (873 ATP s^–1). It is the highest among the existing artificial photophosphorylation systems. Such a biomimetic system provides a bioenergy-supplying scenario for early photosynthetic life and holds promise in remotely controlled ATP-consumed biosensors, biocatalysts, and biodevices

Transporting a Tube in a Tube

LbL-assembled tubes were employed for micro/nanoscale cargo transportation through the kinesin-microtubule system. Selectively modified with kinesins onto the inner tube walls through Ni–NTA complexes, these tubes can work as channels for microtubules. A motility assay shows the smooth movement of microtubules along the tube inner wall powered by the inside immobilized kinesins. It could be envisioned that cargoes with different sizes can be transported through these tubular channels with little outside interruption

Hypocrellin-Loaded Gold Nanocages with High Two-Photon Efficiency for Photothermal/Photodynamic Cancer Therapy <i>in Vitro</i>

A new bioconjugate nanostructure was constructed by using photosensitizer-incorporated mixed lipid-coated gold nanocages for two-photon photothermal/photodynamic cancer therapy <i>in vitro</i> with high efficiency. Scanning electron microscopic and transmission electron microscopic images reveal that the precursors and bioconjugate nanostructure as-prepared are narrowly dispersed and possess uniform morphologies. The relevant energy dispersion X-ray analysis and UV–vis spectra indicate that the bioconjugate nanostructure above was assembled successfully and has a strong absorption in the near-infrared region. Fluorescence and electronic spin resonance results show that the gold nanocage in the bioconjugate nanostructure can dramatically quench the photosensitizer and inhibit the production of singlet oxygen, which is supposed to alleviate the photosensitizers’ unwanted side effects originating from their nontargeted distribution. We have demonstrated that as the nanocomplex is internalized by cancer cells, under two-photon illumination, photodynamic anticancer treatment is dramatically enhanced by the photothermal effect

One-Pot Ultrafast Self-Assembly of Autofluorescent Polyphenol-Based Core@Shell Nanostructures and Their Selective Antibacterial Applications

We demonstrate that large-scale autofluorescent tea polyphenol (TP)-based core@shell nanostructures can be assembled by one-pot preparation under microwave irradiation within 1 min. The formation mechanism of the heterogeneous well-defined core@shell nanocomposites involves microwave-assisted oxidation-inducing self-assembly and directed aggregation. The strategy is general to construct Ag@TP and Au@TP nanocomposites. Moreover, a simple galvanic replacement reaction was introduced to synthesize hollow Au/Ag@TP bioconjugates with near-infrared (NIR) absorption, which could be exploited for NIR cancer diagnosis and treatment. It could be expected that more complex alloy@TP nanostructures can be obtained under proper reaction conditions. Furthermore, as a first application, it is shown that the heterogeneous Ag@TP nanostructures can strongly inhibit Escherichia coli growth, while they exhibit no obvious normal cell toxicity. The sharp contrast of the two effects promises that the nanocomposites are excellent low toxicity biomaterials for selective antibacterial treatment

Fabrication of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle with Well-Defined Multicompartment Structure as Efficient Drug Carrier for Cancer Therapy <i>in Vitro</i> and <i>in Vivo</i>

Vaterite particles are composed of particulate CaCO₃ nanoparticles, which offer an ideal platform to synthesize architectures with hierarchical structure. Herein we show that mesoporous silica particles with well-defined multicompartment structure are fabricated by employing vaterite particles as templates. The obtained silica particles inherited the structure feature of vaterite and had excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Moreover, the silica particles were established as an efficient anticancer drugs carrier compared with hollow silica particles, which could be applied in cancer therapy <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. The silica particles obtained here offer a cheap, facile, environmentally friendly avenue to assembly of hierarchical drugs carriers

Self-Assembly of Ultralong Aligned Dipeptide Single Crystals

Oriented arrangement of single crystals plays a key role in improving the performance of their functional devices. Herein we describe a method for the exceptionally fast fabrication (mm/min) of ultralong aligned dipeptide single crystals (several centimeters). It combines an induced nucleation step with a continuous withdrawal of substrate, leading to specific evaporation/composition conditions at a three-phase contact line, which makes the growth process controllable. These aligned dipeptide fibers possess a uniform cross section with active optical waveguiding properties that can be used as waveguiding materials. The approach provides guidance for the controlled arrangement of organic single crystals, a family of materials with considerable potential applications in large-scale functional devices