All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries Using Ti-based Cathode Materials with Sulfide Solid Electrolyte

Battery Science and TechnologyThe electrochemical performances of LiTi2(PS4)3 (LTPS), TiS¬2 with a 75Li2S-25P2S5 glass-ceramic solid electrolyte (SE) are investigated. In spite of irreversibility of structural changes, LTPS exhibits a high first discharge capacity of 455 mAh g-1 with good cycling retention of 76% at the 25th cycle between 1.5-3.5 V at 0.12C at 30 oC. In sharp contrast, LTPS with a liquid electrolyte (LE) in a conventional cell loses half of its initial capacity after only 14 cycles. The much poorer performance of LTPS in the LE compared to that in the SE is believed to be associated with dissolution of LTPS into the LE. The results highlight the prospects of exploring electrode materials that are compatible with SEs for all-solid-state batteries. The performances of composite electrodes prepared by controlled ball-milling (BM) of TiS2 and SE for all-solid-state lithium batteries are also investigated, where evolution of the microstructures is focused. Hand-mixed electrodes (HMe) exhibit ~240 mA h g-1 in the voltage ranges of 1.5–3.0 V and 1.0–3.0 V. In contrast, the ball-milled electrodes (BMe) exhibit exceedingly high first charge capacities of 416 mAh g-1 and 837 mA h g-1 in the voltage ranges of 1.5–3.0 V and 1.0–3.0 V, respectively. Excellent capacity retention of 95% in the 1.5–3.0 V range after 60 cycles for the BMe is also demonstrated as well as not losing the rate performance as compared to the HMe. More importantly, a variety of characterization techniques show that origin of the excess Li+ storage is associated with an amorphous (Li)-Ti-P-S phase formed during the controlled BM process.ope

Interfacial architecture for extra Li+ storage in all-solid-state lithium batteries

The performance of nanocomposite electrodes prepared by controlled ball-milling of TiS2 and a Li2S-P2S5 solid electrolyte (SE) for all-solid-state lithium batteries is investigated, focusing on the evolution of the microstructure. Compared to the manually mixed electrodes, the ball-milled electrodes exhibit abnormally increased first-charge capacities of 416 mA h g-1and 837 mA h g-1 in the voltage ranges 1.5-3.0 V and 1.0-3.0 V, respectively, at 50 mA g-1 and 30??C. The ball-milled electrodes also show excellent capacity retention of 95% in the 1.5-3.0 V range after 60 cycles as compared to the manually mixed electrodes. More importantly, a variety of characterization techniques show that the origin of the extra Li+ storage is associated with an amorphous Li-Ti-P-S phase formed during the controlled ball-milling process.open1

All-Solid-State Rechargeable Lithium Batteries Using LiTi2(PS4)(3) Cathode with Li2S-P2S5 Solid Electrolyte

The electrochemical performances of LiTi2(PS4)(3) (LTPS) with a 75Li(2)S-25P(2)S(5) glass-ceramic solid electrolyte (SE) are investigated. In spite of irreversibility of structural changes, LTPS exhibits a high first discharge capacity of 455 mAh g(-1) with good cycling retention of 76% at the 25th cycle between 1.5-3.5 V at 50 mA g(-1) at 30 degrees C. In sharp contrast, LTPS with a liquid electrolyte (LE) in a conventional cell loses half of its initial capacity after only 14 cycles. The much poorer performance of LTPS in the LE compared to that in the SE is believed to be associated with dissolution of LTPS into the LE. The results highlight the prospects of exploring electrode materials that are compatible with SEs for all-solid-state batteries.close

Catechin gallates are NADP(+)-competitive inhibitors of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and other enzymes that employ NADP(+) as a coenzyme

Recent studies have shown that glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is an effectual therapeutic target for metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes. In this study, we used in silico and conventional screening approaches to identify putative inhibitors of G6PD and found that gallated catechins (EGCG, GCG, ECG, CG), but not ungallated catechins (ECG, GC, EC, C), were NADP+-competitive inhibitors of G6PD and other enzymes that employ NADP+ as a coenzyme, such as IDH and 6PGD.close161

Comparative study of TiS2/Li-In all-solid-state lithium batteries using glass-ceramic Li3PS4and Li10GeP2S12 solid electrolytes

A systematic investigation on the electrochemical performances of all-solid-state TiS2/Li-In cells with various configurations using glass-ceramic Li3PS4 (LPS) and Li10GeP2S12 (LGPS) solid electrolytes is presented. In spite of the superior conductivity of LGPS to that of LPS, LGPS shows poor stability in the low voltage range below ???1 V (vs. Li/Li+) as evidenced by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and ex-situ XRD experiments. The combined use of the LGPS cathode layer and an LGPS-LPS SE bilayer where LPS forms an interface with the Li-In anode ((TiS2-LGPS)/(LGPS-LPS)/Li-In cell) results in the best overall performance at 30??C, exhibiting a capacity of ???60 mA h g-1 (???25% of the theoretical capacity) at 20C, over a voltage range of 1.5-3.0 V (vs. Li/Li+). Combined analyses by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and conductivity measurements of the cathode layers highlight the importance of having an SE of high conductivity and optimizing the structure of the composite electrode.close0

Membrane-Associated Transporter Protein (MATP) Regulates Melanosomal pH and Influences Tyrosinase Activity

<div><p>The <i>SLC45A2</i> gene encodes a Membrane-Associated Transporter Protein (MATP). Mutations of this gene cause oculocutaneous albinism type 4 (OCA4). However, the molecular mechanism of its action in melanogenesis has not been elucidated. Here, we discuss the role of MATP in melanin production. The <i>SLC45A2</i> gene is highly enriched in human melanocytes and melanoma cell lines, and its protein, MATP, is located in melanosomes. The knockdown of MATP using siRNAs reduced melanin content and tyrosinase activity without any morphological change in melanosomes or the expression of melanogenesis-related proteins. Interestingly, the knockdown of MATP significantly lowered the melanosomal pH, as verified through DAMP analysis, suggesting that MATP regulates melanosomal pH and therefore affects tyrosinase activity. Finally, we found that the reduction of tyrosinase activity associated with the knockdown of MATP was readily recovered by copper treatment in the <i>in vitro</i> L-DOPA oxidase activity assay of tyrosinase. Considering that copper is an important element for tyrosinase activity and that its binding to tyrosinase depends on melanosomal pH, MATP may play an important role in regulating tyrosinase activity via controlling melanosomal pH.</p></div

The SLC45A2 transcript is highly expressed in human melanoma cells and primary melanocytes.

<p>Expression of the SLC45A transcripts in various human melanoma cell lines (A), normal melanocytes from Caucasians and Asians (B), and human non-melanogenic skin cells (C) were examined by RT-qPCR. The data are representative of three independent experiments. (D) The expression of the MATP protein in human cells was analyzed by immunoblotting with an anti-MATP antibody. The arrowhead indicates the MATP protein. The data are representative of three independent experiments.</p

The knockdown of MATP acidifies the melanosomal pH.

<p>(A) MNT-1 cells stably expressing scrambled or MATP shRNAs were treated with the pH indicator DAMP for 30 min. An anti-DNP antibody was used to detect DAMP by fluorescence microscopy. Scale bars = 200 μm. (B) The fluorescence intensity was calculated with ImageJ software (<a href="http://rsbweb.nih.gov/ij/download.html" target="_blank">http://rsbweb.nih.gov/ij/download.html</a>). The data are representative of three independent experiments (*, <i>P</i> < 0.05). (C) MNT-1 cells stably expressing scrambled or MATP shRNAs were co-stained with anti-DNP and anti-HMB45 antibodies after DAMP treatment for 30 min and then visualized by confocal microscopy. Each inset was magnified. Scale bars = 10 μm.</p

Copper treatment recovers the L-DOPA oxidase activity of tyrosinase in MATP-KD cells.

<p>MNT-1 cells were treated with each siRNA for 2 days. The lysates were treated with or without 1 mM CuSO₄ for 5 min before incubating with 2 mg/ml L-DOPA for 1 hour, after which the absorbance at 450 nm was measured. The data are representative of three independent experiments (***, <i>P</i> < 0.005).</p