Improving Ambipolar Semiconducting Properties of Thiazole-Flanked Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Terpolymers by Incorporating Urea Groups in the Side-Chains

Two new ambipolar thiazole-flanked diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymers pDPPTz2T-1 and pDPPTz2T-2 with urea-containing linear side-chains were prepared. The formation of hydrogen bonding enhanced the ambipolar semiconducting properties, including mobilities and on/off ratios. The average mobilities (hole and electron) of pDPPTz2T-2 were 25 and 3 times higher than those of pDPPTz2T without urea groups, whereas the average on/off ratios (<i>I</i>_on/<i>I</i>_off) for hole and electron were 100 and 4 times higher than those obtained for pDPPTz2T. Thin-film microstructure studies reveal that incorporating urea groups into polymer side-chains can enhance interchain packings, including the alkyl chain lamellar and π–π stackings. Our results clearly show how incorporating urea groups in side-chains significantly influence semiconducting properties, which could be extended to other conjugated systems toward ambipolar and even n-type FETs

Effects of Dietary Protein from Different Sources on Biotransformation, Antioxidation, and Inflammation in the Rat Liver

In this work, the effects of different sources of meat protein on liver metabolic enzymes were investigated. Rats were fed for 90 days with semisynthetic diets in which casein was fully replaced by isolated soybean, fish, chicken, pork, or beef proteins. Then, liver proteomics was performed using iTRAQ and LC–ESI–MS/MS. The results indicated that intake of meat protein diets significantly reduced the protein levels of CYP450s, GSTs, UGTs, and SULTs compared to those of the casein and soybean protein diet groups. The total antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation values did not differ between four meat protein diet groups and the casein diet group. However, GSH activity in the fish, chicken, and beef protein groups was significantly higher than those of the casein and soybean protein groups. The beef protein diet significantly upregulated the expression of immune-related proteins. The Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway was suggested to involve the diet-mediated regulation of biotransformation, inflammation, and redox status