Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Mengwen Li, Ao Shen, Yimin Hou, Xiaohui Hao, Man Du, Xiaoyu Du, Shufeng Ma, Jiaxin Yuan, Lala Hou, Yongwei Zhao, Ziqi Li, Yunxu Yang
Summary: This study presents a novel MOF-NADH-mediated colorimetric assay for highly sensitive detection of FA. The method is based on the biomimetic enzyme reductive reaction and the co-catalysis of metalloporphyrin with oxidized TMB, offering an excellent linear relationship within a broad range of FA concentrations and a low detection limit.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Mengya Guo, Fengjuan Gu, Lingding Meng, Qiyong Liao, Zihui Meng, Wenfang Liu
Summary: This study investigates the reduction of CO2 to formaldehyde using a photo-enzyme coupled system. The optimal pH values and electron donors for the reactions are determined. Furthermore, the loading ratio of enzymes and the concentration of cofactors are optimized, and the stability of the system is examined. The results demonstrate the efficiency and stability of the photo-enzyme coupled system in producing formaldehyde from CO2.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yan Liu, Fan Zhang, Ling Jiang, J. Jefferson P. Perry, Zhihe Zhao, Jiayu Liao
Summary: This study introduces a novel method to determine kinetics parameters of product inhibition using quantitative FRET(qFRET) assay, providing a convenient way to determine all kinetics parameters and a new approach to combine different measurements with mutually compatible results and errors for the first time.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mengwen Li, Ao Shen, Man Du, Xiaohui Hao, Xiaoyu Du, Jiaxin Yuan, Shufeng Ma, Yongwei Zhao, Lala Hou, Ziqi Li, Yunxu Yang
Summary: A new NMOFs-NADH model (UiO-66-NADH) with a self-adaptive pore radius to selectively capture and remove FA in aqueous and gaseous phases has been designed and synthesized. It efficiently converts FA to methanol with the catalysis of Fe-TCPP and can be regenerated by g-C3N4 via photocatalysis. The UiO-66-NADH/Fe-TCPP system shows great potential in environmental protection.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ramazan Kalin, Zeynep Koksal, Songul Bayrak, Serpil Gerni, Isil Nihan Ozyurek, Hande Usanmaz, Muhammet Karaman, Ali Atasever, Hasan Ozdemir, Ilhami Gulcin
Summary: This study tested the inhibition effects of several antibiotics on lactoperoxidase (LPO) and found that cefazolin exhibited the strongest inhibitory efficacy. The study also identified the key role of the 5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl moiety in the inhibition mechanism of cefazolin.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Fernanda L. Sirota, Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, Zhi Li, Frank Eisenhaber, Birgit Eisenhaber
Summary: The challenge lies in the technical difficulty of rationally selecting optimal sequence targets and positions for mutagenesis studies. By starting with well-studied enzyme family members, a structure-guided multiple sequence alignment and binding site tree can help narrow down suitable sequences and relevant candidate positions for directed evolution towards desired organic compound substrates.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Merve Seven, U. Cem Derman, Andrew J. Harvey
Summary: Xyloglucan endotransglycosylase/hydrolase (XTH) enzymes have been found to exhibit broad substrate specificities, including cellulose analogues and mixed-link beta-glucans, in addition to the standard xyloglucan. This discovery opens up a wide range of potential roles for these enzymes, both within plants and in various industries. Furthermore, genome screening and expression analyses suggest that the XTH genes in the "ancestral" clades are unique to angiosperms, predominantly expressed in reproductive tissues, leading to the proposal of renaming this phylogenetic group as the group-IV clade.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yongkang Xi, Bradley D. Frank, Apostolos Tatas, Marko Pavlovic, Lukas Zeininger
Summary: The formation of macromolecularly enriched condensates through phase separation plays a crucial role in controlling cellular functions. In this study, a novel design strategy is reported to create calcium alginate hydrogel microreactors with complex internal architectures. The fine-control over phase separation is achieved by implementing a thermal protocol, leading to the retention of subcompartmentalized structures after gelation. These multicompartmentalized hydrogel particles allow enriched components to be selectively sequestered, which can effectively control and tune the reaction kinetics of enzyme cascades.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Jeffrey M. McManus, Yoon-Mi Chung, Nima Sharifi
Summary: Conversion of adrenally produced DHEA to DHT is a key mechanism in castration resistance of prostate cancer. This study investigated the kinetics of these reactions in cells and found that low concentrations of DHEA primarily underwent 3 beta HSD-catalyzed conversion to Delta(4)-androstenedione, while high concentrations underwent 17 beta HSD-catalyzed conversion to Delta(5)-androstenediol.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joanna A. Quaye, Jacob Ball, Giovanni Gadda
Summary: NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductases (NQOs) play a crucial role in detoxifying quinones as antioxidants in both Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. This study investigates the kinetics of NQO from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 in the reduction of benzoquinone and juglone. The results suggest that flavin reduction is the rate-limiting step for overall turnover, and the hydride transfer from NADH to FMN and quinol product release partially limit the turnover. Furthermore, the study demonstrates how the properties of quinol substrates can affect the equilibrium of NQO esomerization.
ARCHIVES OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Monica Sharfin Rahman, Julian Brown, Reena Murphy, Sydney Carnes, Ben Carey, Saadyah Averick, Dominik Konkolewicz, Richard C. Page
Summary: In this study, the industrially important enzyme, Candida antarctica lipase B (CalB), was modified with various functional polymers using a grafting approach. The impact of polymer chain length on CalB activity was investigated, revealing significant enhancements for acrylamide (Am) and N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (DMAm) conjugates in both aqueous and aqueous-organic media mixtures. Furthermore, the study demonstrated a gradual increase in activity for N,N-dimethylaminopropyl-acrylamide (DMAPA) conjugates with higher organic solvent content, contrary to diminished activity observed for hydrophobic polymer-protein conjugates. Overall, this research provides insights into potential advancements in lipase production, leading to new and improved lipase bioconjugates with enhanced activity and stability.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andrew E. Huckleby, Jhawn G. Saul, Hyunshun Shin, Staci Desmarais, Apparao Bokka, Junha Jeon, Sung-Kun Kim
Summary: This study demonstrated the inhibitory effect of two compounds with two hydroxamate functional groups on MBL from Bacillus anthracis. The inhibition was found to be competitive and the compounds showed potential as inhibitors to overcome bacterial resistance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Junting Wang, Li Wan, Xiaojia Guo, Xueying Wang, Zongbao K. Zhao
Summary: The unique inhibitory behavior of a non-natural cofactor preferred formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FalDH) mutant 9B2 was studied. The results showed that 9B2 can be reversibly inhibited by residual imidazole introduced during protein preparation, while the wild-type enzyme was not sensitive to imidazole. Molecular docking analysis revealed that imidazole binds close to the nicotinamide moiety of the cofactor, where formaldehyde is expected to reside for catalysis, indicating competitive inhibition.
BIOTECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elisabeth Lettau, Domenic Zill, Marta Spaeth, Christian Lorent, Praveen K. Singh, Lars Lauterbach
Summary: This study presents the biochemical and spectroscopic characteristics of the reductase MmoC from the marine methanotroph Methylomonas methanica MC09. The presence of flavin adenine dinucleotide and [2Fe2S] cluster as prosthetic groups in MmoC was revealed. MmoC showed good halotolerance and high activity, which is important for future biotechnological applications of halotolerant soluble methane monooxygenase.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tobias M. Milzarek, Sebastian Schuler, Anke Matura, Tobias A. M. Gulder
Summary: This study systematically investigated the effects of structural changes to the natural substrate sorbicillin on its activity, providing important insights into its promiscuity and facilitating the efficient preparation of unnatural sorbicillinoids. Additionally, the total syntheses of several natural and unnatural sorbicillinoids were reported.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Manman Wu, Yang Zhao, Ruiqi Zhao, Jie Zhu, Jie Liu, Yamin Zhang, Chenxi Li, Yanfeng Ma, Hongtao Zhang, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: To obtain high-performance electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries, optimization of both molecular structure and morphology is necessary. In this study, a high-performance COF material was synthesized in a one-step reaction without post-processing, achieving high capacity, excellent rate performance, and cycling stability through the introduction of a flexible building unit containing redox-active centers.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Huanhuan Gao, Xiangjian Wan, Ziyi Xuan, Wei Ma, Jingming Xin, Chenxi Li, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: By fine-tuning the molecular configuration and side chain modulation, three non-fullerene acceptors were designed and synthesized, among which the 5T-2C8-2Cl based photovoltaic device showed significantly improved power conversion efficiency, open-circuit voltage, and short-circuit current density compared to the control acceptor. This work addresses the trade-off effect between J(SC) and V-OC in organic solar cells through delicate chemical structure modulation.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fangfang Huang, Zhixiang Li, Guangkun Song, Changzun Jiang, Yang Yang, Jian Wang, Xiangjian Wan, Chenxi Li, Zhaoyang Yao, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: Atomic replacement on platforms of nonfullerene acceptor (NFA) can optimize the performance and enhance energy levels, absorptions, and charge transfer dynamics. The newly developed NFA FOSe-2Cl, which replaces sulfur atoms with selenium atoms, shows improved energy levels, redshifted absorption, enhanced molecular packing, and accelerated charge transfer/transport dynamics compared to FO-2Cl. The organic solar cell based on FOSe-2Cl achieves a significantly improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.94% and reduced energy loss (E-loss) of 0.670 eV.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhixiang Li, Bailin Zhou, Shuchao Zhang, Changzun Jiang, Yalu Zou, Shitong Li, Yang Yang, Zhaoyang Yao, Xiangjian Wan, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: Side chain engineering is an efficient strategy to improve the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) by modifying molecular properties and regulating active layer morphologies. In this study, two acceptors with isomerized side chains, FEH2C8-2Cl and F3EH-2Cl, are designed based on an acceptor F-2Cl. The FEH2C8-2Cl-based device achieves the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.60% and good active layer thickness tolerance, making it favorable for large area OSC fabrication.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kangqiao Ma, Wanying Feng, Huazhe Liang, Hongbin Chen, Yuxin Wang, Xiangjian Wan, Zhaoyang Yao, Chenxi Li, Bin Kan, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: This study reports three small-molecule donors with alkylated thiazole side groups and investigates their performance in organic solar cells. The elongation of the alkyl side chain affects the crystallinity and miscibility, leading to different degrees of phase separation after blending with BTP-eC9. The HD-1-based device shows the best performance with proper phase separation and dynamic carrier behavior, achieving an outstanding power conversion efficiency of 17.19%.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yu Zhu, Chen Geng, Lianghao Hu, Lin Liu, Yangzhi Zhu, Yao Yao, Chenxi Li, Yanfeng Ma, Guanghui Li, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: Researchers have successfully designed and fabricated a skin-like second-near-infrared (NIR-II) photodetector with high photo-sensitivity, fast photoresponse, and excellent flexibility. The photodetector, based on a simple bilayer structure combining highly conducting MXene and photo-sensitive lead sulfide quantum dots, achieves efficient photocarrier separation at the interface and efficient transport across the layers. The device also exhibits improved optoelectronic performance and mechanical stability, making it suitable for various practical and high-performance flexible wireless photodetection systems.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qiang Fu, Hang Liu, Yuping Gao, Xiangjian Cao, Yu Li, Yang Yang, Jian Wang, Yongsheng Chen, Zhaoyang Yao, Yongsheng Liu
Summary: Optimizing the molecular packing and orientation of dopant-free hole-transport materials (HTMs) is an effective strategy for achieving high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). By regulating the donor building blocks and using a large core unit, we successfully demonstrated tunable molecular packing and orientation of polymers. The developed PC-DPP conjugated polymer with a preferred face-on orientation showed enlarged hole mobility and improved efficiency in PSCs compared to the control PBDT-DPP polymer with a preferred edge-on orientation. This work opens up possibilities for developing dopant-free HTMs.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hebin Wang, Junzi Li, Haolin Lu, Sehrish Gull, Tianyin Shao, Yunxin Zhang, Tengfei He, Yongsheng Chen, Tingchao He, Guankui Long
Summary: In this study, a novel chiral hybrid germanium halide material was developed with large anisotropy factors and high laser-induced damage thresholds. Its linear and nonlinear chiroptical properties were systematically investigated, showing high values of anisotropy factors and second-order nonlinear optical coefficient. These findings provide a new avenue for lead-free chiral hybrid metal halides in nonlinear chiroptical applications.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yingjun Xia, Chen Geng, Xingqi Bi, Mingpeng Li, Yu Zhu, Zhaoyang Yao, Xiangjian Wan, Guanghui Li, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: Researchers have designed and synthesized ultranarrow bandgap acceptors for near-infrared organic photodetectors, achieving high responsivity and detectivity by reducing energetic disorder, broadening the absorption spectrum, and improving charge transport.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhaoyang Yao, Xiangjian Wan, Chenxi Li, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: There is a significant efficiency gap between organic solar cells (OSCs) and inorganic solar cells. This is primarily due to the larger nonradiative energy losses in OSCs, which can be attributed to the characteristics of organic light-harvesting molecules. Rational design of light-harvesting molecules at the molecular and aggregation levels is crucial for improving the efficiency of OSCs.
ACCOUNTS OF MATERIALS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guangkun Song, Wanying Feng, Yu Li, Huazhe Liang, Zhixiang Li, Bin Kan, Xiangjian Wan, Zhaoyang Yao, Chenxi Li, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: Two near-infrared non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), 4Se and 5Se, were constructed by replacing sulfur atoms with selenium in high-efficiency Y-series NFAs, resulting in binary devices with PCEs of 15.17% and 15.23% respectively and a photoelectric response approaching 1000 nm. The 5Se-based device showed an energy loss as low as 0.477 eV, with the smallest non-radiative loss of approximately 0.15 eV.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yuzhong Huang, Xiaodong Si, Ruohan Wang, Kangqiao Ma, Wendi Shi, Changzun Jiang, Yan Lu, Chenxi Li, Xiangjian Wan, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: A strategy for designing polymer acceptors with grafted SMA units via polymerization between central building blocks of SMAs and linkers is proposed. The polymer acceptors designed using this strategy not only free the end groups for effective packing but also form extended conjugation and double charge transport channels.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Zhixiang Li, Changzun Jiang, Xin Chen, Guangkun Song, Xiangjian Wan, Bin Kan, Tainan Duan, Ekaterina A. Knyazeva, Oleg A. Rakitin, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: Three non-fullerene acceptors BTP-OC4, BTP-OC6, and BTP-OC8 with different 4-alkyloxyphenyl side-chains were synthesized via a new route without organotin reagent. The length of the alkyloxy group did not affect the energy levels and absorption of the acceptors, but it modulated the crystallinity and morphology of the active layer. The PM6:BTP-OC6 system showed the lowest energy loss of 0.513 eV, the highest power conversion efficiency of 17.59%, and excellent stability. Furthermore, when Y6 was introduced, the PCE increased to over 18%. Our study demonstrates a feasible strategy to develop high-performance acceptors by fine-tuning the aromatic side chain.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhaochen Suo, Jian Liu, Shitong Li, Zhaoyang Yao, Chenxi Li, Xiangjian Wan, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: Interface engineering with the molecule NMA-C0 as a modifying material on ZnO in inverted structure organic solar cells (OSCs) can simultaneously enhance the efficiency and stability of the cells. This study demonstrates that NMA-C0 modified devices achieve a significantly enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.31% with improved thermal and illumination stability compared to control devices.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Huazhe Liang, Hongbin Chen, Yalu Zou, Yunxin Zhang, Yaxiao Guo, Xiangjian Cao, Xingqi Bi, Zhaoyang Yao, Xiangjian Wan, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: This study successfully constructed three CH-series acceptors with hetero-di-halogenated central units, and obtained a high power conversion efficiency through CH-FB-based OSCs.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)