Y-5

A carbon-containing Cu-based material (Cu@C) was used as photocatalyst for the degradation of a commonly food-industry azo-dye (tartrazine, also called Y5), under solar light at laboratory and pilot scale photoreactors. Important performance parameters such as dark adsorption capacity, catalyst́s loading and initial concentration of the dye were first optimized in a slurry photoreactor at laboratory scale under artificial solar light following the kinetics of degradation of the dye. Afterwards, the photocatalytic activity was investigated at pilot scale in a compound parabolic collector (CPC) photoreactor operating for 10 h of irradiation. The degradation of tartrazine is among the highest values reported for alternative metal oxide semiconductors, in both photoreactor configurations. Catalytic data revealed a 3 times faster degradation kinetics of tartrazine in the CPC photoreactor under natural solar light than in the slurry reactor under artificial solar light. This behavior indicates that a moderate photon flux in the CPC is more adequate to operate with the prepared photocatalyst, as it minimizes the recombination of charge carriers in the catalyst. This is important, since most of the photocatalytic tests designed to evaluate the activity of novel materials are frequently carried out under simulated solar light and disregard the impact of photon flux in outdoor conditions.

For patients with osteoporosis, the therapeutic outcomes of osteoimplants are substantially affected by the impaired proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation abilities of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). To improve bone-implant integration in osteoporotic condition, here we reported a one-step biomimetic surface strategy to introduce BMSC recruiting and osteoinductive abilities onto metallic osteoimplants. In our design, the bioadhesive molecular peptide mimic inspired by mussel foot proteins (Mfps) was used as molecular bridging for surface functionalization. Specifically, a BMSC-targeting peptide sequence (E7) and an osteogenic growth peptide (Y5) were grafted onto the titanium implant surfaces through a mussel adhesion mechanism. We found that a rational E7/Y5 feeding ratio could lead to an optimal dual functionalization capable of not only significantly improving the biocompatibility of the implant but also enabling it to recruit endogenous BMSCs for colonization, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation. Mechanistically, the E7-assisted in situ recruitment of endogenous BMSCs as well as the enhanced interfacial osteogenesis and osteointegration was associated with activation of the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) receptor on the cell surface and promotion of stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1 α ) autocrine secretion. We anticipated that rational dual-functional surfaces through bioadhesive molecular mimics will provide a simple, effective, nonimmunogenic, and safe means to improve the clinical outcomes of intraosseous implants, especially under osteoporotic conditions.