New valley university

Cellmembrane-coated nanoparticles (NPs) have garnered significant attention because of their extended circulation time and ability to target similar cells through homotypic interactions. Herein, we fabricated cancer cell membrane (CCM)-coated quercetin (Q)-MXene-Au NPs, forming Q-MX-Au@CCM, as a promising approach for drug delivery (DD) and improved photothermal therapy (PTT). The Q-MX-Au@CCM nanocomposites serve as multifunctional nanoplatforms with a large surface area and excellent responsiveness to near-infrared (NIR) light thereby enhancing their efficacy in tumor treatment. TEM analysis revealed that Q-MX-Au@CCM had an average particle size of 87.4 nm and a zeta potential of -28.9 mV. MXene-Au demonstrated excellent PT properties, achieving a PT conversion efficiency of 68.5 %. The MTT assay demonstrated significant cytotoxicity of MCF-7 breast cancer cells, with the chemo-PTT approach showing an IC₅₀ value of 12.5 µg/mL and resulting a high apoptosis rate. Cellular internalization studies showed enhanced uptake of both MX-Au and Q-MX-Au@CCM NPs in MCF-7 cells under NIR. The pro-apoptotic efficacy of Q and Q-MX-Au@CCM was further confirmed with Western blot analysis of key apoptotic markers, Bax and BCl-2. Q-MX-Au@CCM showed the most pronounced effects, significantly increasing Bax expression (0.75 ± 0.06) and decreasing BCl-2 expression (0.27 ± 0.011). In vivo studies using a xenograft model in BALB/c mice indicated that chemo-PTT resulted in the lowest tumor weight (0.08 g) and volume (46.3 mm³). Molecular docking studies showed strong binding affinity between MXene and Adora2a (binding energy: -12.9 kcal/mol), with key interactions including two hydrogen bonds (HB): one between the oxygen of Q and HIS273 (2.94 Å), and another between the HB of Q and the oxygen of ALA78 (2.46 Å), supporting the molecular basis for the enhanced therapeutic performance of Q-MX-Au@CCM.

Growing demand for sugar reduction in beverage necessitates innovative approaches to maintain sweetness perception without compromising acceptability. Volatile compounds in Fu brick tea (FBT) were analyzed using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography/olfactometry-associated taste (GC/O-AT), identifying four key sweetness-associated aroma compounds. Threshold determination coupled with gradient monomer recombination experiments quantified compound-specific sweetness contributions. Sensory evaluation revealed α-ionone, linalool, and sclareolide as superior enhancers, with α-ionone demonstrating optimal potency and palatability. Molecular docking simulations showed T1R2/T1R3 binding energies of -7.0 kcal/mol (sclareolide), -6.2 kcal/mol (α-ionone), -5.8 kcal/mol (geranyl isovalerate) and - 5.0 kcal/mol (linalool). However, binding energy magnitude lacked absolute correlation with sensory enhancement. Molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed stable ligand-receptor complexes mediated primarily by hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic forces. This study elucidates cross-modal aroma-taste interactions as critical drivers of sweetness perception in FBT, offering a multidisciplinary methodology to design reduced-sugar beverages with preserved sensory appeal.

This work focuses on the chem. synthesis of three fluorescent bioactive amides tethered carbazole moiety by coupling 3-amino-9-ethylcarbazole with different aliphatic carboxylic acids including valeric, hexanoic, and heptanoic acids.NMR spectroscopy and HRMS were utilized to confirm the claimed structure of the target compounds indicating good agreement.The antimicrobial activity of fluorescent amides was assessed against different strains of gram neg. and gram-neg. bacterial as well as fungi demonstrating outstanding activity close or same as the control.Moreover, the mol. design, DFT calculations, and photoluminescence characteristics of these dyes have been investigated.The examined materials solutions emitted a deep-blue emission.Interestingly, with the powders, on the other hand, a single component emitted white light.The creation of aggregated mols. in the solid state improved the emission intensity at long visible wavelengths, resulting in a change in the emission color from the solution to the powder.The studied materials also emitted consistently at high temperaturesFurthermore, the odd-even effect both on the mol. packing and emission characteristics has been proven.As a result, the mols. under investigation provide a unique combination of benefits: a simple mol. structure, deep-blue emitters, white emission from a single material, and an odd-even effect.