Circular Polarized Light Activated Chiral Satellite Nanoprobes for the Imaging and Analysis of Multiple Metal Ions in Living Cells

Nature-Inspired Chiral Structures: Fabrication Methods and Multifaceted Applications

Diverse chiral structures observed in nature find applications across various domains, including engineering, chemistry, and medicine. Particularly notable is the optical activity inherent in chiral structures, which has emerged prominently in the field of optics. This phenomenon has led to a wide range of applications, encompassing optical components, catalysts, sensors, and therapeutic interventions. This review summarizes the imitations and applications of naturally occurring chiral structures. Methods for replicating chiral architectures found in nature have evolved with specific research goals. This review primarily focuses on a top-down approach and provides a summary of recent research advancements. In the latter part of this review, we will engage in discussions regarding the diverse array of applications resulting from imitating chiral structures, from the optical activity in photonic crystals to applications spanning light-emitting devices. Furthermore, we will delve into the applications of biorecognition and therapeutic methodologies, comprehensively examining and deliberating upon the multifaceted utility of chiral structures.

Detector of UV light chirality based on a diamond metasurface

Circularly polarized light (CPL) finds diverse applications in fields such as quantum communications, quantum computing, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, polarization imaging, and sensing. However, conventional techniques for detecting CPL face challenges related to equipment miniaturization, system integration, and high-speed operation. In this study, we propose a novel design that addresses these limitations by employing a quarter waveplate constructed from a diamond metasurface, in combination with a linear polarizer crafted from metallic aluminum. The diamond array, with specific dimensions (a = 84 nm, b = 52 nm), effectively transforms left-handed and right-handed circularly polarized light into two orthogonally linearly polarized beams who have a polarization degree of approximately 0.9. The aluminum linear polarizer then selectively permits the transmission of these transformed linearly polarized beams.Our proposed design showcases remarkable circular dichroism performance at a wavelength of 280 nm, concurrently maintaining high transmittance and achieving a substantial extinction ratio of 25. Notably, the design attains an ultraviolet wavelength transmission efficiency surpassing 80%. Moreover, our design incorporates a rotation mechanism that enables the differentiation of linearly polarized light and singly circularly polarized light. In essence, this innovative design introduces a fresh paradigm for ultraviolet circularly polarized light detection, offering invaluable insights and references for applications in polarization detection, imaging, biomedical diagnostics, and circular dichroic spectroscopy.

Charge-Transfer Complex Doped Photothermal Hydrogels for Discriminating Circularly Polarized Near-Infrared Light

Hydrogels behave as potential candidates to investigate circularly polarized light (CP)-matter interaction, which however suffer from small sensitivity towards circular polarization. Here we report a general protocol to build hydrogels from π-conjugated amino acids with coassembled charge-transfer (CT) complexes, covering a wide scope of donors and acceptors, which were incorporated into stable hydrogel matrices. CT complexes formed block coassemblies with gelators, induced the emergence of macroscopic chiral helices, where efficient chirality transfer occurs to realize tunable Cotton effects from visible light to NIR-I region depending on the structures of CT pairs. The hybrid hydrogels showed tunable photothermal performances with excellent heating-cooling cycling durability. Circularly polarized NIR light selectively triggered gel-solution phase transition at different timescales. Left- and right-CP illumination generates up to 2.5 folds difference in gel collapse time that allows for direct discrimination by naked eyes.

Recent Advances on DNAzyme-Based Sensing

DNAzymes are functional nucleic acid with catalytic activity. Owing to the high sensitivity, excellent programmability, and flexible obtainment through in vitro selection, RNA-cleaving DNAzymes have attracted increasing interest in developing DNAzyme-based sensors. In this review, we summarize the recent advances on DNAzyme-based sensing applications. We initially conclude two general strategies to expand the library of DNAzymes, in vitro selection to discover new DNAzymes towards different targets of interest and chemical modifications to endue the existing DNAzymes with new function or properties. We then discuss the recent applications of DNAzyme-based sensors for the detection of a variety of important biomolecules both in vitro and in vivo . Finally, perspectives on the challenges and future directions in the development of DNAzyme-based sensors are provided.

Enantiospecific Detection of D-Amino Acid through Synergistic Upconversion Energy Transfer

D-amino acids (DAAs) are indispensable in regulating diverse metabolic pathways. Selective and sensitive detection of DAAs is crucial for understanding the complexity of metabolic processes and managing associated diseases. However, current DAA detection strategies mainly rely on bulky instrumentation or electrochemical probes, limiting their cellular and animal applications. Here we report an enzyme-coupled nanoprobe that can detect enantiospecific DAAs through synergistic energy transfer. This nanoprobe offers near-infrared upconversion capability, a wide dynamic detection range, and a detection limit of 2.2 μM, providing a versatile platform for in vivo noninvasive detection of DAAs with high enantioselectivity. These results potentially allow real-time monitoring of biomolecular handedness in living animals, as well as developing antipsychotic treatment strategies.

Enzymatical biomineralization of DNA nanoflowers mediated by manganese ions for tumor site activated magnetic resonance imaging

DNA nanoflower has been demonstrated as a promising DNA nanostructure for therapeutics and bioimaging primarily because of the programmable DNA sequence and unique structure. Herein, we report manganese ions mediated enzymatic biomineralization to prepare DNA-Mn hybrid nanoflower (DMNF). Paramagnetic Mn²⁺ was explored as the co-factor of DNA polymerase for the extension of long strand DNA. The biomimetic synthesis of DMNF was performed using the long strand DNA as template via nucleation and growth of Mn₂PPi. The morphology and size of DMNF were controllable by tuning reaction time and Mn²⁺ concentration. The aptamer sequence was encoded into circle template to achieve tumor-targeted DMNF, and cellular uptake assay demonstrated obvious aptamer-mediated internalization. DMNF showed enhanced T₁-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging effect in acid environment for high tumor-specific MR imaging, and high spatial resolution imaging of kidneys and liver. Our work provides a facile enzymatically biomineral strategy to integrate multifunctional modules into one DNA structure and promotes the development of DNA nanostructure for precision medicine.

Nucleic Acids Analysis

Nucleic acids are natural biopolymers of nucleotides that store, encode, transmit and express genetic information, which play central roles in diverse cellular events and diseases in living things. The analysis of nucleic acids and nucleic acids-based analysis have been widely applied in biological studies, clinical diagnosis, environmental analysis, food safety and forensic analysis. During the past decades, the field of nucleic acids analysis has been rapidly advancing with many technological breakthroughs. In this review, we focus on the methods developed for analyzing nucleic acids, nucleic acids-based analysis, device for nucleic acids analysis, and applications of nucleic acids analysis. The representative strategies for the development of new nucleic acids analysis in this field are summarized, and key advantages and possible limitations are discussed. Finally, a brief perspective on existing challenges and further research development is provided.

Catalytic Asymmetric trans-Selective Hydrosilylation of Bisalkynes to Access AIE and CPL-Active Silicon-Stereogenic Benzosiloles

Chirality widely exists in a diverse array of biologically active molecules and life forms, and the catalytic constructions of chiral molecules have triggered a heightened interest in the fields of chemistry and materials and pharmaceutical sciences. However, the synthesis of silicon-stereogenic organosilicon compounds is generally recognized as a much more difficult task than that of carbon-stereogenic centers because of no abundant organosilicon-based chiral sources in nature. Herein, we reported a highly enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed trans-selective hydrosilylation of silicon-tethered bisalkynes to access chiral benzosiloles bearing a silicon-stereogenic center. This protocol featured with chiral Ar-BINMOL-Phos bearing hydrogen-bond donors as a privileged P-ligand for catalytic asymmetric hydrosilylation that is operationally simple and has 100% atom-economy with good functional group tolerability as well as high enantioselectivity (up to >99:1 er). Benefiting from the trans-selective hydrosilylation with the aid of Rh/Ar-BINMOL-Phos-based asymmetric catalysis, the Si-stereogenic benzosiloles exhibited pronounced aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) activity.

Intracellular Ca2+ Cascade Guided by NIR-II Photothermal Switch for Specific Tumor Therapy

Currently, patients receiving cancer treatments routinely suffer from distressing toxic effects, most originating from premature drug leakage, poor biocompatibility, and off-targeting. For tackling this challenge, we construct an intracellular Ca2+ cascade for tumor therapy via photothermal activation of TRPV1 channels. The nanoplatform creates an artificial calcium overloading stress in specific tumor cells, which is responsible for efficient cell death. Notably, this efficient treatment is activated by mild acidity and TRPV1 channels simultaneously, which contributes to precise tumor therapy and is not limited to hypoxic tumor. In addition, Ca2+ possesses inherent unique biological effect and normal cells are more tolerant of the undesirable destructive influence than tumor cells. The Ca2+ overload leads to cell death due to mitochondrial dysfunction (upregulation of Caspase-3, cytochrome c, and downregulation of Bcl-2 and ATP), and in vivo, the released photothermal CuS nanoparticles allow an enhanced 3D photoacoustic imaging and provide instant diagnosis.

Noninvasive In Situ Ratiometric Imaging of Biometals Based on Self-Assembled Peptide Nanoribbon

Development of probes for accurate sensing and imaging of biometals in situ is still a growing interest owing to their crucial roles in cellular metabolism, neurotransmission, and apoptosis. Among them, Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ are two important cooperative biometals closely related to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, we developed a multifunctional probe based on self-assembling peptide nanoribbon for ratiometric sensing of Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, or Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ simultaneously. Uniform peptide nanoribbon (AQZ@NR) was rationally designed by coassembling a Zn²⁺-specific ligand AQZ-modified peptide (AQZKL-7) with peptide KL-7. The nanoribbon further combined with Cu²⁺-sensitive near-infrared quantum dots (NIR QDs) and Alexa Fluor 633 as an inner reference molecule, which was endowed with the capability for ratiometric Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ imaging at the same time. The peptide-based probe exhibited good specificity to Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ without interference from other ions. Importantly, the nanoprobe was successfully applied for noninvasive Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ monitoring in both living cells and zebrafish via multicolor fluorescence imaging. This gives insights into the dynamic Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ distribution in an intracellular and in vivo mode, as well as understanding the neurotoxicity of high concentration of Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺. Therefore, the self-assembled nanoprobe shows great promise in multiplexed detection of many other biometals and biomolecules, which will benefit the diagnosis and treatment of AD in clinical applications.

Orthogonal Activation of RNA-Cleaving DNAzymes in Live Cells by Reactive Oxygen Species

RNA-cleaving DNAzymes are useful tools for intracellular metal-ion sensing and gene regulation. Incorporating stimuli-responsive modifications into these DNAzymes enables their activities to be spatiotemporally and chemically controlled for more precise applications. Despite the successful development of many caged DNAzymes for light-induced activation, DNAzymes that can be intracellularly activated by chemical inputs of biological importance, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), are still scarce. ROS like hydrogen peroxide (H₂ O₂ ) and hypochlorite (HClO) are critical mediators of oxidative stress-related cell signaling and dysregulation including activation of immune system as well as progression of diseases and aging. Herein, we report ROS-activable DNAzymes by introducing phenylboronate and phosphorothioate modifications to the Zn²⁺ -dependent 8-17 DNAzyme. These ROS-activable DNAzymes were orthogonally activated by H₂ O₂ and HClO inside live human and mouse cells.