American Chemical Society

Development of self-supporting oxide membrane fabrication using a sacrificial layer method has attracted great attention over the past decade, specifically for their promising integration as devices on silicon and flexible substrates due to their large panel of properties such as ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, superconductivity, and metal/insulator transition. Known sacrificial layer materials with a perovskite-related structure, such as LaxSr1–xMnO3 and YBa2Cu3O7, are dissolved in acidic or basic solutions. To prevent oxide membranes from being attacked by the sacrificial layer dissolution solution, it is important to find perovskite water-soluble sacrificial buffers. In this work, we evidence the perovskite molybdates AMoO3 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) as a new ambient-stable and efficient water-soluble sacrificial layer family for the fabrication of oxide membranes. We first show the stability in an ambient environment of CaMoO3, SrMoO3, and BaMoO3 epitaxial films deposited on (001)SrTiO3 substrates and their water dissolution kinetics with membrane release times longer than the SrVO3 material and the well-known Sr3Al2O6 sacrificial layer material. We analyze the etching kinetics via operando optical monitoring of the remaining sacrificial layer surface still attached to the initial template substrate. We found for the molybdate family a first-order reaction kinetics with a main exponential decay, with constants, respectively, of around 11 h, 14 h, and 19 h for CaMoO3, SrMoO3, and BaMoO3. We use this molybdate family to release an 80 nm-thick SrTiO3 membrane on a polydimethylsiloxane support with a smooth morphology observed by atomic force microscopy and a monocrystalline quality observed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction. These results open a range of pseudocubic lattice parameters of the ambient-stable and water-soluble sacrificial buffers with pseudocubic lattice parameters from 3.90 to 4.04 Å for self-supporting perovskite oxide monocrystalline membrane fabrication.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder marked by skin thickening, severe pruritus, lesions, and emotional disturbances, including anxiety and depression-like behavior. Current treatments primarily rely on localized therapies, which can lead to adverse effects such as hyperglycemia and Cushing’s syndrome with repeated use. To address these issues, we developed a hyaluronic acid-based separable microneedle patch (Dic@pCu-HA MN), integrating polydopamine-coordinated copper-based metal–organic frameworks (pCu-MOFs) and the anti-inflammatory agent dictamnine (Dic), for synergistic management of AD and its neuropsychiatric comorbidities. pCu-MOFs exhibited dual functionality as nanocargo for hydrophobic Dic (encapsulation efficiency: 84.62 ± 2.14%) and multienzyme mimics that efficiently scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) (superoxide radical scavenging: 63.85 ± 0.34%). In vitro release studies demonstrated ROS-responsive Dic release of 86.80 ± 4.83% over 48 h under AD pathology-mimicking conditions. In a 1-Chloro-2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-induced AD mouse model, the Dic@pCu-HA MN significantly reduced oxidative stress (8-OHdG: 85.1 ± 7.0% decrease), suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4: 70.0 ± 7.8% decrease vs control), and restored skin barrier integrity. By modulating the HPA axis, the system attenuated neuroinflammation and alleviated itching (scratching frequency: 40.1 ± 41.3% reduction) and depression-like behavior (time in the bright box: 96.6 ± 156.2% increase). This combined therapeutic approach not only offers a comprehensive strategy for AD management but also provides potential benefits for addressing inflammatory skin disorders and their neuropsychiatric sequelae.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent demand for advanced air disinfection technologies. Traditional air filters primarily capture large airborne particles but are ineffective against submicrometer aerosols. This study introduces a microwave-enabled catalytic air filtration system using Ti3C2Tx MXene-coated polypropylene filters to enhance air disinfection. With only 0.05 mg·cm–2 of MXene coating, the filter surface temperature rapidly reached 104 °C within 3 s under 125 W microwave irradiation. Such surface heating led to a significantly higher log removal value (LRV) (1.86 ± 0.47) of the MS2 bacteriophage in the synthetic bioaerosol with an initial concentration of 105 PFU·mL–1, compared to 0.24–0.38 achieved by the pristine filter or the MXene-coated filter without microwave irradiation. Additionally, the filter surface exhibited promising self-cleaning behavior, as indicated by the stable viral inactivation and removal efficiency even in high-humidity environments. This innovative air filtration technology shows promising potential for preventing airborne pathogen transmission and protecting public health across diverse environmental conditions.

We previously reported that the asymmetric IR absorption of monolayer water confined within two-dimensional nanochannels is capable of nonthermally inducing a unidirectional flow [Zhang, Q. L. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2024, 132, 184003], while the reason for the difference in the collective vibration IR spectrum between the confined water (CW) and bulk water is still not fully understood. Here, using molecular dynamics simulations, we systematically demonstrated that the CW in narrow graphene membrane channels will appear as a predominant fingerprint-peak and a subpeak in the collective vibration spectrum band. A comparison with the calculated IR spectrum for the CW in the channels with different interlayer spacings revealed that the double-peaked pattern originates from the decoupling of the CW’s collective vibration. The highlight spectral intensity of the fingerprint-peak is attributed to the low-cost out-of-plane vibration (wag mode) of the CW molecules. These findings help us understand the physical origins of the unique IR spectra of CW in nanochannels, thereby providing a robust theoretical support for the regulation of the CW’s structure and dynamics properties by a remote terahertz stimulation.

Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) as the first characterized tumorigenic virus in humans causes heavy disease burdens. An effective vaccine is urgently needed to block EBV infection. Glycoprotein B (gB) is the essential fusogen for EBV infection of all susceptible cell types. We previously demonstrated that neutralizing antibody 3A3 targeting gB effectively blocked EBV infection in a humanized mouse model, indicating that the epitope recognized by 3A3 is the potential immunogen candidate. Hence, we rationally designed a chimeric virus-like particle (cVLP) vaccine based on the hepatitis B core antigen (HBc149) to display gB peptide, αB, recognized by 3A3 (149-αB cVLP). The engineered 149-αB cVLP vaccine self-assembled into spherical particles presenting multiple copies of αB peptide. The 149-αB cVLP vaccine induced much higher antibody titers against αB peptides than gB protein immunization. Importantly, sera antibodies elicited by the 149-αB cVLP vaccine more efficiently blocked EBV infection and membrane fusion of epithelial cells and B cells. Sera from 149-αB cVLP vaccine-immunized rabbits conferred 100% protection against EBV infection in a humanized mouse model. We demonstrated that the 149-αB cVLP vaccine induced potent antigen-specific protective immune responses and shed light on the research of peptide-based vaccines against EBV infection.

In recent years, advancements in air quality monitoring have been driven by the development of various sensor technologies, each with distinct advantages and limitations. Among these, polymer-based Distributed Bragg Reflectors (DBRs) have garnered significant interest for use in cost-effective, portable colorimetric sensors for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, a key challenge in the fabrication of polymer-based DBRs lies in achieving an adequate refractive index contrast between the individual polymer layers. In this work, we fabricate plasmonic DBR sensors by a combination of low-temperature plasma-based techniques with reduced environmental footprint, investigate their potential as VOC sensors, and propose an optical model that links the sensors’ optical properties and microstructure. Plasmonic nanoparticles of silver (Ag) are synthesized by gas aggregation and embedded into thermally evaporated poly(lactic acid) (PLA) layers to create nanocomposites with an enhanced refractive index (∼2.0). A 6-bilayer plasmonic DBR sensor is then produced by alternating depositions of plain PLA and nanocomposite layers as low and high refractive index materials, respectively. The resulting DBR achieves a 77% reflectance at 570 nm. The potential use-case of such a DBR as a VOC sensor is highlighted by its optical response upon exposure to ethanol (a model VOC) vapors as well as other VOCs (water, propanol, acetone, hexane). In an ethanol atmosphere, swelling of the polymer layers occurs, resulting in a red-shift of the reflection peak to 640 nm and a change in the DBR color. We take advantage of a generalized Maxwell-Garnett approach to create an advanced model that accurately reproduces the DBR spectra and captures swelling and degradation by accounting for structural changes and the behavior of isolated and coalesced Ag NPs within individual layers. Despite a decrease in the sensing performance with the number of swelling cycles, these plasmonic DBRs offer a promising solution for low-cost real-time VOC sensing.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) effectively protect mRNA and facilitate its entry into target cells for protein synthesis.

Pigs are vital for meat production, and their intramuscular fat content significantly impacts pork quality and flavor. Using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on porcine intramuscular fat, we found that adipose progenitor cells express highly inflammatory genes, including IL-1α, during adipogenic differentiation. IL-1α, a pro-inflammatory cytokine present in various cell types, can translocate to the nucleus via its nuclear localization sequence (NLS), yet its nuclear function remains unclear. By constructing an inactivated NLS carrier for IL-1α, we discovered that nuclear IL-1α promotes pyroptosis in porcine intramuscular adipocytes through the IRF2-NOCT-ROS pathway. This study reveals a novel role of nuclear IL-1α in pyroptosis regulation, providing insights into enhancing the intramuscular fat content and improving pork quality.

Chuanhu Wang Jingwen HuangBo DengWei SunTongyu Xu* Fanlong Zeng*

Oily wastewater pollution is increasing globally. Conventional treatment methods often fail due to inefficiency and secondary contamination.