Dean Song

To overcome the application limitations of linalool, including its high volatility and poor stability, mesoporous silica MCM-41 was used as the carrier, and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) was employed as the thermosensitive monomer in this study. Acrylamide (AM) was introduced to modulate the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), while N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS), used as a cross-linking agent, was added to enhance structural stability, thus constructing the MCM-41-PNIPAM thermosensitive composite sustained-release system. Characterization results confirmed the successful synthesis of the target material, whose LCST increased to 82–85 °C with the increasing AM doping ratio. Sustained-release experiments indicated that the release rate of linalool significantly increased when the environmental temperature exceeded the LCST. Antibacterial tests revealed that the composite exhibited a remarkable inhibitory effect on Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli following the temperature-triggered release of linalool. Moreover, the antibacterial effect could be precisely controlled by regulating the ambient temperature, thereby modulating the release. This study presents a new strategy for the stabilized application of linalool, achieves an intelligent response effect of “temperature-triggered and on-demand release,” and offered a universal method for constructing intelligent preservation systems.

Herein, we proposed a versatile G-quadruplex (G4)-tetrahedral DNA framework (G4-TDF) nanostructure functionalized origami microfluidic paper-based device (μPADs) for fluorescence detection of K⁺ by lighting up thioflavin T (ThT). In this work, TDF provided robust structural support for G-rich sequence in well-defined orientation and spacing to ensure high recognition efficiency, enabling sensitive fluorescence sensing on origami μPAD. After introducing ThT, the G-rich sequences extended from TDF vertices formed a parallel G4 structure, showing weak fluorescence signal output. Upon the presence of target K⁺, this parallel G4 structure transitioned to antiparallel G4 structure, leading to a significantly increase in fluorescence signal of ThT. Benefiting from the outstanding fluorescence enhancement characteristic of the G4 structure for ThT and excellent specificity of the G4 structure to K⁺ plus satisfactory recognition efficiency with the aid of TDF, this origami paper-based fluorescence sensing strategy exhibited an impressive detection limit as low as 0.2 mM with a wide range of 0.5–5.5 mM. This innovative G4-TDF fluorescence sensing was applied for the first time on μPAD, providing a simple, effective, and rapid method for K⁺ detection in human serum with significant potential for clinical diagnostics.

With the increasing concerns of human health and the ecological environment, tobacco stalks from the cigarette industry have been recognized as hazardous wastes requiring cautious treatment. However, there is still a lack of a simple and efficient route for full utilization of tobacco stalks. Herein, we attempted to convert tobacco stalk waste to value-added carbohydrates, bio-oil, and biochar through sequential hydrothermal and pyrolysis treatments. The results showed a high carbohydrate yield under the optimized condition using a microwave reaction system. The subsequent pyrolysis of residual solids at high temperatures could produce unexpected high-level aromatic chemicals including phenols and even benzenes—difficult to form without the facilitation of catalysts or salts. The obtained by-product biochar showed rapid absorption of tetracycline in 5 min and gradual introparticle diffusion from 30 to 240 min. The isotherm result had the characteristics of the Langmuir model, displaying homogeneous active sites on the biochar surface. Probably due to the hydrothermal pretreatment before pyrolysis, the obtained biochar exhibited a high adsorption capacity toward tetracycline without introducing the activation chemicals. These results illustrate that the proposed strategy may pave the way for dealing with tobacco wastes in the agricultural field.

Tetracycline (TC) is a widely used antibiotic that adversely affects ecosystems and, therefore, must be removed from the environment. Owing to their strong ability to oxidise pollutants, including antibiotics, and selectivity for these pollutants, an improved oxidation method based on sulphate radicals (SO4·⁻) has gained considerable interest. In this study, a novel technique for removing TC was developed by activating peroxymonosulphate (PMS) using a ZnFe₂O₄ catalyst. Using the co-precipitation method, a ZnFe₂O₄ catalyst was prepared by doping zinc into iron-based materials, which increased the redox cycle, while PMS was active and facilitated the production of free radicals. According to electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy results, a ZnFe₂O₄ catalyst may activate PMS and generate SO₄·⁻, HO·, O₂·⁻, and ¹O₂ to eliminate TC. This research offers a new method for creating highly effective heterogeneous catalysts that can activate PMS and destroy antibiotics. The study proposes the following degradation pathways: hydroxylation and ring-opening of TC based on the products identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. These results illustrated that the prepared ZnFe₂O₄ catalyst effectively removed TC and exhibited excellent catalytic performance.

The evaluation of the catalytic capacity of catalysts is indispensable research, as catalytic capacity is a crucial factor to dictate the efficiency of heterogeneous Fenton catalysis. Herein, we obtained cigarette tar-methanol extracts (CTME) by applying methanol to cigarette tar and found that CTME could cause CL reactions with Fe²⁺/H₂O₂ systems in acidic, neutral, and alkaline media. The CL spectrum experiment indicated that the emission wavelengths of the CTME CL reaction with Fe²⁺/H₂O₂ systems were about 490 nm, 535 nm, and 590 nm. Quenching experiments confirmed that hydroxyl radicals (•OH) were responsible for the CL reaction for CTME. Then the CL property of CTME was applied in-situ to rapidly determine the amounts of •OH in tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (TCBQ)/H₂O₂ system in acidic, neutral and alkaline media, and the CL intensities correlated the best (R² = 0.99) with TCBQ concentrations. To demonstrate the utility of the CTME CL method, the catalytic capacity of different types and concentrations of catalysts in heterogeneous Fenton catalysis were examined. It was found that the order of CL intensities was consistent with the order of degradation efficiencies of Rhodamine B, indicating that this method could distinguish the catalytic capacity of catalysts. The CTME CL method could provide a convenient tool for the efficient evaluation of the catalytic capacity of catalysts in heterogeneous Fenton catalysis.

The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors play important regulatory roles, influencing plant growth and responses to environmental stresses. In the present study, 132 bZIP genes identified in the tobacco genome were classified into 11 groups with Arabidopsis and tomato bZIP members, based on the results of a phylogenetic analysis. An examination of gene structures and conserved motifs revealed relatively conserved exon/intron structures and motif organization within each group. The results of an investigation of whole-genome duplication events indicated that segmental duplications were crucial for the expansion of the bZIP gene family in tobacco. Expression profiles confirmed that the NtbZIP genes are differentially expressed in various tissues, and several genes are responsive to diverse stresses. Notably, NtbZIP62, which was identified as an AtbZIP37/ABF3 homolog, was highly expressed in response to salinity. Subcellular localization analyses proved that NtbZIP62 is a nuclear protein. Furthermore, the overexpression of NtbZIP62 in tobacco significantly enhanced the salt stress tolerance of the transgenic plants. The results of this study may be relevant for future functional analyses of the bZIP genes in tobacco.