Sahnawaz Ahmed

Inspired by natural systems’ unprecedented temporal control, a recent interest has sparked toward realizing lifelike active materials for emerging functions. We introduce a minimal peptide capable of demonstrating chemically-fueled, programmable transient hydrogelation. Interesting time-gated functions are extracted in the context of fluidic guidance and burst release of a model drug. .

Hybrid co-electrolysis integrates CO ₂ reduction with biomass oxidation for efficient formic acid production. Surface-engineered SnO ₂ nanoflowers enhance charge transfer, selectivity, and sustainable carbon valorization using earth-abundant catalyst.

Recent quest for emulating lifelike smart materials for developing functional outcomes has been spurred by the unparalleled spatiotemporal control of natural systems. However, it is still highly challenging to replicate the progressive time‐dependent programmable features of biological systems, such as adaptive broad‐spectrum luminescence accompanying functions. Here in, a chemically‐fueled transient hydrogel is created based on an aggregation‐induced emission‐active peptide conjugate ( NI‐VD ). The fuel‐driven anhydride formation, NI‐VD‐An , which results in transient hydrogelation and an evolution in emission from green to blue. The process's autonomous reversibility on successive anhydride hydrolysis over time enables the emission characteristics of the system to be dynamically modulated. Importantly, selective fluorophore trapping inside the chemically‐fueled transient hydrogel network can achieve the programmable multicolor emission ranging from blue, green, white, yellow, red, and purple. For the first time, fuel‐powered such an ephemeral hydrogel network potentially acts as a time‐dependent donor in Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) processes toward the entrapped acceptors as well as a distance modulator of the donor‐acceptor pairs, causing dynamic regulation of the emission properties. The exploration advances beyond the fundamental investigation of the transient hydrogel platform producing time‐gated multicolor emission to the translation of spatiotemporal pattern development and precisely controlled time‐coded information encryption.

Cu(ii)-catalyzed regioselective ortho-sulfonylation of 2-aminophenols with arylsulfonyl hydrazides via a single-electron-transfer mechanism under aerial conditions has been disclosed.

A novel ultra-short peptide hydrogelator capable of exhibiting excellent aggregation-induced emission and biocompatible features that have been exploited for in vitro cellular imaging.

For the past few decades, ultrashort peptide hydrogels have been at the forefront of biomaterials due to their unique properties like biocompatibility, tunable mechanical properties, and potent antibacterial activity. These ultrashort peptides self‐assemble into a hydrogel matrix with nanofibrous networks. In this minireview, we have explored the design and self‐assembly of these ultrashort peptide hydrogels by focusing on their antibacterial properties. Cationic and hydrophobic residues are incorporated to engineer the peptides, facilitating interaction with bacterial membranes and leading to membrane disruption and cell death. The hydrogels exhibit broad‐spectrum antibacterial activity against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. Overall, this minireview highlights the potential of ultrashort peptide hydrogels as versatile and practical antibacterial biomaterials, providing a novel approach to combating bacterial infections and addressing the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance.

Electro‐valorization of biomass‐derived chemicals has ensured sustainable production of value‐added products, an effective approach for reducing carbon footprint, through renewable energy. Electrochemical oxidation and reduction reactions in aqueous media using H ₂ O as a potential source for active hydrogenated and oxygenated species fulfill the purpose. In this study, Ru─Co ₂ P nanorods are explored as a bifunctional electrocatalyst toward valorization of Organics at basic media. The in‐situ electrogenerated Co ³⁺ and Co ⁴⁺ species act as active oxidants toward product selectivity. An overpotential of 68 mV is found for hydrogen evolution reaction (1 m NaOH) with Ru─Co ₂ P. Further, used as cathode, Ru─Co ₂ P effectively reduces furfuraldehyde to furfuryl alcohol and p ‐nitrophenol to p ‐aminophenol. Ru doping enables ease of formation of active species both for reduction and oxidation, faster charge transfer between catalyst to absorbates. Density Functional Theory calculation establishes Ru incorporation in Co ₂ P surface results in enhanced adsorption of substrates. Ru doping modulates the electronic structure of Co ₂ P which changes the density of states resulting in faster water dissociation and water splitting. To reach 10 mA cm ⁻² current density only 1.6 V is required for water electrolysis, whereas 1.4 V is enough for substrate‐paired electrolysis with simultaneous oxidation of benzyl alcohol and reduction of p ‐nitro phenol.

Achieving rapid clotting and clot stability are important unmet goals of clinical management of noncompressible hemorrhage. This study reports the development of a spatiotemporally controlled release system of an antihemorrhagic drug, etamsylate, in the management of internal hemorrhage. Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (GRGDS) peptide-functionalized chitosan nanoparticles, with high affinity to bind with the GPIIa/IIIb receptor of activated platelets, were loaded with the drug etamsylate (etamsylate-loaded GRGDS peptide-functionalized chitosan nanoparticles; EGCSNP). Peptide conjugation was confirmed by LCMS, and the delivery system was characterized by DLS, SEM, XRD, and FTIR. In vitro study exhibited 90% drug release till 48 h fitting into the Weibull model. Plasma recalcification time and prothrombin time tests of GRGDS-functionalized nanoparticles proved that clot formation was 1.5 times faster than nonfunctionalized chitosan nanoparticles. The whole blood clotting time was increased by 2.5 times over clot formed under nonfunctionalized chitosan nanoparticles. Furthermore, the application of rheometric analysis revealed a 1.2 times stiffer clot over chitosan nanoparticles. In an in vivo liver laceration rabbit model, EGCSNP spatially localized at the internal injury site within 5 min of intravenous administration, and no rebleeding was recorded up to 3 h. The animals survived for 3 weeks after the injury, indicating the strong potential of the system for the management of noncompressible hemorrhage.

Self-assembly provides access to non-covalently synthesized supramolecular materials with distinct properties from a single building block. However, dynamic switching between functional states still remains challenging, but holds enormous potential in material chemistry to design smart materials. Herein, we demonstrate a chemical fuel-mediated strategy to dynamically switch between two distinctly emissive aggregates, originating from the self-assembly of a naphthalimide-appended peptide building block. A molecularly dissolved building block shows very weak blue emission, whereas, in the assembled state (Agg-1), it shows cyan emission through π stacking-mediated excimer emission. The addition of a chemical fuel, ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)carbodiimide (EDC), converts the terminal aspartic acid present in the building block to an intra-molecularly cyclized anhydride in situ forming a second aggregated state, Agg-2, by changing the molecular packing, thereby transforming the emission to strong blue. Interestingly, the anhydride gets hydrolyzed gradually to reform Agg-1 and the initial cyan emission is restored. The kinetic stability of the strong blue emissive aggregate, Agg-2, can be regulated by the added concentration of the chemical fuel. Moreover, we expand the scope of this system within an agarose gel matrix, which allows us to gain spatiotemporal control over the properties, thereby producing a self-erasable writing system where the chemical fuel acts as the ink.