Junlun Zhu

Preparation of SERS nanoprobes and a schematic diagram of detecting glucose using SERS.

A Cu-NiS ₂ @COF@PEG nanoreactor not only eliminated pathogenic biofilms but also accelerated collagen deposition and angiogenesis, significantly enhancing wound healing efficiency.

A cyanide-bridged CoCu ₃ T-shaped cluster featuring square pyramidal Cu( ii ) centers was reported to exhibit slow magnetic relaxation under applied dc field and high proton conduction induced by highly hydrogen-bonded water clusters.

A dynamic Ni ^II coordination polymer constructed by mixed bipyridyl–tetracarboxylate ligands was reported to exhibit switchable proton conduction behavior.

Self-powered electrochemical sensor based on a zinc-air battery has gained wide attention for its good stability and high energy density, making it a promising platform for disease markers detection. However, the large overpotential of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) limits its output signal, posing great challenges for practical applications. In this work, a self-powered electrochemical sensor based on a photoassisted zinc-air battery (PZAB-SPES) was proposed to specifically and sensitively detect hemagglutinin (HA) proteins of the H1N1 influenza virus. Two kinds of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with different linker lengths were designed and modified on the electrode surface to reduce the overpotential of the ORR efficiently. Using the COF with excellent photocatalytic ORR performance as photocathode material and MnO₂ as signal transduction unit, the output potential of the sensor was as high as 1.64 V. In the presence of HA protein, enzymatic etching reaction was triggered, during which abundant ascorbic acid was generated to etch MnO₂ on the electrode, thereby reducing the output signal of PZAB-SPES. The proposed PZAB-SPES achieved ultrasensitive determination of HA protein from 100 fg/mL to 10 ng/mL with a low detection limit of 52 fg/mL. In addition, the PZAB-SPES was further applied to detect HA protein of influenza virus in nasopharyngeal swab specimens of infected people, demonstrating great application prospect for the early diagnosis of infectious diseases.

The mecA gene can make bacteria resistant to drugs, and its constant diffusion seriously threatens ecological safety of water and public health, which calls for the development of sensitive detection strategies. However, its low concentration in water and interference from complex environments make it still challenging to achieve sensitive detection. Herein, a photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC)-based self-powered electrochemical sensor was constructed for mecA gene detection through integrating the dual photoelectrode structure with a magnetic nanobead (MB)-assisted 3D DNA walker signal amplification strategy. To enhance the photoelectric conversion efficiency, the Bi₂S₃/Ti₃C₂T_x@Au heterojunction was constructed, which greatly improved the photocurrent. Besides, the introduction of the CuFeO₂ photocathode further enhanced light absorption and increased the output signal up to 555 mV, which was about 1.4 times that of the single electrode system. In addition, the MB-assisted 3D DNA walker strategy isolated the target and converted it into output DNA, which increased the fixation of SiO₂ on the electrode and led to a decline of output signals. The constructed PFC-SPES had the ability to detect the target within the range of 10 fM to 10 nM with a detection limit as low as 1.14 fM, presenting a high sensitivity and universal detection choice for quick and accurate analysis of pollutants in water samples.