Enhanced Photothermal Conversion through 2D/0D Nano-Heterojunction Engineering for Highly Efficient Solar Desalination.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are promising candidates for solar-driven desalination. However, conventional photothermal 2D materials like transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) as well as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) suffer from major limitations such as their complex synthesis and low photothermal conversion efficiency. In contrast, metal phosphorus trichalcogenides (MPCh) do not display the same drawbacks and possess widely tunable bandgaps (1.

High-yield production and functional analysis of novel rhizobial-type glutaminase-free L-asparaginase from Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.

L-Asparaginases are enzymes known for decades due to their use in medicine for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Recently, they have also found application in the food industry, and other possibilities are emerging in the treatment of infectious diseases or in the design of biosensors. For this reason, an ongoing effort has been made to find and characterize new enzymes with properties suitable for these specific applications.

Hexahydrocannabinol: pharmacokinetics, systemic toxicity, and acute behavioral effects in Wistar rats.

Background: Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is a new psychoactive substance known for its mind-altering effects and temporary legal status. It is widely used in parts of the Europe and United Kingdom as a legal alternative to ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol, yet little research has explored its effects and safety. This study examined how HHC is processed in the body, its toxicity, and its impact on behavior in male Wistar rats.

Functional Electrolyte Additives: A Pinch of Salt/Solvent to an Electrolyte for High Energy Density Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Metal Batteries.

Active electrode material in-conjunction with an electrolyte allows to expand the horizons of electrochemical properties and safety of Li-ion/Li-metal batteries. The role of electrolyte is pivotal in determining the performance metrics of rechargeable Li-based batteries. However, the unavoidable side-reactions imposed on the electrode active material and electrolyte due to the thermodynamic and kinetic conditions in a battery limits its performances.

Application of Molecular Dynamic Simulation in the Enantiorecognition Mechanism of the Pharmaceutically Relevant Leu-Phe Dipeptides With Four Zwitterionic Chiral Stationary Phases.

In order to broaden the applicability of the molecular dynamics technique and to further validate the efficacy of a computational protocol recently developed in our laboratory, the present study aims to elucidate the enantiorecognition mechanisms involving four zwitterionic Cinchona alkaloid-based CSPs under reversed-phase (RP) conditions. In this study, we use the enantiomeric dipeptides D-leucine-D-phenylalanine and L-leucine-L-phenylalanine as probes to investigate the properties of CHIRALPAK ZWIX(+) and ZWIX(-), as well as ZWIX(+A) and ZWIX (-A). The Leu-Phe dipeptide has considerable potential in the pharmaceutical field due to its potential applications in drug delivery, therapeutics and as a building block for peptidomimetics.

Evolution of protein-RNA interactions.

Since the Hadean-Eoarchaean era of Earth's history, peptides/proteins and RNA have undergone a complex evolutionary trajectory. Originating from simple monomeric units, these molecules evolved abiotically under various biochemical and biophysical constraints into functional biomolecules that contributed to the emergence of the first living cells. Within these cells, their interactions could then evolve through Darwinian selection.

Human Milk Oligosaccharides Multivalently Presented on Defined Synthetic Neo-Glycoproteins Are Nanomolar Ligands of Tandem-Repeat Galectins.

Galectins are small human proteins participating in inflammation processes, immune response, and cancerogenesis. Tandem-repeat galectins comprising Gal-4, Gal-8, and Gal-9 are a vital yet less studied part of the galectin fingerprint in cancer-related processes. The present work studies a library of prepared multivalent neo-glycoproteins decorated with poly--acetyllactosamine and human-milk-type oligosaccharides as ligands of this underexplored family of tandem-repeat galectins.

Behavioural and pharmacological evaluation of the psilocybin analogue baeocystin in Wistar rats.

Baeocystin is a naturally occurring tryptamine-based compound found in various psychoactive mushrooms, including in several species of Psilocybe genus. Due to its structural similarity to psilocybin, which has shown a therapeutic potential in treatment of psychiatric disorders, there is a growing interest in investigating whether baeocystin exhibits comparable effects. This study investigated the pharmacokinetic profile and acute behavioural effects of baeocystin in Wistar rats.

Effect of Quantitative Structural Properties and Drug Formulation in Four Cannabinoids (Cannabidiol, Cannabigerol, Cannabichromene, and Cannabinol) on Their Lymphatic Transport after Enteral Administration in Rats.

The effect of quantitative structural properties of drugs on the extent of lymphatic transport is not well understood. Our study aimed to describe these principles in four cannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), and cannabinol (CBN) administered as oil solutions and nanoemulsions. A series of studies in jugular vein cannulated rats and anesthetized mesenteric lymph duct cannulated rats was conducted to measure drug oral bioavailability and lymphatic transport.

Cross-Species Evidence for Psilocin-Induced Visual Distortions: Apparent Motion Is Perceived by Both Humans and Rats.

Background: Psychedelics, particularly psilocin, are increasingly being studied for their mind-altering effects and potential therapeutic applications in psychiatry. Visual hallucinations, especially the illusion of motion in static images, are a hallmark of their action. Despite growing interest, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood, as their systematic evaluation in both humans and animals is challenging.

State- and time-resolved observation of ultrafast intermolecular proton transfer in hydrated biomolecules.

Proton transfer underpins number of chemical and biochemical processes, yet its sub-100 fs dynamics have rarely been captured in real time. Here, we report direct and time-resolved observation of ionizing radiation-induced proton transfer in a heteroaromatic hydrate: the pyrrole-water complex. Both the electron-impact and strong-field laser experiments create a locally and doubly charged pyrrole unit (CHN), which immediately (within 60 fs) donates a proton to the adjacent HO, generating deprotonated CHN and hydronium HO cations that subsequently undergo Coulomb explosion.

Digital speech biomarkers can measure acute effects of levodopa in Parkinson's disease.

Speech abnormalities in Parkinson's disease (PD) are heterogeneous and often considered resistant to levodopa. However, human hearing may miss subtle treatment-related speech changes. Digital speech biomarkers offer a sensitive alternative to measure such changes objectively.

Unveiling the Effects of Thermal Aging on the Oxidative Stability of Biobased Low-Density Polyethylenes.

The study evaluates biobased polyethylene (LDPE) structural changes induced by long-term thermal oxidation. The three grades of LDPE differentiated with structural properties were exposed to 90, 100, and 110 °C in an air atmosphere for 20 days. After aging, samples were comprehensively analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, focused on carbonyl group development, and quantified by the carbonyl index (CI).

Identification of New Human P2X7 Antagonists Using Ligand- and Structure-Based Virtual Screening.

P2X7 receptors, a subtype of ATP-gated cation channel, have gained attention due to their involvement in inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, chronic pain, and cancer. However, despite extensive medicinal chemistry efforts, no P2X7 antagonists have reached clinical approval due to suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties, poor selectivity, and insufficient efficacy in comparison to placebo controls. To address these challenges, we employed a virtual screening workflow integrating ligand-based and structure-based approaches to identify novel P2X7 allosteric antagonists.

Chemical Characterization of Hot Trub and Residual Yeast: Exploring Beer By-Products for Future Sustainable Agricultural Applications.

Three types of solid waste are produced during beer fermentation: spent grain, hot trub, and residual yeast. While the first is used as livestock feed, the seconds has not yet found any real reapplication in the field of circular economy. The aim of this work is to study and characterize these two brewing wastes, i.

A cation-exchange approach to tunable magnetic intercalation superlattices.

Tailoring magnetic ordering in solid-state materials is essential for emerging spintronics. However, substitutional lattice doping in magnetic semiconductors is often constrained by the low solubility of magnetic elements, limiting the maximum achievable doping concentration (for example, less than 5%) and ferromagnetic ordering temperature. The intercalation of magnetic elements in layered two-dimensional atomic crystals (2DACs) without breaking in-plane covalent bonds offers an alternative approach to incorporate a much higher concentration of magnetic atoms (for example, up to 50%) beyond the typical solubility limit.

Detection of Polystyrene Microplastics up to the Single Nanoparticle Limit Using SERS and Advanced ANN Design (KANformer).

Due to uncontrolled release, gradual accumulation, low degradation rate, and potential negative impact on human health, microplastics (MPs) pose a serious environmental and healthcare risk. Thus, the spread of MPs should be at least carefully monitored to identify and eliminate their main sources, as well as to provide a suitable alarm in the case of MP concentration increase. Among various detection methods, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) poses a unique detection limit and the ability to perform outdoor measurements without preliminary sample treatment.

Silver-Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectra of Berberine: Analyte-Induced Surface Changes, Variable Concentration Correlation, and Excitation Wavelength Dependence.

The utilization of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for the analysis of biologically important compounds is strictly dependent on the properties of the substance being analyzed. One of them is berberine, a highly valued bioactive alkaloid sourced from various botanical species, which is renowned for its multifaceted health-enhancing attributes, although its potential negative effects have been widely discussed. Here, we aimed to investigate the properties of berberine influencing the SERS intensity.

The hidden impact of wet and dry milling processes on pharmaceutical surfaces.

This study highlights how the choice of milling method can significantly influence the final properties of powdered materials. Using inverse gas chromatography (IGC), we gained deeper insights into how surface characteristics evolve with milling time across different processing techniques. The findings reveal that powders produced via dry and wet milling exhibit distinctly different surface properties.

Magnetic Phases and Zone-Folded Phonons in a Frustrated van der Waals Magnet.

2D magnetic materials have attracted extensive research interest due to their potential application in nanospintronics, optospintronics, and magnonics. Ferromagnetic- and antiferromagnetic-layered materials have been demonstrated and successfully inserted into van der Waals heterostructures. However, the effects of magnetic frustration in van der Waals materials and the possibilities offered by spin configurations characterized by nonlinear spin arrangements have not been fully considered yet.

In Silico Discovery of a Novel Antiviral Scaffold for SARS-CoV‑2 Targeting the Spike Glycoprotein through the Fatty Acid Binding Pocket.

The key viral protein for infection by SARS-CoV-2 is the spike glycoprotein (S protein), mediating entry into host cells, which therefore represents a strong focus for the development of targeted therapeutics. In this work, we explored the fatty acid binding pocket within the S protein, which stabilizes an inactive conformation and disrupts cell recognition and infection. To explore the potential of this site as a drug target, molecular dynamics simulations were performed, followed by a docking-based virtual screening of commercial druglike compounds.

Agar Composition Modulates Production of Trichoderma Peptaibols, Affecting Antibacterial and Antiproliferative Activity.

Current antibiotics and chemotherapeutics are becoming ineffective because pathogenic bacteria and tumor cells have developed multiple drug resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to find new substances that can be used in treatment, either alone or as sensitizing molecules in combination with existing drugs. Peptaibols are bioactive, membrane-active peptides of non-ribosomal origin, mainly produced by filamentous fungi such as Trichoderma spp.

CACHE Challenge #2: Targeting the RNA Site of the SARS-CoV-2 Helicase Nsp13.

A critical assessment of computational hit-finding experiments (CACHE) challenge was conducted to predict ligands for the SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13 helicase RNA binding site, a highly conserved COVID-19 target. Twenty-three participating teams comprised of computational chemists and data scientists used protein structure and data from fragment-screening paired with advanced computational and machine learning methods to each predict up to 100 inhibitory ligands. Across all teams, 1957 compounds were predicted and were subsequently procured from commercial catalogs for biophysical assays.

Coming of age: could obesity-related metabolic complications be treated by targeting senescent cells?

Aging is characterized by gradual deterioration of organ or tissue function and its ability to maintain homeostasis of the different physiological processes. This leads to the development of structural and functional alterations accompanied by an increased risk for diverse pathologies. Cellular senescence is a controlled biological process that could contribute to the development of many age-related diseases and related metabolic dysfunctions.

Tunable Nanostructuring for van der Waals Materials.

van der Waals (vdW) materials are becoming increasingly popular in scientific and industrial applications because of their unique mixture of record electronic, optical, and mechanical properties. However, nanostructuring of vdW materials is still in its infancy and strongly depends on the specific vdW crystal. As a result, the universal self-assembled technology of vdW materials nanostructuring opens vast technological prospects.