An intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) compound, (TCBD)2OPV3, has been synthesized and fabricated into one-dimensional nanotubes by a reprecipitation method. The observation of SEM and TEM showed the nanotubes were formed from their zero-dimensional precursors of hollow nanospheres. Reconstruction was found to happen during the morphology transition progress. The morphology transition and reconstruction are proposed to be a "curvature strain releasing" process driven by donor-acceptor dipole-dipole interactions. An aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect was observed for (TCBD)2OPV3. Both aggregates of vesicles and nanotubes were observed to be good red emitters with near-infrared end emission of 750-850 nm, which endows the material with potential applications in the fields of optical devices, biosensors, and biolabels.

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Muscle exercise induces intramuscular triglyceride (TG) accumulation and promotes mitochondrial maintenance in myotubes. However, the mechanism underlying exercise effects remains unknown. In this study, lactic acid was tested as a signaling molecule in C2C12 myotubes to understand the mechanism. Intracellular TG storage was induced in the cells by sodium lactate. The lactate activity was observed with an inhibition of the cAMP-PKA pathway as indicated by a reduction in the phosphorylation status of CREB (pCREB). Induction of pCREB signal by forskolin was blocked by pretreatment of cells with lactate. The impact of lactate on mitochondrial function was examined with a focus on the activities of two enzymes, MCAT (malonylCoA:ACP transferase) and PDH (pyruvate dehydrogenase). The enzyme activities were induced in the cells by lactate. Expression of the lactate receptor (GPR81) and lactate transporters (MCT1/4) were induced as well by lactate. The lactate activities were observed at concentrations between 4–64 mM, and were not dependent on the increase in intracellular pyruvate. Pyruvate treatment did not generate the same effects in the cells. Those results suggest that lactate may induce intramuscular TG storage and mitochondrial maintenance in myotubes through inhibition of the cAMP pathway by activation of GPR81 in a positive feedback manner.