The exponentially growing works on 2D materials have resulted in both high scientific interest and huge potential applications in nanocatalysis, optoelectronics, and spintronics. Of especial note is that the newly emerged and promising family of metal phosphorus trichalcogenides (MPX 3 ) contains semiconductors, metals, and insulators with intriguing layered structures and architectures. The bandgaps of the members in this family range from 1.3 to 3.5 eV, significantly enriching the application of 2D materials in the broad wavelength spectrum. In this review, emphasizing their remarkable structural, physicochemical, and magnetic properties, as well as the numerous applications in various fields, the innovative progress on layered MPX 3 crystals is summarized. Different from other layered materials, these crystals will advance a fascinating frontier in magnetism and spintronic devices with their especially featured atomic layered nanosheets. Thus, their crystal and electronic structures, along with some related researches in magnetism, are discussed in detail. The assortments of growth methods are then summarized. Considering their potential applications, the prominent utilization of these 2D MPX 3 nanoscrystals in catalysis, batteries, and optoelectronics is also discussed. Finally, the outlook of these kinds of layered nanomaterials is provided. Metal Phosphorus Trichalcogenidesions. Friedel [17] and Ferrand [18,19] discovered them in the late 1800s. Based on the interesting structure of these materials, significant research works were reported in the early 2000s. As expected, 2D MPX 3 phases share most of the abovementioned specific properties of 2D TMDs. According to the theoretical and experimental results, MPX 3 compounds are the most sought functional materials for their intermediate bandgaps ranging from 1.3 to 3.5 eV, [20,21] indicating their enhanced light absorption efficiency as compared to the TMD materials. In addition, their unusual intercalation-substitution or intercalation-reduction behavior as well as the incipient ionic conductivity promote their usage in Li-ion batteries, [22,23] gas storage, [24] and photo-electrochemical reactions. [25] Unlike TMDs, several MPX 3 materials show intrinsic anti-ferromagnetism below the Neel temperatures of 78 K for MnPS 3 , 116 K for FePS 3 , and 155 K for NiPS 3 . [26,27] Recently, Li et al. [28] predicted that transformation from the anti-ferromagnetism to ferromagnetism for exfoliated MnPSe 3 nanosheet will be reduced by carrier doping. And the Monte Carlo simulation reveals the Curie temperature of the doped MnPSe 3 nanosheets can reach 206 K, rendering it with potential for utilizations in spintronic devices at high temperature. Therefore, the members in the MPX 3 family have the abovementioned properties along with structural flexibility stemming from their van der Waals nature; thus, it is reasonable to assume that they will contribute to the next major frontier in 2D vdW layered materials.Herein, we emphasize on reviewing the impressive recent progress...

The occurrence and prognosis of many complex diseases, such as cancers, is associated with the variation of various molecules, including DNA at the genetic level, RNA at the regulatory level, proteins at the functional level and small molecules at the metabolic level (defined collectively as multilevel molecules). Thus it is highly desirable to develop a single platform for detecting multilevel biomarkers for early-stage diagnosis. Here we report a protocol on DNA-nanostructure-based programmable engineering of the biomolecular recognition interface, which provides a universal electrochemical biosensing platform for the ultrasensitive detection of nucleic acids (DNA/RNA), proteins, small molecules and whole cells. The protocol starts with the synthesis of a series of differentially sized, self-assembled tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs) with site-specifically modified thiol groups that can be readily anchored on the surface of a gold electrode with high reproducibility. By exploiting the rigid structure, nanoscale addressability and versatile functionality of TDNs, one can tailor the type of biomolecular probes appended on individual TDNs for the detection of specific molecules of interest. Target binding occurring on the gold surface patterned with TDNs is quantitatively translated into electrochemical signals via a coupled enzyme-based catalytic process. This uses a sandwich assay strategy in which biotinylated reporter probes recognize TDN-bound target biomolecules, which then allow binding of horseradish-peroxidase-conjugated avidin (avidin-HRP). Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is then reduced by avidin-HRP in the presence of TMB (3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine) to generate a quantitative electrochemical signal. The time range for the entire protocol is ∼1 d, whereas the detection process takes ∼30 min to 3 h.

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Phosphindole oxide-based photosensitizers with Type I reactive oxygen species generation ability are developed and used for endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated photodynamic therapy of tumors.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising noninvasive treatment option for cancers and other diseases. The key factor that determines the effectiveness of PDT is the photosensitizers (PSs). Upon light irradiation, the PSs would be activated, produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), and induce cell death. One of the challenges is that traditional PSs adopt a large flat disc-like structure, which tend to interact with the adjacent molecules through strong π−π stacking that reduces their ROS generation ability. Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules with a twisted configuration to suppress strong intermolecular interactions represent a new class of PSs for image-guided PDT. In this Miniperspective, we summarize the recent progress on the design rationale of AIE-PSs and the strategies to achieve desirable theranostic applications in cancers. Subsequently, approaches of combining AIE-PS with other imaging and treatment modalities, challenges, and future directions are addressed.