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The role of salidroside in colon cancer remains unknown. Here we show that salidroside, a phenylpropanoid glycoside extracted from Rhodiola rosea, exhibited potent anti-proliferative properties in human colorectal cancer cells via inducing apoptosis and autophagy. We ascertained that salidroside exerts an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of human colorectal cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, salidroside induced cell apoptosis, accompanied by an increase of chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation, and a decrease of Bcl-2/Bax protein expression ratio. We also found that salidroside induced autophagy, evidenced by increased LC3+ autophagic vacuoles, positive acridine orange-stained cells, enhanced conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II, and elevation of Beclin-1. Treatment with autophagy-specific inhibitors [3-methyladenine (3-MA) and bafilomycin A1 (BA)] enhanced salidroside-induced apoptosis, indicating that salidroside-mediated autophagy may protect HT29 cells from undergoing apoptotic cell death. Additionally, salidroside decreased the phosphorylation of PI3K, Akt and mTOR. Treatment with PI3K inhibitor LY294002 augmented the effects of salidroside on the expression of Akt and mTOR. These findings indicate that salidroside could suppress the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways. This study may provide a rationale for future clinical application using salidroside as a chemotherapeutic agent for human colorectal cancer.

A Li-rich layered cathode material Li 1.2 Ni 0.2 Mn 0.6 O 2 with enhanced electrochemical performance has been fabricated by combining the Cr doping and LiAlO 2 coating. The structural characterization shows the perfect layered crystal structure. The 3 wt % LiAlO 2 -coated Li 1.2 Ni 0.16 Mn 0.56 Cr 0.08 O 2 shows the highest discharge specific capacity and the best cycling stability among different coating levels. The first discharge specific capacity is enhanced from 230.4 mAhg −1 to 268.8 mAhg −1 .The capacity retention ratio is improved from 92.7% to 97.3% after 100 cycles. The spinel phase is suppressed effectively in the 3 wt % LiAlO 2 -coated Li 1.2 Ni 0.16 Mn 0.56 Cr 0.08 O 2 . The midpoint voltage value of Li 1.2 Ni 0.2 Mn 0.6 O 2 after 100 cycles is enhanced from 2.746 to 3.128 V with Cr doping and LiAlO 2 coating. The lower R ct (charge transfer resistance) and higher D Li + (ion diffusion coefficient) of 3 wt % LiAlO 2 -coated Li 1.2 Ni 0.16 Mn 0.56 Cr 0.08 O 2 contribute to the excellent rate capability. The results suggest that ion doping combined with fast ion conductor coating is an effective way to enhance the electrochemical properties of the Li-rich layered cathode materials.

A sensitive and low-fouling aptasensor for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was developed based on mixed self-assembled aptamers and newly designed zwitterionic peptides, where densely immobilized peptides formed an antifouling layer to resist nonspecific protein adsorption, and sparsely attached aptamers acted as the recognizing layer to achieve target binding. The obtained biosensing interface responded to the target AFP with a strikingly selective and sensitive manner, exhibited excellent protein-resistant performance even in complex human serum solution, and showed promising feasibility for the quantitative analysis of AFP in real human serum samples.