Silica nanotubes (SNTs) functionalized with Pd-NPs on the inner surface performed as efficient nano-reactors for C–C coupling in water; the nano-confinement offers minimized leaching of Pd and yet efficient mass transfer for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling and C–H arylation of thiazoles in water with very high TON.

Nanoparticles (NPs) are attractive materials owing to their physical and electrochemical properties, which make them extremely useful in diagnostic applications. Photon upconversion is the phenomenon where high-energy photons are emitted upon excitation of low-energy photons. Nucleic acids detection based on upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), which display a high signal-to-noise ratio and no photobleaching, has been widely applied. We evaluated whether UCNPs can improve polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specificity and affect PCR amplification. The effects of UCNPs with a diameter size of 40, 70, and 250 nm were evaluated using 3 PCR kits (AccuPower PCR PreMix, AmpliTaq Gold 360 Master Mix, and HotStarTaq Plus Master Mix) and 3 real-time PCR kits (AccuPower GreenStar qPCR PreMix, SYBR Green PCR Master Mix, and QuantiTect SYBR Green PCR Kit). Quantum dots were used for comparison with the UCNPs. In the presence of an appropriate concentration of UCNPs, PCR specificity was optimized. UCNPs of 40-nm size improved PCR specificity more effectively than did UCNPs sized 70 or 250 nm. As the size and concentrations of the UCNPs were increased, PCR amplification was more severely inhibited. At lower annealing temperatures (25°C–45°C), addition of the 40 nm UCNP (1 µg/µL) to the PCR reagent produced specific PCR products without nonspecific sequence amplification. Therefore, UCNPs of different sizes, with different DNA polymerases used in the commercial kits, showed different inhibitory effects on PCR amplification. These results demonstrate that optimization of UCNPs, added to reaction mixtures at appropriate concentrations, can improve PCR specificity. However, the mechanism underlining UCNPs effect on PCR remains unclear and will require further investigation.

Many scientists are increasingly interested in on-site detection methods of phenol and its derivatives because these substances have been universally used as a significant raw material in the industrial manufacturing of various chemicals of antimicrobials, anti-inflammatory drugs, antioxidants, and so on. The contamination of phenolic compounds in the natural environment is a toxic response that induces harsh impacts on plants, animals, and human health. This mini-review updates recent developments and trends of novel plasmonic resonance nanomaterials, which are assisted by various optical sensors, including colorimetric, fluorescence, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), and plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. These advanced and powerful analytical tools exhibit potential application for ultrahigh sensitivity, selectivity, and rapid detection of phenol and its derivatives. In this report, we mainly emphasize the recent progress and novel trends in the optical sensors of phenolic compounds. The applications of Raman technologies based on pure noble metals, hybrid nanomaterials, and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are presented, in which the remaining establishments and challenges are discussed and summarized to inspire the future improvement of scientific optical sensors into easy-to-operate effective platforms for the rapid and trace detection of phenol and its derivatives.

Intracellular glutathione-triggered doxorubicin release from silica nanotubes with hydrophobic labile cap was demonstrated for the drug-resistant cancer cell treatment.