Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anticancer drug commonly used in treating cancer; however, it has severe cytotoxicity effects. To overcome both the adverse effects of the drug and mineral deficiency (i.e., hypomagnesemia) experienced by cancer patients, we have developed magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoflakes as drug carriers and loaded them with DOX for use as a targeted drug delivery (TDD) system for potential application in cancer therapy. The synthesis employed herein affords pure, highly porous MgO nanoparticles that are void of the potentially harmful metal contaminants often discussed in the literature. Purposed for dual therapy, the nanoparticles exhibit an impressive 90% drug loading capacity with pH dependent drug releasing rates of 10% at pH 7.2, 50.5% at pH 5.0, and 90.2% at pH 3. Results indicate that therapy is achievable via slow diffusion where MgO nanoflakes degrade (i.e., dissolve) under acidic conditions releasing the drug and magnesium ions to the cancerous region. The TDD system therefore minimizes cytotoxicity to healthy cells while supplying magnesium ions to overcome hypomagnesemia.

Thermal chemical synthesis of conjugated polymers has often been plagued by low product yields, by-product contamination and high-cost catalysts. Electrochemical synthesis is an alternative strategy that can overcome these failures to obtain highly efficient syntheses. Herein, we present the study of diketopyrrolopyrrole-bisthiophene (DPPT₂), diketopyrrolopyrrole-bisfuran (DPPF₂) and thienothiadiazole-bisthiophene (TTDT₂) for diblock copolymerization with terthiophene (T₃) as a π-linker to form tunable narrow band gap polymers. The polymers suspended as thin films have similar redox characteristics to the monomers with potential shifts that prove the identity of the respective polymers. Electrochemical impedance measurements were carried out in the −0.6 V to 1.0 V potential range with an average electron transport resistance (R_e) value of 110 Ω irrespective of the applied potential. This confirms the polymers to have higher intrinsic electrical conductivity. The atomic ratios of the synthesized materials were calculated experimentally using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and they confirm the theoretical composition of the polymers. These doped polymers exhibit absorption bands in the visible to SWIR region (800–1800 nm) with optical band gaps from 0.773 to 1.178 eV in both the solid and the solution state.

The challenges faced with current fluorescence imaging agents have motivated us to study two nanostructures based on a hydrophobic dye, 6H-pyrrolo[3,2-b:4,5-b’]bis [1,4]benzothiazine (TRPZ). TRPZ is a heteroacene with a rigid, pi-conjugated structure, multiple reactive sites, and unique spectroscopic properties. Here we coupled TRPZ to a tert-butyl carbamate (BOC) protected 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propanoic acid (bisMPA) dendron via azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition. Deprotection of the protected amine groups on the dendron afforded a cationic terminated amphiphile, TRPZ-bisMPA. TRPZ-bisMPA was nanoprecipitated into water to obtain nanoparticles (NPs) with a hydrodynamic radius that was <150 nm. For comparison, TRPZ-PG was encapsulated in pluronic-F127 (Mw = 12 kD), a polymer surfactant to afford NPs almost twice as large as those formed by TRPZ-bisMPA. Size and stability studies confirm the suitability of the TRPZ-bisMPA NPs for biomedical applications. The photophysical properties of the TRPZ-bisMPA NPs show a quantum yield of 49%, a Stokes shift of 201 nm (0.72 eV) and a lifetime of 6.3 ns in water. Further evidence was provided by cell viability and cellular uptake studies confirming the low cytotoxicity of TRPZ-bisMPA NPs and their potential in bioimaging.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a well-established technology in biological research, enabling the sensitive and precise quantitative analysis of complex samples. While traditional LC-MS systems provide robust performance for targeted analyses, their reliance on chromatographic separation limits throughput, rendering large-scale studies inefficient. The emergence of Acoustic Ejection Mass Spectrometry (AEMS) has revolutionized high-throughput workflows by eliminating chromatography and enabling direct nanoliter-scale sampling, achieving hundreds to thousands of measurements per hour. However, AEMS’s full potential remains constrained by software limitations─existing tools lack robust automated processing capabilities for critical tasks such as peak detection, integration, and multimodal data analysis (e.g., multiple reaction monitoring, precursor ion, and neutral loss scans). To address this gap, we developed rtmsEcho, an open-source R package that extends our previously published rtms framework. This specialized solution provides direct access to AEMS data, enabling customizable processing of both MRM and full-scan acquisitions (precursor ion and neutral loss modes) while automating shot-to-peak association and spectral analysis. By streamlining data extraction and quantification, rtmsEcho enhances efficiency and reproducibility in high-throughput applications, including drug discovery, quality control, and clinical diagnostics. This innovation bridges a critical gap in AEMS data analysis, allowing researchers to fully leverage the speed and precision of next-generation mass spectrometry.

Front Cover: In article number 1900289 by R. M. Gamini Rajapakse, Davita L. Watkins, and co‐workers, electrochemical copolymerization affords near infrared‐II (100–1700 nm) absorbing copolymers with intrinsic conductivities over a wide potential window, even where it is nominally undoped. This study showcases the advantages of electro‐polymerization toward tailoring of next generation optoelectronic materials.

Label-free high-throughput screening (HTS) technologies have greatly accelerated early drug discovery by allowing direct measurement of biochemical activity without the need for chemical labels. Techniques like MALDI-TOF, RapidFire, desorption electrospray ionization, and acoustic-mist ionization mass spectrometry have shown strong analytical performance. More recently, acoustic droplet ejection mass spectrometry (AEMS) has emerged as a next-generation platform capable of analyzing over a thousand data points per hour. In this study, we thoroughly evaluated an AEMS workflow using cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) as a model enzyme. Screening a library of 9702 compounds, this work represents the first successful label-free HTS campaign for CYP3A4 inhibitors in a 384-well format using AEMS. The result using nifedipine as a substrate was comparable to the widely used P450-Glo luminescence assay but with fewer inhibitor hits identifications. To further compare and parse differences between the methods and the substrates, 819 hits were retested using AEMS with luciferin isopropyl acetal, the same substrate used in the luminescence assay. The findings confirmed that both the assay method and the substrate influence which inhibitors were detected. Overall, this study established AEMS as a robust and reliable tool for CYP3A4 inhibitor screening. It offers high analytical precision, fewer false positives, compatibility with multiple substrates, and direct detection of metabolites, providing a practical way to validate hits and improve confidence in early drug discovery efforts.