Rapid and simple molecular recognition based techniques for the identification of the subtypes of cancer cells are essential in molecular medicine. However, improving the sensitivity and accuracy of the early diagnosis of this disease remains a major challenge. Herein, we develop a novel approach for the in situ growth of palladium nanoparticles in magnetic carbon nanocages (PdNPs/MCNCs). The confined Pd NPs, which have excellent dispersion in magnetic carbon nanocages, show superior catalytic performance for the cleavage reaction of N-butyl-4-NHAlloc-1,8-naphthalimide (NNPH), thereby producing significant changes in both color (from colorless to jade-green) and fluorescence (from blue to green) through the ICT process. Based on the abovementioned results, a novel sensing platform utilizing the PdNPs/MCNC nanocatalyst as an artificial enzyme and NNPH as a fluorescent and color change reporter molecule for the multicolor imaging and colorimetric detection of cancer cells was developed. We envision that this nanomaterial can be used as a power tool for a wide range of potential applications in biotechnology and medicine.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria creates an urgent need for alternative antibiotics with new mechanisms of action. In this study, we synthesized a novel type of antimicrobial agent, Acr3-NLS, by conjugating hydrophobic acridines to the N-terminus of a nuclear localization sequence (NLS), a short cationic peptide. To further improve the antimicrobial activity of our agent, dimeric (Acr3-NLS)2 was simultaneously synthesized by joining two monomeric Acr3-NLS together via a disulfide linker. Our results show that Acr3-NLS and especially (Acr3-NLS)2 display significant antimicrobial activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria compared to that of the NLS. Subsequently, the results derived from the study on the mechanism of action demonstrate that Acr3-NLS and (Acr3-NLS)2 can kill bacteria by membrane disruption and DNA binding. The double targets–cell membrane and intracellular DNA–will reduce the risk of bacteria developing resistance to Acr3-NLS and (Acr3-NLS)2. Overall, this study provides a novel strategy to design highly effective antimicrobial agents with a dual mode of action for infection treatment