Zhenyu Wang

Bio: Zhenyu Wang is an academic researcher from Minzu University of China. The author has contributed to research in topics: Photothermal therapy & Photodynamic therapy. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 7 citations.

Discovery and validation of biomarkers for Zhongning goji berries using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Abstract: Daodi medicinal material (DMM), which is traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has been used for long periods and have gained credibility in clinical practice, is part of the Chinese culture. However, Zhongning Goji berries (ZNG), a DMM, are illegally adulterated in the market by adding non Zhongning goji berries (NZNG). Consequently, the development of biomarker(s) is necessary for proper identification of ZNG and NZNG. In this study, a nontargeted metabolomics approach based on ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was used to find the differential composition between ZNG and NZNG. Using a combination of single-factor and multivariate statistical analyses, seven compounds with significant differences were discovered and identified, one of which was an unreported compound (a glycoside of pyrrolidine alkaloid). These compounds could be used as single biomarkers for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. In particular, the binary logistic regression result showed that two sets of combinative biomarkers to distinguish ZNG from NZNG with good sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the two combinative biomarkers and the glycoside of pyrrolidine alkaloid. The results of this study provide new ideas on the developments of ZNG identification, authenticity control and against adulteration in the Chinese circulation market.

Stretchable Polymer Composite Film Based on Pseudo-High Carbon-Filler Loadings for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Abstract: Polymer composites with carbon-based filler (C-filler) are regarded as promising alternatives for flexible and stretchable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. However, the poor mechanical properties caused by high-loadings largely hinders their practical applications, especially for the film. Herein, a class of pseudo-high C-filler (PHCF) composite films are constructed by introducing lean C-filler polymer phase on both sides of the high C-filler polymer phase. Not only does conductive structure of the high C-filler phase not transform, but the lean C-filler phase serves as both absorbing microwaves and supporting function. Strong interfacial compatibility and multi-level “zigzag” cracks synergistically enhance the mechanical stretchability with elongation at break of 200 ± 8%. Notably, its EMI shielding effectiveness reaches 31.8 dB with enhanced absorptivity (>0.2). Further, EMI shielding performance remains reliable after bending and stretching. This work offers a regulation strategy to upgrade EMI shielding materials for burgeoning stretchable, wearable and mini electronics.

Discovery and validation of biomarkers for Zhongning goji berries using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

Abstract: Daodi medicinal material (DMM), which is traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has been used for long periods and have gained credibility in clinical practice, is part of the Chinese culture. However, Zhongning Goji berries (ZNG), a DMM, are illegally adulterated in the market by adding non Zhongning goji berries (NZNG). Consequently, the development of biomarker(s) is necessary for proper identification of ZNG and NZNG. In this study, a nontargeted metabolomics approach based on ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was used to find the differential composition between ZNG and NZNG. Using a combination of single-factor and multivariate statistical analyses, seven compounds with significant differences were discovered and identified, one of which was an unreported compound (a glycoside of pyrrolidine alkaloid). These compounds could be used as single biomarkers for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. In particular, the binary logistic regression result showed that two sets of combinative biomarkers to distinguish ZNG from NZNG with good sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the two combinative biomarkers and the glycoside of pyrrolidine alkaloid. The results of this study provide new ideas on the developments of ZNG identification, authenticity control and against adulteration in the Chinese circulation market.

Porphyrin-Based Nanoparticles: A Promising Phototherapy Platform.

Abstract: Phototherapy, including photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy, is an emerging form of non-invasive treatment. The combination of imaging technology and phototherapy is becoming an attractive development in the treatment of cancer, as it allows for highly effective therapeutic results through image-guided phototherapy. Porphyrins have attracted significant interest in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer due to their excellent phototherapeutic effects in phototherapy and their remarkable imaging capabilities in fluorescence imaging, magnetic resonance imaging and photoacoustic imaging. However, porphyrins suffer from poor water solubility, low near-infrared absorption and insufficient tumor accumulation. The development of nanotechnology provides an effective way to improve the bioavailability, phototherapeutic effect and imaging capability of porphyrins. This review highlights the research results of porphyrin-based small molecule nanoparticles in phototherapy and image-guided phototherapy in the last decade and discusses the challenges and directions for the development of porphyrin-based small molecule nanoparticles in phototherapy.

Application of metalloporphyrin sensitizers for the treatment or diagnosis of tumors

Abstract: At present, metalloporphyrin compounds demonstrate three main uses as anticancer sensitizers: (1) photosensitizers, (2) photothermal conversion agents, and (3) ultrasound sensitizers. Developing efficient sensitizers for cancer with excellent controllability and biocompatibility is an important goal of oncology medicine. Because of the different structural diversity of anticancer sensitizers, such sensitizers are used for treating cancers by employing a variety of tumor treatment methods such as mature photodynamic therapy, commonly used clinically photothermal therapy and promising sonodynamic therapy. Among the many sensitizers, metalloporphyrin-complex sensitizers attract wide attention due to their excellent performance in tumor treatment and diagnosis. This review briefly describes some metalloporphyrin anticancer drugs and diagnostic agents related to photodynamic, photothermal and sonodynamic therapy, and discusses the roles of metal atoms in these drugs.

Authentication of berries and berry-based food products

Abstract: Berries represent one of the most important and high-valued group of modern-day health-beneficial "superfoods" whose dietary consumption has been recognized to be beneficial for human health for a long time. In addition to being delicious, berries are rich in nutrients, vitamins, and several bioactive compounds, including carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and hydrolysable tannins. However, due to their high value, berries and berry-based products are often subject to fraudulent adulteration, commonly for economical gain, but also unintentionally due to misidentification of species. Deliberate adulteration often comprises the substitution of high-value berries with lower value counterparts and mislabeling of product contents. As adulteration is deceptive toward customers and presents a risk for public health, food authentication through different methods is applied as a countermeasure. Although many authentication methods have been developed in terms of fast, sensitive, reliable, and low-cost analysis and have been applied in the authentication of a myriad of food products and species, their application on berries and berry-based products is still limited. The present review provides an overview of the development and application of analytical chemistry methods, such as isotope ratio analysis, liquid and gas chromatography, spectroscopy, as well as DNA-based methods and electronic sensors, for the authentication of berries and berry-based food products. We provide an overview of the earlier use and recent advances of these methods, as well as discuss the advances and drawbacks related to their application.

Lightweight and mechanically robust carbon aerogel/SnO2 nanorods composites with heterogeneous structure for electromagnetic interference shielding

Abstract: Fabricating lightweight and mechanically robust carbon aerogel (CA) for high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding is vital yet challenging. In this work, the heterostructure CA/SnO 2 nanorods (NRs) composites are proposed by the fabrication of phenolic-derived CA and followed in-situ growth of nano rod-like SnO 2 via ultrasonic cavitation effect. This strategy introduces countless heterogeneous interfaces in the skeleton while maintaining the original porous conductive skeleton of CA, which can synergistically dissipate and absorb electromagnetic waves. The CA/SnO 2 NRs composites exhibit the EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 36.6 dB with a density of 0.33 g cm −3 , of which the absorbed SE reaches 32.1 dB. Besides, CA/SnO 2 NRs composites also exhibit prominent mechanical properties, flame retardant properties, and outstanding thermal insulation. Such an especial combination of several exceptional properties capacitates the EMI shielding CA/SnO 2 NRs composites to have broad application prospects in fields of aerospace, military, and intelligent electronics.

Multi-Targeted Metabolic Profiling of Carotenoids, Phenolic Compounds and Primary Metabolites in Goji (Lycium spp.) Berry and Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Reveals Inter and Intra Genus Biomarkers.

Abstract: Metabolic profile is a key component of fruit quality, which is a challenge to study due to great compound diversity, especially in species with high nutritional value. This study presents optimized analytical methods for metabolic profiling in the fruits of three Solanaceae species: Lycium barbarum, Lycium chinense and Solanumlycopersicum. It includes the most important chemical classes involved in nutrition and taste, i.e., carotenoids, phenolic compounds and primary compounds. Emphasis has been placed on the systematic achievement of good extraction yields, sample stability, and high response linearity using common LC-ESI-TQ-MS and GC-EI-MS apparatuses. A set of 13 carotenoids, 46 phenolic compounds and 67 primary compounds were profiled in fruit samples. Chemometrics revealed metabolic markers discriminating Lycium and Solanum fruits but also Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense fruits and the effect of the crop environment. Typical tomato markers were found to be lycopene, carotene, glutamate and GABA, while lycibarbarphenylpropanoids and zeaxanthin esters characterized goji (Lycium spp.) fruits. Among the compounds discriminating the Lycium species, reported here for the first time to our knowledge, chlorogenic acids, asparagine and quinic acid were more abundant in Lycium chinense, whereas Lycium barbarum accumulated more lycibarbarphenylpropanoids A-B, coumaric acid, fructose and glucose.

Utilization of hazardous red mud in silicone Rubber/MWCNT nanocomposites for high performance electromagnetic interference shielding

Abstract: With burgeoning technological advancement in telecommunication and high frequency electronics, its repercussion as electromagnetic pollution is alarmingly high. Hence, much effort has been made to supress this undesired phenomenon using efficient electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. Red mud, a hazardous by-product of alumina extraction is rich in oxides of iron, aluminium & titanium with ca. 30–60% of hematite, a magnetic lossy material that could be suitable for enhancing microwave absorption and EMI shielding performance of polymer nanocomposites. The impetus for this work was to utilize red mud as magnetically lossy filler in silicone rubber (SR)/multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites to function as efficient EMI shields with superior microwave absorption. Herein, taking the advantage of conductive percolated network of MWCNT in SR, red mud was incorporated with varying concentration of 5–20 wt% & compression moulded to form flexible sheets. These nanocomposite sheets exhibited a maximum electrical conductivity of 24 S/cm with superior EMI shielding effectiveness value of −83.4 dB in the X band (8.2–12.4 GHz) region making it a suitable candidate for commercial shielding applications. Moreover, sustainable use of a hazardous industrial waste to suppress EMI, which is yet another challenging invisible pollutant, is the key highlight of this work.

Comprehensive characterization of the chemical constituents in Yiganmingmu oral liquid and the absorbed prototypes in cynomolgus monkey plasma after oral administration by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS based on the self built components database

Abstract: Yiganmingmu oral liquid (YGMM), a well known over-the-counter (OTC) drug in China, is composed of 12 types of valuable herbal medicines and has been widely used in clinical for the treatment of soreness and weakness of waist and knees, dizziness, memory loss, and fatigue. However, the chemical compositions of YGMM and its absorbed compounds in plasma remain unclear. Since chemical investigation is the first important step to reveal effects and action mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in this study, based on the self built components database, systematic characterization of the chemical profile of YGMM in vitro was carried out by using a reliable UPLC-Q-TOF-MS method. Moreover, to obtain better understanding of the absorbed prototypes in plasma, serum pharmacochemistry analysis of YGMM after oral administration was conducted by using cynomolgus monkeys as animal model. A total of 667 constituents from the 12 single herbal medicines were collected in the self built components database by searching the reported literatures, and 415 of them were initially screened as candidate compounds in YGMM by comparison of their experimental accurate mass measurements with those theoretical values. After that, 117 compounds including 17 phenolic acids, 25 flavonoids, 4 alkaloids, 10 phthalides, 5 monoterpenes, 8 triterpenoid saponins, 9 anthraquinones, and 39 other compounds, were unambiguously identified or tentatively characterized by analysing their MS/MS fragmentation patterns, and also by comparison with reference standards and those data reported in the literatures. 61 prototypes absorbed in plasma of cynomolgus monkey, including 13 phenolic acids, 21 flavonoids, 8 phthalides, 3 monoterpenes, 4 triterpenoid saponins, and 12 other compounds were tentatively assigned by serum pharmacochemistry analysis after oral administration. It was the first comprehensive analysis of chemical constituents of YGMM and prototypes in plasma, and the data analysis strategy developed in this study showed high efficiency in the structural elucidations. The results might provide scientific evidence for further research on material basis of YGMM.