Fujian Research Institute of Light Industry

Jasmonic and salicylic acids are key hormones involved in plant responses to pests and pathogens. Existing fluorescence-based approaches to imaging plant defence hormones are constrained by the need for external illumination and by autofluorescence of plant tissues, while luminescence-based ones require exogenous substrates. Here, we use jasmonate- and salicylate-responsive promoters to engineer autoluminescent plants that report hormone signalling activity with up to a 53-fold contrast. Using consumer-grade cameras, we image reporter Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana plants throughout normal development and in response to pest and pathogen attacks, visualising local and systemic responses. Because the luminescence is self-sustained, these reporters enable non-invasive, substrate-free imaging of defence signalling over extended time courses without specialised equipment.

This work presents a high-performance composite SERS substrate, which is formed by a vertically aligned gold nanocone array hyperbolic metamaterial (HMM) integrated with a two-dimensional tungsten disulfide (WS2) dielectric interlayer. This structure aims to create prominent hotspots at the tips of the nanocones through its unique conical geometry and periodic arrangement. At the same time, strong electromagnetic enhancement also occurs in the gaps between the cones, resulting in a high-density and uniform distribution of electromagnetic hotspots. The WS2 layer plays a critical dual role: it effectively suppresses fluorescence background, ensuring spectral clarity, and facilitates interfacial charge transfer, contributing to additional chemical enhancement. Finite-element simulations and experimental measurements reveal strong bulk plasmon polariton (BPP) excitation and vertically confined field distributions. Compared to conventional localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), the BPP in the HMM enables volume-localized and anisotropically enhanced fields, offering deeper field confinement and stronger light-matter interaction. The resulting platform achieves successful detection of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and Malachite Green (MG) at concentrations as low as 10–10 and 10–8 M, with excellent signal uniformity and reproducibility. This substrate design offers a promising strategy for reproducible, low-noise, and ultrasensitive SERS detection.

Antimicrobial resistance is raising serious health concerns across the globe, and its adverse effects are elevating day by day. Researchers are making efforts to find new and more efficient pharmaceutical agents to overcome this growing challenge. Metal-based drugs are very useful in this regard, and hence, they are gaining more attention from researchers. This review systematically examines metal-based triazole Schiff base compounds, delving into their synthetic methodologies, structural characterization and a range of bioactivities. With a precise emphasis on antimicrobial properties along with cytotoxicity effects, DNA interactions and anti-cancerous and enzymatic applications, researches explores that these compounds are innovative solutions to the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance. The synergistic combination of metal ions and organic ligands within these complexes often results in enhanced antimicrobial efficacy compared to traditional organic antimicrobials. This review provides a comprehensive overview of triazole-based metal complexes under research from 2006 to 2024, which can be used as antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, anticancer, DNA interaction and enzyme inhibition agents.

Fabricating an inexpensive and efficient electrocatalyst for the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an alkaline medium is crucial for renewable energy generation. In this work, nickel foam (NF) modified with few-layer or single-layer MXene (S-MXene) was used as a substrate to prepare an independent, self-supporting composite electrode for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysis. CoFe bimetallic MOF nanosheets were grown in situ on composite substrates by electrodeposition. Compared to multilayer MXene, S-MXene has a larger specific surface area and interlayer spacing, making it an ideal material for enhancing the conductivity of the electrode or serving as a supporting matrix. As an intermediate material, S-MXene can not only reduce the charge transfer resistance of the electrode and improve the active sites but also enhance the structural stability of the electrode, significantly improving the catalytic activity and long-term electrolysis stability of the electrode. The improved CoFe NSs@S-MXene/NF composite electrode delivers a current density of 10 mA cm–2 at a low overpotential value of only 191 mV in 1.0 M KOH, along with an ultralow Tafel slope of 31 mV dec–1. Additionally, the composite electrode exhibits outstanding stability for 24 h during OER at various current densities. This work innovatively uses S-MXene as a base material and develops a highly efficient new type of OER electrode. This novel strategy can serve as a reference for the modification of other electrode materials and expand the application of MXene in the field of water splitting.

Sweet potato starch (SPS) gels often exhibit poor thermal stability and textural quality at low solid concentrations. This study investigated the mechanism by which curdlan (CD), a microbial β-(1,3)-glucan with unique thermoirreversible gelling properties, modulates the gelatinization, retrogradation, rheology, structure, and gel properties of SPS. Incorporating CD delayed SPS gelatinization, reduced gelatinization enthalpy (ΔH), and enhanced the thermal and shear stability of the paste, attributed to competitive hydration and robust SPS-CD interactions. Crucially, CD accelerated gel network formation during cooling, fostering stronger intermolecular hydrogen bonding (confirmed by FTIR redshift) and hydrophobic associations. Multi-scale structural analysis (SEM, SAXS) revealed that 5% CD produced a composite gel with a significantly denser microstructure, smaller pore size, and higher fractal dimension. Consequently, this optimized structure yielded superior mechanical properties (increased storage modulus G', hardness, chewiness), enhanced water retention (LF-NMR), and improved gel stability. Composite gels with 5% CD exhibited optimal overall properties (hardness ↑ 56.43%, chewiness ↑ 55.62%, water retention ↑ 15.09%, gel thermal stability ↑ 18.31%). These findings demonstrate that CD effectively modifies the structural assembly dynamics and intermolecular interactions within SPS gels, providing a fundamental basis for developing high-quality, stable SPS-based gel products with enhanced functional attributes.

Luminous quantum dots (QDs) are highly attractive materials for advanced display technologies due to their exceptional optical properties, including strong absorption, narrow emission spectra, and high photoluminescence quantum yields. These characteristics enable their use in next-generation microdisplays requiring high brightness, superior color purity, broad color gamut, and fast response times. Among various fabrication techniques, direct photolithographic patterning of QDs stands out as a highly reliable method for creating QD pixel arrays. This approach offers significant advantages in terms of resolution, throughput, response time, scalability, and seamless integration with conventional micro/nanofabrication processes. This review critically examines recent progress in direct photolithographic patterning of QDs for microdisplay applications. We particularly focus on the underlying light-responsive mechanisms of QD surface ligand engineering and the development of QD–polymer composites. Furthermore, we evaluate the performance of the resulting patterned QD microstructures in actual microdisplay applications. Finally, we address the current challenges in practical implementation and propose future directions for the advancement of QD direct lithographic patterning techniques, with the aim of providing valuable insights for continued innovation in this rapidly evolving field.