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Owing to its high thermal and electrical conductivities, its ductility and its overall non-toxicity 1 – 3 , copper is widely used in daily applications and in industry, particularly in anti-oxidation technologies. However, many widespread anti-oxidation techniques, such as alloying and electroplating 1 , 2 , often degrade some physical properties (for example, thermal and electrical conductivities and colour) and introduce harmful elements such as chromium and nickel. Although efforts have been made to develop surface passivation technologies using organic molecules, inorganic materials or carbon-based materials as oxidation inhibitors 4 – 12 , their large-scale application has had limited success. We have previously reported the solvothermal synthesis of highly air-stable copper nanosheets using formate as a reducing agent 13 . Here we report that a solvothermal treatment of copper in the presence of sodium formate leads to crystallographic reconstruction of the copper surface and formation of an ultrathin surface coordination layer. We reveal that the surface modification does not affect the electrical or thermal conductivities of the bulk copper, but introduces high oxidation resistance in air, salt spray and alkaline conditions. We also develop a rapid room-temperature electrochemical synthesis protocol, with the resulting materials demonstrating similarly strong passivation performance. We further improve the oxidation resistance of the copper surfaces by introducing alkanethiol ligands to coordinate with steps or defect sites that are not protected by the passivation layer. We demonstrate that the mild treatment conditions make this technology applicable to the preparation of air-stable copper materials in different forms, including foils, nanowires, nanoparticles and bulk pastes. We expect that the technology developed in this work will help to expand the industrial applications of copper. High oxidation resistance, without degradation of thermal or electrical conductivity, is achieved in copper using surface modification by a solvothermal or electrochemical treatment with sodium formate and formation of a thin surface coordination layer.

Development of practical deuteration reactions is highly valuable for organic synthesis, analytic chemistry and pharmaceutic chemistry. Deuterodehalogenation of organic chlorides tends to be an attractive strategy but remains a challenging task. We here develop a photocatalytic system consisting of an aryl-amine photocatalyst and a disulfide co-catalyst in the presence of sodium formate as an electron and hydrogen donor. Accordingly, many aryl chlorides, alkyl chlorides, and other halides are converted to deuterated products at room temperature in air (>90 examples, up to 99% D-incorporation). The mechanistic studies reveal that the aryl amine serves as reducing photoredox catalyst to initiate cleavage of the C-Cl bond, at the same time as energy transfer catalyst to induce homolysis of the disulfide for consequent deuterium transfer process. This economic and environmentally-friendly method can be used for site-selective D-labeling of a number of bioactive molecules and direct H/D exchange of some drug molecules. Deuterodehalogenation of organic chlorides is a useful strategy to install deuterium atoms at specific positions, however, it has several drawbacks. In this study, the authors report an organophotocatalytic system consisting of an aryl-amine-based photocatalyst and a common disulfide co-catalyst, for efficient deuteration of a wide range of aryl chlorides, alkyl chlorides and other halides, at room temperature in air.

Maternal supplementation with folic acid is known to reduce the incidence of neural tube defects (NTDs) by as much as 70%. Despite the strong clinical link between folate and NTDs, the biochemical mechanisms through which folic acid acts during neural tube development remain undefined. The Mthfd1l gene encodes a mitochondrial monofunctional 10-formyl-tetrahydrofolate synthetase, termed MTHFD1L. This gene is expressed in adults and at all stages of mammalian embryogenesis with localized regions of higher expression along the neural tube, developing brain, craniofacial structures, limb buds, and tail bud. In both embryos and adults, MTHFD1L catalyzes the last step in the flow of one-carbon units from mitochondria to cytoplasm, producing formate from 10-formyl-THF. To investigate the role of mitochondrial formate production during embryonic development, we have analyzed Mthfd1l knockout mice. All embryos lacking Mthfd1l exhibit aberrant neural tube closure including craniorachischisis and exencephaly and/or a wavy neural tube. This fully penetrant folate-pathway mouse model does not require feeding a folate-deficient diet to cause this phenotype. Maternal supplementation with sodium formate decreases the incidence of NTDs and partially rescues the growth defect in embryos lacking Mthfd1l . These results reveal the critical role of mitochondrially derived formate in mammalian development, providing a mechanistic link between folic acid and NTDs. In light of previous studies linking a common splice variant in the human MTHFD1L gene with increased risk for NTDs, this mouse model provides a powerful system to help elucidate the specific metabolic mechanisms that underlie folate-associated birth defects, including NTDs.

This opinion concerns the re‐authorisation of ammonium, calcium and sodium formates as preservatives in feed for all animals and the use of ammonium and sodium formates as silage additives. Conclusions of the previous opinion on formic acid establishing safety for target species, consumer and environment are reiterated and extended to cover the calcium and sodium salts. No adverse effects are anticipated when these salts are used at the maximum proposed dose (pigs 12 000 mg; all other animal species 10 000 mg formic acid equivalents/kg feed or an equivalent dose in water for drinking). For ammonium formate, the presence of formamide is considered insufficient to guarantee the protection of reproduction animals. Evidence of its carcinogenic potential argues to avoid using ammonium formate in non‐food‐producing animals. The use of formic acid and sodium formate in animal nutrition is safe for the consumer. Use of ammonium formate in dairy animals and laying poultry raises concerns due to the potential exposure of consumers to formamide. Calcium and sodium formates are non‐irritant to skin, but mildly irritant to eyes and respiratory irritants with a potential for sensitization. Liquid preparations of sodium formate/formic acid and ammonium formate/formic acid can act as preservatives in feed, with a potential to control growth of fungi and aerobic bacteria. However, the Panel has reservations about the effectiveness of organic acids as preservatives in feedingstuffs with a typical moisture content of ≤ 12 %. Pure calcium or sodium formate had no discernible effects on microbial numbers in the feed materials examined. A preservative effect of the three formate salts in water for drinking was not demonstrated.  Sodium formate has a potential to improve the preservation of nutrients in silage prepared from easy, moderately difficult and difficult to ensile material. Efficacy of ammonium formate as silage additive was not demonstrated.

Catalytic anticancer metallodrugs active at low doses could minimize side-effects, introduce novel mechanisms of action that combat resistance and widen the spectrum of anticancer-drug activity. Here we use highly stable chiral half-sandwich organometallic Os(II) arene sulfonyl diamine complexes, [Os(arene)(TsDPEN)] (TsDPEN, N-(p-toluenesulfonyl)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine), to achieve a highly enantioselective reduction of pyruvate, a key intermediate in metabolic pathways. Reduction is shown both in aqueous model systems and in human cancer cells, with non-toxic concentrations of sodium formate used as a hydride source. The catalytic mechanism generates selectivity towards ovarian cancer cells versus non-cancerous fibroblasts (both ovarian and lung), which are commonly used as models of healthy proliferating cells. The formate precursor N-formylmethionine was explored as an alternative to formate in PC3 prostate cancer cells, which are known to overexpress a deformylase enzyme. Transfer-hydrogenation catalysts that generate reductive stress in cancer cells offer a new approach to cancer therapy.

A highly efficient hydrogen generation from formic acid/sodium formate aqueous solution catalyzed by in situ synthesized Pd/C with citric acid has been successfully achieved at room temperature. Interestingly, the presence of citric acid during the formation and growth of the Pd nanoparticles on carbon can drastically enhance the catalytic property of the resulted Pd/C, on which the conversion and turnover frequency for decomposition of formic acid/sodium formate system can reach the highest values ever reported of 85% within 160 min and 64 mol H 2 mol −1 catalyst h −1 , respectively, at room temperature. The present simple, low cost, but highly efficient CO-free hydrogen generation system at room temperature is believed to greatly promote the practical application of formic acid system on fuel cells.

The use of deicers in urban areas, on runways and aircrafts has raised concerns about their environmental impact. Understanding the ice-melting mechanism is crucial for developing environmentally friendly deicers, yet it remains challenging. This study employs machine learning to investigate the ice penetration capacity (IPC) of 21 salts and 16 organic solvents as deicers. Relationships between their IPC and various physical properties were analysed using extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and Shapley additive explanation (SHAP). Three key ice-melting mechanisms were identified: (1) freezing-point depression, (2) interactions between deicers and H 2 O molecules and (3) infiltration of ions into ice crystals. SHAP analysis revealed different ice-melting factors and mechanisms for salts and organic solvents, suggesting a potential advantage in combining the two. A mixture of propylene glycol (PG) and sodium formate demonstrated superior environmental impact and IPC. The PG and sodium formate mixture exhibited higher IPC when compared to six commercially available deicers, offering promise for sustainable deicing applications. This study provides valuable insights into the ice-melting process and proposes an effective, environmentally friendly deicer that combines the strengths of organic solvents and salts, paving the way for more sustainable practices in deicing.

Nanomaterials without chemical linkers or physical interactions that reside on a two-dimensional surface are attractive because of their electronic, optical and catalytic properties. An in situ method has been developed to fabricate gold nanoparticle (Au NP) films on different substrates, regardless of whether they are hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces, including glass, 96-well polystyrene plates, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). A mixture of sodium formate (HCOONa) and chloroauric acid (HAuCl 4 ) solution was used to prepare Au NP films at room temperature. An experimental study of the mechanism revealed that film formation is dependent on surface wettability and inter particle attraction. The as-fabricated Au NP films were further applied to the colorimetric detection of influenza virus. The response to the commercial target, New Caledonia/H1N1/1999 influenza virus, was linear in the range from 10 pg/ml to 10 μg/ml and limit of detection was 50.5 pg/ml. In the presence of clinically isolated influenza A virus (H3N2), the optical density of developed color was dependent on the virus concentration (10–50,000 PFU/ml). The limit of detection of this study was 24.3 PFU/ml, a limit 116 times lower than that of conventional ELISA (2824.3 PFU/ml). The sensitivity was also 500 times greater than that of commercial immunochromatography kits.

This study underlines the importance of cinnamon, a commonly used natural spice and flavoring material, and its metabolite sodium benzoate (NaB) in attenuating oxidative stress and protecting memory and learning in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). NaB, but not sodium formate, was found to inhibit LPS-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mouse microglial cells. Similarly, NaB also inhibited fibrillar amyloid beta (Aβ)- and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium(+)-induced microglial production of ROS. Although NaB reduced the level of cholesterol in vivo in mice, reversal of the inhibitory effect of NaB on ROS production by mevalonate, and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, but not cholesterol, suggests that depletion of intermediates, but not end products, of the mevalonate pathway is involved in the antioxidant effect of NaB. Furthermore, we demonstrate that an inhibitor of p21rac geranylgeranyl protein transferase suppressed the production of ROS and that NaB suppressed the activation of p21rac in microglia. As expected, marked activation of p21rac was observed in the hippocampus of subjects with AD and 5XFAD transgenic (Tg) mouse model of AD. However, oral feeding of cinnamon (Cinnamonum verum) powder and NaB suppressed the activation of p21rac and attenuated oxidative stress in the hippocampus of Tg mice as evident by decreased dihydroethidium (DHE) and nitrotyrosine staining, reduced homocysteine level and increased level of reduced glutathione. This was accompanied by suppression of neuronal apoptosis, inhibition of glial activation, and reduction of Aβ burden in the hippocampus and protection of memory and learning in transgenic mice. Therefore, cinnamon powder may be a promising natural supplement in halting or delaying the progression of AD.

Formic acid, a toxic one-carbon metabolite formed from methanol and formaldehyde in the body, can cause neuronal dysfunctions. It was recently hypothesized that metabolic formation of toxic one-carbon metabolites (particularly formic acid) under hyperglycemic conditions may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic complications in humans. The present study aims to investigate the mechanism of formic acid-induced neurotoxicity using immortalized HT22 mouse hippocampal neurons as an in-vitro model. We found that treatment of cells with sodium formate (SF, a salt form of formic acid) causes a concentration-dependent loss of cell viability (based on MTT assay), whereas the cell number is reduced to a lesser degree when SF is present at lower concentrations. In addition, SF at the lower concentrations decreases cell proliferation by suppressing DNA synthesis, but at higher concentrations, SF induces cell death through apoptosis. SF can preferentially cause accumulation of mitochondrial ROS, disruption of mitochondrial structure, and suppression of mitochondrial functions (including ATP production). SF-induced mitochondrial ROS accumulation subsequently leads to the depletion of cellular glutathione, along with the buildup of cellular ROS and lipid-ROS. These changes jointly lead to increased permeability of both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial membranes, and ultimately the induction of apoptotic cell death. Analysis of the cellular transcriptomics revealed that the expression of genes for the relevant enzymes and proteins involved in mitochondrial function, energy metabolism and other cellular processes is altered in SF-treated cells. These findings highlight mitochondria as a crucial target in mediating SF-induced cytotoxicity, and also shed mechanistic lights on how formic acid accumulation may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy and other diabetic complications.