Browsing by Author "Chen, Hsin-Wei"

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Nanographite/polyaniline composite films as the counter electrodes for dyesensitized solar cells
(2011)
Huang, Kuan-Chieh
;
Huang, Jen-Hsien
;
Wu, Chia-Hui
;
Liu, Chen-Yu
;
Chen, Hsin-Wei
Nanographite/polyaniline (NG/PANI) composite films were developed and characterized, and the performances of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) employing these composite films as the counter electrode (CE) were evaluated in this study. The nanographite/aniline (NG/ANI) particle was firstly synthesized by a reflux method and served as the monomer for the electro-polymerization of the NG/PANI composite films. The surface modification of NG by ANI was confirmed by EDX mapping, TEM image, zeta-potential, and UV-Vis absorption measurements. The electro-polymerized NG/PANI composite films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and conducting-AFM, which verified the successful incorporation of NGs in the PANI films. The electro-catalytic activity of the NG/PANI composite film was evaluated using the positive-feedback mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), by which a comparable heterogeneous rate constant (k(s)(0)) for the ferrocene/ ferrocenium (Fc/Fc(+)) redox pair was obtained and compared with that of a sputtered Pt. The DSSC employing the NG/PANI (20 mC cm(-2)) CE exhibited a higher short-circuit current density (J(SC)) but lower fill factor (FF), and gave a comparable power-conversion efficiency (eta) of 7.07%, as compared to that of a DSSC containing a sputtered Pt CE (eta = 7.19%).
Prorenin receptor acts as a potential molecular target for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma diagnosis
(2016-08-23)
Arundhathi, Arivajiagane
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Chuang, Wen-Han
;
Chen, Jen-Kun
;
Wang, Shin-E
;
Shyr, Yi-Ming
Recent studies have implicated the prorenin receptor (PRR) is associated with pancreatic tumorigenesis. We therefore investigated the role of PRR in pancreatic tumorigenesis and assessed whether PRR can serve as a target for imaging diagnosis at early stages of PDAC. Here we show that aberrant expression of PRR in premalignant PanIN lesions, and human PDAC samples, and PDAC cell lines, particularly in Panc-1 cells. Interestingly, PRR expression was positively associated with PDAC progression. Moreover, overexpression of human PRR resulted in increased cell proliferation and decreased apoptosis, while knockdown of human PRR caused decreased cell proliferation and enhanced apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. We also observed that overexpression of human PRR enhanced MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways in PDAC cells, while knockdown of human PRR suppressed both of pathways. The confocal imaging analysis showed that human PRR was highly expressed in Panc-1, ASPC, and Miapaca cells, whereas BXPC-3, and HPAC cells had a significantly lower fluorescent signals. Consistently, the single-photon emission computed tomography (SPET/CT) showed that the uptake of anti-PRR labelled with I-125 was higher in Panc-1 and ASPC tumors-bearing mice after 96 hours injection. Importantly, tumors in pancreas of Pdx1-cre; LSL-Kras(G12D) mice had a significant increased PRR expression and accumulation of radioactivity at 96 h after injection. These data suggest that I-125-anti-PRR can detect the orthotopic tumors in Pdx1-cre; LSL-Kras(G12D) mice. Therefore, anti-PRR labelled with I-125 is a promising radiotracer for imaging diagnosis at early stages of pancreatic cancer.