Advances and perspectives of phototherapy-based antimicrobial strategies Huimei Jiang, Miaomiao Wu, Chaolong Liu, Yifan Zhao, Bai Lv, Run Shi, Huayue Zhang, Jie Cao, Run Zhang Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2026 Bacterial and fungal infections remain major global health threats due to antimicrobial resistance of pathogenic microorganisms. In recent years, phototherapy has shown great promise for treating microbial infectious diseases, owing to its precise controllability, noninvasiveness, high efficiency, and spatiotemporal selectivity, as well as its potential to address antimicrobial resistance. However, its clinical translation is still limited due to the challenges including shallow tissue penetration, poor tissue selectivity, and insufficient phototherapeutic efficiency. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in antimicrobial phototherapeutic agents, with a focus on their core design principles, targeting mechanisms, and applications in treating microbial infectious diseases. Furthermore, the review outlines the current challenges associated with antimicrobial phototherapeutic agents and proposes future research directions, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers to improve the efficacy and expand the clinical applicability of phototherapy for combating microbial infections. Phototherapy offers a promising strategy against drug-resistant microbial infections, yet its clinical use is limited due to shallow light penetration, low selectivity, and poor therapeutic efficiency. This review summarizes recent advances in antimicrobial phototherapeutic agents, focusing on their design principles, targeting mechanisms, and practical applications. It also highlights key challenges and proposes future research directions to facilitate clinical translation of this treatment approach. • Mechanisms and design principles of photosensitizers in antimicrobial strategies were highlighted. • Electrostatic interaction-based phototherapy agents were introduced. • Receptor–ligand interaction-based phototherapy agents were reviewed. • Infection microenvironment-responsive phototherapy agents were summarized. • Challenges and future research directions of antimicrobial phototherapeutic agents were discussed.
Pyrogenic carbon-stimulated nitrate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation: insights into redox activity and conductivity in anaerobic methanotrophic archaea metabolism and microbial dynamics Fangrui Cai, Yu Wang, Mengying Xie, Guanbin Li, Suicao Wang, Venea Dara Daygon, Dihua Tian, Gaofeng Ni, Xiang Liu, Run Zhang, Lirong Lei, Zhiguo Yuan, Jianhua Guo, Xueqin Zhang, Shihu Hu Water Research, 2026 • Different PC stimulated nitrate-dependent AOM differentially. • The stimulation was attributed to the redox and conductive properties of PC. • Growth of ANME was accelerated with PC amendment. • PC promoted the electron transport and energy conservation of ANME. • PC altered microbial interactions between ANME and denitrifying bacteria. Pyrogenic carbon (PC) plays a critical role in regulating greenhouse gas emissions by influencing methanogenesis and methane oxidation in aquatic environments. However, its impact on nitrate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), associated methane emissions, and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrated that in nitrate-dependent AOM consortia amended with HNO 3 -treated biochar and graphite (representing redox-active and conductive forms of PC, respectively), AOM rates were significantly elevated by 2.7- and 4.4-fold, respectively, compared to unamended biotic controls. This enhancement was accompanied by a pronounced proliferation of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea, specifically “ Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens”, along with elevated metabolic activity driven by enhanced electron transport and energy conservation, as indicated by significantly increased electron transfer system activity, total adenine nucleotide levels, and concentrations of key redox carrier F 420 . Metagenomic analysis revealed that PC addition reshaped microbial interactions. Notably, graphite facilitated the potential establishment of direct interspecies electron transfer between “ Ca. M. nitroreducens” and coexisting denitrifying populations ( Bacteroidota sp. and Ignavibacteriaceae sp. ), while also fostering the formation of new interspecies networks that enabled division of labor within the denitrification pathway. These findings not only advance the mechanistic understanding of PC-facilitated methane mitigation in aquatic ecosystems but also suggest strategies for engineering AOM-based systems to optimize methane removal and nitrogen cycling in environmental applications.
Macroscopic Experiment Study and Microscopic Molecular Simulation of Adsorption Interaction between Heavy Asphaltene and Shale Illite Yuqi Chen, Li Chen, Xueping Huang, Yuanman Sun, Shenwen Fang, Deyong He, Run Zhang, Yan Xiong Langmuir, 2025 Internal adsorption of heavy asphaltene in the shale reservoir can affect shale oil recovery due to the significant impact on oil fluidity. In this work, the adsorption interaction of asphaltene on shale Illite was investigated by both macroscopic experiment and microscopic simulation. Through batch-type and equilibrium adsorption experiments, the results indicated that the interaction process followed the thermodynamic Langmuir-monolayer model with a maximum adsorption amount of qmax = 19.43 mg/g and the kinetic pseudo-second-order (PSO) chemisorption model with an adsorption rate of kPSO = 0.37 g/(mg·h). Through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, the microscopic adsorption properties were studied for different asphaltene configurations of archipelago, c5pe, and island. The simulation results revealed that archipelago-type asphaltene had the lowest adsorption energy of Eads (archipelago) = −2086.58 kcal/mol and showed the strongest adsorption ability with Illite, which was brought by the steric hindrance reduction through an “upright-insertion” interaction pattern. Furthermore, interaction forces were analyzed to produce between asphaltene and Illite for different asphaltene concentrations. For the lower concentration stage, van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonding interactions, and coordination interactions were revealed for the asphaltene adsorption. For the higher concentration stage, the additional π–π interactions were revealed between asphaltene molecules, which were brought by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon structure and resulted in the agglomeration phenomenon. The multiple interaction forces result in strong and abundant adsorption of asphaltene with Illite. This work provides critical insights into the adsorption study between heavy oil and shale clay, which is of great significance for the recovery enhancement of shale oil.
Native Australian plants to combat oral health-related pathogens Ratih Pusporini, Maral Seididamyeh, Anh Dao Thi Phan, Run Zhang, Chun Xu, Yasmina Sultanbawa Microbiological Research, 2025 Dental caries remains one of the most prevalent chronic diseases worldwide, impacting health, quality of life, and child development, while posing a substantial economic burden. The rise of antimicrobial resistance has intensified the search for alternative preventive strategies, particularly those derived from natural products. Recent studies highlight that Australian native plants possess significant antimicrobial, antioxidant, and phytochemical properties, suggesting their potential as natural alternatives to synthetic agents. This review evaluates the therapeutic potential of Australian native plants in preventing dental caries. It examines their bioactive compounds, mechanisms of antimicrobial action, and their application in oral health and dentistry. The review also discusses the traditional and commercial uses of these plants and outlines future research directions. FINDINGS: reveal that their bioactivity is primarily attributed to phytochemical compounds, which exert antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects-key mechanisms in caries prevention. Australian native plants demonstrate promising potential as natural therapeutic agents for dental caries prevention. Their incorporation into oral health strategies may contribute to innovative, sustainable solutions in natural product-based drug discovery.
A Novel Ruthenium-based Molecular Sensor to Detect Endothelial Nitric Oxide Achini K. Vidanapathirana, Benjamin J. Pullen, Run Zhang, MyNgan Duong, Jarrad M. Goyne, Xiaozhou Zhang, Claudine S. Bonder, Andrew D. Abell, Christina A. Bursill, Stephen J. Nicholls, Peter J. Psaltis Scientific Reports, 2019
Tunable lifetime multiplexing using luminescent nanocrystals Yiqing Lu, Jiangbo Zhao, Run Zhang, Yujia Liu, Deming Liu, Ewa M. Goldys, Xusan Yang, Peng Xi, Anwar Sunna, Jie Lu, Yu Shi, Robert C. Leif, Yujing Huo, Jian Shen, James A. Piper, J. Paul Robinson, Dayong Jin Nature Photonics, 2014