Development and Validation of a Bioanalytical Method for 3′- and 6′-Sialyllactose in Minipig Liver and Kidney Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Its Application to Analysis of Tissue Distribution

Breast milk contains human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), including sialyllactose (SL). SL is composed of sialic acid and lactose, and is divided into 3′-SL and 6′-SL according to the binding position. SL has immunoprotective effects against bacteria and viruses, and acts as a probiotic in the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we developed a bioanalytical method for simultaneous analysis of 3′-SL and 6′-SL in liver and kidney tissues of Yucatan minipigs using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) under conditions optimized in our previous study. LC-MS/MS was performed using a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 3 μm) with a mobile phase consisting of 10 mM ammonium acetate in water (pH 4.5) and acetonitrile with gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. A surrogate matrix method using water was applied for analysis of endogenous SL. The developed method was validated with regard to selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, the matrix effect, recovery, parallelism, dilution integrity, carryover, and stability according to the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. We performed a tissue distribution study of minipigs, and analyzed liver and kidney tissues using the developed method to determine the tissue distribution of 3′-SL and 6′-SL. The tissue concentrations of 3′-SL and 6′-SL were readily measurable, suggesting that the method would be useful for evaluating the tissue distributions of these compounds in minipigs.     

Phosphine-Catalyzed Sequential Michael Addition between α-Aminonitriles and Methyl Acrylate for Cyclization: Synthesis of N-Aryl-Substituted Pyrrolidines

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - N-Aryl-substituted pyrrolidine derivatives were synthesized via tributylphosphine-catalyzed sequential Michael addition of α-aminonitriles and methyl...     

Boosting Visible-Light Photocatalytic Redox Reaction by Charge Separation in SnO2/ZnSe(N2H4)0.5 Heterojunction Nanocatalysts

In this work, environmentally friendly photocatalysts with attractive catalytic properties are reported that have been prepared by introducing SnO₂ quantum dots (QDs) directly onto ZnSe(N₂H₄)_0.5 substrates to induce advantageous charge separation. The SnO₂/ZnSe(N₂H₄)_0.5 nanocomposites could be easily synthesized through a one-pot hydrothermal process. Owing to the absence of capping ligands, the attached SnO₂ QDs displayed superior photocatalytic properties, generating many exposed reactive surfaces. Moreover, the addition of a specified amount of SnO₂ boosted the visible-light photocatalytic activity; however, the presence of excess SnO₂ QDs in the substrate resulted in aggregation and deteriorated the performance. The spectroscopic data revealed that the SnO₂ QDs act as a photocatalytic mediator and enhance the charge separation within the type II band alignment system of the SnO₂/ZnSe(N₂H₄)_0.5 heterojunction photocatalysts. The separated charges in the heterojunction nanocomposites promote radical generation and react with pollutants, resulting in enhanced photocatalytic performance.     

Simultaneous Chemical and Optical Patterning of Polyacrylonitrile Film by Vapor‐Based Reaction

The surface of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) film is treated with ethyleneamines (EDA) in a simple chemical vapor phase reaction. Successful introduction of amine functional groups on the cyano group of PAN backbone is verified by FT‐IR and NMR measurements. Further UV‐vis and photoluminescence analyses show a red shift of the emission peak after repeated EDA treatment, which might be attributed to the formation of imine conjugation from newly formed carbon‐nitrogen bonds on the PAN backbone. Further confocal laser scanning microscopy reveals that selective patterning of EDA on PAN films is possible via local polydimethylsiloxane masking. The results indicate that both chemical and optical patterning on PAN film can be realized via a single reaction and show the potential of this novel methodology in selective patterning.

     

Selective Lead Adsorption by Recombinant Escherichia coli Displaying a Lead-Binding Peptide

A highly specific lead-binding peptide ThrAsnThrLeuSerAsnAsn was displayed on Escherichia coli, and lead adsorption characteristics of the recombinant bacteria were investigated. Cell surface-displayed peptide was expressed under the control of an arabinose promoter using outer membrane protein C (OmpC_t) as an anchoring motif. The optimal induction period and arabinose concentration for the expression of peptide-fused OmpC_t were determined to be 2 h and 0.001 g/L, respectively. Selective adsorption of Pb²⁺ onto recombinant cells was verified with individual or combinatory use of four metal ions, Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, and Cu²⁺; the amount of bound Pb²⁺ onto the biosorbents was significantly higher than the other metal ions. The adsorption isotherm of recombinant cells for Pb²⁺ followed the Langmuir isotherm with a maximum adsorption loading (q _max) of 526 μmol/g dry cell weight.     

Versatile Supramolecular Cross‐Linker: A Rotaxane Cross‐Linker That Directly Endows Vinyl Polymers with Movable Cross‐Links

A supramolecular cross‐linked cross‐linker, capable of introducing rotaxane cross‐links to vinyl polymers, has been developed for the rational synthesis of polyrotaxane networks. The experimental results reveal that the combination of an oligocyclodextrin (OCD) and a terminal bulky group‐tethering macromonomer (TBM) forms a polymer‐network structure having polymerizable moieties through supramolecular cross‐linking. Radical polymerization of a variety of typical vinyl monomers in the presence of the vinylic supramolecular cross‐linker (VSC) afforded the corresponding vinyl polymers cross‐linked through the rotaxane cross‐links (RCP) as transparent stable films in high yields under both photoinitiated and thermal polymerization conditions. A poly(N,N‐dimethylacrylamide)‐based hydrogel synthesized by using VSC, RCP_DMAAm, displayed a unique mechanical property. The small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) results, indicating patterns characteristic of a polyrotaxane network, clearly suggested the presence and role of the rotaxane cross‐links. The confirmation of the introduction of rotaxane‐cross‐links into vinyl polymers strongly reveals the significant usefulness of VSC.     

Exceptionally E‐ and β‐Selective NHC–Cu‐Catalyzed Proto‐Silyl Additions to Terminal Alkynes and Site‐ and Enantioselective Proto‐Boryl Additions to the Resulting Vinylsilanes: Synthesis of Enantiomerically Enriched Vicinal and Geminal Borosilanes

An exceptionally site‐ and E‐selective catalytic method for preparation of Si‐containing alkenes through protosilylation of terminal alkynes is presented. Furthermore, the vinylsilanes obtained are used as substrates to generate vicinal or geminal borosilanes by another catalytic process; such products are derived from enantioselective protoborations of the Si‐substituted alkenes. All transformations are catalyzed by N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) copper complexes. Specifically, a commercially available imidazolinium salt, cheap CuCl (1.0 mol %) and Me₂PhSi–B(pin), readily and inexpensively prepared in one vessel, are used to convert terminal alkynes to (E)‐β‐vinylsilanes efficiently (79–98 % yield) and in >98 % E and >98 % β‐selectivity. Vinylsilanes are converted to borosilanes with 5.0 mol % of a chiral NHC–Cu complex in 33–94 % yield and up to 98.5:1.5 enantiomeric ratio (e.r.). Alkyl‐substituted substrates afford vicinal borosilanes exclusively; aryl‐ and heteroaryl‐substituted alkenes deliver the geminal isomers preferentially. Different classes of chiral NHCs give rise to high enantioselectivities in the two sets of transformations: C₁‐symmetric monodentate Cu complexes are most suitable for reactions of alkyl‐containing vinylsilanes and bidentate sulfonate‐bridged variants furnish the highest e.r. for substrates with an aryl substituent. Working models that account for the observed trends in selectivity are provided. Utility is demonstrated through application towards a formal enantioselective total synthesis of naturally occurring antibacterial agent bruguierol A.     

Nanopattern transfer and wettability modification of regularly structured metallic and polymeric surfaces with replication

The hexagonally arranged close-packed concave nanotexture of the master surface of nanoporous alumina has been imprinted several times on aluminum films and gold films by thermal evaporation and on polystyrene films by spin coating. The degradation of the nanotextures with replica pattern transfer has been monitored by measuring the topology and the wettability of duplicated films. The trough-to-crest height of the topography decreases while the wettability of the nanotexture increases significantly as replication goes on. Air fractions calculated with measured water contact angles decrease substantially with replication although they also depend strongly on the materials and the shapes of duplicating nanotextures.     

Carrier capture and relaxation of self-assembled ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots prepared under Volmer–Weber and Stranski–Krastanow growth modes

The carrier capture and relaxation of type II ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots have been investigated with ultrafast time-resolved photoluminescence upconversion. The carrier capture times were 7 and 38 ps for the Volmer–Weber mode and Stranski–Krastanow mode, respectively. We found that the carrier relaxation of QDs exhibits faster decay under the Volmer–Weber growth mode than under the Stranski–Krastanow growth mode. We attribute the difference of carrier relaxation to the wetting layer formed in the Stranski–Krastanow growth mode.     

Propylene sorption and coordinative interactions for poly(N‐vinyl pyrrolidone‐co‐vinyl acetate)/silver salt complex membranes

When poly(N‐vinyl pyrrolidone‐co‐vinyl acetate) (PVP‐co‐PVAc) containing amide and ester groups were complexed with silver salts to form silver polymer electrolyte membranes, their separation performance of propylene/propane mixtures showed the high selectivity of propylene over propane of 55 and the high mixed gas permeance of 12 GPU (1 GPU = 1.0 × 10^?6 cm³(STP) cm^?2 s^?1 cmHg^?1). The separation performance strongly depends on the composition of the copolymer: the higher concentration of PVP in the copolymer, the better separation performance was achieved. These results suggest that the amide group is more effective in facilitated propylene transport than the ester group, primarily due to the stronger interaction of the silver ions with the amide than the ester oxygens, as demonstrated by FT‐IR and FT‐Raman spectroscopies. In‐situ FT‐IR spectra upon propylene sorption also demonstrate that the interaction strength of the silver ions with the ligands is arranged: amide > C?C > ester. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2263–2269, 2007