One-pot synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines from benzyl halides or benzyl tosylates, 2-aminopyridines and isocyanides

A one-pot synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines is described. Benzyl halides or benzyl tosylates are oxidized to aldehydes under mild Kornblum conditions which then undergo a three-component reaction with various 2-aminopyridines and isocyanides to afford the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines in excellent yields.     

Formation of lithium fluoride/metal nanocomposites for energy storage through solid state reduction of metal fluorides

In order to utilize high energy metal fluoride electrode materials as direct replacement electrode materials for lithium ion batteries in the future, a methodology to prelithiate the cathode or anode must be developed. Herein, we introduce the use of a solid state Li₃N route to achieve the lithiation and mechanoreduction of metal fluoride based nanocomposites. The resulting prelithiation was found to be effective with the formation of xLiF:Me structures of very fine nanodimensions analogous to what is found by electrochemical lithiation. Physical and electrochemical properties of these nanocomposites for the bismuth and iron lithium fluoride systems are reported.     

Microwave promoted rapid dehydration of aldoximes to nitriles using melamine-formaldehyde resin supported sulphuric acid in dry media

A simple and convenient procedure for the synthesis of nitriles by dehydration of aldoxime using supported sulphuric acid on melamine-formaldehyde resin(MFR) under solvent-free condition has been developed.A variety of aromatic and aliphatic aldoximes were converted to the corresponding nitriles.The resin was recovered and reused for subsequent reactions.     

A thermodynamic investigation on the binding of mercury ion with myelin basic protein at different temperatures

A thermodynamic study on the interaction of myelin basic protein with mercury ion was studied by using isothermal titration calonmetry,ITC,at 300.15,310.15 and 320.15 K in Tris buffer solution at pH 7.The enthalpies of MBP + Hg²⁺ interaction are reported and analysed in terms of the extended solvation model.It was found that MBP has two identical and non-cooperative binding sites for Hg²⁺ ions.The intrinsic dissociation equilibrium constants are 99.904,112.968 and 126.724μmol/L,and the molar enthalpy of binding are -11.634,-10.768 and -10.117kJ mol^-1 at 300.15,310.15 and 320.15 K,respectively.     

An approach to one-dimensional elliptic quasi-exactly solvable models

One-dimensional Jacobian elliptic quasi-exactly solvable second-order differential equations are obtained by introducing the generalized third master functions. It is shown that the solutions of these differential equations are generating functions for a new set of polynomials in terms of energy with factorization property. The roots of these polynomials are the same as the eigenvalues of the differential equations. Some one-dimensional elliptic quasi-exactly quantum solvable models are obtained from these differential equations.      

Generation and characterization of high affinity human monoclonal antibodies that neutralize staphylococcal enterotoxin B

Background

Staphylococcal enterotoxins are considered potential biowarfare agents that can be spread through ingestion or inhalation. Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is a widely studied superantigen that can directly stimulate T-cells to release a massive amount of proinflammatory cytokines by bridging the MHC II molecules on an antigen presenting cell (APC) and the Vβ chains of the T-cell receptor (TCR). This potentially can lead to toxic, debilitating and lethal effects. Currently, there are no preventative measures for SEB exposure, only supportive therapies.

Methods

To develop a potential therapeutic candidate to combat SEB exposure, we have generated three human B-cell hybridomas that produce human monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs) to SEB. These HuMAbs were screened for specificity, affinity and the ability to block SEB activity in vitro as well as its lethal effect in vivo.

Results

The high-affinity HuMAbs, as determined by BiaCore analysis, were specific to SEB with minimal crossreactivity to related toxins by ELISA. In an immunoblotting experiment, our HuMAbs bound SEB mixed in a cell lysate and did not bind any of the lysate proteins. In an in vitro cell-based assay, these HuMAbs could inhibit SEB-induced secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines (INF-γ and TNF-α) by primary human lymphocytes with high potency. In an in vivo LPS-potentiated mouse model, our lead antibody, HuMAb-154, was capable of neutralizing up to 100 μg of SEB challenge equivalent to 500 times over the reported LD₅₀ (0.2 μg), protecting mice from death. Extended survival was also observed when HuMAb-154 was administered after SEB challenge.

Conclusion

We have generated high-affinity SEB-specific antibodies capable of neutralizing SEB in vitro as well as in vivo in a mouse model. Taken together, these results suggest that our antibodies hold the potential as passive immunotherapies for both prophylactic and therapeutic countermeasures of SEB exposure.     

A Simple LC-MS/MS Method for the Quantification of PDA-66 in Human Plasma

The treatment of cancer is one of the most important pharmacotherapeutic challenges. To this end, chemotherapy has for some time been complemented by targeted therapies against specific structures. PDA-66, a structural analogue of the inhibitor of serine–threonine kinase glycogen synthase kinase 3β SB216763, has shown preclinical antitumour effects in various cell lines, with the key pathways of its anticancer activity being cell cycle modulation, DNA replication and p53 signalling. For the monitoring of anticancer drug treatment in the context of therapeutic drug monitoring, the determination of plasma concentrations is essential, for which an LC-MS/MS method is particularly suitable. In the present study, a sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of the potential anticancer drug PDA-66 in human plasma with a lower limit of quantification of 2.5 nM is presented. The method was successfully validated and tested for the determination of PDA-66 in mouse plasma and sera.     

Energy harvesting from the secondary resonances of a nonlinear piezoelectric beam under hard harmonic excitation

Meccanica - This paper investigates the dynamical response of a nonlinear piezoelectric energy harvester under a hard harmonic excitation and assesses its output power. The system is composed of a...     

Homogenization of Cahn–Hilliard-type equations with unbounded potentials

In this note we recall two approaches to evolutionary Γ-convergence for classical gradient systems: evolutionary variational inequalities versus energy-dissipation principles. Following [1] we apply both approaches to homogenize Cahn–Hilliard-type equations with rapidly oscillating coefficients and quite general potential. Here the focus is on the Γ-convergence of the energy functional, which we prove without assuming any growth conditions for the convex part of the potential. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)