Sensitive detection of biothiols and histidine based on the recovered fluorescence of the carbon quantum dots–Hg(II) system

In this paper, we presented a novel, rapid and highly sensitive sensor for glutathione (GSH), cysteine (Cys) and histidine (His) based on the recovered fluorescence of the carbon quantum dots (CQDs)–Hg(II) system. The CQDs were synthesized by microwave-assisted approach in one pot according to our previous report. The fluorescence of CQDs could be quenched in the presence of Hg(II) due to the coordination occurring between Hg(II) and functional groups on the surface of CQDs. Subsequently, the fluorescence of the CQDs–Hg(II) system was recovered gradually with the addition of GSH, Cys or His due to their stronger affinity with Hg(II). A good linear relationship was obtained from 0.10 to 20 μmol L⁻¹ for GSH, from 0.20 to 45 μmol L⁻¹ for Cys and from 0.50 to 60 μmol L⁻¹ for His, respectively. This method has been successfully applied to the trace detection of GSH, Cys or His in human serum samples with satisfactory results. The proposed method was simple in design and fast in operation, which demonstrated great potential in bio-sensing fields.     

Bound state solutions of D‐dimensional schrödinger equation with exponential‐type potentials

In this article, using an exactly‐solvable multiparameter exponential‐type potential we propose a unified treatment of the analytical bound—state solutions of the Schrödinger equation for exponential‐type potentials in D‐dimensions. Our proposal accepts different approximations to the centrifugal term; however, its usefulness is exemplified in the frame of the Green and Aldrich approach. This fact enables us to compare our results with specific potentials found in the literature and that are obtained here as particular cases of our proposal. That is, instead of solving a specific exponential‐type potential, by resorting each time to a specialized method, the energy spectra and wavefunctions are derived straightforward from the proposed approach. Furthermore, our proposal can be used as an alternative way in the search of solutions to new exponential‐type potentials besides that one can study different approximations to the term . © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Structure and Absolute Configuration of Aspergilumamide A,a Novel Lumazine Peptide from the Mangrove‐Derived Fungus Aspergillus sp.

A novel lumazine peptide, aspergilumamide A ( 1 ), as well as a known analog penilumamide ( 2 ), were isolated from the mycelia of a marine‐derived fungus Aspergillus sp. (33241), obtained from the mangrove Bruguiera sexangula var. rhynchopetala collected from the South China Sea. The structure of 1 was identified by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR, ESI‐MS, and MS/MS experiments. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by Marfey's method.     

Monometallic cyanide cluster fullerene YCN@C78: A theoretical prediction

Stimulated by the recent experimental success in production and characterization of YCN@C_s(6)‐C₈₂, the possibility of encapsulating YCN cluster in the C₇₈ fullerene has been performed using density functional theory. Six isomers of YCN@C₇₈ are considered based on six lowest energy C₇₈^2? isomers. The results reveal that YCN@D_3h(24109)‐C₇₈ and YCN@C_2v(24107)‐C₇₈, both of which satisfy the isolated‐pentagon rule, present excellent thermodynamic stability with very small energy differences. Moreover, the large HOMO‐LUMO gaps (1.55 and 1.47 eV for YCN@D_3h(24109)‐C₇₈ and YCN@C_2v(24107)‐C₇₈, respectively) indicate their high kinetic stabilities. Significantly, in both the structures, the encapsulated YCN cluster is triangular, similar to the cases of YCN@C_s(6)‐C₈₂ and TbCN@C₂(5)‐C₈₂. In addition, electronic absorption spectra, infrared spectra, and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of two stable structures have also been explored to further disclose the molecular structures and properties. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mono‐ and Dinuclear Heteroleptic Cobalt Complexes with α‐Diimine and Polyarene Ligands

Reactions of the dimeric cobalt complex [(L^?Co)₂] ( 1 , L=[(2,6‐iPr₂C₆H₃)NC(Me)]₂) with polyarenes afforded a series of mononuclear and dinuclear complexes: [LCo(η⁴‐anthracene)] ( 2 ), [LCo(μ‐η⁴:η⁴‐naphthalene)CoL] ( 3 ), and [LCo(μ‐η⁴:η⁴‐phenanthrene)CoL] ( 4 ). The pyrene complexes [{Na₂(Et₂O)₂}{LCo(μ‐η³:η³‐pyrene)CoL}] ( 5 ) and [{Na₂(Et₂O)₃}{LCo(η³‐pyrene)}] ( 6 ) were obtained by treating precursor 1 with pyrene followed by reduction with Na metal. These complexes contain three potential redox active centers: the cobalt metal and both α‐diimine and polyarene ligands. Through a combination of X‐ray crystallography, EPR spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility measurement, and DFT computations, the electronic configurations of these complexes were studied. It was determined that complexes 2 – 4 have a high‐spin Co^I center coupled with a radical α‐diimine ligand and a neutral polyarene ligand. Whereas, the ligand L in complexes 5 and 6 has been further reduced to the dianion, the cobalt remains in a formal (I) oxidation state, and the pyrene molecule is either neutral or monoanionic.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 5,6,7-trimethoxy- 1- benzylidene-3,4-dihydro-naphthalen-2-one as tubulinpolymerization inhibitors

A series of new combretastatin-A4 analogs were synthesized, in which a six-membered ring connects the linking bridge and A ring, and their tumor cell growth and tubulin-polymerization inhibitory activity were evaluated. These compounds appear to be potential tubulin-polymerization inhibitors. Compounds 1b with amino substituted on position 3 of B ring conferred optimal bioactivity, higher than that of the lead compound 22b and equivalent to that of CA-4. The binding modes of these compounds to tubulin were obtained by molecular docking, which can explain the structure-activity relationship. The studies presented here provide a new structural type for the development of novel antitumor agents.     

Tris(Znsalen) cryptand minimizes Znsalen aggregation arising from intermolecular Zn…O interaction

Exploring the factors to control Znsalen aggregation is of importance to design functional materials in catalysis, optical materials and biological imaging. In this work, we synthesized and characterized four cryptand type triZnsalen complexes and found that cryptand structure could efficiently minimize intermolecular Zn···O interaction. More importantly, encapsulated by PLGA nanoparticles, cryptand triZnsalen 1 displayed visible intracellular fluorescence whereas monomeric Znsalen 5 could not. These results provide a new access to design new luminescent materials with the potential application in optics and biological studies.     

镉(Ⅱ)、锌(Ⅱ)与2-乙酰吡啶缩邻氨基苯甲酰腙配合物合成及晶体结构

采用Schiff碱配体2-乙酰吡啶缩邻氨基苯甲酰腙(L)分别与Cd(NO3)2·4H2O和Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O进行配位反应,得到2个配合物[Cd L(NO3)2·H2O](1)和[Zn L2](2)。分别采用1H NMR、FTIR和元素分析等手段对化合物进行了表征,并测定了2个配合物的单晶结构。结构解析表明,配合物1属于单斜晶系,P21/n空间群,配合物2属于单斜晶系,P21/c空间群。对配体和配合物的体外抑菌活性进行了初步考察,结果表明,配体L和配合物1具有一定的抑菌活性。