Changes in Intestinal Permeability Ex Vivo and Immune Cell Activation by Three Commonly Used Emulsifiers

Food additives such as emulsifiers are used in increasing quantities in the food industry. The aim of this study was to compare three different emulsifiers (polysorbate 80 (P80), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and β-lactoglobulin (β-lac) with regards to their effect on the stimulation of immune cells and intestinal permeability. The immune stimulatory effects were studied in the myeloid cell line MUTZ-3-cells, while the change in intestinal permeability was studied in the Caco-2 cell line and ex vivo in the Ussing chamber system using small intestinal fragments from rats. The tested concentrations of the emulsifiers ranged from 0.02% up to 1%, which are concentrations commonly used in the food industry. The results showed that P80 affected both the myeloid cells and the intestinal permeability more than CMC (p < 0.05) and β-lac (p < 0.05) at the highest concentration. CMC was found to neither affect the permeability in the intestine nor the MUTZ-3 cells, while β-lac changed the permeability in the total part of the small intestine in rats. These findings indicate that P80 might be more cytotoxic compared to the other two emulsifiers.     

Hydrophilic Quaternary Ammonium Ionenes—Is There an Influence of Backbone Flexibility and Topology on Antibacterial Properties?

The antimicrobial properties of polycations are strongly affected by the structural features such as the backbone flexibility and topology (isomerism) through the polymer ability to attain proper conformation in interaction with the cell membrane. In this paper, a synthesis and biocidal properties evaluation of ionenes characterized by different backbone topology (isomerism) and flexibility are presented. The findings reveal influence of variation in topology on activity against different microorganisms, and general positive effect of improved flexibility. Furthermore, one of the obtained ionenes displays degradable properties in near physiological environment (phosphate‐buffered saline pH 7.4, 37 °C). The degradation proceeds via Hofmann elimination reaction and the products are not of acidic character. For the first time a new class of degradable ionenes with a high antimicrobial potential is presented.     

Fe-lactate mediated formation of ZnO sols and self-organized nanorod assemblies

Hot ethanolic mixtures of hydrated Zn(II)- and Fe(II)-carboxylates (acetate and lactate) react to form yellow-orange colored Fe(III)_xZn_yO_zOH_w heteroclusters showing pronounced electronic resonances in the optical UV absorption spectra. On the addition of LiOH to these polymolecular sols, stable nanoparticulate Fe(III)–ZnO colloids are formed. During colloidal growth, 2–4 nm sized weakly crystallized Wurtzite nanoparticles are exclusively formed even in the presence of high Fe content up to 20 at.%. The presence of Fe(III) in the ZnO condensation process retards the nanoparticle growth and blocks the thermal crystallization and size enhancement up to 250 °C. The produced 0.5 M Fe(III)–ZnO sols are useful for film formation processes. From atomic force microscopy-AFM, scanning electron microscopy-SEM and X-ray diffraction-XRD studies, we note important differences in shape and morphology of the thermally annealed Fe(III)–ZnO layers depending on the iron carboxylate employed. Surprisingly, Fe(II)-lactate derived coatings are carrying vertically oriented cone-shaped aggregates composed of 60–120 nm long primary nanorods. Contrary, Fe(II)-acetate based synthesis gave sand-dune like film morphologies containing spherical 12 nm sized nanocrystallites. All film samples possess mesoporosity with pore size ranging between 5 and 20 nm.     

Mechanism of the Reaction of Amines with 5‐[(Aryl‐ or Alkylamino)hydroxymethylene]‐2,2‐dimethyl‐1,3‐dioxane‐4,6‐diones in the Presence of Chlorotrimethylsilane (Me3SiCl)

Addition of chlorotrimethylsilane (Me₃SiCl) to the mixture of a carbamoyl‐substituted Meldrum's acid, i.e., a 5‐[(arylamino)hydroxymethylene]‐2,2‐dimethyl‐1,3‐dioxane‐4,6‐dione of type 1 and a secondary amine as nucleophile strongly accelerated the rate of their reaction. The reason for this phenomenon observed, during our previous research, remained, however, unclear. To elucidate the mechanism of this reaction, we assumed and verified three possible pathways for the action of Me₃SiCl (cf. Scheme 2): The acceleration of the reaction is caused i) by formation of a O‐trimethylsilylated Meldrum's acid of type 2 , ii) by the silylated amine 3 , or iii) by the presence of HCl liberated from Me₃SiCl. The performed experiments revealed that the faster course of reaction is caused by the formation of N‐trimethylsilylated amines of type 3 .     

Two new non‐centrosymmetric lithium salts of glycine: bis(glycine) lithium chromate monohydrate and bis(glycine) lithium molybdate

In bis­(glycine) lithium chromate monohydrate {systematic name: poly[aquadi‐μ‐glycinato‐μ‐tetra­oxochromato(VI)‐dilithium(I)]}, [CrLi₂(C₂H₅NO₂)₂O₄(H₂O)]_n, (I) (space group P2₁2₁2₁), and bis­(glycine) lithium molybdate {systematic name: poly[di‐μ‐glycinato‐μ‐tetra­oxomolybdato(VI)‐dilithium(I)]}, [Li₂Mo(C₂H₅NO₂)₂O₄]_n, (II) (space group P2₁), all atoms are located on general positions. The crystal structure of (I) is characterized by infinite chains of corner‐sharing [LiO₄] tetra­hedra, which are connected by glycine mol­ecules to form layers. [CrO₄] tetra­hedra are attached to the [LiO₄] tetra­hedra. Compound (II) contains dimers of [LiO₄] tetra­hedra which are connected by [MoO₄] tetra­hedra to form chains, which are in turn connected by glycine mol­ecules to form double layers.     

Application of RP-TLC technique for the determination of dissociation constants of 1-substituted pyrrolidin-2-one derivatives

The procedures for measuring dissociation constants (pK(a)) of twenty 1-substituted pyrrolidin-2-one derivatives are described. The dissociation constants of the compounds tested were determined using potentiometric titration, reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography (RP-TLC) and calculated using Pallas and Marvin programs. It was found that the RP-TLC method of determination of pK(a) could be considered as a feasible alternative to potentiometric titration. The Marvin program is a better tool for preliminary estimation of dissociation constant than the Pallas one.     

A carbamoyl-protective group for tyrosine that facilitates purification of hydrophobic synthetic peptides

The Boc-N-methyl-N-[2-(methylamino)ethyl]carbamoyl group (Boc-Nmec) is reported as a new side chain-protective group for tyrosine in Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis. Tyrosine is incorporated into the peptide as Fmoc-Tyr(Boc-Nmec)-OH by standard coupling methods. During the cleavage of the peptide from the resin with TFA the Boc group is simultaneously cleaved while the cationic N-methyl-N-[2-(methylamino)ethyl]carbamoyl group remains attached to the tyrosine residue, thereby increasing the solubility of the peptide. After purification of the peptide, the Nmec protective group can be cleaved under neutral or mild alkaline conditions via an intramolecular cyclization reaction.     

Synthesis and purification of aggregation-prone hydrophobic peptides by the incorporation of an Fmoc dipeptide with the peptide bond protected with a modified 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl (Hmb) group

The dipeptide Fmoc-Val-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl)Gly-OBzl was synthesized and the 2-hydroxyl group carbamoylated to give a Boc-N(CH₃)CH₂CH₂N(CH₃)CO–, (Boc-Nmec-) modification of the 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl (Hmb) group. After catalytic hydrogenation and purification, the resulting dipeptide Fmoc-Val-(Boc-Nmec-Hmb)Gly-OH was used in solid phase peptide synthesis. During treatment with TFA, the peptide was released from the resin and the Boc group cleaved. The peptide could then be purified with an alkylated peptide bond carrying a cationic charge that both increased the solubility of the peptide during the purification steps and facilitated analysis by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The Nmec group was cleaved by intramolecular cyclization under slightly alkaline conditions, followed by cleavage of the Hmb group by TFA to give the fully deprotected peptide.     

Adsorption of reactive dye on chitosan in air-lift reactor

This study was undertaken to identify factors exerting the strongest influence on the adsorption of dye. The maximum adsorption capacity (at the adopted operating conditions) was the main parameter used to evaluate the process. In addition, the feasible adsorption capacity of chitosan was evaluated. Breakthrough experiments were carried out in a circulating air-lift reactor at a constant concentration of reactive dye Black 8 (100 mg/dm³). The tests studied different chitosan concentrations in the reactor and a range of flow intensities. The results of the breakthrough tests were compared by means of apparent mass transfer coefficients, determined by slopes at C/C ₀=1/2. The adsorption capacity of chitosan was affected to the greatest extent by the flow rate of the medium to the reactor. In turn, the utilization of the maximum adsorption capacity of chitosan, at the assumed efficiency of dye removal, was determined by chitosan concentration in the reactor.