Nanoporous membrane-based cell chip for the study of anti-cancer drug effect of retinoic acid with impedance spectroscopy

This paper presents a novel microchip with nanoporous anodic alumina membrane for the study of anti-cancer drug effect of retinoic acid (RA) on human esophageal squamous epithelial KYSE30 cancer cells in vitro with impedance spectroscopy. The impedance experiments with 0.01 M retinoic acid (RA) were explored for the study of anti-cancer drug effects on KYSE30 cancer cells. The impedance was monitored in the time domain at 0.1 Hz. After addition of 0.01 M RA to the cell chip, the impedance magnitude decreased with time from the value with confluent cell layer and returned to the initial base line after around 12 h. The fluorescence experiments testified that this impedance decrease was due to the cell morphology change induced by RA.     

Synthesis of simplified analogues of eleutherobin via a Claisen rearrangement/RCM strategy

The enantioselective synthesis of a number of simplified analogues of the cytotoxic natural product eleutherobin is reported.     

Integral equation formulation for buoyancy-driven convection problems

An integral equation formulation for buoyancy-driven convection problems is developed and illustrated. Buoyancy-driven convection in a bounded cylindrical geometry with a free surface is studied for a range of aspect ratios and Nusselt numbers. The critical Rayleigh number, the nature of the cellular motion, and the heat transfer enhancement are computed using linear theory. Green's functions are used to convert the linear problem into linear Fredholm integral equations. Theorems are proved which establish the properties of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the linear integral operator which appears in these equations.     

Generation of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis> by a novel semiconductor catalyst

The objective of this study was to investigate antimicrobial mechanisms of a new catalytic material (charge transfer auto oxidation–reduction type catalyst, CT catalyst) that may have great potential for application in water/wastewater treatment. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacteria-free solution, induction of ROS and oxidative damage in bacteria (including E. coli and S. aureus) were examined for the CT catalyst. The results showed that significantly higher (p < 0.05, via t-test) amount of hydroxyl radicals was generated by the CT catalyst compared with the control, particularly after 6 h of contact time that more than twice of the amount of the control was produced. The generation of ROS in the bacteria was greater under higher pH and temperature levels, which closely related with the oxidative damage in cells. The results indicated that CT catalyst induced oxidative damage in the bacteria might serve as an important mechanism interpreting the anti-microbial function of the CT catalyst.     

Asymmetric epoxidation of substituted chalcones and chalcone analogues catalyzed by α-d-glucose- and α-d-mannose-based crown ethers

The chiral monoaza-15-crown-5 lariat ethers annellated to methyl-4,6-O-benzylidene-α-d-glucopyranoside-1 or mannopyranoside 2 have been applied as phase-transfer catalysts in the epoxidation of substituted chalcones and chalcone analogues with tert-butylhydroperoxide resulting in significant asymmetric induction. It was found that the position of the substituents in the aromatic ring of the chalcone had an influence both on the chemical yields and enantiomeric excesses. The lowest enantioselectivities (62–83% ee) were found in the case of ortho-substituted model compounds. The highest ee values (ee of 83–97%) were obtained in the case of para-substituted models. From among the chalcone analogues, the maximum ee (90–92%) was detected for the model compound having α-tert-butyl- and β-aryl groups. Using glucose-based crown ether 1, formation of the (?)-enantiomer was preferred, while applying mannose-based 2 as the catalyst, the (+)-enantiomer was in excess.