The Coordination Chemistry of f-Block Elements in Molten Salts

The coordination chemistry of f-block elements (lanthanide and actinide) in molten salts has become a resounding topic in view of its great importance to the research and development (R&D) of molten salt reactors and pyroprocessing. In this Review article, a general overview of the coordination chemistry of f-block elements in molten salts is provided including past achievements and recent advances. Particular emphases are placed on the oxidation state, speciation, and solution structure of f-block metal ions in molten salts, as well as their relationships with the salt composition. Furthermore, this review briefly discusses the spectroscopic and theoretical methods that complement each other in revealing the coordination properties.     

A microfluidics-dispensing-printing strategy for Janus photonic crystal microspheres towards smart patterned displays

From the implementation point of view, the printable magnetic Janus colloidal photonic crystals (CPCs) microspheres are highly desirable. Herein, we developed a dispensing-printing strategy for magnetic Janus CPCs display via a microfluidics-automatic printing system. Monodisperse core/shell colloidal particles and magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles precursor serve as inks. Based on the equilibrium of three-phase interfacial tensions, Janus structure is successfully formed, followed by UV irradiation and self-assembly of colloid particle to generate magnetic Janus CPCs microspheres. Notably, this method shows distinct superiority with highly uniform Janus CPCs structure, where the TMPTA/Fe₃O₄ hemisphere is in the bottom side while CPCs hemisphere is in the top side. Thus, by using Janus CPCs microspheres with two different structural colors as pixel points, a pattern with red flower and green leaf is achieved. Moreover, 1D linear Janus CPCs pattern encapsulated by hydrogel is also fabricated. Both the color and the shape can be changed under the traction of magnets, showing great potentials in flexible smart displays. We believe this work not only offers a new feasible pathway to construct magnetic Janus CPCs patterns by a dispensing-printable fashion, but also provides new opportunities for flexible and smart displays.     

Furan Analog of the Alkaloid Dubiamine Based on 5-Hydroxymethylfurfurol

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of O- and N-Propylamino-Derivatives of Betulin

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - O- and N-propylamino-derivatives of betulin and betulonic acid oxime and methyl ester were synthesized. Their antitumor activity against a panel of 60 human cancer...     

Development and validation of LC–MS/MS method for amlexanox in rat plasma and its application in preclinical pharmacokinetics

Amlexanox, an anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic agent, has been widely used clinically for the treatment of canker sores, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. Recently, amlexanox has received considerable attention in curing nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases and hepatitis virus infection. Herein, we first established a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrum (LC–MS/MS) method for the determination of amlexanox in rat plasma. Propranolol was used as the internal standard (IS). Using a simple protein precipitation method, the amlexanox and IS were separated with Capcell Pak C18 column (2.0 × 50 mm, 5 μm) and eluted with water and acetonitrile each containing 0.1% formic acid using gradient elution condition at a flow rate of 0.4 mL·min⁻¹. Amlexanox and IS were detected by a triple quadrupole mass in multiple reactive monitoring (MRM) under the transitions of m/z 299.2 → 281.2 and m/z 259.9 → 116.1 with positive electrospray ionization, respectively. The calibration curves of amlexanox were established with the range of 50 to 2000 ng·mL⁻¹ (r² > 0.99). The validation method consisted of selectivity, accuracy, precision, carryover effect, matrix effect, recovery, dilution effect, and stability. The fully validated method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of amlexanox in Wistar rats.     

Water-assisted mechanical testing of polymeric thin-films

Thin films with a nanometer-scale thickness are of great interest to both scientific and industrial communities due to their numerous applications and unique behaviors different from the bulk. However, the understanding of thin-film mechanics is still greatly hampered due to their intrinsic fragility and the lack of commercially available experimental instruments. In this review, we first discuss the progression of thin-film mechanical testing methods based on the supporting substrate: film-on-solid substrate method, film-on-water tensile tests, and water-assisted free-standing tensile tests. By comparing past studies on a model polymer, polystyrene, the effect of different substrates and confinement effect on the thin-film mechanics is evaluated. These techniques have generated fruitful scientific knowledge in the field of organic semiconductors for the understanding of structure–mechanical property relationships. We end this review by providing our perspective for their bright prospects in much broader applications and materials of interest.     

Multifunctional fibrous wound dressings for refractory wound healing

Refractory wounds have always been an important issue to healthcare systems, whose healing process is always delayed by multiple factors, including bacterial infections, chronic inflammation, and excessive exudates, etc. Employing multifunctional wound dressings is recognized as an effective strategy to deal with refractory wounds, which has yielded promising outcomes in recent years. Among these advanced wound dressings, fibrous dressings have gained growing attention due to their unique merits. Such wound dressings have demonstrated great potential in delivering theranostic agents, such as antibacterial agents, anti-inflammatory drugs, growth factors, and diagnostic probes, etc., for the purposes of accelerating wound healing. This paper reviews the development of multifunctional fibrous dressings and their applications in treating refractory wounds. The construction approaches of novel fibrous dressing with capabilities of antibacterial, anti-inflammation, exudate management and diagnosis were also introduced. Furthermore, the existing problems and challenges are also discussed briefly.     

Polyprenols from Ficus carica Leaves and their Biological Activity

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

Development and Validation of Stability Indicating RP-HPLC Method for the Determination of Process and Degradation-Related Impurities in Sugammadex Sodium Drug Substance

The aim of this study is to develop and validate a sensitive and specific stability-indicating reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the quantitative determination of Sugammadex sodium together with its process and possible degradation impurities. The pKa value is 2.82. The chromatographic conditions have been optimized by the Hypersil Gold 250 mm X 4.6 mm, 3 µ RP-18 columns with gradient elution using a mobile phase composed of 0.1% phosphoric acid, acetonitrile, and methanol. The eluents were monitored at 205 nm with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min with an injection volume of 20 µL. The optimized method produced symmetrical and sharp peaks with good separation between the process and degradation impurities. The forced degradation study was carried out under acid, base, oxidation, and thermal conditions to demonstrate the stability-indicating capability of the method. The method was validated as per the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) Q2 (R1) and showed excellent specificity, precision, linearity, accuracy, and robustness. The developed HPLC method was precise with a value of 0.25%. The relative standard deviation of accuracy represented by the recovery studies ranged between 89.5% and 104.6%. Linearity analyses indicated a correlation coefficient value of greater than 0.996 for Sugammadex and its known impurities. The LOD and LOQ values for Sugammadex ranged from 0.017% to 0.050%, and for its related impurities, they ranged from 0.015% to 0.055%. The stability of the analytical solution was evaluated and was stable for 75 h when stored at 5 °C. No chromatographic interference was observed during the degradation studies and also in the blank chromatogram.

     

Effect of Irradiation Absorbed Dose and Organic Solvent on the Grafting Rate of PVDF-g-PHEMA through Gamma-ray Irradiation in a Homogenous Solution

High Energy Chemistry - Modification of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) by radiation grafting is a research hotspot in recent years. In this study, the monomer 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was...