Fluorescent Protein Capped Mesoporous Nanoparticles for Intracellular Drug Delivery and Imaging

A multifunctional system for intracellular drug delivery and simultaneous fluorescent imaging was constructed by using histidine‐tagged, cyan fluorescent protein (CFP)‐capped magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMSNs). This protein‐capped multifunctional nanostructure is highly biocompatible and does not affect cell viability or proliferation. The CFP acts not only as a capping agent, but also as a fluorescent imaging agent. The nanoassembly was activated by histidine‐based replacement, leading to release of drug molecules encapsulated in the nanopores into the bulk solution. The fluorescent imaging functionality would allow noninvasive tracking of the nanoparticles in the body. By combining the drug delivery with cell‐imaging capability, these nanoparticles may provide valuable multifunctional nanoplatforms for biomedical applications.     

Design and Synthesis of a γ1β8‐Cyclodextrin Oligomer: A New Platform with Potential Application as a Dendrimeric Multicarrier

We report the synthesis and characterization of a water‐soluble, star‐shaped macromolecular platform consisting of eight β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) units anchored to the narrower rim of a γ‐CD core through bis(triazolyl)alkyl spacers. The efficient synthetic protocol is based on the microwave (MW)‐promoted Cu‐catalyzed 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of CD monoazides to CD monoacetylenes. The ligand‐hosting capability of the construct has been assessed by relaxometric titration and nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (NMRD) profiling, which showed it to be good, and this was supported by molecular dynamics simulations. To demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining supramolecular structures with high hosting ability, we designed a dimeric platform, formed by joining two nonamers through the γ‐CD cores through a bis(lithocholic acid) linker. With a view to the potential biological applications, cytotoxicity and extent of binding to human serum albumin were assessed. The properties of this dendrimeric multicarrier make it suitable for pharmaceutical and diagnostic purposes, ranging from targeted drug delivery to molecular imaging.     

Regioselective Synthesis and Photophysical and Electrochemical Studies of 20‐Substituted Cyanine Dye–Purpurinimide Conjugates: Incorporation of NiII into the Conjugate Enhances its Tumor‐Uptake and Fluorescence‐Imaging Ability

We report herein a simple and efficient approach to the synthesis of a variety of meso‐substituted purpurinimides. The reaction of meso ‐ substituted purpurinimide with N‐bromosuccinimide regioselectively introduced a bromo functionality at the 20‐position, which on further reaction with a variety of boronic acids under Suzuki reaction conditions yielded the corresponding meso‐substituted analogues. Interestingly, the free base and the metalated analogues showed remarkable differences in photosensitizing efficacy (PDT) and tumor‐imaging ability. For example, the free‐base conjugate showed significant in vitro PDT efficacy, but limited tumor avidity in mice bearing tumors, whereas the corresponding Ni^II derivative did not produce any cell kill, but showed excellent tumor‐imaging ability at a dose of 0.3 μmol kg^?1 at 24, 48, and 72 h post‐injection. The limited PDT efficacy of the Ni^II analogue could be due to its inability to produce singlet oxygen, a key cytotoxic agent required for cell kill in PDT. Based on electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical data in DMSO, the first one‐electron oxidation (0.52 V vs. SCE) and the first one‐electron reduction (?0.57–0.67 V vs. SCE) of both the free base and the corresponding Ni^II conjugates are centered on the cyanine dye, whereas the second one‐electron reduction (?0.81 V vs. SCE) of the two conjugates is assigned to the purpurinimide part of the molecule. Reduction of the cyanine dye unit is facile and occurs prior to reduction of the purpurinimide group, which suggests that the cyanine dye unit as an oxidant could be the driving force for quenching of the excited triplet state of the molecules. An interaction between the cyanine dye and the purpurinimide group is clearly observed in the free‐base conjugate, which compares with a negligible interaction between the two functional groups in the Ni^II conjugate. As a result, the larger HOMO–LUMO gap of the free‐base conjugate and the corresponding smaller quenching constant is a reason to decrease the intramolecular quenching process and increase the production of singlet oxygen to some degree.     

Controlled Synthesis of Thorium and Uranium Oxide Nanocrystals

Very little is known about the size and shape effects on the properties of actinide compounds. As a consequence, the controlled synthesis of well‐defined actinide‐based nanocrystals constitutes a fundamental step before studying their corresponding properties. In this paper, we report on the non‐aqueous surfactant‐assisted synthesis of thorium and uranium oxide nanocrystals. The final characteristics of thorium and uranium oxide nanocrystals can be easily tuned by controlling a few experimental parameters such as the nature of the actinide precursor and the composition of the organic system (e.g., the chemical nature of the surfactants and their relative concentrations). Additionally, the influence of these parameters on the outcome of the synthesis is highly dependent on the nature of the actinide element (thorium versus uranium). By using optimised experimental conditions, monodisperse isotropic uranium oxide nanocrystals with different sizes (4.5 and 10.7 nm) as well as branched nanocrystals (overall size ca. 5 nm), nanodots (ca. 4 nm) and nanorods (with ultra‐small diameters of 1 nm) of thorium oxide were synthesised.     

Aryl‐Phosphonate Lanthanide Complexes and Their Fluorinated Derivatives: Investigation of Their Unusual Relaxometric Behavior and Potential Application as Dual Frequency 1H/19F MRI Probes

A series of low molecular weight lanthanide complexes were developed that have high ¹H longitudinal relaxivities (r₁) and the potential to be used as dual frequency ¹H and ¹⁹F MR probes. Their behavior was investigated in more detail through relaxometry, pH‐potentiometry, luminescence, and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Fitting of the ¹H NMRD and ¹⁷O NMR profiles demonstrated a very short water residence lifetime (<10 ns) and an appreciable second sphere effect. At lower field strengths (20 MHz), two of the complexes displayed a peak in r₁ (21.7 and 16.3 mM ^?1 s^?1) caused by an agglomeration, that can be disrupted through the addition of phosphate anions. NMR spectroscopy revealed that at least two species are present in solution interconverting through an intramolecular binding process. Two complexes provided a suitable signal in ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy and through the selection of optimized imaging parameters, phantom images were obtained in a MRI scanner at concentrations as low as 1 mM . The developed probes could be visualized through both ¹H and ¹⁹F MRI, showing their capability to function as dual frequency MRI contrast agents.     

CMPO-离子液体萃取分离铀(VI)体系的电化学性质

研究了辛基(苯基)-N,N-二异丁基胺甲酰基甲基氧化膦(CMPO)-离子液体(IL)从硝酸铀酰水溶液中萃取铀(VI)的电化学行为, 离子液体(IL)为1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑双三氟甲基磺酰亚胺盐(C₄mimNTf₂). 用等摩尔系列法测得萃取过程中CMPO与U(VI)形成摩尔比为3:1的配合物. 用循环伏安法研究了萃取液中U(VI)-CMPO配合物的电化学性质, 结果表明, 在C₄mimNTf₂中U(VI)-CMPO 配合物经过准可逆还原生成U(V)-CMPO 配合物, U(VI)/U(V)电对的表观氧化还原电势(E^Θ, vs Fc/Fc⁺)为(?0.885±0.008) V. 对萃取液进行控制电位电解, 发现在铂片上有沉淀析出. X射线光电子能谱(XPS) 测试结果表明, 沉积物中只含有U(VI)、U(IV)和氧, 而CMPO和C₄mimNTf₂没有被夹带析出.     

两个2,6-二氨基-3,5-二硝基吡嗪-1-氧化物含能配合物的合成、晶体结构及催化性能

合成了2,6-二氨基-3,5-二硝基吡嗪-1-氧化物(LLM-105)₂种含能配合物[Cu₄O₂(C₄N₆O₅H₂)₂(CH₃COO)₂(DMF)₂]·DMF(1)((C₄N₆O₅H₂)^2- 为配体LLM-105失去2个H⁺)和[Co(C₄N₆O₅H₃)₃]·7H₂O(2)((C₄N₆O₅H₃)^- 为LLM-105失去1个H⁺),用X射线单晶衍射法测定了其分子结构。配合物1属正交晶系,空间群为Pbca,配合物2属三斜晶系,空间群为R3。用DSC,TG-DTG技术对配体和2个配合物的热分解进行了研究。用Kissinger法和Ozawa-Doyle法对配合物热分解过程中放热峰的表观活化能进行了计算。同时研究了2种配合物对AP热分解催化效果的影响,结果表明,2种配合物使AP的高温分解峰温分别提前117.42和71.85℃,分解放热量增加1916.97和1433.76J·g^-1,对AP热分解具有非常显著的催化效果。     

微波辅助合成石墨烯/氧化镍复合材料及其表征

本文通过微波辅助的方法,快速而有效地在热膨胀石墨烯(RG)的缺陷上原位合成氧化镍纳米颗粒,形成石墨烯/氧化镍复合材料(RG/NiO)。利用X-射线衍射(XRD),拉曼光谱(Raman),傅里叶变换红外(FTIR),扫描电镜(SEM),透射电镜(TEM),热重-差热(TGA-DSC)对所制备样品的结构、形貌和NiO含量在复合材料中的含量进行表征。结果表明,热膨胀石墨烯层数约7~8层,层间距约为0.35nm,缺陷多,在水热和微波处理后抗氧化性明显变差。复合材料中氧化镍颗粒平均粒径为25nm,均匀而密集地分散在石墨烯平面上,同时在复合材料中的含量为19.8%。     

基于2-[1-(2-羟基乙亚胺基)乙基]苯酚的六核铁(Ⅲ)配合物的合成、晶体结构、热稳定性及抗菌活性研究

利用三齿席夫碱配体2-[1-(2-羟基乙亚胺基)乙基]苯酚(H2L)和二氰氨钠与氯化铁在甲醇中反应,制备了一个新的具有中心对称性的六核铁(Ⅲ)配合物[NaFe6L6(MeO)6]Cl。通过利用元素分析、红外光谱和X-射线单晶衍射表征了该配合物的结构。配合物的晶体以三斜晶系P1空间群结晶,其晶体学参数a=1.162 5(2)nm,b=1.396 4(2)nm,c=1.504 2(2)nm,α=66.154(7)°,β=68.809(7)°,γ=73.296(7)°,V=2.053 6(5)nm3,Z=1,R1=0.059 3,wR2=0.156 4。本文还研究了该配合物的热稳定性和抗菌活性。     

大比表面积钛黑颜料的制备和表征

本文首次通过pH值控制沉淀法制备前驱物丁二酸钛肼复盐,并进一步热分解制备大比表面积钛黑颜料-黑色钛氧化物。通过比表面积(BET)、电子能谱(EDS)、X射线光电子能谱分析(XPS)、X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(HRSEM)、物理吸附仪、激光粒度仪和Color i5型台式分光测色仪对黑色钛氧化物进行了表征,确定了黑色钛氧化物的组成为2TiO2·Ti2O3,其表面积为53.854 4 m2·g-1。并考察了酸源、水合肼用量、酸钛比、反应时间、pH、NaOH浓度和煅烧温度等各种反应参数对黑色钛氧化物的颗粒尺寸、分布均匀性和黑色度的影响。用元素分析仪和等离子体光谱仪测定了前驱物组成,确定其组成为[Ti(C4H4O4)2]0.85·2Ti2O3·6N2H4·3H2O,并探讨了黑色钛氧化物形成机理,为新型混合价材料黑色钛氧化物的制备提供重要参考依据。