Determination of a novel antifibrotic small molecule GDC‐3280 in human plasma and urine by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to support its first‐in‐human clinical trial

A specific and robust LC–MS/MS method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of GDC‐3280 in human plasma and urine. The nonspecific binding associated with urine samples was overcome by the addition of CHAPS. The sample volume was 25 μL for either matrix, and supported liquid extraction was employed for analyte extraction. d6‐GDC‐3280 was used as the internal standard. Linear standard curves (R² > 0.9956) were established from 5.00 to 5000 ng/mL in both matrices with quantitation extended to 50,000 ng/mL through dilution. In plasma matrix, the precision (RSD) ranged from 1.5 to 9.9% (intra‐run) and from 2.4 to 7.2% (inter‐run); the accuracy (RE) ranged from 96.1 to 107% (intra‐run) and from 96.7 to 104% (inter‐run). Similarly, in urine the precision was 1.5–6.2% (intra‐run) and 1.9–6.1% (inter‐run); the accuracy was 83.1–99.3% (intra‐run) and 87.1–98.3% (inter‐run). Good recovery (>94%) and negligible matrix effect were achieved in both matrices. Long‐term matrix stability was established for at least 703 days in plasma and 477 days in urine. Bench‐top stability of 25 h and five freeze–thaw cycles were also confirmed in both matrices. The method was successfully implemented in GDC‐3280's first‐in‐human trial for assessing its pharmacokinetic profiles.     

Structure elucidation and NMR assignment of two new eudesmane derivatives from Merremia yunnanensis

Two new eudesmane derivatives, 1α,6β,9β-trihydroxy-eudesm-3-ene-1-O-β-d -glucopyranoside ( 1 ) and 1α,6β,9β-trihydroxy-eudesm-3-ene-1-(6-cinnamoyl)-O-β-d -glucopyranoside ( 2 ) were discovered from Merremia yunnanensis. The structures were elucidated by analysis of their spectroscopic data including HR-ESI-MS, 1D, and 2D NMR. It should be noted that this is the first report about structure elucidation and NMR assignment of compounds from M. yunnanensis.     

Metabolomics study on promoting blood circulation and ameliorating blood stasis: Investigating the mechanism of Angelica sinensis and its processed products

Angelica sinensis (Danggui, DG) parched with alcohol (Jiu Danggui, JDG) and charred DG are the main processed products of DG, which are used to treat blood stasis syndrome (BSS). However, their therapeutic effect and mechanisms are still unclear. Based on an acute rat BSS model, the intervention effects of DG and its processed products (DGPPs) were evaluated by the hemorheology and coagulation function parameters. Meanwhile, plasma and urine metabolites were detected and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis method. The results of hemorheology, coagulation function parameters and metabolomics all showed that the BSS model was successfully established, DGPPs intervention could significantly relieve rats BSS and the therapeutic effect of JDG was best. Moreover, 23 differential metabolites (14 in plasma and nine in urine) were identified that were closely related to the BSS, involving seven potential target metabolic pathways. DGPP intervention showed different degrees of reverse effect on these metabolites. JDG was the most effective owing to extensive regulation effect on differential metabolites. This study provides a reference for understanding the pathological mechanism of BSS and the mechanism of DGPPs, which lays a theoretical foundation for the rational use of DGPPs in clinical practice.     

Half‐sandwich Ruthenium (II) complexes with triphenylamine modified dipyridine skeleton and application in biology/luminescence imaging

Four half‐sandwich ruthenium^II (Ru^II) complexes with triphenylamine‐modifed dipyridine frameworks were synthesized and characterized. The cytotoxicity of target complexes toward A549 (lung cancer cells), HeLa (cervical cancer cells) and HepG2 (hepatoma cells) were obtained by the MTT assay, which were superior to cisplatin with the IC₅₀ values changed from 2.4 ± 0.1 μM to 9.2 ± 2.7 μM. Meanwhile, complexes possess the ability of antimetastasis to cancer cells. Ru^II complexes could be transported by serum albumin, catalyze the conversion of NADH (the reduced state of nicotinamide‐adenine dinucleotide) to NAD⁺ and induce the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, which confirmed the antineoplastic mechanism of oxidation. Ru^II complexes could enter A549 cells followed by a non‐energy dependent cellular uptake mechanism, target lysosomes with the Pearson's colocalization coefficient of 0.75, lead to lysosomal damage, disturb the cell cycle (S phase), and eventually induce apoptosis. The results demonstrate that these Ru^II complexes are potential anticancer agents with dual functions, including metastasis inhibition and lysosomal damage.     

Solvent‐free ring‐opening polymerization of lactones with hydrogen‐bonding bisurea catalyst

Development of effective organocatalysts for the living ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones is highly desired for the preparation of biocompatible and biodegradable polyesters with controlled microstructures and physical properties. Herein, a new class of hydrogen‐bond donating bisurea catalysts is reported for the ROP of lactones under solvent‐free conditions. ROP of lactones mediated by the bisurea/7‐methyl‐1,5,7‐triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec‐5‐ene (MTBD) catalyst exhibits a living/controlled manner, affording the polymers and copolymers with the well‐defined structure, predictable molecular weight, narrow molecular weight distribution, and high selectivity for monomer at low catalyst loadings at ambient temperature. The possible mechanism of bisurea/MTBD‐catalyzed ROP of lactones is proposed, in which the bisurea activates the carbonyl group of lactones while MTBD facilitates the nucleophilic attack of the initiating/propagating alcohol by hydrogen bonding. Moreover, the poly(ε‐caprolactone‐co‐δ‐valerolactone) [P(CL‐co‐VL)] random copolymers with various compositions were synthesized using the bisurea/MTBD catalyst. The measurements of thermal properties and crystalline structure demonstrate that the CL and VL units are cocrystallized in the crystalline phase of P(CL‐co‐VL) copolymers. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 90–100     

Heinz‐type inequality and bi‐Lipschitz continuity for quasiconformal mappings satisfying inhomogeneous biharmonic equations

Let be the class of all sense‐preserving homeomorphic self‐mappings of . The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we obtain Heinz‐type inequality for (K,K′)‐quasiconformal mappings satisfying inhomogeneous biharmonic equation Δ(Δω) = g in unit disk with associated boundary value conditions and . Second, we establish biLipschitz continuity for (K,K′)‐quasiconformal mappings satisfying aforementioned inhomogeneous biharmonic equation when and are small enough.     

Electrochemical Signal Enhancer Fabricated Using Lysine‐rich Peptide for Ultrasensitive Electrochemical DNA Biosensor Analysis

Here we present a novel design of electrochemical signal enhancer to increase the detection sensitivity of electrochemical DNA biosensors. The key element of this enhancer is a lysine‐rich peptide (LRP). Its C‐terminal is conjugated with a planer molecule, being able to intercalate into the base pairs of probe‐target duplexes. The lysine residues of LRP are covalently linked with electrochemical signal indicators, acting as an assembly of electrochemical signal indicators. Experimental results proved the feasibility of the novel design. We have examined the effects of the numbers of lysine residues and the hybridization conditions on the detection sensitivity. The optimization procedures have led to significant sensitivity enhancement, and the LOD (limit of detection) has been determined to be 1.4 amol. This enhancer demonstrates advantages of easy operation, simple instrumentation, and high exemption from environmental influence.     

基于LIBS技术的水泥粉末在线成分分析

在工业现场生产水泥的过程中，各种成分的含量直接影响着水泥的质量，因此如何快速准确地监测水泥中各个成分的含量意义重大。采用的实验方式为，将不经过任何预处理的水泥粉末直接放入位于二维移动平台上的物料盒中，通过激光诱导击穿光谱(LIBS)直接对水泥粉末表面的不同位置进行激发检测，对得到的光谱数据首先进行归一化和主成分分析等预处理操作，然后针对水泥中Ca, Si, Al, Fe, Mg五种元素，分别建立偏最小二乘(PLS)和支持向量回归(SVR)两种定量分析模型进行方法比较。此外，对比了粉末状水泥与压片式水泥两种测量方式的结果。实验结果表明，采用粉末状水泥直接测量的方式下，针对水泥样品元素浓度与所得到的光谱中特征线强度的关系，SVR方法比PLS方法更具优势，粉末状水泥直接测量的精度接近压片式测量的精度，说明LIBS技术对水泥粉末状样品直接在线测量具有可行性。     

Empirical Likelihood Inference for Functional Coefficient ARCH-M Model

Empirical likelihood inference for parametric and nonparametric parts in functional coefficient ARCH-M models is investigated in this paper. Firstly, the kernel smoothing technique is used to estimate coefficient function δ(x). In this way we obtain an estimated function with parameter β.Secondly, the empirical likelihood method is developed to estimate the parameter β. An estimated empirical log-likelohood ratio is proved to be asymptotically standard chi-squred, and the maximum empirical likelihood estimation(MELE) for β is shown to be asymptotically normal. Finally, based on the MELE of β, the empirical likelihood approach is again applied to reestimate the nonparametric part δ(x). The empirical log-likelohood ratio for δ(x) is proved to be also asymptotically standard chi-squred. Simulation study shows that the proposed method works better than the normal approximation method in terms of average areas of confidence regions for β, and the empirical likelihood confidence belt for δ(x) performs well.     

The Linear Optical Unambiguous Discrimination of Hyperentangled Bell States Assisted by Time Bin

A linear optical unambiguous discrimination of hyperentangled Bell states is proposed for two‐photon systems entangled in both the polarization and momentum degrees of freedom (DOFs) assisted by time bin. This unambiguous discrimination scheme can completely identify 16 orthogonal hyperentangled Bell states using only linear optical elements, where the function of the auxiliary entangled Bell state is replaced by time bin. Moreover, the possibility of extending this scheme for distinguishing hyperentangled Bell states in n DOFs is discussed, and it shows that $2^{n+k+1}$ hyperentangled Bell states in n ( $n\ge 2$) DOFs can be distinguished with k ( $k<n$) auxiliary entangled states of additional DOFs by introducing a time delay, which decreases the auxiliary entanglement resource required for unambiguous discrimination of hyperentangled Bell state. Therefore, this scheme provides a new way for distinguishing hyperentangled states with current technology, which will extend the application of discrimination of hyperentangled states via linear optics to other quantum information protocols besides hyperdense coding schemes in the future.