A Novel Phenoxazine-based Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of HOCl in Living Cells

Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), one of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), is a key microbicidal agent which is used for natural defense. However, it is also linked to varieties of human diseases owing to the overproduction of HOCl. Much effort has been made to exploit selective fluorescent sensors for the detection of HOCl, but most of them have some disadvantages such as short excitation wavelength, low selectivity, and slow response and so on. These restrict the biological application of the probes. In this work, BR-O was designed and synthesized on the base of phenoxazine for the detection of HOCl. BR-O exhibited a violent fluorescence enhancement in the presence of HOCl, showing excellent selectivity and high sensitivity. More importantly, the probe BR-O was capable of detecting exogenous and endogenous HOCl in living cells.     

应用极化水分子模型研究单分子层受限水的介电性质

受限条件下水的介电性质因测量极具挑战,其在诸多电化学过程与反应输运过程中如何扮演关键角色从未被定量地澄清.本工作利用平衡态分子动力学模拟和受限体系介电性质计算方法,系统性地探索了0.65 nm限域尺寸、5×10⁸ Pa限域压强、不同温度条件下单分子受限冰和受限水的介电性质.详细比较了恒定偶极矩SPC/E水分子模型和可极化的SWM4-NDP水分子模型在描述受限冰、水结构与介电性质上的优劣势,包括统计分析SWM4-NDP模型模拟的单分子层受限水和受限冰的瞬时分子偶极矩概率密度分布,计算每个模拟体系的静态结构因子、静态偶极空间关联函数、静态介电常数、体系偶极时间关联函数和德拜弛豫时间.首次发现了极化水分子模型描述的低维度受限水和受限冰的奇异分子极性变化,并观察到两种模型描述静态结构性质的效果相当,SWM4-NDP模型对于静态介电常数描述的优势会因受限条件的增强而被大幅削减.但在受限水介电极化弛豫动力学性质描述上SWM4-NDP模型明显优于SPC/E模型.我们推断SWM4-NDP模型在探索受限水结构相变动力学以及受限体系离子输运和溶剂化动力学等过程的模拟研究中是比SPC/E模型更好的选择.本工作将在进一步开展基于受限水系统储能、传感、输运的设计工作中提供一定的理论指导意义.     

Conjugated polymer nanoparticles as fluorescence switch for selective cell imaging

Fluorescence switch plays a vital role in bioelectronics and bioimaging.Herein,we presented a new kind of facile electrostatic complex nanoparticles(ECNs)for fluorescence switching in cells and marking of individual cell.The ECNs were prepared by mixing positively charged poly(6-(2-(thiophen-3-yl)ethoxy)hexyl trimethylammonium bromide)(PT)and negatively charged diarylethene sodium salt(DAECOONa).DAE-COONa is a photoswitchable molecule which can be transformed between the ring-closed fo rm and ring-open form under the irradiation of UV or visible light.The closed-form of DAE-COONa can efficie ntly quench the fluorescence of PT through intermolecular energy transfer,while the open form of DAE-COONa does not influence the emission of PT.Thus,the fluorescence of ECNs can be modulated by light irradiation,and the ECNs with good fluorescence switching performance have been employed for fluorescence imaging and individual cell lighting up process successfully.We demonstrate that the electrostatic complex strategy provides a facile method to construct fluorescence switch fo r selective cell marking and imaging applications.     

The theoretical study of dehydrogenation mechanism from Sr(NH2BH3)2

Structural Chemistry - A first-principle study of dehydrogenation mechanism from Sr(NH2BH3)2 was performed. Three different pathways were explored for Sr(NH2BH3)2 monomer, and the most favorable...     

Preparation of polypropylene/ethylene‐propylene‐diene terpolymer/nitrile rubber ternary thermoplastics vulcanizates with good mechanical properties and oil resistance by core‐shell dynamic vulcanization

As the most successful commercialized thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs), polypropylene (PP)/ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) TPVs exhibit poor oil resistance. In this work, we prepared PP/EPDM/butadiene acrylonitrile rubber (NBR) ternary TPVs with good oil resistance using core‐shell dynamic vulcanization. According to the theoretical analysis of the spreading coefficient and the transmission electron microscopy results, the rubber phases exhibited a special core‐shell structure, in which the cross‐linkedNBR‐core was encapsulated by the EPDM‐shell. The core‐shell structure effectively improved the interfacial compatibility between PP and NBR phase as the EPDM‐shell could avoid the direct contact of them, thus improving the mechanical properties of the TPVs. For example, the PP/EPDM/NBR (40/30/30) ternary TPV showed enhanced tensile strength of 12.57 MPa, compared with 10.71 MPa of PP/EPDM (40/60) TPV and 11.11 MPa of PP/NBR (40/60) TPV, respectively. Moreover, the oil resistance of the TPVs was also improved. Compared with PP/EPDM TPV, the change rates in mass, volume, tensile strength and elongation at break of PP/EPDM/NBR TPV after oil immersion decreased by 42.18%, 48.69%, 52.68% and 28.77%, respectively.     

Chromatographic study of four sesquiterpenoids in volatile oil of Curcumae Rhizoma on reverse phase stationary phase with methyl-β-cyclodextrin as mobile additive

Abstract

The elution behavior of four sesquiterpenoids in volatile oil of Curcumae Rhizoma on reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with methyl-β-cyclodextrin as mobile phase additive was studied, including germacrone, curzerene, furanodiene, and β-elemene. Stoichiometric ratio and apparent formation constants of inclusion complex formed by methyl-β-cyclodextrin and each analyte were calculated by varying the concentration of the additive in the mobile phase composed of methanol and water (90:10, v/v), in which the association constant for inclusion complex formed by the organic modifier methanol and methyl-β-cyclodextrin was also determined. Results showed that the stoichiometric ratio of all the inclusion complex was 1:1 when 0–9?mmol L^?1 of methyl-β-cyclodextrin was added in the mobile phase. Unusual retention behavior of the analyte germacrone was found, which was further investigated by the calculation of thermodynamic parameters. Meanwhile, enthalpy and entropy of the inclusion complexes and solute-stationary phase interactions were determined by linear van’t Hoff plots.     

A Coordinative Dendrimer Achieves Excellent Efficiency in Cytosolic Protein and Peptide Delivery

Cytosolic protein delivery is a prerequisite for the development of protein therapeutics that act on intracellular targets. Proteins are generally membrane‐impermeable and thus need a carrier such as a polymer to facilitate their internalization. However, the efficient binding of proteins with different isoelectric points to polymeric carriers is challenging. In this study, we designed a coordinative dendrimer to solve this problem. The dendrimers modified with dipicolylamine/zinc(II) complex were capable of binding proteins through a combination of ionic and coordination interactions. The best polymer efficiently delivered 30 cargo proteins and peptides into the cytosol, while maintaining their bioactivity after intracellular release. The removal or replacement of zinc ions in the polymer with other transition‐metal ions lead to significantly decreased efficiency in cytosolic protein delivery. This study provides a new strategy to develop robust and efficient polymers for cytosolic protein delivery.     

Direct Dynamic Evidence of Charge Separation in a Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cell Obtained under Operando Conditions by Raman Spectroscopy

Interfaces play an important role in enhancing the energy conversion performance of dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The interface effects have been studied by many techniques, but most of the studies only focused on one part of a DSC, rather than on a complete solar cell. Hence, monitoring the interface evolution of a DSC is still very challenging. Here, in situ/operando resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopic analyses were carried out to monitor the dynamics of the photovoltaic conversion processes in a DSC. We observed the creation of new species (i.e., polyiodide and iodine aggregates) in the photosensitization process. We also obtained molecular‐scale dynamic evidence that the bands from the C=C and C=N bonds of 2,2′‐bipyridyl (bpy), the S=C=N bonds of the NCS ligand, and photochemical products undergo reasonably strong intensity and frequency changes, which clearly demonstrates that they are involved in charge separation. Furthermore, RR spectroscopy can also be used to quickly evaluate the performance of DSCs.     

Switch in Selectivity for Formal Hydroalkylation of 1,3‐Dienes and Enynes with Simple Hydrazones

Controlling reaction selectivity is a permanent pursuit for chemists. Regioselective catalysis, which exploits and/or overcomes innate steric and electronic bias to deliver diverse regio‐enriched products from the same starting materials, represents a powerful tool for divergent synthesis. Recently, the 1,2‐Markovnikov hydroalkylation of 1,3‐dienes with simple hydrazones was reported to generate branched allylic compounds when a nickel catalyst was used. As part of the effort, shown here is that a complete switch of Markovnikov to anti‐Markovnikov addition is obtained by changing to a ruthenium catalyst, thus providing direct and efficient access to homoallylic products exclusively. Isotopic substitution experiments indicate that no reversible hydro‐metallation across the metal‐π‐allyl system occurred under ruthenium catalysis. Moreover, this protocol is applicable to the regiospecific hydroalkylation of the distal C=C bond of 1,3‐enynes.