Scaling Up DNA Origami Lattice Assembly

The surface-assisted hierarchical assembly of DNA origami nanostructures is a promising route to fabricate regular nanoscale lattices. In this work, the scalability of this approach is explored and the formation of a homogeneous polycrystalline DNA origami lattice at the mica-electrolyte interface over a total surface area of 18.75 cm² is demonstrated. The topological analysis of more than 50 individual AFM images recorded at random locations over the sample surface showed only minuscule and random variations in the quality and order of the assembled lattice. The analysis of more than 450 fluorescence microscopy images of a quantum dot-decorated DNA origami lattice further revealed a very homogeneous surface coverage over cm² areas with only minor boundary effects at the substrate edges. At total DNA costs of € 0.12 per cm², this large-scale nanopatterning technique holds great promise for the fabrication of functional surfaces.     

Terminal Ligand and Packing Effects on Slow Relaxation in an Isostructural Set of [Dy(H2dapp)X2]+ Single Molecule Magnets**

We report three structurally related single ion Dy compounds using the pentadentate ligand 2,6-bis((E)-1-(2-(pyridin-2-yl)-hydrazineylidene)ethyl)pyridine (H₂dapp) [Dy(H₂dapp)(NO₃)₂]NO₃ ( 1 ), [Dy(H₂dapp)(OAc)₂]Cl ( 2 ) and [Dy(H₂dapp)(NO₃)₂]Cl_0.92(NO₃)_0.08 ( 3 ). The (H₂dapp) occupies a helical twisted pentagonal equatorial arrangement with two anionic ligands in the axial positions. Further influence on the electronic and magnetic structure is provided by a closely associated counterion interacting with the central N−H group of the (H₂dapp). The slow relaxation of the magnetisation shows that the anionic acetates give the greatest slowing down of the magnetisation reversal. Further influence on the relaxation properties of compounds 1 and 2 is the presence of short nitrate-nitrate intermolecular ligand contact opening further lattice relaxation pathways.     

Enantioselective Synthesis of Acyclic Orthogonally Functionalized Compounds Bearing a Quaternary Stereocenter Using Chiral Ammonium Salt Catalysis

We herein report an asymmetric protocol to access a series of orthogonally functionalized acyclic chiral target molecules containing a quaternary stereogenic center by carrying out the enantioselective α-alkylation of novel orthogonally functionalized dioxolane-containing cyanoacetates under chiral ammonium salt catalysis. By using just 1 mol % of Maruoka's spirocyclic ammonium salt catalysts enantioselectivities up to e.r.=97.5 : 2.5 could be achieved and further functional group manipulations of the products were carried out as well.     

Characterization of Food Packaging Films with Blackcurrant Fruit Waste as a Source of Antioxidant and Color Sensing Intelligent Material

Chitosan and pectin films were enriched with blackcurrant pomace powder (10 and 20% (w/w)), as bio-based material, to minimize food production losses and to increase the functional properties of produced films aimed at food coatings and wrappers. Water vapor permeability of active films increased up to 25%, moisture content for 27% in pectin-based ones, but water solubility was not significantly modified. Mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation at break and Young’s modulus) were mainly decreased due to the residual insoluble particles present in blackcurrant waste. FTIR analysis showed no significant changes between the film samples. The degradation temperatures, determined by DSC, were reduced by 18 °C for chitosan-based samples and of 32 °C lower for the pectin-based samples with blackcurrant powder, indicating a disturbance in polymer stability. The antioxidant activity of active films was increased up to 30-fold. Lightness and redness of dry films significantly changed depending on the polymer type. Significant color changes, especially in chitosan film formulations, were observed after exposure to different pH buffers. This effect is further explored in formulations that were used as color change indicators for intelligent biopackaging.     

Benzodiazepines: Drugs with Chemical Skeletons Suitable for the Preparation of Metallacycles with Potential Pharmacological Activity

The synthesis of organometallic compounds with potential pharmacological activity has attracted the attention of many research groups, aiming to take advantage of aspects that the presence of the metal-carbon bond can bring to the design of new pharmaceutical drugs. In this context, we have gathered studies reported in the literature in which psychoactive benzodiazepine drugs were used as ligands in the preparation of organometallic and metal complexes and provide details on some of their biological effects. We also highlight that most commonly known benzodiazepine-based drugs display molecular features that allow the preparation of metallacycles via C-H activation. These organometallic compounds merit further attention regarding their potential biological effects, not only in terms of psychoactive drugs but also in the search for drug replacements, for example, for cancer treatments.     

Lemon Oils Attenuate the Pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Quorum Sensing Inhibition

The chemical composition of three Citrus limon oils: lemon essential oil (LEO), lemon terpenes (LT) and lemon essence (LE), and their influence in the virulence factors production and motility (swarming and swimming) of two Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains (ATCC 27853 and a multidrug-resistant HT5) were investigated. The main compound, limonene, was also tested in biological assays. Eighty-four compounds, accounting for a relative peak area of 99.23%, 98.58% and 99.64%, were identified by GC/MS. Limonene (59–60%), γ-terpinene (10–11%) and β-pinene (7–15%) were the main compounds. All lemon oils inhibited specific biofilm production and bacterial metabolic activities into biofilm in a dose-dependent manner (20–65%, in the range of 0.1–4 mg mL⁻¹) of both strains. Besides, all samples inhibited about 50% of the elastase activity at 0.1 mg mL⁻¹. Pyocyanin biosynthesis decreases until 64% (0.1–4 mg mL⁻¹) for both strains. Swarming motility of P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 was completely inhibited by 2 mg mL⁻¹ of lemon oils. Furthermore, a decrease (29–55%, 0.1–4 mg mL⁻¹) in the synthesis of Quorum sensing (QS) signals was observed. The oils showed higher biological activities than limonene. Hence, their ability to control the biofilm of P. aeruginosa and reduce the production of virulence factors regulated by QS makes lemon oils good candidates to be applied as preservatives in the food processing industry.     

Metabolism of human insulin after subcutaneous administration: A possible means to uncover insulin misuse

The misuse of insulin for performance enhancement in sport or as toxic agent has frequently been reported in the past. In contrast to synthetic insulin analogues, the administration of recombinant human insulin is hardly recognized by mass spectrometry. The present study was designed to uncover the misuse of recombinant human insulin for doping control purposes as well as for forensic applications. It is hypothesized that an altered metabolite profile of circulating insulin prevails after subcutaneous administration due to exposure of insulin to epidermal proteases.     

Studies on the collision‐induced dissociation of adipoR agonists after electrospray ionization and their implementation in sports drug testing

AdipoR agonists are small, orally active molecules capable of mimicking the protein adiponectin, which represents an adipokine with antidiabetic and antiatherogenic effects. Two adiponectin receptors were reported in the literature referred to as adipoR1 and adipoR2. Activation of these receptors stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis and results in an improved oxidative metabolism (via adipoR1) and increased insulin sensitivity (via adipoR2). Hence, adipoR agonists are potentially performance enhancing substances and targets of proactive and preventive anti‐doping measures. In this study, two adipoR agonists termed AdipoRon and 112254 as well as two isotopically labeled internal standards (ISTDs) were synthesized in three‐step reactions. The products were fully characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS) and density functional theory (DFT) computation. Collision‐induced dissociation pathways following electrospray ionization were suggested based on the determined elemental compositions of product ions, comparison to product ions derived from labeled analogs (ISTDs), H/D‐exchange experiments and the results of DFT calculations. The most abundant product ions were found at m/z 174, tentatively assigned to protonated 1‐benzyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydropyridine for AdipoRon, and m/z 207, suggested as protonated 1‐(4‐methoxybenzyl)piperazine, for 112254. Notably, the loss of the heterocyclic ring (i.e. piperazine and piperidine, respectively) in a supposedly intramolecular elimination reaction was observed in both cases. A qualitative determination of both AdipoR agonists in human plasma was established and fully validated for doping control purposes. Validation items such as recovery (86–89%), specificity, linearity, lower limit of detection (1 ng/ml), intraday (3–18%) and interday (5–16%) precision as well as ion suppression or enhancement were determined. Based on these findings adipoR agonists can be implemented in sports drug testing procedures. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Probing the Coordinative Unsaturation and Local Environment of Ti3+ Sites in an Activated High‐Yield Ziegler–Natta Catalyst

The typical activation of a fourth generation Ziegler–Natta catalyst TiCl₄/MgCl₂/phthalate with triethyl aluminum generates Ti³⁺ centers that are investigated by multi‐frequency continuous wave and pulse EPR methods. Two families of isolated, molecule‐like Ti³⁺ species have been identified. A comparison of the experimentally derived g tensors and ^35,37Cl hyperfine and nuclear‐quadrupole tensors with DFT‐computed values suggests that the dominant EPR‐active Ti³⁺ species is located on MgCl₂(110) surfaces (or equivalent MgCl₂ terminations with tetra‐coordinated Mg). O₂ reactivity tests show that a fraction of these Ti sites is chemically accessible, an important result in view of the search for the true catalyst active site in olefin polymerization.