Snake Venom Components: Tools and Cures to Target Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are considered as a major cause of death worldwide. Therefore, identifying and developing therapeutic strategies to treat and reduce the prevalence of CVDs is a major medical challenge. Several drugs used for the treatment of CVDs, such as captopril, emerged from natural products, namely snake venoms. These venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive molecules, which, among other physiological networks, target the cardiovascular system, leading to them being considered in the development and design of new drugs. In this review, we describe some snake venom molecules targeting the cardiovascular system such as phospholipase A2 (PLA2), natriuretic peptides (NPs), bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs), cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISPs), disintegrins, fibrinolytic enzymes, and three-finger toxins (3FTXs). In addition, their molecular targets, and mechanisms of action—vasorelaxation, inhibition of platelet aggregation, cardioprotective activities—are discussed. The dissection of their biological effects at the molecular scale give insights for the development of future snake venom-derived drugs.     

Germaborenes: Borylene Transfer Agents for the Synthesis of Iminoboranes

Halide and phenyl substituted germaborenes were shown to react with azides at room temperature and transfer a borylene moiety to give iminoboranes. This iminoborane synthesis based on a borylene transfer route was investigated computationally in the case of the phenyl substituted germaborene.     

Design,Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of a New Series of N-aryl-N′-[4-(pyridin-2-ylmethoxy)benzyl]urea Derivatives

The development of cancer treatments requires continuous exploration and improvement, in which the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of cancer is still an important pathway. In this study, based on the molecular hybridization strategy, a new structural framework with an N-aryl-N’-arylmethylurea scaffold was designed, and 16 new target compounds were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities against four different cancer cell lines A549, MCF7, HCT116, PC3, and human liver normal cell line HL7702. The results have shown seven compounds with 1-methylpiperidin-4-yl groups having excellent activities against all four cancer cell lines, and they exhibited scarcely any activities against HL7702. Among them, compound 9b and 9d showed greatly excellent activity against the four kinds of cells, and the IC₅₀ for MCF7 and PC3 cell lines were even less than 3 μM.     

氧化钛负载脱硝催化剂的碱中毒过程：氧化钒的保留和氧化钨的牺牲

V2O5-WO3/TiO2催化剂目前已广泛用于电厂和工业锅炉燃烧废气脱硝,但燃烧原料煤及石油中含有的杂质元素碱金属与碱土金属元素可吸附在催化剂上,不仅会减少催化剂酸性位的数量,还会与催化活性元素结合生成惰性物种,导致催化剂失活。因此,已有许多有关钒钨钛催化剂碱中毒的研究,从催化剂的氧化还原能力、酸性位损失及表面孔结构等方面进行了讨论。但这些研究大多集中在碱中毒对活性组分V2O5的影响及中毒催化剂的活性变化,很少涉及催化剂中WO3的作用,也缺乏有关不同活性元素与钾盐反应的实验证据。本文采用过量浸渍法制备了不同钒和钨含量的钒钨钛催化剂,研究了氯化钾对其氨法选择性催化还原(NH3-SCR)活性的失活效应。利用感应耦合等离子体、N2吸附、拉曼光谱、H2程序升温还原、NH3吸附红外光谱和NH3氧化活性等手段对新鲜和中毒催化剂的性质进行了表征,特别探讨了V2O5和WO3对催化剂抗碱中毒能力的贡献。
　　催化剂活性测试结果表明, V2O5含量越高,活性温度窗口越宽,而且含有WO3的三元催化剂活性高于V2O5/TiO2二元催化剂。催化剂的BET比表面积和孔结构取决于TiO2载体,随活性组分配比变化不大,说明催化剂物理结构性质并非影响活性的主要因素。原位红外光谱及H2程序升温还原测试结果表明,随V2O5含量提高,催化剂表面Br?nsted酸性位数量及氧化还原能力提高。作为反应的主要活性物种, V2O5在碱中毒处理后变成惰性的偏钒酸钾KVO3,使催化剂中Br?nsted酸性位减少,热稳定性下降,并削弱了催化剂的氧化还原能力,因此低钒含量的催化剂容易严重中毒失活。在高钒负载量(3%)时,部分V2O5在碱中毒后得以保留,从而使催化剂保持了一定的脱硝催化活性。
　　另外, WO3能给催化剂表面提供热稳定的酸性位,虽然WO3自身的氧化还原能力差,但其能改善V2O5的分散性,从而提高V2O5-WO3/TiO2催化剂的活性。除此之外, WO3在催化剂碱中毒过程中还能扮演牺牲剂,与钾反应生成钨酸钾(K2WO4),即在V2O5与钾离子结合形成KVO3的同时,部分WO3也会与钾反应形成K2WO4,可以使三元催化剂保留更多的活性V物种。因此,在所研究的催化剂中,高钒负载量的V2O5-WO3/TiO2催化剂表现出最好的抗碱中毒能力。
　　活性影响因素分析表明,对于新鲜催化剂,其表面吸附的NH3量足够多,催化剂活性与表面酸性相关度不大,脱硝效率主要取决于催化剂的氧化还原能力。但是,对于碱中毒处理后的催化剂,其表面吸附NH3的能力大大削弱,这时脱硝效率除了受催化剂氧化还原能力影响,在很大程度上也依赖于催化剂的表面酸性。     

Tuning of the Temperature Window for Unit‐Cell and Pore‐Size Enlargement in Face‐Centered‐Cubic Large‐Mesopore Silicas Templated by Swollen Block Copolymer Micelles

The unit‐cell size and pore diameter as functions of temperature are investigated in the syntheses of FDU‐12 silicas with face‐centered cubic structure templated by Pluronic (PEO‐PPO‐PEO) block copolymer micelles swollen by toluene. The temperature range in which the unit‐cell size and pore size strongly increase as temperature decreases is correlated with the critical micelle temperature (CMT) of the surfactant. While Pluronic F127 affords a wide range of unit‐cell parameters (28–51 nm) and pore diameters (16–32 nm), it renders moderately enlarged pore sizes at 25 °C. The use of Pluronic F108 with higher CMT affords FDU‐12 with very large unit‐cell size (～49 nm) and large pore diameter (27 nm) at 23 °C. Large unit‐cell size (40–41 nm) and pore size (22 nm) were obtained even at 25 °C. The application of Pluronics F87 and F88 with much smaller molecular weights and higher CMTs also allows one to synthesize FDU‐12 with quite large unit‐cell parameters and pore sizes at room temperature. The present work demonstrates that one can judiciously select Pluronic surfactants with appropriate CMT to shift the temperature range in which the pore diameter is readily tunable.     

邻位取代基对芳基杂环磷酸盐成核有效性的影响

以2,4-二叔丁基苯酚为原料分别合成2,2'-亚甲基双(4,6-二叔丁基苯基)磷酸钠(NA-1)和2,2'-亚甲基双(4-叔丁基苯基)磷酸钠(NA-2),并将其应用于等规聚丙烯(i PP),研究该类芳基杂环磷酸盐成核剂邻位取代基对其成核有效性的影响.通过红外吸收光谱(FTIR)、核磁共振谱(NMR)、X-Ray多晶粉末衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜分析(SEM)和热分析对其化学结构、凝聚态结构、颗粒形貌和物性特征进行了表征,确定了NA-1和NA-2的分子结构和凝聚态颗粒的结构、形貌和物性特征.利用偏光显微观察(POM)、扫描电镜(SEM)断口分析、示差式扫描量热分析(DSC)和雾度测试分析对其与i PP的复合材料的晶粒结构、结晶行为及宏观光学性能进行测试表征.结果表明,添加量0.2%时,邻位叔丁基(NA-1)的存在可使复合材料球晶尺度更加细密,结晶温度比无邻位叔丁基(NA-2)增加5.1 K,等温结晶速率提高至0.56 w/g是NA-2的7倍,半结晶时间由NA-2的11.55 min下降至2.36 min,邻位叔丁基存在对材料透光率和雾度值的影响分别达到4.3%,7.4%.SEM断口分析表明二者在i PP基体中分散均匀,平均粒径相近分别为0.79μm和0.82μm,粒径分布曲线相近,二者分散分布的差异性不显著.     

计算机辅助设计三聚氰胺分子印迹聚合物

借助密度泛函理论(DFT)长程校正方法,以三聚氰胺(MAM)为印迹分子,甲基丙烯酸(MAA)为功能单体,分别以二甲基丙烯酸乙二醇酯(EGDMA)、三羟甲基丙烷三甲基丙烯酸酯(TRIM)及二乙烯苯(DVB)为交联剂,以乙腈(ACN)、甲醇(MT)、乙醇(EA)、甲苯(TL)、四氢呋喃(THF)及二甲基亚砜(DMSO)为溶剂,模拟了MAM与MAA单体分子印迹聚合物(MIPs)自组装体系的构型,讨论了MAM与MAA的成键作用位点,及其稳定复合物的印迹反应比例及印迹作用机理,依据结合能(△E)优化了交联剂和溶剂,并借助分子中原子理论(AIM)揭示了MAM与MAA印迹作用的本质.计算结果表明,MAM印迹分子三嗪环上的N与胺基上H均通过氢键与MAA单体进行印迹聚合反应,且在印迹反应比例为1∶6,以TL为溶剂时形成的MAM-MAA有序复合物结合能最低,构型最稳定;与TRIM及EGDMA交联剂相比,DVB与MAM结合能最低,更适宜作为MAM-MAA印迹聚合物的交联剂.本研究为MAM-MIPs合成时印迹比例、交联剂及溶剂的选择提供了理论依据.     

黄光类水滑石的制备、表面改性及应用

采用共沉淀法合成了荧光类水滑石材料,该材料在470 nm蓝光激发下可发出黄色荧光(557 nm),采用硅烷偶联剂对其进行表面改性,探讨了表面改性对黄光类水滑石的发光性能、结构及热稳定性的影响。将改性黄光类水滑石与GaN基蓝光芯片封装后制得了白光LED。研究结果表明,改性的黄光类水滑石是制作白光LED可供选用的黄色发光材料。本文成功地将低温一步法制备得到的金属有机配合物/无机纳米杂化材料应用于LED,拓展了LED用荧光粉的选用范围。     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 5,6,7-trimethoxy- 1- benzylidene-3,4-dihydro-naphthalen-2-one as tubulinpolymerization inhibitors

A series of new combretastatin-A4 analogs were synthesized, in which a six-membered ring connects the linking bridge and A ring, and their tumor cell growth and tubulin-polymerization inhibitory activity were evaluated. These compounds appear to be potential tubulin-polymerization inhibitors. Compounds 1b with amino substituted on position 3 of B ring conferred optimal bioactivity, higher than that of the lead compound 22b and equivalent to that of CA-4. The binding modes of these compounds to tubulin were obtained by molecular docking, which can explain the structure-activity relationship. The studies presented here provide a new structural type for the development of novel antitumor agents.     

Effects of β‐nucleating agent and crystallization conditions on the crystallization behavior and polymorphic composition of isotactic polypropylene/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes composites

In this study, the effects of crystallization conditions (cooling rate and end temperature of cooling) on crystallization behavior and polymorphic composition of isotactic polypropylene/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (iPP/MWCNTs) composites nucleated with different concentrations of β‐nucleating agent (tradename TMB‐5) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The results of DSC, WAXD and SEM revealed that the addition of MWCNTs and TMB‐5 evidently elevates crystallization temperatures and significantly decreases the crystal sizes of iPP. Because of the competition between α‐nucleation (provided by MWCNTs) and β‐nucleation (induced by TMB‐5), the β‐phase crystallization takes place only when 0.15 wt% and higher concentration of TMB‐5 is added. Non‐isothermal crystallization kinetics study showed that the crystallization activation energy ΔE of β‐nucleated iPP/MWCNTs composites is obviously higher than that of pure iPP, which slightly increases with the increase of TMB‐5 concentration, accompanying with the transition of its polymorphic crystallization behavior. The results of non‐isothermal crystallization and melting behavior suggested that the cooling rate and end temperature of cooling (T_end) are important factors in determining the proportion and thermal stability of β‐phase: Lower cooling rate favors the formation of less amount of β‐phase with higher thermal stability, while higher cooling rate encourages the formation of higher proportion of β‐phase with lower thermal stability. The T_end = 100°C can eliminate the β–α recrystallization during the subsequent heating and therefore enhance the thermal stability of the β‐phase. By properly selecting TMB‐5 concentration, cooling rate and T_end, high β‐phase proportion of 88.9% of the sample was obtained. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.