Reviving chloroquine for anti-SARS-CoV-2 treatment with cucurbit[7]uril-based supramolecular formulation

The wide-spreading SARS-CoV-2 virus has put the world into boiling water for more than a year, however pharmacological therapies to act effectively against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain elusive. Chloroquine (CQ), an antimalarial drug, was found to exhibit promising antiviral activity in vitro and in vivo at a high dosage, thus CQ was approved by the FDA for the emergency use authorization (EUA) in the fight against COVID-19 in the US, but later was revoked the EUA status due to the severe clinical toxicity. Herein, we show that supramolecular formulation of CQ by a macrocyclic host, curcurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), reduced its non-specific toxicity and improved its antiviral activity against coronavirus, working in synergy with CB[7]. CB[7] was found to form 1:1 host-guest complexes with CQ, with a binding constant of ∼10⁴ L/mol. The CQ-CB[7] formulation decreased the cytotoxicity of CQ against Vero E6 and L-02 cell lines. In particular, the cytotoxicity of CQ (60 μmol/L) against both Vero E6 cell line and L-02 cell lines was completely inhibited in the presence of 300 μmol/L and 600 μmol/L CB[7], respectively. Furthermore, the CB[7] alone showed astonishing antiviral activity in SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cells and mouse hepatitis virus strain A59 (MHV-A59) infected N2A cells, and synergistically improved the antiviral activity of CQ-CB[7], suggesting that CB[7]-based CQ formulation has a great potential as a safe and effective antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronavirus.     

固相烧结法制备锂离子电池正极材料Li2FeP2O7及其电化学性能研究

介绍了一种先冷冻干燥后固相烧结制备正极材料Li₂FeP₂O₇的方法. 利用X射线衍射(XRD)、 扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、 透射电子显微镜(TEM)和傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)对材料的组成和形态进行表征, 并通过循环伏安曲线(CV)和电化学阻抗谱(EIS)研究了Li₂FeP₂O₇材料的电化学性能. 研究发现, 合成Li₂FeP₂O₇的最佳温度为590 ℃, 此温度下反应较完全且产物杂质较少, 1.6C倍率下的放电比容量达到55 mA·h·g^?1, 明显高于其它温度下合成样品的放电比容量. 该温度下合成的Li₂FeP₂O₇还具有低阻抗和较大的交换电流密度, 说明这种合成方式有利于提高锂离子在Li₂FeP₂O₇中的扩散.     

具有光控氧空缺的钼掺杂Bi5O7Br纳米片用于光催化氮气合成氨

氨(NH3)作为合成燃料、化肥和潜在能源载体的重要前体,是现代化学工业中最重要的化学品之一.工业中主要通过高能耗的Haber-Bosch工艺在高温高压下将氮气和氢气转化为NH3,而原料氢气由天然气蒸汽获得,因而不仅消耗大量能源,而且导致温室气体二氧化碳的大量排放,对环境造成危害.光催化固氮以光能为驱动力,以水为质子源,为合成NH3提供了一种温和、绿色和可持续的方法.然而,传统固氮催化剂具有与N2结合弱、成键难以及电子转移效率低的缺点.为了克服上述问题,在催化剂中引入氧空缺和过渡金属作为给电子中心和活性位点的策略被广泛研究.本文以半导体Bi5O7Br纳米片作为研究对象,通过在水热合成过程中添加Na2MoO4前驱盐在Bi5O7Br中掺杂钼元素,合成了不同摩尔含量的钼掺杂Bi5O7Br(Mo-Bi5O7Br)纳米片,并将其应用于光催化N2还原反应,发现Mo-Bi5O7Br的光催化固氮性能显著优于空白Bi5O7Br的催化性能.扫描电镜、透射电镜、能量色散X射线元素映射以及X射线光电子能谱的结果表明,掺杂过程不会影响Bi5O7Br纳米片的晶相和形貌,掺杂后钼元素均匀地分布在Bi5O7Br纳米片晶格中.采用紫外可见漫反射光谱、电子自旋共振光谱、氮气程序升温脱附谱以及光电化学测试等方法研究了Mo-Bi5O7Br相较于空白Bi5O7Br纳米片在光催化N2还原反应中催化性能提升的原因.UV-vis DRS结果表明,钼掺杂对Bi5O7Br可见光吸收能力具有增强作用.以催化NH3产率最高的Mo-Bi5O7Br-1(Mo摩尔百分含量为1％)为研究样本,EPR结果表明,在黑暗条件下,只有Mo-Bi5O7Br-1样品可以检测到明显的表面氧空位(OVs)信号;在光照条件下,Bi5O7Br和Mo-Bi5O7Br-1两种样品都出现OVs的信号峰,但同等光照时间下的Mo-Bi5O7Br-1具有更高的信号强度.此外,OVs信号会随着光照时间的延长逐渐增强;当移除光源后,信号强度逐渐降低.这表明Mo-Bi5O7Br-1在光照下会产生更高浓度的表面光控OVs.N2-TPD结果表明,光控OVs作为活性位点促进催化剂对N2的吸附.关闭光源后,OVs被环境中的水或氧气中的氧原子重新填充,避免了OVs易被氧化而导致反应失活的缺点,有助于保持Mo-Bi5O7Br-1催化N2还原反应的活性和稳定性.光电化学表征结果表明,Mo-Bi5O7Br-1中的光生载流子的分离和迁移效率明显提高.以上结果表明,掺杂过渡金属钼有助于Bi5O7Br纳米片表面光控OVs的生成,光控OVs作为活性位点提升了Bi5O7Br吸附和活化N2的能力,钼掺杂和光控OVs协同提高Bi5O7Br内部光生载流子的分离迁移效率,增强Bi5O7Br光催化固氮合成氨的反应性能.     

Inhibitor Development against p7 Channel in Hepatitis C Virus

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is the key cause of chronic and severe liver diseases. The recent direct-acting antiviral agents have shown the clinical success on HCV-related diseases, but the rapid HCV mutations of the virus highlight the sustaining necessity to develop new drugs. p7, the viroporin protein from HCV, has been sought after as a potential anti-HCV drug target. Several classes of compounds, such as amantadine and rimantadine have been testified for p7 inhibition. However, the efficacies of these compounds are not high. Here, we screened some novel p7 inhibitors with amantadine scaffold for the inhibitor development. The dissociation constant (Kd) of 42 ARD-series compounds were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) titrations. The efficacies of the two best inhibitors, ARD87 and ARD112, were further confirmed using viral production assay. The binding mode analysis and binding stability for the strongest inhibitor were deciphered by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. These ARD-series compounds together with 49 previously published compounds were further analyzed by molecular docking. Key pharmacophores were identified among the structure-similar compounds. Our studies suggest that different functional groups are highly correlated with the efficacy for inhibiting p7 of HCV, in which hydrophobic interactions are the dominant forces for the inhibition potency. Our findings provide guiding principles for designing higher affinity inhibitors of p7 as potential anti-HCV drug candidates.     

Binding Characteristics Study of DNA based Aptamers for E. coli O157:H7

E. coli O157:H7 is a pathogenic bacterium producing verotoxins that could lead to serious complications such as hemolytic uremia syndrome. Fast detection of such pathogens is important. For rapid detection, aptamers are quickly gaining traction as alternative biorecognition molecules besides conventional antibodies. Several DNA aptamers have been selected for E. coli O157:H7. Nonetheless, there has not been a comparative study of the binding characteristics of these aptamers. In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of binding characteristics including binding affinity (K_d) and binding capacity (B_max) of DNA-based aptamers for E. coli O157:H7 using qPCR. Our results show that aptamer E18R has the highest binding capacity to E. coli 157:H7 and the highest specificity over non-pathogenic E. coli strains K12 and DH5α. Our study also finds that the common biotin-tag modification at 5′ end typically changes the binding capacity significantly. For most of the selected aptamers, the binding capacity after a biotin-tag modification decreases. There exists a discrepancy in the binding capability between the selected aptamer and the aptamer used for detection. Our study also shows that a lower concentration of Mg²⁺ ions in the binding buffer leads to a decrease in the binding capacity of E17F and E18R, while it does not affect the binding capacity of S1 and EcoR1.     

用于宽谱带发射白色发光二极管的黄色荧光粉Sr8MgAl(PO4)7∶xEu2+的制备及发光性能

通过高温固相反应合成了一系列宽谱带发射黄色荧光粉Sr_8MgAl(PO_4)_7∶x Eu~(2+)(SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)),并对其物质结构、发光性能及其在白色发光二极管(WLED)领域的应用进行了探究。X射线衍射(XRD)测试结果表明,SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)系列荧光粉具有单斜结构和C2/m空间群,激活剂Eu~(2+)离子能够很好地进入SMAP基质中并占据Sr~(2+)离子的晶格位点。漫反射光谱分析显示SMAP基质属于宽带隙材料,带隙宽度为3.60 e V。此外,SMAP∶x Eu~(2+)具有较宽的激发范围(280～500 nm),对应于Eu~(2+)离子的4f~7→4f~65d~1跃迁;在380 nm近紫外光激发下,呈现出450～800 nm的多发光中心的非对称黄光发射,发射峰位于590 nm处。基于高斯多峰拟合结果,得到3个发光中心,分别位于528、600和680 nm。最后,将已制备的黄色荧光粉SMAP∶0.05Eu~(2+)与商业化蓝粉Ba Mg Al_(10)O_(17)∶Eu~(2+)混合涂覆到400 nm芯片上制得色温较好(3 344 K)、显色指数较高(90.1)的WLED。     

一种检测CO32-比率荧光探针的合成及其在细胞成像中的应用

本文设计开发了一种以2,6-二甲酰基对甲苯酚为母体的新型荧光探针HMI,可用于高效识别EtOH-H₂O (8/2, v/v, HEPES 10 mM, pH =7.4)体系中的CO_3^2-。HMI在660 nm处显示发射带,加入CO_3^2-后,在600 nm的等吸收点激发时,原来在660 nm处的荧光淬灭,而以540 nm为中心的新发射带荧光显着增加,为比率型荧光探针。HMI对CO_3^2-表现出高选择性且具有较强的抗干扰能力。此外,荧光探针HMI对CO_3^2-荧光响应的检测限较低,可达到3.938×10^_-6 M。更具有意义的是,HMI探针对CO_3^2-的检测能够在实际水样中起到很好的应用,而且细胞成像研究表明,HMI可用于活体MCF-7细胞中CO_3^2-的成像。     

7-氮杂吲哚N-氧化物的区域选择性脱氧硫醚化反应

本文开发了一种3-硫代-7-氮杂吲哚衍生物的合成方法。研究发现,在30%的I2的催化作用下,磺酰肼和7-氮杂吲哚N-氧化物在正丁醇中110 °C条件下反应以53%-86%的产率得到硫醚化产物。该反应有较好的区域选择性和底物适应性。并具有反应时间较短,绿色环保和操作简便等优点。     

Exploration of the mechanism of Zisheng Shenqi decoction against gout arthritis using network pharmacology

BackgroundIn this study, the network pharmacological methods were used to predict the target of effective components of compounds in Zisheng Shenqi Decoction (ZSD, or Nourishing Kidney Qi Decoction) in the treatment of gouty arthritis (GA).MethodThe main effective components and corresponding key targets of herbs in the ZSD were discerned through the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis (TCMSP), Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine (BATMAN-TCM) database. UniProt database and Swiss Target Prediction (STP) database was used to rectify and unify the target names and supply the target information. The targets related to GA were obtained by using GeneCards database. After we discovered the potential common targets between ZSD and GA, the interaction network diagram of “ZSD-component-GA-target” was constructed by Cytoscape software (Version 3.7.1). Subsequently, the Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of ZSD effective components-targets and GA-related targets was constructed by Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes Database (STRING). Bioconductor package “org.Hs.eg.db” and “cluster profiler” package were installed in R software (Version 3.6.0) which used for Gene Ontology analysis and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway enrichment analysis.Results146 components and 613 targets of 11 herbal medicines in the ZSD were got from TCMSP database and BATMAN-TCM database. 987 targets of GA were obtained from GeneCards database. After intersected and removed duplications, 132 common targets between ZSD and GA were screened out by Cytoscape software (Version 3.7.1). These common targets derived from 81 effective components of 146 components, such as quercetin, stigmasterol and kaempferol. They were closely related to anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti oxidative stress and the principal targets comprised of Purinergic receptor P2X, ligand-gated ion channel 7 (P2x7R), Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and IL-1β. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis by R software (Version 3.6.0) showed that the key target genes had close relationship with oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolic process and leukocyte migration in aspects of biological process, cell components and molecular function. It also indicated that ZSD could decrease inflammatory reaction, alleviate ROS accumulation and attenuate pain by regulating P2 × 7R and NOD like receptor signaling pathway of inflammatory reaction.ConclusionA total of 81 effective components and 132 common target genes between ZSD and GA were screened by network pharmacology. The PPI network, GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis suggested that ZSD can exerte anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects on the treatment of GA by reducing decreasing inflammatory reaction, alleviating ROS accumulation, and attenuating pain. The possible molecular mechanism of it mainly involved multiple components, multiple targets and multiple signaling pathways, which provided a comprehensive understanding for further study. In general, the network pharmacological method applied in this study provides an alternative strategy for the mechanism of ZSD in the treatment of GA.     

Zn-Induced Interactions Between SARS-CoV-2 orf7a and BST2/Tetherin

We present in this work a first X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy study of the interactions of Zn with human BST2/tetherin and SARS-CoV-2 orf7a proteins as well as with some of their complexes. The analysis of the XANES region of the measured spectra shows that Zn binds to BST2, as well as to orf7a, thus resulting in the formation of BST2-orf7a complexes. This structural information confirms the the conjecture, recently put forward by some of the present Authors, according to which the accessory orf7a (and possibly also orf8) viral protein are capable of interfering with the BST2 antiviral activity. Our explanation for this behavior is that, when BST2 gets in contact with Zn bound to the orf7a Cys₁₅ ligand, it has the ability of displacing the metal owing to the creation of a new disulfide bridge across the two proteins. The formation of this BST2-orf7a complex destabilizes BST2 dimerization, thus impairing the antiviral activity of the latter.