Development of an Organic Dye-Conjugated β-Diketonate-Europium Complex Luminescence Probe for Discrimination and Detection of Intracellular Biothiols

Small molecular biothiols, cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy) and glutathione (GSH), play important roles in organisms, and their concentration levels are indicative of some human diseases. Herein we report an organic dye-conjugated β-diketonate-Eu³⁺ complex, [Eu(NBD-keto)₃(DPBT)] (NBD-keto: 7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD)-conjugated to 1,1,1,2,2-pentafluoro-5-phenyl-3,5-pentanedionate through a “O” ether bond; DPBT: 2-(N,N-diethylanilin-4-yl)-4,6-bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)-1,3,5-triazine), which acts as a unique luminescent probe for detecting and discriminating biothiols. [Eu(NBD-keto)₃(DPBT)] itself is not luminescent due to intramolecular interactions between NBD and β-diketonate-Eu³⁺ moieties. Upon reaction with biothiols, the β-diketonate-Eu³⁺ complex [Eu(keto)₃(DPBT)] is generated, which emits long-lived red emission at 610 nm. Meanwhile, three biothiol-substituted NBD derivatives that exhibit different luminescence behaviors, green emissive (short-lived) NBD-NR (R=Cys or Hcy) at 540 nm and non-luminescent NBD-SR (R=GSH), are also generated. These luminescence response behaviors allow time-gated and steady-state luminescence modes to be combined for detecting total biothiols and discriminating GSH and Cys/Hcy. Using this probe, the quantitative detection and discrimination of GSH and Cys/Hcy in lysis solutions of HeLa cells were realized, which revealed the potential of the probe for biomedical applications.     

A Logic Fluorescent Chemosensor Based on Eu3+ Functionalized Cd-MOFs for Sensing Fe3+ and Cu2+ Synchronously

One of the most critical and yet unsolved issues is the effective monitoring of multiple heavy metal ions in complex systems through their specific function in fluorescence detection. In this work, luminescence-active cadmium base metal-organic frameworks (Cd-MOFs) based on the planar and rigid π-conjugated structure ligand benzo-(1,2;3,4;5,6)-tris (thiophene-2’-carboxylic acid) (H₃BTTC) was chosen. A series of sensing experiments demonstrated that the Cd-MOFs exhibits selective and sensitive response for Fe³⁺ and Eu³⁺ through fluorescence “turn off” and “antenna effect” respectively. In addition, the encapsulation of Eu³⁺ inside the Cd-MOFs (Eu³⁺@Cd-MOFs) led to an excellent probe with dual emission. To this end, a programmable fluorescence platform was developed to detect Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺, in which the emission peaks of both the ligand and Eu³⁺ are completely quenched by Fe³⁺. The ratiometric detection of Cu²⁺ leads to a decrease in Eu³⁺ emission, while the ligand emission remains stable. To demonstrate the strategy, the fluorescence (Output) of Cd-MOFs, Eu³⁺@Cd-MOFs, and the analytes (Eu³⁺, Fe³⁺, and Cu²⁺, input) achieved elementary Boolean logic operations (OR, NOR, AND) and they constitute a logic fluorescent chemosensor to analyze Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺ synchronously.     

Diastereoselective Synthesis of Pyrazolo[1,2-a][1,2,4]triazine Derivatives via Cross-1,3-dipolar Cyclizations of Azaoxyallyl Cations with N,N′-Cyclic Azomethine Imines

A cross-1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of α-halohydroxamates (in situ generated azaoxyallyl cations) with N,N′-cyclic azomethine imines was developed. The synthetic protocol provided facile and rapid access to pyrazolo[1,2-a][1,2,4]triazine derivatives in good yields and excellent diastereoselectivities under mild metal-free conditions.     

Matrix solid-phase dispersion combined with micro-fractionation bioactivity evaluation screening polymethoxylated flavones from Citrus peels

Polymethoxyflavones were a unique class of natural and safe flavonoids containing two or more methoxy groups, which were also the most abundant edible part in Citrus peel. The optimum condition in the process of selective extraction of polymethoxylated flavones from Citrus peel by matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) was as follows: SBA-15 as adsorbent, ethyl acetate as eluent, the mass ratio of adsorbent to sample 1:1, and the mixture of sample and adsorbent was ground for 3 min. Twelve antioxidants were successfully screened by micro-fractionation bioactivity evaluation assay, in which four of them were flavonoid glycosides, seven of them were polymethoxylated flavones, and one was phenylpropanoid. 1-sinapoly-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) was reported for the first time in Citrus peel. And antioxidant capacity of 1-sinapoly-β-D-glucopyranoside, 5, 7, 8, 3′, 4′, 5′-hexamethoxyflavone (6), hexamethoxyflavone (11), and 5, 6, 7, 4′-tetramethoxyflavone (7) were reported for the first time. Nobiletin (compound 8), 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 3′, 4′-heptamethoxyflavone (9) and tangeretin (10) were isolated and purified by countercurrent chromatography combined with preparative liquid chromatography. Antioxidant activity evaluation indicated that the three isolated polymethoxylated flavones owned similar antioxidant activity. This study indicated that MSPD combined with micro-fractionation bioactive evaluation was efficient in screening bioactive compounds for rapid extraction and effective pinpointing bioactive substances in natural products.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of Fully Substituted Cyclopentane‐Oxindoles through an Organocatalytic Triple Michael Domino Reaction

An efficient, highly stereoselective asymmetric synthesis of fully functionalized cyclopentanes bearing an oxindole moiety and several other functional groups in one pot has been developed. Key step is an organocatalytic triple Michael domino reaction forming three C?C bonds and six stereocenters, including a quaternary one. Starting from equimolar amounts of simple substrates, a high molecular complexity can be reached after a Wittig olefination in one pot. The new protocol can easily be scaled up to gram amounts.     

Stereochemical determination of tetrahydropyran-substituted xanthones from fungus Chaetomium murorum

Chaetoxanthone D (1), a new tetrahydropyran-substituted xanthone originated from polyketide pathway, together with the four known natural products chaetoxanthone C (2), alternariol methyl ether (3), alternariol (4) and 2,5-dimethyl-7-hydroxychromone (5) was isolated from a strain of Chaetomium murorum. The structures of these compounds were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were determined by using quantum chemical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations.     

Rational Design of a Humanized Glucagon‐Like Peptide‐1 Receptor Agonist Antibody

Bovine antibody BLV1H12 possesses a unique “stalk–knob” architecture in its ultralong heavy chain CDR3, allowing substitutions of the “knob” domain with protein agonists to generate functional antibody chimeras. We have generated a humanized glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) receptor agonist antibody by first introducing a coiled‐coil “stalk” into CDR3H of the antibody herceptin. Exendin‐4 (Ex‐4), a GLP‐1 receptor agonist, was then fused to the engineered stalk with flexible linkers, and a Factor Xa cleavage site was inserted immediately in front of Ex‐4 to allow release of the N‐terminus of the fused peptide. The resulting clipped herceptin–Ex‐4 fusion protein is more potent in vitro in activating GLP‐1 receptors than the Ex‐4 peptide. The clipped herceptin–Ex‐4 has an extended plasma half‐life of approximately four days and sustained control of blood glucose levels for more than a week in mice. This work provides a novel approach to the development of human or humanized agonist antibodies as therapeutics.     

Heterogeneous oxidation of cyclohexanone catalyzed by TS-1:Combined experimental and DFT studies

The reaction mechanism of the oxidation of cyclohexanone catalyzed by titanium silicate zeolite TS-1 using aqueous H2O2 as the oxidant was investigated by combining density function theory (DFT) calculations with experimental studies. DFT calculations showed that H2O2 was adsorbed and activated at the tetrahedral Ti sites. By taking into account the adsorption energy, molecular size, steric hindrance and structural information, a reaction mechanism of Baeyer-Villiger oxidation catalyzed by TS-1 that involves the activation of H2O2 was proposed. Experimental studies showed that the major products of cyclohexanone oxidation by H2O2 catalyzed by a hollow TS-1 zeolite wereε-carprolactone, 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid, and adipic acid. These products were analyzed by GC-MS and were in good agreement with the proposed mechanism. Our studies showed that the reaction mechanism on TS-1 zeolite was different from that on Sn-beta zeolite.     

热解二氧化钛/聚苯胺制备高效非贵金属氧还原电催化剂

为了克服传统Pt系催化剂价格昂贵、稳定性差的缺点,采用热解新型Ti O2/聚苯胺(PANI)复合物的方法合成了Ti O2/C催化剂.用扫描电子显微镜、X射线光电子能谱、X射线衍射、傅里叶变换红外光谱、拉曼光谱、透射电子显微镜、循环伏安法和线性扫描伏安法等方法研究了热处理和PANI复合比例对复合物的形貌、成键、晶相组成及氧还原性能的影响.结果表明,PANI与Ti O2间存在相互作用,可以抑制Ti O2的团聚和锐钛矿向金红石的转变.热处理制得Ti O2/C的氧还原活性随着PANI载体含量增加先升高后降低,PANI和Ti O2质量比为35/100时,催化剂的氧还原活性最高.同时,循环伏安和时间-电流曲线测试表明,已制备的复合材料在催化氧还原反应进行时具有较好的稳定性.     

Study on preparation and properties of polyether polytriazole elastomers

To explore the application of click chemistry in the field of elastomer materials, propargyl-terminated ethylene oxide-tetrahydrofuran copolymer(PTP(E-co-T)) was prepared from hydroxyl-terminated ethylene oxide-tetrahydrofuran copolymer(P(E-co-T)) by end-etherisation modification. FTIR and 13C-NMR results indicate that P(E-co-T)-terminated hydroxyl was etherified thoroughly, yielding the target product PTP(E-co-T), and the content of terminated alkynyl of PTP(E-co-T) was evaluated to be 0.428 mmol·g-1. Using a polyazide compound as a cross-linker, polytriazole elastomers with various functional molar ratio(R) values were prepared from PTP(E-co-T) by virtue of the Cu AAC reaction. Mechanical property tests indicate that with the increase in R, the modulus E and stress σb of the polytriazole elastomers first increase and subsequently decrease, whereas the strain first decreases and later increases. The mechanical properties of the polytriazole elastomers show a parabolic dependence on the R value. Near the stoichiometric ratio, E and σb show maxima and the strain εb shows a minimum. Swelling tests demonstrate that the apparent molecular weight of polytriazole elastomer strands also first decreases and subsequently increases. At the stoichiometric ratio, the network structure possesses strands with a minimum apparent molecular weight and a maximum apparent density. Dynamic mechanical analysis reveals that the polytriazole elastomers presented damping peaks at approximately-64 °C, corresponding to the glass transition of copolyether strands, and the elastomer exhibited the lowest dissipation factor tanδ at the stoichiometric ratio. Thermal analysis suggests that the weight-loss process of the polytriazole elastomer is characteristic of one-step decomposition, and the elastomer begins to decompose from polyether strands, not triazole groups.