Egg white as a natural and safe biomaterial for enhanced cancer therapy

The last few decades have witnessed the emergence of a very large variety of engineered nanomaterials. However, it is far from to meet the growing clinical demand. Actually, nature itself is an excellent nanotechnologist, and provides us with a range of wonderful materials, from inorganic particles found in non-life bodies to biofilms, like platelets, erythrocyte membranes, produced by many bacteria or cells. These nanomaterials are entirely natural, and not surprisingly, there is a growing interest in the development of natural nanoproducts. Native components-inspired biomaterials have gained considerable attention owing to their safety and functions. In this study, egg white was developed as drug carrier to load PTX by a green and simple one-pot method, and systematic characterization was completed. The results indicated that PTX@EW NPs possess excellent biocompatibility, enhanced tumor targeting capability, effectively reducing the toxic side effects of PTX. The obviously enhanced antitumor effect further confirmed EW was a highly prospective biomaterial in the nano-carrier industry.     

Boron-Doped PdCuAu Nanospine Assembly as an Efficient Electrocatalyst toward Formic Acid Oxidation

Control of the composition and morphology of Pd-based electrocatalysts is a promising strategy for the development of efficient direct formic acid fuel cells. Herein, a two-step method is presented for the design of B-doped PdCuAu nanospine assemblies (B-PdCuAu NAs) using NaBH₄ as the boron dopant. The boron content can be tailored easily by tuning the reaction time, and an optimal boron content is beneficial to promote the formic acid oxidation reaction. Such B-PdCuAu NAs exhibit superior mass and specific activities to commercial Pd black and PdCuAu NAs in alkaline solution. The excellent catalytic performance of B-PdCuAu NAs may arise from the increase in surface active sites and the electronic effect of boron modification. This work provides a facile synthesis of the B-doped metallic catalysts and highlights the boron modification in improving their performance as anode electrocatalysts for fuel cells.     

Impedance measurements on QLED devices: analysis of high-frequency loop in terms of material properties

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to study red and green quantum-dot light-emitting diodes devices. The high-frequency loop is interpreted in terms of the thickness, dielectric constant, and resistivity distribution of the hole-injection layer. The analysis employed the device capacitance obtained from a measurement model analysis, the film thickness measured by scanning electron microscopy, and an interpretation of the impedance based on a power-law model. Impedance measurements performed on hole-transport–only devices yielded results that were consistent with the interpretation of the high-frequency capacitive loop in terms of the properties of the hole-injection layer.

     

SYNTHESES,CRYSTAL STRUCTURES AND UREASE INHIBITORY ACTIVITIES OF ZnII AND NiII COMPLEXES DERIVED FROM 4,4′-DIMETHOXY-2,2′-(PROPANE-1,3- DIYLDIIMINODIMETHYLENE)DIPHENOL

Journal of Structural Chemistry - Two new zinc(II) and nickel(II) complexes, [Zn2L(μ2-η1:η1-CH3COO)(μ2-η1:η2-CH3COO)]n (1) and...     

Improved Safety and Anti-Glioblastoma Efficacy of CAT3-Encapsulated SMEDDS through Metabolism Modification

13a-(S)-3-pivaloyloxyl-6,7-dimethoxyphenanthro(9,10-b)-indolizidine (CAT3) is a novel oral anti-glioma pro-drug with a potent anti-tumor effect against temozolomide-resistant glioma. 13a(S)-3-hydroxyl-6,7-dimethoxyphenanthro(9,10-b)-indolizidine (PF403) is the active in vivo lipase degradation metabolite of CAT3. Both CAT3 and PF403 can penetrate the blood–brain barrier to cause an anti-glioma effect. However, PF403, which is produced in the gastrointestinal tract and plasma, causes significant gastrointestinal side effects, limiting the clinical application of CAT3. The objective of this paper was to propose a metabolism modification for CAT3 using a self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS), in order to reduce the generation of PF403 in the gastrointestinal tract and plasma, as well as increase the bioavailability of CAT3 in vivo and the amount of anti-tumor substances in the brain. Thus, a CAT3-loaded self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (CAT3-SMEDDS) was prepared, and its physicochemical characterization was systematically carried out. Next, the pharmacokinetic parameters of CAT3 and its metabolite in the rats’ plasma and brain were measured. Furthermore, the in vivo anti-glioma effects and safety of CAT3-SMEDDS were evaluated. Finally, Caco-2 cell uptake, MDCK monolayer cellular transfer, and the intestinal lymphatic transport mechanisms of SMEDDS were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Results show that CAT3-SMEDDS was able to form nanoemulsion droplets in artificial gastrointestinal fluid within 1 min, displaying an ideal particle size (15–30 nm), positive charge (5–9 mV), and controlled release behavior. CAT3-SMEDDS increased the membrane permeability of CAT3 by 3.9-fold and promoted intestinal lymphatic transport. Hence, the bioavailability of CAT3 was increased 79% and the level of its metabolite, PF403, was decreased to 49%. Moreover, the concentrations of CAT3 and PF403 were increased 2–6-fold and 1.3–7.2-fold, respectively, in the brain. Therefore, the anti-glioma effect in the orthotopic models was improved with CAT3-SMEDDS compared with CAT3 in 21 days. Additionally, CAT3-SMEDDS reduced the gastrointestinal side effects of CAT3, such as severe diarrhea, necrosis, and edema, and observed less inflammatory cell infiltration in the gastrointestinal tract, compared with the bare CAT3. Our work reveals that, through the metabolism modification effect, SMEDDS can improve the bioavailability of CAT3 and reduce the generation of PF403 in the gastrointestinal tract and plasma. Therefore, it has the potential to increase the anti-glioma effect and reduce the gastrointestinal side effects of CAT3 simultaneously.     

基于ESIPT机理检测Al3+荧光探针分子结构和电子光谱的理论研究

本文应用密度泛函理论（DFT）和含时密度泛函理论（TD-DFT）方法，研究了具有激发态分子内质子转移（ESIPT）特性的3-羟基黄酮（3HF）及其两种氰基和氨基取代衍生物（3HF-CY和3HF-AM）作为水溶液中Al3+离子检测的荧光探针分子结构和电子光谱性质. 计算得到了与ESIPT过程相关的键长、键角以及势能曲线，模拟计算了单独分子和分子@Al3+复合物的吸收和荧光光谱. 结果表明，氰基或氨基的引入均会抑制3HF的质子在基态（S0）或激发态（S1）的转移. 而从得到的吸收光谱可以看出，在3HF中引入吸电子基团氰基可以引起其吸收光谱的红移，而给电子基团氨基的引入则出现相反现象. 此外，与3HF-AM的荧光光谱相比，3HF-AM@Al3+复合物发生了75.88 nm的蓝移，由此推测3HF-AM与水中的Al3+反应后，在光激发下溶液荧光会由绿色转变为紫色，表明3HF-AM分子可以作为有效检测水中Al3+的荧光探针.     

蓝宝石基底上制备蠕虫状ZnO及强紫外发光性能研究

由于光源的相关色温与色偏差计算一直是备受研究者们关注的问题，故提出了一种基于三角形法、抛物线法和三次多项式法的高效混合光源相关色温与色偏差计算方法。在色温为2000～20000 K, 1 K步长的18001条等温线上，并在色偏差范围为-0.03～0.03内以0.015间隔选取90005个测试样本，测试并比较了所提方法、Ohno方法与Robertson方法的精确度。测试结果表明，所提方法的性能优于Ohno方法与Robertson方法，且其色温和色偏差的最大绝对误差分别为0.3858 K和3.33×10^-6,故所提方法可被直接用于LED光谱优化与设计中。     

Pyridinium-Substituted Tetraphenylethylenes Functionalized with Alkyl Chains as Autophagy Modulators for Cancer Therapy

Tuning autophagy in a controlled manner could facilitate cancer therapy but it remains challenging. Pyridinium-substituted tetraphenylethylene salts (PTPE 1 — 3 ), able to target mitochondria and disrupt autophagy after forming complexes with albumin, are reported. Mitochondrion affinity and autophagy-inducing activity are improved by prolonging the length of alkyl chains in PTPE 1 – 3 . PTPE 1 – 3 demonstrate proautophagic activity and a mitophagy blockage effect. Failure of autophagosome–lysosome fusion in downstream autophagy flux results in cancer cell death. Moreover, fast formation of complexes of PTPE 1 – 3 with albumin in blood can facilitate biomimetic delivery and deep tumor penetration. Efficient tumor accumulation and effective tumor suppression are successfully demonstrated with in vitro and in vivo studies. PTPE 1 – 3 salts exhibit dual functionality: they target and image mitochondria because of aggregation-induced emission effects and they are promising for cancer therapy.