Synthesis and Characterization of Hydrophilic Trityl Radical TFO for Biomedical and Biophysical Applications

Tetrathiatriarylmethyl (TAM, trityl) radicals have found wide applications as spin probes/labels for EPR spectroscopy and imaging, and as polarizing agents for dynamic nuclear polarization. The high hydrophilicity of TAM radicals is essential for their biomedical applications. However, the synthesis of hydrophilic TAM radicals (e.g., OX063) is extremely challenging and has only been reported in the patent literature, to date. Herein, an efficient synthesis of a highly water-soluble TAM radical bis(8-carboxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylbenzo[1,2-d:4,5-d′]bis([1,3]dithiol-4-yl)-mono-(8-carboxyl-2,2,6,6-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d′]bis([1,3]dithiol-4-yl)methyl (TFO), which contains four additional hydroxylethyl groups, relative to the Finland trityl radical CT-03, is reported. Similar to OX063, TFO exhibits excellent properties, including high water solubility in phosphate buffer, low log P, low pK_a, long relaxation times, and negligible binding with bovine serum albumin. On the other hand, TFO has a sharper EPR line and higher O₂ sensitivity than those of OX063. Therefore, in combination with its facile synthesis, TFO should find wide applications in magnetic resonance related fields and this synthetic approach would shed new light on the synthesis of other hydrophilic TAM radicals.     

Temperature‐dependent phase‐segregation behavior and antifouling performance of UV‐curable methacrylated PDMS/PEG coatings

Controllable phase segregation adjustment for immiscible polymer blends has always been tough, which hinders the development of amphiphilic antifouling coatings from more accessible blends. Herein, methacrylated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS‐MA) was synthesized and mixed with poly(ethylene glycol)methylether methacrylate (PEG‐MA). It was interestingly discovered that these PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA blends displayed upper critical solution temperatures (UCST) due to thermo‐induced conformational change of PEG‐MA and the UCST changed with PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA mass ratios. Micro‐/nano‐phase segregation, nanophase segregation, or homogenous morphology were therefore achieved. These PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA blends with different mass ratios were UV‐cured under varying temperatures to fabricate coatings. Their surface morphology and wettability are readily adjusted by phase segregation. For the first time, highly hydrophilic surface was achieved for coatings with microphase segregation because of the exposure of PEG‐rich domains, which exhibited an enhanced protein resistance against bovine serum albumin (BSA). Anti‐bacterial performance (Shewanella loihica) was also observed for these PDMS/PEG coatings. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1612–1623     

Thermoresponsive polymersome from a double hydrophilic block copolymer

The article describes synthesis and thermally triggered self‐assembly of a Poly (ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly (N‐insopropylacrylamide) (PEO‐b‐PNIPAm) in aqueous medium. At rt, the polymer remains as unimer, however, at lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PNIPAm (32 °C), it forms a rather large undefined aggregate which at slightly elevated temperature (～40 °C) converges to well defined polymersome structure (Critical aggregation concentration = 0.45 mg/mL) with hydrodynamic diameter of 40–50 nm. By lowering the temperature, initial swelling of the compact vesicle followed by reversible disassembly to unimer was noticed. The polymersome exhibits encapsulation ability to a hydrophilic dye Calcein which can be spontaneously released by lowering the temperature below cloud point. Likewise a hydrophobic dye namely 8‐Anilino‐1‐naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) can also be encapsulated and released by thermal trigger. Detail photoluminescence studies reveal ANS dye can be used as a generalized probe molecule for detecting LCST of a thermoresponsive polymer by “fluorescence on” above LCST even by cursory observation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2444–2451     

亲水性两性离子聚合物刷的构象与结构

本文应用分子场理论,研究暴露于水蒸气中的亲水性两性离子聚合物(HP)刷的构象与结构.理论模型考虑HP-水(P-W)氢键和水-水(W-W)氢键效应,以及HP单体之间的偶极-偶极相互作用.研究发现,P-W与W-W氢键决定着HP的水合性,P-W氢键形成,会诱导HP刷溶胀.我们通过考察HP单体间的偶极-偶极相互作用发现,随着偶极-偶极相互作用增强,HP链在垂直培基表面沿着链方向,形成了结节状结构.这是由于HP单体之间的偶极-偶极静电吸引作用导致单体间汇聚结节,这种结节在刷内产生了较强的排斥体积作用,因此,这种HP刷具有抗污性能.在较高的接枝密度环境下,由于HP链间单体之间的偶极-偶极静电吸引作用,会形成链间单体-单体的结节,在刷内形成结节网络状凝胶结构,这种结构的出现,会使得HP刷呈现极强的抗污性.另外,当体系中水蒸气浓度增加、水合相互作用增强时,增加的P-W氢键将平衡HP单体之间的偶极-偶极相互作用,使得结节解开,聚合物链伸展.我们的理论结果符合实验观测,由此表明,P-W氢键效应,以及HP单体之间的偶极-偶极相互作用决定着HP刷的构象转变和结构特性,刷内出现的两性离子聚合物链内单体间的结节和链间单体结节状凝胶结构,是两性离子聚合物刷呈现较强抗污性的本质特性.     

聚合物结构对包膜缓释肥缓释性能的影响

研发和使用缓控释肥能有效解决普通肥料利用率低以及由于化肥使用过量而引起的环境问题。聚合物包膜型缓控释肥是缓控释肥中的一种,影响其缓释性能的因素如环境因素、包膜厚度、加工工艺等,前人已研究较多。聚合物结构对于缓释性能的影响也很重要,而这方面研究较少。本文主要讨论了聚合物结晶性、分子亲疏水性、分子链柔顺性、交联等结构因素对缓释性能的影响。深入研究聚合物结构对缓释性能的影响有助于缓控释材料的创新;能为聚合物包膜材料的设计、聚合物缓控释肥的研发及生产提供一定的理论依据。     

Characterization of a highly stable zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction chromatography stationary phase based on hybrid organic–inorganic particles

We have characterized a sulfobetaine stationary phase based on 1.7 μm ethylene-bridged hybrid organic–inorganic particles, which is intended for use in hydrophilic interaction chromatography. The efficiency of a column packed with this material was determined as a function of flow rate, demonstrating a minimum reduced plate height of 2.4. The batch-to-batch reproducibility was assessed using the separation of a mixture of acids, bases, and neutrals. We compared the retention and selectivity of the hybrid sulfobetaine stationary phase to that of several benchmark materials. The hybrid sulfobetaine material gave strong retention for polar neutrals and high selectivity for methyl groups, hydroxy groups, and configurational isomers. Large differences in cation and anion retention were observed among the columns. We characterized the acid and base stability of the hybrid sulfobetaine stationary phase, using accelerated tests at pH 1.3 and 11.0, both at 70°C. The results support a recommended pH range of 2–10. We also investigated the performance of columns packed with this material for metal-sensitive analytes, comparing conventional stainless steel column hardware to hardware that incorporates hybrid surface technology to mitigate interactions with metal surfaces. Compared to the conventional columns, the hybrid surface technology columns showed a greatly improved peak shape.     

Hydrophilic interaction LC–MS/MS method to avoid endogenous interference in the analysis of 4-hydroxy isoleucine from dietary supplementation of fenugreek

4-Hydroxy isoleucine is one of the potent hypoglycemic active constituents of fenugreek seeds. A method capable of reducing biological interferences is required for bioavailability studies. An isocratic separation of 4-hydroxy isoleucine from endogenous interferences was achieved in ZIC-cHILIC column using 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile (20:80, % v/v) pumped at 0.5 ml/min. Quantification was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode using the transitions of m/z 148.1→102.1 and m/z 276.1→142.2 for 4-hydroxy isoleucine and homatropine (as internal standard), respectively. After full method validation, 4-hydroxy isoleucine levels in human plasma and commercial fenugreek formulations were determined. This method showed good linearity in the range of 50–2000 ng/mL. Intra- and interday accuracies were in the range of 90.64–109.0% and precision was <4.82% CV. The mean (SD) plasma concentration of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in healthy individuals at 2 h after oral administration of fenugreek tablet was found to be 1590 (260) ng/mL. Half of marketed formulations were found to contain <0.05% of 4-hydroxy isoleucine content. We developed a rapid hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for analysis of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in human plasma. This method can be applied directly to conduct the clinical pharmacokinetics studies of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in human population.     

双功能改性的T型分子筛膜用于有机溶剂脱水

将3-氨丙基三乙氧基硅烷（APTES）引入到T型分子筛膜表面,用以修饰多晶膜合成过程中产生的缺陷。X射线衍射、场发射扫描电子显微镜、X射线光电子能谱和FT-IR等方法的表征结果显示,APTES通过“键合”的形式被成功地修饰到膜表面上。APTES层起到2个作用：一是提高膜的亲水性;二是减少膜层的缺陷。将修饰后的膜应用在348 K、90%的异丙醇水溶液的脱水时,该膜表现出比较高的分离因子和通量。该方法重复性良好,5个修饰后的膜样品的选择性平均增加了大约8倍（从359±23增加到2 934±183）,而渗透通量仅仅从（3.52±0.10） kg·m^-2·h^-1降低到（3.06±0.14） kg·m^-2·h^-1（减少13.07%）。在363 K下,修饰的膜经过100 h的连续测试,膜渗透测得的水含量均可达到99.50%以上,表明修饰后的膜性能较稳定。     

亲水/反相二维制备液相色谱法分离纯化络石藤中的化学成分

建立了亲水/反相二维制备液相色谱(Pre-2D-HILIC/RPLC)分离纯化络石藤中化学成分的分析方法。络石藤药材经醇提、活性炭脱色后用反相固相萃取柱除去色素和强极性物质,最终得到干燥的浅黄色粉末。一维亲水色谱选择Click XIon色谱柱(250 mm×20 mm,10μm)作为固定相,水和乙腈作为流动相,进行梯度洗脱,以紫外触发模式收集馏分,共得到15个组分。二维反相色谱选择C18色谱柱(250 mm×20 mm,5μm)作为固定相,水和乙腈作为流动相,进行梯度洗脱,最终得到14个高纯度化合物,并通过质谱和核磁共振对其进行确认。实验结果表明,该法具有良好的正交选择性,可以有效提高分离度和峰容量,对于分离络石藤等复杂样品具有重要意义。     

亲水相互作用色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱法测定肝组织中羟脯氨酸

采用亲水相互作用色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱系统,建立了肝组织中胶原蛋白水解物羟脯氨酸(Hyp)的快速定量检测方法。将正常及四氯化碳肝纤维化模型小鼠的肝组织样品酸水解,经过滤、稀释后,采用Hypersil GOLD HILIC色谱柱(100 mm×2.1 mm,3μm)分离,以水-乙腈(28∶72,v/v)为流动相进行等度洗脱,最后用配有电喷雾离子源的四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱在正离子模式下进行检测。结果表明,Hyp在0.78~100.00μg/L范围内呈良好的线性关系,相关系数(R2)为0.998 3,方法的定量限为0.78μg/L,样品加标回收率为97.4%~100.9%,相对标准偏差为1.4%~2.0%(n=6)。此外,该方法与传统的氯胺T法进行比较,发现两种方法的检测结果相关性良好,Pearson相关系数为0.927;较氯胺T法,该法具有操作简便、准确度高的优点。该方法可用于肝组织中Hyp的快速定量分析。