Encapsulation of Mithramycin in Liposomes in Response to a Transmembrane Gradient of Calcium Ions

The recent discovery that mithramycin(MTR) in aqueous solution forms a high affinity[Ca(MTR)4]2- complex led us to the idea thatCa2+-loaded liposomes might be able to accumulateMTR in their aqueous internal compartment. Wetherefore investigated the uptake of MTR into largeunilamellar vesicles (LUV) containing NaCl orCaCl2. Our data show that MTR was efficientlyaccumulated within LUV made fromdipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol, onlywhen the liposomes contained Ca2+ and wereresuspended in a Ca2+-free medium. A drugencapsulation efficiency as high as 60% was achieved,at a drug to lipid molar ratio of 1/18. The circulardichroism and fluorescence excitation spectra ofliposome-encapsulated MTR (LMTR) displayed strongsimilarities with those of the [Ca(MTR)4]2-complex. LMTR was found to be stable, when submittedto conditions that destabilized the[Ca(MTR)4]2- complex. Upon dilution andincubation for 24 h at 37 °C, MTR-containingliposomes did not release a significant amount of MTR.These properties were attributed to the formation ofa high affinity complex between MTR and Ca2+inthe aqueous compartment of liposomes.     

Dielectric and infrared properties of SrTiO3 single crystal doped by 3d （V,Mn, Fe,Ni） and 4f （Nd,Sm, Er） ions

In this study, the effects of doping by 3d （V, Mn, Fe, Ni） and 4f （Nd, Sm, Er） ions on dielectric and infrared properties of SrTiO3 （STO） single crystals are investigated. It is well known that doping of the SrTiO3 can change the dielectric properties of the STO from an insulator to an n-type semiconductor, and even to a metallic conductor. Dielectric and infrared （IR） properties of the undoped STO and doped STO single crystals are analyzed using dielectric spectroscopy （80 kHz-5 MHz）, transmission （200 cm^-1-4000 cm^-1）, and reflection spectroscopy （50 cm^-1-2000 cm^-1）. It is found that doping by the 3d ions reduces the value of dielectric permittivity, but the trend of temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity remains almost unchanged. On the other hand, dielectric spectroscopy measurements for samples doped by 4f ions show the anomalous behaviors of the dielectric permittivity at temperatures around the temperature of the structural phase transition. There are two fractures of temperature dependences of inverse dielectric permittivity εr^-1 （T）. Transmittance spectroscopy measurements show that there are differences in the shape of the spectrum in the mid-IR region between the undoped STO and the one doped by 4f ions. The differences in the reflectance spectrum between the STO：Nd and STO are analyzed in detail.     

Total synthesis of (±)-cycloclavine and (±)-5-epi-cycloclavine

Novel routes to the naturally occurring indole alkaloid cycloclavine and its unnatural C(5)-epimer are described. Key features include the rapid construction of the heterocyclic core segments by two Diels-Alder reactions. An indole annulation was accomplished by a late-stage intramolecular Diels-Alder furan cycloaddition, and a methylenecyclopropane dienophile was used for a stereoselective intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloaddition to give the cyclopropa[c]indoline building block present in cycloclavine.     

On the theory of slowing down gracefully

We discuss the transport of a tracer particle through the Bose?CEinstein condensate of a Bose gas. The particle interacts with the atoms in the Bose gas through two-body interactions. In the limiting regime where the particle is very heavy and the Bose gas is very dense, but very weakly interacting (??mean-field limit??), the dynamics of this system corresponds to classical Hamiltonian dynamics. We show that, in this limit, the particle is decelerated by emission of gapless modes into the condensate (Cerenkov radiation). For an ideal gas, the particle eventually comes to rest. In an interacting Bose gas, the particle is decelerated until its speed equals the propagation speed of the Goldstone modes of the condensate. This is a model of ??Hamiltonian friction??. It is also of interest in connection with the phenomenon of ??decoherence?? in quantum mechanics. This note is based on work we have carried out in collaboration with D Egli, I M Sigal and A Soffer.     

Preparation of cellulosic fibers with biological activity by immobilization of trypsin on periodate oxidized viscose fibers

In this study, a biologically active fibrous material was designed by immobilizing trypsin on viscose fibers. The viscose yarn was first oxidized with sodium periodate to produce aldehyde groups and then employed as a support for subsequent immobilization of trypsin through bovine serum albumin. The oxidation by sodium periodate caused changes in the chemical and physical properties of the modified yarn samples, which were evaluated by determining the aldehyde group content, fineness and tensile strength of yarn. The viscose fibers oxidized under the most severe conditions (0.4 % NaIO₄, 360 min) exhibited the maximum amount of introduced aldehyde groups (1.284 mmol/g), but also the highest decrease in tensile strength. The trypsin activity was assayed with N-α-benzoyl-DL-arginine p-nitroanilide hydrochloride, whereas the amount of bound trypsin was determined by Bradford method. Trypsin immobilized on oxidized viscose yarn retained 97.3 and 83.8 % of the initial activity over 60 days of storage at 4 and 25 °C, respectively, and remained firmly attached to the carrier. The potential application of obtained bioactive fibers is in the treatment of wounds.