Isoflavonoids from Astragalus membranaceus Hairy Roots

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

Bilirubin protects grafts against nonspecific inflammation-induced injury in syngeneic intraportal islet transplantation

Nonspecific inflammatory response is the major cause for failure of islet grafts at the early phase of intraportal islet transplantation (IPIT). Bilirubin, a natural product of heme catabolism, has displayed anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. The present study has demonstrated that bilirubin protected islet grafts by inhibiting nonspecific inflammatory response in a syngeneic rat model of IPIT. The inflammation-induced cell injury was mimicked by exposing cultured rat insulinoma INS-1 cells to cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α and IFN-γ) in in vitro assays. At appropriate lower concentrations, bilirubin significantly attenuated the reduced cell viability and enhanced cell apoptosis induced by cytokines, and protected the insulin secretory function of INS-1 cells. Diabetic inbred male Lewis rats induced by streptozotocin underwent IPIT at different islet equivalents (IEQs) (optimal dose of 1000, and suboptimal doses of 750 or 500), and bilirubin was administered to the recipients every 12 h, starting from one day before transplantation until 5 days after transplantation. Administration of bilirubin improved glucose control and enhanced glucose tolerance in diabetic recipients, and reduced the serum levels of inflammatory mediators including IL-1β, TNF-α, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and NO, and inhibited the infiltration of Kupffer cells into the islet grafts, and restored insulin-producing ability of transplanted islets.     

One Strain-Many Compounds Method for Production of Diverse Metabolic Profiles Using Chaetomium sp. from Astragalus membranaceus

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

Synthesis of Pyrene‐based Planar Conjugated Polymers and the Regioisomers by Intramolecular Cyclization

Several planar conjugated polymers and model compounds containing pyrene units are synthesized. The precursor polymers and model compounds are obtained through the Pd(0)‐catalyzed Suzuki reaction, then the planar structure is formed through intramolecular cyclization in the presence of acid. We investigate the regioisomers in intramolecular cyclization reaction by using model compounds, suggesting that the syn‐ and anti‐structures are formed in ladder‐type polymer LP1 , and the syn‐structure is more easily formed in LP3 . The planar conjugated polymers and model compounds show untypical features of ladder‐type polymers, they display broad absorption and blue or blue‐green emission in solution, and interchain π‐π stacking in film still occurs. Moreover, the new polymers and model compounds are characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gel‐permeation chromatography (GPC) and cyclic voltammetry (CV).     

基于分子动力学的氧化石墨烯拉伸断裂行为与力学性能研究

与石墨烯相比,氧化石墨烯(graphene oxide, GO)的亲水性、分散性和反应活性更好,更易于作为增强材料而研发生成性能超常的复合材料,但另一方面,由于其电子结构较为复杂,致使目前有关力学方面的研究存在一定差异.本文利用分子动力学方法,建立了羟基、羧基和环氧基等官能团随机分布的GO原子模型;通过单向拉伸模拟,分析了其断裂行为,结果表明,远离羟基和羧基的环氧基对断裂具有"诱导"作用,并从化学成键、体系能量和应力分布三个角度对其机理进行了阐释;此外,进一步研究了拉伸应力$\!$-$\!$-$\!$应变曲线、极限强度、极限应变等力学性能与含氧官能团覆盖度间的关系,结果表明,极限强度、极限应变均随含氧官能团覆盖度的增大而呈减小趋势.分析认为,主要原因是官能团的出现对石墨烯面内的sp$^{2}$杂化形式造成了破坏,进而使得原子间键合能弱化,随着含氧官能团的覆盖度的增大,被弱化的键合能的数量和程度将越大,从而使得GO的极限强度、极限应变等越低. 研究结果可为GO的基础研究和工程应用提供参考.      

Curing kinetics,thermal, mechanical,and dielectric properties based on o‐cresol formaldehyde epoxy resin with polyhedral oligomeric (N‐aminoethyl‐γ‐amino propyl)silsesquioxane

The curing reaction and kinetics of o‐cresol formaldehyde epoxy resin (o‐CFER) with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane of N‐aminoethyl‐γ‐amino propyl group (AEAP‐POSS) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The thermal, mechanical, and dielectric properties of o‐CFER/AEAP‐POSS nanocomposites were investigated with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), torsional braid analysis (TBA), tensile tester, impact tester, and electric analyzer, respectively. The results show that the activation energy (E) of curing reaction is 58.08 kJ/mol, and the curing reaction well followed the ?esták‐Berggren (S‐B) autocatalytic model. The glass transition temperature (T_g) increases with the increase in AEAP‐POSS content, and reaches the maximum, 107°C, when the molar ratio (N_s) of amino group to epoxy group is 0.5. The nanocomposites containing a higher percentage of AEAP‐POSS exhibited a higher thermostability. The AEAP‐POSS can effectively increase the mechanical properties of epoxy resin, and the tensile and impact strengths are 2.84 MPa and 143.25 kJ m^?2, respectively, when N_s is 0.5. The dielectric constant (ε), dielectric loss factor (tan δ), volume resistivity (ρ_v), and surface resistivity (ρ_s) are 4.98, 3.11 × 10^?4, 3.17 × 10¹² Ω cm³, and 1.41 × 10¹² Ω cm², respectively, similarly at N_s 0.5. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

含联芴烯单元共轭聚合物的合成及表征

以六羰基钨[W(CO)₆]为催化剂, 合成了聚吲哚芴(P1)、 聚梯型四苯(P2)、 聚梯型五苯(P3)和小分子9-联吲哚芴烯(S1).该类聚合物的重复单元含有联芴烯结构, 通过芴9位的双键连接. 光学和电化学等实验结果表明, 聚合物无荧光发射, 是一类窄带隙的共轭聚合物, 其中聚合物P1薄膜的紫外吸收值最大波长为710 nm.