3D-SAR And A novel Molecular Pharmacology Model of Cholinergic And Anticholinergic Drugs

Anticholinergic drugs have been widely used for many years in neurological research field and clinicial therapy of many dieases, such as parkinsonism stomachache and the organophosphorus agents poisoning. It is important that investigating the conformation-activity relationship (CAR), 3D-QSAR and molecular pharmacology of these compounds to aid in die design highly selective drugs and explain many phenomena understood difficultly,including the similar biological effects for various compounds and different effects for a single compound.     

Drug Discovery Targeting Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) as a Promising Cancer Therapy

FAK is a nonreceptor intracellular tyrosine kinase which plays an important biological function. Many studies have found that FAK is overexpressed in many human cancer cell lines, which promotes tumor cell growth by controlling cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and survival. Therefore, targeting FAK is considered to be a promising cancer therapy with small molecules. Many FAK inhibitors have been reported as anticancer agents with various mechanisms. Currently, six FAK inhibitors, including GSK-2256098 (Phase I), VS-6063 (Phase II), CEP-37440 (Phase I), VS-6062 (Phase I), VS-4718 (Phase I), and BI-853520 (Phase I) are undergoing clinical trials in different phases. Up to now, there have been many novel FAK inhibitors with anticancer activity reported by different research groups. In addition, FAK degraders have been successfully developed through “proteolysis targeting chimera” (PROTAC) technology, opening up a new way for FAK-targeted therapy. In this paper, the structure and biological function of FAK are reviewed, and we summarize the design, chemical types, and activity of FAK inhibitors according to the development of FAK drugs, which provided the reference for the discovery of new anticancer agents.     

A review on antibacterial silk fibroin-based biomaterials: current state and prospects

Bacterial contamination of biomaterials is a common problem and a serious threat to human health worldwide. Therefore, the development of multifunctional biomaterials that possess antibacterial properties and can resist infection is a continual goal for biomedical applications. Silk fibroin (SF), approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration as a biomaterial, is one of the most widely studied natural polymers for biomedical applications owing to its unique mechanical properties, biocompatibility, tunable biodegradation, and versatile material formats. In the last decade, many methods have been used for the development of antibacterial SF-based biomaterials (SFBs) such as physical loading or chemical functionalization of SFBs with different antibacterial agents and bioinspired surface modifications. In this review, we first describe the current understanding of the composition and structure-property relationship of SF as a leading-edge biomaterial. Then we demonstrate the different antibacterial agents and methods implemented for the development of bactericidal SFBs, their mechanisms of action, and different applications. We briefly address their fabrication methods, advantages, and limitations, and finally discuss the emerging technologies and future trends in this research area.     

非病毒性基因载体的合成研究

基因治疗是一种有效的治疗先天性遗传性疾病以及后天获得性疾病的手段。它通过激发细胞的生物活性或者抑制细胞非正常的功能来治疗或者预防疾病的发生,例如细胞的基因紊乱,细胞的无序增殖。目前基因治疗所面临的问题是缺乏有效的基因递送载体。基因载体主要分为病毒性基因载体和非病毒性基因载体。与病毒性基因载体相比,非病毒性基因载体具有毒性小、安全性高、易于制备、能够荷载分子量大的DNA等优点。本文综述了非病毒性基因载体的合成研究进展。     

Chiroptical switches: applications in sensing and catalysis

Chiroptical switches have found application in the detection of a multitude of different analytes with a high level of sensitivity and in asymmetric catalysis to offer switchable stereoselectivity. A wide range of scaffolds have been employed that respond to metals, small molecules, anions and other analytes. Not only have chiroptical systems been used to detect the presence of analytes, but also other properties such as oxidation state and other physical phenomena that influence helicity and conformation of molecules and materials. Moreover, the tunable responses of many such chiroptical switches enable them to be used in the controlled production of either enantiomer or diastereomer at will in many important organic reactions from a single chiral catalyst through selective use of a low-cost inducer: Co-catalysts (guests), metal ions, counter ions or anions, redox agents or electrochemical potential, solvents, mechanical forces, temperature or electromagnetic radiation.     

Separation techniques for the analysis of artists' acrylic emulsion paints

Emulsion paints are complex chemical systems. The main problems in their characterization are related to the similarities in polymer composition and to the presence of many different types of additives. Thus high resolution separations, sensitivity, and response specificity are required to identify simultaneously the polymer matrix and the minor components. Especially surfactants and pigments are thought to affect significantly the properties of the paint layers during ageing and their identification is the first step in evaluating the behaviour of these products in working conditions. Representative samples of acrylic emulsion paints for artists have been investigated by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) and size exclusion chromatography-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (SEC-FTIR), and the results have been compared. All the analysed samples were bound in ethyl acrylate-methyl methacrylate, poly(EA-co-MMA), or n-butyl acrylate-methyl methacrylate, poly(nBA-co-MMA), copolymers. Two types of nonionic surfactants, ethoxylated fatty alcohols and alkylaryl polyethoxylates, commonly used as emulsifiers and dispersive agents have been identified, together with a number of organic pigments.     

Medicinal Plants,Phytochemicals, and Herbs to Combat Viral Pathogens Including SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the most important health issue, internationally. With no specific and effective antiviral therapy for COVID-19, new or repurposed antiviral are urgently needed. Phytochemicals pose a ray of hope for human health during this pandemic, and a great deal of research is concentrated on it. Phytochemicals have been used as antiviral agents against several viruses since they could inhibit several viruses via different mechanisms of direct inhibition either at the viral entry point or the replication stages and via immunomodulation potentials. Recent evidence also suggests that some plants and its components have shown promising antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2. This review summarizes certain phytochemical agents along with their mode of actions and potential antiviral activities against important viral pathogens. A special focus has been given on medicinal plants and their extracts as well as herbs which have shown promising results to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection and can be useful in treating patients with COVID-19 as alternatives for treatment under phytotherapy approaches during this devastating pandemic situation.     

化学毒剂探测技术发展现状

化学毒剂(CWAs)作为一种大规模杀伤性武器,具有杀伤力强、影响范围广、防护困难、易于制作施放等特征,从诞生之初即常被用于战争冲突,在现代非对称战争、恐怖袭击中也造成了巨大威胁.因此如何及时地探测化学毒剂成为世界各国国土安全的重点研究方向.该文聚焦于化学毒剂现有主流及具有潜力的各类探测技术,对各种检测技术的基本原理及其...     

Phytochemicals from Polyalthia Species: Potential and Implication on Anti-Oxidant,Anti-Inflammatory,Anti-Cancer,and Chemoprevention Activities

Polyalthia belong to the Annonaceae family and are a type of evergreen tree distributed across many tropical and subtropical regions. Polyalthia species have been used long term as indigenous medicine to treat certain diseases, including fever, diabetes, infection, digestive disease, etc. Recent studies have demonstrated that not only crude extracts but also the isolated pure compounds exhibit various pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-tumor, anti-cancer, etc. It is known that the initiation of cancer usually takes several years and is related to unhealthy lifestyle, as well as dietary and environmental factors, such as stress, toxins and smoking. In fact, natural or synthetic substances have been used as cancer chemoprevention to delay, impede, or even stop cancer growing. This review is an attempt to collect current available phytochemicals from Polyalthia species, which exhibit anti-cancer potentials for chemoprevention purposes, providing directions for further research on the interesting agents and possible clinical applications.     

Seedless synthesis of gold nanorods with tunable plasmonic peaks beyond 1300 nm

Gold nanorods(Au NRs), as relatively common materials used in biomedical areas, have been synthesized by means of many methods. However, the conventional seed-mediated method is limited by complex operations and low yield. Besides, for further applications of Au NRs, well monodispersed Au NRs and tunable longitudinal surface plasmon resonance(LSPR) remain to be improved. Herein, we report a one-pot method for synthesizing Au NRs without seeding agents. In this method, we use phenols as reducing ...     

Application of Dendrimers in Anticancer Diagnostics and Therapy

The application of dendrimeric constructs in medical diagnostics and therapeutics is increasing. Dendrimers have attracted attention due to their compact, spherical three-dimensional structures with surfaces that can be modified by the attachment of various drugs, hydrophilic or hydrophobic groups, or reporter molecules. In the literature, many modified dendrimer systems with various applications have been reported, including drug and gene delivery systems, biosensors, bioimaging contrast agents, tissue engineering, and therapeutic agents. Dendrimers are used for the delivery of macromolecules, miRNAs, siRNAs, and many other various biomedical applications, and they are ideal carriers for bioactive molecules. In addition, the conjugation of dendrimers with antibodies, proteins, and peptides allows for the design of vaccines with highly specific and predictable properties, and the role of dendrimers as carrier systems for vaccine antigens is increasing. In this work, we will focus on a review of the use of dendrimers in cancer diagnostics and therapy. Dendrimer-based nanosystems for drug delivery are commonly based on polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAM) that can be modified with drugs and contrast agents. Moreover, dendrimers can be successfully used as conjugates that deliver several substances simultaneously. The potential to develop dendrimers with multifunctional abilities has served as an impetus for the design of new molecular platforms for medical diagnostics and therapeutics.     

Complexes in context: attempting to control the cellular uptake and localisation of rhenium fac-tricarbonyl polypyridyl complexes

Transition metal lumophores are now well established as agents for cell imaging, but we are still not able to predict generally and with confidence their cellular localisation, or, for that matter, their uptake efficiencies. While many such complexes have been shown to illuminate cells, genuine applications in biomedical research will only be developed when their uptake and localisation are better understood. This perspective is not a comprehensive review of luminescence, but is an overview of attempts to control uptake and localisation, focussing on a personal account of this group's development of imaging agents based on the Re(CO)(3) bipyridine core, and our attempts to understand and control their cellular behaviour.     

Review on supermolecules as chemical drugs

Supramolecular medicinal chemistry field has been a quite rapidly developing, increasingly active and newly rising interdiscipline which is the new expansion of supramolecular chemistry in pharmaceutical sciences, and is gradually becoming a relatively independent scientific area. Supramolecular drugs could be defined as medicinal supermolecules formed by two or more molecules through non-covalent bonds. So far a lot of supermolecules as chemical drugs have been widely used in clinics. Supermolecules as chemical drugs, i.e. supramolecular chemical drugs or supramolecular drugs, which might have the excellences of lower cost, shorter period, higher potential as clinical drugs for their successful research and development, may possess higher bioavailability, better biocompatibility and drug-targeting, fewer multidrug-resistances, lower toxicity, less adverse effect, and better curative effects as well as safety, and therefore exhibit wide potential application. These overwhelming advantages have drawn enormous special attention. This paper gives the definition of supramolecular drugs, proposes the concept of supramolecular chemical drugs, and systematically reviews the recent advances in the research and development of supermolecules, including organic and inorganic complex ones as chemical drugs in the area of antitumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimalarial, antibacterial, antifungal, antivirus, anti-epileptic, cardiovascular agents and magnetic resonance imaging agents and so on. The perspectives of the foreseeable future and potential application of supramolecules as chemical drugs are also presented. Supported by the Southwest University (Grant Nos. SWUB2006018 & XSGX0602), the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing (Grant Nos. 2007BB5369 & 2006BB4341) and the Key Project from the Personnel Department of China (Grant No. 2002-99)     

Natural Product-Based Hybrids as Potential Candidates for the Treatment of Cancer: Focus on Curcumin and Resveratrol

One of the main current strategies for cancer treatment is represented by combination chemotherapy. More recently, this strategy shifted to the “hybrid strategy”, namely the designing of a new molecular entity containing two or more biologically active molecules and having superior features compared with the individual components. Moreover, the term “hybrid” has further extended to innovative drug delivery systems based on biocompatible nanomaterials and able to deliver one or more drugs to specific tissues or cells. At the same time, there is an increased interest in plant-derived polyphenols used as antitumoral drugs. The present review reports the most recent and intriguing research advances in the development of hybrids based on the polyphenols curcumin and resveratrol, which are known to act as multifunctional agents. We focused on two issues that are particularly interesting for the innovative chemical strategy involved in their development. On one hand, the pharmacophoric groups of these compounds have been used for the synthesis of new hybrid molecules. On the other hand, these polyphenols have been introduced into hybrid nanomaterials based on gold nanoparticles, which have many potential applications for both drug delivery and theranostics in chemotherapy.     

Chiral separation using capillary electromigration techniques based on ligand exchange principle

Over the last couple of decades, researchers have developed diverse chiral separation methods emerged from a few chiral separation principles. This review article is primarily focused on the application of chiral ligand-exchange (CLE) principle in capillary electromigration techniques, such as capillary electrophoresis (CE) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC). First, the most commonly used CLE-CZE separation mode by using different kinds of central ions, such as Cu(II), Zn(II), borate ion, and other metal ions, has been introduced. Meanwhile, several kinds of surfactants have been applied as the micelle-forming agents in the CLE micellar electrokinetic chromatography mode. The highlight of recent research of CLE-CEC is the exploitation of novel columns for chiral separation. Then, two kinds of capillary columns, packed capillary and monolithic capillary column, have been briefly described. Finally, the effective application of these chiral separation methods has been presented, including the application in life science and food analysis area.     

Comparison of different reactive organophosphorus flame retardant agents for cotton: Part I. The bonding of the flame retardant agents to cotton

N-Methylol dimethylphosphonopropionamide (MDPA), known as “Pyrovatex CP” and “Pyrovatex CP New” commercially, has been one of the most commonly used durable flame retardant agents for cotton for many years. In our previous research, we developed a flame retardant finishing system for cotton based on a hydroxy-functional organophosphorus oligomer (HFPO) in combination with a bonding agent such as trimethylolmelamine (TMM) and dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU). In this research, we investigated the bonding of these two flame retardant finishing agents to cotton. We found that the majority of MDPA is bound to cotton by its N-methylol group and that the use of TMM as a co-reactant modestly increases the fixation of MDPA onto cotton. For HFPO, however, the use of a bonding agent is necessary to form a covalent linkage between HFPO and cotton. Both the fixation of HFPO on cotton and its laundering durability are influenced by the effectiveness and concentration of the bonding agent. The commercial product of HFPO contains approximately 33% more phosphorus than that of MDPA and the percent fixation of HFPO on cotton is also moderately higher than that of MDPA. The bonding between MDPA and cotton is significantly more resistant to hydrolysis during multiple launderings than that between HFPO and cotton. The selection of catalyst also plays a significant role in influencing the bonding of the flame retardant agents to cotton.     

Expression Optimization and Characterization of the Catalytic Domain of Human MT3-MMP

Introduction Matrixmetalloproteinases(MMPs)areafamilyof calciumandzincrequiringendoproteinasesthattogether candegradeallthemaincomponentsoftheextra cellu larmatrixandbasementmembranes[1].MMPsarein volvedinawiderangeofproteolyticevents,innormal andpatholog…     

Metalloprobes for functional monitoring of tumour multidrug resistance by nuclear imaging

Cancer chemotherapy has been used since the early 1950s and still remains one the major therapeutic options for many malignant tumours. A major obstacle to successful cancer chemotherapy is drug resistance. Frequently resistance is intrinsic to the cancer, but as therapy becomes more effective, acquired resistance has also become more frequent. One form of resistance, named multidrug resistance (MDR), is responsible for the failure of tumours to respond to a wide spectrum of chemotherapeutic agents. The in vivo monitoring of MDR could assist in the selection of patients for therapy and can avoid ineffective and potentially toxic treatments. Therefore, methods for functionally interrogating MDR transport activity have been sought, namely single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET). Cationic radiotracers originally developed as SPECT myocardial imaging agents, such as [(99m)Tc(MIBI)(6)](+) and [(99m)Tc(tetrofosmin)(2)O(2)](+), are used for both early cancer detection and non-invasive monitoring of the tumour MDR transport function. With the ultimate goal of obtaining better performing radioprobes for MDR imaging, other metal-based complexes and/or small molecules have also been synthesized and biologically evaluated. In this perspective we will report on the chemical efforts made to find metalloprobes for in vivo monitoring of MDR by nuclear imaging techniques. The current knowledge on the biological mechanisms and proteins involved in tumour MDR will be also briefly presented, as its understanding is invaluable for the rational design and biological evaluation of new radioprobes.     

Assignment of the absolute configuration of hydroxy- and aminophosphonates by NMR spectroscopy

Phosphonate analogues of amino- and hydroxy acids have received considerable attention in bioorganic and medicinal chemistry due to their unique activities as peptidomimetics, being known as inhibitors of such enzymes as human renin, HIV protease and polymerase, leucine aminopeptidase and serine proteases. They have also been exploited as haptens for catalytic antibody research, herbicides, antibiotics, antiviral and anticancer agents and neuromodulators. Therefore, the demand for the asymmetric synthesis of hydroxy- and aminophosphonates should be accompanied by reliable methods for their absolute configuration assignment. NMR spectroscopy is one of the most commonly used techniques for the assignment of absolute configuration of different classes of compounds. This report describes the principles and practical aspects of applying chiral discriminating agents for the assignment of absolute configuration of 1- and 2-hydroxyphosphonates and 1- and 2-aminophosphonates by NMR spectroscopy. The report is organized in sections discussing the types of the chiral discriminating agents (including the models used for configuration assignment, if this was proposed) and the scope of their applications (with the list of all the examples of hydroxy- and aminophosphonates examined by this method). The application of the chiral derivatizing agents (CDA) and chiral solvating agents (CSA) used for these purposes, such as α-methoxy-α-(trifluoromethyl)phenylacetic acid (MTPA), α-methoxyphenylacetic acid (MPA), amino acids, diazaphospholidine, camphanic acid, naproxen, quinine and t-butylphenylphosphinothioic acid is discussed. Easy access to the selected values of the NMR chemical shifts observed for the diastereomeric species of the tested hydroxy- and aminophosphonates examined, will enable the reader to compare trends observed in spectra and subsequent absolute configuration assignment. In addition, any available complementary data confirming the configuration established by NMR (X-ray, chemical correlations, optical rotation) is also provided.     

Natural and Nature-Derived Products Targeting Human Coronaviruses

The ongoing pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 human coronavirus (HCoV), has brought the international scientific community before a state of emergency that needs to be addressed with intensive research for the discovery of pharmacological agents with antiviral activity. Potential antiviral natural products (NPs) have been discovered from plants of the global biodiversity, including extracts, compounds and categories of compounds with activity against several viruses of the respiratory tract such as HCoVs. However, the scarcity of natural products (NPs) and small-molecules (SMs) used as antiviral agents, especially for HCoVs, is notable. This is a review of 203 publications, which were selected using PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, evaluates the available literature since the discovery of the first human coronavirus in the 1960s; it summarizes important aspects of structure, function, and therapeutic targeting of HCoVs as well as NPs (19 total plant extracts and 204 isolated or semi-synthesized pure compounds) with anti-HCoV activity targeting viral and non-viral proteins, while focusing on the advances on the discovery of NPs with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, and providing a critical perspective.