Formation of hyaluronic acid–ellagic acid microfiber hybrid hydrogels and their applications

Microfiber assemblies prepared from ellagic acid (EA) were functionalized with histidine (His) and dispersed in hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel microstructures. Swelling studies indicated that the hybrids had a relatively lower water uptake compared to HA and was pH dependent. The percentage swelling ratio for EA–His–HA hybrids was 48 % when 0.04 mg/mL of HA was incorporated and increased to 70 % when 1.2 mg/mL HA was integrated. Release studies using the dye crystal violet (CV) as a model drug showed that the rates were concentration-dependent. Further the hybrids were found to be thermally stable compared to HA. Cellular toxicity assays performed with normal rat kidney (NRK) cells indicated biocompatibility and adherence of the hybrids to the cells. Thus, we have developed a new family of hybrid hydrogels which readily formed on the EA–His functionalized microfibers and may have potential applications in drug delivery or tissue regeneration applications.     

Effects on peptide binding affinity for TNFα by PEGylation and conjugation to hyaluronic acid

Conjugation of cytokine-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to hyaluronic acid (HA) having M_w of 1.6 MDa was previously shown to be an effective strategy for localized delivery to sites of inflammation. Despite the disparity in size of the mAb and HA, the mAb–HA conjugate was found bind tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) as strongly as the non-conjugated antibody, suggesting conjugation to this charged polysaccharide can provide an alternative to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) conjugation, which has been shown to reduce binding interactions for many proteins. To explore conjugation chemistries more systematically, we report a study on a model peptide inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor-α to investigate the effects of site-specific conjugation to HA and PEG. We compared the binding affinities of a variety of WP9QY peptide–polymer conjugates for TNFα in order to examine the effects of PEG molecular weight as well as the effects of PEG versus functionalized hyaluronic acid (HA) conjugation. The results indicate that the binding affinity of the PEG conjugates decreases in comparing PEG with mass 2 k, 10 k, and 30 k, which was attributed to PEG shrouding of the peptide, while conjugation to a 66 kDa HA chain preserved peptide binding affinity. We attribute this difference to the increased solubility of HA compared to PEG, potentially due to the carboxylic acid functional groups. In addition, the results demonstrate that conjugation to HA via a short PEG linker significantly enhances the association rate k_on, which may reflect an increased peptide accessibility. By balancing both the advantages associated with the PEG conjugates and with the HA conjugates, the HA–PEG2k–WP9QY conjugate was able to improve the binding affinity of the peptide for TNFα by a factor of two. Optimization of polymer chemistry could be used to improve delivery of protein therapeutics for localized and systemic administration.     

Microparticles based on chitosan–hyaluronic acid interpolyelectrolyte complex,which provide stability of aqueous dispersions

Turbidimetric titration and laser scattering methods were used to assess the phase behavior of mixtures of chitosan and hyaluronic acid in aqueous solutions in relation to interaction conditions. Conditions were found in which stable water dispersions with particle size of up to 573 nm can be obtained. It was found that the molar ratios and the overall concentration mode of the starting-polyelectrolyte solutions affect the particle size.     

L-Arginine based polyester amide/hyaluronic acid hybrid hydrogel with dual anti-inflammation and antioxidant functions for accelerated wound healing

Nowadays, there are still many challenges to skin regeneration. As a new type of skin substitute, hydrogel has emerging gradually with its excellent properties. However, it is still a challenge to combine with biological active agents to facilitate skin regeneration. Under the circumstance, we synthesized argininebased poly(ester amide)(Arg-PEA) and hyaluronic acid(HA-MA), and combined them into new hybrid hydrogels via photo-crosslinking. We found that the internal structure and physicochemical...     

Synthesis of PEGylated hyaluronic acid for loading dichloro(1,2-diaminocyclohexane)platinum(Ⅱ)(DACHPt) in nanoparticles for cancer treatment

Dichloro(1,2-diaminocyclohexane)platinum(II)(DACHPt), a cisplatin(CDDP) analog, has shown lower toxicity than CDDP and no cross-resistance with CDDP in many CDDP-resistant cancers. PEGylated hyaluronan(m PEG-HA) is an m PEG conjugated with hyaluronan biodegradable polymer which is a naturally occurring biopolymer in the interstitium, is primarily cleared by the lymphatic system. m PEGhyaluronan–DACHPt(PEG-HA–Pt) conjugate could circulate long-term in the bloodstream and increase DACHPt concentration in the tumor site and decrease systemic toxicity. m PEG-HA conjugates with the range of 1%–5% substitution were synthesized, and the structures were confirmed by1 H NMR and IR. The particle size of DACHPt incorporated with m PEG-HA was about 86 nm and the loading content and efficiency were about 19%(w/w) and 86%, respectively. The synthesized m PEG-HA with different PEG substitution degrees presented non toxicity, and the cell viability of DACHPt loaded in m PEG-HA nanoparticles increased with increasing doses of DACHPt. DACHPt release from nanoparticles slightly decreased with increasing PEG substitution degree from 1% to 5% at 37 8C, pH 7.4 PBS solution. The DACHPt loaded in m PEG-HA nanoparticles significantly inhibited the growth of A549 xenografts in nude mice when compared to the DACHPt loaded in HA nanoparticles and the control group after 4 weeks treatment(p 0.01 compared with control). The body weight change curve shows that the mice weight loss was less than 5% by treating with both DACHPt loaded in m PEG-HA and HA nanoparticles. In conclusion, a novel DACHPt loaded m PEG-HA delivery system was developed with sustained release and increased platinum concentration in the tumor.     

Solid–liquid equilibria in the acetic acid–propanoic acid and propanoic acid–trifluoroacetic acid systems

Solid–liquid equilibria in the binary systems, propanoic acid–acetic acid and propanoic acid–trifluoroacetic acid, were measured by a synthetic method. A solid compound (1:1) was found in the propanoic acid–trifluoroacetic acid system. The obtained activity coefficients were successfully fitted by the Wilson equation.     

Why is hydrofluoric acid a weak acid?

The infrared vibrational spectra of amorphous solid water thin films doped with HF at 40 K reveal a strong continuous absorbance in the 1000-3275 cm(-1) range. This so-called Zundel continuum is the spectroscopic hallmark for aqueous protons. The extensive ionic dissociation of HF at such low temperature suggests that the reaction enthalpy remains negative down to 40 K. These observations support the interpretation that dilute HF aqueous solutions behave as weak acids largely due to the large positive reaction entropy resulting from the structure making character of the hydrated fluoride ion.     

Lanthanide–actinide separation by bis-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid from citric acid–nitric acid medium

Phosphate rock (Pho-ore) is the starting raw material used in manufacturing of most phosphate products. This material contains phosphorous, natural uranium, thorium potassium radionuclide and other trace elements. Single super phosphate powder (SSPho-P), single super phosphate granules (SSPho-G), and triple super phosphate (TSPho) are the common phosphate products produced along with phosphogypsym (CaSO₄) as a waste product. Since these materials are industrially manufactured by the reaction of the phosphate ore with phosphoric and sulphuric acids, these products and the waste product are extremely acidic. Pho-ore, SSPho-P, SSPho-G, TSPho and CaSO₄ samples were used in our study. Chemical analyses showed that these phosphate samples contain phosphorous, iron, aluminum ions and traces of uranium ions. Accumulation of the fertilizers on soils usually transfers some of these ions from the fertilizer materials to the soil/water interfaces. The migration of uranium U(VI), P, Al and Fe in subsurface soils was found to be strongly influenced by the sorption/desorption reaction at the solid/water interfaces. Thus, dissolution of these ions in soil/water phases is very important. Speciation of U(VI), P, Al and Fe in soil/water phases were calculated using a geochemical code (MINTEQA2). This study was conducted to determine sorption properties and the surface electrical properties of these ions at the soil samples.     

α-n-hydroxyamino acid derivatives

Reactions of organolithium reagents with glyoxylate derived oximes provided a direct route to α-N-hydroxyamino acids. The process required direct attachment of an ionizable group to the glyoxylate carbonyl to prevent competitive reactions. The procedure allowed for direct formation of the α-chiral center of the newly formed α-N-hydroxyamino acid derivative. Introduction of potential chiral auxiliaries on the oxime oxygen resulted in modest diastereoselection. In most instances, use of chiral glyoxylamides also gave low diastereoselectivity.     

Phenyl­phosphinic acid

The crystal structure of the title compound, C₆H₇O₂P, shows continuous hydrogen-bonding chains in the x direction, with a P—O⋯O=P distance of 2.513 (3) Å.     

A path integral molecular dynamics study on intermolecular hydrogen bond of acetic acid–arsenic acid anion and acetic acid–phosphoric acid anion clusters

We apply ab initio path integral molecular dynamics simulation employing ωB97XD as the quantum chemical calculation method to acetic acid–arsenic acid anion and acetic acid–phosphoric acid anion clusters to investigate the difference of the hydrogen bond structure and its fluctuation such as proton transfer. We found that the nuclear quantum effect enhanced the fluctuation of the hydrogen bond structure and proton transfer, which shows treatment of the nuclear quantum effect was essential to investigate these systems. The hydrogen bond in acetic acid–arsenic acid anion cluster showed characters related to low-barrier hydrogen bonds, while acetic acid–phosphoric acid anion cluster did not. We found non-negligible distinction between these two systems, which could not be found in conventional calculations. We suggest that the difference in amount of atomic charge of the atoms consisting the hydrogen bond is the origin of the difference between acetic acid–arsenic acid and acetic acid–phosphoric acid anion cluster. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Synergy between Brønsted acid sites and Lewis acid sites

Synergy between Br?nsted acid sites and Lewis acid sites in mesoporous Al-Zr-TUD-1 was demonstrated to exist in Br?nsted acid catalysed reactions, but not in Lewis acid catalysed reactions.     

Biodegradation of β-1,4-linked polyglucuronic acid (cellouronic acid)

Biodegradability of -1,4-linked polyglucuronic acid (cellouronicacid), which was prepared from regenerated cellulose by2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation underaqueous conditions, was examined by enzymatic treatments and incubationtreatments with microorganisms collected from some soil samples. Degradation ofcellouronic acid was traced by size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) or totalorganic carbon (TOC) of the treated products or solutions, respectively.Cellouronic acid was depolymerized by a commercial crude cellulase anddecreasedin its weight average degree of polymerization from about 1600 to 40 by thecellulase treatment at 20 °C for 40 days. ¹³C-NMRanalysis and liquid chromatography of the treated products showed thathydrolysis-type enzymes present in the crude cellulase as contaminantsprimarilydepolymerized cellouronic acid to give glucuronic acid. When aqueous solutionscontaining cellouronic acid were incubated with soil microorganisms for morethan 3 days, the TOC values decreased to less than 20% of the initial value,depending on molecular weight of the cellouronic acid used. The decreasing rateof TOC for cellouronic acid was clearly higher than that ofcarboxymethylcellulose, which is one of the cellulose derivatives havingcarboxymethyl substituents. These results imply that cellouronic acid has bothbiodegradability and metabolizability in the natural environment.     

Synthesis and properties of fibers prepared from lactic acid–glycolic acid copolymer

A method for preparing laboratory samples of fibers from glycolide-co-D,L-lactide to produce bioresorbing suture filaments with a controlled complex of properties is developed. The morphology of fibers obtained through melt spinning is studied. The peculiarities of the mechanical properties of fibers are investigated.     

Thermophysical property characterization of aqueous amino acid salt solutions containing α-aminobutyric acid

In this study, density, electrical conductivity, refractive index and viscosity of aqueous potassium and sodium salt solutions of α-aminobutyric acid were presented. Measurements were done over the temperature range (303.15 to 343.15) K and atmospheric pressure for salt compositions from x₁ = 0.009 to 0.062. A modified Graber et al. equation was used to correlate the density, electrical conductivity, and refractive index with temperature and composition leading to average absolute deviations (AAD) between the predicted and calculated values of 0.04%, 0.7%, and 0.01%, respectively. The viscosity data were represented as a function of temperature and composition via Vogel–Tamman–Fulcher (VTF) type equation at an AAD of 0.6%.     

β,β-Dimethylacrylic acid

A method has been developed for obtaining ,-dimethylacrylic acid from 3-methylbut-3-en-1-ol — a multitonnage product of the production of isoprene by the Prins method.Institute of Organic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR, Erevan. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 313–314, May–June, 1991.     

The first chemical synthesis of F-4-GlcAβ(1→3)GlcNAc-UDP with the potential of novel substrate and enzyme inhibitor for hyaluronic acid synthases (HASs)

The first chemical synthesis of F-4-GlcAβ(1→3)GlcNAc-UDP is described here. This compound can serve as a novel substrate to study the catalytic mechanism of hyaluronic acid synthases (HASs) and has potential to be donor for these enzymes that extend HA chain at the reducing end. Moreover, it may also behave as inhibitor for the enzymes that act on non-reducing end in the assembly of HA chain.     

Synthesis of Ω-aminododecanoic acid

Summary A synthesis of-aminododecanoic acid has been carried out starting with trans,trans,trans-cyclododecatriene1,5,9.     

α-Picolinic acid and quinaldinic acid in the separation and volumetric determination of palladium

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - Palladium can be determined volumetrically after separation with α-picolinic or quinaldinic acid by dissolving the complex in an excess of standard...     

Deracemization of unnatural amino acid: homoalanine using D-amino acid oxidase and ω-transaminase

A deracemization method was developed to generate optically pure L-homoalanine from racemic homoalanine using D-amino acid oxidase and ω-transaminase. A whole cell reaction using a biphasic system converted 500 mM racemic homoalanine to 485 mM L-homoalanine (>99% ee).