Flavonoids: A Myth or a Reality for Cancer Therapy?

Nutraceuticals are biologically active molecules present in foods; they can have beneficial effects on health, but they are not available in large enough quantities to perform this function. Plant metabolites, such as polyphenols, are widely diffused in the plant kingdom, where they play fundamental roles in plant development and interactions with the environment. Among these, flavonoids are of particular interest as they have significant effects on human health. In vitro and/or in vivo studies described flavonoids as essential nutrients for preventing several diseases. They display broad and promising bioactivities to fight cancer, inflammation, bacterial infections, as well as to reduce the severity of neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. Therefore, it is not surprising that interest in flavonoids has sharply increased in recent years. More than 23,000 scientific publications on flavonoids have described the potential anticancer activity of these natural molecules in the last decade. Studies, in vitro and in vivo, show that flavonoids exhibit anticancer properties, and many epidemiological studies confirm that dietary intake of flavonoids leads to a reduced risk of cancer. This review provides a glimpse of the mechanisms of action of flavonoids on cancer cells.     

Environmental Mobility of Pu(IV) in the Presence of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid: Myth or Reality?

Ethylenediaminetetracetic acid (EDTA), which was co-disposed with Pu at several US Department of Energy sites, has been reported to enhance the solubility and transport of Pu. It is generally assumed that this enhanced transport of Pu in geologic environments is a result of complexation of Pu(IV) with EDTA. However, the fundamental basis for this assumption has never been fully explored. Whether EDTA can mobilize Pu(IV) in geologic environments is dependent on many factors, chief among them are not only the complexation constants of Pu with EDTA and dominant oxidation state and the nature of Pu solids, but also (1) the complexation constants of environmentally important metal ions (e.g., Fe, Al, Ca, Mg) that compete with Pu for EDTA and (2) EDTA interactions with the geomedia (e.g., adsorption, biodegradation) that reduce effective EDTA concentrations available for complexation. Extensive studies over a large range of pH values (1 to 14) and EDTA concentrations (0.0001 to 0.01 mol⋅L⁻¹) as a function of time were conducted on the solubility of 2-line ferrihydrite (Fe(OH)₃(s)), PuO₂(am) in the presence of different concentrations of Ca ions, and mixtures of PuO₂(am) and Fe(OH)₃(s). The solubility data were interpreted using Pitzer’s ion-interaction approach to determine/validate the solubility product of Fe(OH)₃(s), the complexation constants of Pu(IV)-EDTA and Fe(III)-EDTA, and to determine the effect of EDTA in solubilizing Pu(IV) from PuO₂(am) in the presence of Fe(III) compounds and aqueous Ca concentrations. Predictions based on these extensive fundamental data show that environmental mobility of Pu as a result of Pu(IV)-EDTA complexation as reported/implied in the literature is a myth rather than the reality. The data also show that in geologic environments where Pu(III) and Pu(V) are stable, the EDTA complexes of these oxidation states may play an important role in Pu mobility.     

Synthesis of Graphene Oxide by Oxidation of Graphite with Ferrate(VI) Compounds: Myth or Reality?

It is well established that graphene oxide can be prepared by the oxidation of graphite using permanganate or chlorate in an acidic environment. Recently, however, the synthesis of graphene oxide using potassium ferrate(VI) ions has been reported. Herein, we critically replicate and evaluate this new ferrate(VI) oxidation method. In addition, we test the use of potassium ferrate(VI) for the synthesis of graphene oxide under various experimental routes. The synthesized materials are analyzed by a number of analytical methods in order to confirm or disprove the possibility of synthesizing graphene oxide by the ferrate(VI) oxidation route. Our results confirm the unsuitability of using ferrate(VI) for the oxidation of graphite on graphene oxide because of its high instability in an acidic environment and low oxidation power in neutral and alkaline environments.     

Competition of Ligands and the 18-mer Binding Domain of the RHAU Helicase for G-Quadruplexes: Orthosteric or Allosteric Binding Mechanism?

Stabilizing the DNA and RNA structures known as G-quadruplexes (G4s) using specific ligands is a strategy that has been proposed to fight cancer. However, although G-quadruplex:ligand (G4:L) interactions have often been investigated, whether or not ligands are able to disrupt G-quadruplex:protein (G4:P) interactions remains poorly studied. In this study, using native mass spectrometry, we have investigated ternary G4:L:P complexes formed by G4s, some of the highest affinity ligands, and the binding domain of the RHAU helicase. Our results suggest that RHAU binds not only preferentially to parallel G4s, but also to free external G-quartets. We also found that, depending on the G4, ligands could prevent the binding of the peptide, either by direct competition for the binding sites (orthosteric inhibition) or by inducing conformational changes (allosteric inhibition). Notably, the ligand Cu–ttpy (ttpy=4′-tolyl-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine) induced a conformational change that increased the binding of the peptide. This study illustrates that it is important to not only characterize drug–target interactions, but also how the binding to other partners is affected.     

Exploring Multi-Subsite Binding Pockets in Proteins: DEEP-STD NMR Fingerprinting and Molecular Dynamics Unveil a Cryptic Subsite at the GM1 Binding Pocket of Cholera Toxin B

Ligand-based NMR techniques to study protein–ligand interactions are potent tools in drug design. Saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy stands out as one of the most versatile techniques, allowing screening of fragments libraries and providing structural information on binding modes. Recently, it has been shown that a multi-frequency STD NMR approach, differential epitope mapping (DEEP)-STD NMR, can provide additional information on the orientation of small ligands within the binding pocket. Here, the approach is extended to a so-called DEEP-STD NMR fingerprinting technique to explore the binding subsites of cholera toxin subunit B (CTB). To that aim, the synthesis of a set of new ligands is presented, which have been subject to a thorough study of their interactions with CTB by weak affinity chromatography (WAC) and NMR spectroscopy. Remarkably, the combination of DEEP-STD NMR fingerprinting and Hamiltonian replica exchange molecular dynamics has proved to be an excellent approach to explore the geometry, flexibility, and ligand occupancy of multi-subsite binding pockets. In the particular case of CTB, it allowed the existence of a hitherto unknown binding subsite adjacent to the GM1 binding pocket to be revealed, paving the way to the design of novel leads for inhibition of this relevant toxin.     

Graphene: Safe or Toxic? The Two Faces of the Medal

Graphene is considered the future revolutionary material. For its development, it is of fundamental importance to evaluate the safety profile and the impact on health. Graphene is part of a bigger family which has been identified as the graphene family nanomaterials (GFNs). Clarifying the existence of multiple graphene forms allows better understanding the differences between the components and eventually correlating their biological effects to the physicochemical characteristics of each structure. Some in vitro and in vivo studies clearly showed no particular risks, while others have indicated that GFNs might become health hazards. This Minireview critically discusses the recent studies on the toxicity of GFNs to provide some perspective on the possible risks to their future development in materials and biomedical sciences.     

The Equilibria of Phosphatidylethanolamine-Cholesterol and Phosphatidylcholine–Phosphatidylethanolamine in Monolayers at the Air/Water Interface

Monolayers of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), cholesterol (Ch), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and binary mixtures (PC-PE or PE-Ch) were investigated at the air/water interface. The surface tension values of pure and mixed monolayers were used to calculate π -A isotherms. The surface tension measurements were carried out at 20°C using an improved Teflon trough and a Nima 9000 tensiometer. The Teflon trough was filled with a subphase of triple-distilled water. Known amounts of lipid dissolved in 1-chloropropane were placed at the surface using a syringe. The interactions between phosphatidylethanolamine and cholesterol as well as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine result in significant deviations from the additivity rule. An equilibrium theory to describe the behavior of monolayer components at the air/water interface was developed in order to obtain the stability constants of PC-PE and PE-Ch complexes. We considered the equilibrium between the individual components and the complex and established that phosphatidylethanolamine and cholesterol as well as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine formed highly stable 1:1 complexes.     

Adsorption Kinetics of Alkyl Polyglucoside at the Air—Solution Interface

The air-solution equilibrium tension γe and dynamic surface tension γt,of nonionic surfactant alkyl polyglucoside have been studied. γe was measured by the Wilhelmy method with Rruess K12 tensiometer. The CMC and the surface excesses T were determined from the surface tension vs. concentration curve. The γt decays were measured in the range 0.2-20s using a maximum bubble pressure instrument and analyzed with the Ward and Tordai equation.     

Lattice Structure of Phospholipidic Molecular Domains at the Liquid–Gas Interface

We make a mathematical analysis of the structure of the two dimensional lattice formed by the centers of parallely aligned and arbitrarily oriented spherocylindrical phospholipidic molecules hexagonally packed in cylindrical domains forming a monomolecular Langmuir film at the liquid–gas interface. The analysis is carried out as a function of the tilting angle and the tilting azimuth . We give a number of expressions for the lattice radius vector, and introduce the Lattice Generating Operator. We also present a number of theorems dealing with the existence and characteristics of the common points of tangency, the double stationary points, the locus circles, and the envelop circles, related to the lattice sites.     

Origin of the regiochemistry of propene insertion at octahedral column 4 polymerization catalysts: design or serendipity?

The new octahedral column 4 catalysts bearing phenoxy-amine or phenoxy-imine ligands have opposite regioselectivities in propene polymerization. In this Communication, we report on a QM/MM investigation indicating that one of the key factors controlling the regiochemistry of propene insertion is the nature of the N atoms: steric and electronic effects related to the different hybridization synergically favor 1,2 or 2,1 insertion when the said N's are respectively of amine or imine type.     

Dilational Rheological Properties of Non-Ionic Surfactants at the Water–Decane Interface: Effect of Unsaturated Hydrophobic Group

The interfacial tensions and dilational properties of adsorbed films of two non-ionic surfactants with different hydrophobic groups, polyoxy-ethylene sorbitan stearate (Tween 60) and polyoxy-ethylene sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80), at the water–decane interface have been investigated by the drop-shape analysis method. The effects of dilational frequency and bulk concentration on the interfacial properties were expounded. The influence of low temperature on the interfacial tensions and dilational properties have also been researched. The experiment results show that the interfacial activity of Tween 80 is rather large compared with Tween 60. The minimum area per molecule at the water–decane interface (A_min) value of Tween 80 is little large than that of Tween 60, which is due to the steric effect of unsaturated double bond in Tween 80 molecule. The dilational data show that the ethylene oxide groups of non-ionic surfactant form a stable sub-layer, which results in the increase of modulus and the decrease of phase angle for both Tween 60 and Tween 80 than those of common ionic surfactants. Moreover, the unsaturated hydrophobic group of Tween 80 is much flexible, which is easily crosslinked and entangled. Therefore, dilational modulus of Tween 80 is higher and phase angle is lower than that of Tween 60. Low temperature decreases the flexibility of unsaturated hydrophobic group and lessens the influence on the interaction of saturated hydrophobic group. Saturated surfactant molecules of Tween 60 almost lose temperature response.     

Guest Binding with Sulfated Cyclodextrins: Does the Size of Cavity Matter?

Sulfated cyclodextrins have recently emerged as potential candidates for producing host–induced guest aggregation with properties better than p-sulfonatocalixarenes that have previously shown numerous applications involving the phenomena of host-induced guest aggregation. In the class of sulfated cyclodextrins (SCD), sulfated β-cyclodextrin (β-SCD) remains the most extensively investigated host molecule. Although it is assumed that the host-induced guest aggregation is predominantly an outcome of interaction of the guest molecule with the charges on the exterior of SCD cavity, it has not been deciphered whether the variation in the cavity size will make a difference in the efficiency of host-induced guest-aggregation process. In this investigation, we present a systematic study of host–induced guest aggregation of a cationic molecular rotor dye, Thioflavin T (ThT) with three different sulfated cyclodextrin molecules, α-SCD, β-SCD and γ-SCD, which differ in their cavity size, using steady-state emission, ground-state absorption and time-resolved emission measurements. The obtained photophysical properties of ThT, upon interaction with different SCD molecules, indicate that the binding strength of ThT with different SCD molecules correlate with the cavity size of the host molecule, giving rise to the strongest complexation of ThT with the largest host molecule (γ-SCD). The binding affinity of ThT towards different host molecules has been supported by molecular docking calculations. The results obtained are further supported with the temperature and ionic strength dependent studies performed on the host-guest complex. Our results indicate that for host–induced guest aggregation, involving oppositely charged molecules, the size of the cavity also plays a crucial role beside the charge density on the exterior of host cavity.     

8-AminoBODIPYs: cyanines or hemicyanines? The effect of the coplanarity of the amino group on their optical properties

The role of the amino group twisting ability in the BODIPY photophysics for nonsterically hindered and constrained molecular structures was studied. When a coplanar disposition of the amino and the BODIPY core is feasible, a hemicyanine-like delocalized π-system gives rise to novel blue and efficient BODIPY laser dyes. The key role of such rotamer is confirmed by newly synthesized derivatives where the amino and the BODIPY core are electronically decoupled by steric repulsions.     

Networks of innovation or networks of opportunity? The making of the Spanish antibiotics industry

The pharmaceutical industry is a typically research-intensive, first world-industry. This article seeks to explain why it has been so difficult for late industrialised nations to reproduce the networks of innovation on which the design and manufacturing of new drugs has historically based, and why alternative concepts are needed in order to understand the dynamics of science-based industries in emerging countries. The article analyses the development of the Spanish antibiotics industry, build after the World War II under the strong influence of the new international order and Spain's political framework, academic traditions and business groups. Focusing on the long-term relationships established between two Spanish companies (Antibióticos SA and Compa?ía Espa?ola de Penicilina y Antibióticos, CEPA), their American technological partners (Schenley and Merck), and their social and scientific environment, the article identifies networks of opportunity as the key institutional arrangement of this new industry in Spain. Opportunity (as opposed to innovation) networks are thus proposed to conceptualise the development of technologically complex industries in the European periphery.