Antileishmanial Drug Miltefosine‐dsDNA Interaction in situ Evaluation with a DNA‐Electrochemical Biosensor

Leishmaniasis is one of the most important parasitic neglected disease. The electrochemical evaluation of the antileishmanial drug miltefosine‐dsDNA interaction was investigated in incubated solutions and using dsDNA‐electrochemical biosensors, following the changes in the oxidation peaks of guanosine and adenosine residues, and the occurrence of the free guanine residues, electrochemical signal. The electrochemical behaviour of miltefosine was also investigated, at a glassy carbon electrode, using cyclic, differential pulse and square wave voltammetry and no electrochemical redox processes were observed. The interaction mechanism of miltefosine‐dsDNA occurs in two ways: independent of the dsDNA sequence, and leading to the condensation/aggregation of DNA strands, producing a rigid miltefosine‐dsDNA complex structure, and a preferential interaction between the guanine hydrogen atoms in the C−G base pair and miltefosine, causing the release of guanine residues detected on the electrode surface. Miltefosine did not induce oxidative damage to DNA in the experimental conditions used.     

Dual Fluorescent‐ and Isotopic‐Labelled Self‐Assembling Vancomycin for in vivo Imaging of Bacterial Infections

The increase of bacterial resistance demands rapid and accurate diagnosis of bacterial infections. Biosurface‐induced supramolecular assembly for diagnosis and therapy has received little attention in detecting bacterial infections. Herein we present a dual fluorescent‐nuclear probe based on self‐assembly of vancomycin (Van) on Gram‐positive bacteria for imaging bacterial infection. A Van‐ and rhodamine‐modified peptide derivative (Rho‐FF‐Van), as the imaging agent, binds to the terminal peptide of the methicillin‐resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and self‐assembles to form nanoaggregates on the surface of MRSA . In an in vivo myositis model, Rho‐FF‐Van results in a significant increased fluorescence signal at the MRSA infected site. Radiolabeled with iodine‐125, Rho‐FF‐Van shows strong radioactive signal in the MRSA ‐infected lungs in a murine model. This novel dual fluorescent and nuclear probe promises a new way for in vivo imaging of bacterial infections.     

Synthesis of LnII‐in‐Cryptand Complexes by Chemical Reduction of LnIII‐in‐Cryptand Precursors: Isolation of a NdII‐in‐Cryptand Complex

Lanthanide triflates have been used to incorporate Nd^III and Sm^III ions into the 2.2.2‐cryptand ligand (crypt) to explore their reductive chemistry. The Ln(OTf)₃ complexes (Ln=Nd, Sm; OTf=SO₃CF₃) react with crypt in THF to form the THF‐soluble complexes [Ln^III(crypt)(OTf)₂][OTf] with two triflates bound to the metal encapsulated in the crypt. Reduction of these Ln^III‐in‐crypt complexes using KC₈ in THF forms the neutral Ln^II‐in‐crypt triflate complexes [Ln^II(crypt)(OTf)₂]. DFT calculations on [Nd^II(crypt)]²⁺], the first Nd^II cryptand complex, assign a 4f⁴ electron configuration to this ion.     

Genetically Encoding a Lipidated Amino Acid for Extension of Protein Half‐Life in vivo

Protein therapeutics are increasingly used to treat various diseases, yet they often suffer from short serum half‐lives. An emerging strategy to extend lifetime in vivo is to attach fatty acids onto proteins to increase their binding to human serum albumin (HSA). Herein, the genetic encoding of ?‐N‐heptanoyl‐l ‐lysine (HepoK) is reported, which introduces a fatty‐acid‐containing amino acid into proteins with exquisite site‐specificity and homogeneity, overcoming issues associated with existing chemical conjugation methods. The expression in E .coli and purification of HepoK‐incorporated glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP1) is demonstrated. GLP1(HepoK) showed stronger binding to HSA than GLP1(WT), without impairing the stimulation of the GLP1 receptor in cells. Moreover, GLP1(HepoK) decreased blood glucose level to the same level as GLP1(WT) in mice, showing longer‐lasting effects than GLP1(WT). HepoK incorporation will also be useful for investigating the function of protein lipidation.     

An Approach for the Selective Detection of Nitric Oxide in Biological Systems: An in vitro and in vivo Perspective

A naphthalimide‐based fluorescent probe, LyNP‐NO , was designed and synthesized for the selective detection of exogenously and endogenously generated nitric oxide (NO) in C6 glial cells. In addition, LyNP‐NO was also explored for monitoring endogenous NO levels in rat hippocampus at various tissue depths by stimulating the brain with N‐methyl‐d ‐aspartate (NMDA).     

A novel preparation method for microspheres by glycerol modified solid‐in‐oil‐in‐water multi‐emulsion

Biodegradable material poly(D, L ‐lactic‐co‐glycolic) acid (PLGA) plays an important role in drug‐sustained release systems. Here, we describe a glycerol modified solid‐in‐oil‐in‐water (m‐S/O/W) emulsion method for PLGA microspheres, in order to encapsulate proteins in PLGA by utilizing dextran glassy particles to protect the proteins from denaturing, unfolding, and aggregation during preparation and new external water phase to prevent the inner dextran glassy particles from leaking into the external water phase. External water phase containing 20, 40, 60, 80% glycerol showed that proteins released faster and more completely with increased glycerol content. According to their varied release profiles, microspheres of different formulations could be used to encapsulate vaccines or for delivering proteins over long‐term. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.