Enzyme mediated incorporation of zirconium-89 or copper-64 into a fragment antibody for same day imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor

Identification of tumors which over-express Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is important in selecting patients for anti-EGFR therapies. Enzymatic bioconjugation was used to introduce positron-emitting radionuclides (⁸⁹Zr, ⁶⁴Cu) into an anti-EGFR antibody fragment for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging the same day as injection. A monovalent antibody fragment with high affinity for EGFR was engineered to include a sequence that is recognized by the transpeptidase sortase A. Two different metal chelators, one for ⁸⁹Zr^IV and one for ⁶⁴Cu^II, were modified with a N-terminal glycine to enable them to act as substrates in sortase A mediated bioconjugation to the antibody fragment. Both fragments provided high-quality PET images of EGFR positive tumors in a mouse model at 3 hours post-injection, a significant advantage when compared to radiolabeled full antibodies that require several days between injection of the tracer and imaging. The use of enzymatic bioconjugation gives reproducible homogeneous products with the metal complexes selectively installed on the C-terminus of the antibody potentially simplifying regulatory approval.

Enzymatic bioconjugation to introduce positron-emitting radionuclides (⁸⁹Zr, ⁶⁴Cu) into an anti-EGFR antibody fragment allows same day imaging with positron emission tomography.     

H-atom abstraction dynamics of reactions between Cl atoms and heterocyclic organic molecules

The HCl(v' = 0, J') rotational state distributions produced in the photoinitiated reactions of ground spin-orbit state Cl(2P3/2) atoms with the organic heterocycles oxirane (c-C2H4O), thiirane (c-C2H4S) and oxetane (c-C3H6O) have been measured using the technique of 2 + 1 resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. In contrast to previous studies of H-atom abstraction dynamics by Cl atoms with linear functionalized molecules, the nascent HCl(v' = 0, J') products of the reactions of the three-membered heterocycles oxirane and thiirane are formed rotationally cold, with mean rotational energies <Erot> of (0.28 ± 0.02) kcal mol-1 and (0.31 ± 0.02) kcal mol-1, respectively. The reaction of Cl atoms with the four-membered heterocycle oxetane, however, results in more rotationally excited HCl(v' = 0, J') products for which <Erot> = (0.78 ± 0.03) kcal mol-1. Ab initio calculations were performed at the G2//MP2/6-311G(d,p) level to characterize molecular complexes and transition states on the reactive pathways. In all cases, the reactions were calculated to be barrierless, and weakly bound pre- and post-reaction complexes were located on the potential energy surfaces. The observed distributions and calculated reaction profiles are compared with previous studies of the reactions of Cl atoms with linear functionalized organic molecules and the consequences of the constrained molecular geometry on the HCl(v' = 0, J') rotational distribution discussed in terms of the dipole-dipole interaction model proposed previously.     

Bethe ansatz calculations for the eight-vertex model on a finite strip

Bethe ansatz equations for the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix of the eight-vertex model are solved numerically to yield mass gap data on infinitely long strips of up to 512 sites in width. The finite-size corrections, at criticality, to the free energy per site and polarization gap are found to be in agreement with recent studies of theXXZ spin chain. The leading corrections to the finite-size scaling estimates of the critical line and thermal exponent are also found, providing an explanation of the poor convergence seen in earlier studies. Away from criticality, the linear scaling fields are derived exactly in the full parameter space of the spin system, allowing a thorough test of a recently proposed method of extracting linear scaling fields and related exponents from finite lattice data.     

Polymers with improved flammability characteristics. II. Phenolphthalein related copolycarbonates

Analysis of phenolphthalein and bisphenol-A copolycarbonates reveals a linear correlation between oxygen index (OI) and char yield (Y): OI = 0.34Y + 19.6, which can be compared with the empirical equation QI = 0.4Y + 17.5 proposed by D. W. Van Krevelen for other polymers. Analysis also suggests that no chemical interction occurs between the two comonomers during pyrolysis, which leads neither to enhanced char yield nor to enhanced oxygen index. Each copolymer component contributes to the char yield and oxygen index on an additive basis. Study of 4,5,6,7-tetrabromophenolphthalein and phenolphthalein copolycarbonates shows that some enhancement of char yield does occur and that the lower the char yield, the higher the oxygen index, which is an indication of the predominance of a vapor-phase bromine effect over that related to char. Study of 4,5,6,7-tetrabromophenolphthalein and bis-phenol-A copolycarbonates is interpreted on the basis of two factors—the char effect that prevails over the vapor phase radical scavenging effect at lower bromine content and the reverse order at higher bromine content.     

Flame-retardant epoxy resins based on phthalide derivative

The phthalide-containing epoxy resins are synthesized and characterized in comparison with the bisphenol-A epoxy resins in terms of thermal properties. Although both resins contain comparable amounts of halogens, the resulting flame retardancy is higher in the phthalide-containing resin. The char formation upon pyrolysis is also enhanced by the phthalide functionality.