Preparation of Hyaluronic Acid Micro-Hydrogel by Biotin–Avidin-Specific Bonding for Doxorubicin-Targeted Delivery

Hyaluronic acid is a naturally ionic polysaccharide with cancer cell selectivity. It is an ideal candidate material for delivery of anticancer agents. In this study, hyaluronic acid (HA) micro-hydrogel loaded with anticancer drugs was prepared by the biotin–avidin system approach. Firstly, carboxyl groups on HA were changed into amino groups with adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) to graft with biotin by 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride named as HA–biotin. When HA–biotin solution mixed with doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX·HCl) was blended with neutravidin, the micro-hydrogels would be formed with DOX loading. If excess biotin was added into the microgel, it would be disjointed, and DOX will be released quickly. The results of the synthesis procedure were characterized by ¹H-NMR and FTIR; ADH and biotin have been demonstrated to graft on the HA molecule. A field emission scanning electron microscope was used to observe morphologies of HA micro-hydrogels. Furthermore, the in vitro DOX release results revealed that the release behaviors can be adjusted by adding biotin. Therefore, the HA micro-hydrogel can deliver anticancer drugs efficiently, and the rate of release can be controlled by biotin-specific bonding with the neutravidin. Consequently, the micro-hydrogel will perform the promising property of switching in the specific site in cancer therapy.     

Studies on the Synthesis and Antiproliferative Activities of 13‐cis‐Retinoyl Sugar Derivatives

New retinoyl sugar derivatives of 13‐cis‐retinoic acid were synthesized in three ways in this paper in order to enhance pharmacal effects, especially antiproliferative activities of 13‐cis‐retinoic acid. Their structures were confirmed by IR, ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, and MS spectra and their antiproliferative activities were determined in vitro using human cancer lines. Results showed that some compounds possessed potential antitumor activities.     

A New Photochemical Reaction of Sulfonic Acid Esters

Abstract

In 1968 Zen and coworkers reported that thep-tolylsulfonyl group could be removed from carbohydrate systems by photochemical reaction (eq 1).¹ Since then other investigators have used this deprotection process in carbohydrate synthesis.^2-10 Mechanistic studies^11-16 have shown that tosylate photolysis is promoted by compounds (e.g., triethylamine) that donate an electron to an excitedp-toluenesulfonate to generate a radical anion (1). This intermediate then fragments to form the anion of the deprotected sugar (Scheme 1). Since generating a radical anion is the central element in this photochemical process, structural changes that impact radical anion formation should influence the reaction. Replacing the p - tolylsulfonyl group with the pentafluorophenylsulfonyl group generates a more stable radical anion (2) because the electronegative fluorine atoms can help stabilize the negative charge. Since we have a continuing interest in the photochemistry of sulfonic acid esters, we synthesized the pentafluorobenzenesulfonates (pentaflates) 3-6 and studied their photochemistry under electron transfer conditions.     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric 1,6-addition of diphenylphosphine to (4-aryl-1,3-butadienylidene)bis(phosphonates) for the synthesis of chiral phosphines

An asymmetric 1,6-addition of diphenylphosphine to (4-aryl-1,3-butadienylidene)bis(phosphonates) catalyzed by a PCP pincer–Pd complex has been developed for the synthesis of chiral allylic phosphines with up to 91% ee under mild conditions.     

Phase‐preserved macroscopic visible‐light carpet cloaking beyond two dimensions

Transformation optics, a recent geometrical design strategy of light manipulation with both ray trajectories and optical phase controlled simultaneously, promises an invisibility cloaking device that can render a macroscopic object invisible even to a scientific instrument measuring optical phase. Recent “carpet” cloaks have extended their cloaking capability to broadband frequency ranges and macroscopic scales, but they only demonstrated the recovery of ray trajectories after passing through the cloaks, while whether the optical phase would reveal their existence still remains unverified. In this paper, a phase‐preserved macroscopic visible‐light carpet cloak is demonstrated in a geometrical construction beyond two dimensions. As an extension of previous two‐dimensional (2D) macroscopic carpet cloaks, this almost‐three‐dimensional carpet cloak exhibits three‐dimensional (3D) invisibility for illumination near its center (i.e. with a limited field of view), and its ideal wide‐angle invisibility performance is preserved in multiple 2D planes intersecting in the 3D space. Optical path length is measured with a broadband pulsed‐laser interferometer, which provides unique experimental evidence on the geometrical nature of transformation optics.

     

Long-Chain Alkane Dehydrogenation over Hierarchically Porous Ti-Doped Pt–Sn–K/TiO2–Al2O3 Catalysts

Kinetics and Catalysis - Hierarchically porous γ-Al2O3, TiO2–Al2O3 composite supports, and Pt–Sn–K/Al2O3 and Pt–Sn–K/TiO2–Al2O3 catalysts were prepared...     

First-principles study of fundamental properties and electronic structure of alloys

We have performed first-principles calculations using full-potential augmented-plane-wave method to investigate the fundamental properties of the Cd_1–xZn_xTe alloys. The composition dependence of the lattice constant and the bulk modulus have been estimated from total energy calculations. By means of the analytical fitting the band structures in the vicinity of the Brillouin center a complete set of effective electron- and hole-masses have also been derived. In order to further understand the effects of the chemical bonding on the above macroscopic properties we then studied the relaxation behaviors and the changes of the electronic states upon alloying for x=0.25 system. The results presented here yield a general understanding of the fundamental properties for the Cd_1–xZn_xTe crystals studies.