Self-assembly and characterization of paclitaxel-loaded N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan micellar system

N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan micellar system loaded paclitaxel was prepared by using dialysis method. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the modified chitosan was found to be 0.45 mg/ml. Compared with the amount of N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan, the paclitaxel loading amount in the system was up to 25% (w/w), depending on both of the solvents used in dialysis and the feed weight ratio of paclitaxel to the derivative. The polymeric micelles forming and loading occurred simultaneously in the dialysis process when ethanol and water were utilized as the solvents for paclitaxel and the polymer, respectively. Paclitaxel-loaded micellar system of N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan was characterized by DSC, WXRD and TEM. TEM photograph revealed that paclitaxel existed as the colloid particulates in ethanol before loading and in the cores of the spherical polymeric micelles after loading. The results of DSC and WXRD indicated that paclitaxel was transferred from the crystalline state to amorphous state after loading. The lyophilized powder of micellar system (25% (w/w) loading) could be reconstituted easily in aqueous media even after 2 months storage at 4 degrees C without the change of paclitaxel entrapment and micelle size. The reconstituted solution (2.1 mg paclitaxel/ml) also showed good stability. The dilution with saline may decrease the loading and physical stability based on the dilution times which was related with CMC of the polymer. In vitro tests showed that paclitaxel was slowly released from micellar solution and the release lasted up to 220 h by means of the dialysis method.     

Sorption of 241Am by Aspergillus nigerspore and hyphae

Biosorption of ²⁴¹Am by a fungus A. niger, including the spore and hyphae, was investigated. The preliminary results showed that the adsorption of ²⁴¹Am by the microorganism was efficient. More than 96% of the total ²⁴¹Am could be removed from ²⁴¹Am solutions of 5.6-111 MBq/l (C _o) by spore and hyphaeof A. niger, with adsorbed ²⁴¹Am metal (Q) of 7.2-142.4 MBq/g biomass, and 5.2-106.5 MBq/g, respectively. The biosorption equilibrium was achieved within 1 hour and the optimum pH range was pH 1-3. No obvious effects on ²⁴¹Am adsorption by the fungus were observed at 10-45 °C, or in solutions containing Au³⁺ or Ag⁺, even 2000 times above the ²⁴¹Am concentration. The ²⁴¹Am biosorption by the fungus obeys the Freundlich adsorption equation. There was no significant difference between the adsorption behavior of A. nigerspore and hyphae. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reversible formation of DNA G-quadruplex hairpin dimers from stilbenediether conjugates

Rapid and reversible G-quadruplex hairpin dimer formation is observed for bis(oligonucleotide) conjugates possessing stilbenediether (Sd) linkers connecting two short poly(G) sequences.     

The Enhancement of Efficiency of High-order Harmonic in Intense Laser Field Based on Asymptotic Boundary Conditions and Symplectic Algorithm

Asymptotic boundary condition (ABC) of laser-atom interaction presented recently is applied to transform the initial value problem of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) in infinite space into the initial and boundary value problem in the finite space, and then the TDSE is discretized into linear canonical equations by substituting the symmetry difference quotient for the 2-order partial derivative. The canonical equation is solved by symplectic algorithm. The ground state and the equal weight coherent superposition of the ground state and the first excited state have been taken as the initial conditions, respectively, while we calculate the population of bound states, the evolution of average distance and the high-order harmonic generation (HHG). The conversion efficiency of HHG can be enhanced by initial coherent superposition state and moderate laser intensities     

Synthesis, Characterization and Crystal Structure of a One-dimensional Diamagnetic Metal-radical Complex: [Zn(NIT4py)2(DTB)2(H2O)2]

A novel one-dimensional complex [Zn(NIT4py)₂(DTB)₂(H₂O)₂] (1), with mixed ligands [where NIT4py is 2-(4′-pyridyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide and DTB is 3,5-dinitrobenzoate] has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, i.r., u.v.–vis spectra, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray single crystal diffraction and magnetic measurements. The complex crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system and space group Pî. The Zn ^II ion is in a distorted octahedral environment: two nitrogen atoms from two NIT4py entities, two oxygen atoms from two DTB units in the basal plane; and two oxygen atoms from the two water molecules in the axial position. The [Zn(NIT4py)₂(DTB)₂(H₂O)₂] units are connected as a one dimension chain by the intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The complex exhibits intramolecular antiferromagnetic interactions between the two radicals.     

A zwitterion of 1,5‐bis­(2‐hydroxy­benzamido)‐3‐aza­pentane: a two‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonding network involving dimers

The title compound, 2‐{N‐[2‐(2‐hydroxy­benzamido)ethyl­ammonio­ethyl]amino­carbon­yl}phenolate, C₁₈H₂₁N₃O₄, crystallizes in a zwitterionic form as a result of inter­molecular proton transfer and possesses a negatively charged phenolate group and a protonated amino group. The 2‐hydroxy­benzamide and 2‐(amino­carbonyl)­phenolate moieties attached to the two ends of the C—C—N—C—C backbone adopt a cis conformation in relation to this backbone. All N‐ and O‐bound H atoms are involved in hydrogen‐bond formation; the zwitterions are first linked into head‐to‐tail dimers, which are further organized into a two‐dimensional network parallel to the crystallographic bc plane.     

Biosorption of americium-241 by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The biosorption of radionuclide ²⁴¹Am from solution by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae), and the effects of experimental conditions on the adsorption were investigated. The preliminary results showed thatS. cerevisiae is a very efficient biosorbent. An average of more than 99% of the total ²⁴¹Am could be removed by S. cerevisiae of 2.1 g/l (dry weight) from ²⁴¹Am solutions of 17.54–4386.0 mg/l (2.22 MBq/l–555 MBq/l) with adsorption capacities of 7.45–1880.0 mg/g biomass (dry weight) (0.94 MBq/g–237.9 MBq/g). The adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 1 hour and the optimum pH ranged 1–3. No significant differences on ²⁴¹Am adsorption were observed at 10–45 °C, or in solutions containing Au³⁺ or Ag⁺, even 2000 times above ²⁴¹Am concentration. The relationship between concentrations and adsorption capacities of ²⁴¹Am indicated the biosorption process should be described by the Freundlich adsorption isotherm.     

有机硅及其改性聚合物膜用于有机溶剂水溶液的渗透汽化分离

采用室温固化硅橡胶及其它三种改性硅氧烷聚合物制成渗透汽化膜,分离丙酮(A),丁酮(B)、乙醇(E)及异丙醇(P)等有机物的水溶液。结果表明,随着透过温度提高、透量成指数关系增大,但对分离系数影响甚小。透量大小顺序为A>B>E>P,分离系数大小顺序为A>B>P>E,当膜材料中(CH_3)_2SiO链节含量由70%上升到100%时,有机物的透量及分离系数同时增加。     

Rational design of an “all-in-one” phototheranostic

We report here porphodilactol derivatives and their corresponding metal complexes. These systems show promise as “all-in-one” phototheranostics and are predicated on a design strategy that involves controlling the relationship between intersystem crossing (ISC) and photothermal conversion efficiency following photoexcitation. The requisite balance was achieved by tuning the aromaticity of these porphyrinoid derivatives and forming complexes with one of two lanthanide cations, namely Gd³⁺ and Lu³⁺. The net result led to a metalloporphodilactol system, Gd-trans-2, with seemingly optimal ISC efficiency, photothermal conversion efficiency and fluorescence properties, as well as good chemical stability. Encapsulation of Gd-trans-2 within mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) allowed its evaluation for tumour diagnosis and therapy. It was found to be effective as an “all-in-one” phototheranostic that allowed for NIR fluorescence/photoacoustic dual-modal imaging while providing an excellent combined PTT/PDT therapeutic efficacy in vitro and in vivo in 4T1-tumour-bearing mice.

We report here porphodilactol derivatives and their corresponding metal complexes as “all-in-one” phototheranostics by controlling the relationship between intersystem crossing (ISC) and photothermal conversion efficiency following photoexcitation.     

Converged quantum calculations of HO2 bound states and resonances for J=6 and 10

Bound and resonance states of HO(2) are calculated quantum mechanically using both the Lanczos homogeneous filter diagonalization method and the real Chebyshev filter diagonalization method for nonzero total angular momentum J=6 and 10, using a parallel computing strategy. For bound states, agreement between the two methods is quite satisfactory; for resonances, while the energies are in good agreement, the widths are in general agreement. The quantum nonzero-J specific unimolecular dissociation rates for HO(2) are also calculated.