Mushroom tyrosinase inhibition activity of some chromones

Currently, aloesin is used in the cosmetic industry as a whitening agent because it inhibits tyrosinase activity. Aloesin is a C-glycosylated chromone compound isolated from aloe, and it is difficult to synthesize because of C-glycosyl moiety in the molecule. The purpose of this study is to search for a new chromone compound which is easy to synthesize and which posesses stronger tyrosinase inhibitory activity than aloesin. Fourteen chromone derivatives were synthesized and screened for their mushroom-tyrosinase inhibitory activity. 5-Methyl-7-methoxy-2-(2'-benzyl-3'-oxobutyl)chromone (15) showed the strongest activity among tested compounds. Its activity was not only stronger than aloesin, but also stronger than arbutin and kojic acid. The kinetic analysis revealed a competitive inhibition of 15 with tyrosinase for the L-tyrosine binding site.     

Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Compound SnDy2O4

In recent years, the research on rare earth became a focus, and a lot of rare earth complex compounds with AB2O4 stoichiometry were prepared1-3. The compound SnDy2O4 is expected to spinel-type phase while it exhibits a new structure type. SnDy2O4 was prepared by the thermal decomposition of the oxalate precursor that was prepared by rheological phase reaction method. SnO(AR), Dy2O3(99.9%) and H2C2O4·2H2O are ground in molar ratio 1:1:4.1, and placed into the reaction apparatus. …     

Indoprofen upregulates the survival motor neuron protein through a cyclooxygenase-independent mechanism

Most patients with the pediatric neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy have a homozygous deletion of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene, but retain one or more copies of the closely related SMN2 gene. The SMN2 gene encodes the same protein (SMN) but produces it at a low efficiency compared with the SMN1 gene. We performed a high-throughput screen of approximately 47,000 compounds to identify those that increase production of an SMN2-luciferase reporter protein, but not an SMN1-luciferase reporter protein. Indoprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, selectively increased SMN2-luciferase reporter protein and endogenous SMN protein and caused a 5-fold increase in the number of nuclear gems in fibroblasts from SMA patients. No other NSAIDs or COX inhibitors tested exhibited this activity.     

Coating of Methyltriethoxysilane—Modified Colloidal Silica on Polymer Substrates for Abrasion Resistance

Organic-inorganic hybrid composites were prepared by the sol-gel method for the hard coating agent of transparent plastic, and their abrasion resistance, optical and surface characteristics were evaluated. Methyltriethoxy-silane (MTES) and colloidal silica were used as starting materials. The addition of MTES to colloidal silica enabled the formation of dense thin films with very smooth surface on the substrates. The thin films were strongly adhered to the substrates without primer treatment. The abrasion resistance increased with the increase in the ratio of MTES to the colloidal silica. Optimal amount of MTES for the hard coating agent was 100 wt% to the colloidal silica. The addition of curing catalyst, tetramethylammonium formate was found to be very effective to enhance the adhesion strength of coating agent to the substrates and reduced curing time.     

Photocycloaddition of four-carbon-tethered pyridones. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding and facilitated amide hydrolysis by a proximal secondary alcohol

Four-carbon-tethered pyridones undergo photocycloaddition to give exclusively trans-[4 + 4] products. The presence of a tether alcohol engenders a solvent-dependent diastereoselectivity for the cycloaddition by intramolecular hydrogen bonding to the adjacent pyridone. Following cycloaddition, the alcohol can deliver a carbonyl group to the proximal, hindered amide nitrogen, leading to a very facile amide hydrolysis.     

Rational design of ordered mesoporous carbon with controlled bimodal porosity via dual silica templating route

Combining both nano-replication and nano-imprinting techniques using dual silica templates provides a simple way to synthesize ordered mesoporous carbons with bimodal pore size distributions ( approximately 1.5 nm and approximately 3.5 nm).     

Polarity-active NIR probes with strong two-photon absorption and ultrahigh binding affinity of insulin amyloid fibrils

Amyloid fibrils are associated with many neurodegenerative diseases. In situ and in vivo visualization of amyloid fibrils is important for medical diagnostics and requires fluorescent probes with both excitation and emission wavelengths in the far-red and NIR region, and simultaneously with high binding-affinity to amyloid fibrils and the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier, which, however, remain a challenge. Here, we rationally design and synthesize an excellent polarity-sensitive two-photon excited NIR fluorophore (TZPI) based on a donor (D)–acceptor (A)-ion compound. The electron-rich carbazole group and the ionic pyridinium bromide group, linked by an electron-poor π-conjugated benzothiadiazole group, ensure strong near infrared (NIR) emission. Furthermore, the lipophilic carbazole together with the benzothiadiazole group facilitates docking of the probe in the hydrophobic domains of amyloid aggregates with the dissociation constant K_d = 20 nM and 13.5-fold higher binding affinity to insulin fibrils than the commercial probe ThT. On association with the amyloid fibrils, the tiny decrease in polarity leads to a large increase in its NIR emission intensity with an on–off ratio > 10; meanwhile, the TZPI probe exhibits a quantum yield of up to 30% and two-photon absorption cross-section values of up to 467.6 GM at 890 nm. Moreover, the application of TZPI in two-photon imaging is investigated. The ultrahigh binding affinity, the strong NIR emission, the good two-photon absorption properties, the high photo-stability, the appropriate molecular mass of 569 Da and the lipophilicity with log P = 1.66 ± 0.1 to cross the BBB make TZPI promising as an ideal candidate for detecting amyloid plaques in vivo.

A polarity-active NIR probe based on the transformation from the CT state to the LE state for two-photon imaging of amyloid fibrils.     

Synthesis and fluorescence enhancement of oligophenylene-substituted calix[4]arene assemblies

Tetra-oligophenylene substituted calix[4]arene assemblies containing up to three phenylene units have been synthesized by a convergent approach using Suzuki cross-coupling and their optical properties were investigated and compared with the corresponding monomer.     

Dihydrogen-bond-promoted catalysis: catalytic hydration of nitriles with the indenylruthenium hydride complex (eta(5)-C(9)H(7))Ru(dppm)H (dppm = bis(diphenylphosphino)methane)

The indenylruthenium hydride complex (eta(5)-C(9)H(7))Ru(dppm)H was found to be active in catalyzing the hydration of nitriles to amides. The chloro analogue (eta(5)-C(9)H(7))Ru(dppm)Cl was, however, found to be inactive. Density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP level provide explanations for the effectiveness of the hydride complex and the ineffectiveness of the chloro complex in the catalysis. It is learned that the presence of a Ru-H.H-OH dihydrogen-bonding interaction in the transition state lowers the reaction barrier in the case of (eta(5)-C(9)H(7))Ru(dppm)H, but in the chloro system, the corresponding transition state does not contain this type of interaction and the reaction barrier is much higher. A similar dihydrogen-bond-promoting effect is believed to be responsible for the catalytic activity of the hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borato (Tp) ruthenium complex TpRu(PPh(3))(CH(3)CN)H in CH(3)CN hydration. The chloro analogue TpRu(PPh(3))(CH(3)CN)Cl shows no catalytic activity.     

Effect of calcination conditions on MoO3/SiO2 catalysts for synthesis of methylphenyl carbonate

The effect of calcination conditions on MoO₃/SiO₂ catalysts for the synthesis of methylphenyl carbonate was investigated in terms of catalytic activities and surface properties. The calcination temperature was varied in the range of 300 to 800^oC. These calcination conditions have shown a close relationship with the catalyst activities. The optimal calcination temperature of MoO₃/SiO₂was found to be around 550-600^oC. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR and XPS analysis.