Editorial Board: Electrophoresis 10'14

Electrophoresis 2014, 35, 1504–1508. DOI: 10.1002/elps.201400001 Combination of DNA biobarcode assay with micro‐capillary electrophoretic analysis on a chip allows us to perform breast and colorectal cancer cell detection with high sensitivity, multiplexity, and accuracy.

     

Synthesis of a Zn-salen resorcinarene-based cavitand and its fluorescence response to nitro compounds

The synthesis, spectroscopic characterisation, conformational switching and fluorescence quenching efficiency of a resorcinarene-based cavitand containing Zn-salen (Zn-Cav) are reported. Synthesis of Zn-Cav was accomplished by the condensation of a quinoxaline derivatised with Zn-salen and a resorcinarene-based cavitand containing three quinoxalines. ¹H NMR spectroscopy confirmed that in DMSO, chloroform and acetone Zn-Cav resides in the vase conformation. The molecular geometry of Zn-Cav selectively changes from vase to kite under acidic conditions. Detection by fluorescence quenching of nitro-containing molecules, such as 4-nitrotoluene, 2,4-dinitrotoluene and 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane was explored by spectrofluorimetry. It was found that the fluorescence of Zn-Cav is efficiently quenched by nitroaromatic compounds.     

Aqueous‐Solution Route to Zinc Telluride Films for Application to CO2 Reduction

As a photocathode for CO₂ reduction, zinc‐blende zinc telluride (ZnTe) was directly formed on a Zn/ZnO nanowire substrate by a simple dissolution–recrystallization mechanism without any surfactant. With the most negative conduction‐band edge among p‐type semiconductors, this new photocatalyst showed efficient and stable CO formation in photoelectrochemical CO₂ reduction at ?0.2–?0.7 V versus RHE without a sacrificial reagent.     

Reversible Re‐programing of Cell–Cell Interactions

The ability to engineer and re‐program the surfaces of cells would provide an enabling synthetic biological method for the design of cell‐ and tissue‐based therapies. A new cell surface‐engineering strategy is described that uses lipid‐chemically self‐assembled nanorings (lipid‐CSANs) that can be used for the stable and reversible modification of any cell surface with a molecular reporter or targeting ligand. In the presence of a non‐toxic FDA‐approved drug, the nanorings were quickly disassembled and the cell–cell interactions reversed. Similar to T‐cells genetically engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARS), when activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were functionalized with the anti‐EpCAM‐lipid‐CSANs, they were shown to selectively kill antigen‐positive cancer cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that lipid‐CSANs have the potential to be a rapid, stable, and general method for the reversible engineering of cell surfaces and cell–cell interactions.     

Thermal conductivity behavior of SiC–Nylon 6,6 and hBN–Nylon 6,6 composites

A study was performed to determine the effect of the content and orientation of fillers on the thermal conductivity of a polymeric composite packed with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and silicon carbide (SiC) fillers. The thermal conductivity behavior of SiC–Nylon 6,6 and hBN–Nylon 6,6 composites was more dependent on the orientation and shape of the filler than on its thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of SiC–Nylon 6,6 composites with 59 % (v/v) isotropic SiC fillers increased from 0.25 to 3.83 W/m K. That of hBN–Nylon 6,6 composites with 62 % (v/v) anisotropic hBN fillers increased from 0.25 to 2.16 W/m K in the perpendicular direction whereas in the parallel direction it increased rapidly to 8.55 W/m K .     

Mechanical Force Induces Ylide-Free Cycloaddition of Nonscissible Aziridines

The application of aziridines as nonvulnerable mechanophores is reported. Upon exposure to a mechanical force, stereochemically pure nonactivated aziridines incorporated into the backbone of a macromolecule do not undergo cis–trans isomerization, thus suggesting retention of the ring structure under force. Nonetheless, aziridines react with a dipolarophile and seem not to obey conventional reaction pathways that involve C−C or C−N bond cleavage prior to the cycloaddition. Our work demonstrates that a nonvulnerable chemical structure can be a mechanophore.     

In Vivo Imaging of the Tumor‐Associated Enzyme NCEH1 with a Covalent PET Probe

Herein, we report the development of an ¹⁸F‐labeled, activity‐based small‐molecule probe targeting the cancer‐associated serine hydrolase NCEH1. We undertook a focused medicinal chemistry campaign to simultaneously preserve potent and specific NCEH1 labeling in live cells and animals, while permitting facile ¹⁸F radionuclide incorporation required for PET imaging. The resulting molecule, [¹⁸F]JW199, labels active NCEH1 in live cells at nanomolar concentrations and greater than 1000‐fold selectivity relative to other serine hydrolases. [¹⁸F]JW199 displays rapid, NCEH1‐dependent accumulation in mouse tissues. Finally, we demonstrate that [¹⁸F]JW199 labels aggressive cancer tumor cells in vivo, which uncovered localized NCEH1 activity at the leading edge of triple‐negative breast cancer tumors, suggesting roles for NCEH1 in tumor aggressiveness and metastasis.     

Highly Conducting and Flexible Radical Crystals

Together with high conductivity, high flexibility is an important property required for next generation organic electronic components. Both properties are difficult to achieve together especially when the components are crystalline because of the intrinsic high brittleness of organic molecular crystals. We report an organic radical crystal system that has both high flexibility and high conductivity. The crystal consists of 9,10‐bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene radical cation ( BPEA^.+ ) units, and shows flexibility under pressure with high conductivity in ambient condition exhibiting average conductivity of 2.68 S cm^?1 when normal linear shape, as well as 2.43 S cm^?1 when bent. The structural analysis reveals that both a short π–π distance (3.290 Å) between BPEA^.+ units that are aligned along the crystal length direction, and the presence of PF₆^? counter ions induce flexibility and high electrical conductivity.     

Polymerization of 2,4-hexadiyn-1,6-diol by chemical vapor deposition

2,4-Hexadiyn-1,6-diol (HDO) was polymerized on glass and silicon plates by chemical vapor deposition without transition metal catalysis to form homogeneous thin films. Structural properties of the films were investigated by FT-IR, UV-visible, Raman, x-ray diffraction, and XPS spectroscopic analyses. The structure of CVD-polymerized HDO (CVD-PHDO) films was different from that of metathesis polymerized HDO (metathesis-PHDO), showing a polyacene-based structure but no polyene structure with acetylenic side groups. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.