Structure-tuned membrane active Ir-complexed oligoarginine overcomes cancer cell drug resistance and triggers immune responses in mice

The development of chemotherapy, an important cancer treatment modality, is hindered by the frequently found drug-resistance phenomenon. Meanwhile, researchers have been enthused lately by the synergistic use of chemotherapy with emerging immunotherapeutic treatments. In an effort to address both of the two unmet needs, reported herein is a study on a series of membrane active iridium(iii) complexed oligoarginine peptides with a new cell death mechanism capable of overcoming drug resistance as well as stimulating immunological responses. A systematic structure–activity relationship study elucidated the interdependent effects of three structural factors, i.e., hydrophobicity, topology and cationicity, on the regulation of the cytotoxicity of the Ir(iii)-oligoarginine peptides. With the most prominent toxicities, Ir-complexed octaarginines (R8) were found to display a progressive oncotic cell death featuring cell membrane-penetration and eruptive cytoplasmic content release. Consequently, this membrane-centric death mechanism showed promising potential in overcoming multiple chemical drug-resistance of cancer cells. More interestingly, the eruptive mode of cell death proved to be immunogenic by stimulating the dendritic cell maturation and inflammatory factor accumulation in mice tumours. Taking these mechanisms together, this work demonstrates that membrane active compounds may become the next generation chemotherapeutics because of their combined advantages.

Structure optimized Ir-complexed cyclic octa-arginine shows a potential of “one-drug two-effects” for cancer treatment.     

Sensor Array Based Determination of Edman Degradated Amino Acids Using Poly(p-phenyleneethynylene)s

A cross-reactive optical sensor array based on poly(p-phenyleneethynylene)s (PPEs) determines Edman degraded amino acids. We report a sensor array composed of three anionic PPEs P1–P3 , and their electrostatic complexes with metal ions (Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, Co²⁺). We recorded distinct fluorescence intensity response patterns as “fingerprints” of this chemical tongue toward standard phenylthiohydantoin (PTH) amino acids—degradation products of the Edman process. These “fingerprints” were converted into canonical scores by linear discrimination analysis (LDA), which differentiates all of the PTH-amino acids. This array discriminates PTH-amino acid residues degraded from an oligopeptide through Edman sequencing. This approach is complementary to chromatography approaches which rely on mass spectrometry; our array offers the advantage of simplicity.     

快速合成宽带激发、窄带发射白光LED用Li_2CaSiO_4∶Eu~(2+)蓝-绿荧光粉

采用微波辅助法合成了蓝-绿色荧光粉Li2CaSiO4∶Eu2+,该荧光粉能很好的与紫外光及蓝光LED匹配。分别采用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)和激发-发射光谱(PLE/PL)对样品进行了表征。X射线衍射数据与标准卡片PDF#27-290很好吻合。扫描电镜测试表明样品粒径在2~5μm。在紫外光和蓝光激发下,Li2CaSiO4∶1%Eu2+发射主峰位于478 nm,对应于Eu2+的t2g→8S7/2电子跃迁,半高峰宽31 nm。样品发光性能与Eu2+掺杂浓度有关,且Eu2+的最佳掺杂浓度为1%。合成的样品色坐标为(0.09,0.24),可作为白光LED用蓝-绿色荧光材料。     

7-羟基-4-甲基-8-(4'-甲基哌嗪-1'-基)-亚甲基香豆素的光二聚行为

通过Mannich反应在7-羟基-4-甲基香豆素的8-位上引入具有pH响应性能的4-甲基哌嗪的供电子哌嗪基团, 得到水溶性香豆素衍生物, 7-羟基-4-甲基-8-(4'-甲基哌嗪-1'-基)-亚甲基香豆素(HMPC), 利用哌嗪环上的叔胺给电子体系对酸碱的敏感特性调节HMPC的光二聚反应特征. 详细考察该香豆素衍生物在不同pH水溶液中的紫外光二聚性能, 紫外光谱分析显示, 通过调节HMPC水溶液的酸碱性可有效改变其紫外特征吸收; 在波长大于310 nm的紫外光照射下, 衍生物上的香豆素单元可进行光二聚, 并且紫外点光源光二聚反应实验表明, 其在中性水溶液中的反应速度最快, 其次为碱性条件中的反应, 最慢的则是酸性条件中的反应.     

In situ spectral imaging of marker proteins in gastric cancer with near-infrared and visible quantum dots probes

This study presents the investigation of bioconjugating ability of near-infrared (NIR) CdSeTe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) (710 nm) and visible CdSe QDs (595 nm) in immunofluorescent staining for cancer biomarkers in gastric cancer tissues probed with the homemade Hadamard transform (HT) spectral imaging microscope and a commercial multispectral imaging system. The results show that imunostaining ability of NIR QDs probes is stronger than that of visible QDs when the two kinds of QDs are simultaneously used to probe the cancer biomarkers such as cytokeratin 20 (CK20) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in gastric cancer tissues. Moreover, when the two QDs probes are used for immunostaining successively for the same target molecules, staining order has great influences on the final results due to their different conjugating ability to the marker proteins. The results imply that NIR QDs hold more promise for real-time imaging of tumor tissues due to its higher sensitivity and contrast. In addition, the results also demonstrate the potential of Hadamard transform spectral imaging as a useful tool in biomedical analysis and quantitative evaluation for tumor tissues.     

ICP-OES法测定镍铬合金中Si，Mn，Fe，Ti，Al，Cu多种元素

建立了电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法测定镍铬合金中Si,Mn,Fe,Ti,Al,Cu元素含量的分析方法。确定了溶样方法和分析谱线,采用基体匹配消除干扰。对方法精密度和准确度进行实验,实验结果表明,各元素的相对标准偏差均小于3%,加标回收率在86.8%～106.9%,镍铬合金标准物质的各元素测定结果均与标准值一致。所建立的方法快速、准确,适用于镍铬合金中多元素同时测定。     

液相色谱-串联质谱法快速同时测定婴幼儿配方乳粉中氯霉素、三聚氰胺、甲硝唑和洛硝达唑

建立了婴幼儿配方乳粉中三聚氰胺、氯霉素、甲硝唑和洛硝达唑残留的高效液相色谱-串联四极杆质谱联用测定方法.样品经碱性乙腈提取,以MGⅢ-C18色谱柱(150 mm× 2.1 mm,5 μm)分离,流动相为60 mmol/L乙酸铵溶液(含0.4‰甲酸)和甲醇,梯度洗脱,流速为0.25 mL/min.采用多反应监测正离子或负离子模式,可以同时对婴幼儿配方乳粉中的三聚氰胺、氯霉素、甲硝唑和洛硝达唑进行快速定性和定量测定.在优化条件下,4种化合物检出限为0.3 ～ 50.0μg/kg,方法回收率为61.4％ ～ 96.2％,相对标准偏差(RSD)为1.8％ ～9.8％.采用本方法测定了多种市售婴幼儿配方奶粉.本方法操作简单、测定结果准确,可用于婴幼儿配方奶粉中三聚氰胺、氯霉素、甲硝唑和洛硝达唑残留的同时快速测定.     

增强型绿色荧光蛋白的色谱分离和纯化

增强型绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)是生物领域常用的标记物。在前期成功克隆表达EGFP的基础上,本实验建立了两步分离纯化EGFP的色谱方法,并验证其分离纯化效果,检验EGFP的活性。首先用金属螯合亲和色谱柱HisTrap HP对EGFP的重组菌体破碎上清液进行初步分离,再用葡聚糖凝胶排阻色谱柱Sephadex G-10 HR对其进行脱盐纯化。采用丙烯葡聚糖凝胶排阻色谱柱Sephacryl S-300 HR和十二烷基磺酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)检测分离纯化后的EGFP纯度。最后通过荧光分光检测器和非变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(Native-PAGE)验证分离纯化后的EGFP是否具有荧光活性。结果表明该方法可以简便快速地分离纯化EGFP,纯度超过98%,同时保持了EGFP的荧光活性。     

改进型溶胶-凝胶法制备粒径可调高染料吸附量TiO2微球及其在染敏电池光散射层中的应用

利用改进型的溶胶-凝胶法, 制得了由锐钛矿相纳米颗粒组成的TiO₂多孔微纳小球。通过调节前驱物浓度, 合成出粒径可控的尺寸分别为100, 175, 225, 475 nm的TiO₂微纳小球, 并通过电泳沉积法将合成出的小球作为光散射层引入到染料敏化太阳电池(DSSC)中。由于这种微纳小球在具备良好的光散射性能的同时也具备较高的染料吸附量, 因此相较于基于纳米颗粒的单层结构的DSSC拥有更高的光电转换效率。通过比较分析, 粒径尺寸为475 nm的微球作为光散射层的DSSC光电转换效率可以达到6.3%, 较之于基于纳米颗粒的DSSC提高了30%。     

Sol–gel based synthesis of ultrafine tetragonal BaTiO3

Ultrafine tetragonal BaTiO₃ nanocrystals have been prepared by a sol–gel based method. By adjusting the volume ratio of H₂O/DEG (diethylene glycol) in the solutions, hydrolysis rate of tetra-n-butyl titanate was strongly inhibited and the particle size could be controlled as small as 4–8 nm. The powder X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy characterizations exhibit that the nanocrystals are spherical and well crystallized. The Raman spectrum shows the products are composed of the orthorhombic phase and tetragonal phase. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum revealed that a surface modification layer was formed around the BaTiO₃ nanocrystals, which can prevent them from aggregation and help to form a stable, high solid content sol.