Functionalized Polystyrene Nanoparticles Trigger Human Dendritic Cell Maturation Resulting in Enhanced CD4+ T Cell Activation

Nanoparticles (NP) represent a promising tool for biomedical applications. Here, sulfonate‐ and phosphonate‐functionalized polystyrene NP are analyzed for their interaction with human monocyte‐derived dendritic cells (DC). Immature dendritic cells (iDC) display a higher time‐ and dose‐dependent uptake of functionalized polystyrene NP compared to mature dendritic cells (mDC). Notably, NP induce an enhanced maturation of iDC but not of mDC (upregulation of stimulatory molecules and cytokines). NP‐triggered maturation results in a significantly enhanced T cell stimulatory capacity (increased CD4⁺ T cell proliferation and IFN‐γ production), indicating a shift to a pronounced Th1 response. Immunomodulatory properties of NP may be a useful strategy for strengthening the efficacy of NP‐based approaches in immunotherapy.

     

Elution behavior of polyethylene and polypropylene standards on carbon sorbents

The elution behavior of linear polyethylene and isotactic, atactic and syndiotactic polypropylene was tested using three different carbon column packings: porous graphite (Hypercarb), porous zirconium oxide covered with carbon (ZirChrom-CARB), and activated carbon TA 95. Several polar solvents with boiling points above 150°C were selected as mobile phases: 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, n-decanol, cyclohexylacetate, hexylacetate, cyclohexanone, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and one non-polar solvent, n-decane. Polyethylene standards were completely or partially adsorbed in all tested sorbent/solvent systems. Polypropylene standards were partially adsorbed on Hypercarb and carbon TA95, but did not adsorb on ZirChrom-CARB. ZirChrom-CARB retained polyethylene pronouncedly when 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, cyclohexylacetate or hexylacetate were used as mobile phases at temperature 150 or 160°C, while all three basic stereoisomers of polypropylene eluted in size exclusion mode in these sorbent/solvent pairs. This is very different from the system Hypercarb/1-decanol, which separated polypropylene according to its tacticity. The opposite elution behavior of polyethylene and polypropylene in system ZirChrom-CARB/2-ethyl-1-hexanol (polypropylene eluted, polyethylene fully adsorbed) enabled to realize separation of blends of polyethylene and polypropylene. Ethylene/1-hexene copolymers were separated according to their chemical composition using system Hypercarb/2-ethyl-1-hexanol/1,2,4-trichlorobenzene.     

Reaction coordinate analysis for beta-diketone cleavage by the non-heme Fe2+-dependent dioxygenase Dke1

Acetylacetone dioxygenase from Acinetobacter johnsonii (Dke1) utilizes a non-heme Fe2+ cofactor to promote dioxygen-dependent conversion of 2,4-pentanedione (PD) into methylglyoxal and acetate. An oxidative carbon-carbon bond cleavage by Dke1 is triggered from a C-3 peroxidate intermediate that performs an intramolecular nucleophilic attack on the adjacent carbonyl group. But how does Dke1 bring about the initial reduction of dioxygen? To answer this question, we report here a reaction coordinate analysis for the part of the Dke1 catalytic cycle that involves O2 chemistry. A weak visible absorption band (epsilon approximately 0.2 mM(-1) cm(-1)) that is characteristic of an enzyme-bound Fe2+-beta-keto-enolate complex served as spectroscopic probe of substrate binding and internal catalytic steps. Transient and steady-state kinetic studies reveal that O2-dependent conversion of the chromogenic binary complex is rate-limiting for the overall reaction. Linear free-energy relationship analysis, in which apparent turnover numbers (k(app) cat) for enzymatic bond cleavage of a series of substituted beta-dicarbonyl substrates were correlated with calculated energies for the highest occupied molecular orbitals of the corresponding beta-keto-enolate structures, demonstrates unambiguously that k(app) cat is governed by the electron-donating ability of the substrate. The case of 2'-hydroxyacetophenone (2'HAP), a completely inactive beta-dicarbonyl analogue that has the enol double bond delocalized into the aromatic ring, indicates that dioxygen reduction and C-O bond formation cannot be decoupled and therefore take place in one single kinetic step.     

Prediction of multicomponent liquid adsorption using excess quantities I. Statistical thermodynamic derivation of the basic equation of excess formalism

The utilization of excess quantities as the basis of a thermodynamic approach can simplify the prediction of multicomponent liquid adsorption from binary data. From statistical thermodynamics, the fundamental equation is derived for the prediction of ternary or higher order data from adsorption data for the constituent binary mixtures. An additive expression is obtained for the double Gibbs free excess energies, valid for adsorption on liquid mixture/air interfaces as well as liquid mixture/solid interfaces.     

Homotopy Classes for Stable Periodic and Chaotic¶Patterns in Fourth-Order Hamiltonian Systems

We investigate periodic and chaotic solutions of Hamiltonian systems in ℝ⁴ which arise in the study of stationary solutions of a class of bistable evolution equations. Under very mild hypotheses, variational techniques are used to show that, in the presence of two saddle-focus equilibria, minimizing solutions respect the topology of the configuration plane punctured at these points. By considering curves in appropriate covering spaces of this doubly punctured plane, we prove that minimizers of every homotopy type exist and characterize their topological properties. Received: 6 April 1999 / Accepted: 2 May 2000