In Vitro Tests of FDM 3D-Printed Diclofenac Sodium-Containing Implants

One of the most promising emerging innovations in personalized medication is based on 3D printing technology. For use as authorized medications, 3D-printed products require different in vitro tests, including dissolution and biocompatibility investigations. Our objective was to manufacture implantable drug delivery systems using fused deposition modeling, and in vitro tests were performed for the assessment of these products. Polylactic acid, antibacterial polylactic acid, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, and poly(methyl methacrylate) filaments were selected, and samples with 16, 19, or 22 mm diameters and 0%, 5%, 10%, or 15% infill percentages were produced. The dissolution test was performed by a USP dissolution apparatus 1. A 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide dye (MTT)-based prolonged cytotoxicity test was performed on Caco-2 cells to certify the cytocompatibility properties. The implantable drug delivery systems were characterized by thermogravimetric and heatflow assay, contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy, microcomputed tomography, and Raman spectroscopy. Based on our results, it can be stated that the samples are considered nontoxic. The dissolution profiles are influenced by the material properties of the polymers, the diameter, and the infill percentage. Our results confirm the potential of fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing for the manufacturing of different implantable drug delivery systems in personalized medicine and may be applied during surgical interventions.     

Antiproliferative Phenanthrenes from Juncus tenuis: Isolation and Diversity-Oriented Semisynthetic Modification

The occurrence of phenanthrenes is limited in nature, with such compounds identified only in some plant families. Phenanthrenes were described to have a wide range of pharmacological activities, and numerous research programs have targeted semisynthetic derivatives of the phenanthrene skeleton. The aims of this study were the phytochemical investigation of Juncus tenuis, focusing on the isolation of phenanthrenes, and the preparation of semisynthetic derivatives of the isolated compounds. From the methanolic extract of J. tenuis, three phenanthrenes (juncusol, effusol, and 2,7-dihydroxy-1,8-dimethyl-5-vinyl-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene) were isolated. Juncusol and effusol were transformed by hypervalent iodine(III) reagent, using a diversity-oriented approach. Four racemic semisynthetic compounds possessing an alkyl-substituted p-quinol ring (1–4) were produced. Isolation and purification of the compounds were carried out by different chromatographic techniques, and their structures were elucidated by means of 1D and 2D NMR, and HRMS spectroscopic methods. The isolated secondary metabolites and their semisynthetic analogues were tested on seven human tumor cell lines (A2780, A2780cis, KCR, MCF-7, HeLa, HTB-26, and T47D) and on one normal cell line (MRC-5), using the MTT assay. The effusol derivative 3, substituted with two methoxy groups, showed promising antiproliferative activity on MCF-7, T47D, and A2780 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 5.8, 7.0, and 8.6 µM, respectively.     

Saturated heterocycles. 176 Synthesis and steric structure of quaternary azeto[2,1-a]isoquinoline stereoisomers

Starting from 1-substituted azeto[2,1-a]isoquinoline diastereomers, a number of quaternary salts were prepared. The reactions leading to the quaternary salts were stereospecific, independently of the configuration at C-1, resulting in diastereomers. The steric structures of the new compounds were proved by nmr spectroscopy.     

Living carbocationic copolymerization of isobutylene with styrene

The carbocationic copolymerization of isobutylene (IB) and styrene (St), initiated by 2‐chloro‐2,4,4‐trimethylpentane/TiCl₄ in 60/40 (v/v) methyl chloride/hexane at ?90 °C, was investigated. At a low total concentration (0.5 mol/L), slow initiation and rapid monomer conversion were observed. At a high total comonomer concentration (3 mol/L), living conditions (a linear semilogarithmic rate and M_n–conversion plots) were found, provided that the St concentration was above a critical value ([St]₀ ～ 0.6 mol/L). The breadth of the molecular weight distribution decreased with increasing IB concentration in the feed, reaching M_w/M_n ～ 1.1. St homopolymerization was also living at a high total concentration, yielding polystyrene with M_n = 82,000 g/mol, the highest molecular weight ever achieved in carbocationic St polymerization. An analysis of this system by both the traditional gravimetric–NMR copolymer composition method and FTIR demonstrated penultimate effects. IB enrichment was found in the copolymers at all feed compositions, with very little drift at a high total concentration and above the critical St concentration. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1778–1787, 2007     

Immortelle (Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don) Essential Oil Showed Antibacterial and Biofilm Inhibitory Activity against Respiratory Tract Pathogens

The biofilm formation of bacteria in different parts of the human body can influence the success of antibiotic therapy. Essential oils (EOs) and their components are becoming increasingly popular in point of view of medicinal applications, because of their antibacterial efficacy. The immortelle EO has been used traditionally as an expectorant; however, there are no studies summarizing its antibacterial effect against respiratory tract bacteria. Our aim was to investigate the antibacterial and biofilm inhibitory activity of immortelle (Helichrysum italicum) EO against respiratory tract pathogens such as Haemophilus influenzae, H. parainfluenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae. In order to prove the antibacterial effect of the immortelle EO, broth microdilution and biofilm inhibition tests, and membrane damage assay were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the structural modifications in bacterial cells. Our results showed that immortelle EO has antibacterial and anti-biofilm effects against respiratory tract bacteria used in this study. H. parainfluenzae was the most sensitive to each treatment, however, P. aeruginosa was the most resistant bacteria. In conclusion, the studied EO may have a role in the treatment of respiratory tract infections due to their antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity.     

Oxydative Deammonisierung von NH4-Zeolithen

Zusammenfassung Es wurde eine vergleichende thermogravimetrische Untersuchung der Deammonisierung von NH₄-Mordenit, NH₄-Chabasit und NH₄-Stilbit ausgeführt. Aus dem Verlauf der TG-Kurven kann geschlossen werden, da\ in O₂-AtmosphÄre eine intrakristalline Oxydation thermisch angeregter Ammonium-Gitterkationen erfolgt. Diese Reaktion verlÄuft bei wesentlich niedrigeren Temperaturen als die thermische Deammonisierung in inerter AtmosphÄre und führt damit zu einer besseren Trennung von Deammonisierung und Dehydroxylierung. Unter den durch die Bildung von Wasser wÄhrend der oxydativen Deammonisierung gegebenen hydrothermalen Bedingungen gehen — im Falle von Chabasit und Stilbit — gewisse strukturelle VerÄnderungen der H-Form vor sich, die sich in einem unterschiedlichen Dehydroxylierungsverhalten zu erkennen geben.

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A comparative thermogravimetric study of the deammoniation of NH₄-mordenite, NH₄-chabazite, and NH₄-stilbite in oxidizing and inert atmosphere has been carried out. The results suggest that in oxygen atmosphere an intracrystalline oxidation of thermally-excited ammonium lattice cations occurs. This reaction proceeds at much lower temperatures than the thermal deammoniation in an inert atmosphere and consequently results in a much better separation of the dehydroxylation process from the deammoniation. Because of the hydrothermal conditions resulting from the formation of water during the oxidizing deammoniation, certain structural changes of the hydrogen form of chabazite and stilbite occur as revealed by changes of the dehydroxylation behaviour.

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Résumé On a effectué une étude thermogravimétrique comparée de la désammoniation de NH₄-mordénite, NH₄-chabazite et NH₄-stilbite, dans des atmosphères oxydantes et inertes. Les résultats permettent de supposer qu'en atmosphère d'oxygène il se produit une oxydation intracristalline des cations du réseau d'ammonium thermiquement excités. Cette réaction s'effectue à des températures bien plus faibles que dans une atmosphère inerte et, par conséquent, conduit à une séparation bien plus distincte du processus de déshydroxylation et de désammoniation. En raison des conditions hydrothermiques qui résultent de la formation d'eau pendant la désammoniation, certains changements de structure de la forme hydrogénée de la chabazite et de la stilbite ont lieu et sont révélés par les changements du comportement de déshydroxylation.

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Randomized algorithm for the k-server problem on decomposable spaces

We study the randomized k-server problem on metric spaces consisting of widely separated subspaces. We give a method which extends existing algorithms to larger spaces with the growth rate of the competitive quotients being at most O(logk). This method yields o(k)-competitive algorithms solving the randomized k-server problem for some special underlying metric spaces, e.g. HSTs of “small” height (but unbounded degree). HSTs are important tools for probabilistic approximation of metric spaces.     

High-Energy Proton-Beam-Induced Polymerization/Oxygenation of Hydroxynaphthalenes on Meteorites and Nitrogen Transfer from Urea: Modeling Insoluble Organic Matter?

Formation and structural modification of oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (oxyPAHs) by UV irradiation on minerals have recently been proposed as a possible channel of PAH transformation in astrochemical and prebiotic scenarios of possible relevance for the origin of life. Herein, it is demonstrated that high-energy proton-beam irradiation in the presence of various meteorites, including stony iron, achondrite, and chondrite types, promotes the conversion of two representative oxyPAH compounds, 1-naphthol and 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene, to complex mixtures of oxygenated and oligomeric derivatives. The main identified products include polyhydroxy derivatives, isomeric dimers encompassing benzofuran and benzopyran scaffolds, and, notably, a range of quinones and perylene derivatives. Addition of urea, a prebiotically relevant chemical precursor, expanded the range of identified species to include, among others, quinone diimines. Proton-beam irradiation of oxyPAH modulated by nitrogen-containing compounds such as urea is proposed as a possible contributory mechanism for the formation and processing of insoluble organic matter in meteorites and in prebiotic processes.     

Mössbauer study on iron-polygalacturonate coordination compounds

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy was used to determine the oxidation state and microenvironments of iron in the Fe-polygalacturonate compound prepared by a novel method from pectin. ICP analysis was applied to study the iron content of the coordination compounds. It was found that there are two ferrous and one ferric microenvironments in the compound. In the iron- polygalacturonate compound the ferrous forms occur dominantly. A model for the bonding of Fe in the polygalacturonate chains is proposed.