Living Cationic Ring-Opening Polymerization of Hetero Diels–Alder Adducts to Give Multifactor-Controlled and Fast-Photodegradable Vinyl Polymers

Precise control of multiple structural parameters associated with vinyl polymers is important for producing materials with the desired properties and functions. While the development of living polymerization methods has provided a way to control the various structural parameters of vinyl polymers, the concomitant control of their sequence and regioregularity remains a challenging task. To overcome this challenge, herein, we report the living cationic ring-opening polymerization of hetero Diels–Alder adducts. The scalable and modular synthesis of the cyclic monomers was achieved by a one-step protocol using readily available vinyl precursors. Subsequently, living polymerization of the cyclic monomers was examined, allowing the synthesis of vinyl polymers while controlling multiple factors, including molecular weight, dispersity, alternating sequence, head-to-head regioregularity, and end-group functionality. The living characteristics of the developed method were further demonstrated by block copolymerization. The synthesized vinyl polymers exhibited unique thermal properties and underwent fast photodegradation even under sunlight.     

Reducible Polyethylenimine Nanoparticles for Efficient siRNA Delivery in Corneal Neovascularization Therapy

The aim of this study is to establish the safe and effective ocular delivery system of therapeutic small interfering RNA (siRNA) in corneal neovascularization therapy. The major hurdle present in siRNA‐based corneal neovascularization (CNV) therapy is severe cytotoxicity caused by repetitive drug treatment. A reducible branched polyethylenimine (rBPEI)‐based nanoparticle (NP) system is utilized as a new siRNA carrier as a hope for CNV therapy. The thiolated BPEI is readily self‐crosslinked in mild conditions to make high molecular weight rBPEI thus allowing the creation of stable siRNA/rBPEI nanoparticles (siRNA‐rBPEI‐NPs). In the therapeutic region, the rBPEI polymeric matrix is effectively degraded into nontoxic LMW BPEI inside the reductive cytosol causing the rapid release of the encapsulated siRNA into the cytosol to carry out its function. The fluorescent‐labeled siRNA‐rBPEI‐NPs can release siRNA into the entire corneal region after subconjuctival injection into the eye of Sprague Dawley rats thus confirming the proof of concept of this system.

     

Potential synthetic adaptogens 1. Synthesis and studies of new N-[(adamantan-1-yl)methyl]aniline derivatives based on adamantane-1-carbaldehyde

Russian Chemical Bulletin - A number of new N-[(adamantan-1-yl)methyl]aniline derivatives, which can be considered as conformationally labile analogues of synthetic adaptogen Bromantan, were...     

Development of Dissociation-Enhanced Lanthanide Fluoroimmunoassay for Measuring Leptin

Development of a dissociation-enhanced lanthanide fluoroimmunoassay (DELFIA) for measuring leptin, a satiety hormone of appetite control, was conducted in sandwich assay format exploiting a microplate immobilized with an anti-leptin antibody and another antibody raised against leptin and tagged with an europium chelate. In the leptin DELFIA of this study, amounts of antibody coated to the microplate and of the bioconjugate for the second immune reaction were optimized as 0.5 μg and 200 ng per well, respectively. When plotted in double-logarithmic scale, a linear relationship of y (log₁₀ response signal) = 0.6023× (log₁₀ leptin concentration) + 3.4084 (r² = 0.9646) was obtained at the leptin concentrations of 0.01─50 ng/mL with the limit of detection of 0.01 ng/mL. Individual leptin concentrations in various samples were well convergent to the calibration curve of the current assay. When applied to the measurement of leptin in a rat serum, the present assay was found quite effective and was competitive to a commercial sandwich-type ELISA.     

Bis(4-hydroxybenzyl)sulfide: a sulfur compound inhibitor of histone deacetylase isolated from root extract of Pleuropterus ciliinervis

A sulfur compound, bis(4-hydroxybenzyl)sulfide (1) was isolated from the root extract of Pleuropterus ciliinervis. Its structure was elucidated using NMR spectroscopic techniques and mass spectrometric analysis. Compound 1 showed potent inhibitory activity in a histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzyme assay. It also exhibited growth inhibitory activity on five human tumor cell lines and more sensitive inhibitory activity on the MDA-MB-231 breast tumor cell line.     

Synthesis of sulfonamides and evaluation of their histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity

A simple synthesis of sulfonamides 4-22 as novel histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors is described. The key synthetic strategies involve N-sulfonylation of L-proline benzyl ester hydrochloride (2) and coupling reaction of N-sulfonyl chloride 3 with amines in high yields. It was found that several compounds showed good cellular potency with the most potent compound 20 exhibiting an IC50 = 2.8 microM in vitro.     

Neuroprotective activity of triterpenoid saponins from Platycodi radix against glutamate-induced toxicity in primary cultured rat cortical cells

During our investigation of the neuroprotective activity of Platycodi radix we found that an aqueous extract of this folk medicine exhibited significant protection against glutamate-induced toxicity in primary cultured rat cortical cells. In order to clarify the neuroprotective mechanism(s) of this observed effect, activity-guided isolation was performed to seek and identify active fractions and components. By such fractionation, four known triterpene saponin compounds--platycodins A, C and D and deapioplatycodin D--were isolated from the n-butanol fraction. Among these four compounds, platycodin A exhibited significant neuroprotective activities against glutamate-induced toxicity, exhibiting cell viability of about 50%, at concentrations ranging from 0.1 microM to 10 microM. Therefore, the neuroprotective effect of Platycodi radix might be due to the inhibition of glutamate-induced toxicity by the saponin compounds it contains.     

Traveling wave magnetophoresis for high resolution chip based separations

A new mode of magnetophoresis is described that is capable of separating micron-sized superparamagnetic beads from complex mixtures with high sensitivity to their size and magnetic moment. This separation technique employs a translating periodic potential energy landscape to transport magnetic beads horizontally across a substrate. The potential energy landscape is created by superimposing an external, rotating magnetic field on top of the local fixed magnetic field distribution near a periodic arrangement of micro-magnets. At low driving frequencies of the external field rotation, the beads become locked into the potential energy landscape and move at the same velocity as the traveling magnetic field wave. At frequencies above a critical threshold, defined by the bead's hydrodynamic drag and magnetic moment, the motion of a specific population of magnetic beads becomes uncoupled from the potential energy landscape and its magnetophoretic mobility is dramatically reduced. By exploiting this frequency dependence, highly efficient separation of magnetic beads has been achieved, based on fractional differences in bead diameter and/or their specific attachment to two microorganisms, i.e., B. globigii and S. cerevisiae.     

Characterizations of linear Volterra integral equations with nonnegative kernels

We first introduce the notion of positive linear Volterra integral equations. Then, we offer a criterion for positive equations in terms of the resolvent. In particular, equations with nonnegative kernels are positive. Next, we obtain a variant of the Paley-Wiener theorem for equations of this class and its extension to perturbed equations. Furthermore, we get a Perron-Frobenius type theorem for linear Volterra integral equations with nonnegative kernels. Finally, we give a criterion for positivity of the initial function semigroup of linear Volterra integral equations and provide a necessary and sufficient condition for exponential stability of the semigroups.     

One-pot synthetic route to polymer-silica assembled capsule encased with nonionic drug molecule

A novel combinational drug delivery system, in which drug molecules could be dually encapsulated by soft (polymer) and hard (inorganic) vehicles has been successfully prepared via a simple one-pot synthesis; its improved chemotherapeutic efficacy has been verified through in vitro experiments.