Transition-metal-free trifluoromethylthiolation and difluoromethylthiolation of thiols with trifluoromethanesulfonyl chloride and difluoromethanesulfonyl chloride

Triphenylphosphine-mediated metal-free trifluoromethylthiolation and difluoromethylthiolation of thiols by CF₃SO₂Cl and CHF₂SO₂Cl to synthesize trifluoromethyl disulfides and difluoromethyl disulfides, respectively, was achieved at room temperature. Iodine generated in situ from iodide facilitated this reaction via the formation of iodotriphenylphosphonium iodide which could serve as a reducing agent in this transformation. Readily available reagents and mild reaction conditions without transition-metals allow this protocol to be more practical than traditional methods.     

生物质灰对煤焦加氢气化的催化作用

以小麦秸秆、马尾藻和山苦荬等三种富含碱金属和碱土金属的生物质为原料,研究了在500、600和815℃下制得的生物质灰对神府煤焦加氢气化的催化作用。结果表明,随着制灰温度由500℃升高至815℃,灰产量减少,且灰中的碱金属和氯元素的含量降低;当制灰温度达到815℃,生物质灰出现明显的熔融现象;600℃灰样对神府煤焦加氢气化具有较好的催化作用,催化效果随灰样添加比例增大而增强。山苦荬灰催化作用较好,而马尾藻灰催化作用较弱。小麦秸秆灰中较高的硅含量和马尾藻灰中较高的氯含量是其催化作用较弱的主要原因;氯元素会加剧碱金属的挥发,弱化与其结合的碱金属的催化效果,对碱金属催化所产生的抑制作用比相同摩尔数的硅更加明显。     

A Portable Plasma Sterilizer

An atmospheric microplasma jet system powered by an commercial transformer is developed for investigating the sterilizing efficiency of Escherichia coli in different conditions. The device can be hand-held and operated in the open air. The effect of carrier gas, gas flow rate, distance and treatment time of inactivation is studied. According to the experiment, plasma jet is able to inactivate all the bacteria on the surface in 20 s when the air flow rate is 5 L/min and the distance is 2.0 cm. Besides, the sterilization efficacy with different carrier gas follows an order as bellow: N₂ > air > O₂ > Ar. The measurements of malondialdehyde content, protein leakage quantity and Mg content are performed as well. In addition, the SEM after plasma treatment reveals that the integrity of E. coli cells is damaged and intracellular particles are excreted into the extracellular space. With discussions upon the mechanisms of surface sterilization, it is found that during the treatment of microplasma, it is mainly the etching actions of electrons and ions on the bacilli that kill the E. coli. Chemical effects rather than physical ones that are responsible for inactivation. Furthermore, the experiment results suggest that there may be better sterilization effect with gas mixture as carrier gas.     

Electrochemical biosensing for dsDNA damage induced by PbSe quantum dots under UV irradiation

<正>An electrochemical sensor for the detection of the natural double-stranded DNA(dsDNA) damage induced by PbSe quantum dots(QDs) under UV irradiation was developed.The biosensing membranes were prepared by successively assembling 3- mercaptopropionic acid,polycationic poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium) and dsDNA on the surface of the gold electrode.Damage of dsDNA was fulfilled by immersing the sensing membrane electrode in PbSe QDs suspension and illuminating it with an UV lamp. Cyclic voltammetry was utilized to detect dsDNA damage with Co(phen)_3~(3+) as the electroactive probe.The UV irradiation,Pb~(2+) ions liberated from the PbSe QDs under the UV irradiation and the reactive oxygen species(ROS) generated in the presence of the PbSe QDs also under the UV irradiation were the three factors of inducing the dsDNA damage.The synergistic effect of the three factors might dramatically enhance the damage of dsDNA.This electrochemical sensor provided a simple method for detecting DNA damage,and may be used for investigating the DNA damage induced by other QDs.     

Synthesis, photophysical and electrophosphorescent properties of fluorene-based platinum(II) complexes

A series of platinum(II) complexes bearing tridentate cyclometalated C^N^N (C^N^N=6-phenyl-2,2'-bipyridine and π-extended R-C^N^N=3-[6'-(naphthalen-2'-yl)pyridin-2'-yl]isoquinoline) ligands with fluorene units have been synthesised and their photophysical properties have been studied. The fluorene units are incorporated into the cyclometalated ligands by a Suzuki coupling reaction. An increase in the π-conjugation of the cyclometalated ligands confers favourable photophysical properties compared to the 6-phenyl-2,2'-bipyridine analogues. The fluorene-based platinum(II) complexes display vibronic-structured emission bands with λ(max)=558-601 nm, and high emission quantum yields up to 0.76 in degassed dichloromethane. Their emissions are tentatively assigned to excited states with mixed (3)IL/(3)MLCT parentage (IL=intraligand, MLCT=metal-to-ligand charge transfer). The crystal structures of these platinum(II) complexes reveal extensive Pt(II)···π and/or π-π interactions. The fluorene-based platinum(II) complexes are soluble in organic solvents, have high thermal stability with decomposition temperature >350 °C, and can be thermally vacuum-sublimed or solution-processed as phosphorescent dopants for the fabrication of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). A monochromic OLED with 3d as dopant (2 wt%) fabricated by vacuum deposition gave a current efficiency of 14.7 cd A(-1) and maximum brightness of 27000 cd m(-2). A high current efficiency (9.2 cd A(-1)) has been achieved in a solution-processed OLED using complex 3f (5 wt%) doped in a PVK (poly(9-vinylcarbazole)) host.     

Sensitively electrochemical detection of the DNA damage in situ by electro-Fenton reaction based on Fe@Fe2O3 core-shell nanonecklace and multi-walled carbon nanotube composite

An electrochemical biosensor for mimicking the metal-mediated DNA damage pathway in situ was presented. The Fenton reagents (H₂O₂ and iron ion) for the DNA damage were generated in situ with a constant rate from the sensing film. H₂O₂ and iron ion reacted further together to yield hydroxyl radical, which attacked DNA in the film. These courses of DNA damage were just like those happened in organism. The DNA damage was detected by monitoring the differential pulse voltammetric response of an electrochemical indicator, Co(phen)₃³⁺. Another electrochemical indicator, Ru(NH₃)₆³⁺, was also used for monitoring the DNA damage as a complementary means and the minimal detectable amount of DNA damage was 0.16 μg. The biosensor had good reproducibility. After this biosensor was used for 11 times, 90% of the first detection signal was obtained.     

New Guaipyridine Sesquiterpene Alkaloids from Artemisia rupestris L.

Three new guaipyridine sesquiterpene alkaloids, rupestine A, B, C ( 1 – 3 , resp.), and the new nor‐sesquiterpne alkaloid rupestine D ( 4 ) were obtained from the flowers of Artemisia rupestris L. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of sepectroscopic data and by comparison with those of the related compounds reported in the literature. In addition, the absolute configurations of 2 and 4 were determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analyses.     

Preparation and characterization of molecularly imprinted microspheres for dibutyl phthalate recognition in aqueous environment

Molecularly imprinted microspheres (MIMs) were prepared by suspension polymerization for the binding and recognition of dibutyl phthalate (DBP). DBP was used as the template molecule, methacrylic acid as the functional monomer, ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) as the linking agent, PVA as the dispersing agent, and Span 60 as the surfactant. The MIMs were characterized with electron microscope scanning and rebinding experiments. The Scatchard plot revealed that the template‐polymer system has a two‐site binding behavior with dissociation constants of 4.05 and 0.515 mmol/L. The MIMs exhibited the highest selective rebinding to DBP at 736.85 μg/g. The recoveries of the MIM‐SPE column for DBP extraction was 94.75–101.9% with the RSD of 1.5–7.3%, indicating the feasibility of the prepared MIMs for DBP extraction. Finally, the method developed was used to analyze the trace levels of phthalate in aqueous environment samples.     

Metal binding discrimination of the calmodulin Q41C/K75C mutant on Ca2+ and La3+

Calmodulin (CaM) is a multifunctional Ca²⁺-binding protein regulating the activity of many enzymes in response to fluctuation of the intracellular Ca²⁺ level. It has been shown that a CaM Q41C/K75C mutant (CaMSS) with a disulfide bond in the N-terminal domain exhibits greatly reduced affinity to Ca²⁺. In the present study, the experimental results revealed a unique metal binding pattern in CaMSS towards La³⁺ and Ca²⁺ separately: the mutant protein binds Ca²⁺ at site I, III and IV; however, it binds La³⁺ at site I, II and IV. A putative mechanism was proposed which is the conformation of site II (or site III) of CaMSS could be altered and thus loses its metal ion affinity in response to metal binding in the opposite terminal domain possibly through the long range domain interaction. The present work may offer new perspectives for understanding the mechanisms of specific metal ion affinity in CaM and for CaM-based protein design.     

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor protects neurons from GdCl3-induced impairment in neuron-astrocyte co-cultures

Gadolinium (Gd³⁺) complexes are important contrast agents in medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and of great potential value in brain research. In order to better understand the mechanisms of the action of Gd³⁺ on neurons in the complex central nervous system (CNS), the neurotoxic actions of GdCl₃ have been investigated in both neuron monoculture and astrocyte-neuron co-culture systems. Measurements of lactate dehydrogenase release showed that GdCl₃ causes significant cell death of monocultured neurons as a result of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and down-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, GdCl₃ does not affect the viability and BDNF expression of astrocytes. Both co-culturing of neurons with astrocytes and addition of BDNF ameliorated GdCl₃-induced neurotoxicity by decreasing ROS generation and facilitating recovery of BDNF levels. The results obtained suggest that astrocytes in the CNS may protect neurons from GdCl₃-induced impairment through secreting BDNF and thus up-regulating BDNF expression and interfering with Gd³⁺-induced cell signaling in neurons. A possible molecular mechanism is suggested which should be helpful in understanding the neurotoxic actions of gadolinium probes.