Langduin C, a novel dimeric diterpenoid from the roots of Euphorbia fischeriana

Langduin C, a novel dimeric diterpenoid, was isolated from the roots of Euphorbia fischeriana and its structure was established by spectral data and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.     

Theoretical Study of Ethanethiol Adsorption on HZSM-5 Zeolite

The density functional theory and the cluster model methods have been employed to investigate the interactions between ethanethiol and HZSM-5 zeolites. Molecular complexes formed by the adsorption of ethanethiol on silanol H3SiOH with two coordination forms, model Bronsted acid sites of zeolite cluster H3Si(OH)Al(OH)2SiH3 interaction with ethanethiol, aluminum species adsorbed ethanethiol have been comparatively studied. Full optimization and frequency analysis of all cluster models have been carried out using B3LYP hybrid method at 3-21G basis level for hydrogen atoms and 6-31G(d) basis set level for silicon, aluminum, oxygen, carbon, and sulfur atoms. The structures and energy changes of different coordination forms of H3Si(OH)Al(OH)2SiH3-ethanethiol, silanol-ethanethiol and Al(OH)3-ethanethiol have been studied. The calculated results showed the nature of interactions was van der Waals force as exhibited by not much change in geometric structures and properties. The preference order of ethanethiol adsorbed on HZSM-5 zeolite may be residual aluminum species, bridging hydroxyl groups and silanol OH groups from the adsorption heat. The adsorbed models of protonized ethanethiol on bridging hydroxyl OH groups and linear hydrogen bonded ethanethiol on bridging OH groups suggested in literature might not exist as revealed by this theoretical calculation. Possible adsorption models were obtained for the first time.     

Competitive adsorption of Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ ions on microporous titanosilicate ETS-10

In the present study, the competitive adsorption characteristics of binary and ternary heavy metal ions Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ on microporous titanosilicate ETS-10 were investigated in batch systems. Pure microporous titanosilicate ETS-10 was synthesized with P25 as the Ti source and characterized by the techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscope (FESEM), nitrogen adsorption, and zeta-potential. Equilibrium and kinetic adsorption data showed that ETS-10 displays a high selectivity toward one metal in a two-component or a three-component system with an affinity order of Pb2+ > Cd2+ > Cu2+. The equilibrium behaviors of heavy metals species with stronger affinity toward ETS-10 can be described by the Langmuir equation while the adsorption kinetics of the metals can be well fitted to a pseudo-second-order (PSO) model.     

Detect early stage lung cancer by a LAMP microfluidic chip system with a real-time fluorescent filter processor

This work presents a promising clinical molecular diagnostics for early stage lung cancer. This novel diagnostic method utilized the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), microfluidic chips and a confocal optical detector with a non-linear fluorescent filter processor. An isothermal amplification based microfluidic chip for the early diagnostics of lung cancer was developed and a confocal optical detector was improved by a novel real-time fluorescent filter to sensitively monitor the DNA amplification procedure with high signal to noise ratio and fluorescence collecting ability. Experiment showed that a rapid diagnostic of lung cancer by detecting the existence of the CEA mRNA could be performed in only 5 μL of reaction assay in less than 45 min. While the traditional in-tube RT-PCR set consumed more than 25 μL of the assay and took more than 90 min.     

Coptidis rhizoma extract protects against cytokine-induced death of pancreatic beta-cells through suppression of NF-kappaB activation

We demonstrated previously that Coptidis rhizoma extract (CRE) prevented S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine-induced apoptotic cell death via the inhibition of mitochondrial membrane potential disruption and cytochrome c release in RINm5F (RIN) rat insulinoma cells. In this study, the preventive effects of CRE against cytokine-induced beta-cell death was assessed. Cytokines generated by immune cells infiltrating pancreatic islets are crucial mediators of beta-cell destruction in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The treatment of RIN cells with IL-1beta and IFN-gamma resulted in a reduction of cell viability. CRE completely protected IL-1beta and IFN-gamma-mediated cell death in a concentration-dependent manner. Incubation with CRE induced a significant suppression of IL-1beta and IFN-gamma-induced nitric oxide (NO) production, a finding which correlated well with reduced levels of the iNOS mRNA and protein. The molecular mechanism by which CRE inhibited iNOS gene expression appeared to involve the inhibition of NF-kappaB activation. The IL-1beta and IFN-gamma-stimulated RIN cells showed increases in NF-kappaB binding activity and p65 subunit levels in nucleus, and IkappaB alpha degradation in cytosol compared to unstimulated cells. Furthermore, the protective effects of CRE were verified via the observation of reduced NO generation and iNOS expression, and normal insulin-secretion responses to glucose in IL-1beta and IFN-gamma-treated islets.     

Integrated rapid resolution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric approach for screening and identification of metabolites of the potential anticancer agent 3,6,7-trimethoxyphenanthroindolizidine in rat urine

An integrated approach combining data acquisition using MS^E and multi-period product ion scan (mpMS/MS), with high-resolution characteristic extracted ion chromatograms (hcXIC) as a data mining method, was developed for in vivo drug metabolites screening and identification. This approach is illustrated by analyzing metabolites of a potential anticancer agent, 3,6,7-trimethoxyphenanthroindolizidine (CAT) in rat urine based on rapid resolution liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (RRLC–MS/MS). Untargeted full-scan MS^E enabled the high-throughput acquisition of potential metabolites, and targeted mpMS/MS contributed to the sensitivity and specificity of the acquisition of molecules of interest. The data processing method hcXIC, based on the structure of CAT, was shown to be highly effective for the metabolite discovery. Through the double-filtering effect of the characteristic ion and accurate mass, conventional extracted ion chromatograms that contained a substantial number of false-positive peaks were simplified into chromatograms essentially free of endogenous interferences. As a result, 21 metabolites were detected in rat urine after oral administration of CAT. Based on the characteristic fragmentation patterns of the phenanthroindolizidine alkaloid, the structures of 9 metabolites were identified. Furthermore, the interpretation of the MS/MS spectra of these metabolites enabled the determination of demethylation position as well as the differentiation between N-oxidized and hydroxylated metabolites.     

Color Point Tuning in Lu3−x−yMnxAl5−xSixO12:yCe3+ for White LEDs

A series of the solid‐solution phosphors Lu_3?x?yMn_xAl_5?xSi_xO₁₂:yCe³⁺ is synthesized by solid‐state reaction. The obtained phosphors possess the garnet structure and exhibit similar excitation properties as the phosphor Lu₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺, but with an effectively improved red component in the emission spectrum. This can be attributed to the energy transfer from Ce³⁺ to Mn²⁺. Our investigation reveals that electric dipole–quadrupole interactions dominate the energy‐transfer mechanism and that the critical distance determined by the spectral overlap method is about 9.21 Å. The color‐tunable emissions of the Lu_3?x?yMn_xAl_5?xSi_xO₁₂:yCe³⁺ phosphor as a function of Mn₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ content are realized by continuously shifting the chromaticity coordinates from (0.354, 0.570) to (0.462, 0.494). They indicate that the obtained material may have potential application as a blue radiation‐converting phosphor for white LEDs with high‐quality white light.     

Hierarchical molybdenum disulfide nanosheet arrays stemmed from nickel-cobalt layered double hydroxide/carbon cloth for highly-efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

The hierarchical structure of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheet arrays stemmed from nickelcobalt layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH)/carbon cloth was prepar...     

Multi‐Colored Fibers by Self‐Assembly of DNA,Histone Proteins,and Cationic Conjugated Polymers

The development of biomolecular fiber materials with imaging ability has become more and more useful for biological applications. In this work, cationic conjugated polymers (CCPs) were used to construct inherent fluorescent microfibers with natural biological macromolecules (DNA and histone proteins) through the interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation (IPC) procedure. Isothermal titration microcalorimetry results show that the driving forces for fiber formation are electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, as well as the release of counterions and bound water molecules. Color‐encoded IPC fibers were also obtained based on the co‐assembly of DNA, histone proteins, and blue‐, green‐, or red‐ (RGB‐) emissive CCPs by tuning the fluorescence resonance energy‐transfer among the CCPs at a single excitation wavelength. The fibers could encapsulate GFP‐coded Escherichia coli BL21, and the expression of GFP proteins was successfully regulated by the external environment of the fibers. These multi‐colored fibers show a great potential in biomedical applications, such as biosensor, delivery, and release of biological molecules and tissue engineering.     

An Ylide Transformation of Rhodium(I) Carbene: Enantioselective Three‐Component Reaction through Trapping of Rhodium(I)‐Associated Ammonium Ylides by β‐Nitroacrylates

The chiral Rh^I–diene‐catalyzed asymmetric three‐component reaction of aryldiazoacetates, aromatic amines, and β‐nitroacrylates was achieved to obtain γ‐nitro‐α‐amino‐succinates in good yields and with high diastereo‐ and enantioselectivity. This reaction is proposed to proceed through the enantioselective trapping of Rh^I‐associated ammonium ylides by nitroacrylates. This new transformation represents the first example of Rh^I‐carbene‐induced ylide transformation.