DNA Origami Nanoplate‐Based Emulsion with Nanopore Function

Bio‐inspired functional microcapsules have attracted increasing attention in many fields from physical/chemical science to artificial‐cell engineering. Although particle‐stabilised microcapsules are advantageous for their stability and functionalisation potential, versatile methods for their functionalisation are desired to expand their possibilities. This study reports a water‐in‐oil microdroplet stabilised with amphiphilic DNA origami nanoplates. By utilising DNA nanotechnology, DNA nanoplates were designed as a nanopore device for ion transportation and to stabilise the oil–water interface. Microscopic examination revealed the microcapsule formed by the accumulation of amphiphilic DNA nanoplates at the oil–water interface. Ion current measurements revealed the nanoplate pores functioned as channel to transport ions. These findings provide a general strategy for the programmable design of microcapsules to engineer artificial cells and molecular robots.     

Divergent Solid-Phase Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Yaku'amide B and Its Seven E/Z Isomers

Yaku′amide B ( 1 ) inhibits cancer cell growth through a unique mechanism of action. Compound 1 binds to mitochondrial F_oF₁-ATP synthase, inhibits ATP production, and enhances ATP hydrolysis. The presence of one (E)- and two (Z)-α,β-dehydroisoleucines (ΔIle) in the linear 13-mer sequence is the most unusual structural feature of 1 . To uncover the biological importance of these residues, we synthesized 1 and its seven E/Z isomers 2 – 8 by devising a new divergent solid-phase strategy. Both the (E)- and (Z)-ΔIle residues were stereoselectively constructed by traceless Staudinger ligation on resin to ultimately deliver 1 – 8 . All isomers 2 – 8 displayed effects on the inhibition of cell growth and ATP production, and enhanced ATP hydrolysis, thus indicating that 2 – 8 share the same mode of action as 1 . The least potent isomer, 8 , was isomeric at three ΔIle residues of the most potent 1 . These findings together indicate that the E/Z stereochemistry of the three ΔIle residues controls the magnitude of the biological functions of 1 .     

Multidimensional angle sensing method using guided-mode resonance

Optical Review - A waveguide grating on a transparent substrate can serve as an optical notch filter owing to guided-mode resonance. The filtering wavelength is highly sensitive to an incidence...     

Anomalous transport processes in turbulent non-Abelian plasmas

Turbulent color fields, which can arise in the early and late stages of relativistic heavy ion collisions, may contribute significantly to the transport processes in the matter created in these collisions. We review the theory of these anomalous transport processes and discuss their possible phenomenology in the glasma and quasistationary expanding quark–gluon plasma.     

Validation of an MPC Polymer Coating to Attenuate Surface‐Induced Crosstalk between the Complement and Coagulation Systems in Whole Blood in In Vitro and In Vivo Models

Artificial surfaces that come into contact with blood induce an immediate activation of the cascade systems of the blood, leading to a thrombotic and/or inflammatory response that can eventually cause damage to the biomaterial or the patient, or to both. Heparin coating has been used to improve hemocompatibility, and another approach is 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)‐based polymer coatings. Here, the aim is to evaluate the hemocompatibility of MPC polymer coating by studying the interactions with coagulation and complement systems using human blood in vitro model and pig in vivo model. The stability of the coatings is investigated in vitro and MPC polymer‐coated catheters are tested in vivo by insertion into the external jugular vein of pigs to monitor the catheters' antithrombotic properties. There is no significant activation of platelets or of the coagulation and complement systems in the MPC polymer‐coated one, which was superior in hemocompatibility to non‐coated matrix surfaces. The protective effect of the MPC polymer coat does not decline after incubation in human plasma for up to 2 weeks. With MPC polymer‐coated catheters, it is possible to easily draw blood from pig for 4 days in contrast to the case for non‐coated catheters, in which substantial clotting is seen.     

Adsorption ability comparison of plasma proteins on amorphous carbon surface

To understand why amorphous carbon (a-C:H) film shows antithrombogenicity, an adsorption ability of plasma proteins on a-C:H surface was investigated. Protein adsorption is the initial process of clot formation. The protein adsorption ability on a-C:H film surface was compared by the detection using the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon to estimate the protein adsorption. The protein adsorption abilities of a fibrinogen (Fib) and a human γ-globulin (HGG) were estimated by the SPR method using a multilayer structure of a-C:H/Au/Cr/glass. Although the adsorption of HGG for a-C:H was saturated at 32 μM in HGG concentration, the adsorption of Fib was not saturated under the detection limit of this method. These results indicated that the adsorption ability to the a-C:H film surface of Fib was higher than HGG.