Cytotoxic withanolides from Physalis angulata

A new withanolide (1), physagulide P, together with five known withanolides (2–6), was isolated from the aerial parts of Physalis angulata L. The structure of new compound was elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic techniques, including 1D, 2D NMR and HRESIMS. The activity screening indicated that compound 1 showed significant cytotoxicities against the human osteosarcoma cell line MG-63, HepG-2 hepatoma cells and breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 with the IC₅₀ value of 3.50, 4.22 and 15.74 μM.     

Applications of CBT-Cys click reaction: past,present, and future

Herein, we review the development, applications and potential prospects of CBT-Cys click reaction. This click condensation reaction is based on the condensation reaction between 2-cyanobenzothiazole (CBT) and D-cysteine (D-Cys) in fireflies and has high biocompatibility and controllability in physiological solutions. Under the control of pH, reduction, or enzyme, this CBT-based click reaction has been widely applied to a wide range of biomedical fields such as protein labeling, molecular imaging (e. g., optical imaging, nuclear imaging, magnetic resonance imaging and photoacoustic imaging), nanomaterial fabrication, cancer therapy, and other potentialities.     

Novel binding and efficient cellular uptake of guanidine-based peptide nucleic acids (GPNA)

Incorporation of a guanidine functional group into the PNA backbone facilitates cellular uptake of PNA into mammalian cells with efficiency comparable to that of the TAT transduction domain. The modified PNA recognizes and binds to the complementary DNA strand in accordance with Watson-Crick recognition rules. However, unlike polypyrimidine PNA which binds to DNA in 2:1 stoichiometry, the modified PNA binds to complementary DNA in a 1:1 ratio to form a highly stable duplex.     

Nitrogen-doped graphene supporting PtSn nanoparticles with a tunable microstructure to enhance the activity and stability for ethanol oxidation

In this work, a series of nitrogen-doped graphenes (NGs) were prepared by deriving from pyrolysis of graphite oxide (GO) with urea at different temperatures and high-dispersed PtSn nanoparticles with tunable size were then deposited onto nitrogen-doped graphene (PtSn/NG) by an easy-controlled template-free method. The PtSn/NG and undoped graphene (PtSn/G) were carried out as anode catalysts for the electrooxidation of ethanol. The microstructure and morphology of the synthesized catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic performance toward ethanol oxidation was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It is found that the pyrolysis temperature is an important factor which influenced the contents of nitrogen and functional groups of nitrogen. And then, the functional groups of nitrogen affect the distribution, size, and contents of PtSn nanoparticles. The as-obtained optimal PtSn/NG-600 sample with narrower size distribution and high content of PtSn exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity and stability compared with the other samples, implying the potential application for ethanol fuel cells.     

Green preparation of hollow mesoporous silica nanosphere inside-loaded gold nanoparticles and the catalytic activity

In this work, an active nano-catalyst with gold nanoparticles loaded in hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres (HMSNs/Au) was prepared by a one-pot sol-gel method, in which gold ions were loaded in hollow mesoporous silica spheres followed by sodium alginate reduction. The characterization of the HMSNs/Au were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms (BET). The high catalytic activity of HMSNs/Au, denoted as apparent turn-over frequency (TOF), was detected by UV-Vis spectrophotometer for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (74.5 h^?1) and 2-nitrophenol (108.7 h^?1) in the presence of sodium borohydride solution due to the small gold nanoparticles size and overall exposure of active sites. It is expected that this ecofriendly approach to prepare inorganic composited nanoparticles as high active catalysts based on hollow mesoporous materials was a promising platform for loading noble metal nanoparticles.     

Coalescence of 3-phenyl-propynenitrile on Cu(111) into interlocking pinwheel chains

3-phenyl-propynenitrile (PPN) adsorbs on Cu(111) in a hexagonal network of molecular trimers formed through intermolecular interaction of the cyano group of one molecule with the aromatic ring of its neighbor. Heptamers of trimers coalesce into interlocking pinwheel-shaped structures that, by percolating across islands of the original trimer coverage, create the appearance of gear chains. Density functional theory aids in identifying substrate stress associated with the chemisorption of PPN's acetylene group as the cause of this transition.