Synthesis and preliminary investigations of the siRNA delivery potential of novel, single-chain rigid cationic carotenoid lipids

The success of nucleic acid delivery requires the development of safe and efficient delivery vectors that overcome cellular barriers for effective transport. Herein we describe the synthesis of a series of novel, single-chain rigid cationic carotenoid lipids and a study of their preliminary in vitro siRNA delivery effectiveness and cellular toxicity. The efficiency of siRNA delivery by the single-chain lipid series was compared with that of known cationic lipid vectors, 3β-[N-(N',N'-dimethylaminoethane)carbamoyl]-cholesterol (DC-Chol) and 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphoethanolamine (EPC) as positive controls. All cationic lipids (controls and single-chain lipids) were co-formulated into liposomes with the neutral co-lipid, 1,2-dioleolyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE). Cationic lipid-siRNA complexes of varying (+/-) molar charge ratios were formulated for delivery into HR5-CL11 cells. Of the five single-chain carotenoid lipids investigated, lipids 1, 2, 3 and 5 displayed significant knockdown efficiency with HR5-CL11 cells. In addition, lipid 1 exhibited the lowest levels of cytotoxicity with cell viability greater than 80% at all (+/-) molar charge ratios studied. This novel, single-chain rigid carotenoid-based cationic lipid represents a new class of transfection vector with excellent cell tolerance, accompanied with encouraging siRNA delivery efficiency.     

Synthesis and characteristics of novel chelate fiber containing amine and amidine groups

A polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber was adopted for the backbone of a chelate polymer and poly(acrylo‐amidino ethylene amine) (PAEA) was prepared through a one‐step reaction between the PAN fiber and ethylenediamine (EDA). The maximum removal capacity and degree of substitution were 7.8 meq per gram of dried PAEA and 98%, respectively. The PAEA was tested as an adsorbent in single and two‐component metal aqueous solutions under changing pH. The Cu²⁺ ion accomplished maximum adsorption amount at pH 3 and the order of maximum adsorbed amounts on PAEA is Cu²⁺ > Ag⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Pb²⁺ in molar basis. FT‐IR spectroscopy was employed to characterize the chemical bonding in metal aqueous solutions and surface morphology was examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural diversity in native cyclodextrins/folic acid complexes--from [2]-rotaxane to exclusion compound

The formation of different complexes of folic acid depending on the size of the host cyclodextrin resulting in either an exclusion compound (with the smallest α-cyclodextrin) or 2-rotaxane, where cyclodextrin is threaded over folic acid (with β- and γ-cyclodextrins), is presented. The formation is carried out in water which allows both possible application in pharmaceutical sciences and usage of environmentally friendly "green chemistry". The obtained compounds are thoroughly characterized using one and two dimensional NMR, mass spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis.     

Evaluation of closed-vessel microwave digestion method for the determination of trace impurities in polymer-based photoresist by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A closed microwave digestion method followed by inductively coupled plasma spectrometric (ICP-MS) analysis was evaluated for the determination of trace impurities in photoresist. To optimize the digestion procedure, several digestion parameters such as acid, heating temperature and heating time were evaluated. Besides, the digestion efficiency of used photoresist material and the recovery of analyte elements obtained by the use of gravimetric method and ICP-MS measurement, individually, were also compared to clarify the completeness of digestion. According to our experiments, the gravimetric method was found to be not so relevant to the completeness of digestion, because the remaining sample matrix could cause suppression effect in the subsequent ICP-MS measurement. In view of minimizing blank value and working time, a simple single-step heating program was proposed to mineralize 0.25 ml of photoresist material with 5 ml of nitric acid at 180 °C for 10 min. Based on the comparative study of the analytical results obtained by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and proposed method, the reliability of proposed method for the determination of trace metallic impurities in photoresist material has been confirmed.     

Isothermal vapor–liquid equilibria for binary mixtures of benzene, toluene, m-xylene, and N-methylformamide at 333.15 K and 353.15 K

Isothermal vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) at 333.15 K and 353.15 K for four binary mixtures of benzene + toluene, benzene + N-methylformamide, toluene + m-xylene and toluene + N-methylformamide have been obtained at pressures ranged from 0 kPa to 101.3 kPa. The NRTL, UNIQUAC and Wilson activity coefficient models have been employed to correlate experimental pressures and liquid mole fractions. The non-ideal behavior of the vapor phase has been considered by using the Soave–Redlich–Kwong equation of state in calculating the vapor mole fraction. Liquid and vapor densities were also measured by using two vibrating tube densitometers. The P–x–y diagram and the activity coefficient indicate that two mixtures of benzene + toluene and toluene + m-xylene were close to the ideal solution. However, two mixtures containing N-methylformamide present a large positive deviation from the ideal solution. The excess Gibbs energy in the benzene + toluene mixture is negative indicates that it is an exothermic system.     

Efficiency assessment of wastewater treatment plant based on SPMD sampling

The efficiency of treatment processes forboth municipal and industrial wastewater (treatment plant-Ostrava, Czech Republic) focused on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was assessed. Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) as a sampling system were applied. Exposed SPMDs were analyzed both for chemical contaminants of POPs and toxicity response. The chemical analyses of PAHs were made by HPLC-FLD, PCDD/Fs and PCBs were analysed by GC/MS/MS on GCQ or PolarisQ (Thermoquest). Ecotoxicity data on chlorococcal alga Desmodesmus subspicatus (Scenedesmus subspicatus) and luminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri are presented here. All toxicity data as effective volume Vtox are expressed. The results show good treatment ability of the treatment plant and proved used system as an appropriate tool for efficiency assessment of treatment and/or decontamination processes.     

Viscosities of liquid CdTe near melting point from ab initio molecular-dynamics calculations

Recent experimental results for the viscosity of liquid CdTe exhibit disparate behavior as a function of temperature. While some measurements show the expected Arrhenius-type behavior, other measurements show an anomalous temperature dependence indicating an increase in viscosity with increasing temperature. We present ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations of liquid cadmium telluride near its melting point and use the Stokes-Einstein relation to extract values of the viscosity constant. We find no anomalous behavior; the viscosity decreases monotonically with temperature and is consistent with an Arrhenius like behavior. Although calculated values are slightly smaller than those measured, the predicted activation energy agrees well with experiment.     

Synthesis of triphenylamine-based thiophene-(N-aryl)pyrrole-thiophene dyes for dye-sensitized solar cell applications

Two new triphenylamine-based metal-free organic dyes (TPTDYE-1 and TPTDYE-2) containing 1-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-2,5-di(2-thienyl)pyrrole as a new π-conjugated chromophore were synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. TPTDYE-1 containing three donor groups around the acceptor group was found to show relatively narrow absorption band from 300 nm to 470 nm while TPTDYE-2 having extended π–π delocalization between the donor and acceptor group showed broad absorption band from 300 nm to 550 nm. The electrochemical studies indicate that the HOMO–LUMO energy gap of TPTDYE-1 is considerably wider than that of TPTDYE-2. The dye-sensitized solar cell performance of each dye was investigated, and the TPTDYE-2-sensitized cell was found to show a maximum monochromatic incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 75%, a short-circuit photocurrent density (J_sc) of 13.50 mA/cm², an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.72 V, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.69, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 6.71% under simulated AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW/cm²). Under the same condition the TPTDYE-1-sensitized cell showed the same IPCE value of 75% with a promising conversion efficiency of 6.00%, a J_sc of 11.11 mA/cm², a V_oc of 0.76 V, and a FF of 0.71.     

Signature of the conformational preferences of small peptides: a theoretical investigation

An extensive computational study of the conformational preferences of N-acetylphenylalaninylamide (NAPA) is reported, including conformational and anharmonic frequency analyses, as well as calculations of excitation energies of the four NAPA conformers lowest in energy. Particular attention is paid to the influence of hydrogen-bonding interactions on the relative stability of the conformers, which was found to be very sensitive to both the level of quantum chemical computations and the anharmonic treatment of molecular vibrations. The assignments of the UV spectral peaks are well supported by the multireference CASSCF/MS-CASPT2 calculations. Upon consideration of the second-order M?ller-Plesset (MP2) and density functional theory (DFT) structures, overall energetics, and harmonic and anharmonic corrections, we found no conclusive theoretical evidence for the assumed conformational propensity of small model peptides toward extended beta-strand structures.