Characterization of polyplexes involving small RNA

The purpose of the present study is to provide a tool for an efficient design and synthesis of non-viral vectors for small RNA delivery. The effects of properties of the polycation, such as molecular weight, charge density and backbone structure, to polyplex structure and physicochemical behavior were systematically evaluated. The condensing agents, polyethylenimine (PEI), chitosan (CS) and poly(allylamine) (PAA) were added to sRNA molecules at different N/P ratio. The efficiency of encapsulation and protection of sRNA, as well as polyplex size, zeta potential and morphology were followed and compared. The results show that PEI/sRNA polyplexes display a small size and positive zeta potential. However, for low molecular weights, this polycation is unable to protect sRNA in the presence of a decompacting agent. With chitosan, sRNA is efficiently compacted at high N/P ratios. The CS/sRNA complexes display small sizes, ca. 200 nm, positive surface charge and also good stability. Finally, the PAA/sRNA polyplexes were found to be the smallest at low N/P ratios, displaying a good encapsulation efficiency and high stability. A rationale for the experimental observations is provided using Monte Carlo simulation for systems with polycations of different length and charge density. The simulations showed that there is an interplay between the size of polycation chains and its charge density that define the degree of condensation for sRNA.     

Synthesis of the Oligosaccharide Moieties of Musettamycin,Marcellomycin and Aclacinomycin A,Antitumor Antibiotics

Abstract

Condensation of benzyl 2,3,6-trideoxy-3-trifluoroacetamido-α-L-lyxo-hexopyranoside (5) with 4-O-acetyl-3-O-benzyl-2,6-dideoxy-α-L-lyxo-hexopyranosyl bromide (10) carried out under Koenigs-Knorr conditions gave 12. Total deprotection of 12 and N-dimethylation at C-3 led to 17 while selective removal of the 4-O-acetyl group led to 13, a synthetic intermediate for preparing 24 and 33. Condensation of 13 with di-O-acetyl-L-fucal (18) or 4-O-acetyl-L-amicetal (25) in the presence of N-iodosuccinimide followed by hydrogenolysis of the C-2-I bond gave 20 and 27 respectively. The trisaccharide 24 then was obtained from 20 by the same sequence of reactions used to convert 12 into 17. After deacetylation and oxidation, this set of reactions also transformed 27 into 33.     

Information Processing with Molecules—Quo Vadis?

Information processing at the molecular level is coming of age. Since the first molecular AND gate was proposed about 20 years ago, the molecular interpretation of binary logic has become vastly more sophisticated and complex. However, the field is also at a crossroads. While cleverly designed molecular building blocks are abundant, difficult questions remain. How can molecular components be flexibly assembled into larger circuits, and how can these components communicate with one another. The concept of all‐photonic switching with photochromic supermolecules has shown some interesting potential and is discussed in this review. Although the field of molecular logic was originally discussed mainly in terms of a technology that might compete with solid‐state computers, potential applications have expanded to include clever molecular systems and materials for drug delivery, sensing, probing, encoding, and diagnostics. These upcoming trends, which are herein illustrated by selected examples, deserve general attention.     

A performance study of a high-gain target for heavy-ion beam fusion

Summary Through numerical simulations, a target has been designed to produce, when irradiated with the appropriate heavy-ion beam, an energy gain close to 100. The thermofluid numerical studies for the dynamical behaviour of this target, made with the 1D code CLIFF and with the 2D code COBI-1, have shown some interesting features: the fusion fuel ignites almost contemporaneously and ignition occurs only for asymmetries in the beam intensity between pole and equator of less than 6%. Radiation losses play an important role when asymmetries are present. Actually, when radiation transfer is switched-off in the code, ignition has been observed even for asymmetries of 10%. The authors of this paper have agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.     

Design of a dual nanostructured lipid carrier formulation based on physicochemical,rheological, and mechanical properties

Journal of Nanoparticle Research - The synergy between nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) and chemical penetration enhancers provides the basis for a promising strategy to effectively deliver...     

Economy: the absent centre of mathematics education

Social and political turns in mathematics education research have brought into the field postmodern theorisations that researchers have been using to dismantle traditional philosophies of mathematics, to posit mathematics in the sociocultural terrain, and to spell out the role mathematics has in school exclusion. Sociopolitical perspectives constitute a privileged field of research to address the influence of economy on mathematical achievement. However, instead of investigating the role of economy in students’ achievement, sociopolitical studies have been contributing to a disavowal of the economic dimension of school mathematics. This paper synthesises a set of investigations carried out by the author in the last 5 years endeavouring to posit mathematics education in the political and economic spectrum of our time. It takes advantage of the contemporary combination of Hegel’s dialectics, Lacanian psychoanalysis and Marx’s critique of political economy, carried out by Slavoj ?i?ek, to develop a critique of the way research within the so-called ‘sociopolitical turn’ deals with the issue of equity; and marks out the contours of mathematics education’s ideological belonging.     

Characterization of isomeric cationic porphyrins with β-pyrrolic substituents by electrospray mass spectrometry: The singular behavior of a potential virus photoinactivator

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) have been used to differentiate the 2- and 4-methylpyridyl isomers of free-base and metallated cationic beta-vinylpyridylporphyrins. The analysis by ESI-MS/MS of the deuterated analogs and semiempirical calculations of structural and electronic parameters were also undertaken. The two free-base isomers are easily differentiated by ESI-MS/MS but the presence of a metallic center renders differentiation of the metallated isomers less effective. The data acquired show that of all the studied compounds, the free-base 2-methylpyridyl isomer, which was operative in the in vitro photoinactivation of Herpes simples virus, has a different gas-phase behavior. Local distortion of the macrocycle due to the presence of the beta-vinylpyridyl substituent occurs for all the compounds, but a different electron density distribution can account for the observed gas-phase behavior of this potential virus photoinactivator.     

Enzymes of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller with potential industrial applications-I

We report on the screening of different enzymes such as arylamidases, lipases, proteinases, and glucosidases in plant extracts of the Cactaceae family, genus Opuntia, as well as on a newly purified plant proteases from O. ficus-indica fruit extracts. These proteinases showed the maximum activity at pH 5.2 and 55°C and FTC-casein was the best of the escreened substrates. Proteolytic activities were activated by anti-oxidant compounds and by some divalent cations. These proteinases were efficiently inhibited by cystein proteinase inhibitors and by 1,10-phenanth roline. The estimated M _t for the main proteolytic activity was about 23.2 kDa. The results on milk clotting characteristics suggest a potential use of the fruit cystein enzymes of this plant in dairy industries.