Catalytic Sc(OTf)3 mediated direct asymmetric aldol reaction of (−)-menthyl isothiocyanatoacetate with aldehydes by using (−)-menthol as chiral auxiliary

This method involves the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of (−)-menthyl isothiocyanatoacetate 5 with a variety of substituted aromatic aldehydes, which offers a convenient method for the synthesis of intermediate containing biologically relevant α-amino β-hydroxyl groups in oxazolidine ring. In this methodology, the products show remarkable diastereoselectivity using Sc(OTf)₃ as a catalyst and easily accessible (−)-menthol as a chiral auxiliary. This approach includes some important aspects such as mild reaction conditions, high yields, and excellent diastereoselectivity with a number of substituted aromatic aldehydes. The optimization and effect of different catalysts were studied at different reaction conditions and it is found that Sc(OTf)₃ shows excellent diastereoselectivity at −45°C.     

Confinement of CuII–Phthalocyanine in a Bioinspired Hybrid Nanoparticle‐Assembled Structure Yields Selective and Stable Epoxidation Catalysts

Herein, we demonstrate that a bioinspired assembly of silica nanoparticles with polyamines as structure‐directing agents similar to that known for the biosilicification of diatoms can pave the way for the efficient encapsulation of sulfonated copper–phthalocyanine in a hybrid microcapsule structure, in which the organic component provides a capable environment for its catalytic activity in epoxidation reactions and the nanoassembled structure imparts stability.     

Tunable Surface Wrinkling by a Bio-Inspired Polyamine Anion Coacervation Process that Mediates the Assembly of Polyoxometalate Nanoclusters

A bio-inspired method is used to render controlled wrinkling surface patterns on supramolecular architectures assembled from polyoxometalate (POM) clusters. It involves a polyamine-multivalent anion interaction generating positively charged coacervates, which while dictating the assembly of POM into spherical structures further facilitate an interesting surface morphogenesis with wrinkling patterns. This spontaneous surface wrinkling depends on the type of multivalent anion and the pH. As the polyamine-anion interaction becomes stronger, the wrinkles turn denser with lesser depth, which eventually undergoes post-buckling to engender a complex surface pattern. Interestingly, the order of influence exerted by different anions on the morphology follows the Hofmeister series. Moreover, the mild synthesis conditions keep the functional POM units dispersed in the sphere with a structural transformability to their lacunary form.     

Biotechnological Innovations from Ocean: Transpiring Role of Marine Drugs in Management of Chronic Disorders

Marine drugs are abundant in number, comprise of a diverse range of structures with corresponding mechanisms of action, and hold promise for the discovery of new and better treatment approaches for the management of several chronic diseases. There are huge reserves of natural marine biological compounds, as 70 percent of the Earth is covered with oceans, indicating a diversity of chemical entities on the planet. The marine ecosystems are a rich source of bioactive products and have been explored for lead drug molecules that have proven to be novel therapeutic targets. Over the last 70 years, many structurally diverse drug products and their secondary metabolites have been isolated from marine sources. The drugs obtained from marine sources have displayed an exceptional potential in the management of a wide array of diseases, ranging from acute to chronic conditions. A beneficial role of marine drugs in human health has been recently proposed. The current review highlights various marine drugs and their compounds and role in the management of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular disorders, which has led to the development of new drug treatment approaches.     

Effect of pharmaceuticals on thermoreversible gelation of PEO-PPO-PEO copolymers

Pluronic F127, a triblock copolymer of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), has generated considerable interest as a drug delivery vehicle due to its ability to gel at physiological temperatures. This work examines the gelation behavior of Pluronic F127 in the presence of a series of hydrophobic pharmaceuticals, to determine whether there is any correlation between gelation and physicochemical parameters of drug solutes. The study includes the local anesthetics dibucaine, lidocaine, and tetracaine; the pharmaceutical additives methyl paraben, ethyl paraben, and propyl paraben; the anti-cancer agents paclitaxel and baccatin III; and the anti-inflammatory agent sulindac. The results indicate that the presence of local anesthetics and pharmaceutical additives allows F127 solutions to form gels at lower copolymer concentrations; local anesthetics and pharmaceutical additives also shift gelation down to a lower gelation temperature. This behavior is strongly dependent on drug solubility; poorly soluble drugs (paclitaxel, baccatin III, sulindac) do not change the lower gelation temperature or minimum F127 concentration for gelation. An equation relating the decrease in gelation temperature to drug solubility is presented, and the equation fits the data well. The results have significant positive implications on the toxicity and economic issues related to use of Pluronic F127 in drug delivery.     

Developing CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Fluorescent Reporter Human Pluripotent Stem-Cell Lines for High-Content Screening

Application of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to knock in fluorescent proteins to endogenous genes of interest in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has the potential to facilitate hPSC-based disease modeling, drug screening, and optimization of transplantation therapy. To evaluate the capability of fluorescent reporter hPSC lines for high-content screening approaches, we targeted EGFP to the endogenous OCT4 locus. Resulting hPSC–OCT4–EGFP lines generated expressed EGFP coincident with pluripotency markers and could be adapted to multi-well formats for high-content screening (HCS) campaigns. However, after long-term culture, hPSCs transiently lost their EGFP expression. Alternatively, through EGFP knock-in to the AAVS1 locus, we established a stable and consistent EGFP-expressing hPSC–AAVS1–EGFP line that maintained EGFP expression during in vitro hematopoietic and neural differentiation. Thus, hPSC–AAVS1–EGFP-derived sensory neurons could be adapted to a high-content screening platform that can be applied to high-throughput small-molecule screening and drug discovery campaigns. Our observations are consistent with recent findings indicating that high-frequency on-target complexities appear following CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing at the OCT4 locus. In contrast, we demonstrate that the AAVS1 locus is a safe genomic location in hPSCs with high gene expression that does not impact hPSC quality and differentiation. Our findings suggest that the CRISPR/Cas9-integrated AAVS1 system should be applied for generating stable reporter hPSC lines for long-term HCS approaches, and they underscore the importance of careful evaluation and selection of the applied reporter cell lines for HCS purposes.     

Nanocrystalline Zn1−x Ag x O y thin films evolved through electrodeposition for photoelectrochemical splitting of water

Nanocrystalline Zn_1???x Ag _x O _y (x?=?10^??3???50?×?10^??3) thin films evolved through electrodeposition over ITO substrate have been investigated for photoelectrochemical splitting of water. Samples were characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, AFM, UV–visible optical absorption, and Mössbauer spectral analysis. Ag incorporation led to a decrease in the band gap energy and alterations in microstructural and semiconductor properties. Raising Ag concentration in samples up to 1 % at. caused a significant reduction in density and electrical resistivity, enhanced absorption along with red shift to the band gap energy, anodic shift in flat band potential, and increased charge carrier density, enabling 1 % at. Ag-incorporated ZnO films most photosensitive by yielding highest short-circuit current, photocurrent density, and applied bias photon to current efficiency. Plausible reasons have been offered.     

Hydromagnetic Stability of a Self-Gravitating Composite Plasma in the Presence of Finite Larmor Radius

The hydromagnetic stability of a self-gravitating composite plasma has been studied to include the effects of ion viscosity and the finiteness of the ion Larmor radius. The whole medium is embedded in a uniform horizontal magnetic field. The F. L. R. effects have been included through the stress tensor. An explicit solution for a semi-infinite plasma of finite depth and with an exponential density variation along the vertical is obtained by means of a variational principle characterizing the problem. Numerical calculations show that the influence of the effects of ion viscosity and F. L. R. is to reduce the growth rate of unstable perturbations. On the other hand the effects of neutral gas collisions have been found to be both stabilizing as well as destabilizing.