Processing of Three-Dimensional Laser Sintered Polyetheretherketone Composites and Testing of Osteoblast Proliferation in vitro

Summary: The following investigation focuses on polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for bone substitutes intended for maxillofacial surgery. Different three-dimensional discs with a diameter of 12 mm and a height of 3 mm were laser sintered. As filler materials nano-sized carbon black and β-tricalciumphosphate powder with an average grain size of 35 µm were used. Human osteoblasts were cultivated on the discs and examined with scanning electron microscopy. Cell vitality and cell growth was investigated. The data shows that PEEK surfaces does not suppress osteoblast proliferation.     

Fabrication of Metal‐Block‐Copolymer Composite Films by a Palladium‐Catalyzed Electroless Nickel‐Plating Process

Summary: Homogeneous films of PI‐b‐PDMAEMA are prepared on top of silicon (100) substrates. The free film surface shows microdomains of PDMAEMA within a PI matrix. These microdomains act as templates for the highly site‐selective synthesis of metal nanoparticles via palladium‐catalyzed electroless nickel plating. The particle formation is studied by atomic force microscopy in tapping mode and implications for a redox reaction and a nanoparticle growth mechanism on the surface of nanopatterned films are discussed.

Chemical structure of the PI‐b‐PDMAEMA copolymer and AFM phase image of a PI‐b‐PDMAEMA film on Si (100) substrate.     

Using Core Formulations for Ill-posed Linear Systems

We investigate the application of core problem formulations to the context of ill-posed linear algebraic systems. We note that in order to impose regularization on such systems by using core formulations, one is lead to a technique similar to the Truncated (Total) Least Squares method. Choosing an appropriate truncation level from given data can be made efficient by incorporating the truncation level decision as a stopping criterion into a partial bidiagonalization algorithm. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Towards clustered carbonyl cations [M3(CO)14]2+ (M = Ru,Os): the need for innocent deelectronation

To access the hitherto almost unknown class of clustered transition metal carbonyl cations, the trimetal dodecacarbonyls M₃(CO)₁₂ (M = Ru, Os) were reacted with the oxidant Ag⁺[WCA]⁻, but yielded the silver complexes [Ag{M₃(CO)₁₂}₂]⁺[WCA]⁻ (WCA = [Al(OR^F)₄]⁻, [F{Al(OR^F)₃}₂]⁻; R^F = –OC(CF₃)₃). Addition of further diiodine I₂ to increase the redox potential led for M = Ru non-specifically to divalent mixed iodo-Ru^II-carbonyl cations. With [NO]⁺, even the N–O bond was cleaved and led to the butterfly carbonyl complex cation [Ru₄N(CO)₁₃]⁺ in low yield. Obviously, ionization of M₃(CO)₁₂ with retention of its pseudo-binary composition including only M and CO is difficult and the inorganic reagents did react non-innocently. Yet, the radical cation of the commercially available perhalogenated anthracene derivative 9,10-dichlorooctafluoroanthracene (anthracene^Hal) is a straightforward accessible innocent deelectronator with a half-wave potential E_1/2 of 1.42 V vs. Fc^0/+. It deelectronates M₃(CO)₁₂ under a CO atmosphere and leads to the structurally characterized cluster salts [M₃(CO)₁₄]²⁺([WCA]⁻)₂ including a linear M₃ chain. The structural characterization as well as vibrational and NMR spectroscopies indicate the presence of three electronically independent sets of carbonyl ligands, which almost mimic M(CO)₅, free CO and even [M(CO)₆]²⁺ in one and the same cation.

Trimeric M₃(CO)₁₂ (M = Ru, Os) reacts with typical inorganic oxidants to unwanted side products. Yet, the 9,10-dichlorooctafluoroanthracene radical cation deelectronates these under CO pressure to give the first homotrimetallic [M₃(CO)₁₄]²⁺ salts.     

High-resolution laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry used to study transport of metallic nanoparticles through collagen-rich microstructures in fibroblast multicellular spheroids

We have efficiently produced collagen-rich microstructures in fibroblast multicellular spheroids (MCSs) as a three-dimensional in vitro tissue analog to investigate silver (Ag) nanoparticle (NP) penetration. The MCS production was examined by changing the seeding cell number (500 to 40,000 cells) and the growth period (1 to 10 days). MCSs were incubated with Ag NP suspensions with a concentration of 5 μg mL⁻¹ for 24 h. For this study, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to visualize Ag NP localization quantitatively. Thin sections of MCSs were analyzed by LA-ICP-MS with a laser spot size of 8 μm to image distributions of ¹⁰⁹Ag, ³¹P, ⁶³Cu, ⁶⁶Zn, and ⁷⁹Br. A calibration using a NP suspension was applied to convert the measured Ag intensity into the number of NPs present. The determined numbers of NPs ranged from 30 to 7200 particles in an outer rim of MCS. The particle distribution was clearly correlated with the presence of ³¹P and ⁶⁶Zn and was localized in the outer rim of proliferating cells with a width that was equal to about twice the diameter of single cells. Moreover, abundant collagens were found in the outer rim of MCSs. For only the highest seeding cell number, NPs were completely captured at the outer rim, in a natural barrier reducing particle transport, whereas Eosin (⁷⁹Br) used as a probe of small molecules penetrated into the core of MCSs already after 1 min of exposure.

Fibroblast MCS could build up the barrier only for nanoparticles

     

Synthesis,characterization, CT-DNA binding and docking studies of novel selenated ligands and their palladium complexes

A novel selenated Schiff base (S) -L ¹ H has been synthesized from (2S)-1-(benzylselanyl)-3-phenylpropan-2-amine which upon reduction formed a reduced Schiff base (S) -L ² H . Palladium (II) complexes (S) -1 and (S) -2 of ligands (S) -L ¹ H and (S) -L ² H respectively were successfully synthesized. The structures of all four compounds were thoroughly identified by analytical and various spectroscopic techniques. The absolute molecular structures of the above two complexes were further confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Both (S) -L ¹ H and (S) -L ² H coordinated as monobasic ((S) -L ^1–2 ), chelating, tridentate (Se,N,O⁻) ligands resulting in the complexes of composition (S) - [PdCl( L ^1/2 )] [(S) -1/2 ]. In the crystals of complexes (S) -1 and (S) -2 , there were moderate to strong Se⋯O, CH⋯Cl and CH⋯O types of intermolecular secondary interactions. CT-DNA binding activity of these selenium-containing ligands and their palladium complexes bearing a Pd–Se bond have been evaluated for the first time by performing electronic absorption titration and fluorescence emission quenching using CT-DNA-EB and viscometric experiments. These ligands and complexes exhibited remarkable DNA binding activity as shown by their intrinsic DNA binding constants (K_b) and Stern–Volmer constants (K_sv) in the ranges 5.2–9.9 × 10⁴ and 3.6–4.7 × 10⁴, respectively. The viscosity of CT-DNA decreases with increasing concentration of these compounds. The results of the DNA-binding studies revealed that all of the compounds interact with DNA at a minor groove which was further confirmed by molecular docking studies.     

New synthesis of benzo[b]furan and indole derivatives from 1,1-dibromo-1-alkenes using a tandem Pd-assisted cyclization-coupling reaction

We report a new flexible method for the synthesis of 2-functionalized benzo[b]furans and indoles from readily available o-(2,2-dibromovinyl)-phenol, -aniline or -acetanilide using a tandem Pd-assisted cyclization-coupling reaction.     

Comparative studies on the reactivity of molecules by atomic valences

SINDO1 calculations were performed to study the reactivity of molecules with a valence number derived from the density matrix. A comparison of valence numbers was made for selected examples of rotation barriers, substituted strained molecules, radical gas phase reactions, and acid-base reactions. Relations between valence, geometry, and energy changes are discussed.     

Organically modified xerogels as supports for solid-phase chemistry

Organically modified xerogels (OMX_NH2) can be used as an easy to handle and chemically stable support in solid-phase chemistry and are compatible with enzymatic transformations.