Polymer siRNA conjugates synthesised by controlled radical polymerisation

Oligonucleotide therapeutics such as antisense RNA, micro RNA, mRNA and small interfering RNA have great potential to generate a novel therapeutic portfolio within the pharmaceutical market. The promising outlook of oligonucleotide therapeutics lies in their ability to knockdown genes responsible for disease progression. However, the efficient delivery of RNA medicines without causing toxicity remains a major challenge. With growing interest in siRNA therapeutics, a number of synthetic polymers have been developed to facilitate efficient in vitro and in vivo delivery. With the advent of controlled radical polymerisation (CRP) techniques – such as RAFT polymerisation and ATRP – new families of well-defined polymers with narrow molecular weight distribution and predictable molecular architecture potentially suitable to generate siRNA delivery devices are becoming available. In this review article we will describe and discuss how CRP can be utilised to generate siRNA delivery nanodevices.     

Polyfluorophenylaminosilane–Titanium (IV) Chloride Adducts

Si(NHC₆H_5-nF_n)₄.xTiCl₄ [n = 2–5; x = 3,4] are obtained from the disproportionation reactions between (CF₃CH₂O)₃SiNHC₆H_5-nF_n (n = 2–5) and TiCl₄ in petroleum ether (40–60°C) at 0°–10°C. These complexes are characterized by elemental analyses and IR, ¹H, and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy. Unlike the reported⁵ complex Si(NHC₆H₄F-o)₄.3TiCl₄, these are non-ionic in nature. All complexes give double adducts with CH₃NO₂ and CH₃CN within 24 h.     

A chloride selective sensor based on a calix[4]arene possessing a urea moiety

New calix[4]arene derivative 1 of 1,3-alternate conformation with a ureido moiety has been synthesized in high yield and examined for its anion recognition abilities towards anions such as fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate and acetate by ¹H NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The results show that receptor has strong binding affinity for chloride ions. A chloride ion selective electrode (ISE) was also formed which showed excellent selectivity over all the other anions tested. The limit of detection is 2.51 × 10⁻⁵ mol dm⁻³.     

Development and Validation of LC-UV for Simultaneous Estimation of Rosiglitazone and Glimepride in Human Plasma

A simple, sensitive and specific liquid chromatographic method with UV detection (228 nm) was developed for the simultaneous estimation of rosiglitazone and glimepride in human plasma. Rosiglitazone and glimepride were extracted from plasma using liquid–liquid extraction. Separation was achieved with an RP C₁₈ Column using a mixture of phosphate buffer (50 mM) with octane sulfonic acid (10 mM), methanol and acetonitrile as a mobile phase (55:10:35, v/v). pH was adjusted to 7.0. Amlodipine was used as an internal standard (IS). LOD of the method was found to be 20 ng mL^?1 for both drugs. Results were linear over the studied range 40.994–2007.556 ng mL^?1 for rosiglitazone (r ² ≥ 0.99) and 41.066–2094.84 ng mL^?1 for glimepride( r ² ≥ 0.99). The method was found to be simple, selective, precise and reproducible for the estimation of both drugs from spiked human plasma.     

Li(i=1–3) sub-shell x-ray relative intensities for some compounds of 66Dy at 22.6 and 59.54 keV incident photon energies

The intensity ratios, I_Lk/I_Lα (k=l,β_1,4,β_3,6,β_2,7,9,10,15,γ_1,5,γ_2,3,γ₄,β,γ), have been measured for some compounds of ₆₆Dy, namely, Dy₂O₃, Dy₂(CO₃)₃, Dy₂(SO₄)₃, DyI₂ and Dy metal by creating the L_i(i=1–3) sub-shell vacancies in widely different proportions at two incident photon energies of 22.6 keV and 59.54 keV, in order to check the predicted dependence of these ratios on the incident photon energy and also investigate the influence of chemical effects on these ratios for an f-block element. The measurements were performed using the EDXRF spectrometer involving disk type radioactive sources of Cd¹⁰⁹ and Am²⁴¹ and a Peltier cooled Si PIN x-ray detector arranged in the 90° reflection geometry. The measured intensity ratios have been compared with the theoretical I_Lk/I_Lα values and those calculated using the two sets of fluorescence and Coster–Kronig yields available in literature in order to check the reliability of the theoretical/calculated values. Further, the measured ratio, I_Lγ4/I_Lα, was found to depend on the oxidation state of ₆₆Dy as well as nature of ligand attached to it in a given compound.     

Thermoanalytical behaviour of carbaryl and its copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes

Non-isothermal techniques, i.e. thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), have been applied to investigate the thermal behaviour of carbaryl (1-naphthyl-N-methylcarbamate = 1-Naph-N-Mecbm) and its complexes, M(1-Naph-N-Mecbm)₄X₂, where M = Cu, X = Cl, NO₃ and CH₃COO and M = Zn, X = Cl. Carbaryl and Zn(1-Naph-N-Mecbm)₄Cl₂ complex exhibit two-stage thermal decomposition while the copper(II) complexes exhibit three and four-stage decomposition in their TG curves. The nature of the metal ion has been found to play highly influential role on the nature of thermal decomposition products as well as energy of activation ‘E*’. The presence of different anions does not seem to alter the thermal decomposition patterns. The complexes display weak to medium intensity exothermic and endothermic DSC curves, while the free ligand exhibits two endothermic peaks. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters namely, the energy of activation ‘E*’, the frequency factor ‘A’ and the entropy of activation ‘S*’ etc. have been rationalized in relation to the bonding aspect of the carbaryl ligand. The nature and chemical composition of the residues of the decomposition steps have been studied by elemental analysis and FTIR data.     

Law of the iterated logarithm for perturbed empirical distribution functions evaluated at a random point for nonstationary random variables

We consider perturbed empirical distribution functions , where {Ginn, n1} is a sequence of continuous distribution functions converging weakly to the distribution function of unit mass at 0, and {X _{i, i}1} is a non-stationary sequence of absolutely regular random variables. We derive the almost sure representation and the law of the iterated logarithm for the statistic whereU _n is aU-statistic based onX ₁,...,X _n . The results obtained extend or generalize the results of Nadaraya,⁽⁷⁾ Winter,⁽¹⁶⁾ Puri and Ralescu,^(9,10) Oodaira and Yoshihara,⁽⁸⁾ and Yoshihara,⁽¹⁹⁾ among others.Research supported by the Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-91-J-1020.     

Lens epithelial cell response to polymer stiffness and polymer chemistry

Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is the most common complication of cataract surgery, and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation is the standard of care for cataract patients. Induction of postoperative epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in residual lens epithelial cells (LEC) is the main mechanism by which PCO forms. Previous studies have shown that IOLs made with different materials have varying incidence of PCO. The aim of this paper was to study the interactions between human (h)LEC and polymer substrates. Polymers and copolymers of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 3-methacryloxypropyl tris(trimethylsiloxy)silane (TRIS) were synthesized and evaluated due to the clinical use of these materials as ocular biomaterials and implants. The chemical properties of the polymer surfaces were evaluated by contact angle, and polymer stiffness and roughness were measured using atomic force microscopy. In vitro studies showed the effect of polymer mechanical properties on the behavior of hLECs. Stiffer polymers increased α-smooth muscle actin expression and induced cell elongation. Hydrophobic and rough polymer surfaces increased cell attachment. These results demonstrate that attachment of hLECs on different surfaces is affected by surface properties in vitro, and evaluating these properties may be useful for investigating prevention of PCO.     

Low field microwave absorption of YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films

The modulated microwave absorption in YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ thin films was studied as a function of temperature, modulation amplitude, and microwave power. The comparative nature of weak links in YBaCuO thin films, ceramics, and powders is discussed.