Biocompatible quantum dots for biological applications

Semiconductor quantum dots are quickly becoming a critical diagnostic tool for discerning cellular function at the molecular level. Their high brightness, long-lasting, size-tunable, and narrow luminescence set them apart from conventional fluorescence dyes. Quantum dots are being developed for a variety of biologically oriented applications, including fluorescent assays for drug discovery, disease detection, single protein tracking, and intracellular reporting. This review introduces the science behind quantum dots and describes how they are made biologically compatible. Several applications are also included, illustrating strategies toward target specificity, and are followed by a discussion on the limitations of quantum dot approaches. The article is concluded with a look at the future direction of quantum dots.     

Divergent synthetic approach to 6'-modified α-GalCer analogues

A synthetic approach is presented for the synthesis of galacturonic acid and D-fucosyl modified KRN7000. The approach allows for late-stage functionalisation of both the sugar 6'-OH and the sphingosine amino groups, which enables convenient synthesis of promising 6'-modified KRN7000 analogues.     

Biomimetic cationic polyannulation reaction catalyzed by Bi(OTf)3: cyclization of 1,6-dienes, 1,6,10-trienes, and aryl polyenes

Nonactivated trienes and aryltrienes were cyclized into polycyclic compounds in good to excellent yields under bismuth triflate catalysis in a biomimetic fashion. The reaction showed broad applicability and allowed for the formation of functionalized bicyclic to tetracyclic structures from simple precursors in one pot. For some specific substrates, the cyclization was followed by a methyl shift as encountered in terpenoid biosynthesis.     

Phenyliodine(III) bis(trifluoroacetate) (PIFA)-promoted synthesis of Bodipy dimers displaying unusual redox properties

Phenyliodine(III) bis(trifluoroacetate) (PIFA) in conjunction with a Lewis acid promotes C-C coupling of Bodipy monomers leading to mixtures of various oligomers. When a single position is blocked with an iodo or phenyl group, formation of the dimer is favored. These dimers display two successive oxidation and two reduction waves separated on average by 260 and 130 mV, respectively, corresponding to each Bodipy subunit.     

A straightforward synthetic entry to cleavamine-type indole alkaloids by a ring-closing metathesis-vinyl halide Heck cyclization strategy

An indole-templated ring-closing metathesis has been used to create the central nine-membered ring of the cleavamine-type alkaloids. A subsequent intramolecular vinyl halide Heck reaction upon the resulting azacyclononene ring completes the assembly of the strained 1-azabicyclo[6.3.1]dodecane framework of the alkaloids. The usefulness of the approach is illustrated with the synthesis of (±)-cleavamine and (±)-dihydrocleavamine.     

The Solution of a Problem of Coifman, Meyer, and?Wickerhauser on Wavelet Packets

Wavelet packets provide an algorithm with many applications in signal processing together with a large class of orthonormal bases of L ²(ℝ), each one corresponding to a different splitting of L ²(ℝ) into a direct sum of its closed subspaces. The definition of wavelet packets is due to the work of Coifman, Meyer, and Wickerhauser, as a generalization of the Walsh system. A question has been posed since then: one asks if a (general) wavelet packet system can be an orthonormal basis for L ²(ℝ) whenever a certain set linked to the system, called the “exceptional set” has zero Lebesgue measure. This answer to this question affects the quality of wavelet packet approximation. In this paper we show that the answer to this question is negative by providing an explicit example. In the proof we make use of the “local trace function” by Dutkay and the generalized shift-invariant system machinery developed by Ron and Shen.     

A fluorescence displacement assay for antidepressant drug discovery based on ligand-conjugated quantum dots

The serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) transporter (SERT) protein plays a central role in terminating 5-HT neurotransmission and is the most important therapeutic target for the treatment of major depression and anxiety disorders. We report an innovative, versatile, and target-selective quantum dot (QD) labeling approach for SERT in single Xenopus oocytes that can be adopted as a drug-screening platform. Our labeling approach employs a custom-made, QD-tagged indoleamine derivative ligand, IDT318, that is structurally similar to 5-HT and accesses the primary binding site with enhanced human SERT selectivity. Incubating QD-labeled oocytes with paroxetine (Paxil), a high-affinity SERT-specific inhibitor, showed a concentration- and time-dependent decrease in QD fluorescence, demonstrating the utility of our approach for the identification of SERT modulators. Furthermore, with the development of ligands aimed at other pharmacologically relevant targets, our approach may potentially form the basis for a multitarget drug discovery platform.     

Tuning the gas sensing performance of single PEDOT nanowire devices

This paper reports the synthesis and dopant dependent electrical and sensing properties of single poly(ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanowire sensors. Dopant type (i.e. polystyrenesulfonate (PSS(-)) and perchlorate (ClO(4)(-))) and solvent (i.e. acetonitrile and 1 : 1 water-acetonitrile mixture) were adjusted to change the conjugation length and hydrophilicity of nanowires which resulted in change of the electrical properties and sensing performance. Temperature dependent coefficient of resistance (TCR) indicated that the electrical properties are greatly dependent on dopants and electrolyte where greater disorder was found in PSS(-) doped PEDOT nanowires compared to ClO(4)(-) doped nanowires. Upon exposure to different analytes including water vapor and volatile organic compounds, these nanowire devices displayed substantially different sensing characteristics. ClO(4)(-) doped PEDOT nanowires from an acetonitrile bath show superior sensing responses toward less electronegative analytes and followed a power law dependence on the analyte concentration at high partial pressures. These tunable sensing properties were attributed to variation in the conjugation lengths, dopant type and concentration of the wires which may be attributed to two distinct sensing mechanisms: swelling within the bulk of the nanowire and work function modulation of Schottky barrier junction between nanowire and electrodes.     

Reversible gelatin-based hydrogels: Finetuning of material properties

The present work reports on the synthesis and evaluation of a crosslinkable thiolated gelatin derivative. The effect of varying two parameters including the pH of the reaction buffer and the thiolating agent applied (i.e. N-acetylhomocysteine thiolactone versus Traut’s reagent) on the obtained modification degree was studied in a first part. The gelatin derivatives synthesized starting from N-acetylhomocysteine thiolactone and Traut’s reagent were characterized in depth using size exclusion chromatography and UV–VIS spectrophotometry. In a subsequent part of the present work, hydrogel films were prepared starting from the thiolated gelatin derivative developed using N-acetylhomocysteine thiolactone. The contributions of both the chemical and the physical crosslinking of the hydrogels developed were studied in depth using rheology, swelling experiments and texturometry. The results indicate that the physical structuring, inherent to gelatin, contributes to a large extent to the mechanical properties. However, the chemical crosslinking mostly determines the final hydrogel properties and can be controlled to a large extent. The gelatin-based gels are flexible, strong and transparent. A major advantage of disulfide-crosslinked hydrogels is the fact that the crosslinking is reversible. The latter could be interesting in view of future applications as cell carriers for tissue engineering.     

Nanostructure of polysaccharide complexes

The interaction of gum arabic (GA) with chitosan (Ch) of different degree of deacetylation was studied by turbidity measurements, dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy. The structure of the complexes was found to be directly related to the charge density of chitosan molecules. Gum arabic and chitosan with a degree of deacetylation of 75% form soluble complexes with a loosely globular structure of about 250 nm, at weight ratios up to 1.2, if the concentrations are kept low (total biopolymer concentration up to 0.06%). If chitosan has a higher charge density (degree of deacetylation of 93%), colloidal particles are formed, independently of the polymer concentration or ratio. At low concentrations and GA/Ch ratios of 1 or 1.2, the particles have diameters of 200-250 nm. The formation of soluble complexes is attributed to a chitosan lower charge density and the presence of non-charged monomers, which prevent the efficient self-assembly of the macromolecules.