Poly(choloyl)-based amphiphiles as pore-forming agents: transport-active monomers by design

This paper describes the design and synthesis of a family of pore-forming amphiphiles. Two of these amphiphiles, which are derived from cholic acid, lysine, and p-phenylenediamine, can produce pores in lipid bilayers as individual molecules. In sharp contrast, analogous amphiphiles that do not contain a rigid 1,4-phenylenediamide moiety favor the formation of dimer-based pores. Kinetic evidence in support of monomer- and dimer-based pores has been obtained from Na+ transport measurements across bilayers made from 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-2-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC). Structure-activity studies that have been carried out with pore-forming, dimer-based amphiphiles have also revealed a significant activity dependence on their overall compactness. The practical potential of pore-forming amphiphiles with controllable supramolecular properties is briefly discussed.     

Ab Initio Study of Prednisolone, 6α-Fluoroprednisolone, 9α-Fluoroprednisolone,and 6α,9α-Difluoroprednisolone

A theoretical study of prednisolone, 6-fluoroprednisolone, 9-fluoroprednisolone, and 6,9-difluoroprednisolone has been performed at the ab initio HF/6-31G, MP2/6-31G, and B3LYP/6-31G levels. Structural information and the electronic features of prednisolone and its derivatives and the synergistic effect of 6,9-difluoroprednisolone was examined. Contrary to the AM1 and MNDO results, we found 9-fluoroprednisolone is more stable than the 6-fluoroprednisolone. The increased corticosteroid activity of the 6,9-difluoroprednisolone is most likely due to electronic effects, mainly related to the receptor binding.     

Facile solvent-free synthesis of pure-phased AlN nanowhiskers at a low temperature

Pure hexagonal aluminum nitride (AlN) nanowhiskers have been successfully synthesized by directly reacting AlCl₃ with NaN₃ in non-solvent system at the low temperature of 450 °C for 24 h. The obtained products are characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction, which show that the obtained products are hexagonal phase AlN nanowhiskers with width from 10 to 80 nm and length up to several micrometers. The influencing factors of the formation of AlN nanowhiskers were discussed and a possible growth mechanism for AlN nanowhiskers was proposed. Additionally, the study on the corresponding optical properties and catalytic properties is also carried out.     

Single‐Crystalline and Near‐Monodispersed NaMF3 (M=Mn,Co, Ni,Mg) and LiMAlF6 (M=Ca,Sr) Nanocrystals from Cothermolysis of Multiple Trifluoroacetates in Solution

We report the synthesis of single‐crystalline and near‐monodispersed NaMF₃ (M=Mn, Co, Ni, Mg), LiMAlF₆ (M=Ca, Sr), and NaMgF₃:Yb,Er nanocrystals (quasisquare nanoplates, nanorods, and nanopolygons) by the cothermolysis of multiple trifluoroacetates in hot combined organic solvents (oleic acid, oleylamine, and 1‐octadecene). The nanocrystals were characterized by XRD, TEM, superconductive quantum interference device (SQUID), and upconversion luminescence spectroscopy. By regulating the polarity of the dispersant, the NaMF₃ (M=Mn, Co, Ni) nanoplates were partially aligned to form nanoarrays on copper TEM grids. The sizes of the NaMF₃ nanocrystals were easily tuned by the use of proper synthetic conditions such as reaction temperature and time and solvent composition. On the basis of a series of experiments in which the reaction conditions were varied, together with GC–MS and FTIR analysis, the reaction pathways for the formation of these nanocrystals from trifluoroacetate precursors were proposed. The magnetic measurements showed that the differently sized NaMnF₃ square plates displayed interesting weak ferromagnetic behavior on the nanometer scale. The strong red upconversion luminescence emitted from the NaMgF₃:Yb,Er nanorods under 980‐nm near‐IR laser excitation suggests that NaMgF₃ may be a good candidate host material for red upconversion luminescence.     

Determination of Levofloxacin in Human Urine with Capillary Electrophoresis and Fluorescence Detector

In this study, we developed an analytical method for the enantioseparation of ofloxacin, using capillary electrophoresis with fluorescence detection. The optimum background electrolyte was obtained to be 60 mM hydroxylpropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (HP‐β‐CD) in 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.30. Under these conditions, the (+) and (‐) ofloxacin were completely separated, with the detection limit of 10 nM when the sample was prepared in deionized water. The linear ranges of levofloxacin in deionized water and untreated urine were 10^?7 to 5 × 10^?3 M with R² = 0.9989 and 5 × 10^?6to 5 × 10^?3 M with R² = 0.9943, respectively. We also applied this method to investigate the purity of a commercial drug. The results revealed that the ratio between (+)‐ofloxacin and (‐)‐ofloxacin (levofloxacin) was 99.9:0.1, and there is about 93 mg levofloxacin per tablet (200 mg). The concentration of levofloxacin in patient's urine was founded to be 7.9 × 10^?4M, and the ratio between the two optical isomers was 99.3:0.7.     

LyP-1 peptide-functionalized gold nanoprisms for SERRS imaging and tumor growth suppressing by PTT induced-hyperthermia

The gold nanoprisms (GNPs) have exhibited special plasmonic properties for biomedical applications because of their unique shapes and dimensions. Based on their optical performance, the NIR dye IR780 not only enabled the GNPs-based nanosystem as SERRS nanoparticles for Raman-encoded molecular imaging, but also enhanced the plasmonic photothermal property by laser irradiation. Meanwhile, the GNPs/IR780-Lyp-1 by introduction of tumor-homing peptide segment LyP-1, which presents high affinity to p32 protein, demonstrated the increased enrichment in tumor region and enhanced photothermal therapy efficacy.     

Helicity‐Encoded Molecular Strands: Efficient Access by the Hydrazone Route and Structural Features

Control over the folding of molecular strands may be achieved by appropriate choice of the constituting subunits, in particular for chains of specific heterocycles such as sequences of directly connected pyridine (py) and pyrimidine (pym) rings, which are known to fold into extended helical structures. Since the hydrazone (hyz) group represents an isomorphic analogue of a py site, the condensation of hydrazine and carboxaldehyde derivatives of pym offers a very efficient approach to strands incorporating hyz instead of py units and constituted by sequences of alternating hyz and pym groups. A series of such strands of different lengths, up to ten hyz units, i.e., 1 – 7 , were synthesized. Their spectral properties indicate that they fold indeed into helical shapes. Extensive characterization was performed in solution by ¹HNMR spectroscopy and in the solid state by determination of the crystal structures of eight such strands. They all display the expected helical geometry with up to 3 ¹/₃ turns and direct stacking contacts. The efficiency and flexibility of the synthetic approach as well as its wide potential for generation of diversity through lateral decoration make the (hyz? pym) subunit a particularly attractive helicity codon.     

Preparation ,Structural Characterization and Luminescent Property of Binucleasr Silver（Ⅰ）Complex Formed by Benzotriazole and 1—Hydroxymethyl Benzotriazole

Dinuclear silver (I) six‐membered ring complex [Ag₂ (bta)₂ ‐(hmbta)₂] (ClO₄)₂ (3) has been synthesized by the reaction of benzotriazole (bta) (1) and 1‐hydroxymethyl benzotriazole (hmbta) (2) with Ag (CH₃CN)₄ClO₄. The structures of compound 2 and Complex 3 have been studied by single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. The change of luminescent intensity of 1, 2 and 3 was reported. Compound 2 crystallizes in the monoclinic system with space group P2 (1)/c, a = 0.7655 (10) nm, b = 1.0126 (14) nm, c =0.9502 (13) nm, β = 95.07 (2)°, V = 0.7337 (17) nm³ and Z = 4. Complex 3 crystallizes in the triclinic system with space group P1, a = 0.73611 (18) nm, b = 0.9152 (2) nm, c = 1.2277 (3) nm, β = 87.170 (5)°, V = 0.8221 (3) nm³ and Z = 1. The main structural feature of complex 3 is a symmetric dinuclear six‐membered ring formed by two silver (I) atoms and four N‐atoms from two benzotriazoles. The second structural feature of complex 3 is the τ‐τ stacking interaction between two adjacent molecular planes, which forms the two‐dimentional layer structure. Besides, compared with 2, the luminescent intensity of complex 3 shows a remarkable enhancement.     

Effects of antimony on the surface tension of molten silicon

The effect of antimony concentration (C(Sb)/mass%) on the surface tension of molten silicon has been determined with the sessile drop method in the temperature range from 1693 to 1773 K and in the range of the oxygen partial pressure, Po(2), in an Ar atmosphere from 10(-23) to 10(-21) MPa. The results show that the surface tension of molten silicon decreases with increasing Sb concentration in the range of C(Sb)<0.9 mass%, which indicates positive adsorption of Sb in molten silicon and can be fairly described with the Szyszkowski's equation. The maximum decrease rate of surface tension is about 65 mN m(-1) (mass% C(Sb))(-1), and the temperature coefficient of surface tension, (partial differential sigma/ partial differential T)C(Sb), increases with increasing C(Sb). The evaporation of the systems was only observed between the melting points of antimony (904 K) and silicon (1683 K), and the surface tension presents no dependence on measuring time above the melting point of silicon.     

First total synthesis of a GPI-anchored peptide

A GPI-anchored dipeptide of sperm CD52 antigen was prepared through a convergent synthesis. First, the dipeptide with its C-terminus free and the GPI with its nonreducing end phosphoethanolamine bearing a free amino group were synthesized separately. Then, the two building blocks were coupled with use of EDC/HOBt as the condensation reagent. Finally, the GPI-anchored peptide was deprotected to give the target molecule 1.