Dextramabs: A Novel Format of Antibody-Drug Conjugates Featuring a Multivalent Polysaccharide Scaffold

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are multicomponent biomolecules that have emerged as a powerful tool for targeted tumor therapy. Combining specific binding of an immunoglobulin with toxic properties of a payload, they however often suffer from poor hydrophilicity when loaded with a high amount of toxins. To address these issues simultaneously, we developed dextramabs, a novel class of hybrid antibody-drug conjugates. In these architectures, the therapeutic antibody trastuzumab is equipped with a multivalent dextran polysaccharide that enables efficient loading with a potent toxin in a controllable fashion. Our modular chemoenzymatic approach provides an access to synthetic dextramabs bearing monomethyl auristatin as releasable cytotoxic cargo. They possess high drug-to-antibody ratios, remarkable hydrophilicity, and high toxicity in vitro.     

Photocatalytic Nanoheterostructures and Chemically Bonded Junctions Made by Solution-Based Approaches

While single compound semiconductors were initially used for photocatalysis, combining two compounds to form a heterojunction significantly increases the photocatalysis performance. This review will outline how heterojunctions are superior, explain the different heterostructure architectures assembled from nanoparticles, and discuss the importance of achieving a large and quality contact in the junction, the heterojunction. Reference is made to methods for increasing the charge carrier performance and reducing recombination. Solution-based synthesis approaches, have been selected as the preferred route of manufacture, for the low cost scalability, and ability to combine a larger number of compounds. The main objective of this review article is to provide insight to the range of chemical solution-based methods for forming chemically bonded junction in nanoheterostructures for photocatalysis. Methods include chemical precipitation, impregnation, chemical bath deposition, hot injection, solvothermal, photo-deposition, electrochemical deposition, cation exchange and linker assisted assembly. The synthesis of different photocatalysts is addressed for each synthesis method. Solution synthesis is offered for coupling oxide semiconductors (i.e. TiO₂, ZnO, WO₃, Fe₂O₃, BiVO₄) with other oxides or metal chalcogenide quantum dots or metallic plasmonic nanoparticles.     

Total Electron Content Measurements in the Ionosphere Disturbed by High-Power High-Frequency Waves by the Methods of Incoherent Scattering of Radio Waves and Radio Sounding by Glonass Satellite Signal

Radiophysics and Quantum Electronics - We present the results of comparing the total electron content measurements based on GLONASS satellite signals and the EISCAT UHF incoherent scatter radar...     

Excitation of Langmuir and Ion–Acoustic Turbulence in the High-Latitude Ionosphere by a High-Power HF Radio Wave Simultaneously Below and Above the F2-Layer Maximum

Radiophysics and Quantum Electronics - We present the results of experimental studies of the generation peculiarities and features of the Langmuir and ion–acoustic turbulence in the F region...     

Insights into the Control of Optoelectronic Properties in Mixed-Stacking Charge-Transfer Complexes

Although cocrystallization has provided a promising platform to develop new organic optoelectronic materials, it is still a big challenge to purposely design and achieve specific optoelectronic properties. Herein, a series of mixed-stacking cocrystals (TMFA, TMCA, and TMTQ) were designed and synthesized, and the regulatory effects of the acceptors on the co-assembly behavior, charge-transfer nature, energy-level structures, and optoelectronic characteristics were systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that it is feasible to achieve effective charge-transport tuning and photoresponse switching by carefully regulating the intermolecular charge transfer and energy orbitals. The inherent mechanisms underlying the change in these optoelectronic behaviors were analyzed in depth and elucidated to provide clear guidelines for future development of new optoelectronic materials. In addition, due to the excellent photoresponsive characteristics of TMCA, TMCA-based phototransistors were investigated with varying light wavelength and optical power, and TMCA shows the best performance among all reported cocrystals under UV illumination.     

AuI-Catalyzed Haloalkynylation of Alkenes

The formal insertion of alkenes into aromatic chloro- and bromoalkynes takes place under cationic gold catalysis. This haloalkynylation reaction can be performed with cyclic, gem-disubstituted and monosubstituted alkenes, using BINAP, triazolo[4,3-b]isoquinolin-3-ylidene ligands or SPhos, respectively. The products were isolated in moderate to excellent yields and with complete diastereo- and regioselectivity; the halogen atom bonding the more substituted carbon of the alkene. Preliminary experiments showed that the enantioselective haloalkynylation of cyclopentene can be performed with (S)-BINAP to afford the insertion products with moderate to good enantioselectivities.     

Boron-Containing Lipids and Liposomes: New Conjugates of Cholesterol with Polyhedral Boron Hydrides

A series of boron-containing lipids were prepared by reactions of cyclic oxonium derivatives of polyhedron boranes and metallacarboranes (closo-dodecaborate anion, cobalt and iron bis(dicarbollides)) with amine and carboxylic acids which are derived from cholesterol. Stable liposomal formulations, on the basis of synthesized boron-containing lipids, hydrogenated soybean l -α-phosphatidylcholine and (HSPC) 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (DSPE-PEG) as excipients, were prepared and then characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) that revealed the formation of particles to be smaller than 200 nm in diameter. The resulting liposomal formulations showed moderate to excellent loading and entrapment efficiency, thus justifying the design of the compounds to fit in the lipid bilayer and ensuring ease of in vivo use for future application. The liposomal formulations based on cobalt and iron bis(dicarbollide)-based lipids were found to be nontoxic against both human breast normal epithelial cells MCF-10A and human breast cancer cells MCF-7.     

Stimuli-Responsive Fluorescent Nanoswitches: Solvent-Induced Emission Enhancement of Copper Nanoclusters

Copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) as a new class of fluorescent materials have attracted a great deal of interest due to their outstanding fluorescence properties. In this work, a variety of organic solvents were used to induce self-assembly of glutathione-capped CuNCs (GSH-CuNCs) to form ordered assemblies with enhanced fluorescence properties. Assemblies with multicolor fluorescence emission were constructed on the basis of the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) of GSH-CuNCs and the solvent effect. The fluorescence emission from these GSH-CuNCs assemblies can also be tuned from yellow to purple by changing the organic solvent. A possible mechanism based on the size of the assemblies and electron transfer was explored to explain the solvent effects on GSH-CuNCs. Stimuli-responsive nanoswitches with excellent reversibility can be controlled by changing the type of organic solvent and the ratio of the organic solvent to the aqueous solution of GSH-CuNCs. As the CuNCs assemblies exhibit strong, stable, and color-tunable fluorescence, they were employed as color-conversion materials for recognizing different organic solvents.     

Asymmetric Cross [10+2] Cycloadditions of 2-Alkylidene-1-indanones and Activated Alkenes under Phase-Transfer Catalysis

Isobenzofulvene species are versatile synthons in organic chemistry, which have been employed in diverse challenging higher-order cycloaddition reactions. Here, the first chemoselective and asymmetric cross [10+2] cycloaddition reaction between activated 2-alkylidene-1-indanones and a variety of electron-deficient alkenes has been developed, relying on the in situ generation of dearomative 1-hydroxyl isobenzofulvene anion intermediates under the catalysis of a newly designed bulky cinchona-derived phase-transfer compound. An array of fused frameworks with multifunctionalities were generally furnished in excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity, even at 1 mol % catalyst loadings.