pH-sensitive modulation of the second hydration sphere in lanthanide(III) tetraamide-DOTA complexes: a novel approach to smart MR contrast media

The lanthanide(III) complexes of three tetraamide DOTA bearing pyridyl, phenolic and hydroxypyridyl substituents have been studied by NMR, luminescence and cyclic voltammetry. The relaxivity profiles of the gadolinium complexes of the pyridyl and phenolic ligands were flat and essentially the same between pH 2 and 8. The hydroxypyridyl ligand, however, exhibited two regions of enhanced relaxivity. The small relaxivity enhancement (25 %) at lower pH (pH 2-4) has been attributed to an increase in the prototropic exchange of the coordinated water molecule while the slightly larger enhancement (84 %) at higher pH (pH 6-9) reflects deprotonation of the ligand amide protons. Deprotonation of the amides results in the formation of an intramolecular acid-base pair interaction with the phenolic protons and this, in turn, causes a highly organized second hydration sphere to come into effect, thereby increasing the relaxivity. The water relaxivity of the Gd(3+)-hydroxypyridyl complex is further enhanced upon binding to serum albumin.     

Steric control in the oligomerisation of phosphazane dimers; towards new phosphorus-nitrogen macrocycles

The reaction of [ClP(mu-NtBu)]2 (1) with H2O (1 : 2 equivalents) in the presence of excess Et3N gives the new chain compound [(mu-O)[P(mu-NtBu)2P(H)=O]2] (3), consisting of two P2N2 rings linked by a mu-O atom and terminating in P(V)(H)=O groups. A similar chain species is obtained from the reaction of the lithiate of [(tBuNH)P(mu-NtBu)2P(H)=O] (5) with [ClP(mu-NtBu)2P(NHtBu)] (2), the product being [(mu-O)[P(mu-NtBu)2P(NHtBu)]2] (6). Compounds 3 and 6 are the first examples of O-bridged chain phosphazanes and potential precursors to new phosphorus-nitrogen macrocycles. The syntheses and X-ray structures of 3, 5 and 6 are reported.     

Capillary electrophoresis of single mammalian cells

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been established as powerful tool for single cell analysis. Newly developed sampling, separation and detection methods have allowed the investigation of single mammalian cells with CE despite their small size and complex composition. Advances in sample injection techniques include several novel methods for the injection of whole cells and sampling techniques for the study of cellular secretion. CE of single mammalian cells has been applied in a wide range of fields including protein analysis, neuroscience, and oncology. The development of new detection schemes in the analysis of single mammalian cells with CE has included studies of protein expression and the utilization of mass spectrometric and electrochemical detection. Subcellular mammalian cell analysis with CE also has been investigated.     

Decrease in langerhans cells and increase in lymph node dendritic cells following chronic exposure of mice to suberythemal doses of solar simulated radiation

Exposure of certain strains of mice to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) causes suppression of some innate and adaptive immune responses. One such consequence of acute UVB exposure is a reduction in the number of Langerhans cells (LC) in the epidermis and an increase in dendritic cells (DC) in lymph nodes draining the irradiated skin sites. Exposure to chronic UVB irradiation also has effects on the immune system, but it is unknown what effects are caused by repeated doses of solar simulated radiation (SSR). Consequently, the main aims of the present study were to determine whether repeated exposure to low doses of SSR would lead to similar changes in these cell populations and whether chronic doses of SSR activate a protective photoadaptation mechanism. Groups of C3H/HeN mice were irradiated daily with 3.7 J/cm(2) SSR from Cleo Natural lamps for 2, 10, 20, 30 or 60 days. Further groups of mice received an additional dose of 7.4 J/cm(2) SSR on days 2, 10, 30 or 60 to test for photoadaptation. The numbers of LC in the epidermis and DC in the lymph nodes draining irradiated skin sites were counted 24 h after the final irradiation. With the exception of mice irradiated for only 2 days, LC were significantly reduced throughout the chronic irradiation protocol, and no recovery occurred. DC numbers were significantly increased in the draining lymph nodes of mice irradiated for 20 days and 60 days.     

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). I. Interactions with sodium dodecyl sulfate measured by conductivity

Conductometric titration of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (polyNIPAM) with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gave two apparent transitions labeled C1 and C2. The C1 transition was independent of polyNIPAM concentration in the 0.05–0.3 wt % range, whereas C2 was proportional to the polymer concentration. C1 corresponded to the onset of binding of surfactant with polymer. Arguments based on a simple mass action model for micellization are presented to show that C2, the second transition, is not due to any simple explanation such as being the point above which only free micelles are formed with surfactant addition. The cloud point of polyNIPAM increased with the amount of bound surfactant. This was attributed to electrostatic contribution of bound sulfate groups to the increased solubility of polyNIPAM. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Development and evaluation of gas and liquid chromatographic methods for the analysis of fatty amines

In contrast to the plethora of publications on the separation of fatty acids, analogous studies involving fatty amines are scarce. A recently introduced ionic‐liquid‐based capillary column for GC was used to separate trifluoroacetylated fatty amines focusing on the analysis of a commercial sample. Using the ionic liquid column (isothermal mode at 200°C) it was possible to separate linear primary fatty amines from C₁₂ to C₂₂ chain length in less 25 min with MS identification. The log of the amine retention factors are linearly related to the alkyl chain length with a methylene selectivity of 0.117 kcal/mol for the saturated amines and 0.128 kcal/mol for the mono‐unsaturated amines. The sp² selectivity for unsaturated fatty amines also could be calculated as 0.107 kcal/mol for the ionic liquid column. The commercial sample was quantified by GC with flame ionization detection (FID). An LC method also was developed with a reversed phase gradient separation using acetonitrile/formate buffer mobile phases and ESI‐MS detection. Native amines could be detected and identified by their single ion monitoring chromatograms even when partial coelution was observed. The analysis of the commercial sample returned results coherent with those obtained by GC–FID and with the manufacturer's data.     

Super‐ and Ferroelastic Organic Semiconductors for Ultraflexible Single‐Crystal Electronics

Like silicon, single crystals of organic semiconductors are pursued to attain intrinsic charge transport properties. However, they are intolerant to mechanical deformation, impeding their application in flexible electronic devices. Such contradictory properties, namely exceptional molecular ordering and mechanical flexibility, are unified in this work. We found that bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS‐P) crystals can undergo mechanically induced structural transitions to exhibit superelasticity and ferroelasticity. These properties arise from cooperative and correlated molecular displacements and rotations in response to mechanical stress. By utilizing a bending‐induced ferroelastic transition of TIPS‐P, flexible single‐crystal electronic devices were obtained that can tolerate strains (?) of more than 13 % while maintaining the charge carrier mobility of unstrained crystals (μ>0.7 μ₀). Our work will pave the way for high‐performance ultraflexible single‐crystal organic electronics for sensors, memories, and robotic applications.     

The influence of chain dynamics on the far-infrared spectrum of liquid methanol

Far-infrared-absorption spectroscopy is used to investigate the low-frequency (相似文献