Corn silk induces nitric oxide synthase in murine macrophages

Corn silk has been purified as an anticoagulant previously and the active component is a polysaccharide with a molecular mass of 135 kDa. It activates murine macrophages to induce nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and generate substantial amounts of NO in time and dose-dependent manners. It was detectable first at 15 h after stimulation by corn silk, peaked at 24 h, and undetectable by 48 h. Induction of NOS is inhibited by pyrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) and genistein, an inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) and tyrosine kinase, respectively, indicating that iNOS stimulated by corn silk is associated with tyrosine kinase and NF-kappaB signaling pathways. IkappaB-alpha degradation was detectible at 10 min, and the level was restored at 120 min after treatment of corn silk. Corn silk induced nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB by phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaB-alpha.     

Ruthenium‐catalyzed formal alkyl group transfer: Synthesis of quinolines from nitroarenes and alkylammonium halides

Nitroarenes are reductively cyclized with an array of tetraalkylammonium halides and trialkylarnmonium chlorides in the presence of a catalytic amount of a ruthenium catalyst along with tin(II) chloride dihydrate at 180° to afford the corresponding quinolines in moderate to good yields. The addition of tin(II) chloride dihydrate is necessary for the effective formation of quinolines and toluene is the solvent of choice. A reaction pathway involving initial reduction of nitroarenes to anilines and conversion of alkylammonium halides to alkylamines, alkyl group transfer from alkylamines to anilines to form an imine, dimerization of imine, and heteroannulation is proposed for this catalytic process.     

Composite Silica Particles Using a Mixture of Organosilane Monomers

Composite silica particles were synthesized by a two-step (acid-base) process in an aqueous solution with a mixture of organoalkoxysilane monomers. The two-step process separates the hydrolysis and condensation procedures to easily control condensation rate. In this study, the silane monomers used were phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS), vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS), methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS), and tetraethyl-orthosilicate (TEOS). The physical properties of the resultant composite particles were investigated with the change in the molar ratio of monomers. The size of the particles increased with increasing the molar ratio of R_aSi(OR)₃/R_bSi(OR)₃ or R_aSi(OR)₃/TEOS (R_a: phenyl; R_b: vinyl, methyl).     

Metallic macrocycle with a 1,3-alternate calix[4]arene phosphorus ligand

The preparation of an 1,3-alternate calix[4]arene phosphorus ligand, 25,27-bis(2-(diphenylphosphino)ethoxy)-26,28-bis(1-propyloxy)calix[4]arene (3), is presented. Ligand 3 is obtained in three steps in 64% overall yield. Reaction of 3 with [Rh(cot)2]BF4 produced the encapsulated rhodium complex [Rh[(P,P)-diphen-calix[4]arene]]BF4 (4). As revealed by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study, the rhodium center has a bent coordination environment with a P-Rh-P angle of 135.66(3) degrees. Palladation of 3 employing [Pd(MeCN)4](BF4)2 yielded the chelate palladium complex 7 in which the palladium center has a slightly bent configuration. Treatment of the ligand with Pd(cod)Cl2 and [Pd(eta3-C4H7)(THF)2]BF4 leads to the isolation of the monometallic complex. Full characterization includes X-ray structural studies of compounds 3, 4, and 6.     

微流控芯片技术在生殖研究中的进展

生殖是生物体最基本特征之一，是物种得以延续和进化的保证。近年来，微流控芯片系统得到了迅猛发展，技术也逐渐成熟，具有良好的应用前景。在生殖研究中，微流控技术具有以下优势：微管道的形状和尺寸可以灵活设计，从而更好地模拟生理环境；微流控芯片对样品的消耗量低；微流控技术具有很高的集成性。微流控技术已被应用到精子活力评价与筛选、精子的化学趋向性筛选、卵丘细胞去除、透明带移除、卵细胞定位与筛选、受精过程、早期胚胎培养以及生殖器官模拟等各个方面。该文着重介绍近几年基于微流控技术生殖研究的最新进展，并对其应用前景进行展望。     

Lewis Base/Brønsted Acid Co‐catalyzed Enantioselective Sulfenylation/Semipinacol Rearrangement of Di‐ and Trisubstituted Allylic Alcohols

An enantioselective sulfenylation/semipinacol rearrangement of 1,1‐disubstituted and trisubstituted allylic alcohols was accomplished with a chiral Lewis base and a chiral Brønsted acid as cocatalysts, generating various β‐arylthio ketones bearing an all‐carbon quaternary center in moderate to excellent yields and excellent enantioselectivities. These chiral arylthio ketone products are common intermediates with many applications, for example, in the design of new chiral catalysts/ligands and the total synthesis of natural products. Computational studies (DFT calculations) were carried out to explain the enantioselectivity and the role of the chiral Brønsted acid. Additionally, the synthetic utility of this method was exemplified by an enantioselective total synthesis of (?)‐herbertene and a one‐pot synthesis of a chiral sulfoxide and sulfone.     

Particle‐in‐a‐Frame Nanostructures with Interior Nanogaps

Designing plasmonic hollow colloids with small interior nanogaps would allow structural properties to be exploited that are normally linked to an ensemble of particles but within a single nanoparticle. Now, a synthetic approach for constructing a new class of frame nanostructures is presented. Fine control over the galvanic replacement reaction of Ag nanoprisms with Au precursors gave unprecedented Au particle‐in‐a‐frame nanostructures with well‐defined sub‐2 nm interior nanogaps. The prepared nanostructures exhibited superior performance in applications, such as plasmonic sensing and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering, over their solid nanostructure and nanoframe counterparts. This highlights the benefit of their interior hot spots, which can highly promote and maximize the electric field confinement within a single nanostructure.     

生物金属与胆固醇相互作用的经验势函数计算

流行病学调查和医学实验均证实，以胆固醇在动脉血管壁沉着、形成病灶及纤维增生使管壁变硬为特征的动脉粥样硬化（AS），与血中某些金属元素的水平密切相关＊．一些临床医学观测报道了冠心病患者血中金属元素铜、锌、铬、钢等的水平与胆固醇含量变化的关系［2－6］，以期通过改善人体内微量元素的失调来抑制AS的发生和发展．AS患者血中生物金属铜、锌、铬、锅水平与胆固醇含量有关，可能意味着两者存在某种相互作用制约关系．本文通过金属一胆固醇间、胆固醇分子间、受金属离子影响的胆固醇分子间的各种模型构造，选用恰当的经验势函数…     

Effect of plasma etching on photoluminescence of SnO(x)/Sn nanoparticles deposited on DOPC lipid membrane

The photoluminescence characteristic of the SnO(x)/Sn nanoparticles deposited on a solid supported liquid-crystalline phospholipid (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) membrane was probed after plasma etching the nanoparticle monolayer. It was shown that the plasma etching of the nanoparticle surface greatly altered the particle morphology and enhanced the PL effect, especially when the particle size was below 10 nm in spite of strong presence of surrounding carbon. The enhancement mainly stemmed from the growth of a new PL peak due to the additional defect states produced on the nanoparticle surface by the plasma etching. It was also shown that hydrating the SnO(x)/Sn nanoparticles similarly improved the PL response of the nanoparticles as the hydration produced an additional oxygen-rich oxide layer on the particle surface.     

Signal enhancement of a micro-arrayed polydiacetylene (PDA) biosensor using gold nanoparticles

Polydiacetylene (PDA) liposomes possess unique properties that allow liposomes to change color and emit fluorescence in response to stimuli such as temperature, antibody-antigen interaction, pH, mechanical stress, and organic solvent. They have been studied extensively as signal transducers in biosensor applications. Here, we describe an antibody-based biosensor using PDA liposomes for detection of human immunoglobulin E (hIgE). Target hIgE chemically bound to hIgE monoclonal antibodies immobilized on PDA liposomes and the fluorescent signals were slightly increased depending on the target protein concentration. As the primary response, the hIgE could be detected to below 10 ng mL(-1). However, fluorescent signals were dramatically increased depending on the target protein concentration when gold nanoparticle-conjugated polyclonal antibody probes were added on the PDA liposomes after the primary immune reaction. A PDA liposome biosensor could detect the hIgE as low as 0.1 ng mL(-1) and the sensitivity was increased up to one hundred times higher than the primary response. As a result, we confirmed that gold nanoparticle-conjugated polyclonal antibody probes efficiently enhanced the fluorescent signal of the PDA liposome biosensor chip. This strategy can be useful to detect proteins of ultra-low concentration.