Structural Insights into the Interactions of Digoxin and Na+/K+-ATPase and Other Targets for the Inhibition of Cancer Cell Proliferation

Digoxin is a cardiac glycoside long used to treat congestive heart failure and found recently to show antitumor potential. The hydroxy groups connected at the C-12, C-14, and C-3′a positions; the C-17 unsaturated lactone unit; the conformation of the steroid core; and the C-3 saccharide moiety have been demonstrated as being important for digoxin’s cytotoxicity and interactions with Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase. The docking profiles for digoxin and several derivatives and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase were investigated; an additional small Asn130 side pocket was revealed, which could be useful in the design of novel digoxin-like antitumor agents. In addition, the docking scores for digoxin and its derivatives were found to correlate with their cytotoxicity, indicating a potential use of these values in the prediction of the cancer cell cytotoxicity of other cardiac glycosides. Moreover, in these docking studies, digoxin was found to bind to FIH-1 and NF-κB but not HDAC, IAP, and PI3K, suggesting that this cardiac glycoside directly targets FIH-1, Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase, and NF-κB to mediate its antitumor potential. Differentially, digoxigenin, the aglycon of digoxin, binds to HDAC and PI3K, but not FIH-1, IAP, Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase, and NF-κB, indicating that this compound may target tumor autophagy and metabolism to mediate its antitumor propensity.     

Electrochemically Determining Electronic Structure of ZnO Quantum Dots with Different Surface Ligands

The electronic structure of quantum dots (QDs) including band edges and possible trap states is an important physical property for optoelectronic applications. The reliable determination of the energy levels of QDs remains a big challenge. Herein we employ cyclic voltammetry (CV) to determine the energy levels of three types of ZnO QDs with different surface ligands. Coupled with spectroscopic techniques, it is found that the onset potential of the first reductive wave is likely related to the conduction band edges while the first oxidative wave originates from the trap states. The determined specific energy levels in CV further demonstrates that the ZnO QDs without surface ligands mainly have oxygen interstitial defects whilst the ZnO QDs covered with ligands contain oxygen vacancies. The present electrochemical method offers a powerful and effective way to determine the energy levels of wide bandgap ZnO QDs, which will boost their device performance.     

Fast and Reliable Automated Synthesis of RNA and Partially 2′-O- Protected Precursors (`Caged RNA') Based on Two Novel,Orthogonal 2′-O-Protecting Groups,Preliminary Communication

Two sets of RNA phosphoramidites, carrying the (fluoride-labile) 2′-O-[(triisopropylsilyl)oxy]methyl (=tom) group and the (photolabile) [(R)-1-(2-nitrophenyl)ethoxy]methyl (=(R)-npeom) group, were prepared (see 1 – 4 and 5 – 8 , resp.). The two protecting groups were completely orthogonal to each other. Three ribozyme-substrate constructs, protected each by a (R)-npeom group, were synthesized; on photolysis, efficient cleavage of this remaining protecting group occurred (Scheme 3). It could be demonstrated that the presence of one (R)-npeom group within a RNA strand has only a minor influence on the pairing properties of corresponding duplexes.     

Capillary electrophoresis coupled with in‐column fiber‐optic laser‐induced fluorescence detection for the rapid separation of neodymium

In this study, in‐column fiber‐optic (ICFO) laser‐induced fluorescence (LIF) detection technique is coupled with capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the rapid separation of neodymium for the first time. The effects of buffer concentration, buffer pH, and separation voltage on the CE behaviors, including electrophoretic efficiency and detection sensitivity, are investigated in detail. Under the optimal condition determined in this study (15 mM borate buffer, pH 10.50, separation voltage 24 kV), neodymium could be separated effectively from the neighboring lanthanides (praseodymium and samarium) within several minutes, and the limit of detection for neodymium is estimated to be at the ppt level. The ICFO‐LIF‐CE system assembled in this study exhibits unique performance characteristics such as low cost and flexibility. Meanwhile, the separation efficiency and detection sensitivity of the assembled CE system are comparable to or somewhat better than those obtained in the previous traditional CE systems, indicating the potential of the assembled CE system for practical applications in the fields of spent nuclear fuel analysis, nuclear waste disposal/treatment, and nuclear forensics.     

Synthesis and characterization of fluorescent starch using fluorescein as fluorophore: potential polymeric temperature/pH indicators

A convenient method for attaching fluorescein (via its epoxy derivate) to natural starch and its temperature/pH‐sensitive qualities of fluorescence were investigated. 3‐epoxypropoxy fluorescein (EPF) was first synthesized through the reaction between fluorescein and epichlorohydrin, and starch‐bearing fluorescein (ST‐EPF) was prepared via ring‐opening reaction with EPF in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution, in the presence of NaH as a catalyst. Both of them were characterized by the methods of ¹H NMR, MS, IR, XRD, UV–Vis, and luminescence spectra, respectively. The chemiluminescent and photophysical behaviors of the dye fluorescein derivative and the polymer‐containing fluorescein were studied. The results indicated that ST‐EPF could still provide temperature and pH sensitivity similar to that of fluorescein and could achieve better long‐term stability and fast equilibrium response. ST‐EPF had an excellent linear response between relative fluorescence intensity and temperature in the range of 0–60°C and a nonlinear relationship between relative fluorescence intensity and pH in the wide range of 0.0–12.0, and so it has promise as an optical transducer for temperature and pH value determinations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Protective Effect of Flavonoids from Mulberry Leaf on AAPH-Induced Oxidative Damage in Sheep Erythrocytes

To evaluate the antioxidant activity of flavonoids extracted from Chinese herb mulberry leaves (ML), flavonoids from mulberry leaves (FML) were extracted and purified by using ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic extraction and D101 macroporous resin. Using LC-MS/MS-Liquid Chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis, hesperidin, rutoside, hyperoside, cyanidin-3-o-glucoside, myricitrin, cyanidin, and quercetin were identified, and NMR and UV were consistent with the verification of IR flavonoid characteristics. The antioxidant activity of FML has also been evaluated as well as the protective effect on 2,2 0-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-induced oxidative stress. The results showed that FML exhibited powerful antioxidant activity. Moreover, FML showed dose-dependent protection against AAPH-induced sheep erythrocytes’ oxidative hemolysis. In the enzymatic antioxidant system, pretreatment with high FML maintained the balance of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px; in the non-enzymatic antioxidant system, the content of MDA can be effectively reduced after FML treatment. This study provides a research basis for the development of natural products from mulberry leaves.     

Manipulating the surface properties of polyacrylamide with nitrogen plasma

Polyacrylamide (PAL) was physically adsorbed onto a hydroxylated silicon surface to form a uniform PAL film and the up-top PAL thin film was treated by nitrogen (N₂) plasma for surface modification. The atomic composition of the modified surface of the PAL film adsorbed on silicon substrate was analyzed with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface energy of PAL film was calculated from the data of contact angle of three-probe liquid. The FTIR results show an increase of peak intensity at 1214 cm⁻¹ (NH₂ stretch vibration) after the nitrogen plasma treatment, which confirms that the nitrogen was grafted to the PAL surface in the process of N₂-plasma treatment. The XPS results show that the ratio of relative intensity of N1s to O1s increases with increasing the plasma treatment time, which further affirms the formation of the amine groups on the PAL surface after the nitrogen plasma treatment. The surface tension increases with increasing the plasma grafting time. However, the surface energy decreases rapidly at the early stage when stored in air and approaches to an equilibrium value. It suggests that some physically-adsorbed ions and alkyl radicals on PAL surface can rapidly lose their activities. The increase of the surface tension of the plasma treated PLA films is due to the amine groups covalently grafted to PAL surface.     

Ultrafast spectroscopic study of the photochemistry and photophysics of arylhalodiazirines: direct observation of carbene and zwitterion formation

Ultrafast photolysis (lambdaex = 270, 350, or 360 nm) of bromophenyl, chlorophenyl, fluorophenyl, and fluoro-para-trifluoromethylphenyl diazirines produces transient species which absorb broadly in the UV and visible regions. Transient decay can be fit to either mono- or biexponential functions (tau1 approximately 0.3-10 ps, tau2 approximately 10-350 ps; dependent on solvent and halogen). Fluoro- and chlorophenylcarbene are formed within the time resolution of the spectrometer (300 fs, 270 nm excitation). Bromophenyl diazirine decay (270 nm excitation) correlates with the growth of bromophenylcarbene. Solvent and substituent effects on the slower decays of the transient absorptions are consistent with assigning the carriers of transient absorption in the visible region to ring-opened zwitterionic species.     

Hydrogenation and hydrocarbonation and etching of single-walled carbon nanotubes

We present a systematic experimental investigation of the reactions between hydrogen plasma and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) at various temperatures. Microscopy, infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy, and electrical transport measurements are carried out to investigate the properties of SWNTs after hydrogenation. Structural deformations, drastically reduced electrical conductance, and an increased semiconducting nature of SWNTs upon sidewall hydrogenation are observed. These changes are reversible upon thermal annealing at 500 degrees C via dehydrogenation. Harsh plasma or high temperature reactions lead to etching of nanotubes likely via hydrocarbonation. Smaller SWNTs are markedly less stable against hydrocarbonation than larger tubes. The results are fundamental and may have implications to basic and practical applications including hydrogen storage, sensing, band gap engineering for novel electronics, and new methods of manipulation, functionalization, and etching of nanotubes.     

H2O/TiCl4/ED 体系引发异丁烯控制正离子聚合中的影响因素研究

在亲核试剂(ED)如吡啶(Py)、N,N-二甲基乙酰胺(DMA)或三乙胺(TEA)存在下,由引发剂H2O和共引发剂TiCl4组成引发体系,在二氯甲烷/正己烷混合溶剂中进行异丁烯(IB)正离子聚合,考察了溶剂极性、聚合温度及异丁烯浓度对聚合反应转化率、产物分子量和分子量分布的影响.试验结果表明,随聚合体系溶剂极性增大,聚合速率加快,相近转化率时聚合产物的分子量分布变窄.随着聚合温度降低,聚合速率明显提高,聚合物的分子量增加,活化能为负值,活性链端发生链转移或链终止等副反应的几率减小,当聚合温度为-60℃时,可以抑制活性链端的β-H脱除反应和链转移副反应,并得到大分子链末端全部为叔氯基团的聚异丁烯(PIB).当[IB]0≤2.5mol/L时,随[IB]0增加,聚合转化率有所增加,聚合产物的GPC谱图均为单峰分布,分子量增大,而分子量分布基本保持不变,对于加入Py的聚合体系,分子量分布指数在1.33~1.45范围内,对于加入TEA的聚合体系,分子量分布指数在1.47~1.60范围内,并求出在加入Py和TEA的聚合体系中活性链向单体的链转移常数CM分别为5.5×10-4和6.6×10-4.