Effects of adenovirus-mediated bFGF, IL-1Ra and IGF-1 gene transfer on human osteoarthritic chondrocytes and osteoarthritis in rabbits

The study investigated the effects of adenovirus-mediated gene transfection of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), bFGF combined with interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IL-Ra) and/or insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) both in human osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes and rabbits OA model. Human OA chondrocytes were delivered by adenovirus-mediated bFGF, IL-Ra and IGF-1 vectors, respectively. Chondrocyte proliferation, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content, expression of type II collagen, ADAMTS-5, MMP-13, MMP-3 and TIMP-1 were determined. Rabbit OA model was induced by anterior cruciate ligament transaction (ACLT) in knees. Adenoviral vectors encoding human bFGF, IL-Ra and IGF-1 were injected intraarticularly into the knee joints after ACLT. The effects of adenovirus- mediated gene transfection on rabbit OA were evaluated. In vitro, the transfected genes were expressed in cell supernatant of human OA chondrocytes. AdbFGF group significantly promoted chondrocyte proliferation, and increased GAG and type II collagen synthesis than in the OA group. As two or three genes were transfected in different combinations, there was significant enhancement on the GAG content, type II collagen synthesis, and TIMP-1 levels, while ADAMTS-5, MMP-13, and MMP-3 levels were reduced. In vivo, the transfected genes were expressed in synovial fluid of rabbits. Intraarticular delivery of bFGF enhanced the expression of type II collagen in cartilage and decreased cartilage Mankin score compared with the OA control group (P = 0.047; P < 0.01, respectively). Multiple-gene transfection in different combinations showed better results than bFGF transfection alone. This study suggests that bFGF gene transfection is effective in treating experimental OA. Multiple gene transfection has better biologic effects on OA.     

Influence of metal ions on the interaction between gatifloxacin and calf thymus DNA

To study the interaction between gatifloxacin (GT), metal ions (Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Mg²⁺) and calf thymus DNA under condition of physiology pH, UV absorption and fluorescence methods were adopted. Result shows that metal ions and DNA are able to react with GT in ground state. In further research, by studying the influence of metal ions on binding of GT with DNA in metal ions–GT–DNA ternary system, we found that influential mechanism of Mg²⁺ on the binding of GT with DNA may be different from the other three. Mg²⁺ can act as a bridge in the binding of GT's carboxyl/carbonyl with DNA phosphate in certain concentration range; while Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺ can combine directly with GT by reaction between GT carboxyl/carbonyl and DNA base, and enhance the binding ability of GT with DNA. The influence extent and type depend not only on the binding site of DNA with metal ions (phosphate or base), but also the binding ability of which. The stronger the binding ability of metal ions with DNA base is, the larger their promotion to binding of GT with DNA is. The order of metal ions’ influential ability on the binding of GT–DNA is identical to the binding ability order of metal ions with DNA base, that is: Cu²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Mg²⁺.     

Electrochemical DNA biosensor for the detection of Listeria Monocytogenes using toluidine blue as a hybridization indicator

An electrochemical DNA biosensor was established for the determination of actin-assembly inducing protein (actA) gene sequences from Listeria monocytogenes and its polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product. The actA gene probe sequences were covalently immobilized on the surface of the mercaptoacetic acid self-assembled gold electrode with the help of N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS), which was further used to hybridize with the target sequence. Toluidine blue (TB) was used as an effective electrochemical indicator for the discrimination of the hybridization reaction on the electrode surface, which had stronger interaction with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) than single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). The electrochemical parameters of TB on DNA modified electrodes were carefully calculated. Based on the different electrochemical responses of TB on DNA modified electrodes, the actA gene sequences can be detected in the concentration range from 1.0 × 10^-7 to 8.0 × 10^-5 M. The PCR product of Listeria monocytogenes was successfully detected by the proposed electrochemical biosensor.     

Synthesis,Spectroscopy, Crystal Structure Determination,and Quantum Chemical Calculations of BODIPY Dyes with Increasing Conformational Restriction and Concomitant Red‐Shifted Visible Absorption and Fluorescence Spectra

Starting from the conformationally unconstrained compound 3,5‐di‐(2‐bromophenoxy)‐4,4‐difluoro‐8‐(4‐methylphenyl)‐4‐bora‐3a,4a‐diaza‐s‐indacene ( 1 ), two BODIPY dyes ( 2 and 3 ) with increasingly rigid conformations were synthesized in outstanding total yields through palladium catalyzed intramolecular benzofuran formation. Restricted bond rotation of the phenoxy fragments leads to dyes 2 and 3 , which absorb and fluoresce more intensely at longer wavelengths relative to the unconstrained dye 1 . Reduction of the conformational flexibility in 2 and 3 leads to significantly higher fluorescence quantum yields compared to those of 1 . X‐ray diffraction analysis shows the progressively more extended planarity of the chromophore in line with the increasing conformational restriction in the series 1 → 2 → 3 , which explains the larger red shifts of the absorption and emission spectra. These conclusions are confirmed by quantum chemical calculations of the lowest electronic excitations in 1 , 1a , 2 , 2a , 3 and dyes of related chemical structures. The effect of the molecular structure on the visible absorption and fluorescence emission properties of 1 , 1a , 2 , 2a , 3 has been examined as a function of solvent by means of the new, generalized treatment of the solvent effect (J. Phys. Chem. B 2009 , 113, 5951–5960). Solvent polarizability is the primary factor responsible for the small solvent‐dependent shifts of the visible absorption and fluorescence emission bands of these dyes.     

SiH_4与Na、Mg和Be等金属氢化物分子间反向氢键相互作用

在B3LYP/6-311++g**、MP2/6-311++g(3df,3pd)及MP2/aug-cc-pvtz水平上分别求得H3SiH…MeHn(Me=Na,Mg,Be;n=1或2)复合物势能面上的3个稳定构型,探讨了以Si-H为电子供体的红移反向氢键相互作用(IHB).经MP2/6-311++g(3df,3pd)水平的计算,在3个复合物中,含基组重叠误差(BSSE)校正的单体间相互作用能分别为-5.98、-8.65和-3.96kJ.mol-1,与MP2/aug-cc-pvtz水平下计算得到的-6.18、-9.12和-4.28kJ·mol-1接近,可见3个反向氢键复合物的相对稳定性顺序为:SiH4...MgH2SiH4...NaHSiH4...BeH2.NBO分析及对相关原子化学位移的计算表明,在复合物中,电子流向总体表现为SiH4→MeHn(n=1或2),且直接参与反向氢键形成的H3的化学位移向低场移动.与传统氢键相比,这里Si1-H3既是氢键供体,又是电子供体,从而形成反向氢键相互作用.另外,采用分子中原子理论(AIM)分别对各复合物中相关键鞍点处的电子密度拓扑性质进行了分析,结果表明3个复合物中均存在以静电性质为主的分子间反向氢键弱相互作用.     

高效液相色谱的4种商品手性柱对38种手性化合物的拆分研究

采用纤维素-三(3,5-二甲基苯基氨基甲酸酯)涂敷型手性固定相(Chiralcel OD柱)、直链淀粉-三(3,5-二甲基苯基氨基甲酸酯)涂敷型手性固定相(Chiralpak AD柱)、直链淀粉-三(3,5-二甲基苯基氨基甲酸酯)键合型手性固定相(Chiralpak IA柱)和Pirkle型的(S,S)-Whelk-01手性固定相对38种外消旋体化合物进行手性拆分。实验结果表明,4种固定相的手性识别能力为:OD>AD>IA>(S,S)-Whelk-01,OD固定相的手性识别率达到60%,并且它们之间的手性识别性能还具有一定的互补性。本研究对4种常用手性固定相的拆分能力进行了对比,为拆分手性化合物时有的放矢地选择手性固定相提供了参考。     

高效液相色谱-电喷雾-离子阱质谱法推定硫酸依替米星中有关物质的结构

采用高效液相色谱-电喷雾-离子阱质谱法(HPLC-ESI-IT-MSn)对硫酸依替米星中有关物质结构进行推定.采用Phenomnex Gemini NX C18色谱柱,以水-氨水-冰醋酸(96∶ 3.6∶ 0.4, V/V)-甲醇(70∶ 30, V/V)为流动相,质谱条件:电喷雾离子源(ESI),正离子检测模式;离子源温度350 ℃;雾化氮气压力275.8 kPa;干燥氮气流速10 L/min;离子阱质谱检测器,Smart扫描模式,扫描质量范围m/z 100～900.硫酸依替米星样品中共检出18种有关物质,对其中的13种物质的结构进行了推定,其余5种有关物质的结构未进行解析,只提供了分子量和二级质谱信息.     

Selective oxidation of styrene on an oxygen‐adsorbed Cu(111): A comparison with Au(111)

The reaction mechanism for the styrene selective oxidation on the oxygen preadsorbed Cu(111) surface has been studied by the density functional theory calculation with the periodic slab model. The calculated result indicated that the process includes two steps: forming the oxametallacycle intermediate (OMMS) and then producing the products. In addition, it was found that the second step, from OMMS to the product, is the rate‐controlling step, which is similar to the previous work of ethylene selective oxidation. The present result indicated that the selectivity towards the formation of styrene epoxide on Cu(111) is much higher than that on Au(111). More importantly, we found that the mechanism via the OMMS (2) (i.e., the preadsorbed atomic oxygen bound to the CH₂ group involved in C₆H₅? CH?CH₂) to produce styrene epoxide is kinetically favored than that of OMMS (1). We also found that the selectivity toward the styrene epoxide formation on Cu₂O is similar to that of Cu(111). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Theoretical Investigations on the Mechanism of Hetero‐Diels–Alder Reactions of Brassard’s Diene and 1, 3‐Butadiene Catalyzed by a Tridentate Schiff Base Titanium(IV) Complex

The mechanism of the hetero‐Diels–Alder reactions of Brassard’s diene and 1,3‐butadiene catalyzed by a titanium(IV) complex of a tridentate Schiff base was investigated by DFT and ONIOM methods. The calculations indicate that the mechanism of the reaction is closely related to the nucleophilicity–electrophilicity between diene and carbonyl substrates. A stepwise pathway is adopted for Brassard’s diene, and the step corresponding to the formation of the C? C bond is predicted to be the rate‐determining step with a free‐energy barrier of 8.4 kcal mol^?1. For 1,3‐butadiene, the reaction takes place along a one‐step, two‐stage pathway with a free‐energy barrier of 14.9 kcal mol^?1. For Brassard’s diene as substrate, the OCH₃ and OSi(CH₃)₃ substituents may play a key role in the formation of the transition state and zwitterionic intermediate by participating in charge transfer from Brassard’s diene to formaldehyde. The combination of the phenyl groups at the amino alcohol moiety and the ortho‐tert‐butyl group of the salicylaldehyde moiety in the chiral tridentate Schiff base ligand plays an important role in the control of the stereoselectivity, which is in agreement with experimental observations.     

Application of SPE Using Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Adsorbent and Rapid Resolution LC-MS-MS for the Simultaneous Determination of 11 Triazine Herbicides Residues in River Water

A method for the simultaneous determination of 11 triazine herbicides residues in river water has been developed. It involves solid-phase extraction (SPE) pretreatment step and rapid resolution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (RRLC-MS-MS). In the SPE pretreatment step, the adsorptive performance of MWCNTs material as SPE adsorbent and the elution capability of five kinds of solvents were investigated; in the LC separation step, a rapid resolution high throughput LC column, was used and the gradient elution mode adopted. The linear correlation coefficients (r ²) of the method for 11 target analytes varied between 0.9930 and 0.9980, the mean recoveries were in the range of 73.0 and 98.0% with relative standard deviations (RSD) 2.6 ~ 4.2%, the method detection limits (MDL) were all below 0.1 ng L^?1. An expanded uncertainty of not more than 20% was estimated for each analyte at the spiked concentration of 4.0 μg L^?1. The proposed method was applied to the determination of the residue concentrations of 11 pollutants in Songhuajiang River water.