An examination of tissue engineered scaffolds in a bioreactor

Replacement tissues, designed to fill in articular cartilage defects, should exhibit the same properties as the native material. The aim of this study is to foster the understanding of, firstly, the mechanical behavior of the material itself and, secondly, the influence of cultivation parameters on cell seeded implants as well as on cell migration into acellular implants. In this study, acellular cartilage replacement material is theoretically, numerically and experimentally investigated regarding its viscoelastic properties, where a phenomenological model for practical applications is developed. Furthermore, remodeling and cell migration are investigated. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL OPTICALLY ACTIVE CYCLIC PHOSPHOLIPID CONJUGATES OF TEGAFUR AND URIDINE STARTING FROM L-SERINE

Abstract

Starting from L-serine, cyclic thiophosphoramidate conjugates (2 and 3) of Tegafur and uridine were synthesized via a multiple-step procedure of esterification, cyclic phosphorylation, and sulfurization, etc. L-serinoate was N-alkylated, then cyclized with phosphorus oxychloride, and further reacted with N³-(2-hydroxyethyl) Tegafur to afford cyclic phospholipid conjugate 4. The resultants (2, 3, and 4) were successfully separated in the form of pure diastereomer by column chromatography on silica gel. Their configurations were discussed and assigned according to their NMR spectra. The asymmetric induction effects of the carbon-based chiral centre on the diastereomer preference were also observed in these two synthetic phosphorylation cyclizations. The bioassay on their antitumor activities is under investigation.     

Self-Assembly of Trisiloxane-Tailed Sugar Surfactant in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

A lactobionamide-based trisiloxane surfactant (Si3N2–LA) was prepared via a two-step method. Structure characterization of Si3N2–LA was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR). Surface activity and aggregation behavior in aqueous solution of Si3N2–LA were investigated by surface tension measurements, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and negative-stained transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the surfactants can self-assemble into spherical vesicles with diameters in the range from 50 to 150 nm due to the introduction of trisiloxane tail.     

Synthesis and Stereochemistry of α-Aryl-β-Nitroalkylphosphinate

Abstract

Twenty-three new α -aryl-β -nitroalkylphosphinates 3a - g were synthesized in high yields under very mild conditions. Compounds 3 consist of two pairs of diastereomeric isomers (A) and (B)     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) onto graphene oxide

The polyzwitterionic brushes comprised of poly(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (pMPC) segments, which are used for surface modification of polymers and biocompatible coatings, were investigated. In this work, reverse surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (RATRP) of zwitterionic 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) is employed to tailor the functionality of graphene oxide (GeneO) in a well‐controlled manner and produce a series of well‐defined hemocompatible hybrids (termed as GeneO‐g‐pMPC). The complexes were characterized by FT‐IR, XRD, and Raman. Results show that MPC has been coordinated on the graphene oxide sheet. Thermal stability of the nanocomposites in comparison with the neat copolymer is revealed by thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope images of the nanoconposite displays pMPC chains were capable of existing on GeneO sheet by RATRP. The biocompatibility properties were measured by plasma recalcification profile tests, hemolysis test, and MTT assays, respectively. The results confirm that the pMPC grafting can substantially enhance the hemocompatibility of the GeneO particles, and the GeneO‐g‐pMPC hybrids can be used as biomaterials without causing any hemolysis. With the versatility of RATRP and the excellent hemocompatibility of zwitterionic polymer chains, the GeneO‐g‐pMPC nanoparticles with desirable blood properties can be readily tailored to cater to various biomedical applications. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electron Capture Dissociation of Divalent Metal-adducted Sulfated N-Glycans Released from Bovine Thyroid Stimulating Hormone

Sulfated N-glycans released from bovine thyroid stimulating hormone (bTSH) were ionized with the divalent metal cations Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Co by electrospray ionization (ESI). These metal-adducted species were subjected to infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) and electron capture dissociation (ECD) and the corresponding fragmentation patterns were compared. IRMPD generated extensive glycosidic and cross-ring cleavages, but most product ions suffered from sulfonate loss. Internal fragments were also observed, which complicated the spectra. ECD provided complementary structural information compared with IRMPD, and all observed product ions retained the sulfonate group, allowing sulfonate localization. To our knowledge, this work represents the first application of ECD towards metal-adducted sulfated N-glycans released from a glycoprotein. Due to the ability of IRMPD and ECD to provide complementary structural information, the combination of the two strategies is a promising and valuable tool for glycan structural characterization. The influence of different metal ions was also examined. Calcium adducts appeared to be the most promising species because of high sensitivity and ability to provide extensive structural information.

Study of Nonlinear Resonance Effect in Paul Trap

In this article, we investigated the nonlinear resonance effect in the Paul trap with a superimposed hexapole field, which was assumed as a perturbation to the quadrupole field. On the basis of the Poincare-Lighthill-Kuo (PLK) perturbation method, ion motional equation, known as nonlinear Mathieu equation (NME) was expressed as the addition of approximation equations in terms of perturbation order. We discussed the frequency characteristics of ion axial-radial (z-r) coupled motion in the nonlinear field, derived the expressions of ion trajectories and nonlinear resonance conditions, and found that the mechanism of nonlinear resonance is similar to the normal resonance. The frequency spectrum of ion motion in nonlinear field includes not only the natural frequency series but also nonlinear introduced frequency series, which provide the driving force for the nonlinear resonance. The nonlinear field and the nonlinear effects are inevitable in practical ion trap experiments. Our method provides better understanding of these nonlinear effects and would be helpful for the instrumentation for ion trap mass spectrometers.      

Simulation of Rarefied Gas Flows in Atmospheric Pressure Interfaces for Mass Spectrometry Systems

The understanding of the gas dynamics of the atmospheric pressure interface is very important for the development of mass spectrometry systems with high sensitivity. While the gas flows at high pressure (>1 Torr) and low pressure (<10^–3 Torr) stages are relatively well understood and could be modeled using continuum and molecular flows, respectively, the theoretical modeling or numeric simulation of gas flow through the transition pressure stage (1 to 10^–3 Torr) remains challenging. In this study, we used the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DMSC) method to develop the gas dynamic simulations for the continuous and discontinuous atmospheric pressure interfaces (API), with different focuses on the ion transfer by gas flows through a skimmer or directly from the atmospheric pressure to a vacuum stage, respectively. The impacts by the skimmer location in the continuous API and the temporal evolvement of the gas flow with a discontinuous API were characterized, which provide a solid base for the instrument design and performance improvement.

Preparation and Characterization of Linear and Miktoarm Star Side-Chain Liquid Crystalline block Copolymers with p-Methoxyazobenzene Moieties via a Combination of ATRP and ROP

One linear and two miktoarm star side-chain liquid crystalline (LC) block copolymers with p-methoxyazobenzene moieties were prepared by a combination of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) techniques. First, ROPs of ε -caprolactone (ε -CL) were carried out catalyzed by Sn(Oct)₂ using three multifunctional initiators, hydroxyethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate (AB type), 3-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylpropyl 2-bromo-2-methylpropanoate (A₂B type) and 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diyl bis(2-bromo-2-methylpropanoate) (A₂B₂ type), at 110°C in toluene, respectively. Second, the previously obtained poly(ε -caprolactone)s (PCLs) with bromines functionalities were used as the macroinitiators to conduct ATRP of 6-(4-methoxy-4-oxy-azobenzene) hexyl methacrylate (MMAZO) with CuBr/PMDETA as the catalyst systems at 85°C in anisole to prepare the linear and miktoarm side-chain LC block copolymers (PCL-b-PMMAZO, (PCL)₂-(PMMAZO) and (PCL)₂-(PMMAZO)₂). The produced polymers were well-controlled with the controlled molecular weights and the relatively narrow molecular weight distributions (M _w/M _n ≤ 1.35). The structures of the obtained polymers were all characterized by NMR, FT-IR and GPC analysis. Furthermore, the LC properties of the linear and miktoarm star block copolymers were also investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal polarized optical microscopy (POM).     

Grafting of 4‐Vinyl Pyridine onto Nylon‐6 Initiated by Cu(III)

In this article, the graft copolymerization of 4‐vinyl pyridine (4VP) onto nylon‐6 (PA6) using potassium diperiodacuprate (III) (DPC)–PA6 redox system as initiator is investigated in an alkaline medium. The structure and the properties of graft copolymer are confirmed by Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (IR), X‐ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The mechanism is proposed to explain the generation of radicals and the initiation. The effects of reaction variables, such as the initiator concentration, ratio of 4VP to PA6, pH, as well as reaction temperature and time are investigated. Graft copolymers with high grafting efficiency (>95%) were obtained, which indicated that the DPC–PA6 redox system was an efficient initiator for this graft copolymerization. The quaternized PA6‐g‐P4VP (QPAVP) is proven to be an excellent adsorbent to heavy metal ions.