Bioadhesive control of plasma proteins and blood cells from umbilical cord blood onto the interface grafted with zwitterionic polymer brushes

In this work, bioadhesive behavior of plasma proteins and blood cells from umbilical cord blood (UCB) onto zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (polySBMA) polymer brushes was studied. The surface coverage of polySBMA brushes on a hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) well plate with surface grafting weights ranging from 0.02 mg/cm(2) to 0.69 mg/cm(2) can be effectively controlled using the ozone pretreatment and thermal-induced radical graft-polymerization. The chemical composition, grafting structure, surface hydrophilicity, and hydration capability of prepared polySBMA brushes were determined to illustrate the correlations between grafting properties and blood compatibility of zwitterionic-grafted surfaces in contact with human UCB. The protein adsorption of fibrinogen in single-protein solutions and at complex medium of 100% UCB plasma onto different polySBMA brushes with different grafting coverage was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibodies. The grafting density of the zwitterionic brushes greatly affects the PS surface, thus controlling the adsorption of fibrinogen, the adhesion of platelets, and the preservation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in UCB. The results showed that PS surfaces grafted with polySBMA brushes possess controllable hydration properties through the binding of water molecules, regulating the bioadhesive and bioinert characteristics of plasma proteins and blood platelets in UCB. Interestingly, it was found that the polySBMA brushes with an optimized grafting weight of approximately 0.1 mg/cm(2) at physiologic temperatures show significant hydrated chain flexibility and balanced hydrophilicity to provide the best preservation capacity for HSPCs stored in 100% UCB solution for 2 weeks. This work suggests that, through controlling grafting structures, the hemocompatible nature of grafted zwitterionic polymer brushes makes them well suited to the molecular design of regulated bioadhesive interfaces for use in the preservation of HSPCs from human UCB.     

Forensic Applications of Portable X‐ray Fluorescence Spectrometer: Glass Samples

Portable X‐ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (PXRF) is a qualitative and semi‐quantitative elemental analysis method. Recently, many researches using PXRF in the elemental analysis of materials have been reported. However, PXRF has not been extensively applied in forensic science, thus this study is devoted to demonstrate the utility of this technique through a rapid elemental analysis of glass samples for preliminary glass discrimination. Major elements such as Si, O, Ca, Al, and Na, as well as traces of Sr, Rb, K, Fe and Sn, in 25 glass samples were analyzed by PXRF. The amounts of some elements, such as Fe, K, Zr, and Sr, vary in different samples, while other elements, such as Th, are consistent in most tested glass samples. The results show that we can discriminate 98.31 % of 7,500 pair‐wise comparisons created from 25 glass samples. This study establishes PXRF as a new rapid method for the preliminary elemental analysis of glass, which shows a potential to be further applied for discrimination of glass samples in forensic field.     

Anthocyanins Derived from Vitis coignetiae Pulliat Contributes Anti-Cancer Effects by Suppressing NF-κB Pathways in Hep3B Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells and In Vivo

We previously demonstrated that anthocyanins from the fruits of Vitis coignetiae Pulliat (AIMs) induced the apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. However, many researchers argued that the concentrations of AIMs were too high for in vivo experiments. Therefore, we performed in vitro at lower concentrations and in vivo experiments for the anti-cancer effects of AIMs. AIMs inhibited the cell proliferation of Hep3B cells in a dose-dependent manner with a maximum concentration of 100 µg/mL. AIMs also inhibited the invasion and migration at 100 µg/mL concentration with or without the presence of TNF-α. To establish the relevance between the in vitro and in vivo results, we validated their effects in a Xenograft model of Hep3B human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. In the in vivo test, AIMs inhibited the tumorigenicity of Hep3B cells in the xenograft mouse model without showing any clinical signs of toxicity or any changes in the body weight of mice. AIMs inhibited the activation NF-κB and suppressed the NF-κB-regulated proteins, intra-tumoral microvessel density (IMVD) and the Ki67 activity of Hep3B xenograft tumors in athymic nude mice. In conclusion, this study indicates that AIMs have anti-cancer effects (inhibition of proliferation, invasion, and angiogenesis) on human hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft through the inhibition of NF-κB and its target protein.     

Synthesis and characterization of new electroluminescent materials of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole–1,2,3‐triazole hybrids and 1,3,4‐oxadiazole–1,2,3‐triazole–pyridine derivatives

New electroluminescent materials of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole–1,2,3‐triazole and 1,3,4‐oxadiazole–1,2,3‐triazole–pyridine hybrid derivatives were synthesized and characterized. Following spectroscopic studies and characterization of their electronic properties, 1,3,4‐oxadiazole–1,2,3‐triazole hybrids and 1,3,4‐oxadiazole–1,2,3‐triazole–pyridine derivatives were found to be potentially efficient blue electroluminescent materials. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 17:322–328, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20210     

Correlating Glycoforms of DC‐SIGN with Stability Using a Combination of Enzymatic Digestion and Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry

The immune scavenger protein DC‐SIGN interacts with glycosylated proteins and has a putative role in facilitating viral infection. How these recognition events take place with different viruses is not clear and the effects of glycosylation on the folding and stability of DC‐SIGN have not been reported. Herein, we report the development and application of a mass‐spectrometry‐based approach to both uncover and characterise the effects of O‐glycans on the stability of DC‐SIGN. We first quantify the Core 1 and 2 O‐glycan structures on the carbohydrate recognition and extracellular domains of the protein using sequential exoglycosidase sequencing. Using ion mobility mass spectrometry, we show how specific O‐glycans, and/or single monosaccharide substitutions, alter both the overall collision cross section and the gas‐phase stability of the DC‐SIGN isoforms. We find that rather than the mass or length of glycoprotein modifications, the stability of DC‐SIGN is better correlated with the number of glycosylation sites.     

Time-resolved resonance Raman observation of the dimerization of didehydroazepines in solution

Time-resolved resonance Raman (TR3) studies of the photochemistry of phenyl azide, 3-hyroxyphenyl azide, 3-methoxyphenyl azide and 3-nitrophenyl azide in acetonitrile:water solutions is reported. After photolysis of these four aryl azides in room temperature solutions, only one species was observed in the TR3 spectra for each azide, respectively at the probe wavelengths employed in the TR3 experiments. The species observed after photolysis of 3-nitrophenyl azide was assigned to 3,3'-dinitroazobenzene, an azo compound formed from the dimerization reaction of triplet 3-nitrophenylnitrene. In contrast, the species observed after photolysis of phenyl azide, 3-hydroxyphenyl azide and 3-methoxyphenyl azide were tentatively assigned to intermediates formed from the dimerization of didehydroazepines that are produced from the ring expansion reaction of the respective singlet arylnitrene. To our knowledge, this is the first time-resolved vibrational spectroscopic observation of the dimerization reaction of didehydroazepines in solution. In addition, these are the first resonance Raman spectra reported for dimers formed from didehydroazepines. We briefly discuss the structures, properties and chemical reactivity of the dimer species observed in the TR3 spectra and possible implications for the photochemistry of aryl azides.     

A highly stable nonbiofouling surface with well-packed grafted zwitterionic polysulfobetaine for plasma protein repulsion

An ideal nonbiofouling surface for biomedical applications requires both high-efficient antifouling characteristics in relation to biological components and long-term material stability from biological systems. In this study we demonstrate the performance and stability of an antifouling surface with grafted zwitterionic sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA). The SBMA was grafted from a bromide-covered gold surface via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization to form well-packed polymer brushes. Plasma protein adsorption on poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (polySBMA) grafted surfaces was measured with a surface plasmon resonance sensor. It is revealed that an excellent stable nonbiofouling surface with grafted polySBMA can be performed with a cycling test of the adsorption of three model proteins in a wide range of various salt types, buffer compositions, solution pH levels, and temperatures. This work also demonstrates the adsorption of plasma proteins and the adhesion of platelets from human blood plasma on the polySBMA grafted surface. It was found that the polySBMA grafted surface effectively reduces the plasma protein adsorption from platelet-poor plasma solution to a level superior to that of adsorption on a surface terminated with tetra(ethylene glycol). The adhesion and activation of platelets from platelet-rich plasma solution were not observed on the polySBMA grafted surface. This work further concludes that a surface with good hemocompatibility can be achieved by the well-packed surface-grafted polySBMA brushes.     

Synthesis and characterization of pH‐sensitive and thermosensitive double hydrophilic graft copolymers

A series of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐co‐poly(N^ε‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐L ‐lysine) graft copolymers (PNIPAm‐co‐PZLLys) with different side chains (degree of polymerization, DP = 5～40) and unit ratios (from 30 to 70 mol %) were prepared via free radical polymerization, followed by cleaving benzyloxycarbonyl groups (Z groups) to obtain the double hydrophilic graft copolymer, poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐co‐poly(L ‐lysine) (PNIPAm‐co‐PLLys). The pH‐ and temperature‐response properties of the graft copolymers in aqueous solution were studied. The experimental results indicate L15‐N30 and L15N‐70, that is, the PNIPAm‐co‐PLLys having the poly(L ‐lysine) of DP = 15 as side chains as well as 30 and 70 mol %, respectively, of PNIPAm as backbone, have coil‐to‐helix transitions from pH 6 to pH 12 at room temperature and form uniform nanoscale micelle‐like dispersions in aqueous solution at pH 12. The graft copolymers also could form uniform and nanoscale micelle‐like structures at 50 °C in pH 6 buffer solution due to slightly polymer aggregation. With temperature and pH increased, both the deprotonated PLLys side chains and PNIPAm backbone become hydrophobic, leading to polymer precipitation. These results illustrate that a double tunable hydrophilic graft copolymer had been successfully synthesized via a simple radical polymerization, and could form micelles without serious polymer aggregation at a lower pH and a higher temperature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Studies on the Reaction of α‐Chloroformylarylhydrazine Hydrochloride1 with N‐Heterocyclic Compounds

In addition to pyridines, α‐chloroformylarylhydrazine hydrochloride 1 can also react with some N‐heterocyclic compounds. The cycloaddition of 1 with isoquinoline was achieved to obtain 3 . The production of 4, 5, 6 given by cycloaddition of 1 with pyridazine was de pendent on the reaction condition. Some heterocyclic compounds bearing an X‐C=N (X:S, N) group on the ring can react with 1 to gain the derivatives of 2,4‐dihydro‐1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐one. 7, 8, 9 and 10 were given by reaction of 1 with 1,3,5‐triazine, 1,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidine, 1,3‐thiazole and 2‐amino‐1,3‐thiazole, respectively. The reactions for 2‐amino‐1,3,4‐thiadiazole and 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole had the same product 11 .     

Syntheses of 5‐(3‐Arylsydnon‐4‐yl)Tetrazole Derivatives

3‐Arylsydnone‐4‐carbohydroximic acid chlorides ( 1 ) could react with sodium azide to produce the corresponding 3‐arylsydnone‐4‐carbazidoximes ( 2 ), but not 1‐hydroxytetrazoles 3 . Treatment of 3‐arylsydnone‐4‐carbazidoximes ( 2 ) with acid chlorides such as acetyl chloride ( 4a ), propionyl chloride ( 4b ) and benzoyl chloride ( 4c ) in the presence of excess triethylamine generated the derivatives of the azidoximes 5 . To obtain the desired tetrazoles, the azidoximes 2 should first cyclize directly with acetyl chloride ( 4a ) or propionyl chloride ( 4b ) to afford the acetyl or propionyl derivatives 6 . The cyclized tetrazole derivatives 6 underwent deacylation upon heating in ethanol to give 1‐hydroxy‐5‐(3‐arylsydnon‐4‐yl)tetrazoles ( 3 ).