Three new lanthanide coordination polymers containing isophthalate and 1,10-phenanthroline

Three lanthanide coordination polymers were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. [Pr₂(mBDC)₃(phen)(H₂O)]_n·0.5nH₂O (1) (mBDC=isophthalate, phen=1,10-phenanthroline) exhibits two kinds of metal environments (coordination numbers 7 and 8). In complex 1, mBDC ligands adopt the tetradentate (bridging and bridging) coordination mode and connect Pr ions into an undulating layer, and a 3D supramolecular structure is formed via hydrogen bonds between adjacent layers. [Tb₄(mBDC)₆(phen)]_n (2) has three types of metal environments (coordination numbers 6, 7 and 8) and is composed of a 3D network formed by mBDC linking Tb ions via tetradentate (bridging and bridging) and pentadentate (bridging/chelating and bridging) coordination modes. There are two kinds of small quadrilateral channels along the a-axis. [Er₄(mBDC)₆(phen)]_n (3) is isostructural to complex 2.     

Metastasis-suppressor KAI1/CD82 induces homotypic aggregation of human prostate cancer cells through Src-dependent pathway

To investigate the functional role of KAI1/CD82, a metastasis suppressor for human prostate cancer, in the regulation of homotypic cell adhesion, we transfected KAI1 cDNA into DU 145 human prostate cancer cells and established stable transfectant clones with high KAI1/CD82 expression. The KAI1 transfectant cells exhibited significantly increased homotypic cell aggregation in comparison with the control transfectant cells. This aggregation of the KAI1 transfectants was further enhanced upon exposure to anti-CD82 antibody, suggesting that KAI1/CD82 may be involved in the intracellular signaling for the cell adhesion. Among several signal pathway inhibitors tested, PP1, an inhibitor of Src family kinases, significantly suppressed homotypic aggregation of the KAI1 transfectant cells. Ligation of KAI1/CD82 with anti-CD82 antibody increased endogenous Src kinase activity of the KAI1 transfectant cells. When different types of src expression constructs were retransfected into the KAI1-transfected DU 145 cells, kinase-negative mutant src transfectant cells exhibited much lower homotypic aggregation than the mock cells transfected with an empty vector. Moreover, homotypic aggregation of the mutant src transfectant cells was not enhanced by KAI1/CD82 ligation with anti- CD82 antibody. These results suggest that Src mediates the intracellular signaling pathway of KAI1/CD82 for the induction of homotypic adhesion of human prostate cancer cells.     

A new Fluorimetric Reagent for Highly Selective and Sensitive Determination of Terbium Ion

 In this work, a new ligand, 2,9-bis[N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-aminomethyl]-1,10-phenanthroline (BBCAP), was synthesized and used to establish a novel fluorimetric method for the determination of trace amounts of terbium in a binary system. Its luminescence mechanism was studied. The excitation and emission wavelengths are 284 nm and 547 nm, respectively. Other rare-earth metal ions in 100-fold excess caused no interference. The fluorescence intensity was a linear function of the concentration of terbium in the range of 5.0 × 10⁻¹⁰–1.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol/L. The detection limit was 2.0 × 10⁻¹¹ mol/L (n = 12). The standard addition method was used to determine the terbium in a synthetic rare-earth sample with satisfactory results. This method represents a direct, rapid, selective and sensitive analytical procedure with a widely linear range. Received November 29, 2001 Revision February 9, 2002     

Improved expression by cytomegalovirus promoter/enhancer and behavior of vascular endothelial growth factor gene after myocardial injection of naked DNA

Direct injection of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene plasmid DNA into the myocardium was shown to induce development of new blood vessels to increase the circulation in the heart of patients with coronary artery diseases. However, such angiogenic gene therapy (via naked DNA) was limited by low level of gene expression. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial characteristics of VEGF gene transfer in the heart are not known. In this study, we demonstrated that a plasmid vector, containing the human cytomegalovirus immediate early (HCMV IE) promoter and enhancer, induces greater expression of gene in the rat heart monitored by gene fused to the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter, than four different viral and cellular promoters. Interestingly, expression of VEGF121 protein showed an earlier peak, a shorter duration, and a wider distribution than that of CAT only. Therefore, a plasmid vector with an HCMV IE promoter/enhancer provides clear advantages over other previously developed plasmids. Furthermore, expression profile of VEGF121 gene may provide useful information in the design of angiogenic gene therapy in the heart.     

Optical measurement of the deformation of giant lipid vesicles driven by a micropipet electrode

We investigate the deformation of giant lipid vesicles driven by a micropipet electrode by use of differential confocal microscopy. This optical technique provides nanometer depth resolution without mechanical contact and hence prevents large tension or perforation of the soft membrane. For dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) membranes in the gel phase, we observed deformations of several hundreds of nanometers when the driving voltage was about 0.1 V. The voltage and frequency responses of the vesicle deformation can be explained by the balance between the electroosmotic force inside the micropipet and the membrane tension. We also used DPPC:cholesterol vesicles to check the validity of this model. In the fluid phase, however, the deformation is independent of the modulation signal because micrometer-scale thermal fluctuations dominate the membrane motion.     

Aerobic oxidative cyclization under Pd(II) catalysis: a regioselective approach to heterocycles

[chemical reaction: see text]. An efficient Yb(OTf)3-promoted palladium-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of gamma-heteroalkenyl beta-keto amides has been developed. Under simple aerobic condition, a variety of six-, seven-, and eight-membered-ring N- and O-heterocycles were obtained regioselectively in excellent yield.     

Efficient electrospray ionization from polymer microchannels using integrated hydrophobic membranes

A simple process for realizing stable and reliable electrospray ionization (ESI) tips in polymer microfluidic systems is described. The process is based on the addition of a thin hydrophobic membrane at the microchannel exit to constrain lateral dispersion of the Taylor cone formed during ESI. Using this approach, ESI chips are shown to exhibit well-defined Taylor cones at flow rates as low as 80 nL min(-1) through optical imaging. Furthermore, stable electrospray current has been measured for flow rates as low as 10 nL min(-1) over several hours of continuous operation. Characterization of the electrospray process by optical and electrical monitoring of fabricated ESI chips is reported, together with mass spectrometry validation using myoglobin as a model protein. The novel process offers the potential for low-cost, direct interfacing of disposable polymer microfluidic separation platforms to mass spectrometry.     

Iterative solutions with energy selected bases for highly excited vibrations of tetra-atomic molecules

The use of energy selected bases (ESB) with iterative diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix is described for vibrations of tetra-atomic systems. The performance of the method is tested by computing vibrational states of HOOH below 10,000 cm(-1) (1296 A+ symmetry states) and H(2)CO below 13,500 cm(-1) (729 A(1) symmetry states). For iterative solutions, we tested both the implicitly restarted Lanczos method (IRLM) and the standard (nonreorthogonalizing) Lanczos approach. Comparison with other contracted basis approach as well as direct product grid representation shows superior performance of the ESB/IRLM approach. Of the two systems, H(2)CO is found to be more challenging than HOOH since it has much stronger couplings among vibrational modes, which leads to a drastically larger primitive basis set. For H(2)CO we also discuss some interesting behavior of the molecule in the high internal energy regime.     

Synthesis of some dibenzodiazepinone derivatives as potent and m2-selective antimuscarinic compounds

Two series of 5-[[4-[4-(dialkylamino)butyl]-l-cyclohexyl]acetyl], and 5-[(dialkylamino)acyl]-10,11-dihydro-5H- dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-11-ones were synthesized as potential m2-selective ligands 1,2. Their affinity and selectivity for the muscarinic cholinergic receptor m-AChR subtypes were determined. Replacing a nitrogen with CH in the piperidine ring of 5-[[4-[4-(dialkylamino)butyl]-l-piperidinyl]acetyl]-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo-[b,e][1,4]diazepin-11-ones 3 significantly altered the affinity and selectivity to the muscarinic receptor subtypes.     

硝酸镧与冠醚(2, 2)配合物的晶体及电子结构研究

用X-射线单晶衍射法测定了硝酸镧与冠醚(2,2)配合物的晶体结构,发现其具有与报道的Eu(NO_3)_3(2,2)配合物不同的配位方式.晶体属于三斜晶系,空间群P(?),晶胞参数为a=10.312(2)(?);b=12.745(3)(?);c=8.917(2)(?);α=103.79(2)°;β=112.73(2)°;γ=83.68(2)°;V=1049.5(5)(?)~3;F(000)=587.88;Z=2.结构用重原子法解出;R值为0.0292.用INDO法计算了配合物的净电荷分布,电子结构、键级.结果表明,镧与配位原子间的键具有一定程度的共价性.镧的5d轨道对共价性的贡献最大,而4f轨道基本上不参与成键.La-N比La-O(醚)间存在较强的作用,增大了配合物的稳定性.