Analysis of sialic acid levels in Chinese intravenous immunoglobulins by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is increasingly used for the treatment of autoimmune and systemic inflammatory diseases with both licensed and off‐label indications. Recent studies indicated that IVIg‐mediated immunomodulation and anti‐inflammation are closely associated with the IgG sialylation, especially with IgG crystallizable fragment (Fc) sialylation. The sialic acid levels of the IgG molecules and Fc fragments in 12 IVIg preparations from six Chinese manufacturers were evaluated. The Fc fragments were derived from the papain digestion of IVIg, followed by affinity and size exclusion chromatography. The sialic acid levels in Fc fragments and IVIg preparations were determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, after the sialic acid residues were released from the proteins. The results showed that the sialic acid levels in Chinese IVIg preparations ranged from 0.875 (mol/mol IgG) to 1.085 (mol/mol IgG), and the sialic acid levels in Fc fragments were from 0.321 (mol/mol Fc) to 0.361 (mol/mol Fc). Furthermore, the sialic acid levels of IVIg preparations and Fc fragments from different Chinese manufactures were significantly different. These findings will contribute to an increased understanding of Chinese IVIg preparations and the relationship between the sialic acid levels in IVIg preparations and their clinical efficacy in future clinical studies.     

Advantageous Interfacial Effects of AgPd/g-C3N4 for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution: Electronic Structure and H2O Dissociation

Bimetallic AgPd nanoparticles have been synthesized before, but the interfacial electronic effects of AgPd on the photocatalytic performance have been investigated less. In this work, the results of hydrogen evolution suggest that the bimetallic AgPd/g-C₃N₄ sample has superior activity to Ag/g-C₃N₄ and Pd/g-C₃N₄ photocatalysts. The UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, CO adsorption diffuse reflectance FTIR spectroscopy, and FTIR results demonstrate that in the AgPd/g-C₃N₄, the surface electronic structures of Pd and Ag are changed, which is beneficial for faster photogenerated electron transfer and greater H₂O molecule adsorption. In situ ESR spectra suggest that, under visible light irradiation, there is more H₂O dissociation to radical species on the AgPd/g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst. Furthermore, DFT calculations confirm the interfacial electronic effects of AgPd/g-C₃N₄, that is, Pd^δ−⋅⋅⋅Ag^δ+, and the activation energy of H₂O molecule dissociation on AgPd/g-C₃N₄ is the lowest, which is the main contributor to the enhanced photocatalytic H₂ evolution.     

An Experimental Setup for Combined In-Vacuo Raman Spectroscopy and Cavity-Interferometry Measurements on TMDC Nano-resonators

Experimental Mechanics - Nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) systems fabricated using atomically thin materials have low mass and high stiffness and are thus ideal candidates for force and mass sensing...     

Organic Proton‐Buffer Electrode to Separate Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution in Acid Water Electrolysis

Hydrogen production from water via electrolysis in acid is attracting extensive attention as an attractive alternative approach to replacing fossil fuels. However, the simultaneous evolution of H₂ and O₂ requires a fluorine‐containing proton exchange membrane to prevent the gases from mixing while using the same space to concentrate the gases, which significantly increases the cost and reduces the flexibility of this approach. Here, a battery electrode based on the highly reversible enolization reaction of pyrene‐4,5,9,10‐tetraone is first introduced as a solid‐state proton buffer to separate the O₂ and H₂ evolution of acidic water electrolysis in space and time, through which the gas mixing issue can be avoided without using any membrane. This process allows us to separately consider H₂ and O₂ production according to the variation in input power (e.g., the renewable energy) and/or the location for H₂ concentration, thus showing high flexibility for H₂ production.     

Palladium/Norbornene‐Catalyzed Indenone Synthesis from Simple Aryl Iodides: Concise Syntheses of Pauciflorol F and Acredinone A

To show the synthetic utility of palladium/norbornene (Pd/NBE) cooperative catalysis, here we report concise syntheses of indenone‐based natural products, pauciflorol F and acredinone A, which are enabled by direct annulation between aryl iodides and unsaturated carboxylic acid anhydrides. Compared to the previous indenone‐preparation approaches, this method allows simple aryl iodides to be used as substrates with complete control of the regioselectivity. The total synthesis of acredinone A features two different Pd/NBE‐catalyzed ortho acylation reactions for constructing penta‐substituted arene cores, including the development of a new ortho acylation/ipso borylation.     

Unveiling the Layer‐Dependent Catalytic Activity of PtSe2 Atomic Crystals for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Two‐dimensional (2D) PtSe₂ shows the most prominent layer‐dependent electrical properties among various 2D materials and high catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and therefore, it is an ideal material for exploring the structure–activity correlations in 2D systems. Here, starting with the synthesis of single‐crystalline 2D PtSe₂ with a controlled number of layers and probing the HER catalytic activity of individual flakes in micro electrochemical cells, we investigated the layer‐dependent HER catalytic activity of 2D PtSe₂ from both theoretical and experimental perspectives. We clearly demonstrated how the number of layers affects the number of active sites, the electronic structures, and electrical properties of 2D PtSe₂ flakes and thus alters their catalytic performance for HER. Our results also highlight the importance of efficient electron transfer in achieving optimum activity for ultrathin electrocatalysts. Our studies greatly enrich our understanding of the structure–activity correlations for 2D catalysts and provide new insight for the design and synthesis of ultrathin catalysts with high activity.     

Rational Design of Specific Recognition Molecules for Simultaneously Monitoring of Endogenous Polysulfide and Hydrogen Sulfide in the Mouse Brain

A biosensor was created for the simultaneous monitoring of endogenous H₂S_n and H₂S in mouse brains and exploring their roles in activation of the TRPA1 channel under two types of brain disease models: ischemia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Based on DFT calculations and electrochemical measurements, two probes, 3,4‐bis((2‐fluoro‐5‐nitrobenzoyl)oxy)‐benzoic acid (M_PS‐1) and N‐(4‐(2,5‐dinitrophenoxy) phenyl)‐5‐(1, 2‐dithiolan‐3‐yl)pentanamide (M_HS‐1), were synthesized for specific recognition of H₂S_n and H₂S. Through co‐assembly of the two probes at the mesoporous gold film with good anti‐biofouling ability and electrocatalytic activity, this microsensor showed high selectivity for H₂S_n and H₂S against potential biological interferences. The biosensor can simultaneously determine the concentration of H₂S_n from 0.2 to 50 μm , as well as that of H₂S from 0.2 to 40 μm . The expression of TRPA1 protein positively correlated with levels of H₂S_n under both ischemia and AD.     

Structure elucidation and NMR assignment of two new eudesmane derivatives from Merremia yunnanensis

Two new eudesmane derivatives, 1α,6β,9β-trihydroxy-eudesm-3-ene-1-O-β-d -glucopyranoside ( 1 ) and 1α,6β,9β-trihydroxy-eudesm-3-ene-1-(6-cinnamoyl)-O-β-d -glucopyranoside ( 2 ) were discovered from Merremia yunnanensis. The structures were elucidated by analysis of their spectroscopic data including HR-ESI-MS, 1D, and 2D NMR. It should be noted that this is the first report about structure elucidation and NMR assignment of compounds from M. yunnanensis.     

Self‐emulsion polymerization of amphiphilic monomers—a green route to synthesis of polymeric nanoscaffolds

Self‐emulsion polymerization (SEP), a green route developed by us for the polymerization of amphiphilic monomers, does not require any emulsifier or an organic solvent except that the water‐soluble initiators such as 2,2′‐azobis[2‐(2‐imidazolin‐2‐yl)propane]dihydrochloride (VA‐044) and potassium persulfate (KPS) are only used. We report here the polymer nanoscaffolds from a number of amphiphilic monomers, which can be used for in situ encapsulation of a variety of nanoparticles. As a demonstration of the efficacy of these nanoscaffolds, the synthesis of a biocompatible hybrid nanoparticle (nanohybrid), prepared by encapsulating Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticle (Fe₃O₄ MNPs) in poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) in water, for MRI application is presented. The nanohybrid prepared following the SEP in the form of an emulsion does not involve the use of any stabilizing agent, crosslinker, polymeric emulsifier, or surfactant. This water‐soluble, spherical, and stable nanohybrid containing Fe₃O₄ MNPs of average size 10 ± 2 nm has a zeta potential value of ?41.89 mV under physiological conditions. Magnetic measurement confirmed that the nanohybrid shows typical magnetic behavior having a saturation magnetization (Ms) value of 32.3 emu/g and a transverse relaxivity (r2) value of 29.97 mM^?1 s^?1, which signifies that it can be used as a T2 contrast agent in MRI. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019