A pH-activatable and aniline-substituted photosensitizer for near-infrared cancer theranostics

This work reports a newly designed pH-activatable and aniline-substituted aza-boron-dipyrromethene as a trifunctional photosensitizer to achieve highly selective tumor imaging, efficient photodynamic therapy (PDT) and therapeutic self-monitoring through encapsulation in a cRGD-functionalized nanomicelle. The diethylaminophenyl is introduced in to the structure for pH-activatable near-infrared fluorescence and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) generation, and bromophenyl is imported to increase the ¹O₂ generation efficiency upon pH activation by virtue of its heavy atom effect. After encapsulation, the nanoprobe can target α_vβ₃ integrin-rich tumor cells via cRGD and is activated by physiologically acidic pH for cancer discrimination and PDT. The fascinating advantage of the nanoprobe is near-infrared implementation beyond 800 nm, which significantly improves the imaging sensitivity and increases the penetration depth of the PDT. By monitoring the fluorescence decrease in the tumor region after PDT, the therapeutic efficacy is demonstrated in situ and in real time, which provides a valuable and convenient self-feedback function for PDT efficacy tracking. Therefore, this rationally designed and carefully engineered nanoprobe offers a new paradigm for precise tumor theranostics and may provide novel opportunities for future clinical cancer treatment.     

Tetraphenylpyrazine-based AIEgens: facile preparation and tunable light emission

Research on aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has been a hot topic. Due to enthusiastic efforts by many researchers, hundreds of AIE luminogens (AIEgens) have been generated which were mainly based on archetypal silole, tetraphenylethene, distyrylanthracene, triphenylethene, and tetraphenyl-1,4-butadiene, etc. To enlarge the family of AIEgens and to enrich their functions, new AIEgens are in high demand. In this work, we report a new kind of AIEgen based on tetraphenylpyrazine (TPP), which could be readily prepared under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, we show that the TPP derivatives possess a good thermal stability and their emission could be fine-tuned by varying the substituents on their phenyl rings. It is anticipated that TPP derivatives could serve as a new type of widely utilized AIEgen, based on their facile preparation, good thermo-, photo- and chemostabilities, and efficient emission.     

Luminescence switch-on detection of protein tyrosine kinase-7 using a G-quadruplex-selective probe

A series of luminescent iridium(iii) complexes were synthesised and evaluated for their ability to act as luminescent G-quadruplex-selective probes. The iridium(iii) complex 9 [Ir(pbi)₂(5,5-dmbpy)]PF₆ (where pbi = 2-phenyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole; 5,5-dmbpy = 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine) exhibited high luminescence for G-quadruplex DNA compared to dsDNA and ssDNA, and was employed to construct a G-quadruplex-based assay for protein tyrosine kinase-7 (PTK7) in aqueous solution. PTK7 is an important biomarker for a range of leukemias and solid tumors. In the presence of PTK7, the specific binding of the sgc8 aptamer sequence triggers a structural transition and releases the G-quadruplex-forming sequence. The formation of the nascent G-quadruplex structure is then detected by the G-quadruplex-selective iridium(iii) complex with an enhanced luminescent response. Moreover, the application of the assay for detecting PTK7 in cellular debris and membrane protein extract was demonstrated. To our knowledge, this is the first G-quadruplex-based assay for PTK7.     

Single nucleotide polymorphisms of mitochondrial DNA HVS‐I and HVS‐II in Chinese Bai ethnic group

For forensic and population genetic purposes, a total of 125 unrelated volunteers’ blood samples were collected from Chinese Bai ethnic minority group to analyze sequence variation of two hypervariable segments (HVS‐I and HVS‐II) in the mitochondrial DNA control region. Comparing the HVS‐I and HVS‐II sequences of the 125 Chinese Bais to the Anderson reference sequence, we found 86 polymorphic loci in HVS‐I and 40 in HVS‐II in mitochondrial DNA sequences of the Chinese Bai ethnic minority group, which defined 93 and 53 different haplotypes, respectively. Haplotype diversity and the mean pairwise differences were 0.992 ± 0.003 and 6.553 in HVS‐I, and 0.877 ± 0.027 and 2.407 in HVS‐II, respectively. We defined four macrohaplogroups R, M, N and D with the proportions ranging from 9.6% to 40.0%. With the analysis of the hypervariable domain from nucleotide 16 180–16 193 in HVS‐I, our study revealed new haplotypes of sequence variations. In addition, the Fst metric, phylogenetic tree, and principal component analysis demonstrated a close genetic relationship between the Bai group and Chinese Han populations from South China, Changsha, and Guangdong. The results support that the Bai group is a multiorigin ethnic minority that has merged with the Chinese Han population.     

Competition between halogen bond and hydrogen bond in complexes of superalkali Li3S and halogenated acetylene XCCH (X = F,Cl, Br,and I)

Complexes of superalkali Li₃S and XCCH (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) have been studied with theoretical calculations at the MP2/aug‐cc‐pVTZ level. Three types of structures are found: (A) the X atom combines with the S atom through a halogen bond; (B) the X atom interacts with the π electron of Li₃S by a π halogen bond; (C) the H atom combines with the S atom through a hydrogen bond. For A and B, a heavier halogen atom makes the interaction stronger, while for C, the change of interaction energy is not obvious, showing a small dependence on the nature of the X atom in HCCX. A is more stable than B and their difference in stability decreases as X varies from Cl to I. For the F and Cl complexes, A is weaker than C, however, the former is stronger than the latter in the Br and I complexes. The above three types of interactions have been analyzed by means of electron localization function, electron density difference, and energy decomposition, and the results show that they have similar nature and features with conventional interactions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Three New Phenyl Ether Derivatives from Aspergillus carneus HQ889708

Three new phenyl ether derivatives, 3‐hydroxy‐5‐(3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylphenoxy)benzoic acid ( 1 ), 3,4‐dihydroxy‐5‐(3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylphenoxy)benzoic acid ( 2 ), 3‐[3‐hydroxy‐5‐(hydroxymethyl)phenoxy]‐5‐methylphenol ( 3 ), and three known compounds 4 – 6 were obtained from the fermentation broth of Aspergillus carneus HQ889708, which was isolated from sea water from South China Sea. The structures of compounds 1 – 3 were established on the basis of spectroscopic methods including ESI‐MS and NMR. Compounds 4 – 6 were reported before as synthesized products, herein, they are reported from nature for the first time.     

The Aerobic Oxidation and C=C Bond Cleavage of Styrenes Catalyzed by Cerium(IV) Ammonium Nitrate (CAN)

The CAN‐catalyzed aerobic oxidation severed the C=C bond selectively through the single electron transfer mechanism, giving a green method to decompose olefins. Compared with the literature reported examples, this method required simple catalyst, cheap, abundant and clean oxidant and was very safe to operate due to the mild conditions.     

Translating Molecular Recognition into a Pressure Signal to enable Rapid,Sensitive, and Portable Biomedical Analysis

Herein, we demonstrate that a very familiar, yet underutilized, physical parameter—gas pressure—can serve as signal readout for highly sensitive bioanalysis. Integration of a catalyzed gas‐generation reaction with a molecular recognition component leads to significant pressure changes, which can be measured with high sensitivity using a low‐cost and portable pressure meter. This new signaling strategy opens up a new way for simple, portable, yet highly sensitive biomedical analysis in a variety of settings.