Total Synthesis of (±)‐Eusiderin G and (±)‐Eusiderin M

(±)‐Eusiderin G and (±)‐Eusiderin M were first synthesized from pyrogallol, in which the Claisen Rearrangement was used to afford two important C₆‐C₃ units.     

Improved blood compatibility of rapamycin-eluting stent by incorporating curcumin

This paper dealt with improving the blood compatibility of the rapamycin-eluting stent by incorporating curcumin. The rapamycin- and rapamycin/curcumin-loaded PLGA (poly(d,l-lactic acid-co-glycolic acid)) coatings were fabricated onto the surface of the stainless steel stents using an ultrasonic atomization spray method. The structure of the coating films was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the drug-eluting stents indicated that the surface of all drug-eluting stents was very smooth and uniform, and there were not webbings and "bridges" between struts. There were not any cracks and delaminations on stent surface after expanded by the angioplasty balloon. The in vitro platelet adhesion and activation were investigated by static platelet adhesion test and GMP140 (P-selection), respectively. The clotting time was examined by activated partially prothromplastin time (APTT) test. The fibrinogen adsorption on the drug-loaded PLGA films was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All obtained data showed that incorporating curcumin in rapamycin-loaded PLGA coating can significantly decrease platelet adhesion and activation, prolong APTT clotting time as well as decrease the fibrinogen adsorption. All results indicated that incorporating curcumin in rapamycin-eluting coating obviously improve the blood compatibility of rapamycin-eluting stents. It was suggested that it may be possible to develop a drug-eluting stent which had the characteristics of not only good anti-proliferation but also improved anticoagulation.     

The investigation of the pharmacokinetics of pulsatile-release salbutamol sulfate with pH-sensitive ion exchange resin as the carriers in beagle dogs

We previously reported the preparation of the salbutamol sulfate pulsatile-release capsules with the pH-sensitive ion exchange resin as the carriers. In the present study, we investigated the pharmacokinetics of the salbutamol sulfate pulsatile-release capsules in beagle dogs. The analysis method was established for the drugs in vivo by HPLC method. The pharmacokinetics parameters of pulsatile-release salbutamol sulfate and reference tablet were AUC(0-24) (ng.h/ml) 1031.8+/-123.1, 1112.6+/-118.24, Cmax (ng/ml) 172.4+/-21.4, 179.3+/-26.1, Tmax (h) 3.8+/-0.6, 1.5+/-0.5, Tlag (h) 2.7+/-0.5, 0.3+/-0.2. The results showed that the test dosage forms was bioequivalent with reference dosage form, and had an obviously pulsatile-release effect.     

Preparation and characterization of a novel pH-sensitive ion exchange resin

Methylacrylic acid/styrene cross-linked with divinylbenzene is a novel pH-sensitive ion exchange resin. Microspheres of this resin were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The microspheres showed a pulsatile swelling behavior when the pH of the media changed. The pH-sensitive microspheres were loaded with salbutamol sulfate and the drug-release characteristics were studied under both simulated gastric and intestinal pH conditions. The results obtained showed that the drug release also depended on the pH of the release media.     

Counting bacteria on a microfluidic chip

This paper reports a lab-on-a-chip device that counts the number of bacteria flowing through a microchannel. The bacteria number counting is realized by a microfluidic differential Resistive Pulse Sensor (RPS). By using a single microfluidic channel with two detecting arm channels placed at the two ends of the sensing section, the microfluidic differential RPS can achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio. This method is applied to detect and count bacteria in aqueous solution. The detected RPS signals amplitude for Pseudomonas aeruginosa ranges from 0.05 V to 0.17 V and the signal-to-noise ratio is 5-17. The number rate of the bacteria flowing through the sensing gate per minute is a linear function of the sample concentration. Using this experimentally obtained correlation curve, the concentration of bacteria in the sample solution can be evaluated within several minutes by measuring the number rate of the bacteria flowing through the sensing gate of this microfluidic differential RPS chip. The method described in this paper is simple and automatic, and have wide applications in determining the bacteria and cell concentrations for microbiological and other biological applications.     

Mechanistic and kinetic investigations of N2H4 + OH reaction

The reaction of N₂H₄ with OH has been investigated by quantum chemical methods. The results show that hydrogen abstraction mechanism is more feasible than substitution mechanism thermodynamically. The calculated rate constants agree with the available experimental data. The calculated results show that the variational effect is small at lower temperature region, while it becomes significant at higher temperature region. On the other hand, the small‐curvature tunneling effect may play an important role in the temperature range 220?3000 K. Moreover, the calculated rate constants show negative temperature dependence at the temperatures below 500 K, which is in accordance with Vaghjiani's report that slightly negative temperature dependence is found over the temperature range of 258?637 K. The mechanism of the major product (N₂H₃) with OH has also been investigated theoretically to understand the title reaction thoroughly. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Properties of carrageenan gels with immobilized lysozyme

Absract  Rheological properties of 3% carrageenan gels formed in 0.4 M sodium chloride solution in the presence of lysozyme are studied in detail. It is shown that the addition of protein results in an increase in the gel-sol transition temperature by 2°C (transition temperature of 3% gel is 48°C, lysozyme concentration is 0.5 mg/ml). Based on the frequency dependences of dynamic moduli at various temperatures, it is revealed that systems possess viscoelastic properties at low frequencies. Within a wide frequency range up to gel-sol transition temperature, systems become elastoviscous and, at higher frequencies, they demonstrate forced transition to glassy state. It is shown that carrageenan inhibits enzyme activity of lysozyme. The interaction between enzyme and carrageenan leads to changes in lysozyme conformations, i.e., the content of α-helices increases and that of turns decreases. It is demonstrated for the first time that, in the presence of a so-called nonspecific (for the gelation of carrageenan) sodium ion, it is possible to prepare gels with the necessary structure and rheological properties and gel-sol transition temperature. These gels can release a lysozyme under the conditions of transmucosal prolonged delivery. Original Russian Text ? G.P. Yampol’skaya, A.A. Elenskii, N.V. Pan’kina, B.N. Tarasevich, V.G. Kulichikhin, 2009, published in Kolloidnyi Zhurnal, 2009, Vol. 71, No. 2, pp. 275–284.     

Torsion pendulum automation by a single microcomputer

A new automated torsional pendulum is described. It uses a single photocell for the measurement of the period of oscillation and the logarithmic decrement. Data acquisition, data processing and temperature control are all performed by a single microcomputer. The result is that the instrument can be produced and operated more cheaply than before.The principles behind the design, the method of determining the shape factor, the calibration procedure and the software are discussed. Examples are given to illustrate the use of this instrument. A practical limitation is that the loss tangent should not exceed about 3.     

Synthesis, structure, DNA-binding properties and antioxidant activity of silver(I) complexes containing V-shaped bis-benzimidazole ligands

A V-shaped ligand bis(2-benzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)benzylamine L(1) with its two derivatives bis(N-methylbenzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)benzylamine L(2) and bis(N-benzylbenzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)benzylamine L(3) have been prepared. Reaction of these shape-specific designed ligands with Ag(pic) (pic = picrate) afforded three novel complexes, namely, [Ag(2)L(1)(2)](pic)(2)1, [Ag(2)L(2)(2)](pic)(2)·2DMF 2 and [AgL(3)(pic)] 3. The ligands and complexes were characterized on the basis of elemental analysis, UV-Vis, IR, NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Complex 1 is a dinuclear metallacycle with a 2-fold rotational symmetry in which two syn-conformational L(1) ligands are connected by two linearly coordinated Ag(I) atoms. Due to the strong interaction between two adjacent Ag(I) atoms, the coordination mode of the central Ag(I) atom can be described as T-shaped. Complex 2 consists of a centrosymmetric dinuclear pore canal structure assembled from two nearly linearly coordinated Ag(I) atoms and two L(2) ligands. The structure of complex 3 adopts a four-coordinate environment for AgN(2)O(2), with the counterion participating in an eight-shaped geometry. In order to explore the relationship between the structure and biological properties, the DNA-binding properties have been investigated by viscosity measurements, electronic absorption, and fluorescence. The results suggest that the ligands and complexes bind to DNA in an intercalation mode, and their binding affinities for DNA are also different. Moreover, the three Ag(I) complexes also exhibited potential antioxidant properties in vitro studies.