Goniodilactone and gomoheptenolactone,two novel cytotoxic styryllactones from the leaves of Goniothalamus cheliensis

Two novel styryllactones,goniodilactone（1） and gonioheptenolactone（2）,were isolated from the leaves of Goniothalamus cheliensis Hu.Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic data as well as X-ray crystallography analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited significant cytotoxicities in a panel of human cancer cells,including DU-145,PC-3,MCF-7,A-549, KB and KBvin,with GI₅₀S in the range of 1.29-4.56μg/mL.     

Effect of electron irradiation on the crystalline structure of hgte and hgl-xcdxte thin films

The influence of 8 MeV electrons on the crystalline structure of HgTe and Hg1-xCdxTe thin films was studied. HgTe and Hg1-xCdxTe layers were obtained by thermal evaporation and condensation in vacuum on optically flat silica glass substrates heated at different temperatures.

One finds that the results of irradiation of HgTe and Hg_1-xCd_xTe thin films with 8 MeV electrons depend on the preparation conditions of the samples, and therefore on the level of perfection of the crystalline structure and the quantity of nonstoichiometric atoms.     

Cytotoxic and NF-κB inhibitory sesquiterpene lactones from Piptocoma rufescens

Six new (1-6) and eight known germacranolide-type sesquiterpene lactones, along with several known phenylpropanol coumarates and methylated flavonoids, were isolated from the leaves of Piptocoma rufescens, collected in the Dominican Republic. The new compounds were identified by analysis of their spectroscopic data, with the molecular structure of 3 being established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The absolute configurations of the sesquiterpene lactones isolated were determined from their CD and NOESY NMR spectra, together with the analysis of Mosher ester reactions. Bioassay screening results showed the majority of the sesquiterpene lactones isolated (1-13) to be highly cytotoxic toward the HT-29 human colon cancer cell line, with the most potent compound being 15-deoxygoyazensolide (10, IC(50), 0.26 μM). In addition, several of the sesquiterpene lactones exhibited NF-κB (p65) inhibitory activity.     

A novel method for serum lipoprotein profiling using high performance capillary isotachophoresis

A new capillary isotachophoresis (cITP) method for lipoprotein profiling with superior lipoprotein coverage compared to previous methods has been developed, resolving twice as many lipoprotein species (18 peaks/fractions) in serum or plasma in less than 9.5 min. For this, a novel mixture of 24 spacers, including amino acids, dipeptides and sulfonic acids, was developed and fine-tuned, using predictive software (PeakMaster) and testing of spiked serum samples. Lipoprotein peaks were identified by serum-spiking with reference lipoproteins. Compatibility with common lipophilic stains for selective lipoprotein detection with either UV/Vis or laser-induced fluorescence was demonstrated. A special new capillary with a neutral coating (combining water-compatible OV1701-OH deactivation and methylation) was used for the first time for electrodriven separations, allowing very stable separations in a pH 8.8–9.4 gradient system, being functional for more than 100 injections. Excellent reproducibility was achieved, with coefficients of variation lower than 2.6% for absolute migration times. Comparison was performed with human plasma samples analyzed by NMR, leading to similar results with cITP after multivariate statistics, regarding group-clustering and lipoprotein species correlation. The new cITP method was applied to the analysis of serum samples from a LDL receptor knock-out mice model fed either a normal diet or a western-type diet. Differences in the lipoprotein levels and in the sublipoprotein types were detected, showing a shift to more atherogenic particles due to the high cholesterol diet. In summary, this novel method will allow more detailed and informative profiling of lipoprotein particle subtypes for cardiovascular disease research.