Multivalent Thiosialosides and Their Synergistic Interaction with Pathogenic Sialidases

Sialidases (SAs) hydrolyze sialyl residues from glycoconjugates of the eukaryotic cell surface and are virulence factors expressed by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and parasites. The catalytic domains of SAs are often flanked with carbohydrate-binding module(s) previously shown to bind sialosides and to enhance enzymatic catalytic efficiency. Herein, non-hydrolyzable multivalent thiosialosides were designed as probes and inhibitors of V. cholerae, T. cruzi, and S. pneumoniae (NanA) sialidases. NanA was truncated from the catalytic and lectinic domains (NanA-L and NanA-C) to probe their respective roles upon interacting with sialylated surfaces and the synthetically designed di- and polymeric thiosialosides. The NanA-L domain was shown to fully drive NanA binding, improving affinity for the thiosialylated surface and compounds by more than two orders of magnitude. Importantly, each thiosialoside grafted onto the polymer was also shown to reduce NanA and NanA-C catalytic activity with efficiency that was 3000-fold higher than that of the monovalent thiosialoside reference. These results extend the concept of multivalency for designing potent bacterial and parasitic sialidase inhibitors.     

Red Wine Extract Inhibits VEGF Secretion and Its Signaling Pathway in Retinal ARPE-19 Cells to Potentially Disrupt AMD

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative disease of the retina where the molecular mechanism involves the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a factor of poor prognosis of the progression of the disease. Previous studies have shown that resveratrol, a polyphenol of grapevines, can prevent VEGF secretion induced by stress from retinal cells. Considering the fundamental role played by VEGF in development and progression of AMD, we investigate the potential effect of red wine extract (RWE) on VEGF secretion and its signaling pathway in human retinal cells ARPE-19. To examine the effect of RWE in ARPE-19, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the RWE was performed by HPLC MS/MS. We show for the first time that RWE decreased VEGF-A secretion from ARPE-19 cells and its protein expression in concentration-dependent manner. RWE-induced alteration in VEGF-A production is associated with a down of VEGF-receptor 2 (VEGF-R2) protein expression and its phosphorylated intracytoplasmic domain. Subsequently, the activation of kinase pathway is disturbing and RWE prevents the phosphorylation of MEK and ERK 1/2 in human retinal cells ARPE-19. Finally, this study sheds light on the interest that the use of polyphenolic cocktails could represent in a prevention strategy.     

Fluorenyl Zinc Phosphonate Zn(H2O)PO3–C13H9·H2O: Hybrid Columnar Structure with Strong C–H···π Interactions

A new zinc phosphonate Zn(H₂O)PO₃–C₁₃H₉ · H₂O with a columnar structure was synthesized in hydrothermal conditions. This compound crystallizes in space group P2₁/c [a = 15.832(4) Å, b = 5.1915(10) Å, c = 17.519(4) Å and β = 114.479(6)°]. Its inorganic framework consists of isolated chains of corner‐sharing ZnO₃(H₂O) and PO₃C tetrahedra. These chains are linked to fluorene cycles, forming hybrid columns, interconnected through C–H ··· π bonds. The photoluminescence properties of this hybrid material show that its emission bands are red shifted with respect to those of the mother phosphonic acid. This effect is explained on the basis of the structural constraints imposed by the inorganic Zn‐phosphonate chains.     

Approach of the mechanism of poly(3-octyl thiophene) crosslinking under electron beam

Poly(3-octylthiophene) was used as a negative resist in e-beam microlithography. This conducting polymer fulfills the main requirements placed on materials which can be useful in this type of process. However, chemical modifications leading to crosslinking are not clearly established at this time. Approach of a mechanism is proposed in this paper which is supported by spectroscopic results obtained from the irradiated materials: it seems reasonable that crosslinking might occur between lateral alkyl groups eventually on carbon atoms in allylic position with the formation of a carbon - carbon double bond between locally stacked Poly(3-octylthiophene) chains.     

FTIR Spectroscopy,SAXS and Electrical Conductivity Studies of the Hydrolysis and Condensation of Zirconium and Titanium Alkoxides

A continuous flowing-rapid mixing technique was combined with FTIR, SAXS and electrical conductivity to study the early stages of polymer formation and growth during the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis and condensation of titanium and zirconium alkoxides. Reaction times as short as 80 milliseconds were investigated. FTIR spectroscopy was used to monitor the water and M−OR concentrations during the reaction. Hydrolysis of ∼25–50% of the alkoxy groups was facile. The FTIR and SAXS data showed that condensation was also very rapid. The activity and mobility of the ions in the solution were monitored by electrical conductivity measurements. The decrease in the normalized solution conductivity during the reaction correlated with the loss of [M−OR]. Furthermore, the radius of gyration of the growing polymers increased rapidly in regimes where the conductivity and [M−OR] decreased fastest. This finding suggests that the mobility of some of the charge carrying species decreases because of the growth in size of the polymers. Managed by Lockheed-Martin Energy Systems, Inc.     

Quantitative analysis of surface donors in ZnO

At low temperatures, typically up to 30 K or even higher, the electrical properties of bulk ZnO samples are nearly always dominated by a conductive near-surface region. Here we show that a single, low-temperature Hall-effect measurement, say at 20 K, and a reasonable assumption regarding the upper limit of the surface compensation ratio, yields a value of surface donor concentration N_D,surf accurate to within about a factor two. Examples are given for bulk materials grown by the vapor-phase, melt, and hydrothermal processes.     

Optimizing STMAS

The 2D satellite transition magic angle spinning (STMAS) experiment generates efficiently high-resolution isotropic NMR spectra of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei. The experiment involves excitation and coherence transfer of satellite transitions into the central transition. It requires efficient refocusing of satellite transitions and sample spinning at a very accurate magic angle to cancel the first-order quadrupolar interaction effect. A review of all parameters relevant to optimizing the STMAS experiment is presented, including pulse sequence calibration, regulating spinning speed, magic angle adjustment, optimization of satellite transition excitation, and coherence transfer for both I = 3/2 and I > or =5/2 nuclei.