Monitoring of Endogenous Hydrogen Sulfide in Living Cells Using Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) has emerged as an important gasotransmitter in diverse physiological processes, although many aspects of its roles remain unclear, partly owing to a lack of robust analytical methods. Herein we report a novel surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanosensor, 4‐acetamidobenzenesulfonyl azide‐functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs/4‐AA), for detecting the endogenous H₂S in living cells. The detection is accomplished with SERS spectrum changes of AuNPs/4‐AA resulting from the reaction of H₂S with 4‐AA on AuNPs. The SERS nanosensor exhibits high selectivity toward H₂S. Furthermore, AuNPs/4‐AA responds to H₂S within 1 min with a 0.1 μM level of sensitivity. In particular, our SERS method can be utilized to monitor the endogenous H₂S generated in living glioma cells, demonstrating its great promise in studies of pathophysiological pathways involving H₂S.     

Gold(I)‐Catalyzed Tandem Transformation with Diynes: Rapid Access to Linear Cyclopentenone‐Fused Polycyclic Molecules

An efficient and convenient synthesis of useful linear cyclopentenone‐fused polycyclic compounds has been achieved through a novel gold(I)‐catalyzed transformation of diynes. The method demonstrates high product yields and tolerates of a wide variety of important functional groups. Gold‐vinylidene formation, methoxy group migration, and Nazarov‐type cyclization are proposed to be the key steps in the reaction pathway. The synthetic utility of this method is demonstrated by converting the product to eight‐membered‐ring‐fused compound.     

Isomerization of Secondary Phosphirane into Terminal Phosphinidene Complexes: An Analogy between Monovalent Phosphorus and Transition Metals

Secondary phosphirane complexes isomerize above 100 °C to give the corresponding terminal phosphinidene complexes, which can be trapped by alkenes and alkynes. This reaction is a rare instance of the isomerization of a P^III derivative into a P^I derivative. It appears to mimic the reductive elimination of alkanes from transition‐alkylmetal hydrides.     

Wrinkled Graphene Monoliths as Superabsorbing Building Blocks for Superhydrophobic and Superhydrophilic Surfaces

Superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces are of great interest because of a large range of applications, for example, as antifogging and self‐cleaning coatings, as antibiofouling paints for boats, in metal refining, and for water–oil separation. An aqueous ink based on three‐dimensional graphene monoliths (Gr) can be used for constructing both superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces on arbitrary substrates with different surficial structures from the meso‐ to the macroscale. The surface wettability of a Gr‐coated surface mainly depends on which additional layers (air for a superhydrophobic surface and water for a superhydrophilic surface) are adsorbed on the surface of the graphene sheets. Switching a Gr‐coated surface between being superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic can thus be easily achieved by drying and prewetting with ethanol. The Gr‐based superhydrophobic membranes or films should have great potential as efficient separators for fast and gravity‐driven oil–water separation.     

Cytotoxicity of benzophenanthridine alkaloids from the roots of Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC. var. fastuosum How ex Huang

This work aimed to investigate benzophenanthridine from the roots of Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC. var. fastuosum How ex Huang for the first time. Thirteen benzophenanthridines were isolated, and our results of the cytotoxic activities indicated that compound 6 exhibited the best potency against A549, Hela, SMMC-7721 and EJ, with the IC₅₀ values of 27.50, 37.50, 16.95 and 60.42 μM, respectively. Compounds 7 and 11 also showed strong cytotoxicity when tested against the four human cancer cell lines (A549, Hela, SMMC-7721 and EJ), while only compounds 12 and 13 displayed cytotoxicity in inhibiting BALL-1 proliferation among all the compounds. These results suggested that benzophenanthridines may become a valid alternative of potential basis for new anti-proliferative agents.     

Discrimination of crude and processed rhubarb products using a chemometric approach based on ultra fast liquid chromatography with ion trap/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Crude rhubarb subjected to different processing procedures will produce different therapeutic effects that are possibly due to processing‐induced variation in chemical composition. In this study, a chemometric approach based on ultra fast liquid chromatography with ion trap/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was established to systematically investigate the chemical variations of rhubarb induced by different processing methods. The approach was validated based on pooled quality‐control samples from two perspectives: the individual properties of variables and the bulk properties of samples. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis was introduced to compare the differences between crude and processed rhubarb products. A total of 20 significantly different markers were screened out and unambiguously/tentatively characterized. This research proved that a chemometric method based on ultra fast liquid chromatography with ion trap/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry can comprehensively analyze the chemical variation of herbal medicine and provide evidence for a deeper understanding of the pharmacological activities of processed rhubarb products.     

银(I)配位聚合物修饰Preyssler型多金属氧酸盐的高维、高连接结构的组装及性质

以AgNO3、K12.5Na1.5[Na P5W30O110]·15H2O及柔性配体1,1′-双(3,5-二甲基-1H-吡唑)甲烷(H2bdpm)为原料,利用水热合成方法合成了1个新的基于单核银为中心的Preyssler多酸阴离子的有机-无机杂化化合物:[Ag13(H2bdpm)8(H2O)5(HAg P5W30O110)]·2H2O(1),并通过元素分析、红外光谱、热重分析和X-射线单晶衍射等分析手段对化合物1进行了表征.X-射线单晶结构分析表明,该化合物属于三斜晶系,P1空间群,晶胞参数:a=19.135(5),b=20.313(5),c=28.400(5),Z=2,R1=0.0550,w R2=0.1542.化合物1包含罕见的以单核银为中心的Preyssler型多酸阴离子,该阴离子通过金属银连接形成二维无机层.相连的二维层之间通过多种Ag-H2bdpm金属有机亚单元进一步连接形成三维框架.该化合物最大的结构特点在于Preyssler型多酸阴离子的高连接(十八连接)以及Ag(I)离子多样的配位模式.     

A facile method for the synthesis of large‐size Ag nanoparticles as efficient SERS substrates

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) enjoy a reputation as an ultrasensitive substrate for surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). However, large‐scale synthesis of Ag NPs in a controlled manner is a challenging task for a long period of time. Here, we reported a simple seed‐mediated method to synthesize Ag NPs with controllable sizes from 50 to 300 nm, which were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. SERS spectra of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) from the as‐prepared Ag NPs substrates indicate that the enhancement capability of Ag NPs varies with different excitation wavelengths. The Ag NPs with average sizes of ~150, ~175, and ~225 nm show the highest SERS activities for 532, 633, and 785‐nm excitation, respectively. Significantly, 150‐nm Ag NPs exhibit an enhancement factor exceeding 10⁸ for pyridine (Py) molecules in electrochemical SERS (EC‐SERS) measurements. Furthermore, finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) calculation is employed to explain the size‐dependent SERS activity. Finally, the potential of the as‐prepared SERS substrates is demonstrated with the detection of malachite green. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.