Influences of levofloxacin salts on the metabolism of Escherichia coli by microcalorimetry

A microcalorimetric technique was used to evaluate the influence of both Levofloxacin lactate in sodium chloride injection (drug A) and Levofloxacin hydrochloride in sodium chloride injection (drug B) on the metabolism of Escherichia coli. By means of an isothermal calorimeter and ampoule method at 37 °C, the power-time curves of E. coli growth were obtained under different conditions. The parameters such as the growth rate constant k, maximum power output P _m, time t _m corresponding to the maximum power output and inhibitory ratio I of these two drugs were obtained. The results reveal that the inhibitory abilities enhance with increasing concentrations of the two drugs. The critical growth concentration and the half-inhibitory concentration IC₅₀ were 0.15 and 0.079 μg mL^?1 (for drug A), 0.13 and 0.061 μg mL^?1 (for drug B), respectively. These results show the drug A has slightly better inhibitory effect on E. coli than that of drug B.     

Copper-and Silver-Mediated Cyanation of Aryl Iodides Using DDQ as Cyanide Source

A new copper and silver‐mediated cyanation of aryl iodides with DDQ as a cyanide source is achieved, providing nitriles with good yields. This new approach represents a safe method leading to aryl nitriles.     

Molecule-binding dependent assembly of split aptamer and γ-cyclodextrin: A sensitive excimer signaling approach for aptamer biosensors

A highly sensitive and selective fluorescence aptamer biosensors for the determination of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was developed. Binding of a target with splitting aptamers labeled with pyrene molecules form stable pyrene dimer in the γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) cavity, yielding a strong excimer emission. We have found that inclusion of pyrene dimer in γ-cyclodextrin cavity not only exhibits additive increases in quantum yield and emission lifetime of the excimer, but also facilitates target-induced fusion of the splitting aptamers to form the aptamer/target complex. As proof-of-principle, the approach was applied to fluorescence detection of adenosine triphosphate. With an anti-ATP aptamer, the approach exhibits excimer fluorescence response toward ATP with a maximum signal-to-background ratio of 32.1 and remarkably low detection limit of 80 nM ATP in buffer solution. Moreover, due to the additive fluorescence lifetime of excimer induced by γ-cyclodextrin, time-resolved measurements could be conveniently used to detect as low as 0.5 μM ATP in blood serum quantitatively.     

Indium-Mediated Synthesis of Homoallyl Alcohols in the Aqueous Phase

The indium-mediated Barbier-type allylation reaction of aldehydes with allyl bromide, which gives corresponding homoallyl alcohols, was investigated. The reaction medium and the effects of substituents were discussed in detail. The results showed that various aldehydes, including aromatic, heterocyclic, and aliphatic aldehydes, with different substituents could all react well with excellent yields of 91–97% in aqueous tetrahydrofuran at room temperature within about 1 h.

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Propesticides 1,3,4-Thiadiazole Aminophosphonates

A novel and easy synthetic route to diethyl (5-substituted phenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-ylamino) (substituted phenyl) methylphosphonates has been achieved by the reaction of substituted benzylidene-5-(substituted phenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amines and diethyl phosphite under microwave irradiation. These 1,3,4-thiadiazole aminophosphonates were identified by infrared, ¹H NMR, and elemental analyses. The target compounds were obtained in better yields (71–89%) and shorter time (10 min) than with conventional heating.

Two Zinc(II) Coordination Polymers Based on the Ligand 1, 4‐Bis[(2‐methyl‐imidazol‐1‐yl)methyl]benzene: Syntheses,Crystal Structures and Properties

Two coordination polymers (CPs), {[Zn₂(BMB)(5‐AIPA)₂] · 2H₂O}_n( 1 ) and [Zn(BMB)(5‐NIPA)]_n( 2 ) {BMB = 1, 4‐bis[(2‐methyl‐imidazol‐1‐yl)methyl]benzene, 5‐AIPA = 5‐aminoisophthalic acid, 5‐NIPA = 5‐nitroisophthalic acid}, were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. Compound 1 displays a 2D double‐layer structure, which is packed into a 3D supramolecule by interlayer hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking interactions. Compound 2 displays a threefold interpenetrating 3D network, which is composed of left‐handed helical chains and two types of meso‐helical chains along different directions.     

Exploring the Reactivity of Multicomponent Photocatalysts: Insight into the Complex Valence Band of BiOBr

The band structure of multicomponent semiconductor photocatalysts, as well as their reactivity distinction under different wavelengths of light, is still unclear. BiOBr, which is a typical multicomponent semiconductor, may have two possible valence‐band structures, that is, two discrete valence bands constructed respectively from O 2p and Br 4p orbitals, or one valence band derived from the hybridization of these orbitals. In this work, aqueous photocatalytic hydroxylation is applied as the probe reaction to investigate the nature and reactions of photogenerated holes in BiOBr. Three organic compounds (microcystin‐LR, aniline, and benzoic acid) with different oxidation potentials were selected as substrates. Isotope labeling (H₂¹⁸O as the solvent) was used to determine the source of the O atom in the hydroxyl group of the products, which distinguishes the contribution of different hydroxylation pathways. Furthermore, a spin‐trapping ESR method was used to quantify the reactive oxygen species (^.OH and ^.OOH) formed in the reaction system. The different isotope abundances of the hydroxyl O atom of the products formed, as well as the reverse trend of the ^.OH/^.OOH ratio with the oxidative resistance of the substrate under UV and visible irradiation, reveal that BiOBr has two separate valence bands, which have different oxidation ability and respond to UV and visible light, respectively. This study shows that the band structure of semiconductor photocatalysts can be reliably analyzed with an isotope labeling method.     

Fully Synthetic Self‐Adjuvanting Thioether‐Conjugated Glycopeptide?Lipopeptide Antitumor Vaccines for the Induction of Complement‐Dependent Cytotoxicity against Tumor Cells

Glycopeptides of tumor‐associated mucin MUC1 are promising target structures for the development of antitumor vaccines. Because these endogenous structures were weakly immunogenic, they were coupled to immune‐response‐stimulating T‐cell epitopes and the Pam₃Cys lipopeptide to induce strong immune responses in mice. A new thioether‐ligation method for the synthesis of two‐ and three‐component vaccines that contain MUC1 glycopeptides as the B‐cell epitopes, a T‐cell epitope peptide, and the Pam₃CSK₄ lipopeptide is described. The resulting fully synthetic vaccines were used for the vaccination of mice, either in a liposome with Freund′s adjuvant or in aqueous PBS buffer. The three‐component vaccines that contained the Tetanus Toxoid P2 T‐cell epitope peptide induced strong immune responses, even when administered just in PBS. By activation of the complement‐dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) complex, the antisera induced the killing of tumor cells.