Quantitative in vitro demonstration of two-photon photodynamic therapy using photofrin and visudyne

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), the combined action of a photosensitizer and light to produce a cytotoxic effect, is an approved therapy for a number of diseases. At present, clinical PDT treatments involve one-photon excitation of the photosensitizer. A major limitation is that damage may be caused to healthy tissues that have absorbed the drug and lie in the beam path. Two-photon excitation may minimize this collateral damage, as the probability of absorption increases with the square of the light intensity, enabling spatial confinement of the photosensitizer activation. A potential application is the treatment of the wet-form of age-related macular degeneration, the foremost cause of central vision loss in the elderly. Herein, the commercial photosensitizers Visudyne and Photofrin are used to demonstrate quantitative in vitro two-photon PDT. A uniform layer of endothelial cells (YPEN-1) was irradiated with a Ti:sapphire laser (300 fs, 865 nm, 90 MHz) using a confocal scanning microscope. Quantification of the two-photon PDT effect was achieved using the permeability stain Hoechst 33258 and a SYTOX Orange viability stain. Visudyne was found to be around seven times more effective as a two-photon photosensitizer than Photofrin under the conditions used, consistent with its higher two-photon absorption cross-section. We also demonstrate for the first time the quadratic intensity dependence of cellular two-photon PDT. This simple in vitro method for quantifying the efficacy of photosensitizers for two-photon excited PDT will be valuable to test specifically designed two-photon photosensitizers before proceeding to in vivo studies in preclinical animal models.     

Experimental study of the formation of high-resistivity zones at the gel/buffer interface in CE

A novel, nondamaging method for experimental characterization of the formation and propagation of high-resistivity zones in CE, based on the measurement of time-dependent Joule heating on the outer capillary surface is proposed. The method detects propagation of resistive regions in capillaries in real time and allows the estimation of their velocity and resistance. The presented experimental data are in agreement with the results of the computer simulation as well as with previous data on the subject. The proposed method is useful for the development of new polymers as well as for the refinement and optimization of new CE protocols.     

Symmetry control of radiative decay in linear polyenes: low barriers for isomerization in the S1 state of hexadecaheptaene

The room temperature absorption and emission spectra of the 4-cis and all-trans isomers of 2,4,6,8,10,12,14-hexadecaheptaene are almost identical, exhibiting the characteristic dual emissions S1-->S0 (21Ag- --> 11Ag-) and S2-->S0 (11Bu+ --> 11Ag-) noted in previous studies of intermediate length polyenes and carotenoids. The ratio of the S1-->S0 and S2-->S0 emission yields for the cis isomer increases by a factor of approximately 15 upon cooling to 77 K in n-pentadecane. In contrast, for the trans isomer this ratio shows a 2-fold decrease with decreasing temperature. These results suggest a low barrier for conversion between the 4-cis and all-trans isomers in the S1 state. At 77 K, the cis isomer cannot convert to the more stable all-trans isomer in the 21Ag- state, resulting in the striking increase in its S1-->S0 fluorescence. These experiments imply that the S1 states of longer polyenes have local energy minima, corresponding to a range of conformations and isomers, separated by relatively low (2-4 kcal) barriers. Steady state and time-resolved optical measurements on the S1 states in solution thus may sample a distribution of conformers and geometric isomers, even for samples represented by a single, dominant ground state structure. Complex S1 potential energy surfaces may help explain the complicated S2-->S1 relaxation kinetics of many carotenoids. The finding that fluorescence from linear polyenes is so strongly dependent on molecular symmetry requires a reevaluation of the literature on the radiative properties of all-trans polyenes and carotenoids.     

Alkylthio bridged 44 cve triangular platinum clusters: synthesis, oxidation, degradation, ligand substitution, and quantum chemical calculations

Acetylplatinum(II) complexes trans-[Pt(COMe)Cl(L)2] (L = PPh3, 2a; P(4-FC6H4)3, 2b) were found to react with dialkyldisulfides R2S2 (R = Me, Et, Pr, Bu; Pr = n-propyl, Bu = n-butyl), yielding trinuclear 44 cve (cluster valence electrons) platinum clusters [(PtL)3(mu-SR)3]Cl (4). The analogous reaction of 2a-b with Ph2S2 gave SPh bridged dinuclear complexes trans-[{PtCl(L)}2(mu-SPh)2] (5), whereas the addition of Bn2S2 (Bn = benzyl) to 2a ended up in the formation of [{Pt(PPh3)}3(mu3-S)(mu-SBn)3]Cl (6). Theoretical studies based on the AIM theory revealed that type 4 complexes must be regarded as triangular platinum clusters with Pt-Pt bonds whereas complex 6 must be treated as a sulfur capped 48 ve (valence electrons) trinuclear platinum(II) complex without Pt-Pt bonding interactions. Phosphine ligands with a lower donor capability in clusters 4 proved to be subject to substitution by stronger donating monodentate phosphine ligands (L' = PMePh2, PMe2Ph, PBu3) yielding clusters [(PtL')3(mu-SR)3]Cl (9). In case of the reaction of clusters 4 and 9 with PPh2CH2PPh2 (dppm), a fragmentation reaction occurred, and the complexes [(PtL)2(mu-SMe)(mu-dppm)]Cl (12) and [Pt(mu-SMe)2(dppm)] (13) were isolated. Furthermore, oxidation reactions of cluster [{Pt(PPh3)}3(mu-SMe)3]Cl (4a) using halogens (Br2, I2) gave dimeric platinum(II) complexes cis-[{PtX(PPh3)}2(mu-SMe)2] (14, X = Br, I) whereas oxidation reactions using sulfur and selenium afforded chalcogen capped trinuclear 48 ve complexes [{Pt(PPh3)}3(mu3-E)(mu-SMe)3] (15, E = S, Se). All compounds were fully characterized by means of NMR and IR spectroscopy, microanalyses, and ESI mass spectrometry. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction analyses were performed for the triangular cluster 4a, the trinuclear complex 6, as well as for the dinuclear complexes trans-[{Pt(AsPh3)}2(mu-SPh)2] (5c), [{Pt(PPh3)}2(mu-SMe)(mu-dppm)]Cl (12a), and [{{PtBr(PPh3)}2(mu-SMe)2] (14a).     

Calculus of functors,operad formality,and rational homology of embedding spaces

Let M be a smooth manifold and V a Euclidean space. Let [`(\textEmb)] \overline{{{\text{Emb}}}} (M,V) be the homotopy fiber of the map Emb(M,V) → Imm(M,V). This paper is about the rational homology of [`(\textEmb)] \overline{{{\text{Emb}}}} (M,V). We study it by applying embedding calculus and orthogonal calculus to the bifunctor (M,V)↦ HQ ∧ [`(\textEmb)] \overline{{{\text{Emb}}}} (M,V)₊. Our main theorem states that if

The Hessian of a noncommutative polynomial has numerous negative eigenvalues

In this paper, we establish bounds on the degree of a symmetric polynomial p = p(x) = p(x ₁,..., x _g ) (with real coefficients) in g noncommuting (nc) variables x ₁,..., x _g in terms of the “signature” of its Hessian

Rationalized evaluation subgroups of a map II: Quillen models and adjoint maps

We identify the long exact sequence induced on rational homotopy groups by the evaluation map , and in particular the rationalization of the evaluation subgroups of f, in terms of derivations of Quillen models and adjoint maps. We consider a generalization of a question of Gottlieb within the context of rational homotopy theory. We also study the rationalization of the G-sequence of a map. In a separate result of independent interest, we give an explicit Quillen minimal model of a product A×X, in the case in which A is a rational co-H-space.