Chelators for radioimmunotherapy: I. NMR and ab initio calculation studies on 1,4,7,10-tetra(carboxyethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (DO4Pr) and 1,4,7-tris(carboxymethyl)-10-(carboxyethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (DO3A1Pr)

This work describes the modification of the chelating agent 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N' ',N' "-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) to improve the rate of metal loading for radioimmunotherapy applications. Previous ab initio calculations predicted that the compounds 1,4,7,10-tetra(carboxyethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (DO4Pr) and 1,4,7-tris(carboxymethyl)-10-(carboxyethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (DO3A1Pr) have a ca. 2000-fold improvement in yttrium metal loading rates compared to those of DOTA (Jang, Y. H.; Blanco, M.; Dasgupta, S.; Keire, D. A.; Shively, J. E.; Goddard, W. A., III. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 6142-6151). In this study, we report the synthesis, purification, (1)H-NMR chemical shift assignments, pK(a) values, metal loading rate measurements, and additional ab initio calculations of these two compounds. The yttrium loading rates of DO3A1Pr are approximately twice those of DOTA, at pH 4.6 and 37 degrees C. The NMR data indicates that the DO4Pr analogue forms a stable type I complex but does not form a type II complex. The new ab initio calculations performed on DO4Pr and DO3A1Pr indicate that the rate-determining step is the deprotonation of the first macrocycle amine proton, not the second proton as assumed in the previous calculations. The new calculations predict an improvement in the rate of metal loading that more closely matches the experimentally observed change in the rate.     

Analysis of dimensionally stable copolyimide with a low‐level residual stress

Copolyimide thin film, which has low‐level stress and stress relaxation induced by water sorption, was characterized for potential applications as an encapsulant, a stress‐relief buffer, and in interlayer dielectrics. The polyimides examined were poly(p‐phenylene pyromellitimide) (PMDA‐PDA) and poly(p‐phenylene biphenyltetracarboximide) (BPDA‐PDA) as well as their random copolyimides with various compositions. These copolyimide films exhibited good combinations of physical and mechanical properties with low thermal expansion coefficients, residual stress, and moisture‐induced stress–relaxation behavior by appropriately selecting the ratios of the dianhydride component. For these polyimides, the residual stress increased in the range of −8.1–7.5 MPa, whereas stress relaxation induced by water uptake decreased in the range of 10.3–4.7 MPa with increasing BPDA contents, respectively. The major factor in determining the magnitude of the stress behavior induced by both the thermal mismatch and water uptake in films should be the morphological factors such as chain rigidity, chain orientation, crystallinity, and microvoids. Their morphological structures were examined by wide angle X‐ray diffraction and a prism coupler, and the thermal properties were measured using a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer as well as thermomechanical analysis. Overall, the candidate for the low level stress buffer application from the PMDA/BPDA‐PDA copolyimide was the 30/70 (= PMDA/BPDA in molar ratio) copolyimide. This copolyimide showed no residual stress after curing at 400 °C and relatively insensitive stress relaxation to ambient humidity. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 796–810, 2001     

Solid‐State NMR Study on Relationships between Miscibility and Chain Mobility in Poly(4‐Methylstyrene)/Poly(Cyclohexyl Methacrylate) Blend

The phase behavior and motional mobility in binary blends of poly(4‐methylstyrene) (P4MS) and poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate) (PCHMA) have been examined by ¹³C solid state NMR techniques. The blend miscibility was studied by measuring the ¹H spin‐relaxation times in the laboratory frame (T₁^H) and in the rotating frame (T_1ρ^H), respectively. Although intermolecular spin diffusion contributes to the proton relaxations in accordance with homogeneity, T_1ρ^H data shows signs of in complete averaging. The T_1ρ^H relaxation behavior indicates the existence of heterogeneous do mains with shortest dimensions in the nanometer range, which is also sup ported by the intermolecular cross polarization experiments with variable contact times. In addition, according to the resuits of carbon T_1ρ relaxation time measurements, it is concluded that mixing is intimate some what enough to cause a reduction in local chain mobility for P4MS and vice versa for PCHMA.     

Synthesis and characterization of new soluble poly(amide‐imide)s derived from 2,2‐bis[4‐(4‐trimellitimidophenoxy)phenyl]hexafluoropropane

A series of new soluble poly(amide‐imide)s were prepared from the diimide‐dicarboxylic acid 2,2‐bis[4‐(4‐trimellitimidophenoxy)phenyl]hexafluoropropane with various diamines by direct polycondensation in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone containing CaCl₂ with triphenyl phosphite and pyridine as condensing agents. All the polymers were obtained in quantitative yields with inherent viscosities of 0.52–0.86 dL · g^?1. The poly(amide‐imide)s showed an amorphous nature and were readily soluble in various solvents, such as N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone, N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), N,N‐dimethylformamide, pyridine, and cyclohexanone. Tough and flexible films were obtained through casting from DMAc solutions. These polymer films had tensile strengths of 71–107 MPa and a tensile modulus range of 1.6–2.7 GPa. The glass‐transition temperatures of the polymers were determined by a differential scanning calorimetry method, and they ranged from 242 to 279 °C. These polymers were fairly stable up to a temperature around or above 400 °C, and they lost 10% of their weight from 480 to 536 °C and 486 to 537 °C in nitrogen and air, respectively. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3498–3504, 2001     

Formation of metal complex ions from amino acid in the presence of Li+, Na+ and K+ by electrospray ionization: metal replacement of hydrogen in the ligands

Alkali metal cations easily form complexes with proteins in biological systems; understanding amino acid clusters with these cations can provide useful insight into their behaviors at the molecular level including diagnosis and therapy of related diseases. For the purpose of characterization of basic interaction between amino acids and alkali metal, each of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids were ionized in the presence of lithium, sodium and potassium cations by electrospray ionization, and the resulting product ions were analyzed. We focus our attention on the gas phase alkali metal ion-proton exchanged complexes in current study, specifically complexes with serine, threonine, asparagine and glutamine, which share characteristic pattern unlike other amino acids. All amino acids generated [M + H](+) and [M + Na](+) ions, where M stands for the neutral amino acid. Serine, threonine, asparagine and glutamine generated cluster ions of [nM - nH + (n + 1)Na](+) and [nM - (n - 1)H + (n - 1)Na + K](+) , where n = 1-7. While the (M - H + Li) and (M - H + K) species were not observed, the neutral (M - H + Na) species formed by proton-sodium cation exchange had a highly stable cyclic structure with ketone and amine ligand sites, suggesting that (M - H + Na) serves as a building block in cluster ion formation. Cluster ion intensity distributions of [nM - nH + (n + 1)Na](+) and [nM - (n - 1)H + (n - 1)Na + K](+) showed a magic number at n = 3 and 4, respectively. Extensive B3LYP-DFT quantum mechanical calculations were carried out to elucidate the geometry and energy of the cluster ions, and they provided a reasonable explanation for the stability and structure of the cluster ions.     

Observation of negative charge trapping and investigation of its physicochemical origin in newly synthesized poly(tetraphenyl)silole siloxane thin films

A new kind of organic-inorganic hybrid polymer, poly(tetraphenyl)silole siloxane, was invented and synthesized for realization of its unique charge trap properties. The organic portions consisting of (tetraphenyl)silole rings were responsible for negative charge trapping, while the Si-O-Si inorganic linkages provided the intrachain energy barrier for controlling electron transport. The polysilole siloxane dielectric thin films were fabricated by spin-coating and curing of the polymers, followed by characterization with spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS), and photoemission spectroscopy (PES). The abrupt increase in density and decrease in thickness of the thin film at a curing temperature of 100 °C was attributed to a thermodynamically preferred state in the nanoscopic arrangement of the polymer chains; this was due to cofacial π-π interactions in a skewed manner between peripheral phenyl groups of the (tetraphenyl)silole rings of the adjacent polymer chains. Using the NEXAFS spectrum to assess high electron affinity, the LUMO energy level of the dielectric thin film cured at 150 °C was positioned 1 eV above the Fermi energy level (E(F)). The electron trapping of the dielectric thin films was confirmed from the positive flat band shift (ΔV(FB)) in the capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements performed within the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) device structure, which strongly verified the polymer design concept. From the simple kinetics model of the electron transport, it was proposed that the flat band shift (ΔV(FB)) or trap density of the negative charges (|ρ|) was logarithmically proportional to the decay constant (β) for the electron-tunneling process. When a phenyl group of a silole ring in a polymer chain was inserted into the two available phenyl groups of another silole ring in another polymer chain, the electron transfer between the groups was enhanced, decreasing the trap density of the negative charges (|ρ|). For the thermodynamically preferred state generating the high refractive index, the distance between the two phenyl groups of the adjacent polymer chains was estimated to be in the range of 0.27-0.36 nm.     

Catalytic conversion of lactic acid into propylene glycol over various metals supported on silica

Catalytic hydrogenation of lactic acid to propylene glycol was performed over various metals (Ag, Co, Cu, Ni, Pt, and Ru) supported on silica prepared by an incipient wetness impregnation method. The loading amount of each metal was 5 wt%. Crystallinity of the synthesized catalysts was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the BET method was utilized to examine the surface area. Pore volume and pore size of catalysts were determined using BJH analysis of the N₂ adsorption isotherm. Particle sizes of various metals were determined from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. The catalytic activity was found to be strongly dependent on the supported metal. Among catalysts tested, Ru/SiO₂ showed the highest propylene glycol yield. The yield of propylene glycol increased with pressure, and the highest yield was achieved at 130 °C.     

Cancer cells undergoing epigenetic transition show short-term resistance and are transformed into cells with medium-term resistance by drug treatment

To elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms of drug resistance, epigenetically reprogrammed H460 cancer cells (R-H460) were established by the transient introduction of reprogramming factors. Then, the R-H460 cells were induced to differentiate by the withdrawal of stem cell media for various durations, which resulted in differentiated R-H460 cells (dR-H460). Notably, dR-H460 cells differentiated for 13 days (13dR-H460 cells) formed a significantly greater number of colonies showing drug resistance to both cisplatin and paclitaxel, whereas the dR-H460 cells differentiated for 40 days (40dR-H460 cells) lost drug resistance; this suggests that 13dR-cancer cells present short-term resistance (less than a month). Similarly, increased drug resistance to both cisplatin and paclitaxel was observed in another R-cancer cell model prepared from N87 cells. The resistant phenotype of the cisplatin-resistant (CR) colonies obtained through cisplatin treatment was maintained for 2–3 months after drug treatment, suggesting that drug treatment transforms cells with short-term resistance into cells with medium-term resistance. In single-cell analyses, heterogeneity was not found to increase in 13dR-H460 cells, suggesting that cancer cells with short-term resistance, rather than heterogeneous cells, may confer epigenetically driven drug resistance in our reprogrammed cancer model. The epigenetically driven short-term and medium-term drug resistance mechanisms could provide new cancer-fighting strategies involving the control of cancer cells during epigenetic transition.Subject terms: Tumour heterogeneity, Epigenetics