Evaluation of surface charge density and surface potential by electrophoretic mobility for solid lipid nanoparticles and human brain-microvascular endothelial cells

Electrophoretic mobility, zeta potential, surface charge density, and surface potential of cacao butter-based solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and human brain-microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) were analyzed in this study. Electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential were determined experimentally. Surface charge density and surface potential were evaluated theoretically via incorporation of ion condensation theory with the relationship between surface charge density and surface potential. The results revealed that the lower the pH value, the weaker the electrostatic properties of the negatively charged SLN and HBMEC. A higher content of cacao butter or a slower stirring rate yielded a larger SLN and stronger surface electricity. On the contrary, storage led to instability of SLN suspension and weaker electrical behavior because of hydrolysis of ionogenic groups on the particle surfaces. Also, high H+ concentration resulted in excess adsorption of H+ onto HBMEC, rendering charge reversal and cell death. The largest normalized discrepancy between surface potential and zeta potential occurred at pH = 7. For a fixed biocolloidal species, the discrepancy was nearly invariant at high pH value. However, the discrepancy followed the order of electrical intensity for HBMEC system at low pH value because mammalian cells were sensitive to H+. The present study provided a practical method to obtain surface charge properties by capillary electrophoresis.     

An Efficient Synthesis of 8-Amino-9-Benzylguanine

The reaction of 2,5-diamino-4-benzylamino-pyrimidin-6(III)-one (6) with benzoyl isothiocyanate furnished 2-amino-4-benzylamino-5-[1-(3-benzoylthioureido)]-pyrimidin-6(1H)-one (7) in good yield. The title compound I was synthesized from compound 7 via a cyclodesulfurative reaction with DCC in DMF at 80°C directly to form 8-benzoylamino-9-benzylguanine (9) which was subsequently treated with 1 N sodium hydroxide.     

Briarenolide E: the first 2-ketobriarane diterpenoid from an octocoral Briareum sp. (Briareidae)

A novel 2-ketobriarane diterpenoid, briarenolide E (1), was isolated from an octocoral Briareum sp. The structure of briarane 1 was elucidated by interpretations of spectral data. Compound 1 displayed modestly inhibitory effects on the generation of superoxide anions and the release of elastase by human neutrophils.     

KLVFF peptide functionalized nanoparticles capture Aβ42 by co-assembly for decreasing cytotoxicity

The bis(pyrene)-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Gly-poly ethylene glycol (BP-KLVFFG-PEG) based nanoparticles capture Aβ₄₂ by recognition and co-assembly, the length of PEG chain in which leads to different morphologies of coassemblies and capture efficiency. The co-assembly strategy shows a decrease of cytotoxicity, potentially for Alzheimer's disease treatment.     

On the Size Evolution of Monolayer‐Protected Gold Clusters during Ligand Place‐Exchange Reactions: The Effect of Solvents

Ligand place‐exchange (LPE) reactions are extensively applied for the post‐functionalization of monolayer‐protected gold clusters (MPCs) by using excessive incoming ligands to displace initial ones. However, the modified MPCs are often enlarged or degraded; this results in ill‐defined size‐dependent properties. The growth of MPCs essentially involves an unprotected surface that is subsequently has gold atoms added or is fused with other gold cores owing to collision. Reported herein is a guideline for the selection of solvents to suppress unwanted MPC growth. Favorable solvents are those with significant affinity to gold or with low solubility for desorbed ligands because these properties retard LPE reactions and minimize the time available for unprotected gold cores. This finding provides a general and convenient approach to regulate the size of functionalized MPCs.     

Mackay,Anti-Mackay,Double-Mackay,Pseudo-Mackay,and Related Icosahedral Shell Clusters

Mackay introduced two important crystallographic concepts in a short paper published 40 years ago. One is the icosahedral shell structure (iss) consisting of concentric icosahedra displaying fivefold rotational symmetry. The number of atoms contained within these icosahedral shells and subshells agrees well with the magic numbers in rare gas clusters, (C₆₀) _N molecules, and some metal clusters determined by mass spectroscopy or simulated on energy considerations. The cluster of 55 atoms within the second icosahedral shell occurs frequently and has been called Mackay icosahedron, or simply MI, which occurs not only in various clusters, but also in intermetallic compounds and quasicrystals. The second concept is the hierarchic icosahedral structures caused by the presence of a stacking fault in the fcc packing of the successive triangular faces in the iss. For instance, a fault occurs after the ABC layers resulting an ABCB packing. This is, in fact, a hierarchic icosahedral structure of a core icosahedron connected to 12 outer icosahedra by vertex sharing, or an icosahedron of icosahedra (double MI. Contrary to Mackay's iss, a faulted hierarchic icosahedral shell is, in fact, a twinlike face capping of the underlying triangles; it is, therefore, called an anti-Mackay cluster. The hierarchic icosahedral structure in an Al-Mn-Pd icosahedral quasicrystal has a core of body-centered cube rather than an icosahedron and, therefore, is called a pseudo-Mackay cluster. The hierarchic icosahedral structures have been studied separately in the past in the fields of clusters, nanoparticles, intermetallic compounds, and quasicrystals, but the underlying geometry should be the same. In the following a unified geometrical analysis is presented.     

Numerical simulation of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with polarization-matched AlGaInN electron-blocking layer and barrier layer

The effect of polarization-matched AlGaInN electron-blocking layer and barrier layer on the optical performance of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes is numerically investigated. The polarization-matched AlGaInN electron-blocking layer and barrier layer are employed in an attempt to reduce the polarization effect inside the active region of the light-emitting diodes. The simulation results show that the polarization-matched AlGaInN electron-blocking layer is beneficial for confining the electrons inside the quantum well region. With the use of both polarization-matched AlGaInN electron-blocking layer and barrier layer, the optical performance of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes is greatly improved due to the increased overlap of electron and hole wavefunctions. The method proposed in this paper can also be applied to the light-emitting diodes operating in other spectral range.     

Streptonigrin and related compounds IV. Precursors for the a-ring

The synthesis of streptonigrin or its tricyclic (ABC) analogues by the Friedlander condensation requires a 2-nitrobenzaldehyde with all the necessary functionalities. A number of alternative syntheses are examined. It is shown that oxidation of 8-amino-5,6-dimethoxy-2,2-pyridylquinoline leads to 8-amino-2,2-pyridylqunoline-5,6-dione instead of 6-methoxy-2,2-pyridylquinoline-5,8-dione. The synthesis of two useful precursors: 4-bromo-3-hydroxy-5,6-dimethoxy-2-nitrobenzaldehyde and 4-bromo-3-hydroxy-5-methoxy-2-nitrobenzaldehyde is described.     

Potential theory associated with Uhlenbeck-Ornstein process

Some parallel results of Gross' paper (Potential theory on Hilbert space, J. Functional Analysis1 (1967), 123–181) are obtained for Uhlenbeck-Ornstein process U(t) in an abstract Wiener space (H, B, i). Generalized number operator $\text{N}$ is defined by $\text{N}$f(x) = ?lim_∈←0{E[f($\text{U}$(τ^∈_ξ))] ? f(x)}/E[τ^∈_ξ, where τ_x^? is the first exit time of U(t) starting at x from the ball of radius ? with center x. It is shown that $\text{N}$f(x) = ?trace D²f(x)+〈Df(x),x〉 for a large class of functions f. Let r_t(x, dy) be the transition probabilities of U(t). The λ-potential G_λf, λ > 0, and normalized potential Rf of f are defined by G_λf(X) = ∫₀^∞e^?λtr_tf(x) dt and Rf(x) = ∫₀^∞ [r_tf(x) ? r_tf(0)] dt. It is shown that if f is a bounded Lip-1 function then trace D²G_λf(x) ? 〈DG_λf(x), x〉 = ?f(x) + λG_λf(x) and trace D²Rf(x) ? 〈DRf(x), x〉 = ?f(x) + ∫_Bf(y)p₁(dy), where p₁ is the Wiener measure in B with parameter 1. Some approximation theorems are also proved.     

The nuclear reaction matrix

Different difinitions of the reaction matrix G appropriate to the calculation of nuclear structure are reviewed and discussed. Qualitative physical arguments are presented in support of a two-step calculation of the G-matrix for finite nuclei. In the first step the high-energy excitations are included using orthogonalized plane-wave intermediate states, and in the second step the low-energy excitations are added in, using harmonic oscillator intermediate states. Accurate calculations of G-matrix elements for nuclear structure calculations in the A ≈ 18 region are performed following this procedure and treating the Pauli exclusion operator Q_2ν by the method of Tsai and Kuo. The treatment of Q_2ν, the effect of the intermediate-state spectrum and the energy dependence of the reaction matrix are investigated in detail. The present matrix elements are compared with various matrix elements given in the literature. In particular, close agreement is obtained with the matrix elements calculated by Kuo and Brown using approximate methods.