Negative‐pressure‐induced collector for a self‐balance free‐flow electrophoresis device

Uneven flow in free‐flow electrophoresis (FFE) with a gravity‐induced fraction collector caused by air bubbles in outlets and/or imbalance of the surface tension of collecting tubes would result in a poor separation. To solve these issues, this work describes a novel collector for FFE. The collector is composed of a self‐balance unit, multisoft pipe flow controller, fraction collector, and vacuum pump. A negative pressure induced continuous air flow rapidly flowed through the self‐balance unit, taking the background electrolyte and samples into the fraction collector. The developed collector has the following advantages: (i) supplying a stable and harmonious hydrodynamic environment in the separation chamber for FFE separation, (ii) effectively preventing background electrolyte and sample flow‐back at the outlet of the chamber and improving the resolution, (iii) increasing the preparative scale of the separation, and (iv) simplifying the operation. In addition, the cost of the FFE device was reduced without using a multichannel peristaltic pump for sample collection. Finally, comparative FFE experiments on dyes, proteins, and cells were carried out. It is evident that the new developed collector could overcome the problems inherent in the previous gravity‐induced self‐balance collector.     

Fitting formula for the injection volume of a gas chromatograph for radio‐xenon sampling in the lower troposphere

GC is usually used for xenon concentration and radon removal in the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear‐Test‐Ban Treaty. In a gas chromatograph, the injection volume is defined to calculate the column capacity. In this paper, the injection volume was investigated and a fitting formula for the injection volume was derived and discussed subsequently. As a consequence, the xenon injection volume exponentially decreased with the column temperature increased, but exponentially increased as the flow rate increased.     

Combination of UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS,NMR spectroscopy,and ECD calculation for screening and identification of reactive metabolites of gentiopicroside in humans

The metabolic investigation of natural products is a great challenge because of unpredictable metabolic pathways, little knowledge on metabolic effects, and lack of recommended analytical methodology. Herein, a combined strategy based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation was developed and employed for the human metabolism study of gentiopicroside (GPS), a naturally hepato-protective iridoid glycoside. The whole metabolic study consisted of three major procedures. First, an improved UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS method was used to separate and detect a total of 15 GPS metabolites that were obtained from urine samples (0 to 72 h) of 12 healthy male participants after a single 50-mg oral dose of GPS. Second, a developed “MS-NMR-MS” method was applied to accurately identify molecular structures of the observed metabolites. Finally, given that the associated stereochemistry may be a crucial factor of the metabolic activation, the absolute configuration of the reactive metabolites was revealed through chemical calculations. Based on the combined use, a pair of diastereoisomers (G05 and G06) were experimentally addressed as the bioreactive metabolites of GPS, and the stereochemical determination was completed. Whereas several novel metabolic transformations, occurring via oxidation, N-heterocyclization and glucuronidation after deglycosylation, were also observed. The results indicated that GPS has to undergo in vivo metabolism-based activation to generate reactive molecules capable of processing its hepato-protective activity.

Solid-phase methylamidation for sialoglycomics by MALDI-MS

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) has been a major approach for glycan analysis. However, the preferential cleavage of the sialic acid moiety by in- and post-source decay influences the determination of sialylated glycans by MALDI-MS. Many chemical derivatization methods were introduced to stabilize the sialylated glycan during MALDI-MS. Among current derivatization methods, methylamidation is a promising means for simultaneous analysis of natural sialylated glycans regardless of their sialic acid linkage types. Here, a novel derivatization method was developed, in which proteins were conjugated on the solid-phase support in order to stabilize the sialic acids by methylamidation and to reduce sample loss and contamination during the derivatization process. This derivatization strategy was used to investigate N-glycans from fetuin, a glycoprotein containing different types of complex N-glycans. The developed method was also applied to the N-glycan profiling of human serum from patients and healthy volunteers. Results were consistent with N-glycan profiling by HPLC-fluorescence detection. This new method provided a sensitive, simple, and robust approach for profiling glycan structures of complex samples.     

阿尔茨海默症病理机制中的金属代谢和金属药物

随着人口老龄化进程的发展,阿尔茨海默症(AD)已成为威胁中国和世界人口健康和经济的重大疾病.本文综述了近年来AD病理的分子机制的新进展,分析了其中金属代谢的意义.研究发现,在AD进程中,围绕淀粉样斑块(AP)和神经缠绕斑(NFT)的形成,多因素相互联系并发挥作用,这些主要因素包括金属内稳态、胰岛素抵抗、神经炎症、线粒体和血脑屏障改变等.与AD病理过程密切相关的主要蛋白质均参与了金属元素的生理代谢过程,而细胞金属离子的内稳态失衡加剧了AD病理的恶化.金属药物在AD诊断和治疗中可能具有以下的发展潜力:(1)AD早期诊断探针;(2)调节金属内稳态的配体和/或微量元素补充;(3)抗糖尿病金属配合物;(4)神经元和血脑屏障(BBB)保护金属药物.     

Determination of manganese (VII), chromium (VI) and nickel (II) in medicinal herb samples by cloud-point extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

A highly sensitive method for the determination of manganese (VII), chromium (VI) and nickel (II) in medicinal herb samples is proposed. The method is based on analytes reacted with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC) to give hydrophobic chelates (M–APDC), which were separated and enriched by cloud-point extraction (CPE) with non-ionic surfactant Tergitol TMN-6 as extractant. The surfactant-rich phase containing the chelates is determined with a high-performance liquid chromatography system. To achieve the best CPE method, the Box–Behnken design was used to study the concentration of Tergitol TMN-6, equilibrium temperature, equilibrium time as well as their interaction. What followed was the individual research for the pH of the sample solutions and the concentration of APDC. What is more, in the given optimized experimental conditions, calibration plots were found to be linear in the range of 0.0200–0.500 mg/L for Mn (VII) and Cr (VI), meanwhile 0.0500–1.00 mg/L for Ni (II), the linear correlation coefficients were between 0.996 and 0.999, the recoveries ranged from 91.8 to 97.8 % and the relative standard deviations were between 1.09 and 2.30 % (n = 3). The limits of detection were 0.164 μg/L for Mn (VII), 0.562 μg/L for Cr (VI) and 5.12 μg/L for Ni (II), respectively. The proposed method was applied to determine manganese (VII), chromium (VI) and nickel (II) in medicinal herb samples with satisfactory results.     

Utilization of Environmentally Benign Dicyandiamide as a Precursor for the Synthesis of Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Nitride and its Application in Base‐Catalyzed Reactions

Assisted by a new dissolution procedure, dicyandiamide (DCDA), an environmentally benign and cheap precursor, has been employed for the synthesis of mesoporous carbon nitride (CN) materials through a nanocasting approach. The synthesized mesoporous materials possessed high specific surface areas (269–715 m² g^?1) with narrow pore‐size distributions (about 5 nm) and faithfully replicated the mesostructures of the SBA‐15 and FDU‐12 templates. Several characterization techniques, including XRD, SAXS, TEM, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, and CO₂‐TPD, were used to analyze the physicochemical properties of these materials and the results showed that the mesoporous CND materials had graphitic‐like structures and consisted of CN heterocycles, as well as amino groups. In a series of Knoevenagel condensation reactions, as exemplified by the reaction of various aldehydes and nitriles, these mesoporous CND materials demonstrated high and stable catalytic activities, owing to an abundance of basic sites.     

Counter‐anion role in the formation of two supramolecular complexes: [Ag2(DPP)2](ClO4)2·CH3CN and [Ag2(DPP)2(NO3)2] {DPP is N‐[(diphenylphosphanyl)methyl]pyridin‐4‐amine}

The title compounds, bis{μ‐N‐[(diphenylphosphanyl)methyl]pyridin‐4‐amine‐κ²N¹:P}disilver bis(perchlorate) acetonitrile monosolvate, [Ag₂(C₁₈H₁₇N₂P)₂](ClO₄)₂·CH₃CN, (1), and bis{μ‐N‐[(diphenylphosphanyl)methyl]pyridin‐4‐amine‐κ²N¹:P}bis[(nitrato‐κ²O,O)silver], [Ag₂(C₁₈H₁₇N₂P)₂(NO₃)₂], (2), each contain disilver macrocyclic [Ag₂(C₁₈H₁₇N₂P)₂]²⁺ cations lying about inversion centres. The cations are constructed by two N‐[(diphenylphosphanyl)methyl]pyridin‐4‐amine (DPP) ligands linking two Ag⁺ cations in a head‐to‐tail fashion. In (1), the unique Ag⁺ cation has a near‐linear coordination geometry consisting of one pyridine N atom and one P atom from two different DPP ligands. Two ClO₄⁻ anions doubly bridge two metallomacrocycles through Ag...O and N—H...O weak interactions to form a chain extending in the c direction. The half‐occupancy acetonitrile molecule lies with its methyl C atom on a twofold axis and makes a weak N...Ag contact. In (2), there are two independent [Ag(C₁₈H₁₇N₂P)]⁺ cations. The nitrate anions weakly chelate to each Ag⁺ cation, leading to each Ag⁺ cation having a distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry consisting of one pyridine N atom and one P atom from two different DPP ligands, and two chelating nitrate O atoms. Each dinuclear [Ag₂(C₁₈H₁₇N₂P)₂(NO₃)₂] molecule acts as a four‐node to bridge four adjacent equivalent molecules through N—H...O interactions, forming a two‐dimensional sheet parallel to the bc plane. Each sheet contains dinuclear molecules involving just Ag1 or Ag2 and these two types of sheet are stacked in an alternating fashion. The sheets containing Ag1 all lie near x = , , etc, while those containing Ag2 all lie near x = 0, 1, 2 etc. Thus, the two independent sheets are arranged in an alternating sequence at x = 0, , 1, etc. These two different supramolecular structures result from the different geometric conformations of the templating anions which direct the self‐assembly of the cations and anions.     

Formation of Hierarchical Lamellae‐in‐Lamella Nanostructures from Polymer Blends Via Controlled Nonequilibrium Freezing

The creation of hierarchical nanostructures in polymeric materials has been intensively studied due to the great potential to tailor their physicochemical properties. Although much success has been achieved over the past decades in block copolymers, hierarchical structure engineering in polymer blends remains a great challenge. Here, the formation of hierarchical lamellae‐in‐lamella nanostructures from polymer blends via controlled nonequilibrium freezing is reported. Polymer blends are first dissolved in molten hexamethylbenzene (HMB) to form a homogeneous melt. When cooled to below its melting temperature, the HMB is crystallized and depleted, and the polymers are directionally solidified. This process is rapid enough that phase separation of the polymer blends is kinetically trapped at the nanoscale level. Then, the polymer blend epitaxially crystallizes onto the HMB inside the nanophase, resulting in the hierarchical lamellae‐in‐lamella structure. This structure is stable under ambient conditions and tunable depending on the annealing temperature and blending ratio.