Discrimination of crude and processed rhubarb products using a chemometric approach based on ultra fast liquid chromatography with ion trap/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Crude rhubarb subjected to different processing procedures will produce different therapeutic effects that are possibly due to processing‐induced variation in chemical composition. In this study, a chemometric approach based on ultra fast liquid chromatography with ion trap/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was established to systematically investigate the chemical variations of rhubarb induced by different processing methods. The approach was validated based on pooled quality‐control samples from two perspectives: the individual properties of variables and the bulk properties of samples. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis was introduced to compare the differences between crude and processed rhubarb products. A total of 20 significantly different markers were screened out and unambiguously/tentatively characterized. This research proved that a chemometric method based on ultra fast liquid chromatography with ion trap/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry can comprehensively analyze the chemical variation of herbal medicine and provide evidence for a deeper understanding of the pharmacological activities of processed rhubarb products.     

银(I)配位聚合物修饰Preyssler型多金属氧酸盐的高维、高连接结构的组装及性质

以AgNO3、K12.5Na1.5[Na P5W30O110]·15H2O及柔性配体1,1′-双(3,5-二甲基-1H-吡唑)甲烷(H2bdpm)为原料,利用水热合成方法合成了1个新的基于单核银为中心的Preyssler多酸阴离子的有机-无机杂化化合物:[Ag13(H2bdpm)8(H2O)5(HAg P5W30O110)]·2H2O(1),并通过元素分析、红外光谱、热重分析和X-射线单晶衍射等分析手段对化合物1进行了表征.X-射线单晶结构分析表明,该化合物属于三斜晶系,P1空间群,晶胞参数:a=19.135(5),b=20.313(5),c=28.400(5),Z=2,R1=0.0550,w R2=0.1542.化合物1包含罕见的以单核银为中心的Preyssler型多酸阴离子,该阴离子通过金属银连接形成二维无机层.相连的二维层之间通过多种Ag-H2bdpm金属有机亚单元进一步连接形成三维框架.该化合物最大的结构特点在于Preyssler型多酸阴离子的高连接(十八连接)以及Ag(I)离子多样的配位模式.     

A facile method for the synthesis of large‐size Ag nanoparticles as efficient SERS substrates

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) enjoy a reputation as an ultrasensitive substrate for surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). However, large‐scale synthesis of Ag NPs in a controlled manner is a challenging task for a long period of time. Here, we reported a simple seed‐mediated method to synthesize Ag NPs with controllable sizes from 50 to 300 nm, which were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. SERS spectra of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) from the as‐prepared Ag NPs substrates indicate that the enhancement capability of Ag NPs varies with different excitation wavelengths. The Ag NPs with average sizes of ~150, ~175, and ~225 nm show the highest SERS activities for 532, 633, and 785‐nm excitation, respectively. Significantly, 150‐nm Ag NPs exhibit an enhancement factor exceeding 10⁸ for pyridine (Py) molecules in electrochemical SERS (EC‐SERS) measurements. Furthermore, finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) calculation is employed to explain the size‐dependent SERS activity. Finally, the potential of the as‐prepared SERS substrates is demonstrated with the detection of malachite green. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A pH-activatable and aniline-substituted photosensitizer for near-infrared cancer theranostics

This work reports a newly designed pH-activatable and aniline-substituted aza-boron-dipyrromethene as a trifunctional photosensitizer to achieve highly selective tumor imaging, efficient photodynamic therapy (PDT) and therapeutic self-monitoring through encapsulation in a cRGD-functionalized nanomicelle. The diethylaminophenyl is introduced in to the structure for pH-activatable near-infrared fluorescence and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) generation, and bromophenyl is imported to increase the ¹O₂ generation efficiency upon pH activation by virtue of its heavy atom effect. After encapsulation, the nanoprobe can target α_vβ₃ integrin-rich tumor cells via cRGD and is activated by physiologically acidic pH for cancer discrimination and PDT. The fascinating advantage of the nanoprobe is near-infrared implementation beyond 800 nm, which significantly improves the imaging sensitivity and increases the penetration depth of the PDT. By monitoring the fluorescence decrease in the tumor region after PDT, the therapeutic efficacy is demonstrated in situ and in real time, which provides a valuable and convenient self-feedback function for PDT efficacy tracking. Therefore, this rationally designed and carefully engineered nanoprobe offers a new paradigm for precise tumor theranostics and may provide novel opportunities for future clinical cancer treatment.     

Tetraphenylpyrazine-based AIEgens: facile preparation and tunable light emission

Research on aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has been a hot topic. Due to enthusiastic efforts by many researchers, hundreds of AIE luminogens (AIEgens) have been generated which were mainly based on archetypal silole, tetraphenylethene, distyrylanthracene, triphenylethene, and tetraphenyl-1,4-butadiene, etc. To enlarge the family of AIEgens and to enrich their functions, new AIEgens are in high demand. In this work, we report a new kind of AIEgen based on tetraphenylpyrazine (TPP), which could be readily prepared under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, we show that the TPP derivatives possess a good thermal stability and their emission could be fine-tuned by varying the substituents on their phenyl rings. It is anticipated that TPP derivatives could serve as a new type of widely utilized AIEgen, based on their facile preparation, good thermo-, photo- and chemostabilities, and efficient emission.     

Luminescence switch-on detection of protein tyrosine kinase-7 using a G-quadruplex-selective probe

A series of luminescent iridium(iii) complexes were synthesised and evaluated for their ability to act as luminescent G-quadruplex-selective probes. The iridium(iii) complex 9 [Ir(pbi)₂(5,5-dmbpy)]PF₆ (where pbi = 2-phenyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole; 5,5-dmbpy = 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine) exhibited high luminescence for G-quadruplex DNA compared to dsDNA and ssDNA, and was employed to construct a G-quadruplex-based assay for protein tyrosine kinase-7 (PTK7) in aqueous solution. PTK7 is an important biomarker for a range of leukemias and solid tumors. In the presence of PTK7, the specific binding of the sgc8 aptamer sequence triggers a structural transition and releases the G-quadruplex-forming sequence. The formation of the nascent G-quadruplex structure is then detected by the G-quadruplex-selective iridium(iii) complex with an enhanced luminescent response. Moreover, the application of the assay for detecting PTK7 in cellular debris and membrane protein extract was demonstrated. To our knowledge, this is the first G-quadruplex-based assay for PTK7.     

Single nucleotide polymorphisms of mitochondrial DNA HVS‐I and HVS‐II in Chinese Bai ethnic group

For forensic and population genetic purposes, a total of 125 unrelated volunteers’ blood samples were collected from Chinese Bai ethnic minority group to analyze sequence variation of two hypervariable segments (HVS‐I and HVS‐II) in the mitochondrial DNA control region. Comparing the HVS‐I and HVS‐II sequences of the 125 Chinese Bais to the Anderson reference sequence, we found 86 polymorphic loci in HVS‐I and 40 in HVS‐II in mitochondrial DNA sequences of the Chinese Bai ethnic minority group, which defined 93 and 53 different haplotypes, respectively. Haplotype diversity and the mean pairwise differences were 0.992 ± 0.003 and 6.553 in HVS‐I, and 0.877 ± 0.027 and 2.407 in HVS‐II, respectively. We defined four macrohaplogroups R, M, N and D with the proportions ranging from 9.6% to 40.0%. With the analysis of the hypervariable domain from nucleotide 16 180–16 193 in HVS‐I, our study revealed new haplotypes of sequence variations. In addition, the Fst metric, phylogenetic tree, and principal component analysis demonstrated a close genetic relationship between the Bai group and Chinese Han populations from South China, Changsha, and Guangdong. The results support that the Bai group is a multiorigin ethnic minority that has merged with the Chinese Han population.     

Competition between halogen bond and hydrogen bond in complexes of superalkali Li3S and halogenated acetylene XCCH (X = F,Cl, Br,and I)

Complexes of superalkali Li₃S and XCCH (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) have been studied with theoretical calculations at the MP2/aug‐cc‐pVTZ level. Three types of structures are found: (A) the X atom combines with the S atom through a halogen bond; (B) the X atom interacts with the π electron of Li₃S by a π halogen bond; (C) the H atom combines with the S atom through a hydrogen bond. For A and B, a heavier halogen atom makes the interaction stronger, while for C, the change of interaction energy is not obvious, showing a small dependence on the nature of the X atom in HCCX. A is more stable than B and their difference in stability decreases as X varies from Cl to I. For the F and Cl complexes, A is weaker than C, however, the former is stronger than the latter in the Br and I complexes. The above three types of interactions have been analyzed by means of electron localization function, electron density difference, and energy decomposition, and the results show that they have similar nature and features with conventional interactions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.