Chemical composition and in vitro evaluation of the cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of supercritical carbon dioxide extracts of pitaya (dragon fruit) peel

Background

Hylocereus polyrhizus and Hylocereus undatus are two varieties of the commonly called pitaya fruits, and pitaya fruits have gained popularity in many countries all over the world. However, studies on chemical composition and the nutritional quality of pitaya flesh peel are limited.

Results

Extracts of pitaya (H. polyrhizus and H. undatus) peel were extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. Their cytotoxic and antioxidant activities were investigated. The main components of H. polyrhizus extract were β-amyrin (15.87%), α-amyrin (13.90%), octacosane (12.2%), γ-sitosterol (9.35%), octadecane (6.27%), 1-tetracosanol (5.19%), stigmast-4-en-3-one (4.65%), and campesterol (4.16%), whereas H. undatus were β-amyrin (23.39%), γ-sitosterol (19.32%), and octadecane (9.25%), heptacosane (5.52%), campesterol (5.27%), nonacosane (5.02%), and trichloroacetic acid, hexadecyl ester (5.21%). Both of the two extracts possessed good cytotoxic activities against PC3, Bcap-37, and MGC-803 cells (IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.61 to 0.73 mg/mL), and the activities of their main components were also studied. Furthermore, these extracts also presented some radical scavenging activities, with IC₅₀ values of 0.83 and 0.91 mg/mL, respectively.

Conclusion

This paper provides evidence for studying the chemical composition of supercritical carbon dioxide extracts of pitaya peel and their biological activity.     

纳米SiO_2/聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯复合材料的制备和力学性能

通过悬浮聚合的方法,用不同表面结构的纳米SiO2对聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)进行原位改性,得到纳米SiO2/聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯复合材料;利用红外光谱仪分析了复合材料的界面化学结构,利用热分析仪测定了其热稳定性,并采用冲击试验机测定了其力学性能.结果表明,不同表面结构的纳米SiO2均参与甲基丙烯酸甲酯的聚合反应,与PMMA基体之间形成化学键;而表面修饰有双键的纳米SiO2更易与甲基丙烯酸甲酯聚合,能更有效地提高PMMA的抗冲击性能.     

MOF-Derived Double-Layer Hollow Nanoparticles with Oxygen Generation Ability for Multimodal Imaging-Guided Sonodynamic Therapy

The high reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation ability and simple construction of sonosensitizer systems remain challenging in sonodynamic therapy against the hypoxic tumor. In this work, we rationally prepared MOF-derived double-layer hollow manganese silicate nanoparticle (DHMS) with highly effective ROS yield under ultrasound irradiation for multimodal imaging-guided sonodynamic therapy (SDT). The presence of Mn in DHMS increased ROS generation efficiency because it could be oxidized by holes to improve the electron–hole separation. Moreover, DHMS could produce oxygen in the tumor microenvironment, which helps overcome the hypoxia of the solid tumor and thus enhance the treatment efficiency. In vivo experiments demonstrated efficient tumor inhibition in DHMS-mediated SDT guided by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. This work presents a MOF-derived nanoparticle with sonosensitive and oxygen generating ability, which provides a promising strategy for tumor hypoxia in SDT.     

Highly Regio-, Diastereo-, and Enantioselective Synthesis of Tetrahydroazepines and Benzo[b]oxepines through Palladium-Catalyzed [4+3] Cycloaddition Reactions

A novel Pd⁰-catalyzed asymmetric [4+3] annulation reaction of two readily accessible starting materials has been developed for building seven-membered heterocyclic architectures. The potential [3+2] side pathway could be suppressed though fine tuning of the conditions. A broad scope of cycloaddition donors and acceptors participated in the transformation with excellent chemo-, regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivtities, leading to valuable tetrahydroazepines and benzo[b]oxepines.     

Covalent Assembly of MoS2 Nanosheets with SnS Nanodots as Linkages for Lithium/Sodium‐Ion Batteries

Weak van der Waals interactions between interlayers of two‐dimensional layered materials result in disabled across‐interlayer electron transfer and poor layered structural stability, seriously deteriorating their performance in energy applications. Herein, we propose a novel covalent assembly strategy for MoS₂ nanosheets to realize unique MoS₂/SnS hollow superassemblies (HSs) by using SnS nanodots as covalent linkages. The covalent assembly based on all‐inorganic and carbon‐free concept enables effective across‐interlayer electron transfer, facilitated ion diffusion kinetics, and outstanding mechanical stability, which are evidenced by experimental characterization, DFT calculations, and mechanical simulations. Consequently, the MoS₂/SnS HSs exhibit superb rate performance and long cycling stability in lithium‐ion batteries, representing the best comprehensive performance in carbon‐free MoS₂‐based anodes to date. Moreover, the MoS₂/SnS HSs also show excellent sodium storage performance in sodium‐ion batteries.     

Determination and comparison of agarwood from different origins by comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography–quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Agarwood, a species of resinous heartwood, is a precious medicinal plant and a type of rare natural spice, which is widely used in medicine, cosmetics, religious activities, and other fields. In this study, agarwood samples from eight different regions across four countries were analyzed by comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography?quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. A total of 232 species were identified (the match factors of these compounds were above 750). The main compounds of agarwood are oxygenated sesquiterpenes and chromones. The compositions of India1 and Malaysia2 were significantly different from those of other samples, which might be attributed to the different production processes of agarwood. For further investigation, factor analysis was conducted for six agarwood samples. The results showed that the data classification possessed a regional characteristic; according to the retention time and relative content, characteristic compositions were determined by factor scores. Finally, the differences of characteristic compositions were simply analyzed, and the reasons were speculated.     

适用于等熵流动的交错拉氏Godunov方法

为消除传统单元中心型Godunov方法在求解稀疏波问题时的非物理过热现象,发展一种适用于等熵流动的交错拉氏Godunov方法.主要的特征是采用速度与热力学变量交错分布的形式,避免在单元内进行速度平均,从而消除由于动量平均过程导致的动能耗散.与传统的von Neumann型交错网格方法相比,网格的边界通量由节点处的多维黎曼求解器提供,克服了多维人工粘性选取带来的困难.为减少多维黎曼求解器在求解稀疏波问题时的非物理熵增,给出稀疏波出现的合理判据,从而保证了热力学关系式的满足.数值实验表明：该方法能很好地消除稀疏波的过热现象,同时在求解激波问题时又能保持与传统单元中心型拉氏方法相同的激波捕捉能力.     

CiADS束流负载效应前馈补偿的仿真评估

在高功率超导质子直线加速器中,束流负载效应是影响超导腔幅相稳定性的一个重要因素。本工作基于谐振腔建场模型,开发了超导腔系统束流负载效应的时域仿真程序,分析了束流负载效应对超导腔幅相稳定性的影响,并在C-ADS注入器II上通过相关实验测量对仿真结果进行了验证。利用该程序,评估了CiADS超导直线加速器脉冲束流的脉冲长度,以及前馈补偿的时序抖动和束流纹波等因素对腔中电磁场幅相稳定度的影响。仿真结果表明:在当前CiADS直线加速器设计参数下,为满足超导腔中电磁场0.1%与在高功率超导质子直线加速器中,束流负载效应是影响超导腔幅相稳定性的一个重要因素。本工作基于谐振腔建场模型,开发了超导腔系统束流负载效应的时域仿真程序,分析了束流负载效应对超导腔幅相稳定性的影响,并在C-ADS注入器II上通过相关实验测量对仿真结果进行了验证。利用该程序,评估了CiADS超导直线加速器脉冲束流的脉冲长度,以及前馈补偿的时序抖动和束流纹波等因素对腔中电磁场幅相稳定度的影响。仿真结果表明:在当前CiADS直线加速器设计参数下,为满足超导腔中电磁场0.1%与$0.1^{\circ}$的幅相稳定度指标,前馈时序抖动的偏差不能超过0.79 μs,束流流强的直流偏差不能超过0.9%,并且给出了束流纹波的最大抖动幅值与纹波频率之间的关系。这些结果将为CiADS超导直线加速器相关子系统技术指标的确定提供依据。     

Rational Design of a Near-infrared Fluorescent Material with High Solid-state Efficiency,Aggregation-induced Emission and Live Cell Imaging Property

Near-infrared(NIR) fluorescent materials with high photoluminescent quantum yields(PLQYs) have wide application prospects. Therefore, we design and synthesize a D-A type NIR organic molecule, TPATHCNE, in which triphenylamine and thiophene are utilized as the donors and fumaronitrile is applied as the acceptor. We systematically investigate its molecular structure and photophysical property. TPATHCNE shows high T_gof 110℃ and T_d of 385℃ and displays an aggregation-induced emission(AIE) property. A narrow optical bandgap of 1.65 eV is obtained. The non-doped film of TPATHCNE exhibits a high PLQY of 40.3% with an emission peak at 732 nm, which is among the best values of NIR emitters. When TPATHCNE is applied in organic light-emitting diode(OLED), the electroluminescent peak is located at 716 nm with a maximum external quantum efficiency of 0.83%. With the potential in cell imaging, the polystyrene maleic anhydride(PMSA) modified TPATHCNE nanoparticles(NPs) emit strong fluorescence when labeling HeLa cancer cells, suggesting that TPATHCNE can be used as a fluorescent carrier for specific staining or drug delivery for cellular imaging. TPATHCNE NPs fabricated by bovine serum protein(BSA) are cultivated with mononuclear yeast cells, and the intense intracellular red fluorescence indicates that it can be adopted as a specific stain for imaging.     

酸碱指示剂的代用品植物色素的探讨

在化学实验中常用指示剂检验溶液的酸碱性。实际上用植物色素的浸取液代替酸碱指示剂,也能取得很好的实验效果。