Effect of molecular weight on the exponential growth and morphology of hyaluronan/chitosan multilayers: a surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy investigation

The layer-by-layer growth of multilayer assemblies of two polysaccharides, the polyanion hyaluronan (HA) and the polycation chitosan (CH), was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, with primary emphasis on the effect of the polysaccharide molecular weights on the film thickness and surface morphology. The HA/CH multilayers exhibit an exponential increase of the optical film thickness with the number of deposited bilayers. We show that the multilayer thickness at a given stage depends on the size of both CH, the diffusing polyelectrolyte, and HA, the non-diffusing species. Assemblies (12 bilayers) of high molecular weight polysaccharides (HA, 360,000; CH, 160,000) were twice as thick (approximately 900 nm vs approximately 450 nm) as those obtained with low molecular weight polymers (HA, 30,000; CH, 31,000), as assessed by AFM scratch tests. The exponential growth rate is the same for the high and low molecular weight pairs; the larger film thicknesses observed by SPR and by AFM arising from an earlier onset of the steep exponential growth phase in the case of the high molecular weight pair. In all cases, isolated islets form during the deposition of the first CH layer onto the underlying HA. Upon further film growth, individual islets coalesce into larger vermiculate features. The transition from distinct islands to vermiculate structures depends on the molecular weights of the polysaccharides and the lower molecular weight construct presents larger worm-like surface domains than the high molecular weight pair.     

2-Cyano Δ3piperideine VII1 : the condensation of 2-cyano Δ3piperideine with sodium dimethylmalonate catalyzed by ZnCl2 or zero valent palladium and platinum complexes

ZnCl₂, Pd (PØ₃)₄ and Pt(PØ₃)₄ were found to be effective catalysts for the condensation of sodium dimethyl malonate with 2-cyano Δ³piperideine $\text{1}$ a–d.     

Anionic copper complex fragmentations from enkephalins under low-energy collision-induced dissociation in an ion trap mass spectrometer

Peptide metallation with Cu2+ was explored in the negative ESI mode using an ion trap mass spectrometer. Under these conditions, the [(M-3H) + CuII]- species formed were investigated under low-energy collision-induced dissociation conditions. MS2 experiments indicate a very different behavior of CuII metallated complexes compared with [M-H]- species. CuII induces an easy loss of CO2 and specific side-chain cleavages (by radical losses) at the C-terminal residue, as observed previously by prompt 'in source' dissociation experiments. The loss of CO2 yields an unstable carbylide that leads to further dissociations involving the migration of a proton or a hydrogen radical (through the reduction of CuII). Multistage MS3 experiments were carried out to rationalize this behavior. Fragmentation pathways are proposed in order to explain the product ions observed. The side-chain radical loss at the C-terminus was demonstrated to be a consecutive process. Finally, evidence is provided that the specific side-chain cleavages can be used for the differentiation of Leu/Ile and Gln/Lys residues when they are located at the C-terminus. The existence of a zwitterionic form in the case of the anionic YGGFK-CuII complex is proposed.     

Primary photodamage sites and mitochondrial events after Foscan photosensitization of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells

To determine the initial photodamage sites of Foscan-mediated photodynamic treatment, we evaluated the enzymatic activities in selected organelles immediately after light exposure of MCF-7 cells. The measurements indicated that the enzymes located in the Golgi apparatus (uridine 5'-diphosphate galactosyl transferase) and in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide [reduced] [NADH] cytochrome c [cyt c] reductase) are inactivated by the treatment, whereas mitochondrial marker enzymes (cyt c oxidase and dehydrogenases) were unaffected. This indicates that the ER and the Golgi apparatus are the primary intracellular sites damaged by Foscan-mediated PDT in MCF-7 cells. We further investigated whether the specific mitochondria events could be associated with Foscan photoinduced cell death. The dose response profiles of mitochondrial depolarization and cytochrome c release immediately after Foscan-based PDT were very different from that of overall cell death. By 24 h post-PDT the fluence dependency was strikingly similar for both mitochondrial alterations and cell death. Therefore, although mitochondria are not directly affected by the treatment, they can be strongly implicated in Foscan-mediated MCF-7 cell death by late and indirect mechanism.     

Synthesis and deprotonation of 2-(pyridyl)phenols and 2-(pyridyl)anilines

2-(2- and 3-Pyridyl)anilines (1, 2), 2,2-dimethyl-N-[2-(2- and 3-pyridyl)phenyl]propanamides (3, 4), and 2-, 3- and 4-(2-methoxyphenyl)pyridines (7-9) are readily synthesized using cross-coupling reactions. Whereas the amines 1, 2 undergo side reactions, the corresponding amides 3, 4 are deprotonated with lithium 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide (LTMP): the compound 3 at C6' under in situ quenching, and the compound 4 at C4'. When the ether 7 is subjected to the same reagent, lithiation occurs at C6'.     

An insight into the aromaticity of fullerene anions: experimental evidence for diamagnetic ring currents in the five-membered rings of C(60)(6-) and C(70)(6-)

Reduction of the two "closed" [6,6] methanofullerenes, [6,6]C(61)H(2) (1) and [6,6]C(71)H(2) (5), to the corresponding hexaanions with lithium metal causes the bridgehead-bridgehead bonds to open, at least partially, and this change gives rise to diamagnetic ring currents in the resulting homoconjugated six-membered rings (6-MRs). These new ring currents shield the overlying hydrogen atoms on the methylene bridge and induce upfield shifts of 1.60 and 0.11 ppm in their (1)H NMR resonances, respectively. Analogous reduction of the already "open" [5,6]methanofullerenes, [5,6]C(61)H(2) (2) and [5,6]C(71)H(2) (3 and 4), only slightly enhances the shielding of the hydrogen atoms over the homoconjugated 6-MRs (upfield shifts of 0.13, 0.68, and 0.14 ppm, respectively) but leads to exceptionally strong diamagnetic ring currents in the homoconjugated five- membered rings (5-MRs), as evidenced by dramatic shielding of the hydrogen atoms situated over them (upfield shift of 5.01, 6.78, and 1.63 ppm, respectively). The strongest shielding is seen for the hydrogen atom sitting over the 5-MR at the pole of C(71)H(2)(6)(-) (delta = -0.255 ppm) indicating that the excess charge density is concentrated at the poles.     

Nonequilibrium synthesis and assembly of hybrid inorganic-protein nanostructures using an engineered DNA binding protein

We show that a protein with no intrinsic inorganic synthesis activity can be endowed with the ability to control the formation of inorganic nanostructures under thermodynamically unfavorable (nonequilibrium) conditions, reproducing a key feature of biological hard-tissue growth and assembly. The nonequilibrium synthesis of Cu(2)O nanoparticles is accomplished using an engineered derivative of the DNA-binding protein TraI in a room-temperature precursor electrolyte. The functional TraI derivative (TraIi1753::CN225) is engineered to possess a cysteine-constrained 12-residue Cu(2)O binding sequence, designated CN225, that is inserted into a permissive site in TraI. When TraIi1753::CN225 is included in the precursor electrolyte, stable Cu(2)O nanoparticles form, even though the concentrations of [Cu(+)] and [OH(-)] are at 5% of the solubility product (K(sp,Cu2O)). Negative control experiments verify that Cu(2)O formation is controlled by inclusion of the CN225 binding sequence. Transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction reveal a core-shell structure for the nonequilibrium nanoparticles: a 2 nm Cu(2)O core is surrounded by an adsorbed protein shell. Quantitative protein adsorption studies show that the unexpected stability of Cu(2)O is imparted by the nanomolar surface binding affinity of TraIi1753::CN225 for Cu(2)O (K(d) = 1.2 x 10(-)(8) M), which provides favorable interfacial energetics (-45 kJ/mol) for the core-shell configuration. The protein shell retains the DNA-binding traits of TraI, as evidenced by the spontaneous organization of nanoparticles onto circular double-stranded DNA.     

Utilisation de la phenyl-2 dimethyl-4,5 phosphorine comme equivalent synthetique de h=cP. Application a la synthese de la dimethyl-3,4 phosphorine

3,4-Dimethylphosphorin is prepared in five steps from 2,3-dimethylbutadiene and 2-phenyl-4,5-dimethylphosphorin; this synthetic scheme is formally equivalent to a [4+2] cycloaddition between 2,3-dimethylbutadiene and HCP.     

Regioselectivite de la reaction des dialkyl cuprates de magnesium sur des aldehydes α,β-ethyleniques

Various magnesium organocuprates give conjugative addition products with α,β-ethylenic aldehydes, and even with acrolein. The enolates may be trapped with bromine or trimethylsilyl chloride.     

Conversion directe des phospholes en dihydro-6,7 phosphepines dans la sphere de coordination du tungstene

In the presence of AlCl₃, [1-β-chloroethyl-3,4-dimethylphosphole]pentacarbonyltungsten($\text{1}$) rearranges into [1-chloro-3,4-dimethyl-6,7-dihydrophosphepin]pentacarbonyltungsten ($\text{3}$).