A comparative study on the cooperative binding of surfactants with solubilized polymers and networks

The cooperative binding of a linear as well as a crosslinked polyelectrolyte with an oppositely charged surfactant has been analyzed theoretically and experimentally. The experimental results showed that the presence of crosslinkage significantly enhances the initiation process but strongly suppresses the cooperation of the binding. In the theoretical analysis, the hydrophobic interaction has been treated using the nearest-neighbor interaction model, while the electrostatic interaction has been calculated using a rodlike model. The general formulas derived on the basis of the free energy minimum principle demonstrated that the crosslinkage enhances the initiation process but strongly suppresses the cooperation owing to the osmotic pressure in the network domain. The theoretical results showed fairly good agreement with the experimental data, confirming the essential features of the theory.     

Novel Thermosensitive IPN Hydrogel Having a Phase Transition Without Volume Change

A novel thermosensitive interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogel was prepared from an aqueous solution of poly[3,3‐dimethyl(methacryloyloxyethyl)propylammonium sulfonate] infiltrating a crosslinked sulfobetaine polymer, poly(2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropylsulfonic acid). The IPN gel shows an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) depending on the molar ratio of the components and the presence of salt. In contrast to conventional gels, the IPN gel exhibits no volume phase transition after traversing the UCST.     

SURFACE DYNAMIC FRICTION OF POLYMER GELS

The sliding friction of various kinds of hydrogels has been studied and it was found that the frictional behaviors ofthe hydrogels do not conform to Amonton's law F=μW which well describes the friction of solids. The frictional force andits dependence on the load are quite different depending on the chemical structures of the gels, surface properties of theopposing substrates, and the measurement condition. The gel friction is explained in terms of interracial interaction, eitherattractive or repulsive, between the polymer chain and the solid surface. According to this model, the friction is ascribed tothe viscous flow of solvent at the interface in the repulsive case. In the attractive case, the force to detach the adsorbing chainfrom the substrate appears as friction. The surface adhesion between glass particles and gels measured by AFM showed agood correlation with the friction, which supported the repulsion-adsorption model proposed by the authors.     

Morphobase,an Encyclopedic Cell Morphology Database,and Its Use for Drug Target Identification

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Highlights? Development of an encyclopedia of cell morphology, Morphobase ? Small molecules classified by mode of action with Morphobase ? Morphobase system rapidly predicts molecular targets of compounds ? NPD6689 targets tubulin and is a lead for a class of antitubulin drugs     

Photochromogenic nanosheet crystallites of tungstate with a 2D bronze structure

Layered rubidium tungstate, Rb(4)W(11)O(35), with a two-dimensional (2D) bronze-type tunnel structure was successfully delaminated into colloidal nanosheets via a soft-chemical process involving acid exchange and subsequent intercalation of tetrabutylammonium ions. Characterizations by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy confirmed the formation of unilamellar 2D nanosheet crystallites with a unique thickness of ～3 nm and an average lateral size of 400 nm. The obtained nanosheets exhibited reversible color change upon UV-light excitation via an optical band gap of 3.5 eV. The ultimate 2D aspect ratio favorable for an adsorption of charge-compensating cations to trapped electrons working as a color center is presumably responsible for highly efficient photochromic behavior. Its coloration mainly consists of a broad band at a wavelength of 1800 nm and longer, which is much different from that of the common tungstate nanomaterials. Thus, the chromogenic nanosheet obtained in this study features the intense UV absorption and optically switchable visible-to-IR absorption, which may be useful for window applications such as cutoff filters and heat-absorbing films.     

Bioactive Polymeric Metallosomes Self-Assembled through Block Copolymer-Metal Complexation

Spontaneous formation of polymeric metallosomes with uniform size (～100 nm) was found to occur in aqueous medium through the reaction of an anticancer agent, (1,2-diaminocyclohexane)platinum(II) (DACHPt), with a Y-shaped block copolymer of ω-cholesteroyl-poly(l-glutamic acid) and two-armed poly(ethylene glycol) (PEGasus-PLGA-Chole). Circular dichroism spectrum measurements revealed that the PLGA segment forms an α-helix structure within the metallosomes, suggesting that secondary-structure formation of metallocomplexed PLGA segment may drive the self-assembly of the system into vesicular structure. These metallosomes can encapsulate water-soluble fluorescent macromolecules into their inner aqueous phase and eventually deliver them selectively into tumor tissues in mice, owing to the prolonged blood circulation. Accordingly, fluorescent imaging of the tumor was successfully demonstrated along with an appreciable antitumor activity by DACHPt moieties retained in the vesicular wall of the metallosomes, indicating the potential of metallosomes as multifunctional drug carriers.     

Enhanced bile canaliculi formation enabling direct recovery of biliary metabolites of hepatocytes in 3D collagen gel microcavities

Analysis of biliary metabolites is essential to predict pharmacokinetics and hepatotoxicity during drug development. In this paper, we present a hepatocyte culture configuration that enables the direct recovery of bile acid that accumulates in bile canaliculi by embedding the hepatocytes in a 3D micropatterned collagen gel substrate. We investigated the formation of bile canaliculi in hepatocytes embedded in circular microcavities of various sizes and made from collagen gel. Image analyses using fluorescently labeled bile acid revealed that the area of bile canaliculi in embedded hepatocytes in a microcavity of 60 or 80 μm in diameter was enlarged when compared with other sized microcavities and those of hepatocytes cultured using conventional hepatocyte sandwich cultures. We successfully recovered bile acid from the enlarged bile canaliculi of hepatocytes cultured in microcavities using a glass capillary and quantified the amount recovered. Using our approach, the direct recovery of biliary metabolites, using hepatocyte cultures with enhanced biliary excretion and geometrically enlarged bile canaliculi, may enable accurate screening of pharmacokinetics and drug-drug interactions against drug transporters.     

Infinite-dimensional stochastic differential equations related to random matrices

We solve infinite-dimensional stochastic differential equations (ISDEs) describing an infinite number of Brownian particles interacting via two-dimensional Coulomb potentials. The equilibrium states of the associated unlabeled stochastic dynamics are the Ginibre random point field and Dyson’s measures, which appear in random matrix theory. To solve the ISDEs we establish an integration by parts formula for these measures. Because the long-range effect of two-dimensional Coulomb potentials is quite strong, the properties of Brownian particles interacting with two-dimensional Coulomb potentials are remarkably different from those of Brownian particles interacting with Ruelle’s class interaction potentials. As an example, we prove that the interacting Brownian particles associated with the Ginibre random point field satisfy plural ISDEs.