Urinary metabonomic study using a CUMS rat model of depression

Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) is a well‐validated model of depression. In this study, a urinary metabonomics method based on the NMR spectrometry was used to study the metabolic perturbation in CUMS‐induced rat depression model. With pattern recognition analysis, a clear separation of CUMS rats and healthy controls was achieved, and nine endogenous metabolites contributing to the separation were identified. CUMS‐treated rats were characterized by the increase of glycine, pyruvate, glutamine, and asparagines, as well as the decrease of 2‐oxoglutarate, dimethylglycine, citrate, succinate, and acetate. The urinary biochemical changes related to the metabolic disturbance in CUMS induced depression, and the possible correlations with live qi stagnation in traditional Chinese medicine are discussed. The work shows that CUMS is a reliable model for studying depression, and the noninvasive urinary metabolomic method is a valuable tool to investigate the biochemical pertubations in depression as an early diagnostic means. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Benzodifuran‐containing well‐defined π‐conjugated polymers for photovoltaic cells

Two well‐defined alternating π‐conjugated polymers containing a soluble electroactive benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]difuran (BDF) chromophore, poly(BDF‐(9‐phenylcarbazole)) (PBDFC), and poly(BDF‐benzothiadiazole) (PBDFBTD) were synthesized via Sonogashira copolymerizations. Their optical, electrochemical, and field‐effect charge transport properties were characterized and compared with those of the corresponding homopolymer PBDF and random copolymers of the same overall composition. All these polymers cover broad optical absorption ranges from 250 to 750 nm with narrow optical band gaps of 1.78–2.35 eV. Both PBDF and PBDFBTD show ambipolar redox properties with HOMO levels of ?5.38 and ?5.09 eV, respectively. The field‐effect mobility of holes varies from 2.9 × 10^?8 cm² V^?1 s^?1 in PBDF to 1.0 × 10^?5 cm² V^?1 s^?1 in PBDFBTD. Bulk heterojunction solar cell devices were fabricated using the polymers as the electron donor and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester as the electron acceptor, leading to power conversion efficiencies of 0.24–0.57% under air mass 1.5 illumination (100 mW cm^?2). These results indicate that their band gaps, molecular electronic energy levels, charge mobilities, and molecular weights are readily tuned by copolymerizing the BDF core with different π‐conjugated units. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of conjugated side chains polymers with different electron‐withdrawing and donating end groups

A series of novel low band gap polymers containing conjugated side chains with 4,7‐dithien‐5‐yl‐2,1,3‐benzodiathiazole and different electron‐withdrawing end groups of aldehyde ( PT‐DTBTCHO ), 2‐ethylhexyl cyanoacetate ( PT‐DTBTCN ), 1,3‐diethyl‐2‐thiobarbituric acid ( PT‐DTBTDT ), and electron‐donating end group of 2‐methylthiophene ( PT‐DTBTMT ) have been designed and synthesized. All polymers exhibit good solubility in common organic solvents, film‐forming ability, and thermal stability. These conjugated polymers show the broad ultraviolet‐visible absorption and the narrow optical band gaps in the range of 1.65–1.90 eV. Through changing the end group of conjugated side chains, the photophysical properties and energy levels of the polymers were tuned effectively. Bulk heterojunction solar cells based on the blend of these polymers and (6,6)‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) reached the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.72%. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Amperometric sensor for nitrite using a glassy carbon electrode modified with thionine functionalized MWCNTs/Au nanorods/SDS nanohybrids

A sensitive nitrite (NO₂^‐) biosensor was fabricated by using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Au nanorods, and thionine functionalized MWCNTs (TH‐f‐MWCNTs) nanohybrids modified glassy carbon electrode. TH was covalently immobilized on the MWCNTs via a carbodiimide reaction. Comparing with MWCNTs/GCE, TH‐f‐MWCNTs/GCE displays higher catalytic activity toward the oxidation of NO₂^‐, since TH not only promoted the electronic transmission but also could improve the concentration of NO₂^‐ at the surface of the modified electrode in acidic solutions. The Au nanorods (AuNRs) were prepared through a simple wet chemical method and were characterized by TEM. The extremely high surface‐to‐volume ratios associated with one dimension nanostructures make their electrical properties extremely sensitive to species adsorbed on surfaces and result in excellent sensitivity and selectivity. SDS displays excellent film forming ability, which made the electrode stable. Under optimal conditions, the linear range for the detection of nitrite was 0.26 to 51 μM, and the low detection limit was 20 nM. In addition, the modified electrode was successfully applied to determine nitrite in real water samples. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Syntheses,Crystal Structures,and Magnetic Properties of Three 1D Chain Metal–Nitroxide Complexes Bridged by ­Flexible Dicarboxylate Anions

Three new one‐dimensional (1D) chain metal–nitroxide complexes {[Cu(NIT4Py)₂(suc)(H₂O)] · 3H₂O}_n ( 1 ), {[Cd(NIT4Py)₂(suc)(H₂O)] · [Cd(NIT4Py)₂(suc)(H₂O)₂] · 3H₂O}_n ( 2 ), and {[Zn(NIT4Py)(glu)(H₂O)] · H₂O}_n ( 3 ) [NIT4Py = 2‐(4′‐pyridyl)‐4, 4, 5, 5‐tetramethylimidazoline‐1‐oxyl‐3‐oxide, suc = succinate anion and glu = glutarate anion] were synthesized and structurally characterized. Single‐crystal X‐ray analyses indicate that the three complexes crystallize in neutral 1D chains in which the metal‐nitroxide units are linked by flexible dicarboxylate anions. The succinate anions only adopt trans configuration in complexes 1 and 2 , whereas the glutarate anion has gauche/anti conformation in complex 3 . Magnetic measurements show that complex 1 exhibits weak antiferromagnetic interactions between the copper ions and the nitroxides.     

Two Supramolecular Nickel(II) Complexes: Syntheses,Crystal Structures and Solvent Effects

Two nickel(II) complexes, namely {[NiL(MeOH)(μ‐OAc)]₂Ni} · 2CH₂Cl₂ · 2MeOH ( 1 ) and {[NiL(EtOH)(μ‐OAc)]₂Ni} · 2EtOH ( 2 ) {H₂L = 5, 5′‐dimethoxy‐2, 2′‐[(ethylene)dioxybis(nitrilomethylidyne)]diphenol}, were synthesized and structurally characterized. Two trinuclear Ni^II complexes are both hexacoordinate around the central Ni^II atoms, showing octahedral coordination arrangements, and each complex comprises three divalent Ni^II atoms, two deprotonated L^2– ligands, in which four μ‐phenoxo oxygen atoms forming two [NiL(X)] (X = MeOH or EtOH) units, and coordinated and non‐coordinated solvent molecules. Complex 1 exhibits a 2D supramolecular network through intermolecular O–H ··· O, C–H ··· O and C–H ··· π interactions, whereas complex 2 forms an infinite 1D chain by intermolecular C–H ··· O hydrogen bonding interactions.     

Dependence of dielectric,ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties on crystalline properties of p(VDF‐co‐TrFE) copolymers

Thermal processing at various temperatures has been used to fabricate poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF‐co‐TrFE)] films with varied crystalline properties in an attempt to improve their piezoelectric properties. Although the dielectric constant of the films annealed at higher temperature is smaller than that of cooled and quenched ones, it has been shown that the annealed films possess larger crystallinity and stacked lamellar crystal grain size. The ferroelectric domains deriving from crystal region in all the samples are effectively improved by hot polarization. As a result, the remnant polarizations (P_r) and coercive electric field (E_c) of the corresponding films are improved at a low frequency due to the response of dipoles in crystal phase, and the largest piezoelectric constant in the longitudinal thickness mode (d₃₃=?25 pC/N) is obtained in an annealed copolymer film. The results illustrate improving the crystal structure of P(VDF‐co‐TrFE) is an effective way to realize high electromechanical properties, which provides broadly applied scenery for this kind of copolymer in piezoelectric components. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

2[(N-乙基)-1-吩噻嗪基]腙的合成及聚集荧光增强性能

以氮-氮单键连接2个吩噻嗪环构成共轭结构, 合成了2[(N-乙基)-1-吩噻嗪基]腙, 并对其进行了结构表征. 该化合物在四氢呋喃溶剂中呈分散态时无荧光; 在四氢呋喃/水混合溶剂中呈现聚集荧光增强. 荧光增强是由于聚集态中分子内单键旋转受分子堆积效应的阻碍, 氮-氮单键连接的2个吩噻嗪环趋于平面化以及J-聚集体形成的协同作用使非辐射跃迁减少所致. 同时, 利用这种聚集荧光增强性质考察了该化合物对血红蛋白的探针识别性能.     

R基团搜索技术用于PTH类Tau蛋白抑制剂的分子设计

对26个PTH类Tau蛋白抑制剂进行了Topomer CoMFA研究, 建立了拟合及预测能力良好的Topomer CoMFA模型, 获得的模型拟合、 交互验证及外部预测的复相关系数分别为0.976, 0.603和0.795, 估计标准偏差和Fisher验证值F分别为0.110和115.778. 使用ZINC化合物数据集作为结构片段源, 通过三维定量构效关系(3D-QSAR)模型搜索具有特定活性贡献的R基团. 以样本中活性最高的1号分子过滤, R₁和R₂贡献值均提高了20%的片段分别有9个与2个. 以此交替取代1号样本的R₁与R₂, 得到18个新颖化合物并预测其活性, 其中的15个预测活性值优于模板分子. 研究结果表明, Topomer search可有效地用于分子设计, 所设计的分子为阿尔茨海默病(AD)药物的研发提供了新的候选物.     

An efficient and facile synthesis of novel substituted pyrimidine derivatives: 4-amino-5-carbonitrile-2-nitroaminopyrimidine

One-pot, multicomponent reaction for the synthesis of novel substituted pyrimidine derivatives: 4-amino-5-carbonitrile-2-nitroaminopyrimidine from aromatic aldehydes, 1-nitroguanidine, and malononitrile under ethanol is described. Because of containing many active functional groups, such as amino, cyan and nitro, these products are important intermediate of organic synthesis. The advantages of this procedure include the short reaction time, mild reaction conditions, and excellent yields.