Elasticity in Macrophage‐Synthesized Biocrystals

Supramolecular crystalline assembly constitutes a rational approach to bioengineer intracellular structures. Here, biocrystals of clofazimine (CFZ) that form in vivo within macrophages were measured to have marked curvature. Isolated crystals, however, showed reduced curvature suggesting that intracellular forces bend these drug crystals. Consistent with the ability of biocrystals to elastically deform, the inherent crystal structure of the principal molecular component of the biocrystals—the hydrochloride salt of CFZ (CFZ‐HCl)—has a corrugated packing along the (001) face and weak dispersive bonding in multiple directions. These characteristics were previously found to be linked to the elasticity of other organic crystals. Internal stress in bent CFZ‐HCl led to photoelastic effects on the azimuthal orientation of polarized light transmittance. We propose that elastic, intracellular crystals can serve as templates to construct functional microdevices with different applications.     

Group 6 metal carbonyl complexes of 3′H-spiro[indole-3,2′-[1,3]benzothiazole-2(1H)]-one

The spiro-compound 3′H-spiro[indole-3,2′-[1,3]benzothiazole-2(1H)-one (IBTH₂) was synthesized and its structure was determined using spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, ¹H NMR and mass) and X-ray crystallography. This ligand possesses different centers for coordination. Reactions of [M(CO)₆], M = Cr, Mo or W with IBTH₂ in THF under reduced pressure were studied. For chromium a complex with molecular formula [Cr(ITP)₂] was isolated; where ITP is the opened form of the ligand which occurred through C_spiro–S bond, while [Mo(CO)₅(IBTH₂)] and [W(CO)₅(IBTH₂)] were isolated from the reaction of IBTH₂ with molybdenum and tungsten carbonyls, respectively. All complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, mass and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The biological activity of the ligand and its complexes were studied and compared with the parent compound isatin.     

Intracellular Delivery of Functional Native Antibodies under Hypoxic Conditions by Using a Biodegradable Silica Nanoquencher

Antibodies are important biopharmaceuticals, but almost all existing antibody‐based drugs are limited to targeting antigens located at the cell exterior because of the inability of antibodies to enter the cell interior. Available methods for intracellular delivery of antibodies have major shortcomings. Herein, we report an approach to encapsulate native antibodies in a biodegradable silica nanoquencher (BS‐qNP), which could undergo efficient cellular uptake and intracellular degradation to release antibodies only under hypoxic conditions. By coating the surface of BS‐qNP with cell‐penetrating poly(disulfide)s (CPD), the delivered antibodies (or other proteins) avoided endolysosomal trapping. Doping of the silica coating with a fluorescent dye and a dark hole quencher further endowed BS‐qNP with hypoxia‐responsive fluorescence turn‐on property. Our antibody delivery system thus provides the first platform capable of stable encapsulation, efficient uptake, on‐demand antibody release, and imaging of release/cell state.     

Design of the low energy beam transport line for the China spallation neutron source

The design of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) low-energy beam transport (LEBT) line, which locates between the ion source and the radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ), has been completed with the TRACE3D code. The design aims at perfect matching, primary chopping, a small emittance growth and sufficient space for beam diagnostics. The line consists of three solenoids, three vacuum chambers, two steering magnets and a pre-chopper. The total length of LEBT is about 1.74 m. This LEBT is designed to transfer 20 mA of H-pulsed beam from the ion source to the RFQ. An induction cavity is adopted as the pre-chopper.The electrostatic octupole steerer is discussed as a candidate. A four-quadrant aperture for beam scraping and beam position monitoring is designed.     

Bounds on the magnetic moment of the τ-neutrino via the process e+e-→v(v)γ

Using Breit-Wigner resonance relation,bounds on the magnetic moment of the tau-neutrino are calculated through the reaction e+e-→v(v)γ at the neutral boson pole in the framework of a superstringinspired E6 model which has one extra low-energy neutral gauge boson and a LRSM.