Microcalorimetric investigation of influence of cancerogenic and anticancerogenic compounds on nuclear chromatin of tumor cells

The influence of mitoxantron (M) and benz(a)pyrene (BP) on chromatin DNA in composition of spleen and liver tissues and cells of BALB/c mice were studied using a high-sensitive differential scanning microcalorimeter. It was established that BP can cause a) the specific breaks in inactive chromatin DNA chain and unfolding of the whole domain (a loop of chromatin) which should lead to uncontrolled genome activation; b) the breaks in the DNA double-helix creating short duplexes.M at low doses, interacting with naked linker DNA of tumor restores the chromatin structure, at high doses or at repeated injections,M causes the disturbance of chromatin structure.     

Regioselective synthesis and biological activity of oxidized chitosan derivatives

Oxidized chitosan derivatives with various degrees of oxidation (DS, 0.1–1.0) were prepared by the treatment of chitosan with CrO₃/aq HClO₄ or by the oxidation of ­3‐O‐ and N‐protected chitosan with 30% aq H₂O₂/Na₂WO₄ followed by 3‐O‐ and N‐deprotection. The oxidized products were then N‐acetylated with Ac₂O in order to improve their water‐solubility. Although the oxidized chitosan derivative of DS 0.28 and the degree of N‐acetylation of chitosan (DA) 38% was insoluble in the pH 3–8 region, that of DS 0.26 and DA 76% was soluble in the neutral pH range. The newly‐prepared acetylated and oxidized chitosan derivatives were found to suppress the chemiluminescence response of inflammatory cells such as canine polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs). Analysis by the surface plasmon resonance method revealed that the bind and release behavior of PMNs to acetylated oxidized chitosan derivatives was similar to that against carboxymethylated chitosan derivatives. The amount of water‐soluble chitosan derivative bound to cytokine IL‐8 was found to be affected by the structural and electronic features of the chitosan substituents in the chitosan chain. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

直接甲醇燃料电池阳极电催化剂

直接甲醇燃料电池作为未来清洁的动力能源，由于具有下列优点：操作温度低(<100℃)、燃料易储存和运输、能量效率高、污染低和燃料启动快而受到人们广泛的关注。阳极电催化剂是直接甲醇燃料电池最重要的组成部分。本文综述了近三年来直接甲醇燃料电池阳极电催化剂最新的研究进展，主要对催化剂制备方法、新型碳载体材料、催化剂类型作了详细的评述，展望了未来甲醇电催化氧化催化剂的发展，指出了电催化剂面临的问题。     

Differential Pulse Voltammetric Simultaneous Determination of Four Anti‐Inflammatory Drugs by Using Soft Modelling

An application of a partial least squares calibration method for the simultaneous voltammetric determination of indomethacin, acemethacin, piroxicam and tenoxicam is suggested. It was shown that it is possible to resolve complex mixtures of analytes even when they have strongly overlapped signals. In order to check the proposed method, statistical analysis of the results was performed by mean of hypothesis tests. The method developed was applied to the electrochemical reduction region of four anti‐inflammatory drugs and allowed the drugs to be quantified at concentrations between 0.52 and 4.09 μg mL^?1 for acemethacin, 0.44 and 3.50 μg mL^?1 for indomethacin, 0.43 and 3.40 μg mL^?1 for piroxicam, and 0.42 and 3.30 μg mL^?1 for tenoxicam with good results. The average absolute value of relative errors was 2.25%, 4.31%, 1.68% and 2.49%, respectively.     

Purification and Characterization of DNA Methylase From HL-60 Cells

A solid leukemia sarcoma has been successfully developed after subcutaneous inoculation of the cultured human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60 cells) into unde mice. The solid leukemia sarcoma is a more plantiful source than the cultured cells for enzymatic study and its growing environment is closer to that of the human body than the cultured cells.We establish an efficient procedure of purifying HL-60 cells DNA methylase which includes: disruption of HL-60 cells by homogenization and sonication, removing the cell fragments and cellular particles by centrifuge and ultracentrifuge (105.000 g); removing endogenous DNA by streptomycin sulfate, salting out by (NH4)2SO4, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose (DE-52), gel filtration over Sephadex G-100 column.The DNA methylase from HL-60 cells has been purified 204 fold by this procedure. The purified enzyme shows a single-band on PG-PAGE. A 479-kD molecular weight of this enzyme is measured by PG-PAGE. The enzyme properties of HL-60 DNA methylase     

Production and energetic use of biogas from energy crops and wastes in Germany

The production of biogas for reducing fossil CO₂ emissions is one of the key strategic issues of the German government and has resulted in the development of new process techniques and new technologies for the energetic use of biogas. Progress has been made in cultivating energy crops for biogas production, in using new reactor systems for anaerobic digestion, and in applying more efficient technologies for combined heat and power production. Recently, integration of fuel cells within the anaerobic digestion process was started, and new technologies for biogas upgrading and conversion to hydrogen were tested. This article describes the trends in Germany for achieving more efficient energy production.     

Effect of Arylmethylene Substitutions on Molecular Structure,Optoelectronic Properties and Photovoltaic Performance of Dithienocyclopentafluorene-Based Small-Molecule Acceptors

Two dithienocyclopentafluorene-based small-molecule acceptors (SMAs) were developed that feature methylene-functionalized conjugated side chains, to study the effect of arylmethylene substitution and its number on structure, optoelectronic properties and device performance. Results showed that two SMAs have better absorption properties and planarity, lower bandgaps and higher LUMOs compared with the control SMA without conjugated side chains. The synthesized SMAs were tested in polymer solar cells for examples of their applicability. This work argues that the introduction of methylene-functionalized conjugated side chains has great potential in tuning molecular structure, optoelectronic properties, device physics and photovoltaic performance of SMAs.     

Photovoltaic polymers based on difluoroqinoxaline units with deep HOMO levels

We report the synthesis of low bandgap polymers with a difluoroquinoxaline unit by Stille polymerization for use in polymer solar cells (PSCs). A new series of copolymers with 2,3‐didodecyl‐6,7‐difluoro quinoxaline as the electron‐deficient unit and alkyloxybenzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene and thiophene as the electron‐rich unit were synthesized. The photovoltaic properties of the devices based on the synthesized polymers revealed that the fluorine atoms at the quinoxaline units aid in decreasing the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels; this in turn increased the open circuit voltage of the devices. The polymers with long alkyl chains exhibited good solubility that increased their molecular weight, but the power conversion efficiency was low. Efficient polymer solar cells were fabricated by blending the synthesized copolymers with PC₇₁BM, and the PCE increased up to 5.11% under 100 mW cm⁻² AM 1.5 illumination. These results demonstrate that the importance of having a control polymer to be synthesized and characterized side by side with the fluorine analogues. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1489–1497     

Synthesis,characterization and biological screening studies of mixed ligand complexes using flavonoids as precursors

Flavonoids are a group of plant phenolics that provide various health benefits through cell signalling pathways and antioxidant effects. In the present study, a new series of mixed ligand complexes of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) were synthesized by incorporating curcumin and quercetin flavonoid precursors. The structural features of the synthesized complexes were explored using elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, UV–visible, infrared, NMR, mass and electron paramagnetic resonance spectral analyses and conductivity measurements. These data support an octahedral geometry of the synthesized complexes. In silico biological activity score for the ligand was predicted using PASS online software. ADMET properties were studied using VLS3D online software. Anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant activities were experimentally validated which prove that theoretical predictions are in agreement with the experimental results. Interestingly the synthesized complexes interact with calf thymus DNA through groove binding mode. Moreover, they have good potential to cleave pUC19 DNA. Minimum inhibitory concentration values of the synthesized complexes reveal that they have better antimicrobial efficacy than the ligands.     

Efficient organic photovoltaic cells based on thiazolothiazole and benzodithiophene copolymers with π‐conjugated bridges

New donor–π–acceptor (D–π–A) type conjugated copolymers, poly[(4,8‐bis((2‐hexyldecyl)oxy)benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene)‐alt‐(2,5‐bis(4‐octylthiophen‐2‐yl)thiazolo[5,4‐d]thiazole)] (PBDT‐tTz), and poly[(4,8‐bis((2‐hexyldecyl)oxy)benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene)‐alt‐(2,5‐bis(6‐octylthieno[3,2‐b]thiophen‐2‐yl)thiazolo[5,4‐d]thiazole)] (PBDT‐ttTz) were synthesized and characterized with the aim of investigating their potential applicability to organic photovoltaic active materials. While copolymer PBDT‐tTz showed a zigzagged non‐linear structure by thiophene π‐bridges, PBDT‐ttTz had a linear molecular structure with thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene π‐bridges. The optical, electrochemical, morphological, and photovoltaic properties of PBDT‐tTz and PBDT‐ttTz were systematically investigated. Furthermore, bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices were fabricated by using the synthesized polymers as p‐type donors and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester as an n‐type acceptor. PBDT‐ttTz showed a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.21% as a result of the extended conjugation arising from the thienothiophene π‐bridges and enhanced molecular ordering in the film state, while PBDT‐tTz showed a relatively lower PCE of 2.92% under AM 1.5 G illumination (100 mW/cm²). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1978–1988