Gadolinium‐Decorated Silica Microspheres as Redox‐Responsive MRI Probes for Applications in Cell Therapy Follow‐Up

The redox microenvironment within a cell graft can be considered as an indicator to assess whether the graft is metabolically active or hypoxic. We present a redox‐responsive MRI probe based on porous silica microparticles whose surface has been decorated with a Gd‐chelate through a disulphide bridge. Such microparticles are designed to be interspersed with therapeutic cells within a biocompatible hydrogel. The onset of reducing conditions within the hydrogel is paralleled by an increased clearance of Gd, that can be detected by MRI.     

微米级PS-PEDOT核壳型导电微球的合成与拉曼表征

以分散聚合法制备的微米级聚苯乙烯(PS)微球为模板、3,4-乙烯二氧噻吩(EDOT)为单体、过硫酸铵(APS)为引发剂,通过氧化聚合制备了PS-PEDOT核壳型复合导电微球。采用扫描电镜、透射电镜等对导电微球的形貌和结构进行了表征,重点采用拉曼光谱研究了其核壳结构特征。并研究了超声分散、溶液pH以及单体配比对导电微球形貌的影响。实验结果表明:超声的引入可提高导电微球的单分散性,改善微球的形貌。随着pH的降低或单体配比的增加,导电聚合物在PS微球表面的负载量随之增加,当m(EDOT)/m(PS)由0.60增加到1.25时,导电微球的平均粒径由1.76μm增加到1.91μm。     

Polymerizable Molecular Silsesquioxane Cage Armored Hybrid Microcapsules with In Situ Shell Functionalization

We prepared core–shell polymer–silsesquioxane hybrid microcapsules from cage‐like methacryloxypropyl silsesquioxanes (CMSQs) and styrene (St). The presence of CMSQ can moderately reduce the interfacial tension between St and water and help to emulsify the monomer prior to polymerization. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and TEM analysis demonstrated that uniform core–shell latex particles were achieved. The polymer latex particles were subsequently transformed into well‐defined hollow nanospheres by removing the polystyrene (PS) core with 1:1 ethanol/cyclohexane. High‐resolution TEM and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis showed that the final nanospheres possessed hollow cavities and had porous shells; the pore size was approximately 2–3 nm. The nanospheres exhibited large surface areas (up to 486 m² g^?1) and preferential adsorption, and they demonstrated the highest reported methylene blue adsorption capacity (95.1 mg g^?1). Moreover, the uniform distribution of the methacryloyl moiety on the hollow nanospheres endowed them with more potential properties. These results could provide a new benchmark for preparing hollow microspheres by a facile one‐step template‐free method for various applications.     

Immobilization of Antibodies on Magnetic Carbonaceous Microspheres for Selective Enrichment of Lysine‐acetylated Proteins and Peptides

Lysine acetylation is a dynamic and reversible modification, which has been proved to be a key posttranslational modification in cellular regulation. However, the low amounts of the acetylated proteins could hardly be detected before enrichment. In this study, for the first time, antibody‐immobilized magnetic carbonaceous microspheres were developed for selective enrichment of acetylated proteins and peptides. At first, standard proteins composed of acetylated bovine serum albumin, myoglobin, α‐casein and ovalbumin were used as model proteins to verify the enrichment efficiency. Then, the synthesized peptide was employed to confirm the selectivity of the method. Besides, the antibody‐immobilized magnetic particles were successfully applied to analyze mouse mitochondrial proteins. After database search, 29 acetylated sites in 26 proteins were identi?ed.     

Photopolymeritation of Methyl Methacrylate and Styrene by Sulfur Ylides

The photoinitiating ability of some sulfur ylides was studied. Diphenylsulfonium bis (methoxycarbony1)methylide (DPSY) could photoinitiate methyl methacrylate and styrene. A free radical mechanism was confirmed by a kinetic study, the inhibiting effect of benzoquinone, and the copolymer composition. From an analysis of the photodecomposition products it is suggested that the phenyl radical generated from the bond fission between the sulfur atom and the phenyl group participates in the initiation of this free radical polymerization. Methylphenylsulfonium bis (methoxycarbonyl) methylide, as well as DPSY, served as a photoinitiator, but dimethylsulfonium bis (methoxycarbony1)methylide did not. The differences are explained based on UV spectra.     

中空纳米二氧化硅复合微球的制备及其对蛋白的亲和分离

利用水热法合成了中空巯基纳米二氧化硅微球(SiO₂-SH), 然后在其表面修饰亚氨基二乙酸基团(-IDA), 形成了中空SiO₂-SH/IDA双功能化纳米微球。利用该纳米微球表面的-SH和-IDA双功能团, 可以更多的吸附溶液中的Ni²⁺, 形成SiO₂-SH/IDA-Ni²⁺复合微球从而可以更好的分离以六聚组氨酸为标签的(His-tagged)蛋白。结果显示制备的样品对分离His-tagged蛋白具有广谱性, 并且具有较好的再生能力。     

Rapid analysis of the essential oil components of dried Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim by Fe2O3‐magnetic‐microsphere‐assisted microwave distillation and simultaneous headspace single‐drop microextraction followed by GC–MS

In this work, microwave distillation assisted by Fe₂O₃ magnetic microspheres (FMMS) and headspace single‐drop microextraction were combined, and developed for determination of essential oil compounds in dried Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim (ZBM). The FMMS were used as microwave absorption solid medium for dry distillation of dried ZBM. Using the proposed method, isolation, extraction, and concentration of essential oil compounds can be carried out in a single step. The experimental parameters including extraction solvent, solvent volume, microwave power, irradiation time, and the amount of added FMMS, were studied. The optimal analytical conditions were: 2.0 μL decane as the extraction solvent, microwave power of 300 W, irradiation time of 2 min, and the addition of 0.1 g FMMS to ZBM. The method precision was from 4 to 10%. A total of 52 compounds were identified by the proposed method. The conventional steam distillation method was also used for the analysis of essential oil in dried ZBM and only 31 compounds were identified by steam distillation method. It was found that the proposed method is a simple, rapid, reliable, and solvent‐free technique for the determination of volatile compounds in Chinese herbs.