Molecular Hybridization Strategy on the Design,Synthesis, and Structural Characterization of Ferrocene-N-acyl Hydrazones as Immunomodulatory Agents

Immunomodulatory agents are widely used for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases, but the range of side effects of the available drugs makes necessary the search for new immunomodulatory drugs. Here, we investigated the immunomodulatory activity of new ferrocenyl-N-acyl hydrazones derivatives (SintMed(141–156). The evaluated N-acyl hydrazones did not show cytotoxicity at the tested concentrations, presenting CC₅₀ values greater than 50 µM. In addition, all ferrocenyl-N-acyl hydrazones modulated nitrite production in immortalized macrophages, showing inhibition values between 14.4% and 74.2%. By presenting a better activity profile, the ferrocenyl-N-acyl hydrazones SintMed149 and SintMed150 also had their cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory effect evaluated in cultures of peritoneal macrophages. The molecules were not cytotoxic at any of the concentrations tested in peritoneal macrophages and were able to significantly reduce (p < 0.05) the production of nitrite, TNF-α, and IL-1β. Interestingly, both molecules significantly reduced the production of IL-2 and IFN-γ in cultured splenocytes activated with concanavalin A. Moreover, SintMed150 did not show signs of acute toxicity in animals treated with 50 or 100 mg/kg. Finally, we observed that ferrocenyl-N-acyl hydrazone SintMed150 at 100 mg/kg reduced the migration of neutrophils (44.6%) in an acute peritonitis model and increased animal survival by 20% in an LPS-induced endotoxic shock model. These findings suggest that such compounds have therapeutic potential to be used to treat diseases of inflammatory origin.     

In Situ Dispersion of Palladium on TiO2 During Reverse Water–Gas Shift Reaction: Formation of Atomically Dispersed Palladium

The application of single‐atom catalysts (SACs) to high‐temperature hydrogenation requires materials that thermodynamically favor metal atom isolation over cluster formation. We demonstrate that Pd can be predominantly dispersed as isolated atoms onto TiO₂ during the reverse water–gas shift (rWGS) reaction at 400 °C. Achieving atomic dispersion requires an artificial increase of the absolute TiO₂ surface area by an order of magnitude and can be accomplished by physically mixing a precatalyst (Pd/TiO₂) with neat TiO₂ prior to the rWGS reaction. The in situ dispersion of Pd was reflected through a continuous increase of rWGS activity over 92 h and supported by kinetic analysis, infrared and X‐ray absorption spectroscopies and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The thermodynamic stability of Pd under high‐temperature rWGS conditions is associated with Pd‐Ti coordination, which manifests upon O‐vacancy formation, and the artificial increase in TiO₂ surface area.     

Continuous Bulk Process for the Production of High‐Impact Polystyrene: Recent Developments in Modeling and Control

This work presents (in a wider perspective), some of our recent developments in the mathematical modeling and control of bulk polymerization for the production of HIPS. The recent model by Casís assumes the polymerization to be heterogeneous, and it calculates (in two phases) the global molecular structure of the three polymeric components of HIPS (free polystyrene, unreacted polybutadiene, and graft copolymer). At present, a model is being developed capable of estimating the average particle morphology (salami or core‐shell). Assuming a continuous bulk HIPS process as homogeneous, Luciani estimated the evolution of the MFI of the final product during changes of grade, with the aim of minimizing the intermediate off‐spec product. Finally, an unpublished simulation is presented that describes the transitions between the steady state of a HIPS‐grade and that of a general‐purpose polystyrene.

     

Prediction of properties of biodiesel-diesel blends using spectrofluorimetry and multivariate calibration

Regressions based on fluorescence spectroscopy were developed to provide relatively inexpensive and rapid measurements of the concentration, viscosity, and specific gravity of biodiesel-diesel blends. The methods involved obtaining a mathematical model from spectrofluorimetric data and data from a given property (concentration, dynamic viscosity, or specific gravity) using partial least squares (PLS) regression, which was then applied as a model for predicting properties of interest. The predicted concentrations, dynamic viscosities, and specific gravities of the biodiesel-diesel blends were compared with actual values and agreed reasonably well with the obtained results. The models showed high correlation between real and predicted values. The R-square values near 1 indicated excellent model accuracy for predicting concentrations, specific gravities, and dynamic viscosities of biodiesel-diesel blends. The residual distribution did not follow a trend with respect to the predicted variables, indicating an excellent fit to the data.      

Total synthesis of the potent antitumor polyketide (-)-callystatin A

A highly convergent and efficient total synthesis of the potent antitumor polyketide (-)-callystatin A is described. The synthesis required 19 steps from N-propionyl oxazolidinone 23 and produced the desired product in 3.5% overall yield.     

Tailoring Lewis/Brønsted acid properties of MOF nodes via hydrothermal and solvothermal synthesis: simple approach with exceptional catalytic implications

The Lewis/Brønsted catalytic properties of the Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) nodes can be tuned by simply controlling the solvent employed in the synthetic procedure. In this work, we demonstrate that Hf-MOF-808 can be prepared from a material with a higher amount of Brønsted acid sites, via modulated hydrothermal synthesis, to a material with a higher proportion of unsaturated Hf Lewis acid sites, via modulated solvothermal synthesis. The Lewis/Brønsted acid properties of the resultant metallic clusters have been studied by different characterization techniques, including XAS, FTIR and NMR spectroscopies, combined with a DFT study. The different nature of the Hf-MOF-808 materials allows their application as selective catalysts in different target reactions requiring Lewis, Brønsted or Lewis–Brønsted acid pairs.

The Brønsted/Lewis acid properties of Hf-MOF-808 can be tuned by simply controlling the solvent employed in its synthesis, with direct catalytic implications on the activity and selectivity of organic reactions sensitive to the active site nature.     

Selective Targeting of Lymphoma Cells by Monoclonal Antibody Grafted onto Zwitterionic-Functionalized Nanoparticles

Nanomedicine is considered a promising alternative to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. Particularly, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) has enabled the encapsulation of highly toxic anticancer drugs, facilitated ultimate targeting, and allowed tailoring of drug delivery. However, when in biological fluids, these NPs are coated by proteins which hide the targeting moieties and suppress the engineered biological outcome. Herein, how the Ki-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) can preserve its targetability through grafting on the surface of zwitterionic-functionalized nanoparticles, is unveiled. Zwitterions, known for their stealth ability, are used to minimize unspecific NPs protein adsorption and consequently maintain mAb functionality. In this work, Ki-1 mAb is used as it recognizes TNFRSF8 (CD30⁺) transmembrane protein overexpressed on CD30⁺ lymphoma cells such as L540 cells. While nonfunctionalized NPs show negligible toxic effects toward L540 cells, the Ki-1-functionalized structure demonstrates cytotoxicity, since they undergo cellular uptake, suggesting a receptor-mediated internalization. This dual-functionalization strategy provides a promising multifunctional nanoplatform toward future personalized medicine applications, minimizing unspecific protein adsorption on NPs and ensuring selective cancer cell targeting.     

Direct multielement determination of Cd,Pb, Fe,and Mn in ground coffee samples using energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry

An analytical method was proposed for the quantification of Cd, Pb, Mn, and Fe in ground coffee samples using energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. External calibration was possible using the coffee matrix itself as standards with samples previously analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The ground coffee samples were analyzed in the form of pellets, which were placed in the center of the EDXRF measuring cell for the determination of the analytes. The limits of detection were 62, 55, 86, and 76 μg/kg for Cd, Pb, Fe, and Mn, respectively. Good linearities were obtained for the calibration curves with coefficients of correlation (R) of 0.9959 for Cd, 0.9939 for Pb, 0.9929 for Fe, and 0.9909 for Mn. Precision, evaluated as the relative standard deviation (RSD) of 10 independent measurements of different cataloged samples with an approximate concentration of 400 μg/kg for each analyte, was between 6 and 14% (n = 10), demonstrating that the preparation of the samples in form of pellets was sufficient to perform analyses by EDXRF. The proposed method was applied in the determination of Cd, Pb, Fe, and Mn in ground coffee samples collected in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. In a parallel comparative procedure, coffee samples were also analyzed by ICP OES after sample pretreatment by acid digestion. A paired Student's t test was carried out (confidence level of 95%, n = 5) and no significant difference was observed between the concentrations obtained by the proposed and comparative methods.     

New aspects of the repair and genotoxicity of psoralen photoinduced lesions in DNA.

Several approaches are described aiming at a better understanding of the genotoxicity of psoralen photoinduced lesions in DNA. Psoralens can photoinduce different types of photolesions including 3,4- and 4',5'-monoadducts and interstrand cross-links, oxidative damage (in the case of 3-carbethoxypsoralen (3-CPs)) and even pyrimidine dimers (in the case of 7-methylpyrido(3,4-c)psoralen (MePyPs)). The characterization and detection of different types of lesions has been essential for the analysis of their possible contributions to genotoxicity. For example, oxidative damage photoinduced by 3-CPs can be detected by the formamidopyrimidine glycosylase (FPG) protein. Furthermore, it is shown how the presence of MePyPs induced monoadducts may interfere with the photoreactivation of concomitantly induced pyrimidine dimers, how the ratio of monoadducts and interstrand cross-links (CL) affects the occurrence of double-strand breaks during the repair of photolesions and genotoxicity. In vitro treatment of yeast plasmids, followed by transformation, also indicates that the repair of photoadducts on exogenous DNA differs for 8-methoxy-psoralen (8-MOP) induced mono- and diadducts and for monoadducts alone. The recombinational rad52 dependent pathway is not needed for the repair of 8-MOP induced monoadducts. The results obtained suggest that the genotoxic effects of psoralens are conditioned by the nature, number, ratio and sequence distribution of the photolesions induced in DNA.