Quinazoline Derivatives Designed as Efflux Pump Inhibitors: Molecular Modeling and Spectroscopic Studies

Multidrug resistance of bacteria is a worrying concern in the therapeutic field and an alternative method to combat it is designing new efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs). This article presents a molecular study of two quinazoline derivatives, labelled BG1189 and BG1190, proposed as EPIs. In silico approach investigates the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profile of BG1189 and BG1190 quinazolines. Molecular docking and predicted ADMET features suggest that BG1189 and BG1190 may represent attractive candidates as antimicrobial drugs. UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy was employed to study the time stability of quinazoline solutions in water or in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), in constant environmental conditions, and to determine the influence of usual storage temperature, normal room lighting and laser radiation (photostability) on samples stability. The effects of irradiation on BG1189 and BG1190 molecules were also assessed through Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. FTIR spectra showed that laser radiation breaks some chemical bonds affecting the substituents and the quinazoline radical of the compounds.     

Discovery of Novel Symmetrical 1,4-Dihydropyridines as Inhibitors of Multidrug-Resistant Protein (MRP4) Efflux Pump for Anticancer Therapy

Despite the development of targeted therapies in cancer, the problem of multidrug resistance (MDR) is still unsolved. Most patients with metastatic cancer die from MDR. Transmembrane efflux pumps as the main cause of MDR have been addressed by developed inhibitors, but early inhibitors of the most prominent and longest known efflux pump P-glycoprotein (P-gp) were disappointing. Those inhibitors have been used without knowledge about the expression of P-gp by the treated tumor. Therefore the use of inhibitors of transmembrane efflux pumps in clinical settings is reconsidered as a promising strategy in the case of the respective efflux pump expression. We discovered novel symmetric inhibitors of the symmetric efflux pump MRP4 encoded by the ABCC4 gene. MRP4 is involved in many kinds of cancer with resistance to anticancer drugs. All compounds showed better activities than the best known MRP4 inhibitor MK571 in an MRP4-overexpressing cell line assay, and the activities could be related to the various substitution patterns of aromatic residues within the symmetric molecular framework. One of the best compounds was demonstrated to overcome the MRP4-mediated resistance in the cell line model to restore the anticancer drug sensitivity as a proof of concept.     

Fracture behavior and mechanical,thermal, and rheological properties of biodegradable films extruded by flat die and calender

The development of biodegradable materials for tailored applications, particularly in the field of polymeric films and sheets, is a challenging technological goal as well as a contribution to help protect the environment. Poly(lactic) acid (PLA) is a promising substitute for several oil-based polymers; however, to overcome its thermal and mechanical drawbacks, researchers have developed solutions such as blending PLA with polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), which is capable of increasing the ductility of the final material. In this study, PLA/PBAT binary blends, with minimum possible content of nonrenewable materials, were examined from processing, thermal, morphological, and rheological perspective. An optimized PLA/PBAT ratio was chosen as the polymeric basis to obtain a biodegradable formulation by adding a biobased plasticizer and appropriate fillers to produce a micrometer film with tailored flexibility and tear resistance. The processing technology involved flat-die extrusion, followed by calendering. The tearing resistance of the produced film was investigated, and the results were compared with literature data. A study on the essential work of fracture was implemented to explore the mode III out-of-plane fracture resistance starting from a trouser tear test.     

TOF-SIMS imaging of chlorhexidine-digluconate transport in frozen hydrated biofilms of the fungus Candida albicans

The diffusion of the anti-microbial chlorhexidine digluconate (CHG) has been studied in C. albicans biofilms by time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). C. albicans has been shown to become resistant to common anti-microbial agents, including CHG, when growing as a biofilm. Mass transport resistance within biofilms has commonly been suggested as a resistance mechanism, but measurement of transport for most anti-microbial agents in biofilms has proven extremely difficult because of the heterogeneity of the biofilms and the difficulty in detecting these agents within an intact biofilm. In this study, TOF-SIMS has been used to study the transport of CHG and glucose in a frozen hydrated biofilm. The TOF-SIMS images reveal a progression of CHG from the top of the biofilm to its base with time. Images suggest that there are channels within the biofilm and show preferential binding of CHG to cellular components of the biofilm. Additionally, both living and dead cells can be identified in the TOF-SIMS images by the sequestration of K⁺ and the presence of cell markers. This study demonstrates that TOF-SIMS has the unique potential to simultaneously observe the presence of an antimicrobial agent, concentration of nutrients, and the viability of the cell population.     

Hydrophobicity-induced drying transition in alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer—water interface

During the course of our investigation of the electron transfer properties of some redox species through highly hydrophobic long chain alkanethiol molecules on gold in aqueous and non-aqueous solvents, we obtained some intriguing results such as unusually low interfacial capacitance, very high values of impedance and film resistance, all of which pointed to the possible existence of a nanometer size interfacial gap between the hydrophobic monolayer and aqueous electrolyte. We explain this phenomenon by a model for the alkanethiol monolayer—aqueous electrolyte interface, in which the extremely hydrophobic alkanethiol film repels water molecules adjacent to it and in the process creates a shield between the monolayer film and water. This effectively increases the overall thickness of the dielectric layer that is manifested as an abnormally low value of interfacial capacitance. This behaviour is very much akin to the ‘drying transition’ proposed by Lum, Chandler and Weeks in their theory of length scale dependent hydrophobicity. For small hydrophobic units consisting of apolar solutes, the water molecules can reorganize around them without sacrificing their hydrogen bonds. Since for an extended hydrophobic unit, the existence of hydrogen bonded water structure close to it is geometrically unfavourable, there is a net depletion of water molecules in the vicinity leading to the possible creation of a hydrophobic interfacial gap.     

离子束增强沉积VO2多晶薄膜的温度系数

用改进的离子束增强沉积方法和恰当的退火从V2O5粉末直接制备了VO2多晶薄膜.实验测试表明，薄膜的取向单一、相变特性显著、结构致密、界面结合牢固、工艺性能良好，薄膜的电阻温度系数（TCR）最高可达4.23%/K.从成膜机理出发，较详细地讨论了离子束增强沉积 VO2多晶薄膜的TCR高于VOx薄膜的TCR的原因.分析认为，单一取向的VO2结构使薄膜晶粒具有较高的电导激活能，致密的薄膜结构减少了氧空位和晶界宽度，使离子束增强沉积 VO2多晶薄膜结构比其他方法制备的VOx薄膜更接近于单晶VO2是其具有高TCR的原 关键词： VO2多晶薄膜 离子束增强沉积 热电阻温度系数     

高压下聚苯胺的结构和电性能研究

 以金刚石压腔高压装置为工具，用Ⅱ型金刚石作压砧兼红外窗口，对本征态聚苯胺进行了高压（0~8.4 GPa）就位红外光谱测试。结果表明：在4.8~5.2 GPa压力区间，代表醌环振动的吸收峰相对代表苯环振动的吸收峰变小，表明聚苯胺在此压力区间结构上发生了显著变化，且这种变化是不可逆的。聚苯胺的高压（0~14.5 GPa）电阻测量结果表明：当压力小于7.5 GPa时，电阻随压力升高而显著降低，据此认为聚苯胺为电子性导电物质；在7.5 GPa处电阻出现极小值，然后又缓慢升高，至10 GPa后基本不变。推测聚苯胺电阻极小值是由结构变化引起的。至于红外光谱与电阻测量结果反映聚苯胺结构变化的压力值不一致，可能是由于测试条件不同所致。     

用板式电势差计测量电池的电动势和内阻实验的改进

分析了在“用板式电势差计测量电池的电动势和内阻”实验中 ,由于待测干电池的电动势和内阻在实验过程中均不为恒定值而引起的误差 ,依据电化学理论和电阻构成解释了实验现象 ,并给出了实验改进方案 .     

Intrinsic thermal stability and quenching recovery of thin-film superconductors with thermal boundary resistance

The stability behaviour of a thin-film superconductor under a localized release of thermal disturbance is investigated. Two-dimensional conjugate film/substrate conduction equation with anisotropic thermal conductivity of the film, and Joule heat are employed to investigate effects of substrate and thermal properties on the intrinsic stability and quenching recovery. To consider the thermal boundary resistance between film and substrate, an interfacial-layer model (ILM) with very low diffusivity and an acoustic mismatch model (AMM) are employed. Results show that the thermal boundary resistance influences strongly the intrinsic stability. Thermal boundary resistance increases intrinsic stability if the thermal conductivity of the substrate or the disturbance energy is large. Higher Biot numbers and thermal conductivity ratios of film to substrate in longitudinal direction influence stability favorably. We demonstrate also that operation of a film/substrate system, such as YBCO/MgO, is either intrinsically stable or irrecoverably unstable.The authors wish to express their sincere appreciation to Dr. R. C. Chen for his invaluable advice and suggestions during the course of this paper. This research was supported by the National Science Council of the R. O. C. through grant NSC 83-0401-E-009-006. The computations were performed on the IBM ES/9000 at the National Center For High-Performance Computing.     

微通道板真空体电阻与Ⅱ代倒象微光管匹配关系的研究

国内研制的20/30Ⅱ代倒象微光管经常出现微通道板真空体电阻偏高或偏低的问题,直接影响Ⅱ代倒象微光管荧光屏的亮度和目标分辨力,严重影响微光管的质量。经过对20/30Ⅱ代倒象微光管的研制和理论分析,证明英国马拉德公司对用于××1383Ⅱ代倒象微光管的H36微通道板技术条件中真空体电阻技术指标的规定也存在一定的问题。本文从目前国内外工艺水平和有关文献资料的分析出发,进行专题研究。本文中所推导的计算公式和对文献资料提供的技术数据的推导分析,同样适用于其他型号微通道板的真空体电阻与相应Ⅱ代、Ⅲ代微光管匹配关系的计算与研究。