The Role of Radical Bridges in Polynuclear Single-Molecule Magnets

Employing radical bridges between anisotropic metal ions has been a viable route to achieve high-performance single-molecule magnets (SMMs). While the bridges have been mainly considered for their ability to promote exchange interactions, the crystal-field effect arising from them has not been taken into account explicitly. This lack of consideration may distort the understanding and limit the development of the entire family. To shed light on this aspect, herein we report a theoretical investigation of a series of N -radical-bridged diterbium complexes. It is found that while promoting strong exchange coupling between the terbium ions, the N -radical induces a crystal field that interferes destructively with that of the outer ligands, and thus reduces the overall SMM behavior. Based on the theoretical results, we conclude that the SMM behavior in this series could be further maximized if the crystal field of the outer ligands is designed to be collinear with that of the radical bridge. This conclusion can be generalized to all exchange-coupled SMMs.     

Flow-induced shear stress and deformation of a core–shell-structured microcapsule in a microchannel

A numerical model was developed and validated to investigate the fluid–structure interactions between fully developed pipe flow and core–shell-structured microcapsule in a microchannel. Different flow rates and microcapsule shell thicknesses were considered. A sixth-order rotational symmetric distribution of von Mises stress over the microcapsule shell can be observed on the microcapsule with a thinner shell configuration, especially at higher flow rate conditions. It is also observed that when being carried along in a fully developed pipe flow, the microcapsule with a thinner shell tends to accumulate stress at a higher rate compared to that with a thicker shell. In general, for the same microcapsule configuration, higher flow velocity would induce a higher stress level over the microcapsule shell. The deformation gradient was used to capture the microcapsule's deformation in the present study. The effect of Young's modulus on the microcapsule shell on the microcapsule deformation was investigated as well. Our findings will shed light on the understanding of the stability of core–shell-structured microcapsule when subjected to flow-induced shear stress in a microfluidic system, enabling a more exquisite control over the breakup dynamics of drug-loaded microcapsule for biomedical applications.     

Anti-fibrosis attributes: UHPLC-MS/MS-based pharmacokinetics profiling of a novel autotaxin inhibitor with excellent in vivo efficacy in rat

3,4-Difluorobenzyl(1-ethyl-5-(4-((4-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl)-methyl)thiazol-2-yl)-1H-indol-3-yl)carbamate (NAI59), a small molecule with outstanding therapeutic effectiveness to anti-pulmonary fibrosis, was developed as an autotaxin inhibitor candidate compound. To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and plasma protein binding of NAI59, a UPLC–MS/MS method was developed to quantify NAI59 in plasma and phosphate-buffered saline. The calibration curve linearity ranged from 9.95 to 1990.00 ng/mL in plasma. The accuracy was −6.8 to 5.9%, and the intra- and inter-day precision was within 15%. The matrix effect and recovery, as well as dilution integrity, were within the criteria. The chromatographic and mass spectrometric conditions were also feasible to determine phosphate-buffered saline samples, and it has been proved that this method exhibits good precision and accuracy in the range of 9.95–497.50 ng/mL in phosphate-buffered saline. This study is the first to determine the pharmacokinetics, absolute bioavailability, and plasma protein binding of NAI59 in rats using this established method. Therefore, the pharmacokinetic profiles of NAI59 showed a dose-dependent relationship after oral administration, and the absolute bioavailability in rats was 6.3%. In addition, the results of protein binding showed that the combining capacity of NAI59 with plasma protein attained 90% and increased with the increase in drug concentration.     

Unconventional Secondary Structure Mimics: Ladder-Rungs

Secondary structures tend to be recognizable because they have repeating structural motifs, but mimicry of these does not have to follow such well-defined patterns. Bioinformatics studies to match side-chain orientations of a novel hydantoin triazole chemotype ( 1 ) to protein-protein interfaces revealed it tends to align well across parallel and antiparallel sheets, like rungs on a ladder. One set of these overlays was observed for the protein-protein interaction uPA⋅uPAR. Consequently, chemotype 1 was made with appropriate side-chains to mimic uPA at this interface. Biophysical assays indicate these compounds did in fact bind uPAR, and elicit cellular responses that affected invasion, migration, and wound healing.     

高陡横坡段桩柱式桥梁双桩基础受力分析

基于高陡横坡段桩柱式桥梁双桩基础承载特性,提出了一种改进有限杆单元计算分析方法.分析了高陡横坡段桩柱式桥梁双桩基础承载机理及受力特性,建立了双桩基础计算分析模型.其次,根据前、后桩与边坡相对位置关系,给出了后桩所受剩余下滑力与前桩所受土压力的比例关系.在传统有限杆单元分析方法基础上,结合陡坡桩受力特征,导得了考虑桩土共同作用与"P-Δ"效应的单元刚度矩阵修正方法,并在此基础上编制了适用于高陡横坡段桩柱式桥梁双桩基础的有限杆单元分析MATLAB计算程序.采用室内模型试验对本文计算方法进行验证,给出了适用于陡坡段桥梁桩基的设计流程图.研究结果表明:本文理论计算值与模型试验实测结果吻合良好,表明本文计算方法正确可行,可为同类工程设计提供参考.     

Functional Binding Surface of a β‐Hairpin VEGF Receptor Targeting Peptide Determined by NMR Spectroscopy in Living Cells

In this study, the functional interaction of HPLW peptide with VEGFR2 (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2) was determined by using fast ¹⁵N‐edited NMR spectroscopic experiments. To this aim, ¹⁵N uniformly labelled HPLW has been added to Porcine Aortic Endothelial Cells. The acquisition of isotope‐edited NMR spectroscopic experiments, including ¹⁵N relaxation measurements, allowed a precise characterization of the in‐cell HPLW epitope recognized by VEGFR2.     

一种三维DNA构象的交互式参数化模拟方法

提出一种适用于移动平台的交互式参数化DNA三维动态模拟方法.依据不同的DNA模式参数,利用基于自然特征的AR识别技术和曲线,直观形象地展示DNA的多种三维构象,动态模拟碱基互补配对、碱基对边堆叠边螺旋、 DNA复制的边解旋边半保留半不连续复制等微观过程.研发DNA三维动态模拟原型系统,实验结果表明,通过视、听、触、实物等多通道交互,有利于用户随时随地自主使用,增强用户对DNA知识的理解、掌握,引导用户进行更深层次的思考,提高知识的传递效率.