Ocular surface disturbance in patients after acute COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the ocular surface disturbances in COVID-19 patients discharged from the hospital. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-nine eyes of 109 healthy participants and 456 eyes of 228 post-COVID-19 patients received comprehensive eye examinations; the latter were interviewed with questionnaires on ocular symptoms before and after COVID-19 diagnosis. Associations of ocular surface manifestations with virological and ophthalmic parameters were evaluated by multivariable mixed linear or logistic regression models. RESULTS: Mean interval between COVID-19 diagnosis and ophthalmic evaluation was 52.23 ± 16.12 days. The severity of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) based on clinical staging was higher in post-COVID-19 than healthy eyes (1.14 ± 0.67 vs. 0.92 ± 0.68, p = 0.002) and so was ocular surface staining score (0.60 ± 0.69 vs. 0.49 ± 0.68, p = 0.044). Patients requiring supplementary oxygen during hospitalisation had shorter tear break-up time (ß -1.63, 95% CI -2.61 to -0.65). Cycle threshold (Ct) value from upper respiratory samples (inversely correlated with viral load) at diagnosis had an OR = 0.91 (95% CI 0.84-0.98) with new ocular surface symptoms 4 weeks after diagnosis. The presence of ocular surface symptoms 1 week prior to COVID-19 diagnosis showed an OR of 20.89 (95% CI 6.35-68.66) of persistent or new ocular symptoms 4 weeks afterward. CONCLUSIONS: MGD and ocular surface staining are more common and severe in post-COVID-19 patients. Patients with higher viral loads have greater risks of ocular surface symptoms. Patients requiring supplementary oxygen are more likely to show tear film instability. Ocular surface evaluation should be considered 1-3 months following hospital discharge for any COVID-19 patient.

In vitro effect of CTAB- and PEG-coated gold nanorods on the induction of eryptosis/erythroptosis in human erythrocytes.

Gold nanorods (Au-NRs) have attracted enormous interest due to their size and unique optical properties. Many studies have demonstrated their use in biomedical systems. However, their potential toxicity is not fully understood. This study evaluated the effects of the Au-NRs (15 nM × 64 nM) coated with CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) or PEG (polyethylene glycol) in human erythrocytes on the induction of haemolysis and erythroptosis. In our study, erythroptosis (also known as eryptosis) was determined systematically through the measurement of feature events of apoptosis by flow cytometry. We found that the CTAB- and PEG-coated Au-NRs up to 0.5 nM did not cause severe haemolysis. However, the CTAB-Au-NRs were more toxic than the PEG-Au-NRs. The toxicity of the CTAB-Au-NRs was largely due to the CTAB residues from desorption or incomplete purification. Mechanistically, cytosolic Ca(2+) ions seem to be the key mediator in the eryptosis/erythroptosis mediated by the CTAB or CTAB-Au-NRs while caspase-3 and reactive oxygen species did not contribute much to the process.

Functionally rigid and degenerate molecular shuttles.

The preparation and dynamic behavior of two functionally rigid and degenerate [2]rotaxanes (14 PF(6) and 24 PF(6)) in which a pi-electron deficient tetracationic cyclophane, cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) (CBPQT(4+)) ring, shuttles back and forth between two pi-electron-rich naphthalene (NP) stations by making the passage along an ethynyl-phenylene-(PH)-ethynyl or butadiyne rod, are described. The [2]rotaxanes were synthesized by using the clipping approach to template-directed synthesis, and were characterized by NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses. (1)H NMR spectra of both [2]rotaxanes show evidence for the formation of mechanically interlocked structures, resulting in the upfield shifts of the resonances for key protons on the dumbbell-shaped components. In particular, the signals for the peri protons on the NP units in the dumbbell-shaped components experienced significant upfield shifts at low temperatures, just as has been observed in the flexible [2]rotaxanes. Interestingly, the resonances for the same protons did not exhibit a significant upfield shift at 298 K, but rather only a modest shift. This phenomenon arises from the much reduced binding of the ethynyl-NP unit compared to the 1,5-dioxy-NP unit. This effect, in turn, increases the shuttling rate when compared to the 1,5-dioxy-NP-based rotaxane systems investigated previously. The kinetic and thermodynamic data of the shuttling behavior of the CBPQT(4+) ring between the NP units were obtained by variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy and using the coalescence method to calculate the free energies of activation (DeltaG(c) ( not equal)) of 9.6 and 10.3 kcal mol(-1) for 14 PF(6) and 24 PF(6), respectively, probed by using the rotaxane's alpha-bipyridinium protons. The solid-state structure of the free dumbbell-shaped compound (3) shows the fully rigid ethynyl-PH-ethynyl linker with a length (8.1 A) twice as long as that (3.8 A) of the butadiyne linker. Full-atomistic simulations were carried out with the DREIDING force field (FF) to probe the degenerate molecular shuttling processes, and afforded shuttling energy barriers (DeltaG( not equal)=10.4 kcal mol(-1) for 14 PF(6) and 24 PF(6)) that are in good agreement with the experimental values (DeltaG(c) ( not equal)=9.6 and 10.3 kcal mol(-1) for 14 PF(6) and 24 PF(6), respectively, probed by using their alpha-bipyridinium protons).

Toward electrochemically controllable tristable three-station [2]catenanes.

Encouraged by the prospect of producing an electrochemical, color-switchable red-green-blue (RGB) dye compound, we have designed, synthesized, and characterized two three-station [2]catenanes. Both are composed of macrocyclic polyethers containing three pi-electron-rich stations, which act as recognition sites for a pi-electron-deficient tetracationic cyclophane. The molecular structures of the two three-station [2]catenanes were characterized fully by mass spectrometry and 1H NMR spectroscopy. To anticipate the relative occupancies of the three stations in each [2]catenane by the cyclophane, model compounds with the same constitutions in the vicinity of the stations were synthesized. The relative ground-state populations of the three stations occupied in both [2]catenanes were estimated from the thermodynamic parameters for 1:1 complexes between all these model compounds and the cyclophane, obtained from isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The electrochemical and electromechanical properties of the three-station [2]catenanes were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and spectroelectrochemistry (SEC). The first three-station [2]catenane was found to behave like a bistable system, whereas the second can be described as a quasi-tristable system.

Design and optimization of molecular nanovalves based on redox-switchable bistable rotaxanes.

Redox-controllable molecular nanovalves based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been fabricated, using two bistable [2]rotaxanes with different spacer lengths between their recognition sites as the gatekeepers. Three different linkers with varying chain lengths have been employed to attach the bistable [2]rotaxane molecules covalently to the silica substrate. These nanovalves can be classified as having IN or OUT locations, based on the positions of the tethered bistable [2]rotaxanes with respect to the entrances to the nanopores. The nanovalves are more efficient when the bistable [2]rotaxane-based gatekeepers are anchored deep within (IN) the pores than when they are attached closer to (OUT) the pores' orifices. The silica nanopores can be closed and opened by moving the mechanically interlocked ring component of the bistable [2]rotaxane closer to and away from the pores' orifices, respectively, a process which allows luminescent probe molecules, such as coumarins, tris(2-phenylpyridine)iridium, and rhodamine B, to be loaded into or released from the mesoporous silica substrate on demand. The lengths of the linkers between the surface and the rotaxane molecules also play a critical role in determining the effectiveness of the nanovalves. The shorter the linkers, the less leaky are the nanovalves. However, the distance between the recognition units on the rod section of the rotaxane molecules does not have any significant influence on the nanovalves' leakiness. The controlled release of the probe molecules was investigated by measuring their luminescence intensities in response to ascorbic acid, which induces the ring's movement away from the pores' orifices, and consequently opens the nanovalves.

Functionally rigid bistable [2]rotaxanes.

Two-station [2]rotaxanes in the shape of a degenerate naphthalene (NP) shuttle and a nondegenerate monopyrrolotetrathiafulvalene (MPTTF)/NP redox-controllable switch have been synthesized and characterized in solution. Their dumbbell-shaped components are composed of polyether chains interrupted along their lengths by (i) two pi-electron-rich stations-two NP moieties or a MPTTF unit and a NP moiety-with (ii) a rigid arylethynyl or butadiynyl spacer situated between the two stations and terminated by (iii) flexibly tethered hydrophobic stoppers at each end of the dumbbells. This modification was investigated as a means to simplify both molecular structure and switching function previously observed in related bistable [2]rotaxanes with flexible spacers between their stations and incorporating a cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) (CBPQT4+) ring. The nondegenerate MPTTF-NP switch was isolated as near isomer-free bistable [2]rotaxane. Utilization of MPTTF removes the cis/trans isomerization that characterizes the tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) parent core structure. Furthermore, only one translational isomer is observed (> 95 < 5), surprisingly across a wide temperature range (198-323 K), meaning that the CBPQT4+ ring component resides, to all intents and purposes, predominantly on the MPTTF unit in the ground state. As a consequence of these two effects, the assignment of NMR and UV-vis data is more simplified as compared to previous donor-acceptor bistable [2]rotaxanes. This development has not only allowed for much better control over the position of the ring component in the ground state but also for control over the location of the CBPQT4+ ring during solution-state switching experiments, triggered either chemically (1H NMR) or electrochemically (cyclic voltammetry). In this instance, the use of the rigid spacer defines an unambiguous distance of 1.5 nm over which the ring moves between the MPTTF and NP units. The degenerate NP/NP [2]rotaxane was used to investigate the shuttling barrier by dynamic 1H NMR spectroscopy for the movement of the CBPQT4+ ring across the new rigid spacer. It is evident from these measurements that the rigid spacer poses a much lower barrier to the 1.0 nm movement of the CBPQT4+ ring from one station to another as compared with previous systems-a finding that is thought to be a result of the combination of fewer favorable interactions between the spacer and the CBPQT4+ ring and a relatively unimpeded path between the two NP stations. This example augers well for exploiting rigidity during the development of well-defined bistable [2]rotaxanes, which are unencumbered by the excesses of structural conformations that have characterized the first generations of molecular switches based on the donor-acceptor recognition motif.

Template-directed one-step synthesis of cyclic trimers by ADMET.

A trifurcated template, containing three secondary dialkylammonium ion recognition sites for encirclement by a dibenzo [24]crown-8-containing acyclic diene, is used to promote acyclic diene metatheses (ADMET) catalyzed by ruthenium-alkylidene complexes, affording a cyclic trimer in 55% yield. Following this one-step, threefold ADMET reaction, the resulting cyclic trimer was isolated by preparative HPLC and characterized by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

Supramolecular self-assembly of dendronized polymers: reversible control of the polymer architectures through acid-base reactions.

Acid-base switchable supramolecular dendronized polyacetylenes (DPAs) with increasing steric bulk on going from generation one [G1] to three [G3], were constructed using multiple self-assembly processes between Fréchet-type [G1]-[G3]-dendritic dialkylammonium salts and a dibenzo[24]crown-8-containing polymer. The formation of the supramolecular systems is acid-base switchable to either an ON (rodlike dendronized polymers) or an OFF (flexible polymers) state. Thus, by controlling the superstructures of the supramolecular polymers with the [G1]-[G3] dendrons, it is possible to induce conformational changes within the polymer backbones. The supramolecular dendronized polymers, as well as their threading-dethreading properties, were characterized by (1)H NMR and UV absorption spectroscopies, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and light scattering (LS). Independent measures of molecular weight (GPC, LS) indicate that DPAs behave as increasingly rigid macromolecules with each generation in solution. Molecular dynamics simulations of each DPA suggest that the lengths of the polymer backbones increase accordingly. Atomic force microscopy of the [G3]-dendronized polystyrene (DPS), as well as the DPAs, reveal surface morphologies indicative of aggregated superstructures.

Construction of a pH-driven supramolecular nanovalve.

[Structure: see text] The versatility of supramolecular chemistry has been exploited in constructing nanovalves based on mesoporous silica MCM-41 and the mutual recognition between secondary dialkylammonium ions and dibenzo[24]crown-8 (DB24C8). Naphthalene-containing dialkylammonium threads were tethered to the MCM-41, followed by loading with coumarin 460 and capping with DB24C8. Controlled release of coumarin 460 from the pores of MCM-41 was demonstrated using different bases. The rate of release of coumarin 460 from the nanovalves depends on the size of the base.

Self-assembly with block copolymers through metal coordination of SCS-Pd(II) pincer complexes and pseudorotaxane formation.

Poly(norbornene)-based block copolymers containing side chains of palladated pincer complexes/dibenzo[24]crown-8 or palladated pincer complexes/dibenzylammonium salts were synthesized. Noncovalent functionalization was accomplished with their corresponding recognition units through simple 1:1 addition with association constants (Ka) greater than 10(5) m(-1). The self-assembly processes were monitored by using both 1H NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry. In all cases, we found that the self-assembly of the recognition units along each polymer block does not preclude the self-assembly processes along the other block.

Template-directed olefin cross metathesis.

[reaction: see text] A template containing two secondary dialkylammonium ion recognition sites for encirclement by olefin-bearing dibenzo[24]crown-8 derivatives has been used to promote olefin cross metatheses with ruthenium-alkylidene catalysts. For monoolefin monomers, the rates of metatheses and yields of the dimers are both amplified in the presence of the template. Likewise, for a diolefin monomer, the yield of the dimer is enhanced in the presence of the template under conditions where higher oligomers are not formed.

Template-directed dynamic synthesis of mechanically interlocked dendrimers.

The versatility and efficiency of dynamic covalent chemistry (DCC) has been exploited in the convergent synthesis of mechanically interlocked dendrimers that are based upon the mutual recognition expressed between secondary dialkylammonium ions and crown ether-like macrocycles. Reversible imine bond formation is employed to clip two acyclic fragments, one of them a diformylpyridine unit bearing a dendritic side chain, and the other a complementary dianiline in the shape of the di(o-aminophenyl)ether of tetraethylene glycol, around each arm of a tritopic trisammonium ion core, thereby affording a branched [4]rotaxane. This template-directed strategy has been demonstrated to work in very high yields (>90%) with successive generations (G0-G2) of a modified Fréchet-type dendritic wedge attached to the 4-position of the diformylpyridine unit. Reduction of these dynamic dendritic systems is achieved upon treatment with borane.THF and results in kinetically stable compounds. The inherent modularity of the overall process should allow for the rapid and straightforward access to many other analogous mechanically interlocked systems in which either the branched core or the dendritic periphery can be modified to suit the needs of any given application of these molecules. Indeed, the dynamic nature of the initial thermodynamically mediated assembly could be utilized in order to amplify particular products from a potential library as a result of a selective recognition process.

Molecular cloning, characterization, and expression of a cDNA coding Copper/Zinc superoxide dismutase from black porgy.

A full-length complementary DNA (cDNA) clone encoding a putative copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) was amplified by a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) based technique from cDNA synthesized from black porgy, Acanthopagrus schlegeli, mRNA. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this cDNA clone revealed that it comprised a complete open reading frame coding for 154 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence showed slightly higher identity (72.8-78.1%) with shark and swordfish Cu/Zn-SOD than with Cu/Zn-SOD from mammalian (68.1-70.7%) and plant (55.5-56.5%) sources. The residues required for coordinating copper and zinc are conserved as they are among all reported Cu/Zn-SOD sequences. The deduced amino acid sequence lacks mitochondria targeting sequence, which suggests that the black porgy cDNA clone encodes a cytosolic Cu/Zn-SOD. The coding region of Cu/Zn-SOD from black porgy was introduced into an expression vector, pET-20b(+), and transformed into Escherichia coli AD494(DE3)pLysS. A predominant achromatic zone was detected by activity staining of native PAGE. This indicates that the Cu/Zn-SOD cDNA clone can express active Cu/Zn-SOD enzyme in E. coli.

Cloning and expression of a cDNA coding for catalase from zebrafish (Danio rerio).

A full-length complementary DNA (cDNA) clone encoding a catalase was amplified by the rapid amplication of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction (RACE-PCR) technique from zebrafish (Danio rerio) mRNA. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this cDNA clone revealed that it comprised a complete open reading frame coding for 526 amino acid residues and that it had a molecular mass of 59 654 Da. The deduced amino acid sequence showed high similarity with the sequences of catalase from swine (86.9%), mouse (85.8%), rat (85%), human (83.7%), fruit fly (75.6%), nematode (71.1%), and yeast (58.6%). The amino acid residues for secondary structures are apparently conserved as they are present in other mammal species. Furthermore, the coding region of zebrafish catalase was introduced into an expression vector, pET-20b(+), and transformed into Escherichia coli expression host BL21(DE3)pLysS. A 60-kDa active catalase protein was expressed and detected by Coomassie blue staining as well as activity staining on polyacrylamide gel followed electrophoresis.