Intrapericardial bronchogenic cyst found incidentally during open heart surgery.

Bronchogenic cysts are embryological remnants occurring as developmental abnormalities of the primary foregut. The most common locations of these cysts are the mediastinum, lung parenchyma, and inferior pulmonary ligament. An intrapericardial location is an extremely rare finding. We describe the case of a 76-year-old man with aortic valve stenosis and coronary artery disease, in whom an intrapericardial bronchogenic cyst was found incidentally during the open heart procedure.

Symmetry requirements for effective blocking of pore-forming toxins: comparative study with alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrin derivatives.

We compared the abilities of structurally related cationic cyclodextrins to inhibit Bacillus anthracis lethal toxin and Staphylococcus aureus α-hemolysin. We found that both ß- and γ-cyclodextrin derivatives effectively inhibited anthrax toxin action by blocking the transmembrane oligomeric pores formed by the protective antigen (PA) subunit of the toxin, whereas α-cyclodextrins were ineffective. In contrast, α-hemolysin was selectively blocked only by ß-cyclodextrin derivatives, demonstrating that both symmetry and size of the inhibitor and the pore are important.

Synthesis, characterization, and remarkable biological properties of cyclodextrins bearing guanidinoalkylamino and aminoalkylamino groups on their primary side.

The introduction of aminoalkylamino and guanidinoalkylamino substituents on the primary side of beta- and gamma-cyclodextrin (CDs) resulted in a series of novel compounds that were extensively characterized by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Bromination of the primary side of beta- and gamma-CD, and reaction with neat alkylene diamines at a pressure of 7 atm afforded aminoalkylamino derivatives that were then guanylated at the primary amino group to give the corresponding guanidinoalkylamino-CDs. These compounds are water soluble and display pK(a) values that allow them to be mostly protonated at neutral pH; for example, pK(a(1)) approximately 6.4 and pK(a(2)) approximately 9.5 for the aminoethylamino-beta-CD and pK(a(1)) approximately 7.8 and pK(a(2)) approximately 11.0 for the guanidinoethylamino-beta-CD. The title CDs are rigid, cyclic alpha-D-glucopyranose oligomers (heptamers or octamers) with branches that resemble lysine and arginine side chains that enable multiple interactions with suitable substrates. Thus, they bear similarities to known cell-penetrating peptides. Indeed, the compounds were found to cross the membranes of HeLa cells and penetrate inside the cytoplasm quickly, the guadinylated ones within 15 min, as shown by fluorescence microscopy using fluorescein-labeled derivatives. The toxicity of the compounds, measured by performing MTT tests, ranged from 50 to 300 microM. Furthermore, some of the aminated CDs could facilitate the transfection of DNA expressing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in HEK 293T cells, with effectiveness comparable to the commercial agent Lipofectamine 2000. Circular dichroism, atomic force microscopy and electrophoresis experiments confirmed the strong interaction of the compounds with DNA. Because of their carbohydrate, non-peptide nature the title compounds are not anticipated to be enzymatically labile or immunogenic, and thus they fulfill many of the criteria for non-hazardous transport vectors in biological and pharmaceutical applications.

Crystal and molecular structure of octakis(6-bromo-6-deoxy)-gamma-cyclodextrin. A novel stacking of a distorted macrocycle.

Octakis(6-bromo-6-deoxy)cyclomaltooctaose, perbrominated gamma-cyclodextrin at the primary side, crystallises from methanol in a very unique manner. The macrocycles are quite distorted in contrast to their beta-cyclodextrin analogue, heptakis(6-bromo-6-deoxy)cyclomaltoheptaose. The two monomers, arranged head-to-head, form a completely new kind of dimer by mutually entering into each other, both at the primary and the secondary sides. At the primary, hydrophobic side, they interact by Br...Br interactions and at the secondary, hydrophilic side, by direct H-bonds between hydroxylic groups. The short contacts of the Br atoms contribute to the macrocycle's distortion, which is considerable compared to the few available structures of gamma-CDs persubstituted at the primary side with bulkier and in some occasions charged substituents. Water and methanol molecules are entrapped in the cyclodextrin cavity, mostly in the area of the secondary hydroxylic groups connecting the macrocycles by indirect H-bonds. Thus the solvent molecules strengthen the association of the two monomers and contribute to the stabilisation of the cavity. The monomers stack along the a-axis and form columns that align in parallel lines along the same axis resulting in the formation of alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic layers perpendicular to the a-axis resembling in this respect, the structure of the analogous perbrominated beta-cyclodextrin.

Ulcerated calcification of the interventricular septum causing transient ischemic attacks: case report.

BACKGROUND: Calcific deposits are frequently observed at sites of healed myocardial infarcts. Grossly visible calcification of myocardial infarcts and calcified intracavitary cardiac thrombi are less common but recently are becoming more frequent findings during surgical ventricular restoration procedures. CASE PRESENTATION: A 64 year old male diabetic patient experienced two episodes of transient ischemic attacks during the last six months. During the diagnostic work up he was found to have triple vessel coronary artery disease with mild left ventricular dysfunction, akinesia of the anterior-apical wall and hypokinesia of the inferior wall. He was referred to our department for coronary artery bypass grafting. He underwent elective triple coronary artery bypass and a ventricular restoration procedure due to apical wall thinning. The inspection of the left ventricle revealed an ulcerated round shape calcification of the interventricular septum with a crater filled with clot. We resected the above lesion and covered the damaged area with the septal Dacron patch of the modified linear closure. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the 11th postoperative day and has been doing well 6 months later, with improvement in both ventricular function and clinical status. CONCLUSION: The exploration of the left ventricular cavity reveals interesting phases of the post-infarction healing process. The suspicion of left ventricular thrombosis in patients with ventricular asynergy justifies a ventricular exploration during coronary artery bypass surgery.

Per(6-guanidino-6-deoxy)cyclodextrins: synthesis, characterisation and binding behaviour toward selected small molecules and DNA.

Per(6-guanidino-6-deoxy)-cyclodextrins , and are novel derivatives, resulting from homogeneous introduction of the guanidino group at the primary side of alpha-, beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins. The products were obtained from the corresponding amino derivatives, as direct guanidinylation of the known bromo-cyclodextrins provided mixtures. The new compounds were fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy and other analytical methods, and their interaction with guest molecules was studied. Strong complexation with 4-nitrophenyl phosphate () disodium salt was observed (K(binding) approximately 5 x 10(4) M(-1)), whereas the non-phosphorylated substrate nitrobenzene () formed a very weak complex. 2D ROESY spectra revealed cavity inclusion in both cases, however the orientation of was opposite to that of , such that the phosphate group is oriented toward the primary side facing the guanidine groups. The strong affinity of towards the phosphorylated guest suggested that interaction with DNA was possible. The new compounds were found to completely inhibit the migration of ultra pure calf thymus DNA during agarose gel electrophoresis, whereas no effects were observed with guanidine alone or with the plain cyclodextrins. Further, the condensation of DNA into nanoparticles in the presence of was demonstrated by atomic force microscopy, confirming strong electrostatic interaction between the biopolymer and the multicationic products . The strong guanidine-phosphate interactions between and DNA were therefore attributed to the clustering of the guanidine groups in the primary area of the cyclodextrin. Cavity effects could not be assessed.

Far-red luminescent ruthenium pyridylimine complexes; building blocks for multinuclear arrays.

Ruthenium(II) pyridylimine complexes are explored for their potential as units that might be incorporated into electronic or photonic arrays. The complexes [Ru(bipy)2(L)][PF6]2 (1) and [Ru(tpy)(L)Cl][BF4] (2) with L = phenylpyridin-2-ylmethylene-amine are synthesized and fully characterised using X-ray diffraction analysis and (2D) NMR spectroscopy. 1 displays emission in the far-red area of the spectrum at room temperature. The emission is significantly shifted to longer wavelength with respect to [Ru(bpy)3]2+ indicating that the lowest MLCT state is localised on the pyridylimine ligand. 2 is non-emissive at room temperature and at 77 K.

Chinese-hat patch glue repair of incomplete apical ventricular rupture.

Left ventricular free wall rupture is a dramatic complication of myocardial infarction. Sub-acute rupture may be compatible with life for several days or even longer. We present a simple and effective technique of construction of a conical apical patch, Chinese-hat, which was applied successfully to the infracted left ventricular (LV) apex with surgical glue, without using cardiopulmonary bypass. The application of this technique permitted the consequent off-pump double coronary artery bypass of a patient, who was at high risk of complications due to extracorporeal circulation.