Elucidation of the binding mechanism of astragaloside IV derivative with human serum albumin and its cardiotoxicity in zebrafish embryos.

LS-102 is a new derivative of astragaloside IV (AGS IV) that has been shown to possess potentially significant cardioprotective effects. However, there are no reports concerning its interaction with human serum albumin (HSA) and toxicology in vertebrates. The present investigation was undertaken to characterize the interaction of AGS IV and LS-102 with HSA using equilibrium dialysis and UHPLC-MS/MS methods, along with computational methods. Notably, the effects of AGS IV and LS-102 were studied in vivo using the zebrafish embryo model. Markers related to embryonic cardiotoxicity and thrombosis were evaluated. We showed that the plasma protein binding rate of AGS IV (94.04%-97.42%) was significantly higher than that of LS-102 (66.90%-69.35%). Through site marker competitive experiments and molecular docking, we found that AGS IV and LS-102 were located at the interface of subdomains IIA and IIIA, but the site I might be the primary binding site. Molecular dynamics revealed that AGS IV showed a higher binding free energy mainly due to the stronger hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions. Moreover, the secondary structure implied no obvious effect on the protein structure and conformation during the binding of LS-102. LS-102 significantly ameliorated the astramizole-induced heart rate slowing, increased SV-BA spacing, and prevented arachidonic acid-induced thrombosis in zebrafish. To our knowledge, we are the first to reveal that LS-102 binds to HSA with reversible and moderate affinity, indicating its easy diffusion from the circulatory system to the target tissue, thereby providing significant insights into its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties when spread in the human body. Our results also provide a reference for the rational clinical application of LS-102 in the cardiovascular field.

Constructing Highly Efficient Blue OLEDs with External Quantum Efficiencies up to 7.5 % Based on Anthracene Derivatives.

Acquiring desirable device performance with deep-blue color purity that fulfills practical application requirements is still a challenge. Bipolar fluorescent emitters with hybrid local and charge transfer (HLCT) state may serve to address this issue. Herein, by inserting anthracene core in the deep-blue building blocks, the authors successfully developed two highly twisted D-π-A fluorescent emitters, ICz-An-PPI and IP-An-PPI, featuring different acceptor groups. Both exhibited superb thermal stabilities, high photo luminescent quantum yields and excellent bipolar transport capabilities. The non-doped OLEDs using ICz-An-PPI and IP-An-PPI as the emitting layers showed efficient blue emission with an external quantum efficiency (EQEmax ) of 4.32 % and 5.41 %, and the CIE coordinates of (0.147, 0.180) and (0.149, 0.150), respectively. In addition, the deep blue doped device based on ICz-An-PPI was achieved with an excellent CEmax of 5.83 cd A-1 , EQEmax of 4.6 % and the CIE coordinate of (0.148, 0.078), which is extremely close to the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standard. Particularly, IP-An-PPI-based doped device had better performance, with an EQEmax of 7.51 % and the CIE coordinate of (0.150, 0.118), which was very impressive among the recently reported deep-blue OLEDs with the CIEy <0.12. Such high performance may be attributed to the hot exciton HLCT mechanism via T7 to S2 . Our work may provide a new approach for designing high-efficiency deep-blue materials.

Photostable Fluorophenyl-Substituted Cyclometalated Platinum(II) Emitters for Monitoring of Molecular Oxygen in Real Time.

The effects of fluorophenyl substituents on the photoluminescence, redox properties, and oxygen sensing behaviors of the cyclometalated Pt(II) complexes are reported. The Pt(II) complexes with fluorophenyl substituents at the para position on the phenyl ring of 2-phenylpyridine (ppy) exhibit higher oxygen sensitivities than those at the meta position. Photodegradation tests demonstrate that the introduction of fluorophenyl substituents can strongly improve the photostability of cyclometalated Pt(II) complexes. Fast response and recovery times of oxygen sensing films are obtained in 3.0 s on going from 0% O2 to 100% O2 and in 4.0 s on going from 100% O2 to 0% O2 (95% recovery of the luminescence), respectively. The oxygen sensing films show excellent operational stability in 4000 s saturation O2/N2 cycles, which meets the requirement of monitoring molecular oxygen in real time.

Substituent effect to prevent autoxidation and improve spectral stability in blue light-emitting polyfluorenes.

A group of fluorene-based polymers, PF-1SOR and PF-2SOR, were synthesized and characterized as blue light-emitting materials. PF-1SOR and PF-2SOR displayed nematic liquid crystalline mesophase in films cast from solution. Compared with conventional polyfluorene, PF-1SOR and PF-2SOR display blue-shifted UV absorption and structureless blue fluorescence. The photoluminescence spectra of PF-1SOR and PF-2SOR were found insensitive against thermal treatment in air up to 200 degrees C and the blue electroluminescence in their light-emitting devices was independent of the driving voltage. Compared to the conventional polyfluorenes, the improved spectral stability of these polymers is attributed to the anti-oxidization effect of (3,5-di(tert-butyl)phenoxy)sulfonyl side groups attached to the backbone.