The comprehensive mechanism underlying Schisandra polysaccharide in AD-like symptoms of Aß25-35-induced rats based on hippocampal metabolomics and serum lipidomics techniques.

As is well documented, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease. Meanwhile, Schisandra polysaccharide (SCP) has been reported to exert a protective effect on the nervous system and can regulate metabolic disorders in AD-like symptoms of amyloid ß-peptide (Aß) 25-35-induced rats. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms and metabolic markers for the diagnosis of AD are yet to be determined. This study aimed to explore the neuroprotective effect and potential mechanism of action of SCP in AD-like symptoms of Aß25-35-induced rats by combining pharmacodynamics, metabolomics, and lipidomics. The pharmacodynamic results revealed that SCP significantly improved the spatial learning and long-term memory function and the morphology of neurons in the hippocampal CA1 region, alleviated inflammatory damage and oxidative stress, inhibited the activation of microglia and astrocytes, and increased the proportion of mature neurons of AD-like symptoms of Aß25-35-induced rats. The results of hippocampal metabolomics and serum lipidomics showed 46 and 48 potential biomarkers were identified for the SCP treatment of AD, respectively. The involved pathways principally comprised lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and energy metabolism. This study elucidates the neuroprotective effect of SCP in AD and its mechanism from the perspective of metabolomics and lipidomics and provides a theoretical basis for the therapeutic effect of SCP in AD.

Preparation and characterization of tranexamic acid modified porous starch and its application as a hemostatic agent.

Effective bleeding control is essential for the reduction of traumatic deaths among civilians and military personnel, particularly for physical visceral and arteriovenous injuries. Materials with good hemostatic properties have recently attracted significant scientific attention. In this study, a novel material of tranexamic acid modified porous starch (TAMPS) was produced through esterification. The structure of the final product was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The hemostatic effect of TAMPS was preliminarily analyzed via in vitro clotting time, mouse tail amputation model and liver injury model experiments. Hemostatic effect of TAMPS was found to be significantly better than that of the positive control Quickclean. Through the exploration of related hemostatic mechanisms, TAMPS can promote coagulation via rapid fluid absorption and high erythrocyte aggregation capacity. The in vitro cytotoxicity, acute toxicity, and hemolysis tests revealed that TAMPS is safe and nontoxic and has perfect blood compatibility. Therefore, the TAMPS has a great potential for future clinical application as a rapid and multitarget hemostatic material.

A single component self-assembled thermally activated delayed fluorescence nanoprobe.

A novel versatile thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) nanoprobe, AI-Cz-NP, was designed and fabricated through self-assembly of a single-component amphiphilic monomer for potential applications in confocal imaging and time-resolved fluorescence imaging.

Optimization of ultrasonic extraction of total flavonoids from Tussilago farfara L. using response surface methodology.

In this work, ultrasound technology was used for the extraction of total flavonoids from Tussilago farfara L. Response surface methodology (RSM), based on a Box-Behnken design (BBD), was used to optimize the effects of processing parameters on total flavonoids yields. The parameters were ultrasonic frequency (X1), extraction time (X2) and ratio of liquid to solid (X3). The statistical analysis indicated that the parameters of ultrasonic power and ratio of liquid to solid, and the square effects among them had significant effects on the yield of flavonoids from Tussilago farfara L. The interaction between ultrasonic power and extraction time, and ultrasonic power and ratio of liquid to solid also caused significant effects on the yields. The optimum extraction conditions were determined as follows: ultrasonic power 420 W, extraction time 30 min, ratio of liquid to solid 25 mL/g. Under these conditions, the experimental yield 6.59 +/- 0.061% agreed closely with the predicted yield (6.64%).

Study of the interaction of deoxynivalenol with human serum albumin by spectroscopic technique and molecular modelling.

The mechanism of interaction between deoxynivalenol (DON) and human serum albumin (HSA) was studied using spectroscopic methods including fluorescence spectra, UV-VIS, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and circular dichroism (CD). The quenching mechanism was investigated in terms of the association constants, number of binding sites and basic thermodynamic parameters. The distance between the HSA donor and the acceptor DON was 2.80 nm as derived from fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The secondary structure compositions of free HSA and its DON complexes were estimated by the FT-IR spectra. Alteration of the secondary protein structure in the presence of DON was confirmed by UV-VIS and CD spectroscopy. Molecular modelling revealed that a DON-protein complex was stabilised by hydrophobic forces and hydrogen bonding. It was potentially useful for elucidating the toxigenicity of DON when combined with biomolecular function effect, transmembrane transport, toxicological testing and the other experiments.

Capillary electrophoresis with field-amplified sample stacking for rapid and sensitive determination of sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole.

A new capillary electrophoresis method with field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) was developed for the analysis of sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole. After optimization of the separation and concentration conditions, the two compounds can be separated within 7 min and quantified with high sensitivity, with detection limits of 0.48 ng/mL for sulfadiazine and 0.76 ng/mL for sulfamethoxazole. This resulted in a 300-1500-fold improvement in concentration sensitivity relative to conventional capillary electrophoresis methods. The method was useful for qualitative and quantitative analysis of sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole in their preparations with recovery of 99.0%-102% for sulfadiazine and 99.5% - 99.7% for sulfamethoxazole.

[Capillary electrophoresis with field-enhanced stacking for determination of water-soluble active principles in Salvia miltiorrhiza var. miltiorrhiza f. alba].

A simple and sensitive capillary electrophoresis method with field-enhanced stacking concentration for the analysis of protocatechuic aldehyde, protocatechuic acid, danshensu, rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B in Salvia miltiorrhiza var. miltiorrhiza f. alba was developed. The separation was achieved with a fused-silica capillary (75 microm x 50.2 cm, effective length was 40 cm) and a running buffer 15 mmol x L(-1) borax (pH 10.0) containing 20% CH3 OH. The UV detection wavelength was 210 nm. The applied voltage was 28 kV, and the cartridge temperature was 25 degrees C. Water plug was introduced from the anode by 0.5 psi x 4 s before injection. Sample was injected by electrokinetic injection - 8 kV x 3 s. The linear range of protocatechuic aldehyde is 3.0-60.00 mg x L(-1) (R2 = 0.999 8); that of protocatechuic acid, danshensu, rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B are 1.0-20.00 mg x L(-1) (R2 are 0.999 1, 0.999 4, 0.998 9 and 0.999 8, respectively), and the limits of detection of five analyts are 0.55, 0.40, 0.25, 0.32, 0.38 microg x L(-1), respectively, Stacking factor is higher and precision is satisfactory. The recoveries ranges were from 97.3% to 99.8%. The proposed method was used to determine the protocatechuic aldehyde, protocatechuic acid, danshensu, rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B in S. miltiorrhiza var. miltiorrhiza f. alba. The proposed method is simple, rapid, accurate and high sensitivity, and can be used to control of the quality of S. miltiorrhiza var. miltiorrhiza f. alba.

[Quantitative structure activity relationship models based on heuristic method and gene expression programming for the prediction of the pK(a) values of sulfa drugs].

Quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR) were developed to predict the pK(a) values of sulfa drugs via heuristic method (HM) and gene expression programming (GEP). The descriptors of 31 sulfa drugs were calculated by the software CODESSA, which can calculate constitutional, topological, geometrical, electrostatic, and quantum chemical descriptors. HM was also used for the preselection of 4 appropriate molecular descriptors. Linear and nonlinear QSPR models were developed based on the HM and GEP separately and two prediction models lead to a good correlation coefficient (R) of 0.90 and 0.95. The two QSPR models are tseful in predicting pK(a) during the discovery of new drugs and providing theory information for studying the new drugs.

[Determination of tetrandrine and fangchinoline in Radix Stephaniae tetrandrae and its preparation by nonaqueous capillary chromatography].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a new method for the determination of fangchinoline and tetrandrine in Stephania tetrandra and Fengtongan capsule by noanqueous capillary electrophoresis. METHOD: Separation was carried out in an uncoated fused capillary (50 cm x 75 microm i.d.) with a running buffer containing 50 mmol x L(-1) ammonium acetate, 1.0% acetic acid and 20% acetonitrile in methanol. A separation voltage of 20 kV and a UV detector wavelength at 214 nm were adopted. Sample was introduced from the anode. RESULT: The calibration ranges were 1.00, 500 mg x L(-1) for both analytes. Under the optimum conditions, the relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 6) for the migration time of each analyte were 0.09%, 1.9% (intra-day) and 0.63%, 1.9% (inter-day); The RSD for the peak area of each analyte were 0.45%, 5.9% (intra-day) and 2.3%, 5.6% (inter-day), respectively. The contents of the analytes were determined easily with average recoveries 102% for fangchinoline and 105% for tetrandrine in S. tetrandra and 94.6% for fangchinoline and 98.7% for tetrandrine in Fengtongan capsules, respectively. CONCLUSION: The proposed method is simple, rapid, accurate and higher repeatable, and can be used to control of the quality of S. tetrandra and Fengtongan capsules.