Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate Disorders Lipid Metabolism via TYK2/STAT1 and Autophagy in Rats.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have indicated that the plasticizer di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) affects lipid accumulation; however, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. We aim to clarify the effect of DEHP on lipid metabolism and the role of TYK2/STAT1 and autophagy. METHODS: In total, 160 Wistar rats were exposed to DEHP [0, 5, 50, 500 mg/(kg•d)] for 8 weeks. Lipid levels, as well as mRNA and protein levels of TYK2, STAT1, PPARγ, AOX, FAS, LPL, and LC3 were detected. RESULTS: The results indicate that DEHP exposure may lead to increased weight gain and altered serum lipids. We observed that DEHP exposure affected liver parenchyma and increased the volume or number of fat cells. In adipose tissue, decreased TYK2 and STAT1 promoted the expression of PPARγ and FAS. The mRNA and protein expression of LC3 in 50 and 500 mg/(kg•d) groups was increased significantly. In the liver, TYK2 and STAT1 increased compensatorily; however, the expression of FAS and AOX increased, while LPL expression decreased. Joint exposure to both a high-fat diet and DEHP led to complete disorder of lipid metabolism. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that DEHP induces lipid metabolism disorder by regulating TYK2/STAT1. Autophagy may play a potential role in this process as well. High-fat diet, in combination with DEHP exposure, may jointly have an effect on lipid metabolism disorder.

A physical entrapment method for the preparation of carbon nanotube reinforced macroporous adsorption resin with enhanced selective extraction performance.

In this paper, we demonstrate a novel carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced macroporous adsorption resin (MAR) for the first time. The CNTs were dispersed in water via sonication, and then in situ physically entrapped in the pores of MAR by capillary forces and sonication. The resulting CNT reinforced MAR (CNT-MAR) was proved by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and subsequently applied to extract a mixture of 8 types, 14 natural products. For comparison, the extraction efficiency of original MAR without CNTs was also evaluated. After extraction, the supernatants were detected via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results indicated that the introduction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into the pores of MAR can significantly improve the adsorptive selectivity of MAR for natural products. The original MAR without CNTs has almost the same adsorption capacity for selectively extracting 3 types of natural products (phenols, alkaloids and anthraquinones). However, the CNT-MAR only could selectively extract anthraquinones and the adsorption capacity for three anthraquinone natural products is 1.46-1.83 times higher than that of unmodified MAR. In order to achieve the highest extraction efficiency of CNT-MAR for anthraquinone natural products, the main extraction parameters such as the extraction time and the pH value were also optimized. The CNT-MAR demonstrated an excellent ability to extract anthraquinone natural products with high selectivity and adsorption capacity. Due to its low cost, easy preparation and use, and operational characteristics, it shows great potential for selective extraction of natural products.

Application of ß-cyclodextrin-modified, carbon nanotube-reinforced hollow fiber to solid-phase microextraction of plant hormones.

A new, efficient, and environmental friendly solid-phase microextraction (SPME) medium based on ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD)-modified carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and a hollow fiber (HF) was prepared. Functionalized ß-CD was covalently linked to the surface of the carboxylic CNTs and then the obtained nanocomposite was immobilized into the wall pores of HFs under ultrasonic-assisted effect. The scanning electron microscope was used to inspect surface characteristics of fibers, demonstrating the presence of nanocomposites in their wall pores. The reinforced HF was employed in SPME, and its extraction performance was evaluated by analyzing 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 2-naphthoxyacetic acid (2-NOA) in vegetables. Without any tedious clean-up procedure, analytes were extracted from the sample to the adsorbent and organic solvent immobilized in HFs and then desorbed in acetonitrile prior to chromatographic analysis. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the method provided 275- and 283-fold enrichment factors of NAA and 2-NOA, low limits of detection and quantification (at an ngg(-1) level), satisfactory spiked recoveries, good inter-fiber repeatability, and batch-to-batch reproducibility. The selectivity of the developed fiber was investigated to three structurally similar compounds and two reference compounds with recognition coefficients up to 3.18. The obtained results indicate that the newly developed fiber is a feasible, selective, green, and cost-effective microextraction medium and could be successfully applied for extraction and determination of naphthalene-derived plant hormones in complex matrices.

Tunable temperature-responsive supramolecular hydrogels formed by prodrugs as a codelivery system.

Taking advantage of the strong hydrophobicity of the anticancer drug camptothecin (CPT), the CPT molecule was conjugated to a class of low-molecular-weight (MW) poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains (MW = 500, 1000, and 2000), forming an amphiphilic prodrug. The CPT-PEG prodrug formed stable hydrogels based on a combination of the partial inclusion complexation between one end of the PEG blocks and α-CD and the hydrophobic aggregation of CPT groups. Meanwhile, the formed hydrogels could be loaded with water-soluble drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which is always combined with CPT drugs to enhance their anticancer activity. Moreover, the hydrogel systems demonstrate unique structure-related reversible gel-sol transition properties at a certain temperature due to the reversible supramolecular assembly, and the gel-sol transition temperature could be modulated by varying the length of the PEG chain and the concentrations of α-CD, demonstrating the possibility of achieving on-demand gel-sol transitions. The structure-related reversible gel-sol transition properties were proved by rheological property, XRD, DSC, and SEM measurements. The different controlled release profiles of two different anticancer drugs showed significant temperature-dependent properties. This easily prepared supramolecular hydrogel with excellent biocompatibility and tunable temperature responsiveness has significant potential for controlled drug release applications.

Quality control of traditional Chinese medicines: a review.

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are in great demand all over the world, especially in the developing world, for primary health care due to their superior merits such as low cost, minimal side effects, better cultural acceptability, and compatibility with humans. However, Chinese medicines consist of several herbs which may contain tens, hundreds, or even thousands of constituents. How these constituents interact with each other, and what the special active ones are, may be the biggest bottleneck for the modernization and globalization of TCMs. Valid methods to evaluate the quality of TCMs are therefore essential and should be promoted and be developed further through advanced separation and chromatography techniques. This paper reviews the strategies used to control the quality of TCMs in a progressive perspective, from selecting single or several ingredients as the evaluation marker, to using different kinds of chromatography fingerprint methods. In summary, the analysis and quality control of TCMs are developing in a more effective and comprehensive manner to better address the inherent holistic nature of TCMs.

Carbon nanotubes reinforced hollow fiber solid phase microextraction for the determination of strychnine and brucine in urine.

A mixed matrix membrane (MMM), based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and hollow fiber (HF), was prepared and combined with solid phase microextraction (SPME) mode to determine strychnine and brucine in urine. This MMM was prepared by dispersing CNTs in water via surfactant assistance, and then immobilizing CNTs into the pores of HF by capillary forces and sonification. The prepared carbon nanotubes reinforced hollow fiber (CNTs-HF) was subsequently wetted by a few microliters of organic solvent (1-octanol), and then applied to extract the target analytes in direct immersion sampling mode. After extraction, analytes were desorbed via ultrasonic-assisted effect, and then detected via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). To achieve the highest extraction efficiency, main extraction parameters such as the type and amount of surfactant, the diameter and doping level of CNTs, extraction time, desorption condition, pH value, stirring rate and volume of the donor phase were optimized. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the method showed good linearity ranges with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9990, good repeatability and batch-to-batch reproducibility with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 6% and 5% for strychnine and brucine, respectively, and low limits of detection (0.7 and 0.9 µg L(-1) for strychnine and brucine, respectively). The recoveries were in the range of 83.81-116.14% at three spiked levels. The developed method was successfully applied to real urine sample with mean relative recoveries of 94.28% and 91.30% for strychnine and brucine, respectively. The developed method shows comparable results against reference methods and is a simple, green, and cost-effective microextraction technique.

Carbon nanotubes-reinforced hollow fibre solid-phase microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of carbamate pesticides in apples.

An effective and sensitive method to determinate five carbamate pesticides in apples was developed by using carbon nanotubes-reinforced hollow fibre solid-phase microextraction (CNTs-HF-SPME) combined with high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The CNTs were dispersed in water via adding surfactant, and then were held in the pores of HF supported by capillary forces and sonification. The SPME device, which was wetted with 1-octanol, was placed in a stirred apple samples to extract target analytes. After extraction, analytes were desorbed and analyzed using HPLC-DAD. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the enrichment factors were achieved in the range from 49 to 308 with good inter-fibre repeatability and batch-to-batch reproducibility, while good linearity ranges and recoveries were obtained. The limits of detection ranged from 0.09 to 6.00 ng/g. Therefore, the results demonstrated that this novel method was an efficient pretreatment and enrichment procedure for the determination of trace carbamate pesticides in apples.

Prodrugs forming multifunctional supramolecular hydrogels for dual cancer drug delivery.

Here we report a multifunctional supramolecular hydrogel based on host-guest inclusion for loading two different anticancer drugs with different controlled release profiles. The resulting hydrogels are characterized by possessing dual phase drug release behavior and producing a dose and cell type dependent synergetic cytotoxicity to cancer cells, which can be used for cancer combination therapy.

A novel extraction technique based on carbon nanotubes reinforced hollow fiber solid/liquid microextraction for the measurement of piroxicam and diclofenac combined with high performance liquid chromatography.

A novel design of carbon nanotubes reinforced hollow fiber solid/liquid phase microextraction (CNTs-HF-SLPME) was developed to determine piroxicam and diclofenac in different real water samples. Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were held in the pores of hollow fiber with sol-gel technology. The pores and lumen of carbon nanotubes reinforced hollow fiber were subsequently filled with a µL volume of organic solvent (1-octanol), and then the whole assembly was used for the extraction of the target analytes in direct immersion sampling mode. The target analytes were extracted from the sample by two extractants, one of which is organic solvent placed inside the pores and lumen of hollow fiber and the other one is CNTs held in the pores of hollow fiber. After extraction, the analytes were desorbed in acetonitrile and analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. This novel extraction mode showed more excellent extraction performance in comparison with conventional hollow fiber liquid microextraction (without adding CNTs) and carbon nanotubes reinforced hollow fiber solid microextraction (CNTs held in the pores of hollow fiber, but no organic solvents placed inside the lumen of hollow fiber) under the respective optimum conditions. This method provided 47- and 184-fold enrichment factors for piroxicam and diclofenac, respectively, good inter-fiber repeatability and batch-to-batch reproducibility. Linearity was observed in the range of 20-960 µg L(-1) for piroxicam, and 10-2560 µg L(-1) for diclofenac, with correlation coefficients of 0.9985 and 0.9989, respectively. The limits of detection were 4.58 µg L(-1) for piroxicam and 0.40 µg L(-1) for diclofenac.