Cytostatic hypothermia and its impact on glioblastoma and survival.

Patients with glioblastoma (GBM) have limited options and require novel approaches to treatment. Here, we studied and deployed nonfreezing "cytostatic" hypothermia to stunt GBM growth. This growth-halting method contrasts with ablative, cryogenic hypothermia that kills both neoplastic and infiltrated healthy tissue. We investigated degrees of hypothermia in vitro and identified a cytostatic window of 20° to 25°C. For some lines, 18 hours/day of cytostatic hypothermia was sufficient to halt division in vitro. Next, we fabricated an experimental tool to test local cytostatic hypothermia in two rodent GBM models. Hypothermia more than doubled median survival, and all rats that successfully received cytostatic hypothermia survived their study period. Unlike targeted therapeutics that are successful in preclinical models but fail in clinical trials, cytostatic hypothermia leverages fundamental physics that influences biology broadly. It is a previously unexplored approach that could provide an additional option to patients with GBM by halting tumor growth.

Sulfinato iron(III) complex for electrocatalytic proton reduction.

We report the first example of a sulfinato Fe(III) complex acting as a highly active electrocatalyst for proton reduction. The sulfinate binds to the metal through oxygen, resulting in a seven-membered chelate ring that is likely hemilabile during catalysis. Proton reduction occurs at -1.57 V versus Fc/Fc(+) in CH3CN with an ic/ip = 13 in CH3CN (kobs = 3300 s(-1)) and an overpotential of 800 mV. The catalysis is first order with respect to [catalyst] and second order with respect to [trifluoracetic acid]. An 11% increase in catalytic activity is observed in the presence of water, suggesting that sulfinate moieties are viable functional groups for aqueous proton reduction catalysts.