Two Novel Two-Dimensional Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Lead Halides with Broadband Emission for White-Light-Emitting Diodes.

Low-dimensional organic-inorganic metal halides (LOMHs) recently have attracted much attention due to their tunable crystal structures and excellent photoelectric properties. The configuration and arrangement of organic cations in LOMHs have significant effect on the structure of inorganic frameworks and luminescence properties. In this work, we systematically explored the "spatial effect" and "hydrogen bonding effect" of organic cations on the structure and properties of LOMHs, by synthesizing three LOMHs including (N-AD)PbCl4, (N-AD)2Pb2Br7, and (N-AD)4Pb3I12 (N-AD: N-acetylethylenediamine, C4H10N2O). Specifically, (110)-oriented two-dimensional (N-AD)PbCl4 and (N-AD)2Pb2Br7 with manifest blue-white emissions, originating from the free excitons (FEs) and self-trapped excitons (STEs), respectively. The UV-pumped light-emitting diode (LED)-based on (N-AD)2Pb2Br7 was prepared, and the highest color rendering index (CRI) and correlated color temperature (CCT) were up to 80 and 4484 K, respectively. This proves its potential application in solid-state lighting.

Evaluating the feasibility of muck from slurry shield tunnels as a growth medium for landscaping.

Muck from slurry shield tunnels (MSST) is a complex mixture. Directly transporting this muck to dumping grounds not only increases the costs but also raises environmental concerns due to its unusual properties. In this study, a formula has been studied that can turn the MSST into an environment friendly soil. The treatment process can realize the harmless disposal and effective utilization of MSST. In the laboratory study, three different types of growing media (MSST, MSST with 1% fly ash, and local garden soil) were used to grow ryegrass in a series of pot experiments, and the seed germination, chlorophyll content, root characteristics, root activity and physical and chemical properties of the growing media were examined. The results showed that MSST and MSSTF (MSST with added fly ash) can be used as a soil matrix for ryegrass because they exhibited a technical performance comparable to that of local garden soil (LGS), and the physicochemical parameters of the soil matrix were enhanced compared with the standard values of CJT 340-2011. Although the additive (fly ash) and different types of substrates can affect plant growth and the properties of harvested soils, the level of variation decreases with the stage of growth. As waste recycling is the primary objective of this work, MSSTF is the ideal substrate to use. The treatment process is easy to handle, and represents a sustainable option and an environmentally friendly, beneficial use of MSST.Implications: Muck discharged from slurry shield tunnel construction has put great pressure on the environment and construction cost because of a large number shield tunnels emerging in cities. Directly transporting the discharged muck waste to dumping site not only increases the machinery and labor costs but also raises environmental concerns. Therefore, we explore the way of recycling the discharged muck from slurry shield tunnel as a growth medium for landscaping which was proved to be feasible by a series of pot experimental study. Recycling the discharged muck from shield tunnel as the growth medium for landscaping instead of using purchased raw materials not only can dramatically reduce project costs but also can obviously minimizing the consequent environment pollution. Such technology can contribute to sustainable developments and cleaner construction of infrastructures.

Synthesis of novel tanshinone derivatives for treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death in USA and has developed serious resistance to current drugs. Thus, development of new drugs for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is urgently needed. In this study, 25 novel derivatives of tanshinone IIA as potential androgen receptor (AR) suppression reagents for the treatment of CRPC have been synthesized. The inhibition on DHT-mediated AR transactivation and cell viability assay were performed to test the synthesized compounds. The results showed that among 25 new compounds, seven methoxy-substituted tanshinone IIA derivatives showed significant inhibition effect on DHT-mediated AR transactivation. In particular, TAN-24 that contains three methoxy groups showed the strongest inhibition effect on DHT-mediated AR transactivation. In addition, TAN-24 also suppressed DHT-AR transactivation more effectively than those of tanshinoneIIA and enzalutamide. In cytotoxicity against human prostate cancer cell lines assay, TAN-24 exhibited the most potent in vitro cytotoxicity against LNCaP and CWR22Rv1 cells, with IC50 values 20- and 19-times lower than those of tanshinone IIA and comparable to enzalutamide. TAN-24 reported in the present work represents a novel and effective AR suppression drug, showing great potential for the treatment of CRPC.

Injectable and biocompatible chitosan-alginic acid hydrogels.

Injectable and biocompatible polysaccharide hydrogels are ideal scaffolds for drug delivery and tissue engineering. Here, we report a new in situ forming hydrogels by self-crosslinking chitosan and a biocompatible polymeric crosslinker, oxidized alginic acid. The dialdehyde alginic acid was synthesized by the oxidant reaction of alginic acid with sodium periodate. The gel was formed in situ by the Schiff base reactions between their amine groups of chitosan and aldehyde groups of alginic acid. It deformed under stress and kept its shape integrity at the strain of 40%. Sustained cargo release including rhodamine and bovine serum albumin from the hydrogels was obtained. The hydrogels were degraded by chitosanase within 30 d and the pH values of the solution remained neutral. H9c2 cells proliferated the hydrogels and maintained their native state. These results suggested this hydrogel can be promising cell therapy scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Study of forced degradation behavior of pramlintide acetate by HPLC and LC-MS.

Pramlintide acetate (Symlin®), a synthetic analogue of the human hormone amylin. It was approved in March 2005 as a subcutaneous injection for the adjunctive treatment of patients who have type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus. The objective of current investigation was to study the degradation behavior of pramlintide acetate under different ICH recommended stress conditions by HPLC and LC-MS. Pramlintide acetate was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis (acidic or alkaline), oxidation, photolysis and thermal decomposition. Extensive degradation products were observed under the hydrolysis, oxidation or thermal stress conditions, while minimal degradation was found in the photolytic conditions. Successful separation of drug from the degradation products was achieved by the validated chromatography (RP-HPLC and SCX-HPLC) methods. Subsequent to isolation, the molecular weight of each component was determined by LC-MS. The LC-MS m/z values and fragmentation patterns of 4 impurities matched with the predicted degradation products of pramlintide acetate.

(3aS,7S,9aS,9bR)-3a,6,6,9a-Tetra-methyl-2-oxoperhydro-naphtho[2,1-b]furan-7-yl acetate.

THE TITLE COMPOUND (COMMON NAME: 3ß-acet-oxy-8-epi-sclareolide), C(18)H(28)O(4), is a sclareolide derivative, which was synthesized from 9(11)-en-3ß-acet-oxy-8-epi-sclareolide. In the mol-ecular structure, the two six-membered rings display chair conformations and the five-membered ring displays an envelope conformation. Weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure.