Ferrocene-modified half-sandwich iridium(III) and ruthenium(II) propionylhydrazone complexes and anticancer application.

Ferrocene, ruthenium(II) and iridium(III) organometallic complexes, potential substitutes for platinum-based drugs, have shown good application prospects in the field of cancer therapy. Therefore, in this paper, six ferrocene-modified half-sandwich ruthenium(II) and iridium(III) propionylhydrazone complexes were prepared, and the anticancer potential was evaluated and compared with cisplatin. These complexes showed potential in-vitro anti-proliferative activity against A549 cancer cells, especially for Ir-based complexes, and showing favorable synergistic anticancer effect. Meanwhile, these complexes showed little cytotoxicity and effective anti-migration activity. Ir3, the most active complex (ferrocene-appended iridium(III) complex), could accumulate in the intracellular mitochondria, disturb the cell cycle (S-phase), induce the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, and eventually cause the apoptosis of A549 cells. Then, the design of these complexes provides a good structural basis for the multi-active non­platinum organometallic anticancer complexes.

Grayanane diterpenoid glucosides as potent analgesics from Pieris japonica.

A total of fifteen grayanane diterpenoid glucosides including eight undescribed ones, pierisjaponosides A-H, were isolated from the leaves of Pieris japonica (Thunb.) D. Don ex G. Don (Ericaceae). Their structures were established by extensive spectros copic techniques including HRESIMS and NMR, as well as chemical methods. The absolute configurations of pierisjaponosides A, B, and D were finally established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction with Cu Kα radiation. This is the first time to report the crystal structure of a 5,9-epoxygrayanane diterpenoid glucoside. Pierisjaponoside E represents the first example of a 9ß-hydroxygrayan-1(10)-ene diterpenoid. All the isolated grayanane diterpenoid glucosides were evaluated for their analgesic activities in the acetic acid-induced writhing models in mice, and showed significant analgesic effects. Pierisjaponosides A and C-H, micranthanoside A, pieroside A, and craiobiosides A and B displayed significant analgesic effects with the writhe inhibition rates over 50% at a dose of 5.0 mg/kg. Pierisjaponoside E exhibited significant analgesic activities with the percentage inhibitions of 81.7%, 70.4%, and 52.1% at the doses of 5.0, 1.0, and 0.2 mg/kg, respectively. The preliminary structure-activity relationships of grayanane diterpenoid glucosides as potent analgesics were discussed, giving some clues to design novel analgesics.

Antinociceptive Grayanane Diterpenoids from the Leaves of Pieris japonica.

Thirteen new grayanane diterpenoids (1-13) and 15 known analogues (14-28) were isolated from a leaf extract of Pieris japonica. Their structures were determined by spectrometric and spectroscopic methods, including HRESIMS, NMR, IR, and UV. The absolute configurations of 1, 3, 7-9, and 16 were defined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. 17-Hydroxygrayanotoxin XIX (1) represents the first example of a 17-hydroxygrayan-15(16)-ene diterpenoid. Diterpenoids 1-28 were evaluated for their antinociceptive activities, and 4, 9, 13, 21, and 26-28 displayed significant antinociceptive activities at a dose of 5.0 mg/kg (ip) in the HOAc-induced writhing test in mice. 17-Hydroxygrayanotoxin XIX (1) exhibited potent antinociceptive effects with writhe inhibition rates of 56.3% and 64.8% at doses of 0.04 and 0.2 mg/kg, respectively, which were almost equivalent to the positive control, morphine. Rhodomollein X (26) and rhodojaponin VI (27) showed more potent antinociceptive effects than morphine at doses of 0.04 and 0.2 mg/kg. A preliminary structure-activity relationship for the antinociceptive effects of diterpenoids 1-28 is discussed.

One dimensional hierarchical nanoflakes with nickel-immobilization for high performance catalysis and histidine-rich protein adsorption.

Complex hierarchical structures are closely associated with their performance in catalysts and protein adsorbents. However, it still remains a great challenge to develop a facile strategy to engineer their structural traits. Herein, we describe a facile strategy combining a hydrothermal reaction and mussel chemistry with a subsequent thermal treatment process for the controllable synthesis of three dimensional hierarchical nickel based composites, which are constructed from MnO nanowire (NW) cores and thin Al2O3@C shells anchored with ultrasmall metallic Ni nanoparticles (NPs). During the processing, MnO2 NWs were utilized as templates for the cores, while the two dimensional NiAl nanosheets were directly adopted as the shell to form three dimensional hierarchical MnO2@NiAl nanowires. After coating with polydopamine-Ni2+ (PDA-Ni2+) and subsequent carbonization under a nitrogen atmosphere, high coverage of metallic Ni NPs and the transformation from MnO2 to MnO cores were all observed in the final product. The size of outer Ni NPs and the morphology of the carbonized product can be tailored by varying the temperature of carbonization, which is also in close association with the performance of catalysis and protein adsorption. Notably, the N-doped carbon layer from polydopamine can act as an electron conductor and facilitate the prevention of the migration and aggregation of the Ni nanoparticles, while the ultrafine Ni nanoparticles can achieve maximum material utilization for catalysis and protein adsorption. In addition, the unique structures can expose more active catalytic or adsorption sites while enabling free diffusion of mass/electron transfer. As a result, the MnO@Al2O3@C/Ni composite exhibited excellent performance in catalysis and protein adsorption.

TBAF-Catalyzed O-Nucleophilic Cyclization of Enaminones: A Process for the Synthesis of Dihydroisobenzofuran Derivatives.

A novel methodology for the stereoselective synthesis of dihydroisobenzofuran derivatives is described in this paper. The procedure was realized by the bifunctional TBAF catalyzed selective O-nucleophilic cyclization of enaminone with intramolecular alkyne under mild and non-metal-mediated conditions. The results of control experiments suggested that the cation-π interaction and basicity, offered by TBAF, might be indispensable for the isomerization of enaminone and the formation of carbon-oxygen bond.

Cationic gemini surfactant-resorcinol-aldehyde resin and its application in the extraction of endocrine disrupting compounds from food contacting materials.

A new cationic gemini surfactant-resorcinol/formaldehyde resin was designed and synthesized. Cationic gemini surfactant was introduced into the resorcinol/formaldehyde resin for the first time and led to the retention of negatively charged endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) through electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions. The synthesized material showed good performance in the dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (D-µ-SPE) of EDCs such as alkylphenol and phenoxy acid herbicides from food packaging migrants. Extraction parameters such as pH, adsorbent dose, extraction time and salting out effect were optimized. The limits of detections were in the range of 0.5-0.8 ng/mL, and the recoveries were in the range of 90-100%. The developed method was applied to the analysis of EDCs from food contacting materials migrants with pentachlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and bisphenol A detected in the concentration range of 0.2-1.2 mg/kg. It also showed great potential in the D-µ-SPE of other compounds with negative charge or high hydrophobicity.

Analysis of Fatty Acids in Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim by MSPD and Fluorescence Derivatization.

The extraction and analysis of free fatty acids (FFAs) in the whole natural plants are reported. The aminopropyl-functionalized SBA-15 was designed to increase the efficiency of the matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) extraction method. MSPD extraction was performed using to extract FFAs via acid-base interactions. The optimum parameters for the MSPD extraction were N-SBA-15 30 mg, grinding time 120 s and elution solvent methanol-HCl (6:4, v/v). After extraction, the FFAs were analyzed by HPLC with fluorescent labeling. The reaction of the labeling agent, 2-(9-oxoacridin-10(9 H)-yl) acetohydrazide, with FFAs proceeded easily and quickly (within 20 min) in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride as the condensing agent. The derivatives had excellent fluorescence properties with excitation and emission wavelengths of 260 and 430 nm, respectively. Good linear correlations were observed for all FFAs, with correlation coefficients >0.996. When 20 mg of sample were used for the analysis, the detection limits at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 were in the range 0.21-1.20 µg g-1. The FFAs in the roots, stems, leaves and peel of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim were determined using the developed method.

Quaternary ammonium-functionalized MCM-48 mesoporous silica as a sorbent for the dispersive solid-phase extraction of endocrine disrupting compounds in water.

MCM-48 mesoporous silica was functionalized with dimethyloctadecyl[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride, a quaternary ammonium salt with a long hydrophobic chain, to prepare a new sorbent for the dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) of seven endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) including 4-hexylphenol, 4-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, bisphenol A, estrone, 17ß-estradiol and estriol in water. A series of differently functionalized MCM-48 materials were also synthesized, and they served as reference materials to study the mechanism. The developed DSPE method was combined with HPLC with fluorescence detection to evaluate the adsorption performance. The results indicated that the quaternary ammonium-functionalized MCM-48 mesoporous silica can be used as ideal sorbent for EDCs in water with recoveries of higher than 95% due to the electrostatic interactions and hydrophobic effect. Hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions in other synthesized materials could lead to about 25-30% increase in recoveries, but the results for polyhydroxy compounds were still not satisfying. The quaternary ammonium-functionalized MCM-48 mesoporous silica was successfully applied to the DSPE of EDCs in real water samples. The optimum extraction conditions were sorbent amount, 15 mg; desorption time; 5 min; elution volume, 0.8 mL; sample pH 3.0; and salt addition, 5 g/L. The limits of detection were in the range of 1.2-2.6 ng/L, while the limits of quantitation were in the range of 4.3-8.3 ng/L.

Polyoxometalates Templated Metal Ag-Carbene Frameworks Anodic Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

A POMs templated 3D Ag-carbene framework with lvt-a topology was hydrothermally synthesized. The POMs templated MCF combining the advantages of POMs, MOFs, and carbene not only shows excellent thermal and chemical stabilities but also possesses a good discharge capacity of 481 mAh·g-1 after 100 cycles applied as anode material in LIBs.

Stable isotope labeling assisted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of perfluorinated carboxylic acids in serum samples.

A new stable isotope labeling (SIL) reagent pair, 10-methyl-acridone-2-sulfonohydrazide (MASH) and its deuterated counterpart d3-MASH was synthesized and successfully applied to the analysis of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in serum samples. The limits of detection (LODs) were in the range of 0.07-0.42µg/L, and the limits of quantitation (LOQs) were in the range of 0.25-1.38µg/L. Besides ionization enhancing effect, MASH also showed excellent fluorescence property. Therefore, the mass spectrometer operation cost was greatly lowered by carrying out parameter optimization experiments on HPLC which is easier to operate and maintain. The SIL strategy was confirmed to be effective in reducing matrix effect. The developed multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) condition of PFCAs was also suitable for other carboxylic acid due to the introduction of MASH which is more prone to fragmentation than the analytes. With the MRM conditions obtained from PFCAs, fatty acids were also found in serum samples. This feature made the proposed method show powerful potential in the identification of acidic compounds in complex samples in the absence of corresponding standard.