Molecules最新文献

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), recognized as a medical biomaterial, have been proven to promote cell proliferation and tissue repair. PHA has a variety of forms: PHB, PHV, PHHx, and PHBHHx, etc. In this study, PHBHHx was selected as the precursor to fabricate biopolyester films. Specifically, a novel type of biopolyester film was generated through an ammonolysis cross-linking reaction in conjunction with polyamidoamine dendrimer G2.0 (PAMAM). The properties of the resultant biopolyester films were comprehensively evaluated, encompassing surface characteristics, amino group content, and water contact angle. The drug-loading properties and compatibility with osteoblasts of the biopolyester films were also determined. The findings revealed that following aminolysis, the biopolyester film surface exhibited enhanced roughness and an enlarged surface area. Moreover, as the aminolysis duration extended, the hydrophilicity and drug-loading efficiency were significantly augmented. Post-aminolysis, the PHBHHx membrane exhibited a more favorable environment for the adhesion and proliferation of osteoblasts. Overall, the biopolyester film developed in this study provides novel insights and materials for tissue engineering, especially bone tissue repair.

Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.), a member of the Rutaceae family, finds global utility in both the treatment of various ailments and its role as a rootstock for Citrus species in agriculture. Various parts of Citrus aurantium L. have been employed in traditional medicine due to their multifarious therapeutic potential. The blossom of this plant serves as a rich source of bioactive compounds, notably polyphenols, alkaloids, and terpenes. Additionally, it harbors substantial quantities of functional, nutritive, and biologically active compounds, which manifest their presence through antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, cardiovascular, and neuroprotective properties. The recovery of bioactive compounds is significantly affected by extraction methods. Many conventional methods have been explored for the recovering of bioactive compounds from bitter orange flowers. However, in response to the limitations of conventional techniques, green extraction methods, characterized by their ability to significantly increase the yield and reduce the time, energy, and solvent requirements, have also been assessed for this matrix. Therefore, the study of the functionalities of bitter orange blossoms represents a domain with unexplored research opportunities. Consequently, this review aims to offer a comprehensive insight into the biological properties and medicinal applications of the active compounds found within C. aurantium.

Nanothermites as high-energy-density and high-reaction-rate materials have important applications in civil and military fields. Nevertheless, it is difficult to detect all intermediates and products using conventional experimental methods. In this work, the reaction process of core-shell SiO₂@Al nanoparticles under adiabatic conditions was investigated through molecular dynamics simulations using a reactive force field (ReaxFF). In the microcanonical ensemble, the redox reaction of SiO₂@Al nanothermite becomes explosive due to the huge energy release during Al-O bond formation. The gaseous products are mainly the intermediate products Al₅O and Al₄O as well as the final products Al₂O, AlO, Si and Al. Analyses of the steric charge distributions and evolution show that the Coulomb effect causes the number of intermediates Al₅O (0.32|e|) to increase to the maximum, then slowly decrease and remain stable. But the tetrahedral Al₄O cluster is almost charge-neutral, at -0.05|e|, and the number remained almost constant. This work is expected to provide deeper insights into the complex reaction mechanism of nanothermite.

Hydrogen energy is an ideal clean energy source for the future. In the promotion and application of hydrogen energy, the safe and effective storage of hydrogen needs to be addressed. LiNH₂BH₃, as an important hydrogen storage material, can reversibly store hydrogen, but it has the problem of a relatively high hydrogen release temperature. (LiH)_n plays a good regulatory role in the metal-N-H system and plays an important role. Using density functional theory, the reaction mechanism of LiNH₂BH₃ and (LiH)_n (n = 1-5) clusters was theoretically calculated and analyzed. The frontier orbitals of LiNH₂BH₃ (LiAB), LiNH₂BH₃-LiH (Li2AB), and LiNH₂-LiH (Li2A) were compared and analyzed, and the dissociation energies of hydrogen atoms at different sites were discussed. The results show that the dehydrogenation of LiNH₂BH₃ with (LiH)_n (n = 1-5) clusters is more likely to occur through the combination of H^δ-(Li)···H^δ+(N), and the minimum reaction energy barrier can reach 113.34 kJ/mol. In the LiNH₂BH₃-LiH system, the presence of -BH₃ and -LiH groups has a significant effect on the hydrogen release performance of the system. The order of hydrogen atom dissociation energies at different positions in LiAB, Li2AB, and Li2A is ΔE_H(N) > ΔE_H(B) > ΔE_H(Li). The dehydrogenation performance of Li2AB is better than that of LiAB and Li2A.

A new Na⁺ ionophore with two 12-crown-4 moieties on silicon atoms and hydrophobic hydrocarbon groups on silicon atoms has been synthesized. The silicon-bridged bis(12-crown-4)s were easily obtained in high yield by simply mixing dichlorodiorganosilane and 2-hydroxymethyl-12-crown-4 under room temperature and nitrogen atmosphere. Seven compounds with different hydrocarbon substituents were synthesized. To investigate their properties as ionophores, PVC membrane-type ion-selective electrodes incorporating them were prepared, and the ion selectivity coefficients were determined. The typical selectivity sequence is Na⁺ > K⁺ > Rb⁺ > Cs⁺ > NH₄⁺ > Li⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > H⁺. The magnitude of selectivity depends on the structures of hydrocarbon substituents on the silicon atoms. The compound with two 2-ethylhexyl groups has particularly good Na⁺ selectivity, and the performance of the electrode is equal to or better than that of an electrode using a commercially available Na⁺ ionophore, malonate-bridged bis(12-crown-4). The electrode also showed better-aging stability than that of another known Na⁺ ionophore, tetraethyl 4-tert-butylcalix[4]arene-O,O',O″,O‴-tetraacetate, indicating high utility.

Astragali Radix (AR), a traditional food and medicinal herb used for thousands of years, is widely recognized for its role in enhancing immunity, particularly when combined with adjuvant chemotherapy. The two primary types of AR available in the market are imitation wild AR (grown for seven years) and cultivated AR (grown for two years). However, whether differences exist in their immune-enhancing effects and chemical constituents remains unclear. In this study, a comparative analysis was performed to evaluate the immune activity and chemical composition of cultivated and imitation wild AR. Immune activity was assessed through in vivo animal studies, while metabolomic analysis was used to characterize their chemical profiles. The results demonstrate that AR possesses significant antitumor and immune-enhancing activities, with imitation wild AR showing superior efficacy compared with cultivated AR. Following 16 days of daily AR treatment, both the thymus and spleen coefficients were significantly increased, effectively reversing the immune dysfunction induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX). Moreover, the administration of AR showed no significant toxicity, as evidenced by the stable liver and kidney function indicators, including ALT, UREA, and CRE levels. To investigate chemical differences, a customized chemotaxonomic-based in-house library containing 215 compounds was developed and integrated with the Progenesis QI informatics platform for metabolite annotation. Using multivariate analysis, 48 constituents were identified in total: 46 unique to the imitation wild AR and 45 specific to the cultivated AR. The correlation between chemical constituents and the pharmacological effects of AR was evaluated. Based on orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and S-plot analysis, five potential biomarkers were identified, including Calycosin-7-glucoside, Rhamnocitrin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, Ononin, 3,5-Dicaffeoylquinic acid, and Acetylastragaloside I. These biomarkers likely account for the differences in immune-enhancing effects between the two AR types. This study provides a scientific foundation for the rational use of Astragali Radix.

Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive spectroscopic technique that provides complex molecular information. It is used to examine the physiological and pathological responses of living cells, such as differentiation, malignancy, and inflammation. The responses of two cellular states, initial and full-blown inflammation, have mainly been investigated using a comparative analysis with Raman spectra. However, the tipping point of the inflammatory state transition remains unclear. Therefore, the present study attempted to identify the tipping point of inflammation using a cell model. We stimulated RAW264.7 mouse macrophages with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and continuously collected Raman spectra every 2 h for 24 h from the initial and full-blown inflammation states. A Partial Least Squares analysis and Principal Component Analysis-Linear Discriminant Analysis predicted the tipping point as 14 h after the LPS stimulation. In addition, a Dynamical Network Biomarker (DNB) analysis, identifying the tipping point of a state transition in various phenomena, indicated that the tipping point was 14 h and identified tryptophan as a biomarker. The results of a multivariate analysis and DNB analysis show the cellular tipping point.

The reason why young people taking concomitantly cannabis (THC) and ethanol (EtOH) are more prone to stroke is underresearched. To investigate whether an underlying mechanism of increased brain damage could be an impaired mitochondrial function, this experiment determined the acute effects of EtOH, both alone and associated with THC, on mitochondrial respiration and oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide H₂O₂) on young (11 weeks) and middle-aged (45 weeks) brain in rats, using a high-resolution oxygraph (Oxygraph-2K, Oroboros instruments). In young brains, EtOH decreased mitochondrial respiration by -51.76 ± 2.60% (from 32.76 ± 3.82 to 17.41 ± 1.42 pmol/s/mL, p < 0.0001). In 45-week-old brains, the decrease was lesser, but still significant -36.0 ± 2.80% (from 30.73 ± 7.72 to 20.59 ± 5.48 pmol/s/mL, p < 0.0001). Concomitant THC aggravated brain mitochondrial respiration decreases at 11 weeks (-86.86 ± 1.74%, p < 0.0001) and at 45 weeks (-73.95 ± 3.69%, p < 0.0001). Such additional injury was enhanced in young brains (p < 0.01). H₂O₂ production was similar in both age groups (1.0 ± 0.2 versus 1.1 ± 0.08 pmol O₂/s/mL) and was not modified by THC addition. In conclusion, EtOH alone significantly impairs brain mitochondrial respiration and concomitant THC further aggravates such damage, particularly in young brains. These data support the hypothesis that enhanced mitochondrial dysfunction might participate in the increased occurrence of stroke in the young and urge for better prevention against EtOH and THC addictions in adolescents.

This study assessed the potential of dried Cayenne pepper (CP; Capsicum annuum L.) as a natural additive to rice bran oil (RBO), grape seed oil (GSO), and virgin olive oil (OO). Key analyses included peroxide and acid values, oxidative stability (Rancimat method), the composition of fatty acids (FAs) (GC-FID method), antioxidant activity (AA; DPPH method), and antimicrobial properties (disc diffusion method). Capsaicin and the dihydrocapsaicin contents in CP were quantified (HPLC-DAD method) as 1499.37 ± 3.64 and 1449.04 ± 5.14 mg/kg DW, respectively. Oleic acid (C18:1cis n9) dominated in OO (69.70%), OO-CP (69.73%), and RBO-CP (38.97%), while linoleic acid (C18:2cis n6) prevailed in RBO (41.34%), GSO (57.93%), and GSO-CP (58.03%). The addition of CP influenced the FA profile, particularly linoleic acid in OO and RBO, and all FAs in GSO. Peroxide and acid values increased significantly in RBO and GSO upon CP addition, but induction times remained unaffected. The strongest AA (77.00 ± 0.13%) was observed in OO-CP. Cayenne pepper significantly enhanced the antioxidant profiles of all oils compared to the counterparts. However, the antimicrobial activity was weak (≤5.0 mm inhibition zones) against tested microorganisms. These findings support CP as a functional additive for enhancing the nutritional and functional properties of gourmet oils, while highlighting the need for further optimization to improve stability and bioactivity.

The European Union, producing over 2.5 billion tons of waste annually, has prompted the European Parliament to implement legal measures and encourage the shift towards a circular economy. Millions of tons of biowaste from olive plant leaves are generated annually, resulting in environmental and economic challenges. To address this, the biowaste of olive leaves was valorized, resulting in the extraction of valuable components, triterpenes and polyphenols, which hold potential pharmaceutical, food, or cosmetic applications. Our research involved the formulation of a triterpene extract (TTP70, 70% triterpenes) as a solid dispersion using Poloxamer-188 (P188) and Poloxamer-407 (P407). The solid dispersions were prepared using a kneading method and various extract-to-polymer weight ratios, including 1:1, 1:2, and 1:5. The influence of hydrophilic carriers on the solubility, dissolution profile, and in vitro passive permeability of TTP70 was evaluated. Both carriers and all considered weight ratios significantly improved the solubility of hydrophobic extract and the dissolution of triterpenes. PAMPA experiments demonstrated the efficacy of the formulation in improving the passive permeation of triterpenes. Subsequently, the solid dispersions were physically mixed with a polyphenol-enriched extract (OPA40, 49% of polyphenols) also obtained from olive leaves, and they were used to fill hard gelatin capsules and produce an oral dosage form. The composite formulations improved the dissolution of both classes of constituents.