Bioactive/Natural Polymeric Scaffolds Loaded with Ciprofloxacin for Treatment of Osteomyelitis

Local delivery of antibiotic into injured bone is a demand. In this work, different scaffolds of chitosan (C) with or without bioactive glass (G) were prepared using the freeze-drying technique in 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2 weight ratios. Chitosan scaffolds and selected formulas of chitosan to bioglass were loaded with ciprofloxacin in 5%, 10%, and 20% w/w. Scaffold morphology showed an interconnected porous structure, where the glass particles were homogeneously dispersed in the chitosan matrix. The kinetic study confirmed that the scaffold containing 1:2 weight ratio of chitosan to glass (CG12) showed optimal bioactivity with good compromise between Ca and P uptake capacities and Si release rate. Chitosan/bioactive glass scaffolds showed larger t ₅₀ values indicating less burst drug release followed by a sustained drug release profile compared to that of chitosan scaffolds. The cell growth, migration, adhesion, and invasion were enhanced onto CG12 scaffold surfaces. Samples of CG12 scaffolds with or without 5% drug induced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), while those containing 10% drug diminished VEGF level. Only CG12 induced the cell differentiation (alkaline phosphatase activity). In conclusion, CG12 containing 5% drug can be considered a biocompatible carrier which would help in the localized osteomyelitis treatment.     

应用微卫星分型进行小熊猫亲子鉴定

小熊猫栖息于喜马拉雅与横断山脉,是亚洲濒危物种。中国的小熊猫谱系已登记圈养小熊猫个体９６８ 只,现有存活个体３５５ 只（２０１３ 年）,然而,现有谱系中存在部分信息不明确的问题。为此,我们选择１９ 对小熊猫特异性引物对４１ 只圈养小熊猫进行微卫星扩增,并分析其亲缘关系。将获取的亲子鉴定结果,结合种群原始记录信息,利用Pedigraph 软件构建福州圈养小熊猫的种群遗传谱系图。结果表明：在母子关系确实的情况下,１９个基因座位的联合父权排除概率为０. ９９９９９９６８;利用６ 个已知双亲的后代检验１９ 个基因座位的可信度,后代与双亲的基因型完全符合孟德尔遗传定律,表明１９个基因座位能有效确认小熊猫的亲权关系。应用１９ 个微卫星标记成功地为１５ 个后代找到了生物学父亲。尽管一些雌性个体在繁殖期有多重交配的行为,亲子鉴定的结果显示同一窝小熊猫均来自单一父权。基因型比对结果表明７ 对双胞胎均属于异卵双生子。福州种群的后代中除＃９２０和＃９２１ 外,其余均源于＃４８７ 或＃８９８ 两只雄性,表明不同个体参与繁殖的机会不均等。因此,利用现代繁殖技术,加强濒危野动物种群管理,科学制定繁殖计划具有积极的现实意义。     

Effects of mycorrhizae and chitin-hydrolysing microbes on Vicia faba

The effect of Streptomyces albovinaceus (S-22) and Bacillus sp. (B1) on the growth response, nodulation, nutrition and nitrogenase activities of faba bean (Vicia faba) varieties infected with Glomus mosseae under pot conditions in sterile soil amended with chitin was studied. The growth, nodulation, nutrients content and nitrogenase activity of mycorrhiza-treated plants of Giza-667 were significantly increased compared to untreated ones. Such increases were related to the increase in mycorrhizal root infection. Amendment of soil with chitin alone reduced the growth, nodulation, total nitrogen contents and nitrogenase activities of mycorrhiza-treated faba bean plants (Giza-667) compared to untreated plants. Inoculation of plants with S. albovinaceus or Bacillus sp. significantly increased the level of mycorrhizal roots infection, but addition of chitin to the soil in combination with Bacillus sp. reduced the mycorrhizal infection of faba bean roots. Highest phosphorus contents of faba bean Giza-667 were recorded after G. mosseae inoculation in the presence of all treatments. Similar results were observed for the other varieties. The microbial populations were significantly increased in rhizospheres amended with chitin. Such increases were not in response to the mycorrhizal inoculation. Generally, the microflora of faba bean rhizospheres was increased after treatment with G. mosseae in the absence of chitin amendment alone compared with non-mycorrhizal rhizospheres.     

Homogeneous oxidative coupling catalysts: stoichiometry and characterization of the first stable oxotetranuclear solids [(Pip)nCuX]4O2 (n=1 or 2, Pip=piperidine, X=Cl, Br, I)

Copper(I) halides react quantitatively with piperidine (Pip) in dioxygen-free methylene chloride or nitrobenzene to form tetranuclear copper(I) complexes [(Pip)_nCuX]₄; n=1 or 2, X=Cl, Br or I. These complexes are very soluble and completely reduce dioxygen to dioxo bridging ligand, with stoichiometry, Δ[Cu(I)]/Δ[O₂]=4.0. The stable oxo solids [(Pip)_nCuX]₄O₂ mimic tyrosinase copper protein. They act as a homogeneous oxidative coupling catalysts for phenols. Electronic transition spectra in the near infrared with high molecular absorptivity are diagnostic for tetranuclear “Cu₄X₄” core structure. The electronic transitions are more likely due to charge transfer between a minimum of three halo ligands and copper(II) center. The room temperature EPR spectra of [(Pip)_nCuX]₄O₂ in methylene chloride are isotropic with four hyperfine lines. The room temperature solid-state EPR spectra of [PipCuX]₄O₂ show an axial spectra with d_x²−y² ground state, suggesting square pyramidal arrangement of the five coordinated ligands around copper(II) centers. Cyclic voltammetry measurements show that they are more likely irreversible in character and show slight quasi-reversability when X=Br or I. Constant potential electrolysis indicate that the number of electrons consumed are equal to four electrons which will be due to the reduction of four copper(II) to copper(I).     

Comparison of the dynamics of the primary events of bacteriorhodopsin in its trimeric and monomeric states

In this paper, femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy in the visible region of the spectrum has been used to examine the ultrafast dynamics of the retinal excited state in both the native trimeric state and the monomeric state of bacteriorhodopsin (bR). It is found that the excited state lifetime (probed at 490 nm) increases only slightly upon the monomerization of bR. No significant kinetic difference is observed in the recovery process of the bR ground state probed at 570 nm nor in the fluorescent state observed at 850 nm. However, an increase in the relative amplitude of the slow component of bR excited state decay is observed in the monomer, which is due to the increase in the concentration of the 13-cis retinal isomer in the ground state of the light-adapted bR monomer. Our data indicate that when the protein packing around the retinal is changed upon bR monomerization, there is only a subtle change in the retinal potential surface, which is dependent on the charge distribution and the dipoles within the retinal-binding cavity. In addition, our results show that 40% of the excited state bR molecules return to the ground state on three different time scales: one-half-picosecond component during the relaxation of the excited state and the formation of the J intermediate, a 3-ps component as the J changes to the K intermediate where retinal photoisomerization occurs, and a subnanosecond component during the photocycle.     

The protonation-deprotonation kinetics of the protonated Schiff base in bicelle bacteriorhodopsin crystals

In the recently published x-ray crystal structure of the "bicelle" bacteriorhodopsin (bbR) crystal, the protein has quite a different structure from the native and the in cubo bacteriorhodopsin (cbR) crystal. Instead of packing in parallel trimers as do the native membrane and the cbR crystals, in the bbR crystal the protein packs as antiparallel monomers. To date, no functional studies have been performed, to our knowledge, to investigate if the photocycle is observed in this novel protein packing structure. In this study, both Raman and time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy are used to both confirm the presence of the photocycle and investigate the deprotonation-reprotonation kinetics of the Schiff base proton in the bbR crystal. The observed rates of deprotonation and reprotonation processes of its Schiff base have been compared to those observed for native bR under the same conditions. Unlike the previously observed similarity of the rates of these processes for cbR crystals and those for native bacteriorhodopsin (bR), in bbR crystals the rate of deprotonation has increased by 300%, and the rate of reprotonation has decreased by nearly 700%. These results are discussed in light of the changes observed when native bR is delipidated or monomerized by detergents. Both the change of the hydrophobicity of the environment around the protonated Schiff base and Asp85 and Asp96 (which could change the pKa values of proton donor-acceptor pairs) and the water structure in the bbR crystal are offered as possible explanations for the different observations.     

Degradation of phenylacetate by Acinetobacter spp.: evidence for the phenylacetyl-coenzyme A pathway

The aerobic degradation of phenylacetate (PA) by many bacteria has recently been shown to proceed via an unprecedented catabolic route. A typical feature of this pathway is the transformation of PA to phenylacetyl-coenzyme A (PACoA). However, the aerobic degradation of PA by Acinetobacter spp. is not sufficiently understood. To gain insight into the catabolism of PA by Acinetobacter spp., we isolated several PA-degrading Acinetobacter spp. from a wastewater treatment plant in Germany using enrichment cultures with PA as a sole carbon source. We also conducted in vitro PA transformation assays based on the detection of PACoA. The identification of the isolated bacteria was based on partial 16S rDNA sequences. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolated strains are members of the Acinetobacter group and could be regarded as strains of Acinetobacter spp. The soluble protein fraction obtained from cells cultured on PA-containing medium transformed PA to several intermediates, as detected by thin layer chromatography and autoradiography. The formation of one intermediate was CoA dependent and comigrated with a sample of PACoA, the earliest characteristic intermediate of the PA catabolic pathway, suggesting that the isolated PA-degrading Acinetobacter spp. utilize the recently elucidated PA catabolic pathway. A database search revealed that many Acinetobacter spp. harbor PA catabolic genes analogous to the paa gene cluster of Escherichia coli K-12.     

Spectral properties and inclusion of a hetero-chalcone analogue in organized media of micellar solutions and beta-cyclodextrin

The absorption and fluorescence emission spectral properties of 3-(4'-dimethylaminophenyl)-1-(2-thienyl)prop-2-en-1-one, abbreviated as DMATP, have been investigated in organized media of aqueous micellar and beta-cyclodextrin (CD) solutions. While the absorption spectra are less sensitive to the nature of the added surfactant or CD, the characteristics of the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) fluorescence are highly sensitive to the properties of the medium. The ICT maximum is strongly blue-shifted with a great enhancement in the fluorescence quantum yield on adding micellar or CD solutions. This indicates the solubilization of DMATP in the micellar core and formation of an inclusion complex with beta-CD. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) as well as the polarity of the micellar core of SDS, CTAB and TX-100 have been determined. The CMC values are in good agreement with the reported values while the polarity is lower indicating that DMATP molecules are incorporated in the micellar core not at the micellar interface. The inclusion constants of binding of DMATP in micellar or CD have been also determined. The thermodynamic parameters of formation of DMATP:CD inclusion complex have been calculated from the temperature dependence of the fluorescence spectra of the formed complex. The negative enthalpy and free energy of formation indicate that the inclusion process is energetically favorable. The highly negative value of formation entropy (DeltaS = -162.3 J mol(-1) K(-1)) reflects the high restrictions imposed on the movement of both the host and included guest molecules which is consistent with the increase of the fluorescence yield and blue shift of the fluorescence maximum.     

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Some 2-Pyridone Nucleosides Containing a Sulfonamide Moiety

Glycosylation of 2-pyridonesulfonamide 1a,b with glycosyl/galactosyl bromide gave the corresponding glycosides 2a,b, 3a,b, 6a,b, and 7a,b, respectively. Deacetylation of the resulting glycosides gave the corresponding glycosides 4a,b, 5a,b, 8a,b, and 9a,b, respectively, in good yields. Furthermore, reaction of 2-pyridonesulfonamide 1b with lactosyl bromide gave a mixture the corresponding N, O-lactosides 10 and 11, which were deacetylated to give the corresponding glycosides 12 and 13, respectively. The structures of the new synthesized compounds were characterized by using IR, ¹H, ¹³C NMR spectra, and microanalysis. Selected members of these compounds were screened for antimicrobial activity.