The synthesis and properties of binuclear pentacyanoiron(III)-μ-cyano- amminetetracyanoiron(III) [(C6H5)4P]4[(NC)5Fe---NC---Fe(CN)4NH3]·6H2O

The binuclear cyanoferrate, tetraphenylphosphonium pentacyanoiron(III)-μ-cyano-amminetetracyanoiron(III), [(C₆H₅)₄P]₄[Fe₂(CN)₁₀NH₃]⁴⁻, was synthesized by air oxidation of aqueous solutions of Na₃[Fe(CN)₅NH₃] · 3H₂O. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies show the compound to contain the binuclear, cyano-bridged anion, [(NC)₅Fe---NC---Fe(CN)₄NH₃]⁴⁻. This compound is structurally identical to the one prepared by A. Ludi et al., [Inorg. Chim. Acta, 34, 113 (1979)], with the exception that [Fe(CN)₆]³⁻ is not required for the synthesis of this compound. The Fe(III) atoms are antiferromagnetically coupled through the CN⁻ bridge, as shown by a maximum in the magnetic susceptibility at 50 K. The electronic and IR spectra of the complex in the solid state and in solution are discussed.     

miR-210 is induced by hypoxia and regulates neural cell adhesion molecule in prostate cells

Hypoxia in prostate tumours has been associated with disease progression and metastasis. MicroRNAs are short noncoding RNA molecules that are important in several cell processes, but their role in hypoxic signalling is still poorly understood. miR-210 has been linked with hypoxic mechanisms, but this relationship has been poorly characterised in prostate cancer. In this report, the link between hypoxia and miR-210 in prostate cancer cells is investigated. Polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrates that miR-210 is induced by hypoxia in prostate cancer cells using in vitro cell models and an in vivo prostate tumour xenograft model. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas prostate biopsy datasets shows that miR-210 is significantly correlated with Gleason grade and other clinical markers of prostate cancer progression. Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is identified as a target of miR-210, providing a biological mechanism whereby hypoxia-induced miR-210 expression can contribute to prostate cancer. This study provides evidence that miR-210 is an important regulator of cell response to hypoxic stress and proposes that its regulation of NCAM may play an important role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer.     

Silica-based cationic bilayers as immunoadjuvants

Background  

Silica particles cationized by dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODAB) bilayer were previously described. This work shows the efficiency of these particulates for antigen adsorption and presentation to the immune system and proves the concept that silica-based cationic bilayers exhibit better performance than alum regarding colloid stability and cellular immune responses for vaccine design.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for fingerprinting and quantitative determination of E- and Z-guggulsterones in Commiphora mukul resin and its products

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed and validated for the fingerprinting (profiling) and quantitative determination of E- and Z-guggulsterones, the hypolipidemic agents in the gum-resin exudate of Commiphora mukul, currently marketed worldwide as hypocholesterolemic. The method involves extraction of the guggul-resin from either the raw exudate or compounded tablets (or capsules) with ethyl acetate, concentration of the combined extracts and chromatography on a reversed-phase C₁₈ column using an acetonitrile–water gradient. The method has a validated quantitation range of 15–85 μg/ml for E-guggulsterone and 25–130 μg/ml for Z-guggulsterone with a precision of ±2% S.D. and a recovery of >99.5%. Standard curve correlation coefficients of 0.992 or greater were obtained during validation experiments. The method was applied to six commercial (OTC) products, all of which were found to contain significantly less (in most cases very little or none) of the claimed guggulsterones.