Article
Polymer Science
Rajan Kumar, Nishkarsh Kumar, Shubham Chandel, Akash Tiwari, Nirmalya Ghosh, Raja Shunmugam
Summary: There are many reports on bathochromic emissive material associated with non-covalent interaction, but few reports on emissive material with covalent crosslinked approach. Therefore, a unique method for synthesis of crosslinked polymeric materials via thermal Click reaction was highlighted, where the static aggregate of naphthalene (Np) in Polym-Np or pyrene (Py) in Polym-Py showed energy tunable emission. The crosslinked polymeric materials were well-characterized using spectroscopic and analytical methods, and the energy tunability to fluorescence emission with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was observed. The crosslinked polymers-Polym-Np and Polym-Py exhibited quantum efficiency of 2.54% and 8.72% respectively. Full polarization fluorescence Mueller matrix (FLMM) spectroscopy was used to extract and quantify the molecular orientation, which showed that the PAHs within the crosslinked polymers were well organized in the excited state. Such materials have potential applications in photocatalysis, chemosensing, etc.
POLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Shuke Yang, Liang-Hua Zou, Runqi Li, Yu Jiang, Fei Ren, Andong Shao
Summary: Photoactivatable fluorescence imaging is a valuable method for visualizing protein localization, trafficking, and interactions. In this study, we designed four bioorthogonal fluorescent probes by incorporating photoactive cages and HaloTag ligands onto a coumarin fluorophore. Only one of the probes, K3, displayed an aggregation-induced emission effect. Macromolecular fluorescent probes were obtained by covalently attaching the probes to HaloTag-fused proteins, and they exhibited higher fluorescence increase upon photoactivation compared to other probes. Additionally, we observed fluorescence resonance energy transfer from K3 and K4 to GFP in protein complexes. Moreover, K3 and K4 showed long-term tracking ability for intracellular protein IRE1_Halo. Therefore, we have established a platform for in vitro and in-cell rapid photoactivation using novel bioorthogonal fluorescent probes conjugated onto Halo-tagged proteins.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Seunghwan Kim, Sang Yeol Lee, Ji Woong Chang, Dae Ryook Yang
Summary: A facile method for estimating the kinetics of unseeded batch crystallization was developed through mass and average size measurements. The population balance equation (PBE) was reformulated as a function of both mass and average size to determine mass balance and obtain crystallization kinetics. Inorganic and organic compounds were evaluated, and the method allowed for the extraction of kinetic parameters for crystal nucleation and growth. The predicted crystallization behaviors were validated with experiments, showcasing the usefulness of the developed method for evaluating lumped kinetic parameters of unseeded batch crystallizations.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Takahiro Kusukawa, Ryosuke Mura, Masashi Ooe, Ryuki Sumida, Ayaka Nakagawa
Summary: The diphenylnaphthalene-based diguanidine shows selective recognition towards dicarboxylic acids and diphosphonic acids, forming complexes with them in DMSO solution. The fluorescence characteristics of the diguanidine make it applicable for the detection of these target compounds.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Zhaoxia Ao, Shanshan Feng, Chenyang Zhao, Shilin Guo, Kangli Li, Dandan Han, Junbo Gong
Summary: This study explored the solid stability of methylcobalamin hydrate powders and discovered three hydrate powders with special structures. The results showed that drying conditions and surrounding humidity were controlling factors influencing the final solid form. The particle size of the product could be regulated and controlled by optimizing the operating conditions of the crystallization process.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Ashwani Kumar, Won Hur, Gi Hun Seong, Pil Seok Chae
Summary: Novel water-soluble probes were synthesized for sensitive detection of industrial toxins DMSO and DMF, showing high selectivity and low detection limits. Disaggregation of probe aggregates and electron transfer were identified as key factors contributing to the probes' high sensitivity and selectivity in detecting the organic solvents containing a sulfoxide/amide group.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mustafa Yavuz Celik, Ozhan Ozkan
Summary: This study investigated the durability of three low-porous beige-cream marbles using a salt crystallization test. The results showed that these marbles exhibited excellent resistance to salt crystallization.
BULLETIN OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elham Vahdatahar, Niels Junius, Monika Budayova-Spano
Summary: The use of neutron macromolecular crystallography (NMX) is expanding rapidly, but neutron sources are weaker than X-ray sources. Larger crystals are needed for neutron diffraction studies, so improvements in methods and instrumentation are necessary. A rational approach to crystal growth bench has been developed to control size and number of crystals generated.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Tobias Taufer, Maximilian Quasdorf, Peter Ehlers, Peter Langer
Summary: The study presents a new method for the synthesis of a novel naphthyridine derivative, and investigates the influence of substituents and acid on its optical properties. The experimental results show that the synthesized compounds have good yields under Palladium catalysis, providing important references for further research.
Article
Polymer Science
Mahdi Hamidinejad, Taib Arif, Guorui Wang, Sasan Rezaei, Peter Serles, Hayden K. . Taylor, Chul B. Park, Tobin Filleter
Summary: The study directly images the sectorization of polymer single crystals through anisotropic elastic deformation on the crystal surface. By utilizing a variant of friction force microscopy, the scanning direction of the probe tip parallel to the cantilever axis allows for high contrast imaging of sectorization in polymer single crystals. This approach provides a fast, easy, and nondestructive characterization of the microstructure and in-plane elastic anisotropy of compliant crystalline materials such as polymers.
Article
Polymer Science
Tereza Jurczykova, Frantisek Kacik, Iveta Cabalova, Katerina Hajkova
Summary: This study evaluates the effect of using inorganic chemicals as the main components of waterborne wood preservative systems on the degradation of cellulose in wood. It shows that the polymeric properties of cellulose and the homogeneity of the degradation process reflect the degree of cellulose deterioration. The results suggest that borates, NaCl, and ZnSO4 center dot 7H(2)O have the lowest degradation rate, while sulphates containing NH4+, Cu2+, and Fe3+ cations cause significant depolymerization.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Rongsheng Gao, Lingxiao Li, Xueyan Liu, Chengyou Kan
Summary: A novel fluorescent molecule DADENA with disulfide bond and amino was synthesized and its spectral properties were studied. The PU-DADENA nanoparticles showed good transparency, uniformity, and high stability, with almost 100% reduction conversion of disulfide bonds. DADENA and PU-DADENA nanoparticles have potential applications in fluorescent cell marking, cancer detection, and drug delivery.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yifei Xu, Marco Bonizzoni
Summary: Penicillins and cephalosporins, two commonly used antibiotics, can be rapidly and sensitively detected using PAMAM dendrimers and calcein as a fluorescent dye. Differentiation of these antibiotics was achieved through linear discriminant analysis, showing the potential of this method for antibiotic detection.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jagajiban Sendh, Jubaraj B. Baruah
Summary: This study describes two different forms of N-amino-1,8-naphthalimide polymorphs, one with a zig-zag chain of symmetry non-equivalent molecules. Nitrate salt and ionic cocrystal of N-amino-1,8-naphthalimide were prepared and structurally characterized. The self-assemblies of these compounds show distinguishable pi-stacks among the naphthalimide rings. The molar conductance values of copper and cadmium complexes in solution are lower than expected, possibly due to the large size of the cationic part in these complexes.
Article
Polymer Science
Chao Zhou, Yubin Wang, Murugappan Muthukumar, Ruoyu Zhang, Jiang Zhao, Di Jia
Summary: This study investigates the hierarchical self-assembly of high-molar mass polyurethane, revealing the competing roles of pi-pi stacking and hydrogen bonding in the self-assembly process. The self-assembled structures exhibit unconventional enhanced ordering at higher temperatures and show a temperature-dependent memory effect. These findings provide new insights into the physical mechanism of entropically regulated macromolecule self-assembly and have potential implications for preventing neurodegenerative diseases arising from ill ordering of macromolecules.
Review
Oncology
Bart Koopman, Harry J. M. Groen, Ed Schuuring, T. Jeroen N. Hiltermann, Wim Timens, Wilfred F. A. den Dunnen, Anke van den Berg, Arja Ter Elst, Michel van Kruchten, Joost L. Kluiver, Birgitta Hiddinga, Lucie B. M. Hijmering-Kappelle, Matthew R. Groves, Juliana F. Vilacha, Leon C. van Kempen, Anthonie J. van der Wekken
Summary: This study provides clinical evidence for targeting on-target resistance mutations in ALK-fusion-positive NSCLC patients treated with ALK inhibitors. The clinical benefit varies for different mutation-inhibitor combinations. Such comprehensive overview can guide the treatment of similar patients in clinical practice.
CLINICAL LUNG CANCER
(2022)
Review
Biology
Mariam Petrosyan, Elina Arakelova, Lyudmila Nersesova, Violetta Ayvazyan, Gohar Tsakanova
Summary: Margarita Malakyan was an active and initiative radiobiologist whose collaboration with chemists, physicists, and biologists around the world led to the development of radioprotectors and radiosensitizers. Her work in synthesizing, characterizing, and studying the toxicity of metal complexes of Schiff bases suggested their effectiveness as radioprotective agents and radiosensitizers.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RADIATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Afsaneh Sadremomtaz, Zayana M. Al-Dahmani, Angel J. Ruiz-Moreno, Alessandra Monti, Chao Wang, Taha Azad, John C. Bell, Nunzianna Doti, Marco A. Velasco-Velazquez, Debora de Jong, Jorgen de Jonge, Jolanda Smit, Alexander Domling, Harry van Goor, Matthew R. Groves
Summary: This study identified hotspot interactions on ACE2 using protein contact atlas data and molecular dynamics simulations. Discontinuous peptides were designed based on these interactions and showed high efficacy in inhibiting the SARS-CoV-2 infection. These peptides, with strong binding affinity to S-RBD, hold potential as efficient therapeutic treatment for COVID-19.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Fausta Ulgheri, Pietro Spanu, Francesco Deligia, Giovanni Loriga, Maria Pia Fuggetta, Iris de Haan, Ajay Chandgudge, Matthew Groves, Alexander Domling
Summary: Using a mixed modelling, computational screening, synthesis and in vitro testing approach, a novel class of non-covalent caspase-1 inhibitors was identified. These inhibitors effectively inhibit IL-1 beta release in activated macrophages, showing potential for the treatment of inflammation and inflammatory diseases.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Robin M. Gierse, Rick Oerlemans, Eswar R. Reddem, Victor O. Gawriljuk, Alaa Alhayek, Dominik Baitinger, Harald Jakobi, Bernd Laber, Gudrun Lange, Anna K. H. Hirsch, Matthew R. Groves
Summary: The development of drug resistance highlights the importance of new antibiotics. Most bacteria synthesize isoprenoid precursors through the MEP pathway, making 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXPS) an attractive target. In this study, the DXPS structure of the pathogenic bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis was successfully solved using a loop truncation method, revealing differences and new insights into the stabilization mechanism of the enamine intermediate. The findings provide an opportunity for structure-based drug design to develop specific inhibitors for M. tuberculosis DXPS.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Chao Wang, Arne Krueger, Xiaochen Du, Carsten Wrenger, Matthew R. Groves
Summary: Malaria, as one of the most serious and dangerous tropical diseases, requires the development of new antimalarials due to the high mutation rate and rapid adaptation of the parasite. The pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway is crucial for cell growth and proliferation, especially for the malarial parasite which lacks a functional pyrimidine salvage pathway. Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) has been identified as a promising target for both anti-malaria and anti-cancer drug development. The recent discovery of an allosteric pocket in the human homology raises the possibility of developing species-selective ATCase inhibitors.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Fatemeh Ghorbani, Mohamed Z. Alimohamed, Juliana F. Vilacha, Krista K. Van Dijk, Jelkje De Boer-Bergsma, Michiel R. Fokkens, Henny Lemmink, Rolf H. Sijmons, Birgit Sikkema-Raddatz, Matthew R. Groves, Corien C. Verschuuren-Bemelmans, Dineke S. Verbeek, Cleo C. Van Diemen, Helga Westers
Summary: Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a group of neurodegenerative disorders with autosomal dominant inheritance. Genetic testing plays an important role in the diagnosis, prognosis and risk assessment for patients and their families. This study addressed the challenge of prioritizing variants with unknown significance (VUSes) for follow-up, and successfully increased the molecular diagnostic yield by 1.1% through reclassification of VUSes.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Eman Abdelraheem, Max Lubberink, Wenja Wang, Jingyao Li, Atilio Reyes Romero, Robin van der Straat, Xiaochen Du, Matthew Groves, Alexander Doemling
Summary: IL-17a is a major inflammation target, with the emergence of small-molecule IL-17a antagonists as a hot topic. Research has found that all described IL-17a modifiers belong to the same pharmacophore model.
ACS MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nika Sokolova, Lili Zhang, Sadaf Deravi, Rick Oerlemans, Matthew R. Groves, Kristina Haslinger
Summary: Oxygen-directed methylation is a common tailoring reaction in natural product pathways catalyzed by O-methyltransferases (OMTs). Two bacterial OMTs from Desulforomonas acetoxidans and Streptomyces avermitilis were characterized for their enzymatic properties and substrate scope, and their crystal structures were determined. Both OMTs methylated a wide range of catechol-like substrates, including flavonoids, coumarins, hydroxybenzoic acids, and their respective aldehydes, an anthraquinone and an indole. This study expands knowledge on the substrate preference and structural diversity of bacterial catechol OMTs and opens up possibilities for their use in (combinatorial) pathway engineering.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Xiaochen Du, Vidhisha Sonawane, Bidong Zhang, Chao Wang, Bram de Ruijter, Alexander S. S. Domling, Norbert Reiling, Matthew R. Groves
Summary: Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) is a target for suppressing cell proliferation in E. coli, human cells and the malarial parasite. This study aimed to test if a library of ATCase inhibitors developed for malarial ATCase (PfATCase) also inhibit the tubercular ATCase and show similar effects on cellular proliferation. Screening of 70 compounds revealed 10 inhibitors with single-digit micromolar inhibition in vitro, and the most promising compound showed a MIC90 of 4 μM against M. tuberculosis cell growth. In silico docking experiments explained the species selectivity observed for this compound series.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Oladapo Olaleye, Christian Graf, Baubek Spanov, Natalia Govorukhina, Matthew R. Groves, Nico C. van de Merbel, Rainer Bischoff
Summary: Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is a method to study the solvent accessibility and conformational dynamics of proteins. In this study, HDX-MS was used to determine the binding sites of Affimer reagents on monoclonal antibodies trastuzumab and pertuzumab. The results showed that the affimer binding led to significant protection in the Fab region of the antibodies. The binding sites of the affimer reagents were mainly located in the CDR2 of the heavy chain of the antibodies, as revealed by bottom-up HDX-MS experiments.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY
(2023)
Article
Crystallography
Victor Oliveira Gawriljuk, Rick Oerlemans, Robin M. Gierse, Riya Jotwani, Anna K. H. Hirsch, Matthew R. Groves
Summary: The development of new antibiotics is stagnant, highlighting the need for drugs with novel modes of action to combat antibiotic resistance. A study focuses on 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXPS), the rate-limiting enzyme in the methylerythritol phosphate pathway used by bacteria to synthesize important precursors. The crystal structure of M. tuberculosis DXPS in complex with the inhibitor butylacetylphosphonate (BAP) reveals its binding mode and provides insights for enhancing the activity of alkylacetylphosphonates (alkylAPs) against M. tuberculosis.
Review
Oncology
Fenneke Zwierenga, Bianca A. M. H. van Veggel, Anke Van den Berg, Harry J. M. Groen, Lili Zhang, Matthew R. Groves, K. Kok, E. F. Smit, T. Jeroen N. Hiltermann, Adrianus J. de Langen, Anthonie J. Van der Wekken
Summary: This article provides a comprehensive assessment of drug sensitivity in vitro and in clinical settings for EGFRex20+ mutations in NSCLC. The activating A763_Y764insFQEA mutation shows better tumor response compared to mutations in other regions, suggesting the need for different treatment approaches. Classification beyond exon-based categories is necessary due to marked differences in treatment responses among EGFRex20+ mutations.
CANCER TREATMENT REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zeyana M. Al-Dahmani, Mojgan Hadian, Angel J. Ruiz-Moreno, Sabogal-Guaqueta Angelica Maria, Fernando A. Batista, Ran Zhang, Yang Luo, Afsaneh Sadremomtaz, Robin van der Straat, Mette Spoor, Amalia M. Dolga, Frank J. Dekker, S. S. Alexander Domling, Harry van Goor, Matthew R. Groves
Summary: A small molecule activator of human TST, identified through screening, increases TST activity and may have therapeutic benefits for diabetes and obesity. Two distinct isomers and an allosteric mode of activation are required for full activation. Molecular docking and dynamics suggest an allosteric site for the activator's binding, and increased TST activity enhances mitochondrial respiration.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yang Luo, Laurent Chatre, Shaden Melhem, Zayana M. Al-Dahmani, Natalie Z. M. Homer, Anneke Miedema, Leo E. Deelman, Matthew R. Groves, Martin Feelisch, Nicholas M. Morton, Amalia Dolga, Harry van Goor
Summary: This study reveals that TST deficiency leads to disturbances in the reactive species interactome in the brain cortex, resulting in altered ROS and RSS (specifically, polysulfide) generation, as well as mitochondrial OXPHOS remodeling. These changes are associated with abnormal Nrf2-Keap1 expression and thiol-dependent antioxidant function. Tst-/- mice exhibit lower antioxidant capacity compared to wildtype controls when challenged with the redox-active herbicide paraquat.
