A 3D Lead Iodide Hybrid Based on a 2D Perovskite Subnetwork

Lead halide perovskites have emerged as promising materials for various optoelectronic applications. For photovoltaics, the reference compound is the 3D perovskite (MA)PbI3 (MA+ = methylammonium). However, this material suffers from instabilities towards humidity or light. This makes the search of new stable 3D lead halide materials very relevant. A strategy is the use of intermediate size cations instead of MA, which are not suitable to form the 3D ABX3 perovskites or 2D perovskites. Here, we report on a novel 3D metal halide hybrid material based on the intermediate size cation hydroxypropylammonium (HPA+), (HPA)6(MA)Pb5I17. We will see that extending the carbon chain length from two CH2 units (in the hydroxylethylammonium cation, HEA+) to three (HPA+) precludes the formation of a perovskite network as found in the lead and iodide deficient perovskite (HEA,MA)1+xPbxI3−x. In (HPA)6(MA)Pb5I17 the 3D lead halide network results from a 2D perovskite subnetworks linked by a PbI6 octahedra sharing its faces. DFT calculations confirm the direct band gap and reveal the peculiar band structure of this 3D network. On one hand the valence band has a 1D nature involving the p orbitals of the halide. On the other, the conduction band possesses a clear 2D character involving hybridization between the p orbitals of the metal and the halide.

Ceriporia lacerata Mycelium Culture Medium as a Novel Anti-Aging Microbial Material for Cosmeceutical Application

Skincare is very critical in preventing aging and skin trouble, which is difficult to recover if progressed. However, the development of effective anti-aging solutions is still on the horizon. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the functional efficacy of Ceriporia lacerata exo-pharmaceutical substance (CLEPS) in view of its use in innovative skin care cosmetics. CLEPS was found to have no cytotoxicity against normal human dermal fibroblasts and B16 melanoma cells in a wide concentration range of 0.05–7 mg/mL. It exhibited a whitening effect by inhibiting melanin synthesis comparable to that of the respective reference compound (arbutin). Notably, CLEPS not only substantially increased collagen (65.4%) and filaggrin synthesis (36%), but also significantly inhibited the activity of collagenase (93.4%), suggesting that CLEPS could prevent skin barrier damage or skin wrinkles. In addition, it showed an excellent anti-inflammatory effect and wound-healing effect. Overall, CLEPS exhibited exceptional anti-aging effects in human skin cells, designating as a potential natural cosmeceutical ingredient.

Simple Nonionic Omnisoluble Tetraphenylporphyrin for Relative Referencing of Singlet Oxygen Quantum Yield

Meso-tetrakis-(3,4,5-tris{2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy}phenyl)porphyrin TEG12PH2 is reported as an ‘omnisoluble’ TPP reference for singlet oxygen (1O2) generation quantum yield (ΦSO) estimation. TEG12PH2 is a highly soluble, nonionic compound possessing excellent 1O2 QY in a wide variety of common solvents, including water. TEG12PH2 was prepared on multigram scale by the 12-way O-alkylation of tetrakis(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)porphyrin using 2-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl 4-toluenesulfonate as reaction solvent. The corresponding Zn(II) complex TEG12PZn was also prepared and studied. Its 1O2 QYs in the different solvents studied were found to be 0.86 (acetone), 0.59 (acetonitrile), 0.66 (chloroform), 0.85 (methanol), 0.45 (toluene) and 0.51 (water). TEG12PH2 can be considered a reliable and easy to implement omnisoluble reference compound for the estimation of the 1O2 generating activities of new materials, especially new porphyrinic compounds.

Hybrid Multivalent Jack Bean α-Mannosidase Inhibitors: The First Example of Gold Nanoparticles Decorated with Deoxynojirimycin Inhitopes

Among carbohydrate-processing enzymes, Jack bean α-mannosidase (JBα-man) is the glycosidase with the best responsiveness to the multivalent presentation of iminosugar inhitopes. We report, in this work, the preparation of water dispersible gold nanoparticles simultaneously coated with the iminosugar deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) inhitope and simple monosaccharides (β-d-gluco- or α-d-mannosides). The display of DNJ at the gold surface has been modulated (i) by using an amphiphilic linker longer than the aliphatic chain used for the monosaccharides and (ii) by presenting the inhitope, not only in monomeric form, but also in a trimeric fashion through combination of a dendron approach with glyconanotechnology. The latter strategy resulted in a strong enhancement of the inhibitory activity towards JBα-man, with a Ki in the nanomolar range (Ki = 84 nM), i.e., more than three orders of magnitude higher than the monovalent reference compound.

Exploration of Nonlinear Optical Enhancement and Interesting Optical Behavior with Pyrene Moiety as the Conjugated Donor and Efficient Modification in Acceptor Moieties

Herein, a series of new pyrene based hexylcyanoacetate derivatives (HPPC1-HPPC8) with A–π–D–π–D configuration were designed by end-capped modeling of non-fullerene acceptors on the structure of reference compound named dihexyl 3,3'-(pyrene-1,6-diylbis(4,1-phenylene))(2E,2'E)-bis(2-cyanoacrylate) HPPCR. Quantum chemical calculations of HPPCR and HPPC1-HPPC8 were accomplished at M06/6-31G(d, p) level. The stability of molecules due to the strongest hyper conjugative interactions in HPPCR and HPPC1-HPPC8 was estimated through NBO study. Interestingly, HOMO-LUMO band-gap of HPPC1-HPPC8 was found smaller than HPPCR which resulted in large NLO response. Among all the investigated compounds HPPC7 showed the larger NLO response due to the presence of four cyanide (CN) groups which strengthens the bridge conjugation, and its band gap was found to be 2.11eV, smaller as compared to band gap of HPPCR (3.225 eV). The absorption spectra of HPPC1-HPPC8 compounds showed maximum absorption wavelengths (483–707 nm) than HPPCR (471.764nm). The designed compounds showed high NLO response than HPPCR. Amazingly, highest amplitude of linear polarizability < α>, first hyperpolarizability (βtotal) and second hyperpolarizability < γ > for HPPC7 were achieved to be 1331.191, 200112.2 and 4.131 ×107 (a.u), respectively. NLO response showed that the HPPC1-HPPC8 might be potential candidates for NLO applications.

SSC-ILD mouse model induced by osmotic minipump delivered bleomycin: effect of Nintedanib

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by an excessive production and accumulation of collagen in the skin and internal organs often associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Its pathogenetic mechanisms are unknown and the lack of animal models mimicking the features of the human disease is creating a gap between the selection of anti-fibrotic drug candidates and effective therapies. In this work, we intended to pharmacologically validate a SSc-ILD model based on 1 week infusion of bleomycin (BLM) by osmotic minipumps in C57/BL6 mice, since it will serve as a tool for secondary drug screening. Nintedanib (NINT) has been used as a reference compound to investigate antifibrotic activity either for lung or skin fibrosis. Longitudinal Micro-CT analysis highlighted a significant slowdown in lung fibrosis progression after NINT treatment, which was confirmed by histology. However, no significant effect was observed on lung hydroxyproline content, inflammatory infiltrate and skin lipoatrophy. The modest pharmacological effect reported here could reflect the clinical outcome, highlighting the reliability of this model to better profile potential clinical drug candidates. The integrative approach presented herein, which combines longitudinal assessments with endpoint analyses, could be harnessed in drug discovery to generate more reliable, reproducible and robust readouts.

Molecular Docking and ADME Study of Quinoline and Chalcone based Derivatives for Anti-Cancer Activity

Cancer is a big issue that affects people all over the world. It develops as a result of uncontrolled cell growth. The interaction between developed ligands and thymine phosphorylation was investigated in this study, which was computationally optimized. The aim of this study was to examine the anticancerous activity of designed ligands in thymine phosphorylation (PDB ID: 1UOU) in order to minimize the cost and time required to develop a novel anticancer drug with minimal side effects. All the designed ligands showed mild to excellent binding with proteins. Most of the ligands exhibited better interaction compared to reference compound Tamoxifen with pdb files. Some of the designed ligands among (1-7) in qunoline derivatives and (1-5) in Chalcone derivatives showed excellent docking scores with PDB file (1UOU) of thymine phosphorylation. All the designed ligands and Zinc databases were docked with 1UOU PDB files of protein, and it was found that out of twenty-five designed ligands in Qunoline series, ligand 25 showed the best binding (docking score −8.268) with 1UOU PDB of protein thymine phosphorylation. And that out of ten designed ligands in Chalcone series, ligand K1 showed the best binding (docking score −9.433) with 1UOU PDB of protein thymine phosphorylation. Docked ligand cavity of ligand ku 25 in qunoline series and K 9 in Chalcone series showed important hydrophobic/non-polar residues such as Ile199, Ile316, Trp119, Phe168, Ile198, Cys172, Tyr188, Tyr398, Tyr435, Phe343, Tyr60, Leu328, Leu171, and showed pi-pi interaction with Tyr326. Further wet laboratory studies are continued in our laboratory to confirm and find out the efficiency and activity of target compounds.

Human IPSC-Derived Model to Study Myelin Disruption

Myelin is of vital importance to the central nervous system and its disruption is related to a large number of both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. The differences observed between human and rodent oligodendrocytes make animals inadequate for modeling these diseases. Although developing human in vitro models for oligodendrocytes and myelinated axons has been a great challenge, 3D cell cultures derived from iPSC are now available and able to partially reproduce the myelination process. We have previously developed a human iPSC-derived 3D brain organoid model (also called BrainSpheres) that contains a high percentage of myelinated axons and is highly reproducible. Here, we have further refined this technology by applying multiple readouts to study myelination disruption. Myelin was assessed by quantifying immunostaining/confocal microscopy of co-localized myelin basic protein (MBP) with neurofilament proteins as well as proteolipid protein 1 (PLP1). Levels of PLP1 were also assessed by Western blot. We identified compounds capable of inducing developmental neurotoxicity by disrupting myelin in a systematic review to evaluate the relevance of our BrainSphere model for the study of the myelination/demyelination processes. Results demonstrated that the positive reference compound (cuprizone) and two of the three potential myelin disruptors tested (Bisphenol A, Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate, but not methyl mercury) decreased myelination, while ibuprofen (negative control) had no effect. Here, we define a methodology that allows quantification of myelin disruption and provides reference compounds for chemical-induced myelin disruption.

α,α-Difluorophosphonohydroxamic Acid Derivatives among the Best Antibacterial Fosmidomycin Analogues

Three α,α-difluorophosphonate derivatives of fosmidomycin were synthesized from diethyl 1,1-difluorobut-3-enylphosphonate and were evaluated on Escherichia coli. Two of them are among the best 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase inhibitors, with IC50 in the nM range, much better than fosmidomycin, the reference compound. They also showed an enhanced antimicrobial activity against E. coli on Petri dishes in comparison with the corresponding phosphates and the non-fluorinated phosphonate.