Barbier Polymerization-Induced Emission towards Fully Substituted Polyethylene Analogues with Non-Traditional Intrinsic Luminescence.

The properties of polyethylene are highly dependent on the variety and quantity of substitutions. Generally, polyethylene can only be fully substituted with fluorine atoms, mainly e. g., polytetrafluoroethylene and nafion, because atomic radius of fluorine atom is small enough. The preparation of fully substituted polyethylene analogues (FSPEA) and their non-traditional intrinsic luminescence (NTIL) are attractive, especially for substitutions with relatively larger atomic radii than a fluorine atom. Here, Barbier polymerization-induced emission (PIE) is demonstrated as a universal method for the molecular design of NTIL type FSPEAs with intriguing aggregation-induced emission (AIE) behaviors. Through Barbier polymerization of diphenyldichloromethane and different peroxyesters in the presence of Mg in one pot, a series of FSPEAs, including polytriphenylethanol (PTPE), polydiphenylfurylethanol (PDPFE), polydiphenylthiophenylethanol (PDPTE) and polydiphenylnaphthylethanol (PDPNE) have been successfully prepared. Further potential applications for explosive detection, artificial light-harvesting system and white phosphor-converted light-emitting diode are investigated. Therefore, this work opens up a new approach for the molecular design of FSPEA with non-conjugated luminescence, which may cause inspirations to different research fields like polyolefin and luminescent materials.

Versatile Polymerization-Induced Emission Polymers from Barbier Polymerization of Cinnamic Esters with Tunable Emission.

Cinnamic ester is a common and abundant chemical substance, which can be extracted from natural plants. Compared with traditional esters, cinnamic ester contains α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl structure with multiple reactive sites, resulting in more abundant reactivities and chemical structures. Here, a versatile polymerization-induced emission (PIE) is successfully demonstrated through Barbier polymerization of cinnamic ester. Attributed to its abundant reactivities of α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl structure, Barbier polymerization of cinnamic esters with different organodihalides gives polyalcohol and polyketone via 1,2-addition and 1,4-addition, respectively, which is also confirmed by small molecular model reactions. Meanwhile, these organodihalides dependant polyalcohol and polyketone exhibit different non-traditional intrinsic luminescence (NTIL) from aggregation-induced emission (AIE) type to aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) type, where novel PIE luminogens (PIEgens) are revealed. Further potential applications in explosive detection are carried out, where it achieves TNT detection sensitivity at ppm level in solution and ng level on the test paper. This work therefore expands the structure and functionality libraries of monomer, polymer and NTIL, which might cause inspirations to different fields including polymer chemistry, NTIL, AIE and PIE.

Clickable Polymerization-Induced Emission Luminogens Toward Color-Tunable Modification of Non-Traditional Intrinsic Luminescent Polymers.

Non-traditional intrinsic luminescent (NTIL) polymer is an emerging field, and its color-tunable modification is highly desirable but still rarely investigated. Here, a click chemistry approach for the color-tunable modifications of NTIL polymers by introducing clickable polymerization-induced emission luminogen (PIEgen), is demonstrated. Through Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition click chemistry, a series of PIEgens is successful prepared, which is further polymerized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Interestingly, after clickable modification, these monomers are nonemissive in both solution and aggregation states; while, the corresponding polymers exhibit intriguing aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics, confirming their PIEgen characteristics. By varying alkynyl substitutions, color-tunable NTIL polymers are achieved with emission wavelength varying from 448 to 498 nm, revealing a series of PIEgens and verifying the importance of modification of NTIL polymers. Further luminescence energy transfer application is carried out as well. This work therefore designs a series of clickable PIEgens and opens a new avenue for the modification of NTIL polymers via click chemistry, which may cause inspirations to the research fields including luminescent polymer, NTIL, click chemistry, AIE and modification.

Application of propofol-remifentanil intravenous general anesthesia combined with regional block in pediatric ophthalmic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to observe the anesthetic effect and safety of intravenous anesthesia without muscle relaxant with propofol-remifentanil combined with regional block under laryngeal mask airway in pediatric ophthalmologic surgery. METHODS: A total of 90 undergoing ophthalmic surgery were anesthetized with general anesthesia using the laryngeal mask airway without muscle relaxant. They were randomly divided into two groups: 45 children who received propofol-remifentanil intravenous anesthesia combined with regional block (LG group), and 45 children who received total intravenous anesthesia (G group). The peri-operative circulatory indicators, awakening time after general anesthesia, postoperative analgesic effect and the incidence of anesthesia-related adverse events were respectively compared between the two groups. RESULTS: All the children successfully underwent the surgical procedure. The awakening time after general anesthesia and removal time of laryngeal mask were significantly shorter in the LG group than in the G group (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the heart rates in the perioperative period between the two groups (P > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of intraoperative physical response, respiratory depression, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and emergence agitation (EA) between the two groups (P > 0.05). The pain score at the postoperative hour 2 was lower in the LG group than in the G group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Propofol-remifentanil intravenous anesthesia combined with long-acting local anesthetic regional block anesthesia, combined with laryngeal mask ventilation technology without muscle relaxants, can be safely used in pediatric eye surgery to achieve rapid and smooth recovery from general anesthesia and better postoperative analgesia. This anesthesia scheme can improve the comfort and safety of children in perioperative period, and has a certain clinical popularization value.

[Advantage analysis of flow-through cell method in quality evaluation of Chinese patent medicine: a case study of Danshen Tablets].

To explore the quality consistency evaluation method for multi-component traditional Chinese medicine and establish a dissolution evaluation method suitable for the characteristics of multi-component Chinese patent medicine, this study discussed the characteristics and advantages of the flow-through cell method in the dissolution evaluation of Chinese patent medicine by comparing the impact of the small cup method and the flow-through cell method on the dissolution behavior of water-soluble and lipid-soluble major active components of Danshen Tablets. Dissolution tests were performed using the small cup method as described in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and the newly introduced flow-through cell method(closed-loop method) with water solution containing 0.5% SDS as dissolution medium. Cumulative dissolution curves of the water-soluble component salvianolic acid B and the lipid-soluble component tanshinone Ⅱ_A in Danshen Tablets were plotted, and fitting and similarity analysis of the dissolution models was conducted to identify the characteristics and advantages of the flow-through cell method. For the small cup method, 150 mL of water containing 0.5% SDS was used as the dissolution medium, with a rotation speed of 75 r·min~(-1) and a temperature of(37±0.5) ℃, and 3 mL of samples were taken at 15, 30 min, 1, 2, and 4 h, with fresh dissolution medium added at the same temperature and volume. For the flow-through cell method, a closed-loop system was used. Danshen Tablets were placed in the flow-through cell with approximately 6.7 g of glass beads, and 150 mL of water containing 0.5% SDS was used as the dissolution medium. The flow rate was set at 20 mL·min~(-1), and the temperature and sampling were the same as the small cup method. The results showed that compared with the small cup method, the flow-through cell method had stronger discriminative power and higher sensitivity in distinguishing the dissolution behavior of the two components, and could better reflect the differences in formulation quality, especially for water-insoluble lipid-soluble components. Given that there were no essential differences in the in vitro release kinetics between the two methods, the flow-through cell method could not only replace the traditional small cup method but also better guide the formulation development and identify quality issues of formulations.

Ketyl Radical Anion Mediated Radical Polymerization and Anionic Ring-Opening Polymerization to Give Polymers with Low Molecular Weight Distribution.

The development of novel polymerization capable of yielding polymers with low molecular weight distribution (D) is essential and significant in polymer chemistry, where monofunctional initiator contains only one initiation site in these polymerizations generally. Here, ketyl radical anion species is introduced to develop a novel Ketyl Mediated Polymerization (KMP), which enables radical polymerization at carbon radical site and anionic ring-opening polymerization at oxygen anion site, respectively. Meanwhile, polymerization and corresponding organic synthesis generally couldn't be performed simultaneously in one pot. Through KMP, organic synthesis and polymerization are achieved in one pot, where small molecules (cyclopentane derivates) and polymers with low D are successfully prepared under mild condition simultaneously. At the initiation step, both organic synthesis and polymerization are initiated by single electron transfer reaction with ketyl radical anion formation. Cyclopentane derivates are synthesized through 3-3 coupling reaction and cyclization. Polystyrene and polycaprolactone with low D and a full monomer conversion are prepared by KMP via radical polymerization and anionic ring-opening polymerization, respectively. This work therefore enables both organic synthesis and two different polymerizations from same initiation system, which saves time, labour, resource and energy and expands the reaction mode and method libraries of organic chemistry and polymer chemistry.

Barbier Hyperbranching Polymerization-Induced Emission from an AB-Type Monomer.

Luminescent polymer materials have gained considerable research efforts in the past decades and are generally molecular designed by extending the π system of the polymer main chain or by incorporating chromophores into the polymer chain, which suffer from poor solubility, difficult synthesis, or multi-step procedures. Meanwhile, according to the step-growth polymerization theory, synthesis of hyperbranched polymers from an AB-type monomer is still challenging. Herein, we report a one-pot synthesis of nonconjugated luminescent hyperbranched polymer material via Barbier hyperbranching polymerization-induced emission (PIE) from an AB-type monomer. The key step in the realization of the hyperbranched polymer is bi-functionalization of a mono-functional group. Through a Barbier reaction between an organohalide and an ester group in one pot, bi-functionalization of mono-functional ester is realized through two-step nucleophilic additions, resulting in hyperbranched polytriphenylmethanols (HPTPM). Attributed to through-space conjugation and inter- and intramolecular charge-transfer effects induced by polymer chain, nonconjugated HPTPMs are PIEgens, which are tunable by monomer structure and polymerization time. When all phenyl groups are rotatable, HPTPM is aggregation-induced emission type PIEgen. Whereas, it is aggregation-caused quenching type PIEgen if some phenyl groups are rotation forbidden. Further potential applications of PIEgen are in the fields of explosive detection and artificial light harvesting systems. This work, therefore, expands the monomer library and molecular design library of hyperbranched polymers through "bi-functionalization of mono-functional group" strategy, which eventually expands the preparation library of nonconjugated luminescent polymer materials through one-pot PIE from nonemissive monomer.

CYFRA21-1 is a more sensitive biomarker to assess the severity of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

BACKGROUND: Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CYFRA21-1 are the commonly used biomarkers to identify patients with autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (APAP). However, it is not clear which of the biomarkers is more sensitive to the severity of the patient's condition. METHODS: APAP patients numbering 151 were enrolled in this study. All patients' severity was assessed through the severity and prognosis score of PAP (SPSP). According to the respective laboratory upper limits of serum levels of LDH, CEA and CYFRA21-1, APAP patients were divided into higher and lower-level groups. Patients were divided into five groups based on SPSP. 88 patients had completed six months of follow-up. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, and critical point of LDH, CEA and CYFRA21-1 between APAP patients and normal control group, and between grade 1-2 and 3-5 through receiving operating characteristics (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Serum LDH, CEA and CYFRA21-1 levels of patients with PAP were higher and distinctly related to PaO2, FVC, FEV1, DLCO, HRCT scores and SPSP. The SPSP of patients in higher-level LDH, CEA and CYFRA21-1 groups were higher than those of corresponding lower-level groups. Based on SPSP results, the patients were divided into five groups (grade I, 20; grade II, 37; grade III, 40; grade IV, 38; grade V, 16). The serum level of CYFRA21-1 of patients with APAP in grade II was higher than that of patients in grade I and lower than that of patients in grade III. Serum CYFRA21-1 of patients with APAP after six months were higher than the baseline among the aggravated group. Serum LDH, CEA and CYFRA21-1 levels after six months among patients in the relieved group of patients with APAP were lower than the baseline. ROC correlating LDH, CEA and CYFRA21-1 values with APAP severity (between grade 1-2 and 3-5) showed an optimal cutoff of LDH of over 203 U/L (< 246 U/L), CEA of over 2.56 ug/L (< 10 ug/L), and CYFRA21-1 of over 5.57 ng/ml (> 3.3 ng/ml) (AUC: 0.815, 95% CI [0.748-0.882], sensitivity: 0.606, specificity: 0.877). CONCLUSION: Serum CYFRA21-1 level was more sensitive in revealing the severity of APAP than LDH and CEA levels among mild to moderate forms of disease.

Unpredicted Concentration-Dependent Sensory Properties of Pyrene-Containing NBN-Doped Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

Pyrene molecules containing NBN-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been synthesized by a simple and efficient intermolecular dehydration reaction between 1-pyrenylboronic acid and aromatic diamine. Pyrene-B (o-phenylenediamine) with a five-membered NBN ring and pyrene-B (1,8-diaminonaphthalene) with a six-membered NBN ring show differing luminescence. Pyrene-B (o-phenylenediamine) shows concentration-dependent luminescence and enhanced emission after grinding at solid state. Pyrene-B (1,8-diaminonaphthalene) exhibits a turn-on type luminescence upon fluoride ion addition at lower concentration, as well as concentration-dependent stability. Further potential applications of Pyrene-B (o-phenylenediamine) on artificial light-harvesting film were demonstrated by using commercial NiR dye as acceptor.

Agrin promotes the proliferation, invasion and migration of rectal cancer cells via the WNT signaling pathway to contribute to rectal cancer progression.

Rectal cancer is the most common malignant tumor in the digestive system with rapidly metastasis and highly recurrence. Agrin (AGRN) is a proteoglycan involving in a large number of human cancers. However, how AGRN regulates the progression of rectal cancer remains largely unknown. We aimed to determine the biological role of AGRN and its mechanism in rectal cancer. AGRN expression in rectal cancer tissues was detected based on TCGA. The survival curve was plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method. qRT-PCR and western blot were utilized to examine the expression level of AGRN in cells. Cell proliferation, clonogenic ability, invasion, and migration of rectal cancer cells were analyzed by CCK-8, colony formation and transwell experiments. GSEA was employed for the analysis of the potential pathways-related with AGRN in rectal cancer. The activity of WNT pathway was determined by western blot. AGRN expression was dramatically increased in rectal cancer, and its up-regulation was associated with poorer prognosis of rectal cancer patients. AGRN expression was an independent factor for the prognosis of rectal cancer. AGRN inhibition suppressed rectal cancer cell growth, invasion, and migration, whereas AGRN overexpression facilitated these behaviors of rectal cancer cells in vitro. Mechanistically, WNT signaling pathway was enriched in high AGRN-expressing patients with rectal cancer. AGRN elevated the activity of WNT pathway through increasing Cyclin D1, C-Myc, p-GSK-3ß, and p-ß-catenin expression. Our present study indicated that AGRN might function as an oncogenic indicator in rectal cancer via activating the WNT pathway, which would help develop optimized therapeutic therapies for rectal cancer.

Cellulomonas taurus sp. nov., a novel bacteria with multiple hydrolase activity isolated from livestock, and potential application in wastewater treatment.

A Gram-positive, smooth, sub-transparent, faint yellow,0.5-0.7 µm diameter, rod shaped aerobic or facultative aerobic strain P40-2Twas isolated from livestock farms in Northeast China. Strain P40-2T grew at 25-40 °C (optimum 30-38 °C), and in 0-4% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 0%) in LB medium. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain P40-2T belongs to the class Cellulomonas and is most closely related to C. denverensis strain W6929, C. pakistanensis strain NCCP-11and C. hominis strain CE40.DNA-DNA hybridization rate of strain P40-2T was 29%, and the ANI with C.denverensisstrainW6929 was 85.33%. The genome is 3437431 bp long with a G + C content of 71.99%. Of the 3177 predicted genes, 3119 were protein-coding genes and 58 were RNA encoding genes. The chemotaxonomic data: menaquinone was MK-9(H4), anteiso-C15: 0, C16:0 and anteiso-C17: 0 were the major cellular fatty acids, and the main cell-wall amino acids were ornithine,alanine, glycine and glutamate. The cell wall peptidogly can sugars included glucose, rhamnose, galactose and mannose. The polar lipid present were DPG, PG, PE, and PIM. On the basis of DNA-DNA relatedness, phylogenetic position, complete genome sequence and physiological characteristics, strain P40-2T can be differentiated from other species of the genus Cellulomonas with validly published names and thus represents a novel species, for which the name Cellulomonas taurus is proposed. The type strain is Cellulomonas taurus P40-2T (= CGMCC No.1.17732T).The acute toxicity test in mice showed that LD50 of strain P40-2T was rather high with 1.5 × 1011 CFU/mouse, which indicated low pathogenicity. Drug susceptibility showed that strainP40-2T was resistant to most antibiotics and only sensitive to six antibiotics. Strain P40-2T contained a variety of hydrolytic enzymes including the ability to hydrolyze cellulose, ß-glucan, chitin, xylan, and casein. Microbial flocculant MBF-P40 for sewage was prepared with strain P40-2T, after strain P40-2T was confirmed that had good flocculation effect. MBF-P40 was used to prepare flocculation rate of 99.40%. MBF-P40 treatmented sewage from eight different sources. Flocculation rate for pig farm wastewater was 96.07%, COD removal rate is 71.05%, ammonia nitrogen removal rate is 18.22%. The result shows that MBF-P40 has a good flocculation effect, and good prospect of development and application for wastewater treatment.

[Predictive Value of Pancreatic Steatosis for Severity of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus].

Objective To investigate the association of pancreatic steatosis with coronary atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods Patients with T2DM who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography(CCTA)in our center due to chest pain were enrolled from January 2016 to February 2019. According to the CCTA findings,patients were divided into normal group,mild-to-moderate coronary atherosclerosis group and severe coronary atherosclerosis group. CT attenuation of pancreas and spleen was measured on abdominal non-enhanced CT,and the CT attenuation indexes including the difference between pancreatic and splenic attenuation (P-S) and the ratio of pancreas-to-spleen attenuation (P/S) were calculated. Analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis rank test were used to assess differences among each group. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of severe coronary stenosis. The accuracy of P/S in predicting severe coronary artery stenosis was assessed by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results A total of 173 consecutive T2DM patients were enrolled. These patients included 27 patients with normal coronary artery (15.6%),124 patients with mild to moderate stenosis (71.7%),and 22 patients with severe stenosis (12.7%). There were significant differences in CT attenuation of pancreas (Z=11.543,P=0.003),P-S (Z=11.152,P=0.004) and P/S (Z=11.327,P=0.004) among normal coronary artery group,mild and moderate stenosis group,and severe stenosis group. The CT attenuation of pancreatic head,body,and tail significantly differed in patients with coronary artery stenosis (Z=14.737,P=0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors,multiple Logistic regression showed that P/S (OR=0.062,95%CI=0.008-0.487,P=0.008) was still significantly associated with the severe coronary artery stenosis. The area under the ROC curve of P/S for the diagnosis of severe coronary artery stenosis was 0.701,and the optimal cutoff point was 0.660. Conclusion CT attenuation of pancreas and CT attenuation indexes are associated with the severity of coronary stenosis in T2DM patients,suggesting that pancreatic steatosis may be used as one of the indicators for predicting severe coronary artery stenosis.

Potential of Gd-EOB-DTPA as an imaging biomarker for liver injury estimation after radiation therapy.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic radiation injury severely restricts irradiation treatment for liver carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical application of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MRI (EOB-MRI) in the assessment of liver function after external radiation therapy and to determine the relationship between focal liver reaction (FLR) and liver function. METHODS: A total of 47 patients with liver malignancies who underwent external beam radiation therapy were enrolled. EOB-MRI was performed on each patient at approximately one month post-radiotherapy. The hepatobiliary (HPB) phase images from EOB-MRI were fused with the planning CT images, and the isodose lines from the patients' treatment plans were overlaid onto the fused images. The correlation of the EOB-MR image intensity distribution with the isodose lines was studied. We also compared liver function in patients between pre-treatment and post-treatment. RESULTS: Decreased uptake of Gd-EOB-DTPA, which was manifested by well-demarcated focal hypointensity of the liver parenchyma or FLR to high-dose radiation, was observed in the irradiated areas of 38 patients. The radiotherapy isodose line of decreased uptake area of Gd-EOB-DTPA was 30-46 Gy. The median corresponding dose curve of FLR was 34.4 Gy. Nine patients showed the absence of decreased uptake area of Gd-EOB-DTPA in the irradiated areas. Compared to the 38 patients with the presence of decreased uptake area of Gd-EOB-DTPA, 9 patients with the absence of decreased uptake area of Gd-EOB-DTPA showed significant higher levels of total bile acid, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin and alpha-fetoprotein (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase or albumin levels between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Visible uptake of Gd-EOB-DTPA by the liver parenchyma was significantly associated with liver function parameters. EOB-MRI can be a valuable imaging biomarker for the assessment of liver parenchyma function outside of radiation area.

[Simultaneous quantification and consistency analysis of 19 representative components in Longshengzhi Capsules by HPLC-QQQ/MS].

Longshengzhi capsule consisting of 12 herbs is widely used in clinically treating cerebral ischemia during recovery period.In this study,in order to investigate the consistency of different batches of Longshengzhi capsules,a high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method(HPLC-QQQ/MS) was developed for the determination of 19 representative components in Longshengzhi Capsules within 9 min. Methodology validation indicated this method was simple,rapid,accurate,highly sensitive and reproducible,and it could be used for the content determination of components in Longshengzhi Capsules. The consistency analysis results showed that paeoniflorin and calycosin-7-glucoside in Longshengzhi Capsules had the highest content; RSD value of total content of 19 compounds was 5. 2% and the RSD value of main compounds such as astragaloside and calycosin-7-glucoside was all less than 15%,reflecting good consistency among different batches. This study has provided a scientific method and basis for the quality control and consistency evaluation of Longshengzhi Capsules.

A Metal-Organic Framework Impregnated with a Binary Ionic Liquid for Safe Proton Conduction above 100 °C.

To develop proton-conducting materials under low-humidity conditions and at moderate working temperature still remains challenging for fuel-cell technology. Here, a new type of proton-conducting material, EIMS-HTFSA@MIL, which was prepared by impregnating the binary ionic liquid, EIMS-HTFSA (EIMS=1-(1-ethyl-3-imidazolium)propane-3-sulfonate; HTFSA=N,N-bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide), into a mesoporous metal-organic framework, MIL-101 ([Cr3 F(H2 O)2 O(BDC)3 ⋅n H2 O] (n≈0.25, BDC=1,4-benzenedicarboxylate)) is reported. By taking advantage of the ionic-liquid properties, such as high thermal stability, non-volatility, non-flammability, and low corrosivity, EIMS-HTFSA@MIL shows potential application as a safe electrolyte in proton conduction above 100 °C.

Pincushion of Tubule Discovery and Tubular Morphology Landscape Establishment of Block Copolymer Self-Assemblies.

Block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly is a versatile technique in the preparation of polymeric aggregates with varieties of morphologies. However, its morphology library is limited. Here, the discovery of pincushion of tubules is reported for the first time, via BCP self-assembly of poly(4-vinylpyridine)-b-polystyrene (P4VP-b-PS) with very high molecular weight (500 kDa) and asymmetry (2 mol% P4VP). The investigation confirms the importance of core-forming block length on morphology control of BCP self-assemblies, especially with respect to tubular structures. The morphology landscape of tubular structures is successfully established, where dumbbell of tubule, tubule, loose clew of tubules, tight clew of tubules, and pincushion of tubules can be prepared by adjusting the core-forming block length. This work therefore expands the structure library of BCP self-assemblies and opens up a new avenue for the further applications of these tubular materials.

Borinic Acid Polymer: Simplified Synthesis and Enzymatic Biofuel Cell Application.

A simplified one-pot and less harmful method has been introduced for the synthesis of borinic acid monomer. The corresponding borinic acid polymer (PBA) has been prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Property investigations confirm the characteristics of PBA as a new type of "smart material" in the field of thermo-responsive polymer. The potential application of PBA in the field of enzymatic biofuel cell has been illustrated with a wide open circuit potential of 0.92 V.

RAFT-Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly and Reorganizations: Ultrahigh-Molecular-Weight Polymer and Morphology-Tunable Micro-/Nanoparticles in One Pot.

A one-pot method is introduced for the successful synthesis of narrow-distributed (D = 1.22) vinyl polymer with both ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW) (M w = 1.31 × 106 g mol-1 ) and micro-/nanomorphology under mild conditions. The method involves the following four stages: homogeneous polymerization, polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA), PISA and reorganization, and PISA and multiple reorganizations. The key points to the production of UHMW polystyrene are to minimize radical termination by segregating radicals in different nanoreactors and to ensure sufficient chain propagation by promoting further reorganizations of these reactors in situ. This method therefore endows polymeric materials with the outstanding properties of both UHMW and tunable micro-/nanoparticles under mild conditions in one pot.

A high-throughput-compatible assay to measure the degradation of endogenous Huntingtin proteins.

AIM: The accumulation of disease-causing proteins is a common hallmark of many neurodegenerative disorders. Measuring the degradation of such proteins using high-throughput-compatible assays is highly desired for the identification of genetic and chemical modulators of degradation. For example, Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable hereditary neurodegenerative disorder caused by the cytotoxicity of mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT). The high-throughput measurement of mHTT degradation is important in HD drug discovery and research. Existing methods for such purposes have limitations due to their dependence on protein tags or pan protein synthesis inhibitors. Here, we report a high-throughput-compatible pulse-chase method (CH-chase) for the measurement of endogenous tag-free huntingtin protein (HTT) degradation based on Click chemistry and Homogeneous Time Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) technologies. METHODS: The pulsed-labeled proteins were conjugated with biotin using the click reaction strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC), and the chase signals were calculated by measuring the reduction percentage of the HTT HTRF signals after pull-down with streptavidin beads. RESULTS: We validated that the signals were within the linear detection range and were HTT-specific. We successfully measured the degradation of endogenous HTT in a high-throughput-compatible format using 96-well plates. The predicted changes of HTT degradation by known modifiers were observed, which confirmed that the assay is suitable for the identification of HTT degradation modifiers. CONCLUSION: We have established the first high-throughput-compatible assay capable of measuring endogenous, tag-free HTT degradation, providing a valuable tool for HD research and drug discovery. The method could be applied to other proteins and can facilitate research on other neurodegenerative disorders and proteinopathies.