NIR triggered polydopamine coated cerium dioxide nanozyme for ameliorating acute lung injury via enhanced ROS scavenging.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life threatening disease in critically ill patients, and characterized by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory factors levels in the lung. Multiple evidences suggest that nanozyme with diversified catalytic capabilities plays a vital role in this fatal lung injury. At present, we developed a novel class of polydopamine (PDA) coated cerium dioxide (CeO2) nanozyme (Ce@P) that acts as the potent ROS scavenger for scavenging intracellular ROS and suppressing inflammatory responses against ALI. Herein, we aimed to identify that Ce@P combining with NIR irradiation could further strengthen its ROS scavenging capacity. Specifically, NIR triggered Ce@P exhibited the most potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory behaviors in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced macrophages through decreasing the intracellular ROS levels, down-regulating the levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6, up-regulating the level of antioxidant cytokine (SOD-2), inducing M2 directional polarization (CD206 up-regulation), and increasing the expression level of HSP70. Besides, we performed intravenous (IV) injection of Ce@P in LPS induced ALI rat model, and found that it significantly accumulated in the lung tissue for 6 h after injection. It was also observed that Ce@P + NIR presented the superior behaviors of decreasing lung inflammation, alleviating diffuse alveolar damage, as well as promoting lung tissue repair. All in all, it has developed the strategy of using Ce@P combining with NIR irradiation for the synergistic enhanced treatment of ALI, which can serve as a promising therapeutic strategy for the clinical treatment of ROS derived diseases as well.

Preparation and characterization of silica monolith modified with bovine serum albumin-gold nanoparticles conjugates and its use as chiral stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography.

This paper describes the development of silica monolith modified with bovine serum albumin-gold nanoparticles (BSA-GNPs) conjugates as chiral stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The bare monolithic silica column was prepared by a sol-gel process and has been modified chemically with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane to provide thiol groups, followed by immobilization of gold nanoparticles via the formation of an Au-S bond and modification with BSA as the chiral selector via the nitrogen lone pair of electrons. It has been demonstrated that the monolithic chiral stationary phases can be used for the enantioseparation of a number of phenylthiocarbamyl amino acids (PTC-D/L-AAs) by CEC. Ten pairs of tested amino acids enantiomers were successfully resolved within 18 min under optimized conditions, and the resolution values were in the range of 1.486-2.083. With PTC-D/L-tryptophan used as the probe solute, the influences of applied voltage, organic modifier and buffer pH in mobile phase on apparent retention factor, enantioselectivity and resolution factor were also investigated.

Gualou Xiebai Banxia decoction ameliorates Poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemia.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Gualou Xiebai Banxia (GLXBBX) decoction is a well-known traditional Chinese herbal formula that was first discussed in the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber by Zhang Zhongjing in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In traditional Chinese medicine, GLXBBX is commonly prescribed to treat cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to examine GLXBBX's preventative capacity and elucidate the potential molecular mechanism of Poloxamer 407 (P407)-induced hyperlipidemia in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Both the control and model groups received pure water, and the test group also received a GLXBBX decoction. For each administration, 3 ml of the solution was administered orally. To establish hyperlipidemia, a solution mixed with 0.25 g/kg P407 dissolved in 0.9% normal saline was injected slowly into the abdominal cavity. At the end of the study, the rats' plasma lipid levels were calculated using an automatic biochemical analyzer to evaluate the preventative capability of the GLXBBX decoction, and the serum and liver of the rats were collected. RESULTS: The GLXBBX decoction significantly improved P407-induced hyperlipidemia, including increased plasma triglycerides (TGs), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) elevation, and lipid accumulation. Moreover, GLXBBX decoction treatment increased lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity and mRNA expression of LPL. Furthermore, GLXBBX significantly suppressed the mRNA expression of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1). CONCLUSION: GLXBBX significantly improved P407-induced hyperlipidemia, which may have been related to enhanced LPL activity, increased LPL mRNA expression, and decreased mRNA expression of SCD1.

Screening α-glucosidase inhibitor from natural products by capillary electrophoresis with immobilised enzyme onto polymer monolith modified by gold nanoparticles.

A novel strategy for screening α-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs) from natural products by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with an immobilised enzyme microreactor was developed. In this approach, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was first covalently attached to surface of the pores of the porous polymer capillary monolith via the formation of an Au-S bond, and α-glucosidase was then simply and stably immobilised onto AuNPs through the strong affinity of gold for amino groups of the enzyme. In order to profiling the activity of the immobilised α-glucosidase, the natural substrate was hydrolyzed by it and the yield of product was determined by CE. The amount of covalently attached α-glucosidase to the monolith was calculated to be about 30.0 µg/mg. The immobilised enzyme exhibited 80% activity after 25 runs, and only lost 7.6% of activity after 6 runs within 31 days. Screening of AGIs present in extracts of natural products by the proposed method was demonstrated.