Ferrocene and ferrocenium inclusion compounds with cucurbiturils: a study of metal atom dynamics probed by Mössbauer spectroscopy.

Temperature-dependent 57Fe Mössbauer effect (ME) spectroscopic studies were carried out on ferrocene (Fc), 1,1'-dimethylferrocene (1,1'(CH3)2Fc) and ferrocenium hexafluorophosphate (FcPF6) guest species in cucurbit[n]uril (n = 7, 8) inclusion complexes. The solid inclusion complexes were isolated by freeze-drying of dilute aqueous solutions and/or microwave-assisted precipitation from concentrated mixtures. The presence of genuine 1 : 1 (host : guest) inclusion complexes in the isolated solids was supported by liquid-state 1H and solid-state 13C{1H} MAS NMR, elemental and thermogravimetric analyses, powder X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy. The ME spectra of the complexes CB7·Fc and CB7·1,1'(CH3)2Fc consist of well-resolved doublets with hyperfine parameters (isomer shift and quadrupole splitting at 90 K) and temperature-dependent recoil-free fraction data that are very similar to those for the neat parent compounds, Fc and 1,1'(CH3)2Fc, suggesting that the organometallic guest molecules do not interact significantly with the host environment over the experimental temperature range. The ME spectra for CB7·FcPF6 and CB8·FcPF6 consist of a major broad line resonance attributed to a paramagnetic FeIII site. From the temperature-dependence of the recoil-free fraction it is evident that the charged guest species in these systems interact with the host environment significantly more strongly than was observed in the case of the neutral guest species, Fc and 1,1'(CH3)2Fc. Moreover, the ME data indicate that the vibrational amplitude of the ferrocenium guest molecule is significantly larger in the CB8 host molecule than in the CB7 homologue, as expected on the basis of the different cavity sizes.

Galla Chinensis attenuates cigarette smoke-associated lung injury by inhibiting recruitment of inflammatory cells into the lung.

Inflammation is a common feature in the pathogenesis of cigarette smoke (CS)-associated diseases. In this study, we investigated the effects of Galla Chinensis (GC) extract on pulmonary inflammatory responses in a CS-exposed mouse model. In vitro studies showed that GC extract reduced MCP-1 production in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the lung was significantly inhibited in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of the GC-treated mice after 3 weeks of daily CS exposure. GC treatment down-regulated TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 mRNA expression levels in lung tissue. Finally, GC-treated mice showed less emphysematous change of alveolar compared to mice only exposed to CS. Our results show that GC extract reduces lung inflammation and emphysematous change by inhibiting the infiltration of inflammatory cells to the lung. These data indicate that GC extract is a therapeutic candidate for CS-induced lung injury.