Two-Dimensional Spin-Crossover Molecular Solid Solutions with Tunable Transition Temperatures across 90 K.

Spin-crossover (SCO) materials exhibit remarkable potential as bistable switches in molecular devices. However, the spin transition temperatures (Tc) of known compounds are unable to cover the entire ambient temperature spectrum, largely limiting their practical utility. This study reports an exemplary two-dimensional SCO solid solution system, [FeIII(H0.5LCl)2-2x(H0.5LF)2x]·H2O (H0.5LX = 5-X-2-hydroxybenzylidene-hydrazinecarbothioamide, X = F or Cl, x = 0 to 1), in which the adjacent layers are adhered via hydrogen bonding. Notably, the Tc of this system can be fine-tuned across 90 K (227-316 K) in a linear manner by modulating the fraction x of the LF ligand. Elevating x results in strengthened hydrogen bonding between adjacent layers, which leads to enhanced intermolecular interactions between adjacent SCO molecules. Single-crystal diffraction analysis and periodic density functional theory calculations revealed that such a special kind of alteration in interlayer interactions strengthens the FeIIIN2O2S2 ligand field and corresponding SCO energy barrier, consequently resulting in increased Tc. This work provides a new pathway for tuning the Tc of SCO materials through delicate manipulation of molecular interactions, which could expand the application of bistable molecular solids to a much wider temperature regime.

Dual-radical-based molecular anisotropy and synergy effect of semi-conductivity and valence tautomerization in a photoswitchable coordination polymer.

Organic radicals are widely used as linkers or ligands to synthesize molecular magnetic materials. However, studies regarding the molecular anisotropies of radical-based magnetic materials and their multifunctionalities are rare. Herein, a photoisomerizable diarylethene ligand was used to form {[CoIII(3,5-DTSQ·-)(3,5-DTCat2-)]2(6F-DAE-py2)}·3CH3CN·H2O (o-1·3CH3CN·H2O, 6F-DAE-py2 = 1,2-bis(2-methyl-5-(4-pyridyl)-3-thienyl)perfluorocyclopentene), a valence-tautomeric (VT) coordination polymer. We directly observed dual radicals for a single crystal using high-field/-frequency (∼13.3 T and ∼360 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy along the c-axis, which was further confirmed by angle-dependent Q-band EPR spectroscopy. Moreover, a conductive anomaly close to the VT transition temperature was observed only when probes were attached at the ab plane of the single crystal, indicative of synergy between valence tautomerism and conductivity. Structural anisotropy studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that this synergy is due to electron transfer associated with valence tautomerism. This study presents the first example of dual-radical-based molecular anisotropy and charge-transfer-induced conductive anisotropy in a photoswitchable coordination polymer.

HTRA3 Is a Prognostic Biomarker and Associated With Immune Infiltrates in Gastric Cancer.

HtrA serine peptidase 3 (HTRA3) participates in multiple signal pathways and plays an important regulatory role in various malignancies; however, its role on prognosis and immune infiltrates in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. The study investigated HTRA3 expression in tumor tissues and its association with immune infiltrates, and determined its prognostic roles in GC patients. Patients with GC were collected from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). We compared the expression of HTRA3 in GC and normal gastric mucosa tissues with Wilcoxon rank sum test. And logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between HTRA3 and clinicopathological characters. Gene ontology (GO) term analysis, Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA) was conducted to explain the enrichmental pathways and functions and quantify the extent of immune cells infiltration for HTRA3. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression were performed to evaluate the correlation between HTRA3 and survival rates. A nomogram, based on Cox multivariate analysis, was used to predict the impact of HTRA3 on prognosis. High HTRA3 expression was significantly correlated with tumor histological type, histological grade, clinical stage, T stage, and TP53 status (P < 0.05). HTRA3-high GC patients had a lower 10-year progression-free interval [PFI; hazard ratio (HR): 1.46; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-2.08; P = 0.038], disease-specific survival (DSS; HR: 1.65; CI: 1.08-2.52; P = 0.021) and overall survival (OS; HR: 1.59; CI: 1.14-2.22; P = 0.006). Multivariate survival analysis showed that HTRA3 was an independent prognostic marker for PFI (HR: 1.456; CI: 1.021-2.078; P = 0.038), DSS (HR: 1.650; CI: 1.079-2.522; P = 0.021) and OS [hazard ratio (HR): 1.590; 95% confidence interval (CI):1.140-2.219; P = 0.006]. The C-indexes and calibration plots of the nomogram based on multivariate analysis indicated an effective predictive performance for GC patients. GSEA showed that High HTRA3 expression may activate NF-κB pathway, YAP1/WWTR1/TAZ pathway, and TGFß pathway. There was a negative correlation between the HTRA3 expression and the abundances of adaptive immunocytes (T helper cell 17 cells) and a positive correlation with abundances of innate immunocytes (natural killer cells, macrophages etc.). HTRA3 plays a vital role in GC progression and prognosis and could be a moderate biomarker for prediction for survival after gastrectomy.

Structure Switching and Modulation of the Magnetic Properties in Diarylethene-Bridged Metallosupramolecular Compounds by Controlled Coordination-Driven Self-Assembly.

We report three self-assembled iron complexes that comprised an anti-parallel open form (o-Lanti ), a parallel open form (o-Lsyn ), and a closed form (c-L) of diarylethene conformers. Under kinetic control, FeII 2 (o-Lanti )3 was isolated, which exhibited a dinuclear structure with diamagnetic properties. Under light-irradiation control, FeII 2 (c-L)3 was prepared and exhibited paramagnetism and spin-crossover behaviour. Under thermodynamic control and in the presence of indispensable [FeIII (Tp*)(CN)3 ]- , FeII 2 (o-Lanti )3 and FeII 2 (c-L)3 transformed into tetranuclear FeIII 2 FeII 2 (o-Lsyn )2 , which exhibited complete spin-crossover behaviour at T1/2 =353 K.

Cathepsin F Knockdown Induces Proliferation and Inhibits Apoptosis in Gastric Cancer Cells.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. The cathepsin F (CTSF) gene has recently been found to participate in the progression of several types of cancer. However, the clinical characteristics and function of CTSF in GC as well as its molecular mechanisms are not clear. Six GC cell lines and 44 paired adjacent noncancerous and GC tissue samples were used to assess CTSF expression by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). We used lentivirus-mediated small hairpin RNA (Lenti-shRNA) against CTSF to knock down the expression of CTSF in GC cells. Western blot and qPCR were used to analyze the mRNA and related protein expression. The biological phenotypes of gastric cells were examined by cell proliferation and apoptosis assays. Microarray-based mRNA expression profile screening was also performed to evaluate the potential molecular pathways in which CTSF may be involved. The CTSF mRNA level was associated with tumor differentiation, depth of tumor invasion, and lymph node metastasis. Downregulation of CTSF expression efficiently inhibited apoptosis and promoted the proliferation of GC cells. Moreover, a total of 1,117 upregulated mRNAs and 1,143 downregulated mRNAs were identified as differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Further analysis identified the involvement of these mRNAs in cancer-related pathways and various other biological processes. Nine DEGs in cancer-related pathways and three downstream genes in the apoptosis pathway were validated by Western blot, which was mainly in agreement with the microarray data. To our knowledge, this is the first report investigating the effect of CTSF on the growth and apoptosis in GC cells and its clinical significance. The CTSF gene may function as a tumor suppressor in GC and may be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of GC.

Direct Observation of Ordered High-Spin-Low-Spin Intermediate States of an Iron(III) Three-Step Spin-Crossover Complex.

A neutral mononuclear Fe(III) complex [Fe(III) (H-5-Br-thsa-Me)(5-Br-thsa-Me)]⋅H2 O (1; H2 -5-Br-thsa-Me=5-bromosalicylaldehyde methylthiosemicarbazone) was prepared that exhibited a three-step spin-crossover (SCO) with symmetry breaking and a 14 K hysteresis loop owing to strong cooperativity. Two ordered intermediate states of 1 were observed, 4HS-2LS and 2HS-4LS, which exhibited reentrant phase-transition behavior. This study provides a new platform for examining multistability in SCO complexes.

1,10-Phenanthroline-5,6-dione ethanol monosolvate.

In the title compound, C12H6N2O2·C2H5OH, the mol-ecule of the 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione is approximately planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.051 (1) Å. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by O-H⋯N and weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming supra-molecular chains propagating along [110]. π-π stacking inter-actions are observed between the pyridine rings of neighbouring chains, the centroid-centroid separations being 3.6226 (11) and 3.7543 (11) Å.

2-[2,6-Bis(pyrazin-2-yl)pyridin-4-yl]benzoic acid.

In the title compound, C20H13N5O2, the two pyrazine rings are nearly coplanar with the central pyridine ring, forming dihedral angles of 2.21 (9) and 4.57 (9)°. In contrast, the strong steric hindrance caused by the ortho-carboxyl group on the phenyl ring makes this ring rotate out of the attached pyridine ring plane by 52.60 (9)°. The carboxyl group is twisted from the phenyl ring by 22.6 (1)°. In the crystal, aromatic π-π stacking inter-actions [centroid-centroid distances = 3.9186 (4) and 3.9794 (5) Å] occur between the anti-parallel mol-ecules, generating infinite chains along [100]. O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds connect the chains, leading to the formation of a two-dimensional supra-molecular network parallel to (010). Inter-molecular C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds are also observed.

Bis-(thio-cyanato-κN)[tris(pyridin-2-yl-meth-yl)amine-κ(4) N]-iron(II).

In the title complex, [Fe(NCS)2(C18H18N4)], the Fe(II) cation is chelated by a tris-(2-pyridyl-meth-yl)amine ligand and coordin-ated by two thio-cyanate anions in a distorted N6 octa-hedral geometry. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking inter-actions between parallel pyridine rings of adjacent mol-ecules [centroid-centroid distance = 3.653 (3) Å] link the mol-ecules into a two-dimensional supra-molecular architecture. The structure contains voids of 124 (9) Å(3), which are free of solvent molecules.

Multi-step spin crossover accompanied by symmetry breaking in an Fe(III) complex: crystallographic evidence and DFT studies.

Spin doctor: A mononuclear ferric complex [Fe(H-5-Br-thsa)(5-Br-thsa)]⋅H2O (1) (H2-5-Br-thsa = 5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzylidene)hydrazinecarbothioamide) was synthesized and its magnetic properties and structure were investigated by DFT calculations. This complex shows unprecedented reversible, six/five-step spin-crossover behavior accompanied by symmetry breaking. More importantly, each step in the multi-step transition was successfully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

A neutral Fe(III) compound exhibiting a two-step spin transition and dielectric anomalies.

The mononuclear ferric compound Fe(H-5-Cl-thsa-Me)(5-Cl-thsa-Me)·H2O () was synthesized and characterized using powder/single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and magnetic susceptibility measurements. This photo-responsive compound shows reversible, two-step spin-crossover behaviour. Moreover, dielectric anomalies were observed during the spin transitions, demonstrating the multifunctional properties of compound .

Poly[[(µ-1H-benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxyl-ato)zinc(II)] monohydrate].

The three-dimensional polymeric title compound, {[Zn(C(9)H(4)N(2)O(4))]·H(2)O}(n), contains one crystallographically independent Zn(II) atom, one fully deprotonated 1H-benzimid-azole-5,6-dicarboxyl-ate (bdc) ligand and one uncoordinated water mol-ecule. The Zn(II) atom is four-coordinated by three O atoms and one N atom from the bdc ligands, giving a distorted tetra-hedral coordination geometry. The uncoordinated water mol-ecule is bound to the main structure through a strong bdc-water N-H⋯O hydrogen bond, and two much weaker water-bdc O-H⋯O inter-actions.