Influence of Etchants on Etched Surfaces of High-Strength and High-Conductivity Cu Alloy of Different Processing States.

With the continuous integration of semiconductor devices, the requirements of the size accuracy and surface quality of etched lead frames are stricter. The etchant is a key factor in the etching process and etched surface quality, while the effects of the difference in etchants on the etched surface morphology of Cu alloy have not been directly studied. In this study, aqua regia, acidic FeCl3 and two CuCl2 solutions were used as etchants, and different CuCrSn specimens were etched and characterized. The results show that the etching rate in aqua regia is high, and the grain orientation, grain boundary (GB) and dislocations have significant influences on the local etching rate. The preferential etching of some atomic planes forms steps between the grains with different orientations, and preferential etching around the GB and dislocation group forms grooves, resulting in high surface roughness. For the surfaces etched by the FeCl3 and CuCl2 etchants, the steps and grooves are blurred; thus, they are less rough. The CuCrSn alloy surface etched by the aqua regia is clean, with little Cr-rich particles, while high-density Cr-rich particles remain on the surfaces etched by the FeCl3 and CuCl2 etchants. For the same kind of etchant, the ion concentration can affect the etching mechanism, rate and the etched surface morphology.

Discovery of Natural Small Molecules Promoting Collagen Secretion by High-Throughput Screening in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Advancing approaches for drug screening are in great demand to explore natural small molecules that may play important roles in collagen biogenesis, secretion, and assembly, which may find novel lead compounds for treating collagen-related diseases or preventing skin aging. In this study, we generated a single copy insertion transgenic Pcol-19- COL-12::GFP Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) strain to label epidermis collagen XII (COL-12), a cuticle structure component, and established an efficient high-content screening techniques to discover bioactive natural products in this worm strain through quantification of fluorescence imaging. We performed a preliminary screening of 614 compounds from the laboratory's library of natural small molecule compounds on the COL-12 labeling worm model, which was tested once at a single concentration of 100 µM to screen for compounds that promoted COL-12 protein amount. Besides col-12, the transcriptional levels of worm-associated collagen coding genes col-19 and sqt-3 were also examined, and none of the compounds affected their transcriptional levels. Meanwhile, the protein levels of COL-12 were significantly upregulated after treating with Danshensu, Lawsone, and Sanguinarine. The effects of these drugs on COL-12 overexpressing worms occur mainly after collagen transcription. Through various validation methods, Danshensu, Lawsone, and Sanguinarine were more effective in promoting the synthesis or secretion of COL-12.

[Medication regularities of traditional Chinese medicine formulas for six kinds of pains by data-mining approach].

To study and compare the medication regularities of traditional Chinese medicine formulas(TCMFs) for the six kinds of pains,namely abdominal pain,headache,epigastric pain,hypochondriac pain,heartache and backache,using a data-mining approach,in order to provide reference for relevant studies for the compatibility mechanism and new compound development of related TCMFs. A total of 2 443 TCMFs for pains were collected from the Dictionary of Chinese Medicine Prescriptions,and analyzed using the Apriori algorithm based on three indicators,namely confidence,lift and support,so as to study pivotal traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs) for each pain and their compatibility regularities. The results showed that deficiency tonifying medicines(such as Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Angelicae Sinensis Radix),Qi-regulating medicines(like Aucklandiae Radix) and blood circulation promoting medicines(like Chuanxiong Rhizoma) were commonly used TCMs for pains. However,there were many differences between drugs for various kinds of pains. For example,Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex was used frequently for abdominal pain and epigastric pain,while Saposhnikoviae Radix was used frequently for headache. The latent association rules with significant lift included Carthami Flos → Angelicae Sinensis Radix for abdominal pain,Astragali Radix → Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma for headache,Hordei Fructus Germinatus → Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium for epigastric pain,Gentianae Radix et Rhizoma → Bupleuri Radix for hypochondriac pain,and Caryophylli Flos → Moschus for backache. This study showed that based on the TCMFs from the Dictionary of Chinese Medicine Prescriptions,the data-mining approach can reveal the differences and similarities in the use of TCMs for the six kinds of pains,and discover the latent composition regularities of relevant TCMs.

Advancement in the chemical analysis of Paeoniae Radix (Shaoyao).

Paeoniae Radix Alba (baishao or white peony root) and Paeoniae Radix Rubra (chishao or red peony root) are two highly valuable traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) usually indicated for painful conditions, menstrual disorders and viral infections. These two TCMs are collectively referred to as shaoyao (Paeoniae Radix) due to their close origins and similar chemical compositions. Modern research indicates that monoterpene glycosides, polyphenols and paeonols are the three main types of compounds related to the pharmacological activities of Paeoniae Radix. This review summarizes recent advances in the chemical analysis of Paeoniae Radix and the related traditional Chinese medicine formulas/preparations, including methods used for sample pretreatment, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis and biological sample analysis. More than 120 papers are discussed in this review, focusing on the chemical analysis of Paeoniae Radix, and various analytical techniques (such as HPLC, LC-MS, IR, near IR and quantitative NMR), as well as their advantages/disadvantages, are described. It is our hope that this paper can provide necessary information for improving the quality evaluation methods currently available for Paeoniae Radix and offer a scientific basis for the future in-depth study of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Paeoniae Radix.

[Rapid determination of nine components in the first extraction process of Xingnaojing injection by using ultraviolet spectroscopy].

In this study, an analytical method based on ultraviolet spectroscopy was established for the rapid determination of nine components including isophorone, 4-methylene-isophorone, curcumenone, curcumenol, curdione, curzerenone, furanodienone, curcumol and germacrone in the first extraction process of Xingnaojing injection. 166 distillate samples of Gardeniae Fructus and Radix Curcumae were collected in the first extraction process of Xingnaojing injection. The ultraviolet spectra of these samples were collected, and the contents of the nine components in these samples were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Least squares support vector machine and radial basis function artificial neural network were used to establish the multivariate calibration models between the ultraviolet spectra and the contents of the nine components. The results showed that the established ultraviolet spectrum analysis method can determine the contents of the nine components in the distillates accurately, with root mean square error of prediction of 0.068, 0.147, 0.215, 0.319, 1.01, 1.27, 0.764, 0.147, 0.610 mg•L⁻¹, respectively. This proposed method is a rapid, simple and low-cost tool for the monitoring and endpoint determination of the extraction process of Xingnaojing injection to reduce quality defects and variations.

Single standard substance for the determination of nine volatile components in the distillate of Fructus Gardeniae and Radix Curcumae (an intermediate of Xingnaojing Injection).

Xingnaojing Injection is a traditional Chinese medicine extensively used for stroke and cerebral ischemia. For better in-process quality control of Xingnaojing Injection, a method for the analysis of its intermediate (i.e., the distillate of Fructus Gardeniae and Radix Curcumae) is needed to monitor and optimize the hydrodistillation extraction process. In this work, nine major volatile components in the intermediate were identified: isophorone, 4-methylene-isophorone, curcumenone, curcumenol, curdione, curzerenone, furanodienone, curcumol, and germacrone. A quantitative analysis of multi-component with a single-marker method based on high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of the nine components. In this method, only curdione was needed as the reference substance, and the other eight components were determined using their relative correction factors to curdione. In the method validation, good linearity (r > 0.9999), sensitivity, repeatability, and accuracy (recoveries within 95.3-105.4%) were shown. The repeatability and robustness of the relative correction factors were studied with different column temperatures, flow rates, detection wavelengths, columns, and instruments. In sample analyses, consistent results between the proposed method and the external standard method were shown. The proposed method provides a comprehensive and low-cost tool for the quality assessment of the intermediate of Xingnaojing Injection.