A benzenesulfonic acid-modified organic polymer monolithic column with reversed-phase/hydrophilic bifunctional selectivity for capillary electrochromatography.

Here, a styrene-based polymer monolithic column poly(VBS-co-TAT-co-AHM) with reversed-phase/hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (RPLC/HILIC) bifunctional separation mode was successfully prepared for capillary electrochromatography by the in situ polymerization of sodium p-styrene sulfonate (VBS) with cross-linkers 3-(acryloyloxy)-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (AHM) and 1,3,5-triacryloylhexahydro-1,3,5-triazine (TAT). The preparation conditions of the monolith were optimized. The morphology and formation of the poly(VBS-co-TAT-co-AHM) monolith were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The separation performances of the monolith were evaluated systematically. It should be noted that the incorporation of VBS functional monomer can provide π-π interactions, hydrophilic interactions, and ion-exchange interactions. Hence, the prepared poly(VBS-co-TAT-co-AHM) monolith can achieve efficient separation of thiourea compounds, benzene series, phenol compounds, aniline compounds and sulfonamides in RPLC or HILIC separation mode. The largest theoretical plate number for N,N'-dimethylthiourea reached 1.7 × 105 plates/m. In addition, the poly(VBS-co-TAT-co-AHM) monolithic column showed excellent reproducibility and stability. This novel monolithic column has great application value and potential in capillary electrochromatography (CEC).

Anti-colon cancer effects of Spirulina polysaccharide and its mechanism based on 3D models.

Spirulina polysaccharides (PSP) possess significant biological properties. However, it is still a lack of investigation on the anti-colorectal cancer effect and mechanism. In this study, PSP showed significant effects on LoVo cell spheroids with an IC50 value of 0.1943 mg/mL. The analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics indicated the impact of PSP on LoVo spheroid cells through involvement in the two pathways of "glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism" and "ABC transporters". And, the q-PCR data further verified the pointed mechanism of PSP on colon cancer (CC) by regulating the expression levels of relevant genes in the synthesis pathways of serine and glycine in tumor cells. Furthermore, the anti-colon cancer effects of PSP were verified via other human colon cancer cell lines HCT116 and HT29 spheroids (IC50 = 0.0646 mg/mL and 0.2213 mg/mL, respectively), and three patient-derived organoids (PDOs) with IC50 values ranging from 3.807 to 7.788 mg/mL. In addition, this study found that a mild concentration of PSP cannot enhance the anti-tumor effect of 5-Fu. And a significant inhibition was found of PSP in 5-Fu resistance organoids. These results illustrated that PSP could be a treatment or supplement for 5-Fu resistant colorectal cancer (CRC).

Spirulina polysaccharide induces the metabolic shifts and gut microbiota change of lung cancer in mice.

A polysaccharide obtained from Spirulina (PSP) and its effect on lung cancer in mice was investigated. Our results indicate that the tumor volume and weight of the lung cancer-bearing mice treated with PSP decreased significantly. Metabolite analysis showed that 27 differential accumulated metabolites (DAMs) changed significantly, in which 24 DAMs increased while 3 DAMs decreased. KEGG enrichment results showed that these differential metabolites were enriched significantly in the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) signaling pathway and arachidonic acid metabolism. In addition, PSP modulated gut microbiota of the lung cancer-bearing mice. PSP increased the abundance of Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, Alloprevotella, and Olsenella, decreasing Bacteroides and Acinetobacter. The results might be related to suppressing lung cancer. Based on our study, we hypothesized that PSP inhibited lung cancer through FcεRI signaling pathway and arachidonic acid metabolism and regulated the balance of gut microbiota. Nevertheless, the relationship between these two pathways and gut microbiota needs further study.

CRISPR/Cas12a-Assisted Visual Logic-Gate Detection of Pathogenic Microorganisms Based on Water-Soluble DNA-Binding AIEgens.

Here, we developed a rapid, visual and double-checked Logic Gate detection platform for detection of pathogenic microorganisms by aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) in combination with Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR associated (Cas). DNA light-up AIEgens (1,1,2,2-tetrakis[4-(2-bromo-ethoxy) phenyl]ethene, TTAPE) was non-emissive but the emission was turned on in the presence of large amount of DNA produced by recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA). When CRISPR/Cas12a was added, all long-stranded DNA were cut leading to the emission quenched. Thus, a method that can directly observe the emission changes with the naked eye has been successfully constructed. The detection is speedy within only 20 min, and has strong specificity to the target. The result can be judged by Logic Gate. Only when the output signal is (1,0), does it represent the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in the test object. Finally, the method was applied to the detect pathogenic microorganisms in environmental water samples, which proved that this method has high selectivity, specificity and applicability for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms in environmental water samples.

Development of Facile and Selective Fluorescent Probe for Physiological Phosphates based on Aggregation-induced Emission.

In this work, two new fluorescence chemosensors 2-(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenoxy) acetic acid (TPE-COOH) and 2,2'-(((1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diyl)bis(4,1-phenylene))bis(oxy))diacetic acid (TPE-(COOH)2) were synthesized and applied for the facile detection of physiological phosphates. Due to the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) character, the emission can be turned on after label free interaction with polyethyleneimine (PEI). When the physiological phosphates were introduced to the system, the AIEgens/PEI complex was dissociated due to stronger electrostatic interaction between PEI and phosphates, which resulted in the significant fluorescence quenching of AIEgens. As the four kinds of phosphates cytidine-5'-diphosphate disodium salt (CDP), adenosine-5 (ADP), sodium pyrophosphate (PPi) and guanosine-5'-diphosphate disodium salt (GDP) had different interaction with PEI, also the TPE-COOH and TPE-(COOH)2 had different interaction with PEI, the fluorescence quenching effect was distinct for four phosphates. The unique pattern of fluorescence variations was differentiated by chemometric methods including principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. The robustness of the sensor array was proved by discrimination of four kinds of phosphates in serum samples with different concentrations, and the discrimination capacity was not influenced in complicated samples Graphical abstract.

Structural features, interaction with the gut microbiota and anti-tumor activity of oligosaccharides.

Some oligosaccharides are regarded as biological constituents with benefits to human health in an indirect way. They enter the intestinal tract to be fermented by the gut microbiota, causing changes in the abundance and composition of the gut microbiota and producing fermentation products such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). In this review, the structural features and biological activities of eight common natural oligosaccharides were summarized, including human milk oligosaccharides (HMOS), xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS), arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides (AXOS), isomaltooligosaccharides (IMOS), chitin oligosaccharides (NACOS), mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). Furthermore, XOS were selected to explain the anti-tumor mechanism mediated by gut microbiota. The review aims to reveal primary structural features of natural functional oligosaccharides related to the biological activities and also provide an explanation of the anti-tumor activity of functional oligosaccharides mediated by the gut microbiota.

Marine unsaturated fatty acids: structures, bioactivities, biosynthesis and benefits.

Unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) are an important category of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids with nutritional properties. These secondary metabolites have been obtained from multitudinous natural resources, including marine organisms. Because of the increasing numerous biological importance of these marine derived molecules, this review covers 147 marine originated UFAs reported from 1978 to 2018. The review will focus on the structural characterizations, biological properties, proposed biosynthetic processes, and healthy benefits mediated by gut microbiota of these marine naturally originated UFAs.