A turn-on fluorescent probe with high selectivity for Hg2+ and its applications in living cells.

A novel fluorescent probe L with a rhodamine B lactam structure modified with 3-methyl-2-thiophenecarboxaldehyde has been prepared based on the thiophilicity of Hg2+. The probe L exhibits a unique response with an "off-on-type" mode towards Hg2+ among other biologically relevant metal cations. The limit of detection (LOD) for probe L is 1.5 ppb. In addition, in the presence of Hg2+, the probe L shows a colorimetric response from colorless to pink. The recognition behavior of probe L towards Hg2+ has been investigated by 1H NMR titration experiments, Job's plot, and MS and IR analyses. As a result, the ligation between the probe and Hg2+ leads to the scission of the spirolactam bond of free L and the restoration of its conjugated structure, which can give rise to the fluorescence enhancement of the probe L. Besides, it also can be used as a sensitivity probe in living cells for Hg2+ sensing, which can meet various needs in genetic and environmental samples.

Structure engineering of lanthanide functionalized metal-organic frameworks: A versatile tool for the early diagnosis of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas.

As a main extracellular metabolite of dopamine, 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) is considered a potential biomarker of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. Therefore, the determination of 3-MT is of great significance in the early diagnosis of disease. However, it remains challenging for detecting 3-MT in consideration of sensitivity and accuracy. Here, a luminescent  Eu3+ functionalized metal-organic frameworks （Eu3+@Al-MOF）with ultra-high chemical stability was constructed based on postsynthetic modification. Such a rational design greatly enhances the fluorescence signal of Eu3+@Al-MOF and it is endowed with excellent properties as a luminescent sensor to detect 3-MT in urine system. Intriguingly, the strong red emitting derived from antenna effect was significantly interdicted upon addition of 3-MT through the interaction between 3-MT and the ligand. The proposed sensing system exhibited many appealing analytical performances, such as excellent selectivity, high sensitivity and quick response. Remarkably, the developed paper-based sensor not only provides a portable and reliable strategy for direct detection of 3-MT but also expands the application of visual analysis tools. This work represents the first effort in designing a luminescent sensor to determine the metabolite biomarker 3-MT level and provides a new method for biomedical analysis.

Metabolomic Characterization of a cf. Neolyngbya Cyanobacterium from the South China Sea Reveals Wenchangamide A, a Lipopeptide with In Vitro Apoptotic Potential in Colon Cancer Cells.

Metabolomics can be used to study complex mixtures of natural products, or secondary metabolites, for many different purposes. One productive application of metabolomics that has emerged in recent years is the guiding direction for isolating molecules with structural novelty through analysis of untargeted LC-MS/MS data. The metabolomics-driven investigation and bioassay-guided fractionation of a biomass assemblage from the South China Sea dominated by a marine filamentous cyanobacteria, cf. Neolyngbya sp., has led to the discovery of a natural product in this study, wenchangamide A (1). Wenchangamide A was found to concentration-dependently cause fast-onset apoptosis in HCT116 human colon cancer cells in vitro (24 h IC50 = 38 µM). Untargeted metabolomics, by way of MS/MS molecular networking, was used further to generate a structural proposal for a new natural product analogue of 1, here coined wenchangamide B, which was present in the organic extract and bioactive sub-fractions of the biomass examined. The wenchangamides are of interest for anticancer drug discovery, and the characterization of these molecules will facilitate the future discovery of related natural products and development of synthetic analogues.

Stable Europium-based Metal-Organic Frameworks for Naked-eye Ultrasensitive Detecting Fluoroquinolones Antibiotics.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotic (FQ) residues, such as ciprofloxacin (CIP) and ofloxacin (OFLX), have aroused public concerns owing to their serious impact in environmental water or food fields which influence human health. A facile and high-performance sensory method for detecting FQs is highly desirable for practical requirements. Herein, we have presented a luminescent Eu-MOF with unique 2D (4-c) {44.62}-connected topology, which holds the outstanding fluorescent property and excellent chemical stability in aqueous solution for 15 days. Thus, Eu-MOF can be considered as a highly sensitive chemo-sensor for sensing CIP and OFLX with different fluorescent color conversion (red changes to green for OFLX and to blue for CIP) and a low detection limit of 0.693 and 0.802 ppb, respectively. Furthermore, the mechanism of sensing CIP and OFLX was exposed to the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and dynamic quenching process, as evaluated by DFT calculations and fluorescence lifetime decay measurements. Our work first reports a simple and efficient strategy for recognizing CIP and OFLX with a special luminescence color-change phenomenon based on MOF materials, serving as a meaningful guide for researchers in beneficial applications.

Fabrication of a "turn-on"-type enantioselective fluorescence sensor via a modified achiral MOF: applications for synchronous detection of phenylalaninol enantiomers.

Homochiral metal-organic frameworks (HMOFs) have garnered considerable attention due to their extrachiral properties and broad application for chiral recognition. However, assembling a pair of high-quality chiral MOFs for sensing enantiomers precisely is a formidable challenge because of the complicated chiral environment and uncontrollable coordinated conditions. Herein, one pair of homochiral UiO-66 analogues, S-1 (l-AP@UiO-66-(COOH)2) and R-1 (d-AP@UiO-66-(COOH)2), are reported for chiral recognition. They were fabricated via a condensation reaction between the carboxyl groups of UiO-66-(COOH)2 and amino groups of l/d-amino propanol (l/d-AP). These novel fluorescent probes exhibited highly enantioselective fluorescence enhancement towards l/d-phenylalaninol (l/d-PA). For example, when S-1 and R-1 were treated with l-PA or d-PA, they displayed different fluorescence responses: the enantiomeric fluorescence enhancement ratio (ef) was 2.51 and 0.41 for S-1 and R-1, respectively. Hence, a visible difference in fluorescence enhancement for l-PA and d-PA and excellent enantioselective behavior between S-1 and l-PA (or R-1 and d-PA) was displayed. Measurements of fluorescence lifetime, powder X-ray diffraction, molecular-dynamic simulations and Benesi-Hildebrand plots were employed to determine the observed high enantioselectivity for l/d-PA. In brief, we found that two post-modified HMOFs, S-1 and R-1, were outstanding enantioselective sensors for detecting l-PA and d-PA. They had a prominent difference in ef and remarkable enantioselectivity factor α and ΔΔG based on steric hindrance and stereochemical difference.

A Fluorescent Sensor for Cu2+ Ion with High Selectivity and Sensitivity Based on ICT and PET.

A novel fluorescent sensor (L) based on 1,8-naphthalic anhydride has been developed which can selectively detect Cu2+ in CH3CN medium over other metal ions at 408 nm in the fluorescence spectra. When Cu2+ was added into L, L showed fluorescent turn-off by coordinating with Cu2+. A fresh absorption band was found at the position of 290 nm as was a red-shifted absorption band from 356 nm to 376 nm in UV-vis spectra which might be attributed to the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). Meanwhile, L-Cu2+ showed fluorescence quenching via photoinduced electron transfer (PET). The complexation ratio was proposed to be 1:1 which was determined by Job's plot, fluorescence titration and 1H NMR titration. The detection limit was 9.1 × 10-8 mol·L-1, a satisfying level to detect Cu2+ in the micromolar scale. Corresponding molecular geometries, orbital energies and electron contributions of sensor L were calculated by the DMol3 program package using the density functional theory.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound findings of adult renal cell carcinoma associated with Xp11.2 translocation/TFE3 gene fusion: comparison with clear cell renal cell carcinoma and papillary renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) findings of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) associated with Xp11.2 translocation/TFE3 gene fusion (Xp11.2/TFE3) in adult patients by comparison with those of clear cell RCC (ccRCC) and papillary RCC (pRCC). METHODS: In total, 110 patients (110 renal masses) who underwent CEUS examinations were enrolled in this study. The cases included 18 Xp11.2/TFE3 RCCs, 60 ccRCCs and 32 pRCCs. All masses were confirmed by operative pathology. The CEUS imaging data of these patients were retrospectively analysed by two readers. The conventional US and CEUS features of Xp11.2/TFE3 RCC were compared with those of ccRCC and pRCC. RESULTS: The age of the patients with Xp11.2/TFE3 RCC ranged from 20 to 68 years, with a mean age of 38.3 ± 16.3 years and a slight female predominance. The weighted kappa value that interprets the concordance between the interobserver agreement of the US and CEUS features ranged from 0.61 to 0.89. On conventional US and CEUS imaging of Xp11.2/TFE3 RCCs, the tumours were hypoechoic (6/18, 33.3%), isoechoic (8/18, 44.4%), and hyperechoic (4/18, 22.2%). The cystic component was present in 5 cases (27.8%), calcification was present in 9 cases (50.0%), and colour flow signal was present in 7 cases (38.9%). Most cases showed simultaneous wash-in (11/18, 61.1%); the peak enhancement showed hypoenhancement (6/18, 33.3%), isoenhancement (10/18, 55.6%), and hyperenhancement (2/18, 11.1%); most cases exhibited heterogeneous enhancement (12/18, 66.7%) and fast- or simultaneous-out (16/18, 88.9%); and a pseudocapsule was present in 6 cases (33.3%). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, calcification and lower peak enhancement were more likely to be present in Xp11.2/TFE3 RCC than in ccRCC (P < 0.05), and younger age and relatively high peak enhancement were more likely to be present in Xp11.2/TFE3 RCC than in pRCC (P < 0.05). The calcification combined peak enhancement model differentiated Xp11.2/TFE3 RCC from ccRCC, and the age combined peak enhancement model differentiated Xp11.2/TFE3 RCC from pRCC with an AUC, a sensitivity and a specificity of 0.896, 94.4% and 73.3% and 0.786, 50.0% and 100.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The specific CEUS features combined with demographic information and clinical symptoms may be helpful for differentiating Xp11.2/TFE3 RCC from ccRCC and pRCC.

Evaluation of the therapeutic effects of QuickOpt optimization in Chinese patients with chronic heart failure treated by cardiac resynchronization.

In this trial, long-term therapeutic effects and clinical improvements in Chinese chronic heart failure patients optimized by QuickOpt or echocardiography were compared for atrioventricular (AV) and interventricular (VV) delay optimizations after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) with pacing (CRT-P) or with pacing and defibrillator (CRT-D) therapy. One hundred and ninety-six subjects (50%) had dilated cardiomyopathy, 108 (27.6%) had ischemic heart disease and 112 (28.6%) were hypertensive and were randomized into QuickOpt (198) or echocardiographic optimization (control) (194) groups at ≤2-weeks post-implantation. Programmed AV/VV delay was optimized at baseline and at 3 and 6 months. Left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, specific activity scale (SAS), and the six-minute walk tests (6MWT) were evaluated by blinded researchers at 12 months. Of the QuickOpt group, LVESV decreased significantly by 24.7% ± 33.9% compared with baseline, while LVESV of Controls decreased by 25.1% ± 36.1% (P = 0.924). NYHA class, SAS and 6MWT also improved similarly in both groups at 12 months. Mortality in both groups was not significantly different (11.0% vs 7.6%, P = 0.289). However, there was a significant difference in the time required for optimization by QuickOpt compared with echocardiography (3.33 ± 3.11 vs 58.79 ± 27.03 minutes, P < 0.000).

A Novel Nitrogen Enriched Hydrochar Adsorbents Derived from Salix Biomass for Cr (VI) Adsorption.

Hydrochars were prepared from Salix by hydrothermal carbonization, and characterized by FT-IR, 13C NMR, XPS, UV-vis, TG, SEM and BET techniques. The results showed that the hydrochars with molecular sieve-type open pore structure contained numbers of oxygen and nitrogen functional groups, which benefited the adsorption and diffusion of adsorbent Cr (VI). The hydrochar obtained from 26 h reaction (HC-26) was indicated an excellent adsorbent compared to the commercial activated carbon, and its maximum removal efficiency for Cr (VI) reaches up to 99.84% at pH 1. Langmuir´s model is well fitted the experimental equilibrium adsorption data of total Cr. The bath experiment results showed that Cr (VI) could be removed rapidly in the first 300 min. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics process of HC-26 could be described by pseudo-second-order model. Based on the above results, HC-26 could be acted as a potential efficient adsorbent for removal of Cr (VI) from aqueous solution.

A novel colorimetric fluorescence sensor for Fe3+ based on quinoline Schiff base.

A novel fluorescent sensor bearing a quinoline and an anisidine moiety has been developed for highly selective detection of Fe3+ , which shows photo-induced electron transfer (PET) behavior induced by Fe3+ . Binding of Fe3+ to the sensor induced the electron of C = N group transfer from quinoline to iron, the result exhibits fluorescent enhancement. With the features of easy synthesis, simple structural skeleton and excellent sensing ability, the newly synthesized chemosensor also applied as a highly selective fluorescent probe in complex samples containing various competitive metal ions. The probe could fulfill various needs in biological and environmental fields.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound for differentiating benign from malignant solid small renal masses: comparison with contrast-enhanced CT.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to compare the diagnostic efficiency of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with that of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in the evaluation of benign and malignant small renal masses (SRMs) (<4 cm) confirmed by pathology. METHODS: A total of 118 patients with 118 renal masses smaller than 4 cm diagnosed by both CEUS and CECT were enrolled in this study, including 25 benign lesions and 93 malignant lesions. All lesions were confirmed by histopathologic diagnosis after surgical resection. The diagnostic imaging studies of the patients were retrospectively reviewed by two independent ultrasonologists and two independent radiologists blinded to the CT or ultrasound findings and final histological results. All lesions on both CEUS and CECT were independently scored on a 3-point scale (1: benign, 2: equivocal, and 3: malignant). The concordance between interobserver agreement was interpreted using a weighted kappa statistic. The diagnostic efficiency of the evaluation of benign and malignant lesions was compared between CEUS and CECT. RESULTS: All the 118 included lesions were detected by both CEUS and CECT. In CEUS and CECT imaging evaluation of the 118 lesions, the weighted kappa value interpreting the concordance between interobserver agreement was 0.89 (95% CI 0.79-0.98) and 0.93 (95% CI 0.87-0.99), respectively. Both CEUS and CECT demonstrated good diagnostic performance in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant SRMs with sensitivity of 93.5% and 89.2%, specificity of 68% and 76%, PPV of 91.6% and 93.3%, NPV of 73.9% and 65.5%, and AUC of 0.808 and 0.826, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in any of the diagnostic performance indices between these two methods (P > 0.05). However, the qualitative diagnosis of small papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by CEUS was significantly better than that by CECT (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in qualitative diagnostic accuracy on other histotypes of SRMs between CEUS and CECT (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Both CEUS and CECT imaging modalities are effective for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant SRMs. Furthermore, CEUS may be more effective than CECT for the qualitative diagnosis of small papillary RCC.

[Analyses of super-response to cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with congestive heart failure: a multiple center trial].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of super-response and the potential predictors related to super-response after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with congestive heart failure. METHODS: 190 patients [145 men and 45 women;age: (60.48 ± 11.91) years] underwent CRT between March 2001 and March 2012 were enrolled in this multi-center trial, of which, 54 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and 136 patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. These patients were followed up from 6 months to 11 years (mean 58 months) post CRT. RESULTS: Ten patients died within 6 months post CRT, the others were followed up for more than 6 months. At 6-month follow-up, 51 patients were identified as CRT super-responders (28.33%), 75 patients were CRT responders (41.67%) and 29 patients were CRT non-responders (16.11%), and 25 patients were CRT negative responders (13.89%). Super-response occurred more frequently in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy patients, while non-response most commonly occurred in ischemic cardiomyopathy patients (P < 0.05); patients in the negative response group had higher serum creatinine level than other groups (P < 0.05) , and patients in the non-response group and negative response group had higher pulmonary artery pressure than patients in the super-response group (P < 0.05); the average QRS duration was ≥ 160 ms before CRT, and the mean decrease was around 30 ms after CRT in the super-response group while the average QRS duration was 139 ms before CRT, and the mean reduction was around 8 ms after CRT in the negative response group (P < 0.05). LV lead position in the super-response group was usually in the middle and base of the heart, while in the negative response group it was more commonly located in the apex of the heart (P < 0.01) . CONCLUSIONS: LV lead located at the middle and pre-CRT ORS duration ≥ 160 ms are associated with super-response post CRT procedure in this patient cohort.