Comprehensive analysis of Polygoni Multiflori Radix of different geographical origins using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprints and multivariate chemometric methods.

Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR) is increasingly being used not just as a traditional herbal medicine but also as a popular functional food. In this study, multivariate chemometric methods and mass spectrometry were combined to analyze the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatograph (UPLC) fingerprints of PMR from six different geographical origins. A chemometric strategy based on multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) and three classification methods is proposed to analyze the UPLC fingerprints obtained.

One-pot β-cyclodextrin-assisted extraction of active ingredients from Xue-Zhi-Ning basing its encapsulated ability.

Xue-Zhi-Ning (XZN) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula, containing active ingredients with poor solubility in water, which has been demonstrated to be helpful for patients with hyperlipidemia. One-pot β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)-assisted extraction of active ingredients from XZN has been carried out to develop an efficient and eco-friendly extraction process. Five active compounds--rubrofusarin gentiobioside, 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxy-stilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside, emodin, nuciferine and quercetin--were identified by UPLC/DAD/MS and used as indexes to evaluate the process optimized by an orthogonal test.

Sugar and pH dual-responsive snap-top nanocarriers based on mesoporous silica-coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles for cargo delivery.

A facile strategy to prepare snap-top magnetic nanocarriers has been developed where ultrasmall superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles were used as the core with mesoporous silica as the shell followed by the covalent installation of a layer of β-cyclodextrins on the outer surfaces. The smart hybrid nanomaterials showed remarkable pH- and sugar-responsive cargo release property and low cytotoxicity as proved by an MTT assay with HEK293T cell lines.

Polyanthumin, a novel cyclobutane chalcone trimmer from Memecylon polyanthum.

A novel unusual trimmer chalcone, polyanthumin (1), together with five known compounds myricetin 3-O-(3″-O-galloyl)-α-l-rhamnopyranoside (2), sulfuretin (3), fustin (4), gallic acid (5), and ethyl gallate (6), was isolated from the dry stems of Memecylon polyanthum H.L. Li.

Acetylcholine-triggered cargo release from supramolecular nanovalves based on different macrocyclic receptors.

Acetylcholine (ACh), a neurotransmitter located in cholinergic synapses, can trigger cargo release from mesoporous silica nanoparticles equipped with calixarene- or pillarene-based nanovalves by removing macrocycles from the stalk components. The amount and speed of cargo release can be controlled by varying the concentration of ACh in solution or changing the type of gating macrocycle. Although this proof-of-concept study is far from a real-life application, it provides a possible route to treat diseases related to the central nervous system.

A UPLC-MS/MS method for in vivo and in vitro pharmacokinetic studies of psoralenoside, isopsoralenoside, psoralen and isopsoralen from Psoralea corylifolia extract.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The dried fruit of Psoralea corylifolia L. has been used to prevent and treat vitiligo, osteoporosis, arthralgia and asthma in Traditional Chinese Medicine for some 1600 years. Psoralen (P), isopsoralen (IP), psoralenoside (PO) and isopsoralenoside (IPO) are the major coumarins and coumarin-related benzofuran glycosides in Psoraleae Fructus, which have been reported to show estrogen-like activity, osteoblastic proliferation accelerating activity, antitumor effects and antibacterial activity.

Fluorinated Porous Organic Polymers via Direct C-H Arylation Polycondensation.

Considering the high reactivity of the C-H bonds in fluorobenzenes for direct arylation and special properties of fluorinated polymers, herein, synthesis of fluorinated porous organic polymers via direct C-H arylation polycondensation is explored. The obtained polymers ( and ) are well characterized and show high porosities with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area of above 1000 m g. Different pore size distribution (PSD) profiles of porous polymers can be obtained by selecting different core constructing monomers.

[Simultaneous determination of fumonisins B1 and B2 in traditional Chinese medicines by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

A rapid and sensitive analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of fumonisins B1 and B2 in traditional Chinese medicines by HPLC-MS/MS. The detection limits for fumonisins B1 and B2 were 0.25 ng x mL(-1) corresponding to 2 microg x kg(-1) in samples.

Paraquat detoxification with p-sulfonatocalix-[4]arene by a pharmacokinetic study.

The p-sulfonatocalix[n]arenes are supposed to show potential application in the clinical treatment of viologen poisoning. In the present study, p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene (C4AS), the most common derivative of p-sulfonatocalix[n]arenes, is used to study the antidotic mechanism for paraquat (PQ) by pharmacokinetics in vivo. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was established to determine the concentration of PQ in rat plasma.

Sugar-bearing tetraphenylethylene: novel fluorescent probe for studies of carbohydrate-protein interaction based on aggregation-induced emission.

Neutral sugar-bearing tetraphenylethenes (TPE) are designed and prepared as "turn-on" luminescent sensors for lectins and glycosidases based on aggregation-induced emission. Through aggregation derived from carbohydrate-lectin binding, multivalent mannosyl-bearing TPE shows a good selectivity and sensitivity to Con A by switching on the fluorescence of water-soluble tetraphenylethylene-based glyco-conjugates in aqueous solution. Meanwhile, cellobiosyl-bearing TPE can be used to investigate enzymatic hydrolysis based on emission enhancing by glycosidase-induced aggregation.

Kinetics and mechanism of 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-d-glycoside (THSG) degradation in aqueous solutions.

The hydrolytic kinetics and degradation mechanism of 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-d-glycoside (THSG) extracted from Radix Polygoni Multiflori (a commonly used official Chinese herbal Heshouwu), were investigated using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The influences of pH (1.5-9.

Glucosamine hydrochloride functionalized tetraphenylethylene: a novel fluorescent probe for alkaline phosphatase based on the aggregation-induced emission.

Grafting of glucosamine hydrochloride moieties to tetraphenylethylene (TPE) motif furnished a novel cationic water-soluble tetraphenylethylene derivative (GH-TPE). With aggregation-induced emission properties, GH-TPE was used for fluorometric detection to alkaline phosphatase through enzyme-triggered de-aggregation of the ensemble of GH-TPE and substrate.

Biomimetic surface modification of poly (L-lactic acid) with gelatin and its effects on articular chondrocytes in vitro.

Our objective in this study was to investigate the efficiency of two treatments for poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) surface modification with gelatin, via entrapment and coupling, using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). The properties of original PLLA, gelatin-entrapped, and coupled PLLA films were investigated by water contact angle measurement and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The water contact angle indicated that the incorporation of gelatin resulted in a change in hydrophilicity, and the ESCA data suggested that the modified PLLA films became enriched with nitrogen atoms.

Biomimetic surface modification of poly(L-lactic acid) with chitosan and its effects on articular chondrocytes in vitro.

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficiency of two treatments for poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) surface modification with chitosan, via entrapment and coupling by using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide. The properties of original PLLA films, chitosan-entrapped and coupled PLLA films were investigated by water contact angle measurement and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The contact angle indicated the change in hydrophilicity and the ESCA data suggested that the modified PLLA films became enriched with nitrogen atoms.