Generating Airy beams through multimode fibres.

Focussing light through a multimode fibre (MMF) is the basis of holographic endoscopes, which currently enable detailed imaging of deep tissue. Achieving high fidelity and purity diffraction-limited foci has been shown to be possible, when fully controlling the amplitude, phase, and two orthogonal polarisation states of the input field. Yet, generating more complex field distributions with similar performance remains to be assessed.

Addition of electrophilic radicals to 2-benzyloxyglycals: synthesis and functionalization of fluorinated α-C-glycosides and derivatives.

A new method for the synthesis of fluorinated α-C-glycosides is described. The reactions between highly electrophilic radicals (fluorinated or unfluorinated) and a 2-benzyloxyglucal or galactal provide 2-keto-D-arabino- or 2-keto-D-lyxo-hexopyranosides through an addition/fragmentation process. Sodium borohydride mediated or Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reduction of these compounds provides α-C-glycosides that feature appropriate anchoring groups for further synthetic elaboration.

The screening of everyday life chemicals in validated assays targeting the pituitary-gonadal axis.

Ten structurally diverse chemicals (vitamins C, B9, B6, B3, sucrose, caffeine, gingerol, xanthan gum, paracetamol, ibuprofen) deemed intrinsic to modern life but not considered as endocrine active, were tested in vitro using the human estrogen receptor transcriptional activation (hERTa) and the H295R steroidogenesis assays. All were inactive in the hERTa assay but paracetamol, gingerol, caffeine and vitamin C affected steroidogenesis in vitro from 250, 25, 500 and 750 μM respectively. One molecule, caffeine, was further tested in rat pubertal assays at the tumorigenic dose-level and at dose-levels relevant for human consumption.

A novel method for measuring aromatase activity in tissue samples by determining estradiol concentrations.

Increasing scrutiny of endocrine disrupters has led to changes to European pesticide and biocide legislation and to the introduction of the Endocrine Disrupter Screening Program by the US EPA. One element of endocrine disrupter identification is to determine its effects on aromatase, but most available assays are limited as they depend on tritiated water production to indicate enzyme activity. Whilst acceptable for determining aromatase effects using a cell-free approach, this method is unreliable for cell or tissue-based investigations as other cytochrome P-450 isoenzyme activities can similarly produce tritiated water and consequently confound interpretation of the aromatase data.