Preparation of a Series of Photoresponsive Polymersomes Bearing Photocleavable a 2-nitrobenzyl Group at the Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interfaces and Their Payload Releasing Behaviors.

In this study, the structure-function relationships of a series of polymersomes composed of well-defined amphiphilic diblock copolymers were investigated. The building blocks were synthesized by clicking hydrophobic polymers, synthesized beforehand, and commercially available poly(ethylene glycol) with photocleavable 2-nitrobenzyl compounds bearing alkyne and maleimide functionalities. All of the tested polymersomes preserved their hollow structures even after sufficient photoirradiation.

New 5-Aryl-Substituted 2-Aminobenzamide-Type HDAC Inhibitors with a Diketopiperazine Group and Their Ameliorating Effects on Ischemia-Induced Neuronal Cell Death.

We previously synthesized new 5-thienyl-substituted 2-aminobenzamide-type HDAC1, 2 inhibitors with the (4-ethyl-2,3-dioxopiperazine-1-carboxamido) methyl group. K-560 (1a) protected against neuronal cell death in a Parkinson's disease model by up-regulating the expression of XIAP. This finding prompted us to design new K-560-related compounds.

Platonic Micelles: Monodisperse Micelles with Discrete Aggregation Numbers Corresponding to Regular Polyhedra.

The concept of micelles was first proposed in 1913 by McBain and has rationalized numerous experimental results of the self-aggregation of surfactants. It is generally agreed that the aggregation number (N) for spherical micelles has no exact value and a certain distribution. However, our studies of calix[4]arene surfactants showed that they were monodisperse with a defined N whose values are chosen from 6, 8, 12, 20, and 32.