For the first time, stable pillar[5]arene/Ag nanoparticles, consisting of water-soluble pillar[5]arene containing γ-sulfobetaine fragments and Ag ions without Ag-Ag bonds, were synthesized and characterized. The pillar[5]arene/Ag (ratio 1:10) nanoparticles obtained were cubic with a rib length of 100 nm and are less cytotoxic than Ag ions. The survival of the A549 model cells in the presence of pillar[5]arene/Ag (1:10) nanoparticles at a concentration of 30 and 40 μM was 76% and 55%, while in the absence of pillar[5]arene, the cell survival for free Ag ions at the same concentration was 30% and 10%, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerineuronal nets (PNN) ensheath GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses on neuronal cell surface in the central nervous system (CNS), have neuroprotective effect in animal models of Alzheimer disease and regulate synaptic plasticity during development and regeneration. Crucial insights were obtained recently concerning molecular composition and physiological importance of PNN but the microstructure of the network remains largely unstudied. Here we used histochemistry, fluorescent microscopy and quantitative image analysis to study the PNN structure in adult mouse and rat neurons from layers IV and VI of the somatosensory cortex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this communication we report the synthesis of Pd nanoparticle clusters achieved via the assembly of Pd nanoparticles on the surface of a spherical polymer network. The network exhibits flexibility and adapts to the cluster formation. The nanoclusters display high catalytic activity toward p-nitrophenol reduction and the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction.
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