Optimization of Synthesis of the Amino Lipid ECO for Effective Delivery of Nucleic Acids.

Nucleic acids are promising for a variety of therapies, such as cancer therapy and the gene therapy of genetic disorders. The therapeutic efficacy of nucleic acids is reliant on the ability of their efficient delivery to the cytosol of the target cells. Amino lipids have been developed to aid in the cytosolic delivery of nucleic acids.

Chemical engines: driving systems away from equilibrium through catalyst reaction cycles.

Biological systems exhibit a range of complex functions at the micro- and nanoscales under non-equilibrium conditions (for example, transportation and motility, temporal control, information processing and so on). Chemists also employ out-of-equilibrium systems, for example in kinetic selection during catalysis, self-replication, dissipative self-assembly and synthetic molecular machinery, and in the form of chemical oscillators. Key to non-equilibrium behaviour are the mechanisms through which systems are able to extract energy from the chemical reactants ('fuel') that drive such processes.

Improving Radiation Response in Glioblastoma Using ECO/siRNA Nanoparticles Targeting DNA Damage Repair.

Radiation therapy is a mainstay in the standard of care for glioblastoma (GBM), thus inhibiting the DNA damage response (DDR) is a major strategy to improve radiation response and therapeutic outcomes. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy holds immeasurable potential for the treatment of GBM, however delivery of the siRNA payload remains the largest obstacle for clinical implementation. Here we demonstrate the effectiveness of the novel nanomaterial, ECO (1-aminoethylimino[bis(N-oleoylcysteinylaminoethyl) propionamide]), to deliver siRNA targeting DDR proteins ataxia telangiectasia mutated and DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNApk-cs) for the radiosensitzation of GBM in vitro and in vivo.

Self-Assembled Artificial Ion-Channels toward Natural Selection of Functions.

Owing to their significant physiological functions, especially as selective relays for translocation of physiological relevant species through cellular membranes, natural ion channels play important role in the living organisms. During the last decades, the field of self-assembled ion channels has been continuously developed. Convergent multidimensional self-assembly strategies have been used for the synthesis of unimolecular channels or non-covalent self-organized channels, designed to mimic natural ion channel proteins and for which a rich array of interconverting or adaptive channel conductance states can be observed.

Artificial Gramicidins.

Gramicidin A, gA is a natural protein channel with a well-established, simple structure, and function: cations and water are transported together along the channel. Importantly, the dipolar orientation of water molecules within the pore can influence the ionic translocation. The need for simple artificial systems biomimicking the gA functions has been desired and they were until last decade unknown.

Formulation of Biocompatible Targeted ECO/siRNA Nanoparticles with Long-Term Stability for Clinical Translation of RNAi.

Nanoparticle based siRNA formulations often suffer from aggregation and loss of function during storage. We in this study report a frozen targeted RGD-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-ECO/siβ3 nanoparticle formulation with a prolonged shelf life and preserved nanoparticle functionality. The targeted RGD-PEG-ECO/siβ3 nanoparticles are formed by step-wised self-assembly of RGD-PEG-maleimide, ECO, and siRNA.

Systemic Delivery of Tumor-Targeting siRNA Nanoparticles against an Oncogenic LncRNA Facilitates Effective Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Therapy.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), by virtue of their versatility and multilevel gene regulation, have emerged as attractive pharmacological targets for treating heterogeneous and complex malignancies like triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Despite multiple studies on lncRNA functions in tumor pathology, systemic targeting of these "undruggable" macromolecules with conventional approaches remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrate effective TNBC therapy by nanoparticle-mediated RNAi of the oncogenic lncRNA DANCR, which is significantly overexpressed in TNBC.

Synthesis and Evaluation of pH-Sensitive Multifunctional Lipids for Efficient Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 in Gene Editing.

CRISPR/Cas9 system is a promising approach for gene editing in gene therapy. Effective gene editing requires safe and efficient delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 system in target cells. Several new multifunctional pH-sensitive amino lipids were designed and synthesized with modification of the amino head groups for intracellular delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Phosphine Organocatalysis.

The hallmark of nucleophilic phosphine catalysis is the initial nucleophilic addition of a phosphine to an electrophilic starting material, producing a reactive zwitterionic intermediate, generally under mild conditions. In this Review, we classify nucleophilic phosphine catalysis reactions in terms of their electrophilic components. In the majority of cases, these electrophiles possess carbon-carbon multiple bonds: alkenes (section 2), allenes (section 3), alkynes (section 4), and Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) alcohol derivatives (MBHADs; section 5).

Imidazole derivatives as artificial water channel building-blocks: structural design influence on water permeability.

A series of mono- and di-ureidoethylimidazole derivatives were tested as self-assembled supramolecular channels for water transport. Several structural behaviours were compared in order to gain insight on the structure-water transport activity relationship. The three main features that are critical to tailor artificial water channel building blocks are: (i) the selectivity of the hydrophilic head, (ii) the H-bonding scaffold favouring the directional self-assembly, and (iii) the lipophilic tail for the compatibility with the hydrophobic environment of the lipid bilayer.

Bis-15-crown-5-ether-pillar[5]arene K-Responsive Channels.

An artificial selective K channel is formed from the supramolecular organization on bis(benzo-15-crown-5- ether-ureido)-pillar[5]arene compound. This channel achieves a selectivity of S = 5 for an initial transport rate of k = 3.2 × 10 s.

Phosphine-Catalyzed Enantioselective [4 + 3] Annulation of Allenoates with C,N-Cyclic Azomethine Imines: Synthesis of Quinazoline-Based Tricyclic Heterocycles.

With the use of a commercially available chiral phosphine as the catalyst, the first catalytic enantioselective [4 + 3] annulation of allenoates with C,N-cyclic azomethine imines is developed. The reaction works efficiently under mild reaction conditions to afford seven-membered ring-fused quinazoline-based tricyclic heterocycles in high yields with good to excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities.

[4 + 3] Cycloaddition of Phthalazinium Dicyanomethanides with Azoalkenes Formed in Situ: Synthesis of Triazepine Derivatives.

[4 + 3] cycloaddition of phthalazinium dicyanomethanides with in situ formed azoalkenes was achieved, providing an access to various 1,2,4-triazepine derivatives in moderate to excellent yields.

Phosphine-Catalyzed [2 + 4] Annulation of Allenoates with Thiazolone-Derived Alkenes: Synthesis of Functionalized 6,7-Dihydro-5H-pyrano[2,3-d]thiazoles.

Phosphine-catalyzed [2 + 4] annulation of allenoates with thiazolone-derived alkenes has been achieved under mild conditions, giving biologically important 6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrano[2,3-d]thiazole derivatives in high to excellent yields. With the use of Kwon's phosphine as the chiral catalyst, optically active products were obtained in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Spirobarbiturate-Cyclohexenes through Phosphine-Catalyzed Asymmetric [4 + 2] Annulation of Barbiturate-Derived Alkenes with Allenoates.

An enantioselective synthesis of pharmaceutically important spirobarbiturates has been achieved via spirocyclic chiral phosphine-catalyzed asymmetric [4 + 2] annulation of barbiturate-derived alkenes with allenoates. With the use of this tool, various spirobarbiturate-cyclohexenes are obtained in good to excellent yields with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. A wide range of α-substituted allenoates and barbiturate-derived alkenes were tolerated.

Squalyl Crown Ether Self-Assembled Conjugates: An Example of Highly Selective Artificial K Channels.

The natural KcsA K channel, one of the best-characterized biological pore structures, conducts K cations at high rates while excluding Na cations. The KcsA K channel is of primordial inspiration for the design of artificial channels. Important progress in improving conduction activity and K /Na selectivity has been achieved with artificial ion-channel systems.

Highly Selective Artificial Cholesteryl Crown Ether K(+)-Channels.

The bacterial KcsA channel conducts K(+) cations at high rates while excluding Na(+) cations. Herein, we report an artificial ion-channel formed by H-bonded stacks of crown-ethers, where K(+) cation conduction is highly preferred to Na(+) cations. The macrocycles aligned along the central pore surround the K(+) cations in a similar manner to the water around the hydrated cation, compensating for the energetic cost of their dehydration.

Solvent-dependent enthalpic versus entropic anion binding by biaryl substituted quinoline based anion receptors.

Anion receptors based on an 8-thiourea substituted quinoline with pentafluorinated (1a) or nonfluorinated (1b) biarylamide groups in the 2-position show similar binding of halide anions with somewhat higher association constants for the more acidic fluorinated derivative. Surprisingly, binding affinities for the halides in the case of the nonfluorinated 1b are similar in nonpolar chloroform or polar DMSO as solvent. Thorough thermodynamic investigations based on NMR van't Hoff analysis show that anion binding in chloroform is mainly enthalpically driven.

Chiral phosphines in nucleophilic organocatalysis.

This review discusses the tertiary phosphines possessing various chiral skeletons that have been used in asymmetric nucleophilic organocatalytic reactions, including annulations of allenes, alkynes, and Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) acetates, carbonates, and ketenes with activated alkenes and imines, allylic substitutions of MBH acetates and carbonates, Michael additions, γ-umpolung additions, and acylations of alcohols.

DABCO-catalyzed [3 + 2] annulation of sulfamate-derived cyclic imines with isocyanoacetates: synthesis of sulfamate-fused 2-imidazoline.

DABCO-catalyzed [3 + 2] annulation reaction of sulfamate-derived cyclic imines with isocyanoacetate proceeds under mild conditions, providing sulfamate-fused 2-imidazolines in moderate to excellent yields with moderate to excellent diastereoselectivities.

Naphthylthiourea-modified permethylcyclodextrin as a highly sensitive and selective "turn-on" fluorescent chemosensor for Hg2+ in water and living cells.

A naphthylthiourea-modified cyclodextrin (1) and its urea derivative (2) were synthesized, and their fluorescence behaviors in the presence of various metal ions were investigated. Significantly, 1 showed a highly sensitive and selective fluorescence sensing ability for Hg(2+) over other metal ions in both water and living cells. That is, the addition of Hg(2+) to an aqueous solution of 1 gave a significantly enhanced fluorescence at ~380 nm.

Molecular aggregation behavior of perylene-bridged bis(beta-cyclodextrin) and its electronic interactions upon selective binding with aromatic guests.

A novel water-soluble perylene bisimide derivative 1 was synthesized with two permethyl-beta-cyclodextrin grafts at the imide nitrogens, and its structure was identified by NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), and elemental analysis. Its aggregation behavior in water and organic solutions was further investigated by UV-vis, fluorescence, and (1)H NMR spectra, showing that 1 exhibits strong pi..