Fluorescence Anisotropy of Hydrophobic Probes in Poly(N-decylacrylamide)-block-poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) Block Copolymer Aqueous Solutions: Evidence of Premicellar Aggregates

International audienceFluorescent probes, coumarin 153 (C153) and octadecylrhodamine B (ORB), were used to study the self-assembly in water of poly(N-decylacrylamide)-block-poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide), (PDcA(11)-block-PDEA(295); M-n = 40 300 g mol(-1), M-w/M-n = 1.01). From the variation of both the fluorescence intensity and the solvatochromic shifts of C153 with polymer concentration, the critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined as 1 8 +/- 0.1 mu M On the other hand, steady-state anisotropy measurements showed the presence of premicellar aggregates below the CMC Time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy evidenced that ORB is located in the premicellar aggregates and the micelle core, while C153 is partitioned between the aggregates and the water phase The micelle core contains both semicrystalline and amorphous regions In the semicrystalline regions the probes cannot rotate, while in the amorphous regions the rotational correlation times correlate well with the hydrodynamic volume of the probes. The amorphous region of the micelle core is relatively fluid, reflecting the large free-volume accessible to the probes

Novel Malachite Green- and Rhodamine B-labeled cationic chain transfer agents for RAFT polymerization

International audienceTwo novel cationic RAFT agents have been synthesized, one labeled with a Malachite Green (MG) dye and another with a Rhodamine B (RhoB) dye. MG-labeled dithiobenzoate (MGEDBA) was prepared in a straightforward manner after synthesis of MG-ethylammonium chloride that reacted with a precursor dithiobenzoate bearing an activated ester function. However, the analogous reaction with RhoB amino derivative led to a mixture of dithiobenzoate and thioamide derivatives. An alternative approach yielded the RhoB-labeled RAFT agent (RhoBEDBA) with complete conversion. The purification of these dye-labeled RAFT agents was very challenging because of their dual nature (aromatic and ionic). Both MGEDBA and RhoBEDBA were efficient RAFT chain transfer agents to control the polymerization of N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA). The resulting α-end-labeled MG- and RhoB-PDMA samples presented low dispersities (Đ<1.2) and both chain-ends were preserved. Finally, we showed that the attachment of RhoB and MG to the PDMA polymer chain-end did not influence the photophysical properties of these dyes. Therefore, these new dye-labeled RAFT agents can be used to prepare various labeled polymers and especially water-soluble ones, to study their conformation and dynamics in solution or at interfaces using fluorescence methods, or as labeled probes for imaging and/or diagnosis purposes

Mechanical ventilation in patients with cardiogenic pulmonary edema : a sub-analysis of the LUNG SAFE study

Patients with acute respiratory failure caused by cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE) may require mechanical ventilation that can cause further lung damage. Our aim was to determine the impact of ventilatory settings on CPE mortality. Patients from the LUNG SAFE cohort, a multicenter prospective cohort study of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation, were studied. Relationships between ventilatory parameters and outcomes (ICU discharge/hospital mortality) were assessed using latent mixture analysis and a marginal structural model. From 4499 patients, 391 meeting CPE criteria (median age 70 [interquartile range 59-78], 40% female) were included. ICU and hospital mortality were 34% and 40%, respectively. ICU survivors were younger (67 [57-77] vs 74 [64-80] years, p < 0.001) and had lower driving (12 [8-16] vs 15 [11-17] cmHO, p < 0.001), plateau (20 [15-23] vs 22 [19-26] cmHO, p < 0.001) and peak (21 [17-27] vs 26 [20-32] cmHO, p < 0.001) pressures. Latent mixture analysis of patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation on ICU day 1 revealed a subgroup ventilated with high pressures with lower probability of being discharged alive from the ICU (hazard ratio [HR] 0.79 [95% confidence interval 0.60-1.05], p = 0.103) and increased hospital mortality (HR 1.65 [1.16-2.36], p = 0.005). In a marginal structural model, driving pressures in the first week (HR 1.12 [1.06-1.18], p < 0.001) and tidal volume after day 7 (HR 0.69 [0.52-0.93], p = 0.015) were related to survival. Higher airway pressures in invasively ventilated patients with CPE are related to mortality. These patients may be exposed to an increased risk of ventilator-induced lung injury. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02010073