Gold-Catalyzed Oxidative Rearrangement of Homopropargylic Ether via Oxonium Ylide

Synthetically useful α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds were obtained from gold-catalyzed oxidative rearrangement of homopropargylic ether under mild reaction conditions. Gold carbenoid and oxonium ylide are proposed as key intermediates

Synthesis of Allenes via Gold-Catalyzed Intermolecular Reaction of Propargylic Alcohols and Aromatic Compounds

Functionalized allenes are efficiently synthesized in moderate to high yield from gold-catalyzed intermolecular reaction of propargylic alcohols and aromatic compounds. The user-friendly process could be conducted under mild reaction conditions with easily accessible starting materials

Synthesis of Allenes via Gold-Catalyzed Intermolecular Reaction of Propargylic Alcohols and Aromatic Compounds

Functionalized allenes are efficiently synthesized in moderate to high yield from gold-catalyzed intermolecular reaction of propargylic alcohols and aromatic compounds. The user-friendly process could be conducted under mild reaction conditions with easily accessible starting materials

Induction of zinc particles on the morphology and photoluminescent property of globular Zn/ZnO core/shell nanorod heterojunction array architectures

<div><p>Zn/ZnO metal/semiconductor nanostructures were successfully synthesised by a facile zinc-rich chemistry liquid-phase approach with zinc microspheres as sacrificial templates at ambient temperature. A series of globular Zn/ZnO core/shell structures and hollow microsphere architectures self-assembled by Zn/ZnO nanorod heterojunction arrays were obtained by controlling the amount of zinc particles. The structure, morphology, composition and optical properties of the products have been characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescent spectroscopy. A possible growth mechanism of the Zn/ZnO nanostructures has been proposed based on the structural analysis. The growth mechanism of Zn/ZnO hollow microspheres is ascribed to Kirkendall effect. A new strong blue emission at 440 nm and a green emission around 500 nm with an enhancement over one order of magnitude compared with the pure ZnO sample have been observed. These emission bands are attributed to two kinds of mechanisms that have been discussed in detail.</p></div

Screening of Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Protein–Protein Interaction with Capillary Electrophoresis Frontal Analysis

A simple and effective method for identifying inhibitors of protein–protein interactions (PPIs) was developed by using capillary electrophoresis frontal analysis (CE-FA). Antiapoptotic B-cell-2 (Bcl-2) family member Bcl-X_L protein, a 5-carboxyfluorescein labeled peptide truncated from the BH3 domain of Bid (F-Bid) as the ligand, and a known Bcl-X_L-Bid interaction inhibitor ABT-263 were employed as an experimental model for the proof of concept. In CE-FA, the free ligand is separated from the protein and protein–ligand complex to permit the measurement of the equilibrium concentration of the ligand, hence the dissociation constant of the protein–ligand complex. In the presence of inhibitors, formation of the protein–ligand complex is hindered, thereby the inhibition can be easily identified by the raised plateau height of the ligand and the decayed plateau of the complex. Further, we proposed an equation used to convert the IC₅₀ value into the inhibition constant <i>K</i>_i value, which is more useful than the former for comparison. In addition, the sample pooling strategy was employed to improve the screening throughput more than 10 times. A small chemical library composed of synthetic compounds and natural extracts were screened with the method, two natural products, namely, demethylzeylasteral and celastrol, were identified as new inhibitors to block the Bcl-X_L-Bid interaction. Cell-based assay was performed to validate the activity of the identified compounds. The result demonstrated that CE-FA represents a straightforward and robust technique for screening of PPI inhibitors

Detection of MANF.

<p><b>A</b>: Different amount of human recombinant MANF (1–20 µg) were loaded on a SDS-polyacrylamide gel and subjected to immunoblotting analysis using a rabbit anti-MANF antibody. <b>B</b>: Rat pups of PD15 were sacrificed and perfused. The brain was dissected, sectioned and subjected to MANF immunohistochemistry (IHC) using a rabbit anti-MANF antibody (1∶6,000) as described in the Material and Methods. Rabbit serum (1∶6,000) was used as a control. Images were taken from the cerebral cortex. Scale bar = 100 µm.</p

MANF expression in the substantial nigra.

<p><b>A</b>: Rat pups were sacrificed at the indicated postnatal days. MANF IHC in substantial nigra was shown. SNC, Substantia Nigra pars Compacta; SNR, Substantia nigra pars reticulata. <b>B</b>: Double-labeling immunofluorescent staining was performed to determine the localization of MANF (green) in the SNC of PD15 pups. Dopaminergic neurons were indicated by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) (red). The indicated square in the top panel is shown at a higher magnification in the bottom panel. TH- positive and negative cells were indicated by open arrows and solid arrows respectively. Scale bar = 100 µm.</p

MANF expression in the hippocampus.

<p><b>A</b>: Rat pups were sacrificed at the indicated postnatal days. MANF expression in the hippocampus was determined by IHC. CA1 and CA3, Cornu Ammonis 1 and 3 region of hippocampus; DG, dentate gyrus; SUB, subiculum. <b>B</b>: Image of higher magnification showed CA1, CA3 and DG of hippocampus. Scale bar = 100 µm.</p

MANF expression in the olfactory bulb.

<p><b>A</b>: Rat pups were sacrificed at the indicated postnatal days. MANF expression in the olfactory bulb was determined by IHC. 1, Glomerular layer (GLL); 2, External plexiform layer (EPL); 3, Mitral cell layer (MCL); 4, Internal plexiform layer (IPL); 5, Granule cell layer (GL). Scale bar = 100 µm. <b>B</b>: Images of higher magnification showed the MCL. Scale bar = 25 µm. <b>C</b>: Double-labeling immunofluorescent staining was performed to determine the identity of cells expressing MANF. The images showed the expression of MANF (green), NeuN (red), GFAP (red) and DAPI (blue) in the MCL of PD15 rat pups. Scale bar = 25 µm.</p

MANF expression in the hypothalamus.

<p>Rat pups were sacrificed at the indicated postnatal days. MANF expression in the hypothalamus was determined by IHC. IHC images were taken from the indicated area shown above. <b>A</b>: MANF expression in supraoptic nucleus (SON). <b>B</b>: MANF expression in tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN). OPT, optic tract. Scale bar = 100 µm.</p