RSC Advances

Tao, Sibei; Zheng, Wen; Liu, Yuan; Li, Ling; Li, Lingzhi; Ren, Qian; Shi, Min; Liu, Jing; Jiang, Jing; Ma, Huichao; Huang, Zhuo; Xia, Zijing; Pan, Jing; Wei, Tiantian; Wang, Yan; Li, Peiyun; Lan, Tian; Ma, Liang; Fu, Ping

doi: 10.1039/c9ra01561bpmid: 35516902

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has a rising prevalence and diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major complication of T2DM. Metabolomics could provide novel insights into the pathogenesis, so we aimed to explore serum metabolomic profiles from DN to T2DM. Serum samples were collected from 14 biopsy-proven DNs, 14 age/gender-matched T2DMs without renal diseases (DM), 14 age/gender-matched healthy controls (CTRL) and household contacts of DM group (HH). Serum metabolomics was analyzed by untargeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS) assays. There were a total of 1470 metabolites identified from all serum samples. 45 metabolites with significantly different intensity were found between DN and DM, e.g., biliverdin and taurine were reduced while l-arginine was increased in DN comparing to DM. DN could be distinguished from age/gender matched DM patients by l-arginine (AUC = 0.824) or taurine levels (AUC = 0.789). The metabolic pathways affected by metabolite distinctions between DN and DM also existed, among which taurine and hypotaurine metabolism exhibited the highest pathway impact. l-Methionine, deethylatrazine, l-tryptophan and fumaric acid were reduced in DM comparing with those of CTRL, but had no different intensity in DM and HH groups. The changes were demonstrated in the metabolomic profiles of biopsy-proven DN compared to DM. Biopsy-proven DN patients could be distinguished from age/gender matched DM by l-arginine or taurine levels in serum metabolomic profiles. Taurine and hypotaurine metabolism pathway had the highest impact in pathway set enrichment analysis, which potentially affected the pathogenesis of DN from T2DM.

Mirjalili, Bi Bi Fatemeh; Soltani, Roya

doi: 10.1039/c9ra01767dpmid: 35516871

Herein, nano-kaolin/Ti4+/Fe3O4 as a new magnetic nano-catalyst was synthesized, and its structural properties were characterized using various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). This catalyst was used for the synthesis of pyrimido[2,1-b]benzothiazoles via the one-pot condensation of 2-aminobenzothiazole, an aldehyde and β-keto ester under solvent-free conditions at 100 °C. This simple protocol has many advantages such as easy workup, high product yields, short reaction times and reusability of the catalyst.

Yin, Jinjin; Wang, Jiuchao; Yang, Xiyue; Wu, Tao; Wang, Huashan; Zhou, Xiaoming

doi: 10.1039/c9ra03041gpmid: 35516856

In this work, a facile and sensitive colorimetric sensor for Hg2+ ions based on poly (adenine)-mediated DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) is reported. One DNA sequence consisting of poly-A and T-rich DNA was designed rationally. Poly-A was used as an anchoring block to bind tightly to Au NPs, and T-rich DNA was utilized for specific recognition of Hg2+ ions. With the assistance of poly-A, T-rich DNA was easily introduced onto the surface of Au NPs and kept an upright orientation. In the presence of Hg2+ ions, T base binding with Hg2+ ions results in the formation of “T–Hg2+–T” among the Au NPs, which caused aggregation of the Au NPs and a subsequent change in the color of the solution, from wine red to grayish blue. On this occasion, the limit of detection (LOD) was 3.75 nM Hg2+ ions with a linear range from 5 nM to 200 nM, as measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Moreover, successful application of this method for the detection of Hg2+ ions in real samples was demonstrated.

Van Roosendael, Stijn; Onghena, Bieke; Roosen, Joris; Michielsen, Bart; Wyns, Kenny; Mullens, Steven; Binnemans, Koen

doi: 10.1039/c9ra02344epmid: 35516852

A novel adsorbent was designed for selective recovery of cobalt(ii) from synthetic binary cobalt(ii)–nickel(ii) and cobalt(ii)–manganese(ii) solutions, a synthetic multi-element solution and a real aqueous waste stream from the petrochemical sector. The adsorbent consisted of shaped activated carbon–alginate spheres impregnated with Cyanex 272. The synthesis was followed by characterisation using SEM, infrared spectroscopy, BET analysis and elemental analysis. Good selectivity for cobalt(ii) over nickel(ii) could be achieved during adsorption, while this was not the case for cobalt(ii) over manganese(ii). Cobalt(ii) and manganese(ii) were therefore fully adsorbed and stripped using a dilute sulphuric acid solution. The adsorbent was shown to be reusable in a column setup. Finally, the adsorbent material was used for the purification of a real aqueous waste stream from the petrochemical sector.

Zhong, Hui; An, Xiaohong; Li, Yu; Cai, Minxuan; Ahmad, Owais; Shang, Jing; Zhou, Jia

doi: 10.1039/c8ra09786kpmid: 35516905

Vitiligo is an intriguing depigmentation disorder that affects about 0.5–2% of the world population. In the past decade, first-line treatments of vitiligo have involved the use of calcineurin inhibitors and corticosteroids. Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) has been widely applied in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in China. In the present study, the effect of STS on melanogenesis was confirmed in the B16F10 cells and zebrafish by direct observation. The prevention of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress has been proven to be beneficial to vitiligo patients, and STS that can protect the B16F10 cells against oxidative stress has been investigated in the present reversed study. Moreover, we found that pre-treatment with STS led to a concentration-dependent mitochondrial impairment and decreased cell apoptosis of the B16F10 cells in response to H2O2. In addition, we demonstrated that STS increased melanin synthesis in the B16F10 cells by activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase A (PKA) pathways. STS also increased the Cdc42 and KIF5b expression to stimulate the translocation of melanin. These results suggest that STS protects the B16F10 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative stress and exerts melanin synthesis activity in the B16F10 cells by activating the MAPK and PKA pathways; thus, it shows therapeutic potential for vitiligo.

Hu, Yunping; Tang, Ping; Li, Longwei; Yang, Junyu; Jian, Xigao; Bin, Yuezhen

doi: 10.1039/c9ra02959apmid: 35516874

Sandwich structure can be induced to achieve excellent electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) as is well known. However, how to optimize the structure to achieve performance optimization is still a problem. Herein, a poly(phthalazinone etherketone)/multiwall carbon nanotube (PPEK/MWCNT) composite with homodisperse and high content (15 wt%) of MWCNT was prepared by a water induced phase separation process. A sandwich structure was designed by introducing a wave-transmitting layer between the PPEK/MWCNT composite films. The MWCNT loading of the shielding layer and the wave-transmitting layer thickness (d) were varied to systematically investigate their influence on shielding performance in the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz). EMI SE shows strong d value dependence. When the shielding layer was fixed, EMI SE showed a trend of decreasing, rising, leveling off and then decreasing again with d value increasing. The d value in the leveling off stage is the best value for performance optimization. The best d value decreased with increasing MWCNT content of the shielding layer. An absorption dominated SE up to 65 dB and a high increment rate of 140% of SE were achieved by optimization of the d value and shielding layer.

Huang, Shuai; Wang, Jian; Wei, Xiaowei; Zhou, Yuli; Wang, Lijun; Zhang, Jianjun

doi: 10.1039/c9ra01173kpmid: 35516888

Phosphate chemical conversion (PCC) ceramic coatings on the surface of 2A12 aluminum alloy substrate have been fabricated by a simple and inexpensive chemical conversion process in CrO3–NaF–H3PO4 solution. Microstructure characterization showed that the average diameter of micro-pores and the thickness of the PCC ceramic coating were about 50 nm and 4 μm, respectively, and the ceramic coating was compact and uniform when the conversion time was 60 min. Meanwhile, we found that the PCC ceramic coating mainly consisted of AlPO4, AlOOH, AlF3, and a few amorphous phases (CrPO4 and CrOOH) via EDS, XRD, XPS analyses. TG-DSC results indicated that the PCC ceramic coatings had excellent thermal stability. Significantly, the adhesion strength (178.55 N) between the PCC ceramic coatings and 2A12 Al substrate was remarkably improved owing to the strong chemical bond between the PCC ceramic coating and 2A12 Al substrate and the increase of surface roughness. Furthermore, a lower corrosion current density (1.382 × 10−7 A cm−2) and a higher corrosion inhibition efficiency (99.91%) confirmed that PCC ceramic coatings had fantastic corrosion resistance because of the presence of crystalline AlPO4/AlF3/AlOOH and amorphous CrPO4/CrOOH as a barrier layer. Additionally, a possible film-forming mechanism of the PCC ceramic coating was proposed during the chemical conversion process, which could be divided into four stages: dissolution of 2A12 aluminum substrate and hydrogen evolution; crystallization of insoluble phosphates and formation of an amorphous phase; growth of insoluble phosphates and dissolution of PCC ceramic coatings; growth and dissolution of PCC coatings to dynamic equilibrium.

Lin, Xiaoyi; Xu, Benhong; Zhang, Zaijun; Yang, Ying; Liu, Gongping; Zhu, Feiqi; Ren, Xiaohu; Liu, Jianjun; Li, Shupeng; Huang, Xianfeng; Yang, Xifei

doi: 10.1039/c9ra03054apmid: 35516848

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease characterized by pathological processes, including abnormal amyloid deposits and filament tangles, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and neurotrophic insufficiency, leading to chronic and prolonged neuronal loss and cognitive deficits. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is one of the main active components of Ligusticum wallichii, a traditional Chinese medicine widely used for brain related disease. Here, we synthesized the TMP derivative tetramethylpyrazine dimer (DTMP), and evaluated the potential mechanisms underlying its potential neuroprotective effects using the murine neuron-like cells (N2a) transfected with the human “Swedish” mutant amyloid precursor protein (N2aAPP). ELISA results indicated that DTMP reduced the levels of Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 in N2aAPP. Then through proteomic analysis we identified a total of 208 differentially expressed proteins in N2aAPP cells compared to the wild-type N2a cells (N2aWT), including 144 increased and 64 decreased proteins. 449 differentially expressed proteins were revealed in N2aAPP cells on DTMP treatment with 69 increased and 380 decreased proteins. Bioinformatic analysis suggested that these proteins are enriched in mitochondrial function, the electronic transmission chain, ATP binding, oxidative phosphorylation, GTPase function, the transcriptional translation process, amino acid metabolism, nucleotide binding and others. Given the vital role of mitochondria in the pathogenesis of AD, we selected the electron transport chain pathway-related molecules to further validate these findings. Western-blot analysis demonstrated that DTMP significantly increased the levels of complex I (NDUAA), complex II (SDHB), complex III (UCRI), complex IV (COX5A) and complex V (ATP5A) in N2aAPP cells. The modulation of dysregulated proteins implicated in AD pathogenesis implies the pharmacological mechanisms of DTMP and its potential as a novel therapeutic choice in AD.

Hawkins, Alexander P.; Zachariou, Andrea; Collier, Paul; Ewings, Russell A.; Howe, Russell F.; Parker, Stewart F.; Lennon, David

doi: 10.1039/c9ra03568kpmid: 35516867

Observation of the oligomerization of propene in ZSM-5 at 293 K by neutron vibrational spectroscopy shows that the product species are linear alkyl chains. No evidence is found for the formation of branched products. The selective formation of linear alkyl chains is attributed to a confinement effect within the zeolite pore structure. A role for zeolite crystallite size, a controllable parameter within the catalyst preparative stage, in being able to influence the product composition in technically relevant olefin oligomerization reactions is considered.

Guo, Shuai; Liang, Honglin; Che, Deyong; Liu, Hongpeng; Sun, Baizhong

doi: 10.1039/c9ra03138cpmid: 35516857

Biomass pyrolysis can be used to obtain clean fuels, such as liquids or gases, and is a promising approach to biomass energy utilization. Levoglucosan (LG) is an important product of biomass pyrolysis. The study of its thermal decomposition process is helpful for understanding the mechanisms underlying biomass pyrolysis. We investigated the decomposition of LG using a density functional theory method based on quantum mechanics. In this paper, we studied 23 possible reaction paths for LG pyrolysis to generate small molecular gases and 51 compounds (including reactants, intermediates, and products), and quantified the 47 transition states involved in the pathway. The optimal reaction path of CO2 is ring opening → decarboxylation, with an energy span of 301 kJ mol−1. The optimal reaction pathway for CO is dehydration → alcohol–ketone tautomerization → ring opening → decarbonylation, with an energy span of 286 kJ mol−1. Therefore, it is theoretically simpler to produce CO from LG than to generate CO2. Moreover, by analysing the dehydration reaction in the pathway, we observed that dehydration is beneficial to the production of CO by LG, but is not conducive to the formation of CO2.