In Vivo Albumin-Binding of a C-Functionalized Cyclam Platform for 64Cu-PET/CT Imaging in Breast Cancer Model

An improved glucose-chelator-albumin bioconjugate (GluCAB) derivative, GluCAB-2^Mal, has been synthesized and studied for in vivo ⁶⁴Cu-PET/CT imaging in breast cancer mice models together with its first-generation analogue GluCAB-1^Mal. The radioligand works on the principle of tumor targeting through the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect with a supportive role played by glucose metabolism. [⁶⁴Cu]Cu-GluCAB-2^Mal (99 % RCP) exhibited high serum stability with immediate binding to serum proteins. In vivo experiments for comparison between tumor targeting of [⁶⁴Cu]Cu-GluCAB-2^Mal and previous-generation [⁶⁴Cu]Cu-GluCAB-1^Mal encompassed microPET/CT imaging and biodistribution analysis in an allograft E0771 breast cancer mouse model. Tumor uptake of [⁶⁴Cu]Cu-GluCAB-2^Mal was clearly evident with twice as much accumulation as compared to its predecessor and a tumor/muscle ratio of up to 5 after 24 h. Further comparison indicated a decrease in liver accumulation for [⁶⁴Cu]Cu-Glu-CAB-2^Mal.     

Hydraulic reactivity and cement formation of baghdadite

In this study, the hydraulic reactivity and cement formation of baghdadite (Ca₃ZrSi₂O₉) was investigated. The material was synthesized by sintering a mixture of CaCO₃, SiO₂, and ZrO₂ and then mechanically activated using a planetary mill. This leads to a decrease in particle and crystallite size and a partial amorphization of baghdadite as shown by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and laser diffraction measurements. Baghdadite cements were formed by the addition of water at a powder to liquid ratio of 2.0 g/ml. Maximum compressive strengths were found to be ~2 MPa after 3-day setting for a 24-h ground material. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measurements showed an incongruent dissolution profile of set cements with a preferred dissolution of calcium and only marginal release of zirconium ions. Cement formation occurs under alkaline conditions, whereas the unground raw powder leads to a pH of 11.9 during setting, while prolonged grinding increased pH values to approximately 12.3.     

Superradiant Emission from Coherent Excitons in van Der Waals Heterostructures

Recent advancements in isolation and stacking of layered van der Waals materials have created an unprecedented paradigm for demonstrating varieties of 2D quantum materials. Rationally designed van der Waals heterostructures composed of monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and few-layer hBN show several unique optoelectronic features driven by correlations. However, entangled superradiant excitonic species in such systems have not been observed before. In this report, it is demonstrated that strong suppression of phonon population at low temperature results in a formation of a coherent excitonic-dipoles ensemble in the heterostructure, and the collective oscillation of those dipoles stimulates a robust phase synchronized ultra-narrow band superradiant emission even at extremely low pumping intensity. Such emitters are in high demand for a multitude of applications, including fundamental research on many-body correlations and other state-of-the-art technologies. This timely demonstration paves the way for further exploration of ultralow-threshold quantum-emitting devices with unmatched design freedom and spectral tunability.     

Late-Stage Hydrocarbon Conjugation and Cyclisation in Synthetic Peptides and Proteins

The conventional S-alkylation of cysteine relies upon using activated electrophiles. Here we demonstrate high-yielding and selective S-alkylation and S-lipidation of cysteines in unprotected synthetic peptides and proteins by using weak electrophiles and a Zn²⁺ promoter. Linear or branched iodoalkanes can S-alkylate cysteine in an unprotected 38-residue Myc peptide fragment and in a 91-residue miniprotein Omomyc, thus highlighting selective late-stage synthetic modifications. Metal-assisted cysteine alkylation is also effective for incorporating dehydroalanine into unprotected peptides and for peptide cyclisation via aliphatic thioether crosslinks, including customising macrocycles to stabilise helical peptides for enhanced uptake and delivery to proteins inside cells. Chemoselective and efficient late-stage Zn²⁺-promoted cysteine alkylation in unprotected peptides and proteins promises many useful applications.     

Preconditioning of AISI 304 stainless steel surfaces in the presence of flavins—Part II: Effect on biofilm formation and microbially influenced corrosion processes

Biofilm formation and microbially influenced corrosion of the iron-reducing microorganism Shewanella putrefaciens were investigated on stainless steel surfaces preconditioned in the absence and presence of flavin molecules by means of XANES (X-ray absorption near-edge structure) analysis and electrochemical methods. The results indicate that biofilm formation was promoted on samples preconditioned in electrolytes containing minute amounts of flavins. On the basis of the XANES results, the corrosion processes are controlled by the iron-rich outer layer of the passive film. Biofilm formation resulted in a cathodic shift of the open circuit potential and a protective effect in terms of pitting corrosion. The samples preconditioned in the absence of flavins have shown delayed pitting and the samples preconditioned in the presence of flavins did not show any pitting in a window of −0.3- to +0.0-V overpotential in the bacterial medium. The results indicate that changes in the passive film chemistry induced by the presence of minute amounts of flavins during a mild anodic polarization can change the susceptibility of stainless steel surfaces to microbially influenced corrosion.     

Response of Corn Seedlings (Zea mays L.) to Different Concentrations of Nitrogen in Absence and Presence of Silicon

Silicon - Corn plants are highly demanding of nitrogen and the application of silicon has been studied because it minimizes stress from different natures, and for the better utilization of some...     

Revealing the relationships between alloy structure,composition and plastic deformation in a ternary alloy system by a combinatorial approach

A high-throughput approach based on magnetron co-sputtering of alloy libraries is employed to inves-tigate mechanical properties of crystalline and amorphous alloys in a ternary palladium(Pd)-tungsten(W)-silicon(Si)system with the aim to reveal the difference in plastic deformation response and extract the relevant structure-property relationships of the alloys in the system.It was found that in contrast to crystalline alloys,the amorphous ones,i.e.,metallic glasses,exhibited a much smaller fluctuation range in the plasticity parameters(Er2/H and Wp/Wt),indicating a significant difference in the plastic deformation mechanism controlling the mechanical properties for the respective alloys.We propose that the inho-mogeneous deformation of amorphous alloys localized in thin shear bands is responsible for the weaker compositional dependence of both plasticity parameters,while dislocation gliding in crystalline materials is significantly more dependent on the exact structure,thus resulting in a larger scattering range.Based on the representative efficient cluster packing model,a set of composition-dependent atomic structural models is proposed to figure out the structure-property relationships of amorphous alloys in Pd-W-Si alloy system.     

Microwave hybrid fast sintering of red clay ceramics

This work aimed to examine the performance of the hybrid sintering of clay ceramic in a microwave furnace, compared to the sintering process in a conventional furnace. The raw materials were subjected to X-ray fluorescence, loss on ignition (LOI), X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution, real specific mass, and thermogravimetric analyses. The red clay ceramic mass was prepared, extruded, pre-sintered in a conventional furnace at 600°C/60 min, and sintered at temperatures between 700 °C and 1100 °C. The sintering conventional (resistive oven) was carried out for 60 min with a heating rate of 10°C/min. In the microwave furnace, the sintering times were 5, 10, and 15 min, with a heating rate of 50°C/min, with a sintering chamber coated with silicon carbide (susceptor). The sintered specimens were characterized according to linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent specific mass, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy analysis, spectroscopy analysis in the ultraviolet and visible regions, microhardness, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that microwave sintering promoted an increase in the microhardness and apparent specific mass, and reduction in water absorption and apparent porosity values, due to greater densification in the microstructure. The best results occurred for specimens sintered at 1100°C.