Synthesis and triplex forming properties of an acyclic N7-glycosylated guanine nucleoside

A chiral acyclic nucleoside, one in which the ribose carbohydrate has been replaced with a glycerol-based linker, is prepared by glycosylating guanine at the N7-nitrogen. The stereochemically pure derivative is converted to a DMT-protected phosphoramidite for incorporation into DNA sequences. Sequence containing the acyclic N7-dG nucleoside are capable of forming DNA triplexes in which it is likely that the N1-H and N2-amino groups of the N7-dG are involved in recognition of the guanine base in G-C base pairs.     

Evaluation of chromic oxide,glycerol triether,and β-sitosterol as fecal flow markers in two species of nonhuman primates

Recovery of β-sitosterol, glycerol triether (1-hexadecyl-2,3,-didodecyl glycerol triether), and chromic oxide was studied in African green monkeys and stumptail macaques consuming diets containing 0.75 mg/Cal cholesterol and 38% of calories as safflower oil or butter. Following oral administration of these compounds, feces were collected daily for 9 days. For all animals, excretion of β-sitosterol and glycerol triether paralleled one another almost exactly. Except for two animlas, this was also true for chromic acid. Essentially 100% of the administered β-sitosterol and 90–95% of the glycerol triether were recovered; excretion of these markers virtually was complete by day 3. Ninety-two percent of the β-sitosterol was isolated in the nonsaponifiable lipid extract of the feces with less than 6% in the remaining aqueous phase. A maximum of 3.1% of the β-sitosterol and 1.8% of the glycerol triether were found in the blood. For stumptail macaques, the major excretory form of β-sitosterol was the 5β-derivative. African green monkeys were more variable; one animal excreted the bulk of the β-sitosterol unchanged while others excreted greater than 80% as the ring-saturated 5β-derivative. Animals consuming the safflower oil containing diet consistently excreted a greater percentage of the β-sitosterol unchanged, compared with those animals eating the butter containing diet. There was no evidence for steroid ring degradation in any of the animals used in this study.     

The effect of molecular structure on the gas transmission rates of aromatic polyimides

A series of high-molecular weight condensation polyimides was evaluated to determine the effect of polymer molecular structure on the transmission rate of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The polyimide films were prepared from either 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) or pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) with various diamines. The study shows that molecular structure had a strong influence on gas transmission rates with results for some films varying three orders of magnitude from that of other polyimide films. In general, the BTDA series of polyimides had overall lower gas transmission rates than the PMDA-derived series. Polymers prepared with meta-oriented diamines characteristically displayed lower gas transmission than those prepared with para-oriented diamines.     

Tracking and characterizing the head motion of unanaesthetized rats in positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an important in vivo molecular imaging technique for translational research. Imaging unanaesthetized rats using motion-compensated PET avoids the confounding impact of anaesthetic drugs and enables animals to be imaged during normal or evoked behaviour. However, there is little published data on the nature of rat head motion to inform the design of suitable marker-based motion-tracking set-ups for brain imaging—specifically, set-ups that afford close to uninterrupted tracking. We performed a systematic study of rat head motion parameters for unanaesthetized tube-bound and freely moving rats with a view to designing suitable motion-tracking set-ups in each case. For tube-bound rats, using a single appropriately placed binocular tracker, uninterrupted tracking was possible greater than 95 per cent of the time. For freely moving rats, simulations and measurements of a live subject indicated that two opposed binocular trackers are sufficient (less than 10% interruption to tracking) for a wide variety of behaviour types. We conclude that reliable tracking of head pose can be achieved with marker-based optical-motion-tracking systems for both tube-bound and freely moving rats undergoing PET studies without sedation.     

Color‐Coded Super‐Resolution Small‐Molecule Imaging

Although the development of super‐resolution microscopy dates back to 1994, its applications have been primarily focused on visualizing cellular structures and targets, including proteins, DNA and sugars. We now report on a system that allows both monitoring of the localization of exogenous small molecules in live cells at low resolution and subsequent super‐resolution imaging by using stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) on fixed cells. This represents a powerful new tool to understand the dynamics of subcellular trafficking associated with the mode and mechanism of action of exogenous small molecules.     

Flexibilized Copolyimide Adhesives

Two copolyimides, LARC-STPI and STPI-LARC-2, with flexible backbones were prepared and characterized as adhesives. The processability and adhesive properties were compared to those of a commercially available form of LARC-TPI.

Lap shear specimens were fabricated using adhesive tape prepared from each of the three polymers. Lap shear tests were performed at room temperature, 177°C, and 204°C before and after exposure to water-boil and to thermal aging at 204°C for up to 1000 hours.

The three adhesive systems possess exceptional lap shear strengths at room temperature and elevated temperatures both before and after thermal exposure. LARC-STPI, because of its high glass transition temperature provided high lap shear strengths up to 260°C. After water-boil, LARC-TPI exhibited the highest lap shear strengths at room temperature and 177°C, whereas the LARC-STPI retained a higher percentage of its original strength when tested at 204°C [68% versus 50% (STPI-LARC-2) and 40% (LARC-TPI)].

These flexible thermoplastic copolyimides show considerable potential as adhesives based on this study and because of the ease of preparation with low cost, commercially available materials.     

Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy of polyacrylamide gels (PAGs) for radiation dosimetry

Polyacrylamide gels (PAGs) are used for magnetic resonance imaging radiation dosimetry. Fourier transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy studies were undertaken to investigate cross-linking changes during the copolymerization of polyacrylamide gels in the spectral range of 200-3500 cm(-1). Vibrational bands of 1285 cm(-1) and 1256 cm(-1) were assigned to acrylamide and bis-acrylamide single CH2 deltaCH2 binding modes. Bands were found to decrease in amplitude with increasing absorbed radiation dose as a result of copolymerization. Principal component regression was performed on FT-Raman spectra of PAG samples irradiated to 50 Gy. Two components were found to be sufficient to account for 98.7% of the variance in the data. Cross validation was used to establish the absorbed radiation dose of an unknown PAG sample from the FT-Raman spectra. The calculated correlation coefficient between measured and predictive samples was 0.997 with a standard error of estimate of 0.976 and a standard error of prediction of 1.140. Results demonstrate the potential of FT-Raman spectroscopy for ionizing radiation dosimetry using polyacrylamide gels.     

Preparation and properties of silane-endcapped polyimide adhesives

Silane-endcapped polyimide high temperature adhesive formulations were prepared by reacting anhydride-terminated poly(amic acid), obtained from benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride and a diamine (3,3′-, 3,4′- or 4,4′ -diaminodiphenylmethane and 3,3′, 3,4′- or 4,4′ -diaminobenzophenone) with varying amounts of γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane in dimethylacetamide. Resin properties were evaluated by torsional braid analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. Lap shear strengths of some of the adhesive bonds were determined at room temperature and at 177°C before and after ageing at 200°C for 2500 h and after boiling in water for 72 h.     

Structure-property relationships of isomeric addition polyimides containing nadimide end groups

Addition polyirnide oligomers with nadimide end groups (I) have been synthesized from 4,4′-oxydiphthalic anhydride and 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride with several isomeric diamines and, nadic anhydride. The low molecular weight amic acid? and corresponding imides were isolated and characterized. Solubility and melt-flow properties of the imide prepolymers were studied to determine the applicability of the resins as adhesives and composite matrices. Thermomechanical transitions of the polymers were obtained by torsional braid analysis. Properties were compared with a similar addition polymer, P13N.