Synthetic Peroxides Promote Apoptosis of Cancer Cells by Inhibiting P-Glycoprotein ABCB5

This article discloses a new horizon for the application of peroxides in medical chemistry. Stable cyclic peroxides are demonstrated to have cytotoxic activity against cancer cells; in addition a mechanism of cytotoxic action is proposed. Synthetic bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes and ozonides were effective against HepG2 cancer cells and some ozonides selectively targeted liver cancer cells (the selectivity indexes for compounds 11 b and 12 a are 8 and 5, respectively). In some cases, tetraoxanes and ozonides were more selective than paclitaxel, artemisinin, and artesunic acid. Annexin V flow-cytometry analysis revealed that the active ozonides 22 a and 23 a induced cell death of HepG2 by apoptosis. Further study showed that compounds 22 a and 23 a exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on P-glycoprotein (P-gp/ABCB5)-overexpressing HepG2 cancer cells. ABCB5 is a key player in the multidrug-resistant phenotype of liver cancer. Peroxides failed to demonstrate a direct correlation between oxidative potential and their biological activity. To our knowledge this is the first time that peroxide diastereoisomers have been found to show stereospecific antimalarial action against the chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum. Stereoisomeric ozonide 12 b is 11 times more active than stereoisomeric ozonide 12 a (IC₅₀=5.81 vs 65.18 μm ). Current findings mean that ozonides merit further investigation as potential therapeutic agents for drug-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma.     

Chromatography: Method of investigation of surface chemistry and interface processes

This paper discusses application of gas and liquid chromatography to studies of surface chemistry and various materials. Examples of studying adsorption processes from gas and liquid media with application of the chromatography technique are given. It is shown that the information on the structure of the material obtained using the chromatography technique allows predicting the regularities of chromatographic retention for molecules of different structures and various sorbents. The chromatography technique is frequently used in studies of nanomaterials and stable nanoparticles. It is shown that the chemical properties of surfaces modified by nanoparticles can be advantageously used in gas and liquid chromatography techniques. Much attention is given to molecular statistical calculations of adsorption on carbon sorbents in gas and liquid chromatography. The possibilities of the technique regarding prediction of retention of various sorbates and specification of structural parameters of molecules are demonstrated. Methodological and preparative aspects of a new area, micellar chromatography of nanoparticles, are considered. Options of liquid chromatography for separation, including preparative separation, identification, and classification, are shown.     

Structural and electrical properties of the Ge x Si1−x /Si heterojunctions obtained by the method of direct bonding

The results of studying the structural and electrical properties of structures produced by the method of direct bonding of Ge _x Si_1?x and Si wafers are reported. The wafers were cut from the crystals grown by the Czochralski method. Continuity of the interface and the crystal-lattice defects were studied by X-ray methods using synchrotron radiation and by scanning electron microscopy. Measurements of the forward and reverse current-voltage characteristics of the p-Ge _x Si_1?x /n-Si diodes made it possible to assess the effect of the crystallattice defects on the electrical properties of heterojunctions. Satisfactory electrical parameters suggest that the technology of direct bonding is promising for the fabrication of large-area Ge _x Si_1?x /Si heterojunctions.     

Analysis of charges and surface states at the interfaces of semiconductor-insulator-semiconductor structures

A method for determining the energy spectrum of charges and surface-state densities at the interfaces of semiconductor-insulator-semiconductor structures was developed; the method is based on the analysis of capacitance-voltage characteristics. The method was experimentally tested with Si-SiO₂-Si structures prepared by direct bonding of both mirror-polished smooth wafers and wafers with a regular mesoscopic relief pattern at the inner surface of the wafers to be bonded. The density of surface states is lower at the surfaces with a regular relief pattern than that at the surfaces without the surface relief.     

Study of nanoparticles synthesized in reverse micelles using liquid chromatography method

Liquid chromatography, which makes it possible to investigate interphase processes, is an additional method for studying inverse micellar systems without changing their properties in the process of sample preparation. In the case of using these systems to synthesize nanoparticles (NPs), it becomes possible to determine their adsorption characteristics, to investigate the processes of modifying surface adsorbents by NPs, to determine their sizes, and to divide them into fractions according to their sizes and surface properties of the micelles. The method is simple and rapid and permits one to use standard, relatively inexpensive equipment and can be applied in many physicochemical studies of NPs synthesized in micellar solutions.