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Students develop antivenom in high school lab

21 Jun 2013

A US high school teacher and nine of his students have made nanoparticles that can neutralise venom from one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa. These nanoparticles could offer a way to make cheaper and more practical antivenoms.

Traditional antivenoms are made by injecting sublethal toxin doses into an animal to invoke an immune response. Antibodies produced in this immune response are then harvested from the animal’s serum. Such antivenoms are not only expensive but they also required refrigeration – a major limitation considering antivenoms are often required in remote locations.

Now, Steven Sogo and his best students from Laguna Beach High School in California, have synthesised nanoparticles that will selectively bind to toxins in venom from the Mozambique Spitting Cobra. In vitro tests showed that, by binding to the toxins…

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Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Molecularly-imprinted nanoparticles that recognize Naja mossambica cytotoxins: binding studies and biological effects
Samantha Piszkiewicz, Evan A. Kirkbride, Nicolai Doreng-Stearns, Blake R. Henderson, Melissa A. Lenker, Erika Tang, Laura H. Kawashiri, Curtis S. Nichols, Sebastian C. Moore and Steven G. Sogo
Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 5954-5956
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC42394H

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Releasing reactive oxygen

29 May 2013

Scientists in Canada have made nanoparticles that release singlet oxygen when a laser beam is shone on them. The nanoparticles could improve the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy.

Under the right conditions, oxygen, light and photosensitiser molecules combine to generate a short-lived poisonous oxygen species called singlet oxygen. This is the basis of photodynamic therapy, a treatment for some cancers. Normally, photodynamic therapy requires oxygen to be present in the target cells; however, tumours often contain much lower oxygen levels than healthy tissues.

Release of singlet oxygen from nanoparticles

Now, Neil Branda and colleagues at Simon Fraser University have developed a system that does not rely on oxygen being present. The team anchored anthracene endoperoxide ligands onto…

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Photothermal release of singlet oxygen from gold nanoparticles
Amir Mahmoud Asadirad, Zach Erno and Neil R. Branda
Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 5639-5641
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC42217H

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Super Glue for cells

21 May 2013

Red blood cells

Scientists in Canada have made a super-strong cell membrane adhesive and used it to stick red blood cells together. The polymer, based on the phospholipid head group phosphatidyl choline, could be used to secure cells in particular positions for tissue engineering and wound closure.

Don Brooks, from the Centre for Blood Research at the University of British Columbia, who led the study, says inspiration for the work came after trying to understand the chemistry of cell membranes. ‘Phosphatidyl choline [PC] is found in every cell membrane, except for some primitive bacteria, so we wondered what would happen if we were to turn the molecule around to choline phosphate [CP]? Would you get an adhesive effect because the positive and negative charges are now inverted?’ This proved to be the case, and the team demonstrated that branched polyglycerols containing CP bound to a variety of cell membranes

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Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
ATRP synthesis of poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl choline phosphate): a multivalent universal biomembrane adhesive
Xifei Yu, Xiaoqiang Yang, Sonja Horte, Jayachandran N. Kizhakkedathu and Donald E. Brooks
Chem. Commun., 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC41895B, Communication

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Removing toxic chemicals with POPs

14 Mar 2013

The filters used in gas masks, which give protection against toxic industrial chemicals, are often large and cumbersome, being made from activated carbon that is impregnated with metal salts. In a search for alternatives, SonBinh Nguyen and colleagues at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, have joined forces with scientists at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, Maryland, to investigate a series of porous organic polymers (POPs) bearing metal-catecholate groups. By changing the molecular components used in their synthesis, the materials have been tailored to hydrogen bond to, and consequently eliminate, specific toxic industrial chemicals, like ammonia.

‘Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have the same customisable characteristics as POPs, and have been investigated for their ability to remove toxic chemicals,’ says Nguyen. ‘Yet many of the MOFs known today are not very stable, owing to the prevalence of metal-oxygen bonds, and will degrade in the presence of atmospheric moisture. POPs, on the other hand, contain carbon-carbon bonds, which are less susceptible to moisture attack,’ he explains.

Chemical reaction

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Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Removal of airborne toxic chemicals by porous organic polymers containing metal–catecholate
Mitchell H. Weston, Gregory W. Peterson, Matthew A. Browe, Paulette Jones, Omar K. Farha, Joseph T. Hupp and SonBinh T. Nguyen
Chem. Commun., 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC40475G

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A new system for cancer detection

14 Feb 2013

While current cancer-diagnosis methods rely on an invasive biopsy or the detection of cancer-specific biomarkers, South Korean scientists have developed a simple and non-invasive detector for cancer cells that could speed up the early diagnosis of the condition, leading to a greater chance of survival for cancer patients.

Daunomycin interacting cancer cells viewed with fluorescene microscopy

Cancer cells have been found to differ from normal cells in several ways, including the make up of their cell membranes. Cancer-cell membranes have been found to contain more anionic lipids than normal cells, leading to an overall negatively charged cell surface. Yoon-Bo Shim and co-workers from Pusan National University, have exploited this negative surface charge to develop a probe based on daunomycin, an anti-cancer drug that is known to interact strongly with anionic lipids.

Read the full article in Chemistry World.

Read the original journal article:
Cancer cell detection based on the interaction between an anticancer drug and cell membrane components
Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 1900-1902
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC38235K

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Top ten most accessed articles in August

09 Nov 2012

August saw the following articles from Chemical Communications in its top ten most accessed list:-

Interview with Gautam Desiraju
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 8997-8998, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc90268k

Porous salts based on the pamoate ion
Helene Wahl, Delia A. Haynes and Tanya le Roex
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 1775-1777, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc14753j

Pd-catalyzed double C–H bond activation of diaryl ketones for the synthesis of fluorenones
Parthasarathy Gandeepan, Chen-Hsun Hung and Chien-Hong Cheng
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 9379-9381, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc34344d

Carbon dioxide as a carbon source in organic transformation: carbon–carbon bond forming reactions by transition-metal catalysts
Yasushi Tsuji and Tetsuaki Fujihara
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 9956-9964, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc33848c

Regioselective palladium-catalyzed direct cross-coupling of coumarins with simple arenes
Minsik Min and Sungwoo Hong
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 9613-9615, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc34551j

Multifunctional catalysis by Pd-polyoxometalate: one-step conversion of acetone to methyl isobutyl ketone
Robert D. Hetterley, Elena F. Kozhevnikova and Ivan V. Kozhevnikov
Chem. Commun., 2006, 782-784, DOI: 10.1039/b515325e

Functional group effects on metal–organic framework topology
Phuong V. Dau, Kristine K. Tanabe and Seth M. Cohen
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 9370-9372, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc34938h

Copper-catalyzed conversion of aryl and heteroaryl bromides into the corresponding chlorides
Xiujuan Feng, Yiping Qu, Yanlei Han, Xiaoqiang Yu, Ming Bao and Yoshinori Yamamoto
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 9468-9470, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc34944b

Chiral assembly of dodecahedral cavities into porous metal–organic frameworks
Hui Yang, Fei Wang, Yao Kang, Tie-Hu Li and Jian Zhang
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 9424-9426, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc35024f

Metal catalyzed C(sp³)–H bond amination of 2-alkyl azaarenes with diethyl azodicarboxylate
Jin-Ying Liu, Hong-Ying Niu, Shan Wu, Gui-Rong Qu and Hai-Ming Guo
Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 9723-9725, DOI: 10.1039/c2cc35309a

Take a look at the articles then blog your thoughts and comments below.

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Students develop antivenom in high school lab

Releasing reactive oxygen

Super Glue for cells

Removing toxic chemicals with POPs

A new system for cancer detection

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