We report here the synthesis and selected properties of various silicate ester derivatives (tetraalkoxysilanes) of the taxanes paclitaxel (PTX) and docetaxel (DTX) [i.e., PTX-OSi(OR)3 and DTX-OSi(OR)3]. Both the hydrophobicity and hydrolytic lability of these silicates can be (independently) controlled by choice of the alkyl group (R). The synthesis, structural characterization, hydrolytic reac...

Conducting mesoporous TiO2 is rapidly gaining importance for green energy applications. To optimise performance, its porosity and crystallinity must be carefully fine-tuned. To this end, we have performed a detailed study on the temperature dependence of TiO2 crystallisation in mesoporous films. Crystal nucleation and growth of initially amorphous TiO2 derived by hydrolytic sol-gel chemistry is...

Oil-induced mononuclear phagocytes (MN) were quantitatively assayed for various hydrolases as unfractionated suspensions of frozen and thawed cells. They apparently contain two proteases. The first, measured with urea- or acid-denatured hemoglobin, was similar to purified Proteinase I of lung with respect to pH optimum (pH 4), stability, hydrolytic and polymerizing activities, and reactions to ...

The most recent developments in the use of hydrolytic enzymes proteases, lipases and nitrilases are summarized: Sterically demanding a,a-disubstituted carboxylic esters can be enzymatically resolved using a commercially available protease derived from Aspergillus oryzae. A significant enhancement of selectivity and activity of Candida cylindracea lipase in irreversible acyl transfer reactions m...

Cohesins are required both for the tethering together of sister chromatids (termed cohesion) and subsequent condensation into discrete structures-processes fundamental for faithful chromosome segregation into daughter cells. Differentiating between cohesin roles in cohesion and condensation would provide an important advance in studying chromatin metabolism. Pds5 is a cohesin-associated factor ...

We report on polariton condensation in photonic molecules formed by two coupled micropillars. We show that the condensation process is strongly affected by the interaction with the cloud of uncondensed excitons and thus strongly depends on the exact localization of these excitons within the molecule. Under symmetric excitation conditions, condensation is triggered on both binding and antibindin...

Mesenchymal cell condensation is the initiating event in endochondral bone formation. Cell condensation is followed by differentiation into chondrocytes, which is accompanied by induction of chondrogenic gene expression. Gene mutations involved in chondrogenesis cause chondrodysplasias and other skeletal defects. Using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in an in vitro chondrogenesis assay, we found ...

We performed systematic studies of λ-DNA condensation on mica surfaces induced by alcohol and hexammine cobalt (III) [Co(NH(3))(6)(3+)] using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The critical condensation concentration for [Co(NH(3))(6)(3+)] was found to be about 10 microM; the DNA molecules extended freely on mica when the concentration was below the critical value. The morphology of condensed DNA b...

An environmentally friendly ("green"), H2-generation system was developed that involved hydrolytic oxidation of inexpensive organosilanes as hydrogen storage materials with newly developed heterogeneous gold nanoparticle catalysts. The gold catalyst functioned well at ambient temperature under aerobic conditions, providing efficient production of pure H2. The newly developed size-selective gold...

A histochemical study of hydrolytic enzymes such as acid phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase was made on cultured brain tumor cells. Well-differentiated astrocytic cells, oligodendroglioma cells, and medulloblastoma cells showed low activities. Migrating cells and macrophage-like cells showed intense activities. Meningioma cells and schwannoma cells showed relatively intense activities at the ea...