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A strategy to prepare liquid anion-functionalized pillar [5]arene by incorporating a large asymmetrical cation on the rims was proposed. This kind of pillar[5]arene-based ionic liquid showed high thermal stability, good CO 2 absorption capacity, and excellent reversibility. In contrast with the neutral pillar[5]arene and the noncyclic monomeric analogue, pillar[5]arene-based ionic liquid exhibited significantly enhanced CO 2 absorption capacity. Through a combination of absorption experiments, spectroscopic investigations, and quantum chemical calculations, the results indicated that the increased capacity originated from multiple-site interactions between CO 2 and the carboxylic anion, which was enhanced by the cavity of pillar [5]arene. This work provided an efficient methodology for preparing a liquid macrocyclic host as well as improving gas absorption.

The present study was primarily undertaken to examine the hypothesis that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations and telomere length may be associated with aplastic anemia (AA). Our study included a single institution analysis of 40 patients presenting with AA first diagnosed at the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong, University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between 2010 and 2013. Bone marrow and oral epithelial samples were collected from patients with AA (n=40) for mtDNA mutation and telomere length determinations. Bone marrow specimens were collected from 40 healthy volunteers as controls for the examination of telomere length. The mitochondrial genome was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the products were used for sequencing and analysis. We detected 146 heteroplasmic mutations in 18 genes from 40 patients with AA, including 39 silent mutations and 28 frameshift mutations. We used the gamma globin gene (HBG) as the control gene in real-time PCR to survey the relative telomere length measurements of the patients with AA and the healthy volunteers. Telomere length was expressed as the relative T/S value. We observed a negative correlation between the mtDNA non-silent mutation and the white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin and platelet count. Of note, there was a positive correlation between the relative T/S value and WBC count, hemoglobin and platelet count, and a negative correlation between the non-silent mutation and the relative T/S value. We conclude that the functional impairment of the mitochondrial respiratory chain induced by mutation and telomere length shortening may play an important role in the process of hematopoietic failure in patients with AA. Additionally, mtDNA mutations and telomere length shortening influenced each other.

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