Amorphous nanoparticles of supramolecular coordination polymer networks are spontaneously self-assembled from nucleotides and lanthanide ions in water. They show intrinsic functions such as energy transfer from nucleobase to lanthanide ions and excellent performance as contrast enhancing agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Furthermore, adaptive inclusion properties are observed in the self-assembly process: functional materials such as fluorescent dyes, metal nanoparticles, and proteins are facilely encapsulated. Dyes in these nanoparticles fluoresce in high quantum yields with a single exponential decay, indicating that guest molecules are monomerically wrapped in the network. Gold nanoparticles and ferritin were also wrapped by the supramolecular shells. In addition, these nucleotide/lanthanide nanoparticles also serve as scaffolds for immobilizing enzymes. The adaptive nature of present supramolecular nanoparticles provides a versatile platform that can be utilized in a variety of applications ranging from material to biomedical sciences. As examples, biocompatibility and liver-directing characteristics in in vivo tissue localization experiments are demonstrated.

BackgroundDeveloping strategies for managing coronary artery calcification (CAC) in patients with CKD is an important clinical challenge. Experimental studies have demonstrated that magnesium inhibits vascular calcification, whereas the uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate aggravates it.MethodsTo assess the efficacy of magnesium oxide (MgO) and/or the oral carbon adsorbent AST-120 for slowing CAC progression in CKD, we conducted a 2-year, open-label, randomized, controlled trial, enrolling patients with stage 3−4 CKD with risk factors for CAC (diabetes mellitus, history of cardiovascular disease, high LDL cholesterol, or smoking). Using a two-by-two factorial design, we randomly assigned patients to an MgO group or a control group, and to an AST-120 group or a control group. The primary outcome was percentage change in CAC score.ResultsWe terminated the study prematurely after an interim analysis with the first 125 enrolled patients (of whom 96 completed the study) showed that the median change in CAC score was significantly smaller for MgO versus control (11.3% versus 39.5%). The proportion of patients with an annualized percentage change in CAC score of ≥15% was also significantly lower for MgO compared with control (23.9% versus 62.0%). However, MgO did not suppress the progression of thoracic aorta calcification. The MgO group’s dropout rate was higher than that of the control group (27% versus 17%), primarily due to diarrhea. The percentage change in CAC score did not differ significantly between the AST-120 and control groups.ConclusionsMgO, but not AST-120, appears to be effective in slowing CAC progression. Larger-scale trials are warranted to confirm these findings.

3]arene (IH3) with ethyl bromoacetate yielded the cone conformer (cone-lEss) as a minor product and the partial-cone conformer (partial-cone-lEs3) as a major product. Interconversion between these two conformers did not take place, indicating that the 0CH2C02Et group is bulky enough to inhibit the oxygen-through-the-annulus rotation. The conformer distribution was affected by the metal cation present in the base, suggesting the importance of the metal template effect. When NaH was used in THF, the partial-cone/cone ratio was 1.6-3.8; when CS2CO3 was used in acetone, partialcone-IEs3 was produced quantitatively. Two-phase solvent extraction established that cone-lEs3 shows Na+ selectivity, whereas partial-cone-IE83 shows K+ selectivity. Cone-lEs3 showed high affinity toward RNH3+ cations, indicating that the structure of cone-lEs3 with C3 symmetry is very suitable for the binding of RNH3+ cations with C3 symmetry.NMR studies established that the phenyl units in cone-lEs3 are more or less flattened but stand up when a cationic guest is included. This paper thus demonstrates that IH3 is useful as a basic skeleton for the design of new ionophores, particularly those suitable for the recognition of guests with C3 symmetry.

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