Long-chain lipids are required for the innate immune recognition of trehalose diesters by macrophages

Going to any length? Trehalose diesters of various chain lengths have been synthesised in order to determine the effect of lipid length on innate immune recognition, as determined by NO and cytokine production by macrophages. In this work, we show that longer lipids (C(20) -C(26)) are required for macrophage activation, with C(22) giving optimal activity.     

Silicon Lens Optimization to Create Diffuse,Uniform Illumination from Incoherent THz Source Arrays

Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves - Arrays of terahertz (THz) sources provide a pathway to overcoming the radiation power limitations of single sources. Several independent...     

Poly Ethoxy Ethyl Glycinamide (PEE‐G) Dendrimers: Dendrimers Specifically Designed for Pharmaceutical Applications

Poly ethoxy ethyl glycinamide (PEE‐G) dendrimers have been specifically designed and synthesized with the aim of providing a readily available dendrimer scaffold that can be used to make products that can meet the stringent requirements of pharmaceutical applications. The synthesis has been refined to produce dendrimers that are of high HPLC purity. The suitability of PEE‐G dendrimers for their designed use has been verified by subsequent measurements to demonstrate that they are of high stability, high aqueous solubility, low cytotoxicity, low immunogenicity and with low in vivo toxicity in an escalating‐dose rat study. PEE‐G dendrimers therefore provide a useful scaffold for researchers wanting to develop dendrimer‐based drug candidates.     

The Uptake of Trehalose Glycolipids by Macrophages Is Independent of Mincle

Trehalose glycolipids play an important role in the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and are used as adjuvants for vaccines; however, much still remains unanswered about the mechanisms through which these glycolipids exert their immunomodulatory potential. Recently, the macrophage‐inducible C‐type lectin Mincle was determined to be the receptor for trehalose glycolipids, yet the role played by Mincle in glycolipid uptake is unknown. Accordingly, we developed several fluorescent trehalose glycolipid reporter systems that can be used to study the uptake of soluble trehalose glycolipids and glycolipid‐coated particles by macrophages. Our studies revealed that, although Mincle is essential for the activation of macrophages by trehalose glycolipids, the receptor does not play a role in the uptake of these glycolipids or of glycolipid‐coated particles.     

On One Leg: Trehalose Monoesters Activate Macrophages in a Mincle‐Dependent Manner

The C₂₂ and C₂₆ trehalose monoesters, each containing a single acyl chain, were synthesised in good overall yields and found to activate macrophages in a Mincle‐dependent manner. The activities of the monoesters paralleled those of their diester counterparts, and both mono‐ and diesters could activate the immune response in the absence of priming. This is the first time that trehalose monoesters have been found to activate macrophages, and these studies thus provide an important framework for the rational design of other Mincle agonists.     

Conversion of expanded polystyrene waste to nanoparticles via nanoprecipitation

The conversion of polymeric waste into useful, value added material is considered as an efficient method for polymeric waste management because of the environmental issues caused by such materials. This work proposes a simple, cost‐effective strategy for the conversion of expanded polystyrene waste into polystyrene nanoparticles via nanoprecipitation. In this method, expanded polystyrene is dissolved in a suitable solvent for example, tetrahydrofuran and added to a nonsolvent, such as water, to precipitate polystyrene nanoparticles of diameter less than 500 nm. The study also investigates the influence of various process parameters such as, initial concentration of expanded polystyrene, the speed of stirring, the solvent to water volume ratio and the solvent type used for nanoprecipitation, on the size and polydispersity of the precipitated PS nanoparticles. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 42904.