Mass spectrometry-based chemical mapping and profiling toward molecular understanding of diseases in precision medicine

Precision medicine has been strongly promoted in recent years. It is used in clinical management for classifying diseases at the molecular level and for selecting the most appropriate drugs or treatments to maximize efficacy and minimize adverse effects. In precision medicine, an in-depth molecular understanding of diseases is of great importance. Therefore, in the last few years, much attention has been given to translating data generated at the molecular level into clinically relevant information. However, current developments in this field lack orderly implementation. For example, high-quality chemical research is not well integrated into clinical practice, especially in the early phase, leading to a lack of understanding in the clinic of the chemistry underlying diseases. In recent years, mass spectrometry (MS) has enabled significant innovations and advances in chemical research. As reported, this technique has shown promise in chemical mapping and profiling for answering “what”, “where”, “how many” and “whose” chemicals underlie the clinical phenotypes, which are assessed by biochemical profiling, MS imaging, molecular targeting and probing, biomarker grading disease classification, etc. These features can potentially enhance the precision of disease diagnosis, monitoring and treatment and thus further transform medicine. For instance, comprehensive MS-based biochemical profiling of ovarian tumors was performed, and the results revealed a number of molecular insights into the pathways and processes that drive ovarian cancer biology and the ways that these pathways are altered in correspondence with clinical phenotypes. Another study demonstrated that quantitative biomarker mapping can be predictive of responses to immunotherapy and of survival in the supposedly homogeneous group of breast cancer patients, allowing for stratification of patients. In this context, our article attempts to provide an overview of MS-based chemical mapping and profiling, and a perspective on their clinical utility to improve the molecular understanding of diseases for advancing precision medicine.

An overview of MS-based chemical mapping and profiling, indicating its contributions to the molecular understanding of diseases in precision medicine by answering "what", "where", "how many" and "whose” chemicals underlying clinical phenotypes.     

An indium(III)–water chain based on an unusual acyclic water pentamer

An in situ reaction under hydro­thermal conditions leads to the formation of the title compound, diaqua­(pyridine‐2‐carboxyl­ato)­(pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxyl­ato)indium(II) trihydrate, [In(C₆H₄NO₂)(C₇H₃NO₄)(H₂O)₂]·3H₂O, in which the central In^III atom is seven‐coordinated by one pyridine‐2,6‐di­carboxyl­ate ligand, one pyridine‐2‐carboxyl­ate ligand and two water mol­ecules in a penta­gonal–bipyramidal coordination environment. An indium(III)–water chain based on an unusual water pentamer is observed.     

Poly[(μ2‐1,3‐di‐4‐pyridylpropane‐κ2N:N′)(μ3‐glutarato‐κ3O:O′:O′′)dizinc(II)]

The title compound, [Zn₂(C₅H₆O₄)₂(C₁₃H₁₄N₂)]_n or [Zn₂(glu)₂(bpp)]_n, is a novel zinc polymer based on mixed flexible glutarate (glu) and 1,3‐di‐4‐pyridylpropane (bpp) ligands. The Zn^II center has a distorted tetra­hedral geometry and the central atom of the bpp ligand is located at a special site with a C₂ axis passing through it. A layer is formed by Zn–glu bonding. Such layers are pillared by bpp ligands, forming a three‐dimensional framework with large channels. The inverted inter­penetration of two three‐dimensional frameworks completes the mol­ecular structure.     

Efficient palladium-catalyzed homocoupling reaction and Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction of terminal alkynes under aerobic conditions

An efficient method for palladium-catalyzed homocoupling reaction of terminal alkynes in the synthesis of symmetric diynes is presented. The results showed that both Pd(OAc)(2) and CuI played crucial roles in the reaction. In the presence of 2 mol % Pd(OAc)(2), 2 mol % CuI, 3 equiv of Dabco, and air, homocoupling of various terminal alkynes afforded the corresponding symmetrical diynes in moderate to excellent yields, whereas low yields were obtained without either Pd(OAc)(2) or CuI. Moreover, high TONs (turnover numbers; up to 940 000 for the reaction of phenylacetylene) for the homocoupling reaction were observed. Under similar reaction conditions, cross-coupling of 1-iodo-4-nitrobenzene with phenylacetylene was also carried out smoothly in quantitative yield. However, the presence of CuI disfavored the palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions of the less active aryl iodides and bromides. In the presence of 0.01-2 mol % Pd(OAc)(2), a number of aryl iodides and bromides were coupled with terminal alkynes in good to excellent yields. It is noteworthy that this protocol employs mild, efficient, aerobic, copper-free, and ligand-free conditions.     

超分子砌块间苯二酚杯芳烃的研究进展

间苯二酚杯芳烃是一类以间苯二酚为单元的杯芳烃, 作为新一代超分子砌块, 在分子催化、分子识别、超分子自组装、晶体工程和纳米材料等方面都获得了广泛的应用, 已成为当今化学研究的新热点. 综述了间苯二酚杯芳烃的功能化修饰及其应用新进展.     

PLLA/β-TCP杂化微纳米纤维的制备及其性能

将湿法工艺合成的β-磷酸钙纳米粒子与左旋聚乳酸(PLLA)的混合溶液通过电纺丝法制成杂化纳米纤维膜,以期制备一种新型纳米纤维骨组织修复材料。采用FT-IR,XRD,TEM,DSC等手段研究了β-磷酸钙(β-TCP)的结构和形态,采用SEM和直径分布探讨了优化PLLA/β-TCP纤维的电纺丝工艺。结果表明:采用湿法合成β-TCP的纳米粒子具有良好的晶型结构,直径在219~328 nm之间;采用双溶剂体系在优化条件下制备的PLLA/β-TCP杂化纳米纤维直径在500~700 nm之间,PLLA/β-TCP界面结合良好,β-TCP起到了增强作用。在湿态条件下,PLLA纤维膜的力学性能有所提高,而PLLA/β-TCP纤维膜的力学性能则呈现下降趋势。     

Azobenzene-containing polyamic acid with excellent Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn film formation behavior suitable for all-optical switching

To generate command surfaces for all-optical switching, highly ordered polymeric Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn (LBK) multilayers were fabricated onto silicon substrates and gold-coated optical glass slides from novel azobenzene-bearing polyamic acid systems. Pronounced Bragg peaks and well-defined Kiessig fringes observed in the X-ray reflectivity measurement for samples on silicon substrates indicate that these films possess a regularly repeated Y-type LBK multilayer structure and ultrasmooth surfaces. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra taken by grazing incidence reflection suggest specific orientations of the functional groups in the layers. The excellent film-forming properties of the polyamic acid allow for a smooth buildup of several hundreds of layers of the LBK films onto gold-coated glass slides, which in turn allows for determining the geometrical thickness and the anisotropic refractive indices of the films by using optical waveguide spectroscopy. Interestingly, the probe laser beam induced a distinct fluorescence signal from the films, which remained even after the film underwent a thermal imidization process at 160 degrees C for 8 h in vacuo. LBK films fabricated from these compounds can be successfully applied for all-optically switching the alignment of liquid crystals by irradiation with light of different wavelengths.     

Syntheses,Characterization and Crystal Structures of Three Structurally Similar Dinuclear Schiff Base Cadmium(II) Complexes with Bridging Azide or Thiocyanate Ligands

Three novel Schiff base cadmium(II) complexes, derived from the end‐on (μ‐1,1‐N₃) azide or end‐to‐end (μ‐1,3‐NCS) thio cyanate bridges and similar tridentate Schiff base ligands, have been synthesized under similar synthetic procedures and their crystal structures determined by X‐ray diffraction methods. They are the dinuclear double end‐on azide‐bridged [Cd₂(L1)₂(N₃)₂(μ‐1,1‐N₃)₂] ( 1 ), the dinuclear double end‐on azide‐bridged [Cd₂(L2)₂(N₃)₂(μ‐1,1‐N₃)₂] ( 2 ), and the dinuclear double end‐to‐end thiocyanate‐bridged [Cd₂(L3)₂(NCS)₂(μ_1,3‐NCS)₂] ( 3 ), where L1, L2 and L3 are three similar tridentate Schiff bases obtained by condensation of 2‐pyridylaldehyde with N,N‐diethylethane‐1,2‐diamine, of 2‐pyridylaldehyde with N‐isopropylethane‐1,2‐diamine, and of 2‐pyridylaldehyde with N,N‐dimethylpropane‐1,3‐diamine, respectively. Each cadmium(II) centre in the complexes is in a distorted octahedral coordination. There is a crystallographic inversion centre in each of the complexes. The similar small ligands used as the secondary ligands in the preparation of the cadmium(II) complexes with similar Schiff bases can result in similar structures.     

High extraction efficiency fiber coated with calix[4] open-chain crown ether for solid-phase microextraction of polar aromatic and aliphatic compounds

The calix[4] open-chain crown ether, 5,11,17,23-tetra-tert-butyl-25,27-di(2-allyloxyethoxyl)-26,28-dihydroxycalix[4]arene was synthesized and used for preparation of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers of enhanced extraction efficiency. The new SPME coating made from calix[4] open-chain crown ether and hydroxyl-terminated silicone oil was developed with the aid of vinyltriethoxylsilane as bridge using sol-gel method and cross-linking technology. The efficiency of the novel fiber in the extraction of polar aromatic and aliphatic compounds, such as phenols, alcohols, and volatile fatty acids, was also investigated. Due to the introduction of the polar open-chain crown ether in calix[4]arene molecules, the calix[4] open-chain crown ether fiber showed much better selectivity and sensitivity to these polar compounds in comparison with calix[4]arene fiber. It also had superior extraction efficiency when compared to commercial poly(dimethylsiloxane)-divinylbenzene and polyacrylate fibers. Parts per billion to parts per trillion level detection limits were achieved for most of the analytes through SPME in conjunction with GC and flame ionization detector. The linear ranges were two to four orders of magnitude, and the RSD values were below 7% for all analytes. The novel fiber was applied to determine volatile alcohols and fatty acids in wine samples. The volatile-free wine prepared in this work was used to assure similar chemical environment for analytes in both calibration solutions and in real wine samples, thus compensating for possible matrix interferences. The established internal standard method using 4-methyl-2-pentanol as internal standard showed satisfactory accuracy and precision.     

Micropatterning of polymer thin films with pH-sensitive and cross-linkable hydrogen-bonded polyelectrolyte multilayers

Polyelectrolyte multilayers of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and polyacrylamide (PAAm) were prepared via hydrogen-bonding interactions. These multilayers as assembled were stable at low pH but dissolved quickly in neutral pH water. We developed methods for stabilizing these multilayers to high pH through cross-linking by heating or UV-irradiation. Thermal treatment of the multilayers, which resulted in a partial imidization between carboxylic acid and amide groups, gave the multilayer good stability at high pH. In addition, we introduced photoreactive groups in the multilayer, which rendered the film insoluble after UV irradiation. Using these selective stabilization approaches, we have succeeded in micropatterning these films by ink-jet printing and photolithography to create subtractive patterns.