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Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are bacterial mediators of neuroinflammation that have been detected in close association with pathological protein aggregations of Alzheimer's disease. LPS induce the release of cytokines by microglia and mediate the upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)—a mechanism also associated with amyloidosis. Curcumin is a recognized natural medicine but has extremely low bioavailability. V-Cur, a novel hemocompatible Vanadium(IV)-curcumin complex with higher solubility and bioactivity than curcumin, is studied here. Co-cultures consisting of rat primary neurons and microglia were treated with LPS and/or curcumin or V-Cur. V-Cur disrupted LPS-induced overexpression of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the in vitro aggregation of human insulin (HI), more effectively than curcumin. Cell stimulation with LPS also increased full-length, inactive, and total iNOS levels, and the inflammation markers IL-1β and TNF-α. Both curcumin and V-Cur alleviated these effects, with V-Cur reducing iNOS levels more than curcumin. Complementary insights into possible bioactivity mechanisms of both curcumin and V-Cur were provided by In silico molecular docking calculations on Aβ1-42, APP, Aβ fibrils, HI, and iNOS. This study renders curcumin-based compounds a promising anti-inflammatory intervention that may be proven a strong tool in the effort to mitigate neurodegenerative disease pathology and neuroinflammatory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical reactivity of binary and ternary ZrIV/hydroxycarboxylic acid/(N,N-aromatic chelator) systems (hydroxycarboxylic acid = citric, malic acid; N,N-aromatic chelator = 1,10-phenanthroline) has been investigated in a pH-specific manner, giving rise to the new binary and ternary crystalline materials [Zr2F6(C6H4O7)2](CH6N3)6 ·H2O ( 1), [Zr2F6(C4H3O5)2](NH4)4 ·3H2O ( 2), [Zr2(C4H3O5)2(C4H4O5)2(C4H5O5)2](CH6N3)4 ·4.5H2O ( 3), and [Zr2(C4H3O5)2(C4H4O5)2(C4H5O5)2](C12H8N2)(C12H9N2)2(CH6N3)2 ·6H2O ( 4). Compounds 1- 4 were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, TGA, 13C-CPMAS, 19F-DPMAS, and 1H CRAMPS NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. The structures of 1- 4 reveal the influence of fluoride in the starting ZrIV reagents on the identity of the Zr2O2-containing dinuclear assemblies in the arisen 3D architectures. The uniquely defined spectroscopic data, including the NMR data, corroborate the X-ray structures of 1- 4 and reflect the contribution of the intra/intermolecular interactions to the structural speciation of the investigated systems. Collectively, the work 1) depicts the factors that determine the nature and properties of the emerging synthetic materials in the investigated systems, 2) formulates structural architecture-lattice dimensionality and spectroscopic fingerprint correlations, and 3) projects the framework through which new ZrIV materials with defined physicochemical properties can arise at the binary and ternary level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new thiophene-substituted terpyridine derivative has been prepared through the reaction between 5-N-propylthiophene-2-carboxaldehyde and 2-acetylpyridine. This terpyridine derivative bears an alkyl chain linked via a thiophene heterocycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An [Ru(apy)2Cl2] precursor (apy = 2,2′-azopyridine) in 2-methoxyethanol was heated under a pressurized CO atmosphere to afford a diradical complex, [Ru(apy·−)2(CO)2], containing one-electron-reduced azo anion radical ligands. The electronic states of the complex were characterized by spectroscopic techniques and computational studies. Magnetic measurements revealed the existence of antiferromagnetic interactions in the diradical complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]