Dopamine (DA) is one of the main neurotransmitters found in the central nervous system and has a vital role in the function of dopaminergic (DArgic) neurons. A progressive loss of this specific subset of cells is one of the hallmarks of age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Symptomatic therapy for PD has been centered in the precursor l-DOPA administration, an amino acid precursor of DA that crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) while DA does not, although this approach presents medium- to long-term side effects. To overcome this limitation, DA-nanoencapsulation therapies are actively being searched as an alternative for DA replacement. However, overcoming the low yield of encapsulation and/or poor biodistribution/bioavailability of DA is still a current challenge. Herein, we report the synthesis of a family of neuromelanin bioinspired polymeric nanoparticles. Our system is based on the encapsulation of DA within nanoparticles through its reversible coordination complexation to iron metal nodes polymerized with a bis-imidazol ligand. Our methodology, in addition to being simple and inexpensive, results in DA loading efficiencies of up to 60%. In vitro, DA nanoscale coordination polymers (DA-NCPs) exhibited lower toxicity, degradation kinetics, and enhanced uptake by BE(2)-M17 DArgic cells compared to free DA. Direct infusion of the particles in the ventricle of rats in vivo showed a rapid distribution within the brain of healthy rats, leading to an increase in striatal DA levels. More importantly, after 4 days of nasal administrations with DA-NCPs equivalent to 200 μg of the free drug per day, the number and duration of apomorphine-induced rotations was significantly lower from that in either vehicle or DA-treated rats performed for comparison purposes. Overall, this study demonstrates the advantages of using nanostructured DA for DA-replacement therapy.The efficient copolymerization of acrylates with ethylene using Ni catalysts remains a challenge. Herein, we report two neutral Ni(II) catalysts (POP-Ni-py (1) and PONap-Ni-py (2)) that exhibit high thermal stability and significantly higher incorporation of polar monomer (for 1) or improved resistance to tert-butylacrylate (tBA)-induced chain transfer (for 2), in comparison to previously reported catalysts. Nickel alkyl complexes generated after tBA insertion, POP-Ni-CCO(py) (3) and PONap-Ni-CCO(py) (4), were isolated and, for the first time, characterized by crystallography. Weakened lutidine vs pyridine coordination in 2-lut facilitated the isolation of a N-donor-free adduct after acrylate insertion PONap-Ni-CCO (5) which represents a novel example of a four-membered chelate relevant to acrylate polymerization catalysis.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/azd0156-azd-0156.html  Experimental kinetic studies of six cases of monomer insertion with aforementioned nickel complexes indicate that pyridine dissociation and monomer coordination are fast relative to monomer migratory insertion and that monomer enchainment after tBA insertion is the rate limiting step of copolymerization. Further evaluation of monomer insertion using density functional theory studies identified a cis-trans isomerization via Berry-pseudorotation involving one of the pendant ether groups as the rate-limiting step for propagation, in the absence of a polar group at the chain end. The energy profiles for ethylene and tBA enchainments are in qualitative agreement with experimental measurements.Fabrication of dual-emitting materials for H2S sensing under environmental and biological conditions is currently of great interest. In this work, a new chemically stable metal supramolecular complex [Zn2(pda)2(H2O)3]·(H2O)0.5 (Znpda, pda = 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid), with accessible uncoordinated carboxylic oxygen sites, is solvothermally synthesized. It can serve as a host in luminescent hybrid composites. By incorporating Eu3+ and Cu2+ in the supramolecular coordination network, we obtained the dual-emitting hybrid material Eu3+/Cu2+@Znpda, which simultaneously shows intense ligand and weak Eu3+ emissions in HEPES buffer solution. Since H2S can easily chelate with Cu2+ and recover the blocked "antenna effect" between the ligand and Eu3+, Eu3+/Cu2+@Znpda possesses both the turn-on and ratiomectric fluorescence response to H2S. Accordingly, we designed an IMPLICATION logic gate for H2S recognition by employing the fluorescence intensity ratio between the ligand and Eu3+ as the output signal. In addition, Eu3+/Cu2+@Znpda shows a fast response ( less then 1 min) and high sensitivity (1.45 μM) to H2S over other interfering species in the HEPES buffer solution, highlighting its potential use for H2S sensing under environmental and biological conditions.Terminal unactivated alkynes are nowadays considered the golden standard for cysteine-reactive warheads in activity-based probes (ABPs) targeting cysteine deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). In this work, we study the versatility of the thiol-alkyne addition reaction in more depth. Contrary to previous findings with UCHL3, we now show that covalent adduct formation can progress with substituents on the terminal or internal alkyne position. Strikingly, acceptance of alkyne substituents is strictly DUB-specific as this is not conserved among members of the same subfamily. Covalent adduct formation with the catalytic cysteine residue was validated by gel analysis and mass spectrometry of intact ABP-treated USP16CDWT and catalytically inactive mutant USP16CDC205A. Bottom-up mass spectrometric analysis of the covalent adduct with a deuterated propargyl ABP provides mechanistic understanding of the in situ thiol-alkyne reaction, identifying the alkyne rather than an allenic intermediate as the reactive species. Furthermore, kinetic analysis revealed that introduction of (bulky/electron-donating) methyl substituents on the propargyl moiety decreases the rate of covalent adduct formation, thus providing a rational explanation for the commonly lower level of observed covalent adduct compared to unmodified alkynes. Altogether, our work extends the scope of possible propargyl derivatives in cysteine targeting ABPs from unmodified terminal alkynes to internal and substituted alkynes, which we anticipate will have great value in the development of ABPs with improved selectivity profiles.