BSA Hybrid Synthesized Polymer

Bovine serum albumin （BSA）, a naturally occurring biopolymer, was regarded as a polymeric material to graft to an acrylic acid （AA）-N-vinyl pyrrolidone （NVP） copolymer to form a biomacromolecular hybrid polymer. The hybrid polymer can be blended with polyethersulfone （PES） to increase the hydrophilicity of the PES membrane, which suggested that the hybrid polymer might have a wide application in the modification of biomaterials.     

Hybrid UV-cured organic–inorganic IPNs

Hybrid organic–inorganic UV-cured coatings based on interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) were prepared starting by an equimolar methacrylate-epoxy UV-curable mixture (bisphenol-A-diglycidyl dimethacrylate/bisphenol-A-diglycidyl ether, abbreviated as BisGMA/BADGE), in the presence of tetrafunctional silane monomer tetrakis(methacryloyloxy-ethoxy)silane (TetMESi) as inorganic precursor. The photocuring kinetics of the BisGMA/BADGE IPN monomer mixture were strongly affected by the order of the cure of the individual components. Addition of TetMESi resulted in higher degrees of reaction. DMTA of the BisGMA/BADGE IPN suggest a two phase structure. The rubbery modulus of the hydrolysed BisGMA/BADGE/TetMESi systems increased as the level of TetMESi was raised in the formulation due primarily to the significant reinforcing effect of the nano-silica particles. TGA of the BisGMA/BADGE IPN showed three degradation stages with no residual char but the hydrolysed BisGMA/BADGE/TetMESi systems formed a carbonaceous silica char which increased in mass as the level of TetMESi was raised. The two phase morphology of the BisGMA/BADGE IPN was confirmed by FE-SEM analysis. For IPNs prepared with TetMESi, SiO₂ particles are evident in the FE-SEM image and have diameters in the nanometric size range.     

Programmable Assembly of DNA-protein Hybrid Structures

DNA is the genetic information carrier for most known living organisms on Earth,while proteins are the functional component that carry out most biological processes.Many natural machineries are DNA-protein hybrid complexes to cooperatively and efficiently conduct sophisticated biological tasks.It has drawn increasing interest to the research field to construct artificial DNA-protein hybrid structures towards a variety of applications including biological studies,nanofabrication,biomedical research,etc.In this regard,here in this report we reviewed the up-to-date progress on making DNA-protein hybrid structures,with a particular focus on DNA nanotechnology-enabled programmable assembly of DNA-protein hybrid structures.     

Progress in Polymer-Ceramic Hybrid Antifouling Coatings

Simultaneous realization of superior mechanical and antifouling properties is critical for a coating. The use of stereoscopic polysiloxanes in place of linear polysiloxanes to fabricate antifouling coatings can combine properties of organic and inorganic materials, i.e., they can exhibit both high hardness and wear resistance from inorganic components as well as the flexibility and tunability from organic components.This strategy is used to prepare hard yet flexible antifouling coatings or polym...     

Low-Loss Photopatternable Hybrid Sol–Gel Materials

Hybrid sol–gel technology has proved its usefulness in the field of micro-optics. Indeed, it makes it possible to manufacture optical microcomponents by processes much simpler than those currently used, particularly when photopatternable materials are employed. However, for wavelengths in the near infrared window (NIR), this process is confronted with a major problem which results from the significant optical absorption of this type of materials, in particular around 1550 nm. The aim of this paper is to describe the origin of the losses of some hybrid sol–gel materials of direct interest in micro-device fabrication in order to propose solutions to achieve a greater transparency in the NIR region. The intrinsic absorption of the precursors was first of all considered since it is crucial to pursue the final goal of decreased losses. Then, the principal parameters of the sol–gel synthesis were studied. Among them, the thermal treatment conditions, the hydrolysis ratio and the controlled addition of transition metal alkoxides allow an improvement of the material transparency, at 1550 nm most particularly. This last point was considered with the highest attention, and NIR and NMR spectroscopies were employed to explain how the addition of zirconium alkoxides at the end of the reaction makes it possible to considerably decrease the losses in the material.     

Passivation of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Sol–Gel

A passivation method for improving long-term stability of organic-inorganic sol–gel material is reported. The effect is observed in experiments with two different passivation materials: Teflon AF and SiO₂. A regime of material curing prior to the passivation is found to strongly affect the optical loss. The degradation of waveguide loss with time due to moisture adsorption from the atmosphere is drastically suppressed by coating the material with a thin silica film. The results indicate a long-term optical loss below 0.3 dB/cm in coated waveguides, significantly smaller than that in uncoated waveguides. The mechanism of the loss reduction is described and experimentally confirmed.     

Hybrid Sol-Gel Coatings Produced from TEOS and γ-MPS

Hybrids sols from tetraetoxysilane (TEOS) and 3-(methacryloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (-MPS) were prepared in acid medium for different TEOS/-MPS ratios and were modified by the addition of a colloidal silica suspension. The stability of the different sols was evaluated by viscosity measurements; the sols showed a Newtonian behaviour and the ageing effect was negligible even after two months from their preparation. Coatings were obtained by dipping at different withdrawal rates and heat-treated between 150 and 250°C. Transparent coatings with thickness higher than 4 m were reached for most of the studied compositions. The surface microhardness of coatings for each composition and thermal treatment was evaluated by the pencil hardness test. The thermal stability was followed by simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA) determining the limit temperatures at which the coatings can be treated without losingits hybrid character. A structural analysis was made by deconvolution of Fourier transformed infrared spectra (FTIR) of self-supported films observing the influence of the organic groups on the silica network.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Polystyrene/Nanosilica Organic-Inorganic Hybrid

IntroductionIn the past two decades, because of its potentialindustrial applications, organic-inorganic compositeshave attracted the attention of both researchers andacademicians. Organic-inorganic hybrids offer the pos-sibility to combine both the advant…     

Hybrid stochastic simulations of intracellular reaction–diffusion systems

With the observation that stochasticity is important in biological systems, chemical kinetics have begun to receive wider interest. While the use of Monte Carlo discrete event simulations most accurately capture the variability of molecular species, they become computationally costly for complex reaction–diffusion systems with large populations of molecules. On the other hand, continuous time models are computationally efficient but they fail to capture any variability in the molecular species. In this study a hybrid stochastic approach is introduced for simulating reaction–diffusion systems. We developed an adaptive partitioning strategy in which processes with high frequency are simulated with deterministic rate-based equations, and those with low frequency using the exact stochastic algorithm of Gillespie. Therefore the stochastic behavior of cellular pathways is preserved while being able to apply it to large populations of molecules. We describe our method and demonstrate its accuracy and efficiency compared with the Gillespie algorithm for two different systems. First, a model of intracellular viral kinetics with two steady states and second, a compartmental model of the postsynaptic spine head for studying the dynamics of Ca+2 and NMDA receptors.     

An Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Exhibiting Electrical Conduction and Single-Ion Magnetism

The first three-dimensional (3D) conductive single-ion magnet (SIM), (TTF)₂[Co(pdms)₂] (TTF=tetrathiafulvalene and H₂pdms=1,2-bis(methanesulfonamido)benzene), was electrochemically synthesised and investigated structurally, physically, and theoretically. The similar oxidation potentials of neutral TTF and the molecular precursor [HNEt₃]₂[M(pdms)₂] (M=Co, Zn) allow for multiple charge transfers (CTs) between the SIM donor [M(pdms)₂]ⁿ⁻ and the TTF^.+ acceptor, as well as an intradonor CT from the pdms ligand to Co ion upon electrocrystallisation. Usually TTF functions as a donor, whereas in our system TTF is both a donor and an accepter because of the similar oxidation potentials. Furthermore, the [M(pdms)₂]ⁿ⁻ donor and TTF^.+ acceptor are not segregated but strongly interact with each other, contrary to reported layered donor–acceptor electrical conductors. The strong intermolecular and intramolecular interactions, combined with CT, allow for relatively high electrical conductivity even down to very low temperatures. Furthermore, SIM behaviour with slow magnetic relaxation and opening of hysteresis loops was observed. (TTF)₂[Co(pdms)₂] ( 2-Co ) is an excellent building block for preparing new conductive SIMs.     

High-Voltage Rechargeable Alkali–Acid Zn–PbO2 Hybrid Battery

Aqueous rechargeable batteries have attracted attention owning to their advantages of safety, low cost, and sustainability, while the limited electrochemical stability window (1.23 V) of water leads to their failure in competition with organic-based lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we report an alkali–acid Zn–PbO₂ hybrid aqueous battery obtained by coupling an alkaline Zn anode with an acidic PbO₂ cathode. It shows the capability to deliver an impressively high open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 3.09 V and an operate voltage of 2.95 V at 5 mA cm⁻², thanks to the contribution of expanding the voltage window and the electrochemical neutralization energy from the alkali–acid asymmetric-electrolyte hybrid cell. The hybrid battery can potentially deliver a large area capacity over 2 mAh cm⁻² or a high energy density of 252.39 Wh kg⁻¹ and shows almost no fading in area capacity over 250 charge–discharge cycles.     

Mechanical Properties of Films from Hybrid Acrylic‐Polyurethane Polymer Colloids

A variety of polyurethane based on the polyaddition of isophoronediisocyanate and polypropyleneglycol has been used to prepare acrylic‐polyurethane hybrid polymer colloids, through either mini‐emulsion polymerization of their solutions in a mixture of monomers or seeded emulsion polymerization of this mixture from seeds of modified polyurethane containing dimethylolpropionic acid neutralized with triethylamine. The mixture of monomer is composed of 30% styrene, 30% methylmethacrylate, and 40% butylacrylate. The mechanical properies of films prepared through coalescence of these latexes where studied. The effect of various parameters such as the composition and the amount of polyurethane as well as the synthesis process are discussed.     

Novel Gas-liquid Hybrid Discharge Reactor for 4-CP Containing Wastewater Treatment

In order to improve 4-CP degradation efficiency, a novel gas-liquid hybrid discharge (HD) reactor was developed. Removal of 4-CP with spark-spark discharge (SSD) was higher than that with spark-corona discharge (SCD). Amount of H2O2 and O3 produced with SSD were larger than that with SCD. ·OH formation was increased by the combination of H2O2 and O3. The contribution of ·OH (38 % formed by O3 conversion) oxidation on removal of 4-CP accounted for nearly 60 %. The other effects of ultraviolet radiation, intense shock waves and pyrolysis, played partial roles in about 40 % of removal rate.     

Hybrid films from cellulose nanomaterials—properties and defined optical patterns

Cellulose - Polymer composites with nanocellulose as the reinforcing agent often lack good compatibility between the two components. In this study, we have combined cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and...     

Preparation of C60–Silica Hybrid Monolith by Sol-Gel Process

A C₆₀–silica hybrid monolith was prepared by the hydrosilylation of C₆₀ in the presence of platinum catalyst followed by sol-gel process with tetraethoxysilane. The hydrosilylation with trichlorosilane, triethoxysilane, chlorodiphenylsilane, and dichlorophenylsilane gave silylated C₆₀s as a brown pasty liquid. The formula was estimated to be C₆₀{Si(OEt)₃}_2.6H_2.6 or C₆₀(SiPh₂Cl)_3.2H_3.2 based on the proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum. A C₆₀–silica hybrid gel monolith was obtained by sol-gel process of the silylates and tetraethoxysilane in ethanol followed by aging for 3 weeks at room temperature. The monolith was brown and transparent with a diameter of 25 mm. On the other hand, the sol-gel reaction of tetraethoxysilane, trimethoxyphenylsilane, and C₆₀ provided a heterogeneous gel with a phase separation of C₆₀.     

A New Hybrid Model of Amino Acid Substitution for Protein Functional Classification

In recent years, methods of protein sequences analysis have been gradually evolved into two directions: One is based on the models of probability and statistics1-4; the other is based on the digital signal processing technologies 5-8. The latter mainly converts the protein character sequences into digital signals and uses some signal processing methods to analyze them, i.e., fast Fourier transform (FFT). However, it is still unsolved how to characterize the protein sequences accurately with …     

Photoinduced Heterogeneous C−H Arylation by a Reusable Hybrid Copper Catalyst

Heterogeneous copper catalysis enabled photoinduced C−H arylations under exceedingly mild conditions at room temperature. The versatile hybrid copper catalyst provided step-economical access to arylated heteroarenes, terpenes and alkaloid natural products with various aryl halides. The hybrid copper catalyst could be reused without significant loss of catalytic efficacy. Detailed studies in terms of TEM, HRTEM and XPS analysis of the hybrid copper catalyst, among others, supported its outstanding stability and reusability.     

Preparation and Photochromic Behavior of Novel Hybrid Inorganic—Organic Thin Film

A novel photochromic complex comprising of Keggin type tungstophosphate acid (PW12) and polyacrylamide(PAM) was prepared. FT-IR results showed that the Keggin geometry of PW12 was still preserved inside the composite, and a charge-transfer bridge was built between pw12 and PAM via hydrogen bond. AFM images indicated that surface topography of polymer matrix changed after adding PW12. Under UV irradiation, the film was reduced photochemically to yield a blue species, which was reversible in the present of oxygen in polymeric network.     

Hybrid Drugs—A Strategy for Overcoming Anticancer Drug Resistance?

Despite enormous progress in the treatment of many malignancies, the development of cancer resistance is still an important reason for cancer chemotherapy failure. Increasing knowledge of cancers’ molecular complexity and mechanisms of their resistance to anticancer drugs, as well as extensive clinical experience, indicate that an effective fight against cancer requires a multidimensional approach. Multi-target chemotherapy may be achieved using drugs combination, co-delivery of medicines, or designing hybrid drugs. Hybrid drugs simultaneously targeting many points of signaling networks and various structures within a cancer cell have been extensively explored in recent years. The single hybrid agent can modulate multiple targets involved in cancer cell proliferation, possesses a simpler pharmacokinetic profile to reduce the possibility of drug interactions occurrence, and facilitates the process of drug development. Moreover, a single medication is expected to enhance patient compliance due to a less complicated treatment regimen, as well as a diminished number of adverse reactions and toxicity in comparison to a combination of drugs. As a consequence, many efforts have been made to design hybrid molecules of different chemical structures and functions as a means to circumvent drug resistance. The enormous number of studies in this field encouraged us to review the available literature and present selected research results highlighting the possible role of hybrid drugs in overcoming cancer drug resistance.