ELECTROSPRAYING/ELECTROSPINNING OF POLY(γ-STEARYL-L-GLUTAMATE): FORMATION OF SURFACES WITH SUPERHYDROPHOBICITY

  Electrospraying/electrospinning of poly(γ-stearyl-L-glutamate) (PSLG) was investigated on a series solutions with different concentrations in chloroform. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR/ATR) were used to characterize the morphology and structure of the electrosprayed/electrospun polypeptide mats. It was found that electrospraying of PSLG with concentrations lower than 16 wt% afforded beads, while microfibers could be electrospun at the concentration of 22 wt%. The hydrophobicity of the electrosprayed/electrospun PSLG mats was investigated with static water contact angle (WCA) and tilt angle measurements. It was demonstrated that the superhydrophobic surfaces of PSLG with WCAs and tilt angles in the ranges of 150°-170° and 16.5°-4.2°, respectively, were obtained through electrospraying/electrospinning process.     

STUDIES ON THE KINETICS OF PHOTOPOLYMERIZATION OF ACRYLONITRILE INITIATED BY ANILINE

The dependence of the rate of polymerization on the aniline concentration in the photopolymerization of acrylonitrile initiated by aniline was studied.The rate of polymerization of acrylonitrile increased with increasing of the aniline concentration and showed a maximum at first, then showed another increase after a minimum.This phenomenon was explained with the extinction coefficient of aniline at 313 nm,334 nm and 365 nm wavelengths.Similar results were obtained for the aniline derivatives.Therefore, the initiator exponents in the photopolymerization varies with the different concentrations of initiator and the square-root dependence can be obtained only at certain low concentrations, i.e. with low absorbance.     

LIPOGENESIS STIMULATORY AND INHIBITORY ACTIVITIES OF THE INSULIN MEDIATORS

Incubating plasma membranes prepared from pig liver with varying concentrations of insulin (50—1000 μU/ml) resulted in the release of at least two insulin chemical mediators. One of them was fraction 1 of insulin mediator (M. W. 3700—4000 daltons) which had a significant lipogenesis-stimulatlug activity. The other was fraction 2 of insulin mediator (M. W. about 1000 daltons) which exhibited a lipogenesis-inhibitory activity.The ratio of yield between the two mediators produced from the membranes was not only dependent on the concentration but also on the potency of insulin and its analogs added. The result showed that there was more production of fraction 2 than fraction 1 with the inducer at low concentration (100 μU/ml), while the production of fraction 1 from the plasma membranes incubated with high concentration of insulin (300 μU/ml) was higher than fraction 2. On the other hand, insulin and its analogs which have different biological activities and receptor bindtng activities have been used t     

EFFECTS OF DEOXYCORTICOSTERONE ACETATE ON MUSCLE ELECTROLYTES,RESTING POTENTIAL AND MITOCHONDRIA IN RATS

Deoxycorticosterone acetate, injected daily for 5, 10, 20 or 30 days, reduced the serum potassium levels of rats by about 25%, a decrease that was independent of the treatment period employed. Serum sodium concentrations were unchanged with treatment duration. The potassium concentrations in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus (SOL) muscles were significantly decreased, and those of sodium increased, after treatment. Accompanying these changes of electrolyte concentration, the resting membrane potentials of treated EDL and SOL were hyperpolarized in vivo, and showed depolarization with the decreases of external potassium concentrations in vitro. The mitochondria in the muscles of treated rats were damaged. The degree of damage was more serious in EDL than in SOL and was dependent on the duration of deoxycorticosterone acetate treatment.     

COMPATIBILITY OF PVC WITH POLYURETHANES OF DIFFERENT SOFT SEGMENTS

Blends of PVC and polyurethanes with four different soft segments of molecular weight 1000 were prepared and studied by dynamic mechanical and DSC techniques. It was found that the compatibility of PVC with segmented polyurethanes was related to the mixing of PVC molecules and the soft segments of the polyurethanes. Polyester based polyurethanes are more compatible with PVC than polyether based polyurethanes. Solution cast blends of PVC with PCL-polyurethane (1/2/1) exhibit single and narrow glass transition, while the blends with PPO-polyurethane (1/2/1) are completely incompatible. The compatibility was found to decrease with increasing hard segment content for all the polyurethanes used. The methods of blend preparation may change the compatibility of PVC/PU blends through their influence on the mixing or demixing of the hard and soft segments.     

PROPERTIES OF CHICKEN LIVER PHOSPHOFRUCTOKINASE-2

Phosphofructokinase-2 was purified to homogeneity from chicken livers by homogeniza-tion, polyethylene glycol fractionation and column chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and Blue-Sepharose 4B. Some properties of the enzyme were as follows: (i) The saturation curve of the enzyme for fructose 6-phosphate showed hyperbolic and the Km of fructose 6-phosphate was affected by inorganic phosphate while Vmax was not; (ii) the binding of ATP to the enzyme was of negative cooperativity with a Hill coefficient of 0.56; (iii) the activity of the enzyme was completely lost in the presence of EDTA. The enzyme was activated by Mg2+ at low concentrations, but inhibited by Mg2+ at high concentrations; (iv) the enzyme was stable below 30℃ and easily lost its activity when the temperature was above 40℃; (v) the activity of the enzyme was stable at the range of pH 7-9, increased at pH 9.0-9.5 and decreased when pH was over 9.5; (vi) the enzyme was sensitive to trypsin and ATP protected the enzyme against the proteolysi     

Detection of parathion methyl using a surface plasmon resonance sensor combined with molecularly imprinted films

An ultra-sensitive and highly selective parathion methyl(PM) detection method by surface plasmon resonance(SPR) combined with molecularly imprinted films(MIF) was developed. The PM-imprinted film was prepared by thermo initiated polymerization on the bare Au surface of an SPR sensor chip.Template PM molecules were quickly removed by an organic solution of acetonitrile/acetic acid(9:1,v/v), causing a shift of 0.58 in SPR angle. In the concentrations range of 10à13–10à10mol/L, the refractive index showed a gradual increase with higher concentrations of template PM and the changes of SPR angles were linear with the negative logarithm of PM concentrations. In the experiment, the minimum detectable concentration was 10à13mol/L. The selectivity of the thin PM-imprinted film against diuron,tetrachlorvinphose and fenitrothion was examined, but no observable binding was detected. The results in the experiment suggested that the MIF had the advantages of high sensitivity and selectivity.     

MECHANISM FOR THE INITIATION OF ACRYLONITRILE POLYMERIZATION BY POLYPROPYLENE-BASED POLYAMIDOXIME-THIOUREA COMBINATION

Polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) in aqueous nitric acid initiated by polypropylene-based polyamidoxime (PPAO)-thiourea (TU) combination has been investigated. The overall rate of polymerization (R_p) under the conditions of [TU]/[PPAO]<0.5 molar ratio isThe molecular weights of the polymers were found to be inversely proportional to 3/2-power of nitric acid concentration and 1-power of thiourea concentration. In addition, it is independent with the concentrations of monomer and PPAO, and decreases with increasing temperature.On the basis of these experimental results, a coordination-proton transfer mechanism for the initiation was proposed and discussed.     

A MODEL STUDY ON MODE OF BONDING OF CISPLATIN WITH DNA

The interaction of cis-[Pt(NK_3)_2Cl_2] with nucleosides, as constituents of DNA, was studled by spectrophotometric, ~(13)C NMR and CNDO/2 methods. The apparent stability constants of the complexes formed and the initial rate of formation were determined. The sites of binding of nucleoside (or nucleotide) with Cisplatin were ascertained and the electronic structure of the model coordination compounds of Cisplatin and guanine was calculated by MO approach. On the basis of the obtained results, the mechanism of the antitumour action of Cisplatin was discussed, and a new possible mode of bonding of Cisplatin with DNA was proposed.     

TERMINATION AND TRANSFER OF THE CHAIN RADICALS IN THE POLYMERIZATION OF ACRYLONITRILE INITIATED BY VANADIUM(V)-THIOUREA REDOX SYSTEM

The dependence of the molecular weights on the concentration of reactants in the polymerization of acrylonitrile initiated by vanadium (V)-thiourea redox system has been investigated. It was found that the molecular weights of the polymer change nonlinearly with increasing concentrations of nitric acid and thiourea. Probably, the composition of the complexes exert a great influence on the chain initiation and termination. The reaction of "complextermination" gives rise to the decrease of the molecular weights markedly while the concentrations of thiourea and vanadium (V)in the range from one to three molar ratios.     

Mg~(2+)-MEDIATED CHANGES IN FLUIDITY OF PHOSPHOLIPID DECREASE THE SLOW MOTION OF THE INCORPORATED H~+-ATPase IN LIPOSOMES

The effect of Mg~(2+) on the slow motion of H~+-ATPase in proteoliposome was studied. The ST-ESR spectra of H~+-ATPase labeled with maleimide and incorporated in liposomes at various Ma~(2+)concentrations with incubation method were measured. The relationship between the diagnostic param-eters L"/L, C'/C derived from ST-ESR spectra and Mg~(2+) concentrations or temperatures was com-pared with that of the order parameter S derived from 5NS-ESR spectra under the same conditions. Obtain-ed results clearly showed that the increase of Mg~(2+) concentration or the decrease of temperature maycause the increase of the rotational correlation time of H~+-ATPase in proteoliposome. And the rota-tional diffusion rate of H~+-ATPase in membrane lipid is related to the activation energy of the sur-rounding lipid. The change of Mg~(2+) concentration in proteoliposome leads to a change of activarionenergy and influence in turn the slow motion of H~+-ATPase in 1ipid.     

Atmospheric levels and distribution of Dechlorane Plus in an E-waste dismantling region of East China

Atmospheric concentrations of Dechlorane Plus(DP)were investigated in Taizhou,an electronic-waste(E-waste)dismantling region in East China.Passive air samplers with polyurethane foam(PUF)disks were deployed every three months during the sampling period of September 2009-August 2010.The total DP(syn-and anti-DP)concentrations in air ranged from not detected to 277 pg/m~3,with a mean concentration of 53.9 pg/m~3.A generally declining trend of DP levels was found from the E-waste dismantling region to the peripheral areas.The median values of total DP concentrations in autumn,winter,spring and summer were 52.2,28.8,39.7 and 30.1 pg/m~3,respectively.The seasonal variations of DP concentrations were mainly associated with the intensity of E-waste dismantling activities and meteorological conditions.The mean value of anti-DP fractional abundance(f_(anti))was 0.74±0.08,which was consistent with those in the commercial DP products.This study confirmed a significant emission source related to the distribution of atmospheric DP in the E-waste dismantling area and supplied information for the seasonal variation of DP in the atmosphere.     

Interaction between Janus Green B and bovine serum albumin:Electrochemistry and spectroscopy studies

In this study,voltammetric and spectroscopic investigation of the interaction between Janus Green B(JGB) and bovine serum albumin(BSA) was reported.The interaction was observed at Britton-Robinson buffer(pH 7.0).When JGB was added to solution containing BSA,the peak currents of BSA decrease with the increasing of JGB concentrations which is due to the interaction of JGB and BSA.The binding constant of JGB with BSA was obtained by voltammetric data.Also,this interaction was supported by means of UV-vis spectroscopic measurements.The UV-vis absorption spectra of JGB in the presence of BSA decrease with the increasing of BSA concentrations.     

KINETIC STUDY OF CARBONYLATION OF METHANOL TO ACETIC ACID AND ACETIC ANHYDRIDE OVER A NOVEL COPOLYMER-BOUND CIS-DICARBONYLRHODIUM COMPLEX

The kinetic study of carbonylation of methanol-acetic acid mixture to acetic acid and acetic anhydride over a cis-dicarbonylrhodium complex (MVM' Rh) coordinated with the ethylene diacrylate (M') crosslinked copolymer of methyl acrylate (M) and 2-vinylpyddine (V)shows that the rate of reaction is zero order with respect to both reactants methanol and carbon monoxide, but first order in the concentrations of promoter methyl iodide and rhodium in the complex. Polar solvents can accelerate the reaction. Activation parameters were calculated from the experimental results, being comparable to that of the homogeneous system. A mechanism similar to that of soluble rhodium catalyst was proposed.     

DEPENDENCE OF ACRYLONITRILE POLYMERIZATION KINETICS ON THE COMPOSITION OF POLYAMIDOXIME-THIOUREA SYSTEM

The polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) initiated by polypropylene based-polyamidoxime (PPAO)-thiourea (TU) system was investigated at [TU]/[PPAO]>0.5 molar ratio. It shows that the variation of the concentrations of PPAO, thiourea and nitric acid does not exert an observable influence on the reaction rate. The overall rate of polymerization (R_p) isR_p = 2.07e~(-7,800/RT)[ AN]~(2.0)The zero order dependence on PPAO and thiourea concentrations and the lowest value of the collision frequence factor were considered to be a feature of the primary radical termination.     

Investigations on the interactions between Li-TFSI and glass fibers in the ternary PP/GF/Li-TFSI composites

The polypropylene/glass fiber(PP/GF) composites with excellent antistatic performance and improved mechanical properties have been reported by incorporation of a very small amount of the organic salt, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide(Li-TFSI), into the PP/GF composites. It was considered that GF could play the role as the pathways for the movements of ions in the ternary composites. In this work, the interactions between Li-TFSI and glass fiber and the effects of such interactions on the physical properties of the composites have been systematically investigated. Three types of glass fibers with different ―OH group concentrations have been prepared in order to compare the interactions between GF and Li-TFSI. It was found that the ―OH group concentrations on the surface of glass fiber have significant effects on interactions between glass fibers and Li-TFSI. Such interactions are crucial for both the antistatic and mechanical performances of the final PP/GF/Li-TFSI composites. The investigation indicated that the GF with high ―OH group concentrations confined the movement of TFSI-, which decreased the antistatic properties of PP/GF/Li-TFSI composites. On the other hand, the GF with low ―OH group concentrations inhibited the absorption of Li-TFSI onto the GF, which also hindered the formation of Li-TFSI conductive pathway. The best antistatic performance of the ternary composites can be achieved at the intermediate ―OH concentrations on the GF.     

NONCONVENTIONAL EMULSION POLYMERIZATION OF ACRYLONITRILE CATALYZED BY in situ METAL COMPLEX

Nano-sized polyacrylonitrile (PAN) particles were prepared under the catalytic effect of in situ developed CoCl2/EDTA complex with ammonium persulfate as the initiator in the absence of any added emulsifier. The emulsion polymerization was studied at varying concentrations of the initiator, monomer, complex and solvent over a temperature range of 30-70℃. The overall activation energy (Ea, 49.79 kJ/mol), energy of dissociation of initiator (Ed,82.68 kJ/mol), number of micelles (0.163×1018) and the viscosity average molecular weight of the polymer were computed. The distribution of particle sizes was determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the oil-in-water polymerization was stabilized by the presence of the CoCl2/EDTA in situ complex reducing the particle size into the nano order. The average diameters of PAN nano particles, obtained by TEM, were in the range of 50-150 nm at the maximum conversion. The experimental particle size was mainly dependent on the concentration of the complex and temperature.     

EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN PATTERN OF LHRH PULSE ON LH SECRETION BY PERFUSED ANTERIOR PITUITARY CELLS OF MALE RATS

In the present study, a perfusion system of dispersed cells was used to investigate theeffects of LHRH pulse amplitude and frequency, and LHRH continuous stimulation on LHsecretion by anterior pituitary cells of adult male rats. The results have shown that, in therange of LHRH concentrations from 1×10~(-10) to 1 ×10~(-6) mol/L, the dose-response curve of LHsecretion was linear. LHRH pulse frequency generated a biphasic LH response: increasingLHRH pulse frequency increased the basal LH secretion and decreased LH/pulse. When1 ×10~(-9), mol/L or greater LHRH was given at frequencies of 3 pulses/h or higher, it wasobserved that a maximal LH peak was induced and then the LH release declined progres-sively to its LH basal level, i.e. LHRH self-priming effect and LH desensitization occurred.Enhancement of amplitude of LHRH pulses could reduce pulse frequency required for prim-ing. Increases in frequency of LHRH pulses with high amplitude would provoke the prim-ing effect more quickly. In addition, continuou     

CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF THE SURFACE OF CALCIUM ALGINATE GEL BEADS

The chemical modification of the surface of calcium alginate gel beads (CAGB) via grafting copolymerization with vinyl acetate (VAc) was studied. The optimum reaction conditions with activation and graft copolymerization two steps were explored. First, 5 grams CAGB with 2.5 mm initial diameter was initiated with 0.0493 mol/L K2S208 at 51℃ for 30 min in 15 mL 1% PVA/H2O. Then 4.34 mol/L VAc was added dropwise and the reaction was allowed to proce at 48℃ for 3 h. The grafting efficiency could come up to 30%. It was found the stability of modified CAGB in the air and in electrolyte solutions was greatly improved.     

Microencapsulation of dodecyl acetate by complex coacervation of whey protein with acacia gum and its release behavior

Complex coacervation of whey protein(WP) with acacia gum(AG) was carried out in water with the presence of dodecyl acetate (DA),a component of insect sex pheromones,in order to obtain microcapsules with DA as the core material and WP-AG coacervate as the wall materials.Through variations in wall/core ratios,concentrations of the wall materials in capsule preparations,DA encapsulation was optimized,which showed a high DA encapsulation was achieved when coacervation was conducted at pH 3.5 with wall/core mass ratio at 3 combined with concentration of wall materials at 1.0 wt%.Morphology and the structure of DA loaded microcapsules were examined by scanning electron microscope,which showed the microcapsules were of core/shell structure with DA encapsulated in the inner of the microcapsules.DA release was examined and the behavior of the release was discussed.